The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 146

As she was thinking this, a sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen, and she couldn't help but groan as she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to the side.

The screen separating the inner and outer rooms lay overturned on the ground; it was probably this that had startled her awake.

The emperor stood frozen by the soft couch, staring blankly at the palace entrance.

Song Huining propped herself up and got out of bed, vaguely feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen. However, the situation at hand forced her to temporarily put the pain aside. She stood up, supporting herself on the bedpost, and called out:

"emperor."

Zhao Kuangyin turned around to look at her somewhat slowly, narrowed his eyes, and gave a cold laugh.

"He abandoned you and the child."

Song Huining trembled slightly, then lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Regardless, she never intended to let Zhao Guangyi know about the child; giving up... was inevitable. Although she had... had a fleeting, unrealistic thought, she knew perfectly well that it was just wishful thinking.

Another tight, throbbing pain shot through her lower abdomen, and she instinctively pressed down on it.

"Since he doesn't want the child, then let's not keep it."

She looked up abruptly, trembling as Zhao Kuangyin, holding a broken jade axe handle, slowly walked towards her. She stepped aside, shaking her head in disbelief, "No... I want him..."

"You can't afford him!"

Zhao Kuangyin strode forward and grabbed her arms. The broken jade in his hand suddenly struck her abdomen. Song Huining hurriedly pulled back to dodge, but she could not escape because she could not break free of the restrained hands. A bloody mark was cut on her side by the sharp jade chip.

"Your Majesty! Please spare the child... He is innocent!"

"Innocent?" Zhao Kuangyin chuckled. "When you and Guangyi committed such lewd acts, didn't you think about the consequences? It's laughable that the two people I trusted so much betrayed me like this! Do you think I'll let this scoundrel live and be ridiculed?"

Seeing him raise the broken jade again, Song Huining panicked and reached out to grab his raised arm. "Your Majesty! Spare the child... Punish me, cripple me... You can even lock me in the Cold Palace, just please spare this child, please! Your Majesty!"

Zhao Kuangyin chuckled softly, squinting at her pale, bloodless, beautiful face, and slowly shook his head. "No, I will not depose you. I want you to be my empress, and you will never be able to escape this shackle for the rest of your life! I will not allow you to leave either. I will take your child away, so that you will never be free!"

Before he could finish speaking, his other hand struck her waist and abdomen hard without warning. Song Huining's breath hitched, and the pain in her already aching abdomen became even more intense. Her face turned pale, and she pushed the man away with all her might, retreating far away. She staggered back to the soft couch in the outer room, leaning weakly against the edge of the couch and gasping for breath.

"You can't escape. If I can't beat this child today, I can come again tomorrow!"

As he drew closer, Song Huining's legs went weak and she couldn't move an inch. She collapsed to the ground in despair, but her hand, which was supporting her weight, pressed against a broken piece of jade axe. She shuddered and instinctively gripped the object in her hand.

"You...don't come any closer!" Absolutely not, she absolutely couldn't let him hurt her child! She knew everything she had done was wrong, but she refused to reflect on it, only wanting to grasp the only thing she could possess, and she would never let go, even if it meant death!

As the man approached her and lunged at her again with the broken jade, she rolled away to dodge. In the instant she turned her head, she swung her hand to the side with great force. The broken piece in her hand was surprisingly sharp and pierced something with a "plop".

Song Huining trembled uncontrollably, abruptly letting go of her hands and crawling backward. She stared in horror at the man who had missed his target lying on the bed, the fragments deeply embedded in his neck, her mind blank.

She...she hurt the Emperor...

She stabbed the emperor...

“You…” Zhao Kuangyin stared at her in disbelief, “You actually…went to this extent for him…”

"I told you not to come over..." she shook her head frantically, "I told you not to come over..."

Zhao Kuangyin glared at her fiercely, his bright yellow robes stained with blood. He tightened his grip on the broken jade handle, then finally, breathless, released it, and it fell to the ground with a "thud".

Song Huining's body trembled slightly with the sound, and she stared wide-eyed at the man by the bedside before slumping down weakly without uttering another word.

"Your Majesty..." Her voice was distorted and twisted from the violent trembling, but she dared not approach the man who had collapsed to the ground. She could only call out to him cautiously in her distorted voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

She killed the emperor...

A sharp pain shot through her abdomen, causing her to collapse to the ground, clutching her stomach tightly. Her mind became hazy, and her blurred gaze drifted to her groin, staring blankly at the pool of blood that had soaked through her skirt…

Her child...

"Mother, Your Majesty?!"

A sharp cry of surprise pierced through the thick fog, pulling her back from her daze. She stared blankly at the eunuch kneeling before her and gave a dazed smile.

"Eunuch Wang...go and summon Defang..."

Wang Ji'en looked at her with concern, his gaze sweeping only over the person lying on the soft couch, and asked softly, "Your Majesty, are you alright? Should I summon the imperial physician?"

"No!" she gasped, her face deathly pale, shaking her head. "Go immediately and summon the King of Qin to the palace, hurry!"

Wang Ji'en lowered his eyes and said quietly, "Yes, this servant will go and invite him right away."

With misty eyes, watching his retreating figure, Song Huining collapsed weakly to the ground, her hands futilely pressing against her throbbing abdomen, and gave a desolate smile—

Even though she committed the heinous act of regicide, she couldn't protect her child. Was this... fate?

Does that person still want her? Can they abandon this twist of fate, escape this absurd destiny, and stay together forever?

If possible... could she still have a child?

She really wanted to... she really wanted to have one of his children...

"What's going on?!"

The roar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, startling Song Huining so much that she froze. Before she could even open her eyes, she was lifted up by a pair of strong arms, and a familiar voice, so familiar it made her heart flutter and she felt like fainting on the spot, called to her:

"Ning'er, what happened?"

Slowly opening her eyes and staring at the terrified man before her, she remained stunned for a moment before letting out a dazed laugh. The faint hope in her heart was being slowly devoured by despair.

Why him?