The story of Consort Li reprimanding Luo Wei in the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix quickly spread across the Back Palace.
After he left the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix, Long Xuan returned to his own hall immediately. In terms of what this story would become as it gets passed around, or what the Luo family would do when they heard the news, or how many people would be aside watching it develop with glee, Long Xuan had no interest in any of it. Long Xuan believed that with Luo Wei’s abilities, if he wanted to get back at Consort Li, he didn’t need any help from anyone else at all.
Tagging along behind Long Xuan, Long Xiang’s emotions were rather conflicted. He wanted to speak up for Luo Wei, but also felt as if he had no place to speak up for someone he’d already become enemies with.
“Your Imperial Highness,” The two physicians who were looking after Consort Xu were waiting inside the hall. When they heard that Long Xuan was back, they quickly rushed to the study to greet him.
“How is everything?” Long Xuan asked as he set eyes on the physicians.
The two of them looked like they came with good news. The older of the two answered, “Your Imperial Highness, the signs of the consort miscarrying has much improved.”
Long Xiang became happy at the news, “Does that mean the child is safe?”
The imperial physician answered, “To answer the Fifth Prince, so long as the consort rests and recuperates for a few more days, both the chid and the mother will be safe.”
Imperial physicians usually did not speak with such surety, so when Long Xuan and Long Xiang heard this, they both knew that Consort Xu and the baby were going to be fine. At the very least, the most dangerous part of her condition had passed.
“So long as my sister in law and my little nephew are well,” Long Xiang looked at the two physicians with approval, “I will reward both of you handsomely!”
“Your servants humbly thanks the Fifth Prince,” The physicians quickly reacted with gratitude.
“You’ve worked hard,” Compared to Long Xiang, Long Xuan was much calmer, and tossed his words out rather plainly at the physicians, as if the child that the two of them saved wasn’t even his own.
“Brother?” Long Xiang wasn’t happy as he was faced with Long Xuan’s cold expression, which was gradually getting colder, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
“Aren’t you going to the Imperial Study tomorrow?” Long Xuan asked him.
“Y-Yeah,” Long Xiang answered.
“Then why aren’t you busy studying?” Long Xuan said. He didn’t need to go to the Imperial Study any more himself, but he knew the ins and outs of the place, “Even if you’re not going to be punished if you can’t recite the lessons, aren’t you the one who’s going to be losing face in front of everyone?”
“I’ll go back and study,” Long Xiang didn’t dare to talk back. He never liked school much, and really all he wanted to do was to get by in the Imperial Study. When Consort Liu was in power, no one would say anything about it, but now, Long Xiang’s days in the Imperial Study were very difficult.
“Tell Fu Yun to pack you some desserts to take back,” Long Xuan spoke up again, “Eat first when you get back, then study for a bit, don’t sleep too late.”
“Okay,” Long Xiang nodded. Long Xuan was as caring to him as he’d ever been, and that has not ever changed.
After Long Xiang left, Long Xuan turned to the two physicians, “The two of you may go. If anything else happens to my consort, I will send someone to fetch you.”
The two physicians accepted Long Xuan’s rewards, then thanked him before they left.
Like many times before, Long Xuan sat in his study alone for a very long time, all the way until it was time for lamps to be lit in the palace. Fu Yun wanted to bring in some supper for him, but Long Xuan only answered him with a simple “no”. Standing in front of his window, Long Xuan looked at the bright moon and sparse sprinkling of stars in the night sky, and sighed quietly. He’d finally made a decision.
Consort Xu was laying on the bed after she took her medicine. The physicians told her to think of happy things, but she couldn’t think of anything happy to think about. After mulling it over for a while, it seemed like the only times she could think of being happen was when she was still a young girl back in the estate of the marquis, everyday doing what she wanted. Now, the Xu family of Shang Hang had vanished and gone, when she thought of the past, all it brought her was pain.
“Are you sleeping?” Long Xuan entered the back room, and stood himself in front of Consort Xu’s bed.
“Your Imperial Highness,” She tried to rise when she saw Long Xuan.
“Don’t move,” Long Xuan said, and turned to wave off the maids in the palace.
The maids and servants all excused themselves, leaving only this young husband and wife in the room.
Watching Long Xuan as he sat at her bedside, Consort Xu wracked her brain for a while before managing to ask, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Are you doing alright?” Long Xuan didn’t answer, and instead asked her something back.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Consort Xu said. The physicians had already told her that the child was fine. It was only when she heard that news that she managed to smile for the first time during the entire day.
“They told you everything was fine?”
“Yes, the physicians said the child is safe.”
Long Xuan gazed at Consort Xu’s pregnant belly, and laid his hand on it gently.
“Your Highness,” Consort Xu said quietly, “It knows how to move now.”
Long Xuan made an accepting hum in response.
Consort Xu watched Long Xuan. It had been so long since she’d had a chance to look at her own husband in such a careful manner. Long Xuan was handsome. Consort Xu could still remember how her heart beat out of her chest and her face rushed with fire when he first lifted her veil during the wedding. At that moment, Consort Xu thought she had been very lucky, to be married to such a handsome and elegant prince. Even if she was only a side-concubine, this was still a huge honour. But when did her heart grow cold? When did she realize that this man would never find a space in his heart to love her? Consort Xu couldn’t remember anymore, but in her memory, Long Xuan had never smiled at her, not once.
“Ah-Rou,” And yet at this time, Long Xuan called out to Consort Li for the first time with her nickname.
“Your Imperial Highness?” Consort Xu’s expression stuttered, so he knew her name.
“There are some things that the physicians didn’t dare tell you, I think I ought to be the one who told you about them,” Long Xuan’s voice filled with a rare warmth.
Consort Xu’s smile disappeared, “Your Imperial Highness, w-what do you need to tell me?”
Long Xuan took the hand back from Consort Xu’s belly, and said, “The physicians said that your… our child can’t be saved anymore… the child is already gone.”
Consort Xu’s brain went blank for a moment. She could see Long Xuan’s lips moving, but she couldn’t hear the sound. This man suddenly felt so far away from her. No, not just this man. It was this entire world that distanced itself from her.
“Ah Rou?” Long Xuan shook Consort Xu lightly, as she stared at him in stunned silence.
“Your Imperial Highness,” She pointed at her own belly, “Isn’t our child still inside me?”
“Yes,” Long Xuan said, “But the physicians could no longer feel its heartbeat. Ah Rou, this child has died.”
“But he was moving just now,” Consort Xu grabbed Long Xuan’s hand in desperation and pulled it to her stomach, “Your Imperial Highness, that’s not possible, the child was kicking me just now!”
Long Xuan didn’t reach to touch Consort Xu’s belly again. He looked at her face, “Ah Rou, we’re still young, if this child was fated to not be ours, we will have others in the future.”
“That’s not possible,” Consort Xu shook her head wildly, “The baby’s still moving, how could it be dead!?”
“That’s only a phantom sensation from your mind,” Long Xuan reached out and pushed a strand of Consort Xu’s loose hair back behind her ear, “We’ll have another child eventually.”
“Your Imperial Highness!” Consort Xu gripped Long Xuan’s hand, “Those two physicians must be lying to you, please, please believe your concubine this once, the baby just kicked me, please believe me!”
“Ah Rou, this baby is my child too,” Long Xuan pulled her into his arms, “How could I not want my own child to live?”
Consort Xu’s body was trembling furiously in Long Xuan’s arms, until she unleashed her desperate sobs.
“Cry it out,” Long Xuan held her tightly in his arms, “When you finish, Ah Rou, we won’t let this child die in vain.”
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