Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Chapter 270 Past Events

Side hall.

Xiao Yueluo was sitting on the bed, her face was a little pale, as if she had just woken up.

The doctor stood with his head bowed beside the bed, quickly tidying up his medicine box before leaning down and saying, "Madam is fine and will recover after a short rest. However, it's best to avoid any major emotional fluctuations these days."

"Master, Madam, I shall take my leave now." With that, she bowed and left through the door, her footsteps so light they made no sound.

"It's good that you're alright." Zhuge Tianxia sat on the edge of the bed, holding Xiao Yueluo's hand tightly. The panic in his eyes was so intense that it was hard to hide. "Madam, you've finally woken up. It's good that we found Xun'er, but you couldn't have kept your health problems a secret from me."

"If you experience any unusual symptoms in the future, be sure to tell me immediately."

"Hmm." Xiao Yueluo sighed softly, pulled her hand away and placed it on the back of Zhuge Tianxia's hand. She also peeked towards the door, clearly looking for something. "Xun'er, how is Xun'er now? Where is she?"

Her voice was urgent, as if she feared it was all just a dream.

Zhuge Tianxia softened his tone: "Don't worry, someone has already sent her to Guiyun Courtyard to rest. After you rest for a while, we'll go see her together."

"Okay." Xiao Yueluo nodded slowly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuge Tianxia frowned, a hint of hesitation in his eyes: "Madam, you said earlier that you had something to discuss in detail back in the palace. What exactly happened? What happened back then... could there be some hidden story?"

"then……"

Xiao Yueluo's voice trembled, her throat choked with sobs, and when her gaze fell on Zhuge Tianxia's face, the pain in her eyes deepened.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Tianxia knew that his wife had remembered the things he had done back then. His heart felt as if it had been crushed by a blunt instrument, and he was in excruciating pain.

Seeing the other person's reddened eyes, he suddenly raised his hand and slammed his fist into his thigh, cursing with remorse, "Back then... I'm sorry, I was a bastard, I wasn't human!"

That year, his wife was three months pregnant, and he was stuck at a bottleneck in his cultivation. In his eagerness for quick success, he swallowed a potent spiritual herb. When the medicinal effects hit his body and he felt hot all over as if he were burning, he called for someone to prepare hot water for a bath.

When the maid came in to add water, the effects of the drug took hold, and in a moment of impulsiveness, he lost control...

Afterwards, he was filled with remorse and knelt before her to admit his mistake. He then turned to the maid and warned her to treat it as a dream and not to make a fuss.

The maidservant responded meekly, and he assumed the matter was over.

But when he emerged from seclusion, he received two pieces of news.

The maid gave birth to a baby boy, but his wife lost the baby due to a difficult childbirth and has been unable to conceive since.

Now that things had come to this, he could only grit his teeth and keep the child and the maid...

Over the years, he has felt guilty towards Xiao Yueluo and has never dared to mention the events of that year again.

Xiao Yuelu's eyes welled up with tears, and two streams of clear tears fell onto the back of their clasped hands.

She gently shook her head, a sigh of relief mingling with her sobs: "This matter... is over, let's not mention it again."

As she spoke, she looked up at Zhuge Tianxia, ​​the pain in her eyes lessening and a glimmer of light appearing: "At least... my child didn't die, and we found him."

Zhuge Tianxia's Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately remained silent.

“Now that things have come to this, I have nothing to hold back anymore. Back then…” Thinking back on what happened back then, Xiao Yueluo trembled all over, her voice seemingly filled with heart-wrenching pain, “After you went into seclusion for four months, my belly was already very heavy, and I needed someone to help me walk.”

“I was resting in the yard that day when Cuihua suddenly burst in, crying and telling me that she was pregnant. I did the math and my heart sank. It really did match up.”

"Even though I was heartbroken, I didn't make things difficult for her. After all... she is your flesh and blood. I had someone arrange for her to stay in a secluded courtyard to rest during her pregnancy."

As she spoke, she glanced at the corner of the tent, forcibly suppressing the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Her voice carried a bittersweet tone: "Until the day I gave birth, I was in pain for a whole day and night. The difficult labor left me barely alive, but I finally managed to deliver the baby. You have no idea... Xun'er was such a chubby little thing, with such beautiful features!"

"I mustered my last breath and had someone bring the child over. I then personally put the bracelet that carried all my hopes on her wrist."

"Cough cough... But the child seems a bit off. She doesn't cry or fuss, she's just quiet and doesn't even lift her eyelids. The old nanny next to her is an experienced woman, and she immediately noticed something was wrong. She quickly picked her up and said she needed to find a doctor to take a look."

"The child... she's not dead, she's not a stillborn!" Zhuge Tianxia trembled all over, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "And then what happened?"

"Later..." Xiao Yueluo's voice was very nasal, "I had just turned around and left when I started bleeding heavily. The blood gushed out like a dam had burst, and my consciousness was fading. In my hazy state, I heard footsteps and the nanny shouting in panic."

"The nanny said someone was holding her! Someone was snatching the child!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Tianxia flew into a rage: "Who?! Who!"

Xiao Yueluo ignored him, choking back tears and barely able to speak: "I was frantic at the time, and I didn't care about the pain all over my body. I just pushed myself up and crawled to the edge of the bed. When I looked up, I saw that Cuihua was standing in front of me, and she was holding my child in her arms!"

