Work overtime

Chapter 714

That night Meng Zhao was in agony. Jiang Yu stood by helpless, crying like a child.

He failed in the end.

He was in so much pain.

All the Ma Fei San that Meng Zhao had taken was vomited out, and not only that, he also began to vomit blood. It was exactly the same as Concubine Yi's situation at that time.

Meng Zhao sent someone to invite the emperor while crying.

Qingying took the official sedan chair of Imperial Physician Jiang Yu and ran to Wutong Pavilion to invite the emperor. Wutong Pavilion was still in a meeting.

There were many topics to be discussed tonight. The key was that Li Beichen kept falling asleep, and after waking up, the ministers had to report again and again for fear of missing anything.

Li Beichen gave the order. No one was allowed to meet during the meeting.

The meeting was tiring enough. If he had to receive the imperial concubines and deal with various trivial matters, he would not have to go to bed early, and his ministers would have to do the same.

Qingying begged, knelt, and sent gifts, but to no avail. The guards at the door kept saying, "If you have any problems, go to Qi Wanyi." They had no choice but to follow the emperor's orders, and no one else could stop them.

Qingying cried like a tearful person at the door, and finally made up her mind to die in Wutong Pavilion tonight, and invited the emperor to come.

So he rushed in desperately, but was held by the guards, who were about to tie him up, still shouting hysterically, "Something happened to Concubine De!"

The sound was so shrill that it finally alarmed the emperor.

The emperor immediately sent Liang Xiaobao out to check.

At this time, Qingying's hair was disheveled and her shoes were off. She knelt on the ground, crawled to Liang Xiaobao, hugged his legs, and begged, "Eunuch Liang, my queen is dying suddenly. Please, Your Majesty, go and see her."

"You wait here, don't go away." Liang Xiaobao was horrified after hearing this. This day finally came.

After hearing Liang Xiaobao's whisper, Li Beichen was stunned for a moment, waved to his ministers, and told them to go back and discuss it first and come back tomorrow morning.

After the ministers left, Li Beichen was afraid that Jiang Yuebai would be angry, so he explained to her seriously, "I'm going to see how Concubine De is doing. The Meng family has been kind to me. I'm counting on Meng Xin to fight against the Japanese pirates. You should go to bed early."

Is that all? Of course not. His feelings for Meng Zhao are different from those for others.

Li Beichen likes Meng Zhao. It is hard for a man not to like Meng Zhao.

Meng Zhao was extremely beautiful, with a tall and graceful figure. In front of outsiders, she was a proud and arrogant young lady from a marquis's mansion, but in front of him, she was a naive and passionate girl who loved him wholeheartedly.

She is different from Qi Wanyi and Xie Guiren. She was raised like a little princess, so she is simple-minded, pure and kind like a pool of clear water, and her emotions are clearly expressed. Even if she tries hard to learn scheming, her brain and experience cannot keep up.

When Li Beichen went out, he saw Meng Xin kneeling on the ground.

"Why is this happening, Lord Zhongyi?"

"I beg the emperor to take me to see Zhao'er for the last time." It turned out that Meng Xin saw Qingying when he came out.

From the way Qingying stood there in panic and pain, to the way she knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly when she recognized him, Meng Xin guessed that something had happened to his daughter.

"Let's go."

It just so happened that Meng Xin could ride in the sedan chair that Qingying brought, and Qingying could walk back.

When they saw Meng Zhao, Li Beichen and Meng Xin couldn't believe their eyes.

She was so painful that she was out of shape.

A pair of beautiful almond-shaped eyes were now bloodshot, her face was distorted with pain, and she let out painful howls.

Jiang Yu was crying silently beside him.

The moment she saw Li Beichen and her father, she came back to her senses. Her eyes instantly brightened and were filled with joy, but also with shame and embarrassment.

She didn't want to show herself like this. She should be beautiful, lovely, and wonderful.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was so sad.

"Your Majesty~Daddy~"

"Daughter. You have suffered." Meng Xin, who was always cold and calm in front of others, was now heartbroken for his daughter with tears in his eyes, and his tone could not hide the panic.

"Dad, I know I was wrong." Meng Zhao said to her father with a wry smile.

