Chapter 342

"Let go of me! Let go of me!" Qingfeng struggled like crazy. Yan Hongtian grabbed her shoulders tightly. Seeing the guards carrying away the child on the bed, Qingfeng became even more frantic. During the struggle, she actually bit Yan Hongtian's hand fiercely.

Everyone was stunned. Zhuo Qing was standing close, and Qingfeng's teeth were clenched, making a clattering sound. She heard it clearly and could not help but feel her scalp tingle. Soon, bright red blood flowed down along the position of the tiger's mouth, showing how hard this bite was. Qingfeng's way of biting was as if she wanted to bite off a piece of flesh alive. Yan Hongtian's expression did not change, and he did not even furrow his brow, actually letting Qingfeng bite him like this, but those black eyes staring at her became even colder.

Xin Yuening was the first to come back to her senses and screamed: "Qingfeng, are you crazy?!"

"Someone, someone!" The guards who were originally guarding outside the door heard the Empress's scream and immediately rushed in. Xin Yuening pointed at Qingfeng and shouted: "Quick! Quickly pull this crazy woman away!"

Qingfeng's hair was disheveled, her face was pale, and her mouth was full of bloodstains, looking very terrifying. The guards swarmed up. Zhuo Qing was worried that they would hurt Qingfeng, but she did not know martial arts, so even if she wanted to stop them, she could not, and could only try her best to block in front of Qingfeng.

"All withdraw."

A cold voice sounded low. The group of guards stood still as if they had been acupointed. Zhuo Qing did not expect Yan Hongtian to stop them, after all, his hand was really seriously injured. Looking back, her heart could not help but tremble.

Not only did Qingfeng not let go, but she bit even harder, as if she were really crazy. Yan Hongtian actually did not move at all, as if that were not his hand. Blood kept flowing down his arm and into his dark python robe. The entire inner chamber was silent for a moment, with only the sound of Qingfeng's low panting.

Qingfeng's long hair was disheveled, and Zhuo Qing could not see her eyes, but she could see Yan Hongtian's cold eyes clearly. The Yan Hongtian in her memory was violent and even cruel, and at this moment, he was also unusually cold and silent. A terrifying storm seemed to be brewing in his bottomless black eyes. Zhuo Qing could not see through what Yan Hongtian wanted to do. Looking at it now, at least he would not hurt Qingfeng.

Qingfeng finally let go, but the next moment she fell straight backward. Yan Hongtian wrapped his arm around her waist, and Qingfeng fell into his arms.

"Empress, help me back to the palace." Lou Suxin was exhausted, as if she had suddenly aged a lot. Her usually noble and straight waist and back actually looked a bit hunched. How many times had she experienced such grief over the years? Was premature death the destiny of the Yan family?

"Yes." Xin Yuening obediently helped the Empress Dowager leave first. Before going out, she looked back at Qingfeng, who was lying softly in Yan Hongtian's arms, feeling both resentful and happy in her heart. Even if Qingfeng didn't die this time, she would be crazy, right!

"Take good care of her." Yan Hongtian laid Qingfeng on the bed, his voice as cold as the ice on a snow mountain, but his hand movements were very gentle. Zhuo Qing had not yet reacted to the fact that he was talking to her, and Yan Hongtian actually did not look at the person on the bed a second time and walked out.

Everyone left, and the inner chamber was empty. Zhuo Qing immediately checked on Qingfeng. Her heart rate and breathing were all normal, so she should have fainted from excessive stimulation. There was a sudden sound behind her. Zhuo Qing looked back and saw that the palace maid called Ruyi was bringing in a basin of hot water.

Taking the soft cloth she handed over, Zhuo Qing gently wiped the blood from the corners of Qingfeng's mouth and sighed, feeling weak all over.

After finally cleaning Qingfeng up and just covering her with a quilt, Fuling finally returned. Seeing her empty-handed, Zhuo Qing asked: "Where are the medicine dregs?"

Fuling shook her head gently.

"Gone?" Zhuo Qing said anxiously: "How could that be?! The medicine for the Emperor and the concubines, aren't the medicine dregs supposed to be kept for more than a day? How could they be gone?!"

Fuling also knew very well what Zhuo Qing was saying, and her complexion also looked a bit gray and white. "When this servant went to the Imperial Medical Garden to check, the medicine dregs were already gone. I asked the people on duty, and they all said they didn't know."

The cause of the child's death was suspicious, and now the medicine dregs had also disappeared. Zhuo Qing felt that her head was shrouded in heavy fog, and for a moment, she did not know how to dispel it.

At the You hour, which should be the Emperor's freest time, Lou Xiyan came to the front of the Imperial Study, but found the hall door tightly closed. Gao Jin and Xiao Yu were standing outside the door respectively, their expressions solemn, quite a bit of a feeling of being at a loss.

Seeing Lou Xiyan come to the front of the hall, Gao Jin immediately greeted him: "Prime Minister Lou."

Glancing at the tightly closed hall door, Lou Xiyan asked in a low voice: "Is the Emperor in?"

"Yes. However..." Gao Jin's face was full of worry, stopping mid-sentence. He had been by the Emperor's side for many years and had never seen the Emperor like this. He did not even let the Imperial Physician bandage the wound on his hand, and the blood kept flowing like this. Entering the Imperial Study, he only said one sentence: "Get out." Gao Jin felt cold all over. He guessed that the Emperor probably did not want to see anyone at this moment.

