pregnancy

Ding King Mansion is too high and mighty; they came through me instead." Mo Xiuyao paused his brush, pondered for a moment before raising his head and saying, "Xu Qingchen.""His Highness the Ding Kin...Pregnant

"Fourth... Fourth Brother"

Ye Li stared blankly at Xu Qingbai, who stood protectively in front of her. A sword had been thrust from behind, and blood trickled down the blade and onto Ye Li's clothes; a few drops splashed on her fair face.

"Liyi..." Xu Qingbai smiled bitterly but helplessly as intense pain made his body twitch involuntarily. Qin Feng finally managed to free his hand from behind him, only to see this shocking scene before him. He dodged the long sword from a nearby attacker and swung it at the person. The assassin who had originally planned to draw his sword and deliver one more blow was instantly cut into two halves by Qin Feng's chilling sword energy.

"Your Excellency! Fourth Young Master!" Seeing that something had happened over here, other guards quickly gathered around. In fact, this was also their mistake; after all, everyone witnessed Your Excellency's prowess in hand-to-hand combat, so they mainly focused on fighting the enemies and didn't expect her to encounter an accident. Now these guards were closing in, shrinking the encirclement. Although it would be of no benefit for eliminating the assassins, these assassins would find it harder to break through.

Qin Feng took a quick glance around before stepping forward and asking, "Your Excellency, are you..."

Ye Li bit her lip lightly and said in a deep voice, "I'm fine. Check on Fourth Brother."

Qin Feng could tell that the assassin hadn't injured Your Excellency; most of the blood on her was Xu Qingbai's. However, Xu Qingbai had already fallen into a semi-conscious state. After taking a moment to steady himself, Qin Feng carefully examined Xu Qingbai's injuries and breathed a slight sigh of relief. He then pressed several acupoints on Xu Qingbai: "No critical organs were pierced, but Fourth Young Master has lost too much blood; we need to stop the bleeding as soon as possible, or..." But at present, they were surrounded by assassins and couldn't break out.

"Subordinate has already sent a signal. The city's guards will arrive shortly," Qin Feng whispered softly upon seeing Ye Li’s pale complexion.

Ye Li nodded and carefully supported Xu Qingbai to prevent his wound, still pierced by the sword, from hitting something else and causing more bleeding.

The guards of Ding王府 (Ding Manor) in town didn't arrive as quickly as expected; soon a large group arrived. Leading them were Feng Zhiyao and Xu Qingfeng. Xu Qingfeng broke through the encirclement to see Xu Qingbai covered in blood, his eyes immediately turning red: "Fourth Brother! Liyi..."

"Your Excellency, Fourth Young Master..." Following closely behind was Feng Zhiyao, whose heart tightened as well upon seeing Ye Li unharmed. Originally he and Xu Qingfeng were resting at the驛站 (post station) while bored, but they saw Qin Feng's signal and hurried over to find a bloody mess. Cold light flashed in Feng Zhiyao’s eyes: "Kill! Leave two alive!"

Seeing Feng Zhiyao and Xu Qingfeng, Ye Li also heaved a sigh of relief, feeling dizzy spells come on one after another before her eyes. She grabbed Xu Qingfeng by the arm, saying: "Third Brother, take Fourth Brother to the clinic... Hurry up!" Xu Qingfeng nodded solemnly: "Understood." He bent down and carefully picked up Xu Qingbai, avoiding his still-sheathed sword as he stood up. With a group of guards protecting them, they walked out. Ye Li also got up with Feng Zhiyao and Qin Feng supporting her; but the moment she relaxed, she felt an even stronger chill throughout her body and fainted to the ground.

"Your Excellency!"

From a street corner, a cold call rang out: "A Li!" A swift horse galloped down the street. On its back, a white-robed figure leaped into the air with a flash of sword energy; all nearby assassins nearest to Ye Li were injured by the sword energy and fell to the ground with bloody gashes on their chests.

Mò Xiuyáo landed on the ground, his face grim. He took Ye Li from Feng Zhiyao's hands: "A Li... A Li..." While reaching out to feel her pulse, his hand that usually held a bloodthirsty sword didn't even tremble once; now, however, it quivered slightly as he couldn’t find her pulse. Thus, the handsome face revealed a look of anxiety and gloominess with hints of violent energy. Seeing this, Feng Zhiyao immediately said: "My Lord, Your Excellency isn’t injured, just fainted." In fact, without taking the pulse, one could see that Ye Li's breathing was still steady; but Mò Xiuyáo, worried to distraction, couldn't think straight.

Mò Xiuyáo paused for a moment and seemed finally calm. A flicker of clarity appeared in his eyes before he took Ye Li’s wrist again and felt her pulse. Although he didn’t understand much about it, as a martial artist, he could identify the basic pulses. He indeed found that Ye Li's pulse was steady, without any internal or external injuries or poisoning; only then did his face relax slightly. Feng Zhiyao added: "Subordinate has already ordered someone to bring a doctor here. My Lord might as well first settle Your Excellency."

