Underneath A Thousand Skies ✔️

47 Favoring Qie Over Wife (47)

In the blink of an eye, a week passed.

Jingshao Emperor had tasked the four princes to help each other in managing court affairs, but the crown prince became too timid to face the criticisms of the officials that he stayed in his estate and did not come out. Even the Empress could not coax him to return, and the Emperor was humiliated he sired such a dog son that he immediately degraded the crown prince's noble title, demoting him to a marquis rank.

Zhao Cheng immediately became busy. The only time Song Jia saw his face again was when he brought a physician to the zhengfang.

"Furen is simply exhausted from strenuous activities and needs ample rest. His Highness doesn't need to worry, as long as she takes proper meals and some tonics, she'll become healthy again in no time," the old graying physician said with a straight face.

With his age, what kind of thing has he not yet seen? As for strenuous activities...well, the two people concerned should know what he meant by this.

Zhao Cheng's jaw tightened when he heard the advice, although the corner of his mouth twitched as if suppressing a smirk. The physician's words were mild; the implications were not.

Song Jia blushed. Fortunately, the physician could not see her face from behind the curtain. Zhao Cheng did not care about what this old man thought and just casually waved his hand, permitting him to leave.

"Wang ye, you should take the physician to see sister Bai too..."

As the silk handkerchief was removed, Song Jia's pale wrist retreated from view. Her voice was soft, without any hostility or resentment. Zhao Cheng's hand that was about to lift the curtain which separated them paused.

He would be lying if he said he had not thought of Bai Mei Lien at all. She was carrying his child, and she was the woman he loved. But these days, when his thoughts wandered, they didn't drift toward Bai Mei Lien's gentle smile, but toward the curve of Li Jia's lips when she argued with him, the way her eyes flashed when she was angry, or the quiet tone she used when she spoke his name. She filled his mind without meaning to, until even in silence, he found himself listening for her voice. It unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

His feelings for Bai Mei Lien were calm, almost distant, like a flower pressed between the pages of an old book. But every time he thought of his wang fei, they surged to life—vivid and consuming, like red lotuses blooming across the still surface of his once steady mind, until every ripple there was caused by the thought of her.

He had not experienced missing Bai Mei Lien as much as he missed his wife. Even when they were still at the phase where they could not see each other enough, he would at most merely visit Bai Mei Lien and then be gone after talking to her for a bit.

It was not like how his heart ached when his wang fei was out of his sight. Just thinking about how she wanted to get away from him through means of divorce made him feel as though ants were gnawing on his heart, eating it away bit by bit.

He could not tolerate her leaving him!

He promised her, he knew he promised her that after a year, they would divorce. But a ridiculous thought had popped up in his mind when he read her letter that told him of Bai Mei Lien's pregnancy.

Pregnancy...

If Li Jia gives birth to his children, then there would be a layer of connection between them, one that would not be easily broken by divorce. If he cared for her, and pampered her, and she was surrounded by their children...at the very least, wouldn't she be reluctant to leave him?

The thought made Zhao Cheng lower his eyes in shame. It was a trick used by women of the inner palace, bearing a child to secure favor, to bind affection with blood. Yet here he was, an imperial prince, resorting to the same petty scheme. It was unbecoming of him, beneath his pride and his title. But if it was for Li Jia—if it meant keeping her by his side—then even if he had to stoop low to pick up a sesame seed while letting go of a watermelon, he would do it without hesitation. [1]