Fortunately, Prime Minister Lou did not insist, and replied lightly: "It's okay, I'll leave first." He then left the Zhengyang Palace, but Prime Minister Lou's usually warm and sunny face was also stained with a bit of gloom.

Zhuo Qing accompanied Qingfeng in Qingfeng Palace. By the time the palace gate was about to close, Qingfeng still had not woken up, and Zhuo Qing had to leave. The winter night came particularly early. When Zhuo Qing walked out of the palace gate, the sky was already dark. The red lanterns by the palace gate dyed the road in front of the palace gate a bright red. In this bright red light, a familiar carriage was parked not far away, and the tall figure standing beside the carriage had a warm smile on his face as usual.

Seeing Lou Xiyan, Zhuo Qing quickened her pace: "Why are you here?"

Lou Xiyan greeted her, his clear voice filled with warmth: "Coming to pick you up to go home."

Rarely, Zhuo Qing took his hand, her voice a bit muffled: "Xiyan, can we walk for a while?" Although she had seen many deaths, everything that happened today still felt like a stone pressing on her heart, making her feel suffocated.

Holding her hand in his palm, Lou Xiyan replied softly: "Alright."

It was about to enter the twelfth lunar month, and the night wind blowing on her face was a bit painful. The people on the street gradually became fewer, and the two walked in silence.

"The child... is gone." After a long time, Zhuo Qing said a few words. Lou Xiyan tightened his grip on their joined hands, his voice still calm: "I know."

The night wind blew past her ears, blowing their clothes into the air. Zhuo Qing suddenly stopped. Lou Xiyan knew she had something to say, so he also stopped along with her. Zhuo Qing lowered her brows and thought for a while before saying: "I think the cause of the child's death is suspicious."

A glimmer of light flashed in his long, narrow black eyes: "What did you discover?"

"When I arrived, the body was already cold. Looking at the corpse spots, the child had been dead for at least an hour. His complexion was dark red and his lips were dark purple, which was indeed 70% similar to respiratory failure caused by throat swelling from a fever. But I discovered that the color of the child's corpse spots was actually gray-brown."

She emphasized the color of the corpse spots... Lou Xiyan's voice was a bit low: "Are you saying that the prince died of poisoning?"

Zhuo Qing shook her head helplessly: "I can't be completely sure. The child was too young, and it could also be death caused by other complications. Now that there are doubts, can we apply for an autopsy for the child?" That way she could determine the cause of the child's death!

Zhuo Qing was a bit urgent in her desire to perform an autopsy on the child, and her voice could not help but be a bit louder. But facing Lou Xiyan's calm and deep eyes, she knew she was daydreaming. The Imperial Physician had already concluded that the child died of illness, and the child had indeed been running a high fever for those few days. Countless infants died of high fever in Qiongyue every year. In their view, this matter was already very clear, so how could they let her perform an autopsy?!

She had always firmly believed that the corpse was the last voice of the deceased, and she would definitely be able to help them say what they wanted to say. Now that she could not do it, she was very frustrated. She could not perform an autopsy, and the medicine dregs had disappeared. Zhuo Qing felt that she had no place to use her skills at all, and could not help but sigh: "If only she were here."

A sudden cold wind made Zhuo Qing shiver. Thinking that Xiyan's health had always been not very good, Zhuo Qing pulled Lou Xiyan toward the carriage behind. After walking two steps, she realized that he was still standing in place.

Zhuo Qing finally noticed that Lou Xiyan had been very silent all night. He looked like he was listening to her, but there was a light flowing in his slightly narrowed eyes that was hard to fathom. Zhuo Qing asked in a low voice: "What are you thinking about?"

Looking down at her, Lou Xiyan coughed lightly and smiled: "Nothing, naturally I am listening to my wife speak."

Zhuo Qing looked like she did not believe it. Lou Xiyan smiled slightly and continued: "Qing Mo accompanying General Su to encircle pirates this time is also very dangerous. If I tell her now, I'm afraid it will affect her, and also affect General Su."

He really heard her? Thinking for a while, Zhuo Qing replied: "Then... I will send someone to the East Sea now to wait in Mao City, and tell her after they win."

"Alright."

Zhuo Qing's complexion was still not very good, with worry and fatigue between her brows. Holding his hand for a long time, it was still cold. Lou Xiyan gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and persuaded her in her ear: "Don't worry too much, everything will pass."

This day was indeed exhausting. Leaning gently in Lou Xiyan's arms, what Zhuo Qing was most worried about now was Qingfeng. Judging from her performance this afternoon, the pain of losing her child was too great a blow for her.

Patting the person in his arms soothingly, the smile on Lou Xiyan's face had long since faded. He was clearly worried about someone else at this moment.

At lamp-lighting time, the harem, which should have become lively, was unusually cold and quiet tonight. On the empty palace road, few people walked. The whistling wind blew the withered leaves, making a rustling sound on the ground. According to Qiongyue's tradition, the premature death of a child could not be a big funeral, so only Qingfeng Palace and Chuxiu Palace in the palace hung white cloth.

Ming Ze only learned that the little prince had passed away when he entered the palace for duty. He could not help but worry about the woman who regarded her family as her life, and his footsteps became even larger. Hurrying to Qingfeng Palace, seeing the pale cloth on the big gate and the two big white lanterns, Ming Ze was dazed for a moment. When he left this morning, this place was still full of warmth and harmony, but at this moment, it was so dead and silent.

(End of chapter)