Chapter 361: An Unreasonable Request (2)

"Actually, I had originally planned never to have children again. I don't want my child to be born in this terrifying Imperial Palace, so I asked Gui Yi for medicine to prevent conception, but damn him, he actually lied to me! The medicine he gave me not only failed to prevent pregnancy, but instead..."

Qingfeng bit her lip and did not continue. Zhuo Qing stared at her face for a moment, then looked at her belly, her brows gradually furrowing. "You don't mean to abort this child now, do you?"

"I... I can't bear to."

Zhuo Qing had just let out a sigh of relief, but because of Qingfeng's next sentence, her brows knitted even tighter.

"I think, once the child is born, I will secretly send him out of the Palace."

Qingfeng kept her head slightly lowered, her voice low but without hesitation, though her fingertips were colder than before. Zhuo Qing lowered her voice as much as possible and asked, "How could you think of that?" She couldn't bear to abort the child, yet she could bear to send him out of the Palace?

Qingfeng was silent again. Gu Yun reached out to close the half-open window completely before saying, "Things are not as bad as you imagine. Actually, Yan Hongtian is not completely unaware, nor has he been inactive. This time he should not be negligent again, and we will also try our best to help you; you don't need to be so pessimistic." Gu Yun did not know if there had been any communication between Qingfeng and Yan Hongtian, so it was not easy to speak too specifically.

Qingfeng finally raised her head, and the eyes she turned toward Gu Yun held a bit more admiration. This person was truly sharp; she already knew her concerns before she even spoke. Pulling her lips into an arc that could hardly be called a smile, Qingfeng sighed, "I know he sent people to take away the medicinal dregs."

She knew? This answer surprised both Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun. The two looked at each other again, both seeing the words "wait and see" in the other's eyes, so neither of them responded to Qingfeng's words. Qingfeng did not seem to want them to say anything either, continuing on her own: "I also know that he has Zhi'er in his heart and wants to seek justice for him. But he is the Emperor, the ruler of a country; naturally, in his heart, the country comes first, and the family second. I can no longer bear to lose someone again; I will go mad, I will die. This Imperial Palace is like a giant coliseum; a claw will reach out from every dark corner, and you never know when that claw will tightly grip your throat. I don't want my child to live in this terrifying place."

Feeling Qingfeng gripping her hand tighter and tighter, and listening to the fear in her heart, Zhuo Qing was still thinking about how to comfort her when she saw her bright eyes suddenly fixed on her, her voice trembling as she said, "You are also pregnant at this time, which means Heaven is helping me. I will send the child out, and you can just treat it as your child, your and Lou Xiyan's child, okay?"

"How could this be possible?!" Zhuo Qing was clearly shocked by Qingfeng's proposal, staring at Qingfeng not knowing what to say, while Gu Yun remained silent.

The late autumn evening was quiet and comfortable, with wisps of the fragrance of Autumn Begonia drifting in from outside the window. The room was exceptionally quiet. Three women, three different sets of thoughts; such silence gradually evolved into an oppressive atmosphere. Except for Gu Yun, who remained expressionless and silent, the expressions of the other two women were somewhat subtle. Finally, under Zhuo Qing's probing gaze, Qingfeng slowly withdrew her hand from hers, her calm voice devoid of the previous agitation, "I know this is putting you in a difficult position, and it doesn't matter if you don't agree. When the time comes, I will find a way to find a baby girl from outside the Palace to bring in and swap the child out."

"The one you give birth to might not necessarily be a son, don't be so sensitive..." Zhuo Qing really didn't understand her stubbornness, and Qingfeng interrupted her before she could even finish speaking.

"Even if it's a daughter, I will still send her away!"

Gu Yun crossed her arms over her chest and reminded her, "What you are doing is too risky."

"It's better than being at the mercy of others!"

Qingfeng curled her lips slightly, and Zhuo Qing clearly saw the disdain and determination in the depths of her eyes. It would likely be futile to continue talking to Qingfeng today, so Zhuo Qing coughed lightly and replied cautiously, "I need to consider this matter."

"Fine, I will wait for your news."

Qingfeng did not dwell on this issue further and raised her voice to call Ruyi in to see the two out. The room fell into silence once more, and Qingfeng gripped the Warm Jade she never left behind. Ever since she heard the news of Hui Jun's death, her heart had been entangled with fear, anxiety, and worry. Perhaps she made such a request today only because of the resilience and certainty inadvertently revealed by those two; these two were not the sisters she was familiar with, yet they could give her a sense of security that her eldest sister and younger sister could not.

Now that she had calmed down to think it over, sending the child out of the Palace might truly allow her to be freed from boundless fear. She could send the child out of the Palace, but once outside, she still had no way to protect him. If she could entrust him to Qing Ling, based on the affection between the two of them, Qing Mo would never stand idly by. With the Lou Family and the Su Clan protecting him, this child should be safe.

It was just... if Yan Hongtian found out about this, what would happen? He might want to strangle her.

Qingfeng was lost in inner hesitation and conflict, and Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun were no better off. The two remained silent all the way until they left the Palace gate and walked on the bustling street, when Gu Yun asked in a low voice, "What do you think?"

Zhuo Qing gave a bitter smile: "She is once bitten, twice shy. With her fierce personality, as she said, even if we don't agree, she will still do it; it's just a question of who she will entrust the child to."