"My Lord, the flower garden only has rest areas. Why don’t we take Your Excellency inside and temporarily settle her there" Lady Sun walked over with a pale face. Today's incident would be bad if something happened to Your Excellency; even if it wasn't related to the Sun Family, they wouldn’t escape blame either. Therefore, although Lady Sun’s legs were still trembling from fright, she had to come forward and speak.

Mò Xiuyáo picked up Ye Li, gave Lady Sun a faint glance, then strode into the flower garden.

The doctor came quickly, and just after Mo Xiuyao had been brought to one of the small pavilions in the flower garden by Lady Sun, Qin Feng and Feng Zhirao were already each escorting a doctor into the room. These two doctors weren’t from the Ding王府 military, but instead were summoned nearby when ordered by Mo Xiuyao’s command. The sudden abduction had frightened these two as well. Upon seeing Mo Xiuyao sitting beside the bed with his gray hair and sullen expression, they involuntarily sat down on the ground.

Lady Sun quickly pulled them up and said: "Doctors, please take a look at His Highness’ duchess."

Upon being reminded by her, the two doctors regained their senses. Their hands were trembling slightly as they walked over to the bed. However, when they saw Mo Xiuyao sitting beside it, they didn’t dare get too close. Mo Xiuyao let out a snort before getting up and making space for them next to the bed.

Although these two doctors weren’t great men, medical halls usually had all types of people, so their information was not closed off either. They naturally guessed that the woman lying in the room was a duchess, and seeing Mo Xiuyao’s fierce gaze made them even more cautious. They alternated feeling Lady Ye’s pulse before exchanging glances to confirm each other's diagnosis. However, Mo Xiuyao behind them had no such patience and asked seriously: “How is Ye Li”

One of the doctors frowned as he took Lady Ye’s pulse again. Only after confirming did he bow slightly towards Mo Xiuyao and said: "Your Highness please rest assured, there isn’t anything serious with your duchess."

However, Mo Xiuyao’s expression didn’t brighten up at all. He asked sternly: “I asked why my duchess is unconscious!”

The old doctor shuddered and quickly replied: "Your Highness… Your Highness, your duchess has been pregnant for almost three months. She is likely unconscious because the little prince in her womb was frightened…”

"What did you say!" Everyone was stunned while Mo Xiuyao grabbed the doctor’s collar and asked. The doctor couldn’t speak as he was too scared. The other doctor immediately said: "Your Highness, your duchess is indeed pregnant. Otherwise… she hasn’t suffered any harm."

In the room, Feng Zhirao, Qin Feng and Lady Sun all breathed a sigh of relief before they rejoiced even more. Feng Zhirao helped the poor doctor who was about to be choked by Mo Xiuyao and said to him: "Your Highness, congratulations! The Ding王府 will have another little prince." Mo Xiuyao finally regained his composure as he walked over and sat down next to the bed, staring at Lady Ye. Feng Zhirao sighed and turned around to talk with the doctors, asking: “Is your highness really alright When can she wake up”

The doctor whispered: "Your Highness has been greatly shocked. The little prince in her womb is weak as well so it’s likely scared. Your Highness fell asleep to protect him. I will give a few pills for the pregnancy and peace of mind. Your Highness should be awake within two or three days."

Feng Zhirao looked at the doctors seriously, asking: "Are you sure"

The doctors nodded with a bitter expression on their faces and said: "We are certain that your highness is fine. Your Highness’ body condition is excellent so if not for today’s incident, ordinary women wouldn’t be able to keep the child alive in such circumstances. This time it was only slightly affected, nothing serious." Feng Zhirao nodded approvingly and said: "That’s good then. Please stay at Ding王府 these few days to take care of your highness. Of course, we will pay you a satisfactory fee."

The two doctors knew they couldn’t refuse so they simply agreed to be taken by Feng Zhirao to make the prescription and prepare medicine.

After giving Lady Ye the medicine and settling her down, even though she was still asleep, Mo Xiuyao’s face softened seeing that her complexion had improved. Once Feng Zhirao reported that all the assassins were captured, only then did Mo Xiuyao carefully pull up the blanket before getting up.

In the outer hall, Lady Sun waited there and dared not leave. Seeing Mo Xiuyao come out, she took a step forward and knelt down, saying: "Madam Sun begs for your highness to punish me."

Mo Xiuyao snorted slightly before saying coolly: “Give me the information on where these assassins came from within an hour. Otherwise…” Before Mo Xiuyao could finish, Lady Sun quickly replied: "Thank you Your Highness for showing mercy. I understand." She bowed to him and hurried out.

