Chapter 239 – Return My Wife

"You didn't know?" Li Jing, barely able to stand, leaned the full weight of his upper body against Cui Jin'er. His face was drawn, yet he lifted it with a faint smile, eyes narrowed as he spoke, "You're carrying a chubby little girl. Immortal Wang has divined it."

Wang Qianshan had once foretold that Li Jing would father both a son and a daughter, the daughter being the firstborn of the main line. Li Jing's brows furrowed, but his face was lit with joy. The corners of his lips stretched in a smile, as though he could no longer restrain the affection already blooming for this unborn child.

"I wasn't asking if it's a girl," Cui Jin'er grabbed Li Jing by the collar and hauled him upright. "I want to know—why doesn't her grandmother want her to be born?"

Ye Jiao hastily supported Cui Jin'er to keep her from being crushed under Li Jing's weight and chided, "Fifth Brother, don't speak nonsense. Sober up quickly."

Then, she glanced around and ordered, "All of you, leave. Brew sobering soup for His Highness."

The servants and maids hurriedly departed and shut the doors tightly behind them.

Li Jing, still clutching his robes where Cui Jin'er had seized him, bore a red mark on his neck where the fabric had bitten in. Yet he showed no sign of pain. Instead, he looked at Cui Jin'er with a gaze full of remorse and tenderness.

"This child has come with great difficulty. For her, we endured ten years of bitter medicine, ten years of acupuncture. You even forced me to swallow Miao worms and drink a boy's urine. I told you—all your folk remedies were nonsense, and we should just stick to the prescriptions and needles. But in the end, she came… all because of Xiao Jiu. He made us stop the medicine, stop the treatments!"

Li Jing sank down with a smile of bitter resignation, grasping one of Cui Jin'er's hands. "So it turns out, we didn't need medicine or needles to have a child. It wasn't our bodies that stood in the way—it was my mother."

"Impossible!" Cui Jin'er flung off his hand and hissed in a low voice, "The Empress cares about our health. Every time the prince consorts go to pay respects at Lizheng Hall, she subtly asks how I'm doing, whether I've taken my medicine on time, and she's already prepared gifts for her legitimate grandchild."

Li Jing pulled a face and tears fell. "Jin'er, oh my Jin'er… how pitiful you are."

Drugged into infertility by the very one who constantly urged her to bear a child, feigning concern and affection, deceiving them into believing they were to blame, burdened with guilt and shame—only to continue swallowing the poison year after year. It broke not just their bodies, but their hearts.

And not just Jin'er—he, too, had been pitiful.

"Don't be vague!" Cui Jin'er demanded again. "Tell me clearly. What exactly happened?"

"Fourth Brother…" Li Jing rasped. "When he was arrested in the Eastern Palace, he said the reason we had no children all these years… was because of our mother and my elder brother. Jiao was there too. Ye Jiao, wasn't that what he said?"

Ye Jiao lowered her head slightly, her expression taut. "That was only his side of the story."

Back then, when Li Chen's coup failed, he had cursed Li Can, Li Jing, and the Li Ce couple, all of whom supported the Crown Prince. He claimed Li Can would come to no good end, Li Ce was merely a pawn for the Emperor to pave the way for the heir, and that Li Jing's childlessness should be blamed on the Empress and Crown Prince. Li Jing had been dazed at the time, calling it nonsense—but the words had taken root.

"No," Li Jing shook his head, seeming to grow more lucid. Even the strongest liquor has a sobering end.

"That time, when you became pregnant, Xiao Jiu told us to keep it a secret…" Li Jing said in a daze. "I was confused. Who could oppose us? Who would we need to hide from? I am the legitimate son of the Emperor and Empress, the Crown Prince's own brother. Since childhood, whenever the Crown Prince was punished, I was spared. They doted on me, shielded me. Even though the Imperial Physician was assigned by the Empress, I never suspected anything."

Cui Jin'er swayed, unsteady. Ye Jiao fetched a prayer mat and helped her sit.

Li Jing's smile shattered like a porcelain cup dashed to the ground, each shard cutting deep. "Now I understand. Xiao Jiu was so cautious because the one we had to hide from… was our own mother. The mother who claimed to love me."