Daddy, you are right. The emperor is not my beloved, and the harem is a place where people are eaten. My daughter really shouldn't have entered the palace for her own obsession, causing trouble for the whole family, and even losing her life at a young age.

The daughter has regretted it, but it's too late.

Li Beichen's legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. He walked towards Meng Zhao step by step.

"Your Majesty, you can't go over there." Jiang Yu said anxiously.

"Marquis Changping, you step down first."

Meng Xin took a deep look at his devastated daughter, feeling suffocated by the heartache.

Li Beichen took off his cloak and put it on Meng Zhao. He held her in his arms despite Jiang Yu's dissuasion.

Meng Zhao's body was shaking, her teeth were chattering, and the pain had almost made her collapse.

"Your Majesty..." Meng Zhao called out with a sob, leaning his face on Li Beichen's chest.

"I am so scared."

Li Beichen held her arm, "Don't be afraid. I'm with you."

"I am dying." The pain made her shiver again, tears welling up in her eyes. She held back and didn't scream.

"No. You're still young."

"Yeah. I... I... am still young." It felt like there were millions of hands stirring and tearing inside my stomach.

She convulsed all over, "I'm in so much pain."

As soon as she finished speaking, she broke free from Li Beichen's embrace, leaned over, and vomited violently...

He never spoke again and never got up.

She leaned over the edge of the couch with her head lowered.

"Zhao'er? Meng Zhao?"

Li Beichen tried to help in a panic, but Jiang Yu held him tightly, "Your Majesty, you are weak. There are dangers everywhere. You have to leave here quickly."

Jiang Yu looked at Eunuch Liang in panic, "Eunuch Liang, please advise the emperor to take good care of his health."

Eunuch Liang quickly called Xiao Yinzi over and came to the emperor's side to persuade him:
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is still waiting for you at Wutong Pavilion. She has instructed me to advise you to be patient and take care of yourself and go back home as soon as possible."

"Okay." Li Beichen felt extremely tired, his legs were weak, and he just wanted to go back and have a good sleep.

"The Concubine De was promoted to Concubine Xian. She was buried with great honor." Concubine Xian was the leader of the four concubines, so this was considered a honor given to her before her death.

At this moment, Li Beichen thought of Concubine Zhen who had disobeyed the emperor's order and refused to see him even at death, and he felt sad. There was really no other woman in the harem like Concubine Zhen.

"Call the Marquis of Changping in." Li Beichen pointed at the small seal, "You stay here. I'll take the token and arrange for a sedan chair to take the Marquis of Changping out of the palace."

After saying that, Liang Xiaobao helped him back to Wutong Pavilion.

Meng Xin almost ran in.

The room was unusually busy.

The maids had already helped Meng Zhao lie on the bed and were cleaning her face. Meng Zhao lay motionless, as if she was asleep.

Meng Xin slowed down his pace, tears streaming down his face. Sitting beside the couch, he held Meng Zhao's hand and shook his head, "My Zhao'er."

It seemed that as long as he shook his head, his daughter would not leave.

The blood and dirt in the room were quickly cleaned up. Jiang Yu had been wearing a mask, and the strange smell kept coming into the room.

Meng Xin seemed to be unable to smell it at all.

He held his daughter's hand for a long time, lowered his head and cried silently.

Soon after, it was heard that all the palace servants who served Meng Zhao were executed. When Qingying came back, she happened to see the guards cleaning up the bodies.

When she saw the familiar face, she instantly realized that the queen had passed away. The emperor was furious, so he killed all the palace maids.

When the guard met her eyes, she waved her hands in panic, "Don't do it, I'll do it myself."

The guard hesitated, then handed her a dagger.

"Wait for me, miss. I'm here to accompany you."

Her whole body was shaking as she spoke, and when she finished, she stabbed herself in the chest with extraordinary determination.

The guard who handed her the dagger came forward, closed her eyes, pulled out the dagger, and piled her up with the others.

Meng Xin sat in front of his daughter's bed, looking at her pale and thin face.

He had many more words to say to his daughter in his heart.

"Zhao'er, you've lost weight. Eat more when you get there. Don't make yourself miserable. If you need anything, tell your father in your dream and he will prepare it for you."

