Chapter 389: After all, the child is innocent

The corridor was noisy, drawing many strangers who stopped to watch; Miao Cuixia not only failed to restrain herself, she even louder accused Xia Xuan of harming her grandson, pulling others to judge for her.

Chen Songbai had a splitting headache, feeling he had lost all face.

A nurse passing by gently reminded Miao Cuixia not to make noise here, but she ignored it; the nurse, helpless, called security to disperse the crowd.

Upon seeing the uniformed security, Miao Cuixia calmed a little, leaning against the wall, panting.

A piercing ringtone sounded; Chen Songbai looked at Miao Cuixia's phone in his hand—it was his father calling.

Miao Cuixia seized the phone while he wasn't paying attention, answered: "Dad, come to the hospital quickly—Miao Yijia had an accident, she's in the operating room; we don't know if our grandson will survive."

At that time Miao Cuixia called Miao Yijia, but Chenfu wasn't home; after breakfast he went downstairs for a walk, used to the freedom of his hometown, feeling ill at ease in the high-rise, so he went out every day for a long while. Returning home, Chenfu found no one there, waited a while with no one coming back, and called Miao Cuixia.

Who would have thought, as soon as the call connected, came Miao Cuixia's sobbing voice.

To Chenfu, the child in Miao Yijia's womb was of utmost importance; hearing it might not survive, he immediately jumped up, slapping his thigh: "What did you say?!"

Miao Cuixia told him which hospital and urged him to come quickly.

She alone was locked in a struggle, unable to match Chen Songbai or do anything to Xia Xuan the murderer, besides feeling her chest tighten with anger, she had no other recourse.

Before Chenfu arrived, the operating room door opened.

A doctor in green scrubs came out; Miao Cuixia almost stumbled forward, hoping to hear good news from the doctor: "Doctor, how is the child? Is it saved?"

The doctor looked at the woman before him, not asking how she was, only concerned about the one-month-old embryo; since this wasn't uncommon, he shook his head: "Sorry, the child couldn't be saved. The mother is still young; she'll have more in the future."

Miao Cuixia grabbed the doctor's arm, questioning: "How could it not be saved? She was fine this morning..."

"Please calm down, family member," the doctor said. "We've done all we could."

Chen Songbai pulled away the unreasonable Miao Cuixia, saying to the doctor: "Thank you, doctor, for your hard work."

"It's my duty."

The doctor said nothing more and left first.

Afterwards, Miao Yijia, after surgery, was pushed out and sent to the ward.

Xia Xi looked at Miao Yijia on the moving stretcher, her face devoid of color, wondering if she herself regretted it, whether it was truly worth it—staking her own life as a bet on an unknown outcome.

Xia Xi shook her head, sighing silently.

Miao Cuixia's long-awaited grandson was gone, as if she'd been hit over the head with a stick; she felt listless, devoid of spirit, and even when Miao Yijia was pushed past her just moments ago, she didn't glance at her.

Xia Xi didn't want to entangle with this unreasonable person; she took Xia Xuan's hand and said, "There's nothing for us here—let's go, I'll take you home."

Even if Miao Yijia wanted to slander Xia Xuan, she'd have to wait until she regained her strength to discuss it properly; staying in the hospital now serves no purpose.

Xia Xuan nodded slowly; Miao Yijia had indeed miscarried… Although she had been mentally prepared, seeing the fact before her, her heart still sank.

Miao Cuixia seemed to suddenly react, fixing her gaze on them with a vicious look: "You're not allowed to leave—you harmed someone and still want to walk away scot-free; there's no such cheap deal!"

Xia Xi frowned: "You keep saying my sister harmed someone, just based on your mouth? Why don't you first care about the woman who once bore you a grandson? And ask what really happened. She isn't at home resting her pregnancy, but ran out to meet my sister; if my sister hadn't promptly called 120, who knows—she might not have survived either."

The words "once" stimulated Miao Cuixia, but before she could erupt, the security guard stationed nearby stopped her: "Auntie, we've warned you many times—this is a hospital, no loud noise or trouble-making; please cooperate."

