Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

Chapter 575 Consort Xiao Dies in Childbirth, Mother and Daughter Die

Half an hour later, Li Xi left with "Yu'er," and Li Chu's secret guards took the opportunity to return to the Chu Prince's residence to report the situation.

At this moment, Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao had just returned from paying their respects at the palace. The secret guard reported: "Your Highness and Your Highness, I discovered today that Prince Zhao took a woman to his villa. However, I only listened outside the main hall and did not hear all the details. I only know that the woman said that the plan had already been taken and urged Prince Zhao to start the plan outside the palace as soon as possible. Moreover, the woman seemed to be very close to Madam Du."

Li Chu frowned, and after a moment said, "Alright, you all need to keep a close eye on the Li family and their villa recently, and report any unusual activity immediately."

The guard respectfully acknowledged and then withdrew.

Dugu Jingyao seemed to have a sore back and wanted to lean on a soft pillow, but Li Chu helped her place it first, so Dugu Jingyao leaned on it comfortably.

She felt a little better, and then said, "If what he said is true, it seems that the palace's plan is to increase the amount of poison for Father Emperor. What other plan could there be outside the palace? You are still not awake. Are they afraid that once you wake up, they will eliminate you completely?"

Li Chu thought Dugu Jingyao's guess was reasonable, but he still felt that there might be more to it than that. He said, "Perhaps we are just one of their targets. I suspect they may also target the Yunnan Prince's Mansion, or perhaps they don't want to kill my brother and sister-in-law, but just kidnap my sister-in-law to force my brother and you, Ayao, to send troops to help them?"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Jingyao was so shocked that she almost jumped out of bed, but Li Chu stopped her. Dugu Jingyao thought to herself that she had finally been reborn and everything had gone smoothly so far. She didn't want to lose her family again, nor did she want Shen Zhenzhu to die like this.

Dugu Jingyao experienced some abdominal pain due to emotional fluctuations and even frequent fetal movements. Li Chu almost shouted out loud, but Dugu Jingyao quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't shout. To outsiders, you're still unconscious. If you shout, all your efforts will be wasted. I'm fine. Perhaps I was a little excited just now. Now that I've calmed down, the pain isn't so bad."

Li Chu was still somewhat worried and asked, "A Yao, don't lie to me."

Dugu Jingyao smiled and shook her head, saying, "Don't worry, if it still hurts, I'll have Shijian go and invite Lin Zhi." Only then did Li Chu give up.

Li Chu embraced Dugu Jingyao and said, "You are pregnant now, so don't get excited. Your husband is very afraid."

Dugu Jingyao leaned on Li Chu's shoulder and said, "Alright, alright, I understand, Donglang. But if your guess is true, we need to pass this news on to my brother as soon as possible. My sister-in-law is about to give birth, and if we don't make preparations early, the Li faction will definitely have an opportunity to take advantage of us."

Li Chu nodded slightly and said, "What A Yao said makes sense. Even if our guess is wrong, it's good to take precautions early."

Dugu Jingyao pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, besides informing my brother, I'm thinking of sending Lin Zhi to the Yunnan Prince's Mansion later. I think the Yunnan Prince's Mansion might be safer than our mansion, and with Lin Zhi there when my sister-in-law is giving birth, my brother won't be so flustered."

Li Chu said, "Alright, let's do as A Yao says. But Miss Murong has been staying at our residence for so long because of my coma. If she suddenly leaves, wouldn't that arouse suspicion?"

Dugu Jingyao smiled and said, "Either we quietly send Lin Zhi away, or Donglang can spread the word that you're waking up, and put some pressure on the Li faction as well. Maybe that can disrupt their plans. If you wake up then, it will be perfectly logical for Lin Zhi to go to the Yunnan Prince's Mansion to help the Crown Princess give birth, won't it?"

Li Chu looked down at the person in his arms, gently stroked Dugu Jingyao's nose with his finger, and said, "So Ayao had planned this all along? But what Ayao said is right, it's time for your husband to wake up."