He laughed hysterically, then collapsed to the ground in tears, pressing his forehead against the floor. Even as he began to drift into sleep, exhausted, he muttered, "But why?"

"Why?" Cui Jin'er echoed hollowly, gripping Ye Jiao's hand in icy fear. "Is His Highness delirious? Did he take Li Chen's words seriously? No wonder he never returned to the palace after the rebellion. It's all lies, right?"

Ye Jiao couldn't comfort her. If it were truly nonsense, someone as open-hearted as Li Jing would never be in such anguish. He must have found something—some shred of proof.

But if it were true… if the Empress truly had such intent—to sever her own son's lineage for some hidden purpose—it was unfathomable. Monstrous.

Ye Jiao had been raised in the harmonious household of the Duke of Anguo, where even the most lucrative dowry businesses were shared and protected by the family. Any wrong done to one member would bring swift defense from the rest. Having grown up in such warmth, she couldn't comprehend rivalry among siblings, let alone cruelty from a parent.

Nor could Cui Jin'er. But she feared for her child.

"Jiao-jiao," she said, eyes wild and complexion as pale as paper, "what if it's true? What if it's really the Empress who's been stopping us? Don't leave me today. I'm scared. Stay with me, please."

Tears spilled as she spoke. She began to search for a sash, threatening to bind her belly tight.

Ye Jiao quickly soothed her, promising not to leave. Only then did Cui Jin'er relent.

Once her panic eased, fury took its place.

"Do they think the Cui family can be bullied? If the entire Cui clan signed a petition to depose the Empress, it wouldn't be impossible! If I hadn't married into the royal family, I'd have wed a nobleman long ago, and my children would already be old enough to get beaten!"

Ye Jiao's mouth opened in astonishment.

"Depose the Empress"—to speak such words so boldly, truly worthy of the Cui family of Boling. Yet—

She'd heard of children growing old enough to fetch soy sauce, but never old enough to be beaten.

Cui Jin'er clarified, "In our family, children aren't to be hit until they're seven—any younger and you might beat them to death."

Ye Jiao was still stunned. What kind of family rule was that?

In any case, Cui Jin'er would not let her go.

Which meant that when Li Ce returned after a long day of court affairs, he found no sign of his wife.

"Where is the Princess Consort?"

Li Ce rarely asked the servants where she'd gone—he prided himself on always knowing her whereabouts. But today, he'd roamed every corner of the estate, courtyards, pavilions, towers—all in vain. He'd even crashed into a maple tree behind an archway, thinking she might be hiding there.

In his search for his wife, he gained one prize—a bump on the head.

A servant reported, "The Princess Consort went to Prince Zhao's residence. She sent word she wouldn't be dining at home tonight."

"When did she leave?"

"This morning."

Morning? She'd lunched there, and now she'd dine there too. Was the Prince of Chu's estate no longer her home?

Li Ce paced the hall a few times. Qingfeng asked, "Shall I serve the meal, Your Highness?"

Li Ce did not answer. Instead, he strode outside, ordering, "Saddle the horse."

Dinner? What dinner? If Ye Jiao had gone to Prince Zhao's residence, then so would he. Was he supposed to sulk at home?

Unexpectedly, Li Jing was passed out drunk, and Ye Jiao was dining with Princess Zhao, Cui Jin'er. Li Ce, finding it inconvenient, had a quick meal in another courtyard and then sent a maid to summon Ye Jiao.

The maid returned, saying the Princess Consort would return later and asked that His Highness head home first.

So—Li Jing gets drunk, and his wife must keep Li Jing's wife company?

Li Ce did not move. He only asked, "Is there any sobering soup?"

"Yes," the maid said. "The Princess Consort wanted you to drink it this afternoon, but Your Highness was fast asleep and refused."

"Bring it."

Li Ce took the bowl, pushed open the door to the side chamber, and walked in slowly. He sat beside Li Jing's bed and called softly, "Fifth Brother."

He called a dozen times. Li Jing only groaned, eyes still shut.

Li Ce turned to the servants of Prince Zhao's household and ordered, "Bring—"