Chapter 688.1: Release him

In the posthouse.

After his discussion with Du Ling, Pei Qianhao was too concerned about Su Xi-er to fall asleep. He stayed in the same room to keep watch the whole night as she slept, gently tracing the outline of her face as he took care to avoid waking her up.

Soon enough, Su Xi-er’s eyelashes fluttered open and they made eye contact.

“A-Jing, did you not sleep at all?” Having noticed the bags that seemed to have showed up under Pei Qianhao’s eyes overnight, her tone was filled with concern.

Pei Qianhao stroked her hair and said, “No, I just had a very long discussion with the Western Region King.”

Su Xi-er knew that he was trying to keep her from worrying, and didn’t push as she simply smiled and asked,  “A-Jing, do you know how I woke up?”

A cheeky smile hung on her lips as she touched her tummy.

“Did the baby wake you up, Xi-er?” Pei Qianhao asked in surprise.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep that from you.”

However, Su Xi-er felt a sharp pain from her stomach after the words left her mouth. She turned pale, and beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead.

“Xi-er, what’s wrong?” Pei Qianhao asked anxiously.

Before Su Xi-er could say anything, she spit out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

Pei Qianhao immediately carried her back to the bed and shouted, “Someone get a physician, quick!”

The doctor arrived soon after with Du Ling following right behind him.

“What’s going on? Why did Xi-er faint again?” Du Ling asked with concern.

He wanted to say something else, but stopped himself when he saw Pei Qianhao worriedly holding onto Su Xi-er as the doctor took her pulse.

After a while, the doctor shook his head and said, “Apart from a weak pulse, everything is fine. This old man is unable to diagnose the issue here.”

Pei Qianhao stared daggers at the doctor upon hearing his non-diagnosis. It was at this point that Wu Ling walked in with an ashen-faced Yu Xiao.

“Prince Hao, let me take a look.” Yu Xiao spoke calmly without a hint of emotion.

Pei Qianhao nodded while holding Su Xi-er’s hand tightly, hoping that he could transfer some warmth to her.

Yu Xiao then walked up to her and fed her a pill, causing her eyes to slowly open. She felt Pei Qianhao’s touch, and returned it with a firm grasp of her own. She knew that there had to be something wrong for her to be passing out so frequently.

Suddenly, Hua Zirong appeared with an imperial physician in tow.

“I heard that Princess Consort Hao fell ill, so I’ve brought an imperial physician.”

With a cold look, Pei Qianhao ignored him.

Du Ling smirked. “Hua Zirong, I won’t let it rest if anything untoward happens to Xi-er.”

“Western Region King, what do you mean? Are you suspecting me of this?” Hua Zirong asked calmly.

Pei Qianhao said, “We’ll talk about this later, after we’ve looked into everything.”

Su Xi-er smiled. “A-Jing, Elder Brother, the Monarch of Xiliu is here to make a deal with me.”

“The person in question has been handed over to Prince Hao’s trusted aide.” Hua Zirong smiled as he spoke.

Su Xi-er nodded and signalled to a guard; it wasn’t long before a woman in a white changshan appeared before them.