Xia Xuan walked into the sunlight, her body gradually warming; she stopped. Xia Xi, whose hand she held, was also forced to stop, tilting her head to gaze at her poor complexion.

Xia Xuan licked her lips, considering her words: "Sis, maybe we shouldn't leave yet."

Having stopped, Xia Xuan added: "I don't want to remain entangled with any of them—it's exhausting. Actually I shouldn't have gone out today to see Miao Yijia; it was my carelessness. She sent a message saying she wanted to talk about something concerning Chen Songbai, and I couldn't control myself. I despise this version of me. So I'll take this chance to cut ties with them."

Xia Xi originally intended to send Xia Xuan home and settle this family herself, but didn't expect Xia Xuan to ask to stay.

Xia Xuan locked eyes with her, slightly pulling her lips: "I want to hear what Miao Yijia will say; I know this isn't my fault, I need to confront her—whether calling the police or otherwise, I'm not afraid."

She is quite simple, but she can also imagine that Miao Yijia might twist the incident to blame her.

"An upright person fears no crooked shadow"—she needed to be present, to defend herself, not forever hide behind Xia Xi, letting her face things in her stead.

Xia Xi: "Wait a bit; going over now would only earn me a scolding from Chen Songbai's mother for nothing."

In the ward, Miao Yijia slept a long sleep; upon waking, several people stood by her bedside—her parents, and Chen Songbai's parents; the only person she most wanted to see was absent.

Tears slid down the corners of her eyes; Miao Yijia looked at her mother, opened her mouth, hoarse: "Mom."

Miao Mu kept a stern face; even though she felt sorry for her, she wouldn't relent: "Look at what you've done—you said you'd come to Nancheng to find work, yet you got involved with your cousin, became pregnant, and now the child is gone… you… how could you be so careless! Don't you know your cousin is married? What kind of nonsense!"

Miao Yijia's tears now were genuine, not like before when she used them to garner sympathy; she truly felt aggrieved and wronged.

Miao Cuixia muttered: "Don't speak of Yijia—this isn't her fault."

Miao Mu glared at her, her mood foul: "You're still speaking for her, meddling in your cousin's marriage—what honor is there in that?"

Miao Cuixia knew she was in the wrong and said nothing more.

Miao Yijia got no pleasant expression from Miao Mu; she turned her gaze to Miao Fu, crying: "Dad."

Usually gentle, Miao Fu remained silent; he always felt such an incident brought no honor, and since learning of it yesterday he's been in a foul mood. Although the daughter isn't his by blood, she was raised from a speechless infant to this size, the bond runs deep, no different from his own child; seeing her now degenerate, he feels both pity and anger.

Miao Yijia pressed her lips, knowing that once her parents learned of this, they wouldn't back her up but would scold her. Since she had just lost the child and lay in bed, they couldn't speak harshly; if she were well, they'd have flared up long ago, possibly even slapping her.

Miao Yijia glanced around, weakly asking: "Where's Chen Songbai?"

Miao Mu's face fell at once; she didn't even address her cousin by title, calling him by name—truly infuriating.

Miao Cuixia hurriedly said: "He's outside; I'll go call him in."

After hearing Miao Yijia was alright, Chen Songbai prepared to return to work, but Miao Cuixia stopped him, saying his aunt and uncle were coming; since Miao Yijia had met with such an incident, he couldn't absent himself, so he stayed. Yet he didn't want to linger in the ward, so he stood at the end of the hallway.

Miao Cuixia came over, grabbed his arm and pulled him into the ward.

Seeing him, Miao Yijia burst into tears: "I know carrying your child was an accident; my sister-in-law hates me, I can understand that, but she shouldn't treat me this way—after all, the child is innocent."

Chen Songbai's face darkened as he stared at her; knowing Xia Xuan, he believed she could never do wrong, thus concluded Miao Yijia was lying: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Miao Cuixia had long identified Xia Xuan as the culprit; hearing Miao Yijia personally accuse her, she felt more emboldened: "I knew it was that little tramp! Her sister even said I had no evidence, just mouthing off to slander people. Chen Songbai, drag that little tramp over here—I want to hear what else she has to say!"