The Crown Princess Is Jealous Again - Chapter 71

Xiao Beitang and Song Qingqian had just returned to Zichen Palace when Liuzi came in to report, “Your Highness, Crown Princess, Chief Steward Zhao is here.”

If Zhao Yan had come at this hour, it must mean the Empress Dowager missed her and wanted her to join them for dinner.

Upon seeing the two, Zhao Yan bowed and said, “Your Highness, Crown Princess, His Majesty and Her Majesty are waiting in Kunning Palace. Please follow me quickly.”

There was something unusual in his expression—grave, even.

“What’s the matter?” Xiao Beitang didn’t move and questioned him.

“His Majesty didn’t say. He only ordered me to fetch you.”

“You expect me to believe you don’t know?” Xiao Beitang sneered coldly.

Zhao Yan hesitated, avoiding eye contact. “This… this servant truly doesn’t know.”

“Lead the way, Chief Zhao,” Song Qingqian said calmly.

Xiao Beitang gave her a glance but didn’t argue.

Relieved, Zhao Yan nodded repeatedly and led the way.

“Your Highness… when you see His Majesty later…” Zhao Yan trailed off as if he wanted to say more.

What did he mean by that? Clearly, he knew something but was being secretive. Why play games?

Inside Kunning Palace, it was unnaturally quiet. The palace attendants all had their heads bowed, and the atmosphere felt tense and stifling.

Xiao Beitang lifted her robes and stepped across the threshold, only to find the main hall empty.

Zhao Yan continued to lead them deeper inside.

“The bedchamber?” Xiao Beitang questioned in a low voice. Why were they being received in the sleeping quarters? If not the main hall, shouldn’t it at least be the side chamber?

“Yes, His Majesty and Her Majesty are inside,” Zhao Yan replied softly. At the door to the inner chamber, he stopped and remained outside.

Inside, upon seeing the two, Lüwu gave them a meaningful glance, then quietly approached and whispered, “Your Highness, please don’t argue with His Majesty…” Then she retreated with the other attendants.

Xiao Beitang frowned as she watched Lüwu leave, then exchanged a look with Song Qingqian. They stepped further inside and saw the Empress reclining weakly on a couch, her eyes closed.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Xiao Beitang’s face filled with concern as she stepped forward to check on her.

Emperor Jing’s face darkened, and he turned sharply, scolding her in fury. “You still have the nerve to ask? You know very well what you’ve done!”

The Empress slowly opened her eyes and tugged lightly at the Emperor’s sleeve. “Don’t blame Tang’er. My health is fragile, and I got upset, that’s all.”

“You’re still defending her?” The Emperor turned back to gently brush the hair at her temple, his voice helpless but tender, his eyes full of heartache.

Xiao Beitang looked puzzled and slightly impatient. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“Tang’er,” the Empress asked gently, “why did you give Qingqian contraceptive medicine? Did you also take it yourself?”

The Empress had always believed that the things Xiao Beitang did in the past were just to provoke the Emperor—calculated mischief. She had always thought her daughter had a sense of boundaries.

Now she waited for Xiao Beitang’s explanation.

Xiao Beitang avoided her mother’s questioning gaze and remained silent.

Was this really what had caused the Empress to fall ill?

Song Qingqian tensed and glanced at Xiao Beitang. “It was my fault…”

“It’s just contraceptive medicine. So, what if I took it? I don’t want children. Naturally, I have to prevent it in advance.” Xiao Beitang interrupted her nonchalantly.

Song Qingqian knew she was trying to protect her. But that dismissive attitude was sure to infuriate the Emperor. She shot her a warning look.

The Empress coughed heavily and stared at Xiao Beitang. “You don’t want children? Why?”

Xiao Beitang had grown up alone in the palace. She had once, in a fit of childish anger, said she would never have children or sit on the throne—but that was when she was only eight, arguing with the Emperor.

Surely she didn’t mean it now?

Xiao Beitang remained indifferent. “No particular reason.”

“Tang’er, even if that’s how you feel, you shouldn’t take contraceptives!” the Empress pleaded, still gentle despite her concern.

