Chapter 65: The Night the Case Was Exposed

  "Chu Taishi, you've arrived." Qing Sang didn't wait for him to bow before dismissing him.

  Chu Lianyu came to the 'bed' and opened the 'door' to see Shan Duiqingsang saying: "If the princess still wants to keep this fetus, please lie on the 'bed' to nourish the fetus. You can't make any more moves. Otherwise, I'm also helpless."

  Qingsang saw Zhu Lianyu's serious face and knew that he was not a person who spoke recklessly, so his heart couldn't help but tense up with fear.

  "Is it that serious?" Qing Sang asked.

  Chu Lianyu nodded, slowed down her speech, and said as calmly as possible: "The princess needs to rest, take the medicine I prescribed on time, and there may still be a chance. If the princess is not careful again, if there are any more 'ups and downs', the consequences..." Chu Lianyu had heard about Qing Sang's experience in the Jiao Luo Wang Fu that day, saw that she was flogged, and felt remorseful. If he couldn't keep the child in Qing Sang's belly safe, he would really have to blame himself for a long time. Having grown up in the palace since childhood, Chu Lianyu had also seen many storms in the palace. After this storm, Jiao Luo, who was once the most favored in Bei Rong, actually fell from power, showing just how brutal the scene was at the time.

  Qing Sang nodded desperately after hearing Chu Lianyu's words, and her small hands unconsciously rubbed her belly.

  "Everything depends on the imperial physician's decision, Bao Ling will definitely follow." Although this lying in bed to nurture the fetus is not suffocating the green mulberry tree to death, but the child's life can be compared to nothing more important.

  Chu Lianyu finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered Cao Xiang to go decoct the medicine.

  "Chu Taiyi, have you taken a look at the 'girl' I brought back yesterday?" Qing Sang thought of Qing Bi being kicked by Huo Rong and getting seriously injured, and couldn't help but worry.

  "Are you referring to Qingbi?" Chu Lianyu asked.

  "Exactly, I don't know how she is?" Qing Sang asked anxiously.

  "That girl is also pitiful, her whole body is injured, but none of them are serious, just need to drink some medicine, apply some medicinal ointment, rest for a few days and she'll be fine." Chu Lianyu said.

  "She must have suffered a lot. The people of Koro are not that easy to get along with." Qingsang couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

  Chu Lianyu looked at her and said in a low voice: "This is something that I, your humble servant, should not say, but it concerns the princess's life..."

  Qingsang's eyes were filled with tears as he slowly lifted his head.

  Chu Lianyu lowered her head and said: "Your current identity is a princess, she is the second miss of the Pu family..."

  Qing Sang suddenly understood that Chu Lianyu knew her identity, and also knew that Qing Bi was her second sister. He worried that Qing Sang would not be able to bear it and recognize Qing Bi, thus making a big mistake.

  "Thank you for your advice, Doctor Zhu." Qing Sang said.

  "Your humble servant has spoken too much." Chu Lianyu nodded and said.

  Qing Sang shook his head and said, "Director Chu left his hometown, far away from his wife and children, and came to this desolate place with me. He works hard every day, taking care of everyone, thinking ahead and making plans for everyone. How can your words be excessive? Both I and the son-in-law should thank Director Chu."

  Chu Lianyu was ashamed and couldn't show her face, but it was just a moment of humility.

  The two chatted for a while, and Cao Xiang brought in the well-cooked "medicine" on a tray, serving Qing Sang to drink it.

  Chu Lianyu wanted to leave, but Qing Sang said she wanted to go see Qing Bi.

  "Does the princess not remember what I said? These past few days, the princess must rest in bed." Chu Lianyu said. Seeing Qing Sang was also worried about her sister, she softened her voice and said: "The princess only needs to take care of her body, wait until tomorrow when Qing Bi's condition improves, I will ask her to come see you. You can't talk now, I gave her medicine to calm her mind and spirit, she needs to sleep for a while."

  Qing Sang listened and finally stopped, thanked Chu Lianyu, and then lay down on the bed to rest and nurture her pregnancy.

  At noon, Cao Xiang brought some dishes in. Qing Sang's appetite was poor and she had severe morning sickness, but for the sake of the child, she gritted her teeth and ate. After finishing eating, she suddenly thought that she hadn't seen Ma Xi all along, so she asked: "Cao Xiang, where is Ma Xi?"

  "Madam Mei has gone to see the Empress Dowager early this morning. I heard that her husband and daughter have arrived." said Cao Xiang.

  Qing Sang only then remembered that yesterday morning she had heard the Empress Dowager say that Ma Xi's family would be returning home today, and so hadn't asked any further questions.

  "Princess, I'll wait outside for a while, don't know if you want to see me." Cao Xiang handed over the water for Qing Sang to rinse her mouth and then handed her a handkerchief to wipe her mouth.

  "Quickly send him in." Qing Sang heard this and immediately sent Chang An in.

  Chang An entered the house and greeted respectfully, standing in front of Qing Sang waiting for instructions.

  "Listening to Cao Xiang say, you've been familiar with things in the mansion since early morning?" Qing Sang asked.

  "As for the princess's words, I was ill as soon as I arrived in Beijiang and couldn't serve by her side. Instead, I had to trouble the princess and Doctor Chu to take care of me. I'm ashamed when I think about it, so I didn't dare slack off due to illness. That's why I got up early to see if there was anything I could do around the mansion." Chang An said with deep gratitude.

  "Ah, let's not say such things again, Chang An and Cao Xiang. We've come from afar to be here, so we must support each other. From now on, we're family. There's no need for words of gratitude, just do your best." Qing Sang said.

