“Tong’er, I want to tell you a secret that might make you less angry at the Empress Dowager.”
Gu Qingtong instantly withdrew her gaze from Shen Yuqing’s hand. She still hated Guo Empress Dowager, and even Ji Chen’s defense couldn’t change that. However, she was curious about the secret: “Go ahead.”
“The Emperor is your biological brother.”
“He is my brother by the same mother,” Ji Chen’s words seemed nonsensical, and Gu Qingtong frowned.
“Tong’er, I mean the Emperor is the blood of Lord Gu. It’s actually for this reason that Ruan Niang didn’t cause trouble with her. When Guo Empress Dowager entered the palace, she was already pregnant. The Empress Dowager wasn’t noble enough to survive just for us two girls, but she couldn’t break Lord Gu’s lineage, so she endured. The Empress Dowager didn’t not love you, but the Emperor is Lord Gu’s son. So when facing a choice, she favored him.”
“I understand now.” Gu Qingtong nodded.
Even with her hatred, she had nowhere to direct it. She might as well take care of herself and her child, lowering her hand to touch her swollen belly.
Ji Chen only then noticed her condition, suddenly widening his eyes: “You are…”
“This is a child with Shang Heng. We had already become husband and wife,” Gu Qingtong’s expression was calm, but a smile played on her lips. “If not for this child, I would have followed Shang Heng. In this way, I’m just like the Empress Dowager.”
“Tong’er…” Ji Chen called her name, suddenly at a loss for words.
“Tong’er?” Shen Yuqing heard Ji Chen’s call, suddenly looked up, his eyes full of inquiry.
Gu Qingtong was startled by Shen Yuqing’s sudden behavior and stood up supporting her waist.
Ji Chen quickly restrained Shen Yuqing from approaching: “Brother Yuqing, Tong’er is right here. She’s pregnant now, don’t frighten her.”
“Tong’er, Tong’er is back?” Shen Yuqing suddenly grabbed Ji Chen’s hand.
“Yes, yes, Tong’er is back,” Ji Chen quickly tried to calm him.
After getting a confirmed answer, Shen Yuqing suddenly laughed.
Seeing his tendency to go mad and Ji Chen continuously urging her to leave, Gu Qingtong circled around the table towards the door.
“Tong’er!” Shen Yuqing suddenly noticed her, his eyes turning red.
Gu Qingtong slightly turned her head, and Shen Yuqing rushed to embrace her: “Tong’er, Tong’er!”
“Let me go, let me go,” Gu Qingtong felt her belly suddenly aching, biting her lip and trying to remove Shen Yuqing’s hands.
“Tong’er?” Shen Yuqing stared at her face, seeming to confirm if this person was truly the one in his heart. Slowly, he smiled, as if the figure in his mind merged with the person before him, “Tong’er, it’s you. You are the person in my heart.”
“Shen Yuqing, you, let me go…” Gu Qingtong felt warm liquid flowing beneath her, speaking weakly.
Ji Chen saw Gu Qingtong’s lower garment turning red and felt a sudden dread. He pulled Shen Yuqing away, throwing him aside, and embraced Gu Qingtong as she gradually collapsed: “Quick, someone come!”
“Save, save…” Old Master Jiang trembled, hesitating: That was Shang Heng’s child, his grandson, how could he bear to let go, but how could he let Gu Qingtong sacrifice herself.
“Master, decide quickly, or we can’t save anyone!” One of the midwives shouted inside.
“Save the child!”
Just as Old Master Jiang was about to decide, he suddenly heard Gu Qingtong’s heart-wrenching cry, and tears immediately streamed down his face, unable to speak.
“If there’s still a child, I’ll be at ease with you all taking care of me, but without a child, I might as well die…” After Gu Qingtong finished speaking, she began to wail.
The midwives, though knowing it was cruel, followed her decision.
With each cry, Old Master Jiang was at a loss. Suddenly, a midwife brought out a child and handed it to them: “Master, it’s a young master.”
Old Master Jiang and Lin Yiniang cried and laughed, but saw clear water going in and bloody water coming out, so much blood that Gu Qingtong ultimately could not be saved.
“Master, Yiniang, if you want to see her one last time, go in now. Not much time left,” another midwife came out and washed them with clear water, speaking in a hoarse voice.
“I want to see the child,” Gu Qingtong felt her strength gradually leaving her body, but she still wanted to see their child.
Lin Yiniang carefully held the child and went in, crying uncontrollably.
Gu Qingtong looked at the child, with a tiny nose and tiny mouth, eyes still closed, unable to tell if he looked like his father or mother, but that was enough: “Master, Yiniang, you must take good care of him.”
“We will, we will,” Lin Yiniang cried almost to the point of fainting beside her bed.
Gu Qingtong slightly closed her eyes, but suddenly her hand was grabbed tightly by someone. She slowly opened her eyes: “Shen Yuqing?”
“Tong’er, it’s my fault. I killed Jiang Shang Heng, and now I’ve killed you. Hate me, scold me, hit me!”
“What use is hating you now?
Gu Qingtong turned her head, every part of her body in pain, her heart feeling like it was being torn apart.
Shen Yuqing didn’t expect her to say this, and suddenly knelt down: “Old Master Jiang, Yiniang, I beg you to let me raise this child. I will treat him as my own son and treat you as my own parents. I only wish to make up for my past mistakes.”
Old Master Jiang moved his lips but didn’t agree. Lin Yiniang stepped back: “You’ve never had a child, and you’re not even married. How can you raise a child?”
Shen Yuqing stood stunned for a moment, then pulled Ji Chen over: “I’ll marry her. We’ll raise him together.”
Ji Chen, with teary eyes, though feeling somewhat unfair to her, nodded: “Though Tong’er and I were born in the same year, month, and day, we cannot die together. Now that she is like this, I and Brother Yuqing will definitely take care of you two elders and the young master in her place. We just hope you’ll give us this chance.”
Gu Qingtong’s eyelids grew heavier, but she still heard their words. She raised her hand weakly: “Master, Yiniang, please agree to them.”
Old Master Jiang and Lin Yiniang nodded helplessly. As Gu Qingtong’s hand fell, the room erupted in tears, and the child seemed to sense his mother’s departure, letting out a loud cry.
Do you know that I gave birth to a child for you, and then died myself!
“You gave birth to a child for me?” For Jiang Shangheng, the events of the previous life were already quite distant, but the person before him was vivid, and the scenes from the previous life were still clear in his mind. But a child – they actually had a child.
“Yes, but unfortunately he now has neither father nor mother!” Gu Qingtong pounded his shoulder, seething with anger.
“My parents must have come looking for you.”
“He will only have his grandfather and grandmother to love him now…” Gu Qingtong thought of the child she had only seen once and burst into tears, with all the past suffering and grievances now erupting.
“Qingqing, having a child to show filial piety to our parents puts my mind at ease. Most importantly, we are together again.”
“You bastard, why didn’t you come find me earlier? If you had come earlier, I wouldn’t have crossed over, and I wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
Jiang Shangheng knew her pain and could only gently comfort her: “Okay, I’m a rogue, but you just woke up and need a body check. Stop crying, okay?”
“I want to cry!” Gu Qingtong cried, then looked at his short hair, not as handsome as before but neat and clean. Her beloved, after all the twists and turns, was finally back with her. She suddenly burst out laughing.
“Good, being able to laugh is good. Let me check your body.”
“Jiang Shangheng said, having her lie flat and carefully examining her to ensure no problems, then taking a day off to discharge her from the hospital.