The medicine used by Dryn-type alphas was more damaging than what the Kunzhe took. Her health wasn’t optimal to begin with, and the Empress feared the damage could be irreversible.

“It’s not like I take it every day…” she muttered.

Emperor Jing’s anger flared. He stood, glaring at her with deep disappointment. “Xiao Beitang, that’s enough!”

“Your Majesty,” the Empress tugged at his sleeve.

But for once, he ignored her. Face dark with fury, he said in a low voice, “I used to think you were just willful, so I indulged you. But today, you’ve truly disappointed me. You know you’re not like others, yet you still took the medicine? Did you not consider the consequences?”

Song Qingqian didn’t understand what he meant by “not like others.” She assumed he was referring to Xiao Beitang’s position—as the Crown Princess, tied to the empire’s future, taking such medicine was indeed reckless.

She had never thought much about the possibility of having children. Even if she couldn’t conceive, others could carry the royal bloodline for Xiao Beitang. But if Xiao Beitang couldn’t produce heirs herself, the situation became much more serious.

If she had known it was contraceptive medicine, she would never have let her take it. Poor fool—Xiao Beitang had been smiling like nothing was wrong back then. Song Qingqian still felt guilty.

She tried to explain, “Your Majesty, this matter—”

But Xiao Beitang didn’t let her finish. With a careless attitude, she declared, “It’s not the first time you’ve been disappointed in me. I don’t want children—now or ever.”

“Tang’er, don’t say such things out of anger,” the Empress pleaded. How could she not want children?

“I’m not angry,” Xiao Beitang said lightly. “But if you think I’m a disgrace, then surely any child of mine would be just as bad. Why bring another disappointment into the world?”

Just like when they first entered the palace, Song Qingqian saw her putting on this act again—deliberately taking all the blame to keep her from speaking.

The Empress understood this behavior too. She must have taken the medicine out of spite toward the Emperor again. The Emperor sighed. “Tang’er, must you always say things just to provoke me? You know you’re not like others. Your pheromones—only Qingqian can sense them. No other Kunzhe has ever been able to. You can’t mark anyone else, and making another pregnant—might be impossible.”

What? Song Qingqian felt a thunderclap go off in her chest. What did she mean, only she could detect Xiao Beitang’s pheromones? No one else could? So that’s what the “illness” was? No wonder Xiao Beitang never held back her pheromones—no one else could smell them! She stared at her in stunned silence.

“The Grand Diviner has been searching for a cure for four years, and there’s still no result. You’ve been differentiated for four years and haven’t had a single heat cycle. You know how serious this is. If you keep taking medicine like this, you might never have children.”

The Empress made no effort to shield this from Song Qingqian anymore. She hadn’t said it before because they didn’t know Qingqian could sense Xiao Beitang’s pheromones. But now, she needed to understand—maybe she could stop her.

Besides, this mattered to Qingqian too. Didn’t she want children? Bearing offspring was a Kunzhe’s instinct. What Kunzhe didn’t want a child?

Xiao Beitang remained unmoved. “Mother, there’s no need to persuade me…”

The Emperor finally lost his temper. His fingers trembled as he pointed at her, roaring, “Rebellious daughter! How could I have raised someone like you? Do you have no sense of duty as a Dryn? You are the Crown

Princess! Do you not understand the weight on your shoulders? Who are you trying to impress with this carelessness?”

“Dryn? This body—wasn’t it your gift, Mother?” Xiao Beitang sneered coldly.

The Emperor laughed bitterly. “I did it for your own good. Was I wrong?”

“You did it for yourself!” she snapped.

“You—!” the Emperor was speechless with rage.

“Tang’er—” the Empress tried to intervene. This always happened when they brought up the past—father and daughter could never talk calmly.

Song Qingqian also tugged at her sleeve, but she ignored her, continuing, “You’re the ones who made me suffer. Everything I have was forced upon me. Did you ever ask what I wanted? You couldn’t have another child, so you shoved everything onto me. You did it for yourselves!”

“Say that again?” the Emperor was truly enraged now.

“Both of you, stop talking!” the Empress coughed violently from the stress.

For the first time, Song Qingqian realized that even royalty had such fierce family arguments. She couldn’t get a word in. And she couldn’t stop any of them.