Chapter 143: Rescue

Ah!

Wang Jingyi let out a heart‑rending wail, her eyes rolling upward as she collapsed heavily into the pool of blood.

Everyone who saw the scene was utterly shocked.

Many timid palace maids instantly retched on the spot.

Xu Chengyuan's beard bristled, his treasured sword rang out as it unsheathed, its cold gleam pointing straight at Wan Tang: "Wicked woman, die!"

Su Yanci shifted slightly, but upon catching the emperor's expression, he abruptly halted and silently returned to his original spot.

Chu Yunzheng stood with his hands behind his back, "General Xu, how imposing."

His voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it made all the armored guards in the hall hold their breath simultaneously: "I never realized the harem could even tolerate your shouting of battle and slaughter."

Even though Chu Yunzheng was merely standing there, he exuded an un‑angry yet awe‑inspiring pressure.

The Empress Dowager struck her staff heavily on the phoenix carriage, the Nine‑Phoenix golden crown rattling.

Xu Chengyuan's sword tip quivered, yet he would not withdraw: "Emperor! This demonic concubine dares, in front of everyone, to cut open Yan'er's belly. Will you still shield her?!"

"Do you not intervene at all?"

He turned to the Empress Dowager, voice and tears flowing together, "Empress Dowager! My old minister's granddaughter carries the Imperial Heir in her womb!"

The Empress Dowager's complexion naturally tightened with embarrassment.

In such a scene, even the Empress Dowager's hand could not help but tremble slightly.

Even while trying to restrain herself, her tone still carried a hint of terror: "Consort Wan's behavior is utterly incomprehensible, more hateful than murder!"

"Empress Dowager, I dare not do anything." Xu Chengyuan clasped his fists, his eyes flashing with a teasing challenge as he looked at the Emperor.

He continued: "But Empress Dowager, in this harem, perhaps no one can curb her atrocities any longer."

The Empress Dowager's breathing grew heavier, and in a cold voice she said, "It seems I cannot stand by idly any longer."

"Emperor, during this period you have indeed been overly indulgent toward Consort Wan."

"All along I have said little; as long as Consort Wan is proper, it does not harm the greater good."

"But look, which normal woman could hold that cold blade and then slice open a pregnant woman's belly?"

"Under your indulgence, no one dares speak. I must say, her actions are no different from a devil's."

The Empress Dowager's emotions gradually grew heated.

Those beside her also felt the same deeply.

Except for the busy palace staff, everyone's gaze turned toward the Emperor.

Xu Chengyuan shouted even louder: "Such a person should be executed on the spot!"

"Consort Wan acts thus," Chu Yunzheng gently brushed his jade pendant at his waist, cutting off the Empress Dowager's words, "She has her reasons."

Chu Yunzheng's tone was light, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure.

The Empress Dowager's complexion changed abruptly.

She turned her head and met Chu Yunzheng's icy eyes.

The Empress Dowager opened and closed her mouth, yet could not continue speaking.

Seeing this, Su Yanci stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Emperor, Empress Dowager, Consort Wan is not killing anyone; she should be… saving someone."

"After all, when she acted, Xu Da Ying had already lost his temper."

Su Yanci directly explained the reason.

The Empress Dowager furrowed her brows.

Chu Yunzheng slowly said, "Tangtang is truly kind."

Wang Jingyi was drenched in blood, her fate uncertain.

Xu Mingde is dead!

Now Xu Luoyan is also dead.

Xu Chengyuan's mind buzzed, his eyes blood‑red.

Even though Wan Tang's actions had ruined families, the Emperor still praised her as kind.

Those two words finally shattered all of Xu Chengyuan's reason.

"Foolish ruler!" Xu Chengyuan roared suddenly, his sword tip drawing a dazzling cold blade in the air, "Today I will stake my very life; I will not let that woman run amok!"

Ouyang Qing darted to block, but Xu Chengyuan's sword thrust him back three steps.

Su Yanci's brows knit tightly, yet he dared not act rashly, only glancing at the Emperor from the corner of his eye.

Just as the sword tip was about to pierce Wan Tang's heart, a flash of blue light surged forward.

Clang!

Xu Yanchuan held his long sword horizontally, fully blocking the lethal strike.

Xu Chengyuan's eyes bulged: "Traitor! Get out of the way!"

"Sir," Xu Yanchuan's sword flashed like a rainbow, a single move tossing his father's pendant sword, "I only obey the Imperial Edict."

"I see you're trying to protect that woman inside, aren't you?" Xu Chengyuan's gaze was as if he wanted to devour someone.

Xu Yanchuan's mouth curled slightly, his expression utterly indifferent: "The life and death you care about, Emperor, I will match with my own life."

"You…

Xu Chengyuan, trembling with anger, at this moment realized that not only Wan Tang had grown beyond his control.

Even the useless Xu Yanchuan gave him a moment of fear.

Ouyang Qing seized the chance, leading his men in a surge, pinning Xu Chengyuan hard to the ground.

A soft sob came from the hall at the right moment.

From the hall came a burst of cheering and jubilant voices.

"Alive! Truly alive!"

Xie Taiyi's trembling hands cradled the infant, less than a palm in size, while old tears streamed down.

The baby's bluish-purple skin, nourished by the ginseng decoction, gradually turned pink, and its weak yet tenacious cry made all the physicians in the room kneel together.

"I've practiced medicine for fifty years, the mother is already dead, yet I can still successfully keep the baby alive."

The Chief Judge's beard kept trembling, his finger gently rested on the infant's delicate wrist, "Moreover, it's a child born before the eighth month."

"How marvelous!" the young physician squeezed forward, "The pulse is weak yet steady—what a miracle!"

At that moment, every physician was observing this miracle.

They even forgot the differences in status.