"Zhao'er, Daddy couldn't bear to let you go. Daddy gave you the antidote. Why didn't you make it? Didn't we agree to it?"

"It's Daddy's fault. I shouldn't have brought you to the palace to watch the lanterns and attend the banquet during the Mid-Autumn Festival. If it wasn't for that, you wouldn't have liked the emperor and insisted on entering the palace."

"Zhao'er, the person you like is the most unlikable person in this world. Emperors are heartless. Do you know that? Yet you foolishly think that he loves you. My silly Zhao'er."

"When I heard that you were pregnant, your mother and I were very happy. We were looking forward to holding our little grandson."

Meng Xin said a lot in his heart, blurting out all the words he had not had the time to say to his daughter in the past.

As he spoke, he couldn't help crying out loud.

After crying, I just sat there, like an empty-nest elderly person waiting for my children to come home.

But that lively, cute and spoiled daughter will never come back.

"Marquis Changping, it's time to go. If you don't leave now, the palace gates will be locked." Xiao Yinzi reminded respectfully.

"Father, I want to bring something back for Zhao'er's mother as a keepsake."

"Please do as you please, My Lord." Xiao Yinzi said politely.

Meng Xin took out one of his daughter's hairpins and a copy of the Buddhist scripture from the box on the dressing table and wrapped them in the handkerchief he was carrying.

When passing by the picture of Guanyin hanging on the wall, Meng Xin was surprised to find that the painting was actually painted by the emperor himself, and the seal on it was the emperor's casual seal. The brushstrokes were delicate, smooth and meticulous.

He looked at the date carefully, which comforted him a little. The emperor still cared about Zhao'er. Zhao'er's love for him was not in vain.

He was a man, he knew that the emperor couldn't love only one person. He also knew that the emperor truly loved Concubine Ning. But if he also loved Zhao'er, even if it wasn't much, Zhao'er would have gotten what she wanted.

"Please lead the way, sir." Meng Xin blinked and returned to his usual calm demeanor.

The yard was clean and silent, with only a row of guards standing guard at the door.

Meng Xin followed Xiao Yinzi out and looked reluctantly in the direction of his daughter, but saw bright flames.

He quickly asked, "Eunuch, is Changchun Palace on fire?"

Xiao Yinzi shook her head, "The Emperor was afraid that the Madam would be lonely over there, with no one to take care of her, so he sent all the servants with her."

"Is that so?" Meng Xin sighed.

Those things in Zhao'er Palace will eventually be cleared away as garbage. That palace will not be uninhabited in the future. It would be great if he could take all of Zhao'er's things home.

Meng Xin looked back with nostalgia and shed two tears.

*
After Li Beichen returned to Wutong Pavilion, he allowed Liang Xiaobao to pat and beat him, and chanted something before entering. This was all told to Liang Xiaobao by the Imperial Observatory, saying that it could help disperse the filth and evil spirits outside and reduce the impact on the fetus in the imperial concubine's belly.

He first ordered the palace maids to burn incense in the next room, and then Liang Xiaobao helped him bathe and change clothes. He recited the "Purification Mantra" many times, and only returned to his room when he felt he had washed himself clean.

When he entered the room, Li Beichen had already adjusted his mood. He thought Jiang Yuebai must have gone to bed at this late hour, but he saw her reading a book.

"Waiting for me?"

"Ah."

Jiang Yuebai put down the book in his hand and looked at Li Beichen, "How is Concubine De?"

"Let's go." Li Beichen said tiredly.

Jiang Yuebai asked hesitantly, "Is it painful?"

"Yeah." Li Beichen felt his eyes getting moist again.

"Marquis Changping went with him?"

"went."

Li Beichen was already wearing his night clothes and he lay directly on the couch.

Jiang Yuebai suddenly held him in his arms, letting his head rest on his chest, "Hug me. You must be very sad."

Li Beichen put his face on the soft place and hugged Jiang Yuebai. Jiang Yuebai's belly was already very big at this time, pressing against his belly.

He was obviously very sad tonight, but he never shed a tear, only his eyes were moist from time to time.

Jiang Yuebai was the same. She felt very sad when she heard about Concubine De. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if Sister Yi also died in such misery and pain one day.