Chapter 44: I Am Carrying Your Child

The guards outside the door moved in response to the sound.

They all recognized Zhou Lü, so they naturally locked onto Nan Xueyin and closed in quickly.

Nan Xueyin's reaction was also fast; she raised her hand to block the guard reaching out to grab her shoulder, kicked him away while airborne, and knocked over two more guards in succession.

Taking advantage of this gap, Nan Xueyin ran toward the residential area.

That was where the commoners lived; it was already late, and many were already fast asleep. As long as she could escape there, the chances of safety would be high.

"Zhou Lü, stop!"

Along with the shout, Nan Xueyin heard the sound of a sharp blade cutting through the wind.

Relying on her intuition, she dodged to the side, avoiding an iron arrow, but the next instant, she felt a sharp pain in her left calf.

Turning her head, it was actually a whip—not made of ordinary leather, but of refined iron, with sharp, tiny spikes covering the whip body. It had wrapped around her arm, and those spikes had pierced through her clothing and dug into her skin.

As she continued to move forward, the iron whip pulled taut, and the spikes drilled deeper.

Nan Xueyin couldn't help but frown, her pace slowing down.

It was also at this moment that another iron arrow streaked over, shooting straight through her left calf.

The force was too great, and Nan Xueyin fell to her knees with a thud.

"Lord Shu, it's fortunate you are here!"

Someone behind her said with a laugh.

Nan Xueyin turned her head with difficulty and, sure enough, saw the face of Shu Yu.

He held the iron whip in his hand, eyeing her triumphantly: "Little thief, you still want to escape in front of me?"

Nan Xueyin gritted her teeth.

The head jailer had also arrived with his men.

Shu Yu asked casually: "What crime did this person commit?"

The head jailer rubbed his red, swollen, and painful neck, full of hatred, and said: "I was just patrolling earlier when I was suddenly knocked unconscious from behind! It's thanks to my men being smart that they came over in time to wake me up—and it's infuriating, I woke up in the high-security cell! The high-security prisoner Wang Yong, who was brought in just a few days ago, is dead! He threw me next to Wang Yong; this is meant to frame me as the scapegoat!"

Shu Yu nodded slightly and handed the whip to him: "Interrogate him clearly to find out who ordered him to do this."

The head jailer thanked him politely and asked: "What about you, Lord Shu?"

Shu Yu replied: "The Crown Prince has been in the palace for so long, and I don't know how he is doing. I'll go over and take a look."

Everyone respectfully cleared a path for him.

Nan Xueyin steeled her heart, switched to Doukou's voice, and called out: "Lord Shu!"

Shu Yu paused his steps and looked at her.

Before Nan Xueyin could say more, Shu Yu looked at her with utter disdain and said: "You have the guts to kill, but no guts to take responsibility? To escape punishment, you, a grown man, are actually learning to speak like a woman! I despise you!"

Nan Xueyin:?

"Furthermore, I have a fiancée. Even if you really were a woman, I couldn't possibly sympathize with you or take you away!"

After speaking, Shu Yu flicked his sleeve and drifted away under the admiring gazes of the crowd.

Nan Xueyin almost couldn't catch her breath.

After Shu Yu left, the head jailer stood before her, speaking with a vicious tone: "You wretch Zhou Lü, you actually dared to kill in the Dali Temple Prison, and a high-security prisoner at that! Hmph, now that he's dead, the higher-ups will definitely blame us—if you won't let the Dali Temple Prison have peace, then don't blame us for being ruthless!"

On the other side.

Jiaoyuan.

Hua Lianying's delicate cheeks were devoid of any color; she leaned weakly against the couch, clutching her heart, and said tearfully: "Prince, I didn't mean to leave you behind... I really feel so unwell... Am, am I going to die here?"

Xiao Mingyu frowned: "You are only unconscious; it is not as serious as dying."

He was preoccupied with other matters and questioned coldly toward the door: "Has the doctor arrived yet?"

"He's here, he's here!"

The doctor finally arrived, carrying his medicine chest and hurrying inside.

Xiao Mingyu gave a few instructions, told him to take Hua Lianying's pulse, and then stood up to leave.

"Prince!"

Hua Lianying grabbed his wrist, looking pitiful: "Can you not leave? Stay with Yingying... Yingying is scared, really so scared."

Wu Zhui entered from outside and said urgently: "Prince, we don't know how things are going with Miss Nan; you must go there yourself to oversee things! If any mistakes occur, it would be more secure if you were there to handle them."

Hua Lianying sobbed: "Big sister has been very capable since she was little, much more capable than me... She can always handle things very well, unlike me..."

As she spoke, she began to cry again.

Wu Zhui glared at her. This was why he had never liked this cousin of Miss Nan! Too pretentious and artificial! Miss Nan was risking her life there, and could die at any moment, yet she was delaying time by complaining about this pain and that pain!

He gritted his teeth and reminded: "Prince! The important matter regarding Miss Nan is urgent!"

Xiao Mingyu was more inclined to listen to Wu Zhui and was about to shake off Hua Lianying's hand.

Hua Lianying raised her tear-stained face: "I know you are worried about big sister, but... at least wait until the doctor finishes taking my pulse, okay?"

This was a request Xiao Mingyu could not refuse.

He could only suppress his inner anxiety and sit back down.

The doctor took her pulse carefully, a look of joy appearing on his face. He withdrew his hand and congratulated Xiao Mingyu: "Congratulations, Prince! Congratulations, Prince! This young lady has a pregnancy pulse! She has been pregnant for over a month!"

Xiao Mingyu was stunned.

Over these years, countless women had come and gone by his side, but he had always kept an eye on them, making them drink contraceptive medicine after intimacy.

Hua Lianying had also been drinking it all along; how could she be pregnant?

"Really? Am I really carrying the Prince's child?"

Hua Lianying looked at Xiao Mingyu with eyes full of happiness: "Prince, did you hear that? I have your child!"

Xiao Mingyu's gaze, however, held a hint of coldness: "You didn't take the medicine?"

Hua Lianying looked aggrieved: "How could that be? Isn't it you who watches me drink it every time? Perhaps... perhaps it is the heavens taking pity, wanting me to bear a child for you."

Xiao Mingyu did not speak, his gaze gathering on her still-flat lower abdomen.

It was not that he did not like children; he simply felt that since he had not yet entered the Eastern Palace, it was inappropriate to have children too early. Sometimes, he also felt that in this world, the only woman qualified to bear his children was that one.

"Prince! We should be going!" Wu Zhui could not wait and urged him.

Hua Lianying stroked her lower abdomen and looked timidly at Xiao Mingyu, "Prince, are you still going to leave?"

Wu Zhui was about to speak, but Xiao Mingyu suddenly spoke, "You go instead."

Wu Zhui was stunned, "This..."

Isn't this too outrageous!

Miss Nan is cleaning up your mess, how can you have the nerve to stay here with a woman?

"She has great ability, logically speaking nothing should go wrong," Xiao Mingyu said, "You go and fetch her. Hasn't she always wanted to rest? Tell her that after this mission ends, this Prince grants her permission to rest."