Dugu Jingyao called Feng Shengyi and Shijian in and explained their plan. Li Chu told Feng Shengyi to release the news of his awakening in three days.

Unexpectedly, the very next day, news came from the palace that after having dinner the previous evening, Consort Xiao went out for a stroll as usual. However, the weather had been quite cold these past few days, and some parts of the road were icy. Consort Xiao slipped and fell to the ground, bleeding on the spot and going into premature labor.

Premature birth is a minor issue, but the baby seemed rather large, causing Consort Xiao to experience a difficult labor. Fortunately, the midwives were experienced, and the baby was delivered, but its head was too large and remained stuck inside. By the time the baby was finally born, its face was bluish-purple and it had stopped breathing.

Consort Xiao, being quite old, had been in labor for several hours and fainted. At first, it was thought that she had simply fainted due to the exhaustion of childbirth. However, when the nanny beside Consort Xiao was preparing to change her clothes and tidy her bedding, she was shocked by the bright red blood all over the bed and immediately summoned the imperial physician.

When the imperial physician examined Consort Xiao, he discovered that she was suffering from severe bleeding and had lost far too much blood. Her pulse was already very weak. The physician tried acupuncture and prepared ginseng slices boiled in water for her, but unfortunately, it was too late. Not long after, Consort Xiao passed away.

It is said that when Consort Xiao gave birth, the Emperor and Empress were required to be present, and many concubines also came afterward. However, Emperor Suzong found it too troublesome for them to be crowding around, so he sent them all back. In fact, many of them did not get along with Consort Xiao, so they did not want to wait there idly; they just wanted to show their faces in front of Emperor Suzong.

The Emperor had been unwell recently, so he returned to Zhaoyang Palace to await news, leaving only the Empress waiting there. She knew that Consort Xiao's pregnancy was unlikely to be safe and successful, but she never expected that both mother and daughter would die.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but shudder. It was Emperor Suzong's order that Consort Xiao was prevented from giving birth to the imperial heir safely, and whether the premature birth and the deaths of both mother and daughter were also at Emperor Suzong's behest, or simply an accident, was unknown.

If it was truly Emperor Suzong's doing, then the child's death would be one thing, since it wasn't his child. But Consort Xiao was a woman he had once favored; how could he really be so heartless? However, thinking about it, we can't entirely blame Emperor Suzong. After all, what man could tolerate his woman having an affair with another man and being pregnant?

Thinking of this, the Empress closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, her gaze filled with a mixture of determination and sorrow. She said to Granny Xu, "Let's go, come with me to inform His Majesty. You also arrange for someone to properly handle Consort Xiao's situation." Granny Xu agreed and followed the Empress's entourage to Zhaoyang Palace.

Inside Zhaoyang Palace, Emperor Suzong lay on his couch, his eyes closed but not asleep. He was waiting for news from Consort Xiao. This premature birth was truly unexpected; he wondered if his previous preparations would be successful.

Just then, the Empress and her entourage arrived outside Zhaoyang Palace.

When Li Fuguo saw the Empress approaching, he bowed respectfully. After she told him to dispense with the formalities, she asked, "Has Your Majesty rested?"

Li Fuguo replied, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has already retired for the night."

The Empress thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll trouble Eunuch Li to convey the message that Consort Xiao had a difficult childbirth and passed away after giving birth to the little princess. The little princess suffocated because she stayed in the womb for too long. Please accept my condolences, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing the result, Li Fuguo said knowingly, "Yes, Your Majesty, it's getting late. You've been waiting at Consort Xiao's place for so long, you should go back and rest."

The Empress was indeed somewhat tired and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Li. Please also tell His Majesty that I will personally handle the funeral arrangements for Consort Xiao." Li Fuguo agreed, and then Xu Mama helped the Empress onto the ceremonial regalia. After watching them leave, Li Fuguo went into the hall to report.