  Cao Xiang and Chang An had always lived at the bottom of society, thinking they were inferior, but unexpectedly, the princess didn't look down on them. She said they were a family, and that feeling of warmth and being moved was not necessary to mention. They just thought about taking good care of the princess and protecting her completely.

  "Chang An, tell me what really happened that night?" Qing Sang had already guessed roughly what had happened on the night of her wedding, but she still needed Chang An to confirm it. These past few days, she hadn't been idle and hadn't had a chance to ask.

  "I couldn't help but shed tears as I thought about that night. On the night of the princess's grand wedding, many northern generals came to attend the banquet. We slaves were not familiar with the affairs of the mansion, so the steward, Zhuan Lu, told us to go rest in the servants' quarters early. We had been running around for several days and were indeed tired, so we didn't think much and went to rest. Who knew that deep into the night, I suddenly heard a commotion outside, got up quietly, and crept to the door. Through the gap in the door, I saw Zhuan Lu leading two drunken northern men to our servants' quarters. I heard Zhuan Lu say, 'These are all palace maids who came with the princess as her dowry, they're definitely worth a taste.' One of the northern men said, 'Hmm, Zhuan Lu, go call out a few of them. The women from the Xiangyang Pavilion are all old news to me.' Then, Zhuan Lu went forward to knock on the door. It was Shantao who came to open it. I saw that she hadn't changed her clothes yet, and must have just returned not long ago. She asked Zhuan Lu what he wanted, and he told her to go keep the two northern men company for a few cups of wine. Shantao refused, but those two... beasts... northern men actually went forward and hugged Shantao, wanting to take her away."

  Qingsang heard Chang'an say later on no longer called Zhan Lu as housekeeper

  It didn't matter what the two Northern Rong generals were called, but they had been replaced by Rong people. She knew he hated this group of beasts extremely, and she wasn't any better off. Seeing that Chang An was furious, she let Cao Xiang pour him a cup of water.

  Chang An took a sip of water and continued: "I saw the situation, didn't care about anything else, hurriedly opened the door to block them, but was kicked to the ground by one of the Xiongnu men. And another Xiongnu man actually tore Shan Tao's clothes in front of me... pressed her onto the stone slab, did it to her... I couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything!" By this point, Chang An was sobbing uncontrollably.

  Cao Xiang listened and also couldn't help but wipe away tears.

  She only heard about it from Dr. Chu after she recovered, and briefly told her about the miserable incident. At that time, Chang'an was seriously injured and Qiao Lu was absent-minded, so she didn't ask questions. Now, listening to Chang'an's account, she also felt sad and couldn't help but burst into tears.

  Qing Sang suppressed his sorrow and anger, comforting him by saying: "Chang An, this has nothing to do with you. You've already done your best. What happened afterwards?"

  Chang An wiped away tears with his sleeve and continued: "I rushed forward to try and open the door, but was knocked to the ground by Zhu Lu. The palace maids and eunuchs inside heard the commotion and came out of their rooms to see what was happening. When they saw the scene before them, they all rushed out, but unfortunately, we were no match for them in terms of martial arts skills. Within a short time, our group of ten people was defeated by the three of them. However, due to our large numbers, they couldn't do anything more to Shan Tao for the time being. Just then, another dozen or so soldiers arrived, swaggering into the courtyard and shouting that no one could stop them from having fun. When they saw the palace maids, they were like mad dogs, pouncing on them... The scene was chaotic, and we couldn't save any of them. We thought about running out to get help, but as soon as we reached the gate, Zhu Lu ordered it closed. We ran back and picked up whatever objects we could use to resist - clubs, rocks, jars - and fought against that group of beasts. Unfortunately, our strength was too disparate, and soon some were injured, others dead, and the palace maids had been ravished by them. Later, after they tired of playing with the palace maids, they came to mock us eunuchs, humiliating us in public... I couldn't bear the shame, so I picked up a hairpin that one of the palace maids had dropped on the ground and stabbed one of the soldiers with it. This enraged him, and he hacked at me with his sword... After that, I didn't know anything else."

  Chang An recalled that night's events, only to feel his heart and strength exhausted, his face slightly pale, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

  That night was really miserable. Qing Sang saw it on the second day, but he could only blame himself for being too careless and causing everyone to die like this.

  "Chang An, you go rest first. I will definitely avenge this grudge for everyone. Those Northern Rong beasts, I will make them pay in blood." Qing Sang gritted her teeth and said. She was extremely angry at those arrogant and inhumane Rong people, especially that Zhāng Lǔ. Originally, everything was his doing. Thinking of how he had ordered the gates to be closed when Chang An and the others were about to escape to seek help made her hate him even more, her teeth ached with rage.

  "By the way, Chang An, since we arrived at this mansion, many things have happened that are not satisfactory to you two. The several carts of jewelry and fine silks that we brought from Xuan Chao were all confiscated by King Rong for the national treasury. So now I'm not even clear how much family property is left in the mansion. Take some time to make a record of all the large and small assets in the mansion, as well as the daily expenses and each person's monthly salary. Once everything is clearly recorded, hand it over to me so that I can have a sense of security. Besides seeking revenge, Qing Sang knew that for now, the most important thing was how to get by day after day."

  Chang An led the order and left.

  Qing Sang listened to Chang An's account of the events that night, and felt a knot in her heart. She thought she would get out of bed and move around, but as soon as she sat up, she felt a severe pain in her lower abdomen, followed by a feeling of something flowing out from under her body. Alarmed, she hastily called out: "Cao Xiang, quickly summon Doctor Chu, quickly!"

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