CHAPTER 543: CHAPTER 542: CONSORT MEI’S MISDEEDS LEAD TO CHEN JIEYU’S MISCARRIAGE

Concubine Chen Jieyu had just received a letter from her brother delivered from outside the palace, and she cried tears of joy.

All her efforts had not been in vain.

All thanks to the guidance of that wise person.

"Prepare some more mung beans to soak, His Majesty mentioned yesterday he wanted to drink the mung bean soup personally cooked by me," Concubine Chen Jieyu instructed the Palace Maid at her side to prepare the mung beans.

Then she carefully put away the letter in a box and locked it.

She was in a good mood, thinking about His Majesty coming to stay at her place tonight, and Concubine Chen Jieyu couldn’t help humming a song.

"Oh, sister seems in a great mood, has something joyous occurred? Why not share with me?" a voice of an uninvited guest came from behind.

Realizing the situation, Concubine Chen Jieyu turned around and was just about to have her Palace Maid call for help.

That’s when she saw the nursemaid beside Mei Fei had already restrained the Palace Maid.

"Your Highness..." the Palace Maid was very scared.

Concubine Chen Jieyu’s face turned pale instantly.

"Greetings to Mei Fei," she promptly went forward to pay her respects to Mei Fei.

Mei Fei did not let her rise; she bent down, her sharp nails lifting Concubine Chen Jieyu’s chin, meaningfully saying, "You indeed have the prized Frozen Dew, only a few bottles are made yearly, and I hear His Majesty has given you all of this year’s supply?"

She caressed Concubine Chen Jieyu’s cheek, "Look at this delicate face, so tender, just like a peeled egg. Not just His Majesty, even I find myself quite fond of it."

She wasn’t even that stunning a beauty, especially when compared to herself.

Why did His Majesty prefer her over me?

Mei Fei was utterly baffled.

She had faced rejection at Su Bai’s last night, kneeling all night.

After coming back to the palace, she had heard about the promotion of Concubine Chen Jieyu’s brother, which enraged her, so she brought her people directly to Concubine Chen Jieyu’s palace.

She determined to see what tricks this seductress had played to bewitch His Majesty so thoroughly!

"But looking at you for too long, one finds you quite tasteless," Mei Fei flung away Concubine Chen Jieyu’s face, making no attempt to hide her disgust.

Concubine Chen Jieyu knelt on the ground and did not dare to move, "Mei Fei speaks rightly."

"Concubine Chen Jieyu, I have not treated you poorly, have I? It was I who recommended your brother to stay by my father’s side. Why do you trample on me just as soon as I faced misfortune?" Mei Fei walked over and sat down on a chair.

Her expression was very sinister, clearly intending to deal with Concubine Chen Jieyu properly today.

Concubine Chen Jieyu was extremely frightened in her heart, but she dared not anger Mei Fei.

Over the years, as she flattered Mei Fei, she had not been spared from seeing her torturous ways.

Just the last time she had slapped her face, it took many days to heal.

If not for His Majesty’s affection giving her Frozen Dew, she might have been disfigured by that slap.

"Mei Fei, I absolutely had no such intention, even if given a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare to disrespect you," she pleaded.

Mei Fei gave the nursemaid a signal. The nursemaid released the Palace Maid and walked towards Concubine Chen Jieyu.

"Is it really fear, or are you being deceitful? Concubine Chen Jieyu, I am no fool. Whatever little schemes you have, you can’t hide them from me."

The nursemaid, loyal to Mei Fei for many years, pulled Chen Jieyu’s hair roughly and yanked it hard.

"Ah!" Concubine Chen Jieyu screamed in pain.

The Palace Maid couldn’t bear it anymore, and with a mix of rolling and crawling, "Please, Mei Fei, spare our Concubine Chen Jieyu, I beg you," she reached out to grab the nursemaid’s hand, but the nursemaid slapped her down to the ground.

As Concubine Chen Jieyu struggled free, seeing her Palace Maid being struck, she quickly rushed over, "Don’t touch her!"

Mei Fei, seeing this scene, sneered with disgust, "Truly a deep bond between master and servant, it’s sickening."

The nursemaid showed a sinister smile.

She was very strong; she grabbed Concubine Chen Jieyu’s hair, pulled her up from the ground, then kicked her on the knee. Concubine Chen Jieyu was forced to her feet and then to her knees with a thud.

Her knees struck the hard ground, the sound of bones hitting stone made one’s scalp tingle.

Concubine Chen Jieyu’s face turned pale with agony, bloodless from the pain.

She was in so much pain she could hardly cry out loud, her hair still grasped tightly by the nursemaid, kneeling in an extremely twisted and miserable posture in front of Mei Fei.

The pain was felt in every limb and bone.

The pain made her wish she could just die.

But for Mei Fei, it was still not enough.

Without a word, the nursemaid acted as she had always done.

She then took out an embroidery needle from her clothing.

"Concubine Chen Jieyu, a small punishment, I hope you will behave better in the palace from now on."

The nursemaid sinisterly laughed as she accurately and mercilessly jabbed the embroidery needle into the nail bed and flesh of Concubine Chen Jieyu’s middle finger!

Poor Concubine Chen Jieyu couldn’t even scream.