Gu Yun raised her delicate brows and smiled: "Then, what do you plan to do now?"

"I need to discuss it with Xi Yan." She had never expected Qingfeng to have such a thought; this was definitely not a small matter. Although she wanted to help Qingfeng, how to help was not something she could decide alone.

"It does need to be discussed properly." After all, it was a child, a life, and this child was also Yan Hongtian's child.

The two had originally just wanted to drop by to see Qingfeng, never expecting such a matter to be brought up. Gu Yun shook her head, deciding to put this problem aside for now, and asked, "What is your take on the fire at the Heavenly Prison?"

"Hui Jun was indeed burned to death by the fire, but judging from the state of the body, although she inhaled a large amount of thick smoke, there were no signs of struggle. It is most likely that she had already fainted before the fire started. And since the bones of her head and neck did not suffer any impact injuries, she was not knocked unconscious. There was food residue in her stomach; currently, it cannot be detected what ingredients were in the food, but the possibility that it contained a sedative drug is very high." Zhuo Qing quickly provided her conclusion as a forensic expert, because this question was far too easy compared to Qingfeng's problem.

"I also inspected the scene. The point of origin of the fire was very close to Hui Jun's cell, and there were obvious signs of arson. To commit arson and use drugs, and to leave such obvious traces, it has quite a bit of a 'cornered dog jumping over the wall' feel. This shows that the direction we are investigating is correct; the person behind this is clearly already panicked. By the way, do you remember Hui Jun saying that she went to the Empress's Palace to look for a letter back then, and the letter was found? She was caught at Yilan Palace and taken directly to the Heavenly Prison. In that case, it is very likely that the letter is still in Yilan Palace, only we don't know where she hid it." Whenever Gu Yun spoke about a case, she was always high-spirited and quite excited.

Zhuo Qing was not as optimistic as she was, "So many years have passed, would it still be there?"

"I will first investigate the two leads of the arson and the Imperial Guards, and have a chance to explore Yilan Palace again. Don't worry about the case." Gu Yun lightly bumped her shoulder against Zhuo Qing's and whispered, "The other matter is what you should really be worried about—who told you to be her sister!"

Zhuo Qing rolled her eyes at her; at a time like this, this woman still had the mood to tease her!

However, Gu Yun was not wrong; she was indeed very worried. The difficult problem Qingfeng threw at her really troubled her, to the point that she ate very little for dinner. Lou Xiyan had also been very busy lately, but he specifically rushed back to have dinner with his beloved wife, only to find Zhuo Qing restless, her mind seemingly elsewhere.

It wasn't until after dinner, when the two returned to their room together, that Zhuo Qing still looked extremely troubled. Lou Xiyan pulled her to sit by the bed, half-knelt down, held Zhuo Qing's hands, and asked in a low, gentle voice, "What's wrong? You've been like this since you came back from the Palace. Is the case very tricky?"

Lou Xiyan's hands were always a bit cool. Enveloped by his familiar palms, Zhuo Qing sighed and replied, "I'm not worried about the case; she is investigating it, there's nothing to worry about. I am worried about Qingfeng."

Lou Xiyan smiled slightly, waiting for her to continue. Zhuo Qing looked into the black eyes that were gazing at her tenderly and said with difficulty, "Today... she asked me for a favor."

This request must be very tricky, otherwise she wouldn't be so hesitant in her speech. Gently squeezing Zhuo Qing's fingertips, Lou Xiyan smiled: "What is it?"

In Lou Xiyan's eyes, Zhuo Qing saw encouragement, but at the thought of Qingfeng's proposal, she felt very helpless. Shaking her head, Zhuo Qing said in distress, "She wants, after the child is born, to use a baby girl to swap the child out and send him out of the Palace to be treated as... our child..."

Zhuo Qing watched Lou Xiyan cautiously. Sure enough, even as composed as he was, he stiffened all over for a moment. Fortunately, it was only for an instant, and Lou Xiyan still asked softly, "Did you agree?"

"No, I wanted to discuss it with you." Zhuo Qing pouted; if she had agreed, she wouldn't be this troubled!

"You want to help her?" Aside from a small initial surprise, Lou Xiyan looked no different than usual. Zhuo Qing couldn't guess what he was thinking, so she simply stopped guessing and just stated her inner thoughts, "If I don't help her, she will do it anyway. By then, I won't know where she will put the child."

Lou Xiyan was silent for a while and said, "Don't be in a hurry about this matter. There are still two months until you both give birth; even if we are to swap, we need to have a suitable child first."

Lou Xiyan's reaction was too indifferent, and Zhuo Qing found it unbelievable, "You... you don't object? That is Yan Hongtian's child..."

Zhuo Qing stared at him with her large eyes, and Lou Xiyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I didn't say I agreed, it's just as you said: if you don't help her, I don't know where she will send the child. When you go into the Palace next time, try to find a way to persuade her more."

"I'll try my best." Zhuo Qing was not optimistic at all. She hadn't spent too much time with Qingfeng, but it was enough to understand her temper clearly; it would be difficult to make her compromise.

Gu Yun was busy going into the Palace to investigate the case, and Zhuo Qing was busy persuading Qingfeng, but after half a month, both of them had achieved very little.

(End of chapter)