They all praised this miracle.

Wan Tang sneered inwardly; this was no miracle at all, just a contest of who had the bigger nerve.

Everyone knew a principle: the child is still in the womb, alive.

As long as it is taken out, there is still hope for life.

But ultimately, no one is willing to bear the name of cruel and lawless.

Not to mention, Xu Luoyan is not only the Emperor's Imperial Concubine but also Xu Chengyuan's daughter.

Wan Tang's gaze slowly swept over the faces of the many physicians, finally resting on Xie Taiyi's face.

Only in his eyes did concern show.

Wan Tang staggered out, cradling the premature infant still stained with blood.

The child was pitifully tiny, its wrinkled skin tinged with bluish-purple, like a frail kitten.

Its weak, intermittent cries stubbornly proved the existence of life.

Wan Tang's fingertips were still bloodied, trembling as she handed over the swaddling cloth.

A bead of sweat fell from her pale chin, landing on the infant's brow.

"Li Pin."

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Li Pin staggered forward, her blood‑stained hem dragging a long trail on the ground.

When that unbelievably light little life was placed in her arms, Li Pin suddenly shivered.

The child was as light as a feather, yet weighed as much as a thousand pounds.

Likewise, this is her remaining life.

She was full of joy, eagerly awaiting the child's arrival, and the moment she held it, she couldn't help but feel panic.

So small, so fragile, so ugly…

"Take… care of him."

Wan Tang's fingertips lingered on the swaddling cloth for a moment before slowly turning toward Chu Yunzheng.

A pure, immaculate smile blossomed on her blood‑stained face, as if she had become that naive girl again: "Congratulations, Emperor, a Prince is born…"

Fresh blood dripped down her cuff, blooming like red plum blossoms on the snow.

She took a step forward, her embroidered shoes slipping on the blood‑slick ice.

The falling snowflakes suddenly slowed; she reached out to catch them, only to see the blood‑stained palm turning the crystal snow red.

Xu Yanchuan stood three steps away, his dark official robe unmoving.

His cold gaze pierced the swirling snow, as if looking at a stranger.

In his final moments of consciousness, Su Yanci's scent of sinking water incense suddenly closed in.

Before she fell into darkness, all surrounding sounds gradually became indistinct.

Chu Yunzheng's eyes flickered with panic; his feet finally touched the ground, stepping over the blood‑stained floor, and he slowly crouched in front of Wan Tang.

He reached out to brush away the wet hair clinging to her forehead; his fingertip touched a cold patch, and his brows instantly knit.

The Emperor himself hoisted the person sideways; the bright yellow sleeve was instantly soaked with blood, turning a dark ochre in the candlelight.

"Xie Taiyi…" the Emperor's voice carried an unusual urgency.

Xie Taiyi nearly crawled over, his fingers feeling the pulse trembling violently.

When he felt Wan Tang's wrist pulse, as fine as a thread, cold sweat splashed onto his forehead: "Answering, Emperor, the Lady's pulse hangs like a thread, clearly a sign of depleted essence blood."

He glanced at the Emperor's grim expression, then forced himself to continue: "The Imperial Heir in the womb has also been disturbed; if the needle is applied even half a moment later, the Lady would have saved another person."

"But she herself would be in danger."

Xie Taiyi dared not delay and hurried to insert the needle.

The other physicians also rushed to assist at once.

In every physician's eyes, there was heartfelt respect for Wan Tang.

"His words sound better than a song," Xu Chengyuan snorted coldly.

"I think she deliberately murdered!"

He was pinned down, unable to struggle.

Yet his face was full of a ferocious expression,

Xiao Shunzi suddenly knelt his way out of the crowd, his forehead banging hard against the blue bricks: "Your Majesty, discern clearly! My master heard that Xu Dying had an incident and rushed here without even donning a cloak!"

He pointed at the overturned candlestick in the inner chamber: "Madam Xu drove everyone out, and the master, uneasy, hurried after them."

Su Yanci stepped forward at the right moment, the hem of his dark official robe still dripping blood: "I have examined, and indeed the Marquis Physician died from a Jīn zān stabbing his throat."

His gaze swept over Wang Jingyi's blood‑stained broken leg, "And Madam Xu's wound looks deliberately inflicted."

The Chief Judge of the Imperial Medical Academy, leading the physicians, shouted as they knelt: "We, the humble subjects, heard clearly outside; Madam Xu kept shouting 'Incompetent physicians harm people.'"

He glanced at the Emperor's expression, then quickly added: "Consort Wan immediately summoned the entire Imperial Medical Institute!"

Chu Yunzheng's gaze slowly shifted toward the Empress Dowager on the phoenix carriage.

Wan Tang in his embrace suddenly, unconsciously, curled up against him, like a wounded cub.

The emperor's voice was so deep it seemed to drip water: "Mother, now you still think Tangtang is a poisonous woman?"

The Empress Dowager's prayer beads in her hand suddenly stopped.

Empress Dowager Chang let out a sigh, the dangling beads of the Golden Phoenix Step Shake rustling: "It is I, the grieving one. Having lived in this deep palace for so long that I can no longer distinguish right from wrong."

She rose shakily, and personally tucked the blood‑stained hem of Wan Tang's garment, "Emperor, treat her well."

Chu Yunzheng held Wan Tang.

In a cold tone he said, "Su Yanci."

"The rest, you clean up."

"Yes!"

In the palace, everyone was cleaning up.

Su Yanci suddenly saw a piece of wood and couldn't help but bend down to pick it up.

Seeing it was an uninscribed spirit tablet, Su Yanci's pupils narrowed, and he suddenly recalled Wan Tang's pure smile before she fainted.

He calmly slipped the spirit tablet into his sleeve: "Clean it up completely."

Silently he gathered the items away.