The Palace Maid knew she was no match for the nursemaid.

Taking her chance, she ran out of the main gate, scrambling and rolling.

She had to find His Majesty, to beg for his intervention.

Otherwise, with Mei Fei’s methods, Concubine Chen Jieyu was certain to be tortured to death.

But since Concubine Mei had come prepared, how could she let the Palace Maid escape so easily?

As soon as the Palace Maid stepped out, she was slapped across the face by Concubine Mei’s personal maid. She had rushed out so fast that the slap, carrying some force, sent her stumbling backward to the ground.

It happened almost in the blink of an eye; her head struck the bluestone pavement, and blood began to flow slowly out along the floor.

The maid who hit her thought she had merely knocked her unconscious and didn’t notice the blood on the ground.

She stepped forward and kicked the Palace Maid twice with her foot, "Stop playing dead."

The Palace Maid did not respond.

The maid paid no mind, thinking she had simply passed out.

She continued her duty vigilantly at the doorway.

Only Concubine Chen Jieyu, who had been worried about the Palace Maid, noticed something was amiss.

She struggled fiercely, crawling towards her Palace Maid, but halfway through, the nursemaid yanked her back by the hair.

By then, her fingertips had all been greeted by the embroidery needle, and the pain, piercing straight to her heart, tormented her to near madness.

"Concubine Mei!" Chen Jieyu managed to gasp out, "His Majesty is supposed to come tonight. Aren’t you afraid of His Majesty holding you accountable for treating me this way?"

Concubine Mei was fiddling with the lid of her tea container.

"Who told you that His Majesty would come tonight?" Since she had prepared for revenge, she naturally had a foolproof plan.

"Su Bai has been released from the prison, and His Majesty is discussing military affairs with her at this moment. He won’t leave the Imperial Study until midnight."

She smiled coyly at Chen Jieyu, "So you might as well give up on that idea."

"If I die, how will you explain it to His Majesty!" Chen Jieyu shouted loudly.

Concubine Mei seemed reminded, "Oh right, how should I explain it?"

Her bright red lips curled up, "But nobody knows I was here. Why should I have to explain anything? Chen Jieyu, do you dare speak out? If you do, I will have someone kill your brother outside the Palace."

"Heart of a viper!" Chen Jieyu charged towards Concubine Mei but was pulled back by the neck and dragged back by the nursemaid, who at the same time kicked her stomach fiercely twice.

Chen Jieyu instinctively bent over in response.

But the nursemaid, still not satisfied, pulled her hands away and deliberately kicked her stomach two more times.

This wretched servant had often served His Majesty.

It would be terrible if she were really pregnant with a Dragon Heir, meriting her prestige by bearing a child; that would disadvantage her own mistress.

So she intended to ruin her stomach, to see how she could possibly conceive a child then.

Chen Jieyu, after the beating, almost stopped moving.

Something seemed to be flowing out from inside her.

The bloodstain on the ground alarmed the nursemaid.

"Not good, My Lady!"

Concubine Mei didn’t even lift her eyelids, "What happened? Is she dead?"

"No, she isn’t," the nursemaid pointed to the fresh blood flowing steadily from underneath Chen Jieyu, "She seems to have been pregnant with the Dragon Heir!"

Concubine Mei was shocked, "What?"

She surged forward, "Why this wretched woman! How could she?!" She hadn’t been in the palace for long, how could she have gotten pregnant with His Majesty’s child so quickly?!

The nursemaid, looking down at the blood, felt faint.

She scrambled on her hands and knees to Concubine Mei, "My Lady, master! You must save me!"

Concubine Mei, unable to shake her off, was so anxious she broke into a sweat.

"What’s the panic!" Concubine Mei forced a calm demeanor.

Regardless, the deed was done, Chen Jieyu’s child was gone.

"Her brother is still outside the Palace. She wouldn’t dare to say anything in front of His Majesty," said Concubine Mei, grinding her teeth, and kicked the nursemaid, "Get up, pick her up."

Determination flashed in her eyes.

As long as it seemed that Chen Jieyu had accidentally fallen, leading to the loss of the Dragon Heir, this whole affair would have nothing to do with her.

The nursemaid displayed an understanding smile.

She picked up the blood-soaked Chen Jieyu and, at Concubine Mei’s command, threw her out the window.

"All right, let’s go." Concubine Mei dusted off the non-existent dust from her clothing and walked towards the outside.

The nursemaid took off her blood-soaked coat, rolled it up, and clutched it in her hands.

Poor Chen Jieyu was left lying on the chaotic rocks under the wall, bleeding profusely.

Yan Li’an was on his way to bid farewell to Chen Jieyu and did not expect to witness this scene just as he arrived.

He didn’t approach, but immediately turned around and headed for the Imperial Study.

He was a man without status.

He couldn’t just show up rashly; doing so would not only fail to save Chen Jieyu but would also ruin her reputation.

Sending out a special emergency signal that only he and Su Bai shared, Yan Li’an’s eyes deepened with resolve, perhaps this incident could be the opportunity for his sister to return home.

Su Bai, hearing the unique bird call, looked up from the map.

Chen Jieyu was in trouble!

How could she alert Chu Qi...