Ying Gu had no choice but to raise the corners of her lips and put her small hand into his palm meaningfully.
The warm palm wrapped her icy cold little hand, and a hard-to-describe emotion spread in Ying Gu's heart.
She raised her eyes to look at the man's handsome side face, then looked away in panic.
In the hall, Cui Ling refused to admit that the father of her child was Steward Wu, crying and making trouble, saying that if Gu Ning didn't recognize her child, she would smash herself to death in the Duke's Residence.
Although Steward Wu was beaten, he still insisted through gritted teeth that he had never touched Cui Ling.
Huai An had a hot temper. He rushed up to torture the one surnamed Wu again.
Gu Ning spoke up, "Brother Huai An, don't hit him, I have a way."
Ying Gu raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised to see her younger brother.
Gu Ning's eyebrows were calm. The long illness in bed made him exceptionally restrained.
He looked at Cui Ling and said to Cheng and others, "Madame, brother-in-law of the heir apparent, sister, in order to prove my innocence, I would like to do a blood test to confirm the relationship now."
Everyone in the hall looked towards Gu Ning.
Ying Gu's eyes moved slightly. "Oh? Little Ning, tell us about it."
Gu Ning said, "Although the child is still in Cui Ling's belly, the mother and child are one body, and the child's blood communicates with the mother's. Therefore, we can now drip blood to recognize our kinship."
Steward Wu was stunned. "What?"
Gu Ning didn't look at Steward Wu, glanced at Cui Ling's pale face, and said to Cheng and the others, "Madame, sister-in-law of the heir apparent, sister, in order to prove my innocence, I would like to drip blood to recognize kinship now."
Cui Ling immediately used her hand to protect her slightly bulging belly, looking at Steward Wu with a hint of fear in her evasive eyes.
There was a hint of panic and guilt between Steward Wu's eyebrows.
At this moment, Yin Zhu had just brought in a bowl of clear water.
Gu Ning gave her a look. Although Yin Zhu didn't say much, there was a hint of fierceness in her eyes. She directly cut Steward Wu's finger and let the blood drip into the bowl.
She also pulled Cui Ling over and cut open her lower abdomen despite Cui Ling's futile struggle.
Cui Ling screamed in panic, but before she could cry out, she realized that Yin Zhu hadn't really hurt her. Instead, Yin Zhu had cut a small slit on her belly with the knife tip and let the blood drip into the clear water.
Everyone was nervous and looked at the two drops of blood in the porcelain bowl.
Steward Wu's eyeballs protruded as his fingers trembled slightly.
Cui Ling's face was as white as paper. Her whole body stiffened as she watched the two drops of blood in the water gradually blend together. Her lips trembled, as if struck by lightning.
The corner of Gu Ning's mouth twitched coldly. "Sister, Cui Ling lied and tried to blackmail the young master of the residence with the child in her belly. If she was sent to the Bianjing Prefecture Yamen, how would she be sentenced?"
Ying Gu smiled and said, "Exiled three thousand miles away."
The flesh on Steward Wu's face twitched. He only resented that he couldn't roll his eyes and faint.
With a thud, Cui Ling collapsed on the ground and resigned herself to her fate. "This slave...this slave is wrong. Young master, madame, please spare this slave's life for the sake of the child I’m carrying, okay? This slave shouldn't have lied to the young master or caused trouble by coming to the Duke’s Residence. It was this slave’s delusion and wishful thinking like a toad lusting after a swan. This slave really knows she was wrong! Madame, please, madame, please ask for mercy for this slave!"
Cui Ling had almost collapsed. Everyone present was watching her as a joke. Only Ying Gu had a faint expression on her face that didn't reveal any mood. As a last resort, Cui Ling crawled over to her in desperation.
"Madame, you are also a wife and know this slave's difficulties..."
Zhao Changdu's cold eyes narrowed slightly. With a speed invisible to the naked eye, he got up and hugged Ying Gu with one arm, kicking Cui Ling away with one foot.
Cui Ling's body slammed against a pillar and she vomited a mouthful of blood, passing out.
Not to mention Steward Wu and the other servants present, even Cheng shuddered.
This was the first time she had seen Zhao Changdu get angry. People who had shed blood on battlefields were completely different from those pampered nobles in Beijing.
At the very least, this King of Hell executes people casually, showing no mercy.
Cheng stroked her chest and shut her mouth completely.
The man's voice was terribly low. He held the slender arm of the young lady in his big hand. "What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"
With the sudden dramatic turn of events, when blood trickled out from under Cui Ling, it took Ying Gu a while to react. She looked at the dark brooding face in front of her blankly. "I...I'm fine. But, Adu, I think she had a miscarriage..."
Zhao Changdu knitted his sword-like brows together and looked over, the lines between his brows getting deeper. “Huai An.”
Huai An immediately responded, “Sir.”
Staring at the girl's absentminded face, Zhao Changdu thought the blood had scared her. He raised his hand to cover her eyes. “Go find a doctor.”
Huai An understood, turned and left.
Now that the truth had been revealed, there was no need for Ying Gu to do anything else.
Zhao Changdu pressed his lips tightly together. He directly picked Ying Gu up horizontally. “Don’t look.”
Ying Gu suddenly felt everything go dark before her eyes, and blinked her eyelashes. It was the man's broad palm.
Zhao Changdu carried the girl out of Zhengde Pavilion, brushing past Huo Qiyun who had just arrived.
A smile appeared on Huo Qiyun's face as she came over to greet them. “Adu—”
The man didn't even glance at her, carrying his dark expression as he sidestepped away.
Watching the man leave with the girl in his arms, Huo Qiyun paused.
Snowflakes were scattered all over the yard, and she felt a chill in her heart.
Lv Zhi had been holding an umbrella behind her and just put it down.
But she saw an ominous dark look appear on her lady’s face for the first time.
“Lady...” Lv Zhi felt a sudden chill in her heart.
But Huo Qiyun seemed to have just woken up from a dream. She smiled charmingly and gracefully. “It’s nothing. Let’s go inside. The Huo family will be here soon.”
Lv Zhi bit her lip. “Yes,” she answered softly.
The new year had arrived and families began visiting each other and exchanging gifts. In previous years, they would only come to the Duke's Residence to pay new year visits after the palace banquets, but since the heir apparent had gotten married recently, the Zhao side of Huo family couldn't wait any longer.
...
The wind outside was quite cold.
Only when she felt the man's steady heartbeat beating by her ear did Ying Gu move her fingers and hook her arm around his neck.
She had seen many pregnant women miscarry countless times. This kind of thing happened frequently in Jiang Yin's back courtyard. Many women even died from massive bleeding when the baby was too big to be delivered.
She had experienced many such incidents herself, but no one had ever cared about her feelings.
