latelenovela Chapter 197 Staring at the Empress
Chapter 197 Staring at the Empress
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin merely gave a cold laugh.
"Distressed?"
She tilted her head back and asked calmly, "If Your Majesty truly cared for me, how could you have allowed the Duke of Chu's mansion to be wronged and for me to suffer so much? In the end, I died in the cold palace without Your Majesty even once visiting me?"
"Your Majesty, do you know how I have endured these past years? The days in the Cold Palace were dark and agonizing, every single day was torture. Countless times I longed for your arrival, even just to see me, but you never appeared."
Pei Yuanling was speechless for a moment.
After a moment, he frowned and stepped forward: "Yinyin, what happened in the past was my fault, and I am already trying to make amends..."
"make up?"
Chu Qingyin pressed on relentlessly, as if her emotions, which had been suppressed for a long time, had finally burst forth at this moment: "Does Your Majesty think that reinvestigating my brother's case is the way to make amends? Then how will Your Majesty make amends for my unjustly killed child, the humiliation I suffered in the Cold Palace, and the torment and pain of having poison poured down my throat before my death?"
Since he knew perfectly well that his brother could not possibly have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, he still used those so-called evidence to imprison himself, put his brother in jail, and exile all the more than one hundred people in the Duke of Chu's mansion.
It's nothing more than fearing the power of the Chu family and taking this opportunity to suppress them.
But how can he make up for all of this?
Pei Yuanling was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Yinyin, I know you harbor hatred, but the current situation in the court is complex, and I am also powerless to change it..."
What a convenient excuse for being unable to control one's own destiny!
Chu Qingyin laughed angrily: "So Your Majesty wants to use this so-called favor to shut me up?"
Xianglan stood to the side, trembling with fear, not daring to utter a sound.
She had never seen her mistress so angry, nor had she ever seen His Majesty so helpless.
But when she noticed that her mistress was losing control of her emotions and becoming increasingly outspoken, Xianglan still mustered up her courage and stepped forward, gently advising, "Your Majesty, please calm down..."
"Xianglan, you can go down now."
Chu Qingyin stopped speaking, her eyes slightly red, and she looked stubborn.
Xianglan glanced at the Emperor, then at her own mistress, and finally sighed before silently retreating.
Once there were no outsiders around, Pei Yuanling stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice—
"So you are so unwilling to conceive my child?"
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but even if I were to become pregnant, do you think the child could be born safely?"
Chu Qingyin's voice was choked with sobs, yet incredibly resolute. She looked directly into Pei Yuanling's eyes, her gaze filled with despair, "Or rather, would the Wang family allow other concubines to give birth to children before the Empress?"
Pei Yuanling felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart upon hearing this question.
His thin lips moved slightly, but his throat seemed blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
The former Duke of Chu's mansion was once a place of great splendor.
Chu Qingyin was carefree by his side.
But now, all of that has changed beyond recognition.
"Yinyin, I promised I would protect you all."
Pei Yuanling gritted his teeth, his voice low but resolute, "Why won't you believe me?"
Chu Qingyin smiled bitterly. She had already died once, so how could she believe it?
"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to believe it..."
As her emotions gradually calmed down, two lines of tears streamed down her reddened eyes. She sobbed, "I'm just afraid, afraid of losing another child. I can't bear it, and I can't take it anymore..."
Looking at Chu Qingyin's tearful and nearly broken appearance, Pei Yuanling's expression stiffened slightly.
A moment later, he slowly approached and, ignoring the other person's instinctive attempt to avoid him, pulled him into his arms.
"Yinyin, calm down."
He gently patted the woman's slender back with his large hand, trying to soothe her emotions: "When will you finally be willing to truly forgive me?"
This argument seemed to tear apart the facade of peace that the two had been trying so hard to maintain.
All the past disagreements and rifts were brought to the forefront, making everyone uncomfortable.
Chu Qingyin sobbed softly in his arms.
All the pain and grievances that had been suppressed for so long were released with the tears.
Seeing her in such distress, Pei Yuanling couldn't bear it.
"Alright, stop crying. It's my fault; I shouldn't have made the decision on my own."
He gently stroked Chu Qingyin's hair, his voice filled with regret and tenderness, "I will never mention stopping the medication again. From now on, I will discuss everything with you, okay?"
Chu Qingyin sobbed in his arms, and it took her a while to come to her senses. Her voice was choked with tears as she asked, "Really?"
"Naturally true."
Seeing her so cautious, Pei Yuanling felt as if a lump was stuck in his throat, making him feel suffocated.
He released Chu Qingyin, cupped her face in his hands, gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs, and sighed helplessly.
"Stop crying. You look like a cat crying so early in the morning. People will laugh at you."
Chu Qingyin lowered her eyelashes and remained silent.
After sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard for a while, Chu Qingyin finally calmed down completely.
It was only then that she realized she had argued with Pei Yuanling again in front of the servants.
And surprisingly, the other party tolerated it once again.
Chu Qingyin knew she couldn't let things get too tense between them. She slowly raised her head, her beautiful eyes still slightly red. "Your Majesty, once my brother is cleared of his name and released from prison, I will stop taking the medicine, okay?"
Seeing that she had also taken the initiative to back down, Pei Yuanling's brow twitched slightly.
After a moment, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen beside her ear, forcing a bitter smile, "Fine, whatever you say."
Before long, it was broad daylight.
Watching Pei Yuanling's departing figure as he went to court, Chu Qingyin's expression gradually turned cold.
"My lady..."
Xianglan stood beside her, carefully carrying the freshly brewed contraceptive soup.
Chu Qingyin picked up the medicine and drank it all in one gulp without hesitation before saying, "Speak your mind."
Xianglan hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Your Majesty, will His Majesty harbor resentment towards you because of this?"
After all, in this palace, the emperor's favor is the most important thing.
If one falls out of favor, let alone seek revenge, even survival will be difficult.
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin's lips curled into a faint smile.
So what if there's resentment in our hearts?
Since he's going to put on this act of deep affection, he can't possibly do anything to me, especially since I've already taken an arrow for him.
The man now feels more guilt than love towards her.
After casually eating a few bites of the breakfast that was brought to her, Chu Qingyin asked indifferently, "Xianglan, how's the thing I asked you to do going?"
"Your Majesty, the rumors about the haunted side hall have already spread far and wide, and Kang Luhai has added fuel to the fire. Several palace maids have fainted from fright in the past few days."
Upon hearing this, Xianglan carefully reported the events of the past two days.
"I heard that Her Majesty the Empress's insomnia has become increasingly severe. The night before last, she secretly went to a side hall. Kang Luhai said that Her Majesty the Empress was muttering to herself in that hall for quite a while, and she didn't come out until midnight."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin scoffed coldly: "Keep watching. I want to see how long she can endure this."