Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Xie Run, heavily pregnant, couldn't hold Xiaoshu's limp body and could only kneel beside her.

Xie Run shouted, "Call the physician! Quick, stop the bleeding and save her!"

Prince Jing's firm, commanding voice rang out, "Help Shufei Xie up—don't let her be hurt!"

"Everyone else, return to your places!"

"Jing Wu, get rid of the body."

"Yes!" Jing Wu and his men efficiently disposed of Feihua's body and also took Xiaoshu to the physician for treatment.

Prince Jing turned his gaze to Shiqie Li. "What do you have to say about Feihua?"

Shiqie Li, pale, said, "I—I had no idea she knew martial arts."

Realizing her precarious situation, tears welling in her eyes, she knelt and said, "Your Highness, this has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

"She was hiding it so deeply; the musk in my trunk was probably planted by her!"

"And now she suddenly attacks Shufei Xie. It must be because she was ordered by her mistress to kill Shufei Xie before she was completely exposed, a one-for-two trade."

"Or perhaps she was afraid that Shufei Xie's method would lead back to her mistress, so she deliberately exposed herself to protect her mistress!"

As she spoke, Shiqie Li's mind grew clearer.

She stepped forward and said, "Please, Your Highness, continue the investigation. It'll surely reveal whose hands this bracelet passed through!"

Prince Jing glanced at her. "Your words make some sense."

"Then let the investigation continue!"

At Prince Jing's order, the others had no choice but to brace themselves and go ahead.

Shufei Yun, Shiqie Li, and Shiqie An, one after another, dipped their hands in the water.

Wan Linlang pursed her lips nearby.

Even though she was just a lady doctor, she was quite proficient in medicine and had never heard of the thing Xie Run mentioned.

She also dipped her hands into the warm water quickly.

Shiqie Han, standing behind her, noticed Wan Linlang's expression, her heart pounding like it would jump out of her chest.

Stiffly, she placed her hands in the warm water and then withdrew them.

After a while, the women's hands showed no change.

Meanwhile, the physician had taken Xiaoshu to stop the bleeding, and Xie Run's clothes were stained with blood. She was helped to sit in a chair, silently watching the actions of the shiqie and shufei.

After they had soaked their hands, Xie Run slowly said, "Your Highness, there's no need to investigate further."

Everyone turned to look at Xie Run.

Xie Run said flatly, "There was no so-called medicinal powder."

"Everything I said was just a bluff."

"I was only gambling that the thief of the bracelet, if guilty and afraid they'd be exposed if they heard my words, would take action."

"Looks like my gamble paid off."

Even as she spoke, Xie Run felt a pang of regret.

Only Feihua was lost, without implicating the mistress behind her.

The group exchanged glances, they looked at Xie Run strangely, remembering how Feihua suddenly lashed out when told to soak her hands.

Among them, Shiqie Han's gaze was especially complicated, as if she was struggling to hold something back.

Xie Run raised her eyes and, through the crowd, her bright eyes fell on Shiqie Han.

Their eyes met, as if silent sparks flew between them.

Xie Run wanted to make another big gamble!

She suddenly said, "Please have the physician examine Shiqie Han again, to make sure the baby is not disturbed."

Shiqie Han shuddered, instantly hiding her emotions and putting on a fearful look.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Sister Xie."

"Are you sure?" Xie Run asked again.

Shiqie Han gritted her teeth. "Yes, no harm done."

Xie Run turned to Prince Jing. "Your Highness, I have a very bold request. I beg you to grant it!"

"What request?"

"Please have Shiqie Han body-searched!"

Prince Jing raised an eyebrow, while Shiqie Han was startled. "What?!"

Xie Run lowered her eyes. "I suspect Shiqie Han is faking her pregnancy!"

"Everything today was just a scheme by Shiqie Han because she could no longer maintain the pretense of pregnancy."

"If she jumped into the water, she could pretend to miscarry, then rescue Princess Ruyi from drowning, and frame me—killing three birds with one stone!"

"If a blood pack for faking a miscarriage is found on her, it would prove everything I said."

Having spoken, Xie Run looked up, staring intently at Shiqie Han.

"Sister Han, do you dare let yourself be searched?"

Shiqie Han stepped back, her makeup couldn't hide her paleness.

"Sister Xie, what do you mean by that?" She looked insulted. "When Sister Fang suspected me of faking pregnancy, she sent a physician to check my pulse."

"Is one humiliation not enough? Must I endure a second?"

Shiqie Han, looking deeply distressed, said in a hoarse voice to Prince Jing.

"Your Highness..."

Prince Jing suddenly stood up, looking down at Shiqie Han with a cold expression. "Consort, have someone search her."

He hadn't given Concubine Han the slightest chance to argue.

Xie Run slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Today was full of dangers, and she had gambled and won again!

Concubine Han's face went deathly pale.

She wanted to struggle but dared not.

She had calculated everything except that Xie Run would expose her so directly on this occasion.

The blood pack hidden on her person could no longer be concealed.

She stepped back step by step, intending to crash into the pillar behind her to induce a miscarriage and then put up a desperate fight.

Then she saw Xie Run, who seemed warm and gentle, yet her words were icy cold.

"If Concubine Han miscarries now, we must search her even more!"

"There are many coincidences in the world, but when they all happen to the same person, it's no longer a coincidence."

As soon as Xie Run finished speaking, Concubine An exclaimed, "Blood! Concubine Han is bleeding!"

Everyone's gaze fixated on Concubine Han's skirt.

The blood, bright red, spread like plum blossoms blooming slowly on the delicate skirt.

But at this moment, no one worried about the child in her womb.

Everyone stared knowingly at Concubine Han's belly.

They were eagerly awaiting the revelation of Concubine Han's feigned pregnancy.

Prince Jing said in a deep voice, "Please have the Princess send someone to attend to Concubine Han."

Ostensibly to care for her, but actually to prevent Concubine Han from pulling any more tricks.

The Princess's words were full of concern: "Mother Li, take Tinghe to look after Concubine Han, and be sure to clear Concubine Han of any wrongdoing."

Mother Li was brimming with determination, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Concubine Han's belly.

"Rest assured, Your Highness, this old servant won't let Concubine Han or the child in her womb suffer the slightest wrong!"

Several matrons followed Mother Li and forcibly escorted Concubine Han to the back bedroom.

After a moment, Mother Li stormed out and flung down a blood pack: "Concubine Han truly fooled the Prince and Princess, using a false pregnancy to try for the position of Shu Fei!"

It came as no surprise at all!

Someone exclaimed, "It really is a false pregnancy!"

"Concubine Han was too bold!"

Prince Jing's eyes darkened, and the atmosphere in the room became oppressively tense.

He silently rotated the jade thumb ring on his thumb; his imposing bearing was intimidating.

Another imperial physician lifted the curtain and came out, wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief: "Reporting to Your Highness, Concubine Han's pulse... indeed shows signs of a miscarriage."

Prince Jing stopped moving his hand, curled his lips into a cold smirk, and suddenly picked up the teacup beside him and smashed it onto the floor.

Bang!

The fine tea set broke into countless pieces on the ground, leaving a pile of shards.

"Very well!" Prince Jing was both amused and infuriated.

"Everyone in this entire mansion is a fool, being led around by the nose by a mere concubine!"

Concubine Han suddenly burst out of the room and knelt on the floor in misery: "Spare my life, Your Highness! Spare me!"