"I will never forget her vicious look! She, she, she actually touched the child's face and then turned around and shouted outside that I had given birth to a stillborn baby!"

"A stillborn baby? How could it be a stillborn baby! I clearly saw Xun'er's little hands still moving! Such a delicate and adorable little thing..."

Her tears could no longer be held back and fell onto the bedding: "I could only desperately try to grab it, but the massive bleeding exhausted all my strength, and I fell to the ground as soon as I climbed out of bed!"

"That vicious woman squatted down and whispered in my ear, telling me not to compete with her for you, and that the position of Madam would be hers sooner or later, and that the child in her belly could only be the eldest son of the True Inheritance Hall!"

Zhuge Tianxia was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. If Xiao Yueluo hadn't been holding his hand tightly, he would have stood up and started to settle scores long ago.

It was her! What wishful thinking!

"I was shocked," Xiao Yueluo continued. "So she had this in mind from the very beginning! I was so blind. I kindly arranged for her to have a healthy pregnancy and even sent her nice things regularly. I never imagined she was raising a poisonous snake!"

"Fortunately, I was prepared. The recording ball was turned on from the beginning, recording all her ugly deeds so that I can settle this score later."

"But fate was against me, and she found out! Not only did she steal the Shadow Ball, but she also kicked me twice in the stomach. Such a vicious person actually called me wicked."

"Thanks to the old woman, she managed to break free from the person holding her down and rushed over to protect me, otherwise I would have died at her feet! In the chaos, I bit Cuihua's ankle tightly and snatched the child, shoving it into the old woman's hands so she could run away with the child... I only remember that in the moment before I lost consciousness, everything outside was in complete chaos..."

"what--!"

A furious roar suddenly exploded, making the doors and windows throughout the room vibrate.

Zhuge Tianxia suddenly stood up, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead throbbing as if they were about to burst, and the anger in his chest almost burning him up.

His voice sounded like it was being squeezed from his throat, tinged with blood: "Poisonous woman! That poisonous woman! I'll kill her! I'll skin her alive!"

"Bang!" He suddenly raised his foot and kicked the edge of the bed hard, and the solid wood bed frame made a dull thud as it could not bear the weight.

Regret was like a poisoned knife, slowly torturing his internal organs. He stared intently at Xiao Yueluo's pale face, at the undried tear tracks on her cheeks, and roared, "I was blind! I ruined you! I'm so sorry for you and the child! Madam..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He staggered and knelt down, a line of hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

Despite her deep sorrow, Xiao Yueluo raised her hand and wiped the tears from his face with her fingertips. Her voice was hoarse, as if comforting him, and also as if comforting herself: "Fortunately, our child is tough and lucky, and has escaped this calamity. Why are you crying? You are the master of a palace, how can you shed tears like a child?"

Zhuge Tianxia gripped her hand even tighter, his fingertips rubbing the back of her hand forcefully. A heavy sob rose in his throat, filled with resentment and regret: "Madam... why didn't you tell me back then? Why?!"

"Tell you?!" She looked at him, her voice trembling, full of grievance and sorrow: "I have no evidence! She stole all the evidence! Would you believe me if I told you?"

“I’ve talked about these things in the courtyard, but the servants all think I’m crazy, they all think I’m stupid! They all think I’ve lost my child and can’t accept it, that’s why I’ve gone mad.”

Despair smothered Xiao Yueluo's eyes. She abruptly turned her face away, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. "I'm afraid... I'm afraid you think so too, that you think I'm crazy! That I'm a madman!"

Zhuge Tianxia felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his heart, causing him unbearable pain.

He pulled Xiao Yueluo into a tight embrace, his grip so strong it felt like he wanted to meld her into his very bones, his voice filled with tenderness and self-reproach: "Silly girl... how could you be so foolish... I would believe anything you said."

"I'm a bastard, I was blind, letting you suffer all these years alone! That vicious woman Cuihua, and everyone around her! I will not let any of them get away with harming you and the child!"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, so chaotic that it sounded like someone was tumbling and crawling in, accompanied by a panicked shout that broke the silence of grief inside the room.

"Lord! Madam! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhuge Tianxia's face instantly darkened. He turned sharply to the door and shouted, "What's the panic! Come in and answer!"

Chunxue was already panicked, and the shout startled her so much that she stumbled and fell hard on the blue brick floor as soon as she stepped across the threshold.

Ignoring the excruciating pain in her hands and knees, she crawled a few steps on her knees, supporting herself on her arms, and cried out in a wailing voice, "Something terrible has happened!"

The two people inside the room felt a sudden pang of fear, both guessing that something might have happened to their daughter. They exclaimed in unison, "Chunxue? Has something happened to Miss?!"

Chunxue nodded fiercely, tears streaming down her face mixed with the ash, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "It was Granny Li, who works for Aunt Hua! She brought a group of people to cause trouble for Miss, Miss... Miss was bullied by them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Tianxia's face instantly turned ashen, his anger and shock rising to his head.

"Good, good! That poisonous woman!"

Xiao Yueluo disregarded her physical weakness and staggered as she tried to rush out.

Zhuge Tianxia suddenly stood up, pulled her to his side, and with a sudden gust of wind beneath his feet, sped off towards Guiyun Courtyard.

Chunxue gritted her teeth, scrambled to her feet, and stumbled after her, saying, "Miss, you must hold on..."