The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

"Why should I call you?" Xie Ling frowned.

What would they do together if they were just the two of them?

If he had explained things kindly, Qin Lianyue wouldn't have broken down so easily. This blunt answer completely overwhelmed her.

"Cousin, I'm your woman too, why are you showing such favoritism?"

Li Degui chuckled; this was the first time he'd ever seen someone so openly vying for favor. His Majesty would naturally bring along whoever he liked, and if he didn't, it simply meant he didn't like them.

Such a simple truth.

Xie Ling's expression remained calm, revealing no displeasure, but her voice was cold: "Do I need your interference in what I do?"

He has never had patience for anyone other than Qi Yitang.

"I..." Qin Lianyue choked and dared not make a fuss anymore.

Her cousin was her cousin, but he was also the emperor. As a concubine, she certainly had no right to question him.

The atmosphere was tense, the silence carrying a hint of eeriness.

Qi Yitang yawned repeatedly, wanting to go back to sleep, and said, "We didn't think that much about it before, but we'll take you next time, okay?"

Qin Lianyue glared fiercely at Qi Yitang, "I don't need your fake kindness!"

"..." Qi Yitang was speechless. Was it wrong for her to kindly give her a way out?

Just then, a burst of barking came from beside me, "Woof—woof woof—"

It seemed someone was chasing them. "You beastly dog, you actually bit Wangcai to death! I'll beat you to death!"

"Woof!" The dog's bark was hoarse and urgent, carrying a kind of indescribable madness.

"—Stop right there, don't run!"

There's a dog!

[Female supporting character, run! A mad dog is coming this way!]

The dog was of medium size, its fur filthy and matted, revealing its thin, bony ribs. Its head was tilted to one side, sticky white foam clung to the corner of its mouth, and drool spurted out in silvery strands as it ran.

The most horrifying thing was the eyes; the pupils were abnormally dilated, the eyeballs were almost entirely black, and the surface was covered with a murky grayish-white film, as if something was rotting from inside.

Qi Yitang only felt a blur before her eyes, and a dark shadow darted in front of her like lightning.

"Tangtang, watch out!"

She was pulled back quickly by someone's arm around her waist, and her whole body was wrapped in a warm embrace.

The man's strength was almost brutal; he gripped her waist firmly with one hand and pressed her face tightly against his chest with the other.

There weren't many people in their area, but they were still thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of the rabid dog. The crowd screamed and scattered in all directions, "Ah—"

Qi Yitang was so frightened that she closed her eyes tightly and clung to Xie Ling's clothes.

A short while later, a muffled thud was heard, and something crashed heavily to the ground.

Then, all around became quiet.

"Okay, it's alright now."

The screams around them gradually subsided. Qi Yitang, still shaken, didn't dare to open her eyes for several seconds.

Then they saw that Yuan Shu's sword tip was still dripping blood, and the dog was lying on the ground, its limbs stiff and twitching slightly, its cloudy eyes still wide open, but its pupils had already dilated.

Yuan Shu delivered a final blow, "The mad dog is dead. I'm sorry Your Majesty was frightened."

This dog has rabies, right? A bite from it is 100% fatal. Quickly cremate the body!

[We can't burn it, we need to find out where it came from; it just appeared out of nowhere.]

[It must have been an accident. We saw a rabid dog in our neighborhood last year.]

Xie Ling clearly realized this as well, and ordered the guards to take the body back for examination, and interrogate it together with the butcher who had chased the dog.

"ah--"

Suddenly, a scream came from Qin Lianyue's direction; it was her personal maid.

"The Empress's blood...there's blood..."

Qin Lianyue must have been frightened by the dog and fell to the ground. Looking at the blood seeping from between her legs, she was terrified, as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of her body. Her face was as white as paper. "Cousin, the child..."

"It hurts so much... Please save our child..."

This child is her life; there can be absolutely no mistakes.

Before Xie Ling could react, Qi Yitang's eyes widened like copper bells. What child?

The next second, she remembered that time she and Xie Jingyu...

She was suddenly shocked. No way! Qin Lianyue was pregnant so quickly?!

……

It was past midnight, and the palace, which should have been quiet, was now brightly lit.

The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Imperial Physicians, and others gathered at Chengqian Palace, where a faint smell of blood permeated the air.

Qin Lianyue lay on the bed, her face pale, the bloodstains on her clothes already dried.

"Your Majesty, Consort Li was frightened, which disturbed the fetus, but it's nothing serious. I've already administered acupuncture to protect the pregnancy, and I'll prescribe some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy later. Just take good care of yourself," the imperial physician added. "The abrasion on her elbow is also nothing to worry about; just apply some ointment."

The Empress Dowager finally felt relieved, and her tightly clenched hands relaxed.

"Okay, okay, it's good that you're alright."

The palace maids followed the imperial physician to fetch and brew the medicine, while the remaining palace maids lit incense that was harmless to pregnant women to dispel the bloody smell in the palace.

The moment Qin Lianyue was carried back covered in blood from the lower half of her body, the Empress Dowager's hair turned white with worry.

In the evening, Qin Lianyue came to find her, saying that the Emperor had taken Qi Yitang out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns, and she also wanted to leave the palace. At that time, the Empress Dowager was already having a headache from all the fuss and looked down on this kind of behavior of arguing even about this, so she casually dismissed her.

Who would have thought that Qin Lianyue was already carrying the little prince she had been longing for, and that she almost lost him during her trip out.

Although it was the Empress Dowager who allowed him to leave the palace, those in power would not hold themselves accountable; instead, they would direct their anger at others.

"What on earth happened? How could she have miscarried like this? How did you all take care of her!" The Empress Dowager angrily rebuked the palace servants who were attending to Qin Lianyue.

"Your Majesty, please forgive us..." The palace maids and eunuchs knelt on the ground inside the hall.

Qi Yitang was thinking of kneeling symbolically as well, but Xie Ling held her elbow.

"Your Majesty, this was an accident. Just as we were about to return to the palace, a wild dog suddenly went berserk and pounced on us. Consort Li was so frightened that she lost her balance and that's when she suffered a miscarriage."

It sounds like nobody's to blame.

A sick dog went berserk and lunged at people, losing its balance – something no one expected.

But the Empress Dowager had nowhere to vent her anger, so she looked at the unharmed Qi Yitang and said, "Consort Qi, you were there at the time. How come Consort Li suffered from miscarriage and abrasions, but you were unharmed?"

Qi Yitang: "..." She's fine. Is she disappointed?

Knowing that Qin Lianyue is the Empress Dowager's niece, there's no need to be so biased.

No wonder Xie Ling wasn't close to the Empress Dowager; this biased attitude has never changed since he was a child.

Qi Yitang lowered her eyes and said meekly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. When I was a child, I was chased by wild dogs and I am terrified of dogs. I instinctively hid in Your Majesty's arms and didn't pay attention to Sister Lianyue for a moment."

The Empress Dowager's face darkened further. She hid in the Emperor's arms, leaving Yue'er nowhere to hide.

How could a pregnant woman possibly dodge as quickly as someone as strong and healthy?

Only thinking of oneself and not others—selfish!

"Mother, I know you're just worried, but what does this have to do with Tangtang?"

Xie Ling said, "The imperial physicians said that Consort Li is fine, and I am also tired, so I will go back to rest."

These words displeased the Empress Dowager. Yue'er was pregnant with his child, but he didn't seem to care much. What do you mean by being tired? Is this how a husband should act?

Just as he was about to reprimand Xie Ling, a weak voice called out from behind, "Cousin..."