Mo Xiuyao walked out of the room and glanced at Qin Feng, Zhuo Jing and Lin Han who were standing by the door. He said seriously: “The responsibility for this will be discussed later when Ye Li wakes up. If anything happens again…” Qin Feng replied solemnly: "Understood." Mo Xiuyao snorted coldly before leaving. Zhuo Jing and Lin Han sighed as they patted Qin Feng’s shoulder to console him, then followed behind Mo Xiuyao.

In the Bai Family garden, although there were many people present, the atmosphere was so solemn that everyone felt fear. In a nearby open space by the waterside pavilion, all the noblewomen and ladies who had attended this gathering had been detained there. Although it was still early September, Xiling’s royal city already had some chilliness in its air. However, these daughters of nobility were not allowed to complain about the cold as they stood for over an hour facing emotionless soldiers from the Mo Family army.

Bai Qingning sat next to Bai Madam with a dazed look on her face while her mother, who had been standing outside earlier, was also visibly shaken. The two of them looked inconspicuous among the crowd since everyone else wasn’t doing much better. Not only that, but there were a few assassins caught by Ding王府’s guards nearby as well, some even being people they recognized after removing their masks. People who had keen observations could sense the storm brewing.

"Greetings Your Highness," The serious and respectful salutations of Ding王府 guards rang out while Mo Xiuyao walked in with a long white robe on him. His long snow-white hair fluttered freely in the wind, creating a cold sensation that was hard to describe. He didn’t look at the frightened noblewomen but instead turned towards the assassins who had been forced onto their knees and asked: "What is your identity"

Feng Ziyao whispered, "Your Highness, I have already ascertained their identities. They belong to different backgrounds; one is a guard of the Western Capital's Imperial Guard, and another is a minor official in the Ministry of War, both from old noble families of the Western Capital."

"Very well..." Mo Xiuyao chuckled softly while looking at the young man sprawled on the ground with broken leg bones who glared angrily back at him. He squatted down and lifted the young man's face with one hand, smiling coolly, "A noble from the Western Capital Quite daring indeed..."

"Mo Xiuyao, you can't take over the Western Capital's imperial city! Prince of Southern Peace will come back!" The young man growled.

Mo Xiuyao did not get angry. "Thunderbolt Rinting Too bad... To Thunderbolt Rinting, it seems that the Western Capital's imperial city isn't so important after all. But rest assured, this prince will fulfill your wish in the future and scatter Thunderbolt Rinting's ashes throughout the streets of the Western Capital for everyone to trample on. As for now… worry about yourselves instead." With his words, a snap was heard, followed by the young man's expression twisting as his sternum indented inward strangely while blood kept spilling from his lips.

"Mo Xiuyao! You won't die peacefully! And you too—!" Before he could finish his sentence, the young man suddenly flew backward, colliding heavily against a distant wall. A heavy thud was heard as dark red blood stained the wall. The youth's body slid to the ground and lay in a lifeless heap. "Ungrateful brats!"

The garden fell silent; everyone stared fearfully at the white-haired man, seeing him not as an illustrious prince but rather as a fiend emerging from hell.

Mo Xiuyao did not look at the corpse in the corner and instead looked down at another assassin with a faint smile. "Imperial Guard Did the Western Capital's emperor send you to assassinate my Ah Li"

Even號稱 the elite of the Western Capital, the Imperial Guards felt a chill after witnessing that.

"It was my own idea; it has nothing to do with others. Do what you want!" The guard gritted his teeth through the coldness in his heart and replied.

Mo Xiuyao nodded. "Good, you have backbone. This prince will grant your wish. Exterminate your clan!"

The man's eyes widened abruptly. "No… You can't do this!"

"Then let me show you quietly whether I can or not." Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly and asked, "Feng San, have the people been brought" Standing beside him, Feng Ziyao sighed inwardly as he concealed his concern and replied, "Your Highness, all assassins whose identities have been uncovered are waiting outside for your judgment."

Mo Xiuyao said calmly, "Kill them."

"No! Prince Ding, you can't do this!" Princess Lingyun stepped forward and glared at Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiuyao sneered slightly. "I don’t need your advice on what to do." With a fierce tone, Princess Lingyun said, "They are subjects of the Western Capital; Prince Ding has no authority over them."

Feng Ziyao stepped forward and blocked Princess Lingyun, smiling lightly as he replied, "They attempted to assassinate Prince Consort of Southern Peace. We have every right to decide their fate." Princess Lingyun was momentarily speechless but argued, "But their families are innocent!" Feng Ziyao chuckled dryly and looked at her with interest, saying, "Trying to murder the consort of Prince of Southern Peace is a grave sin that deserves nine generations of punishment. Moreover, we're only executing three generations; this can be considered respecting the Western Capital's emperor."

Princess Lingyun’s face turned grim. The assassins themselves were not from high-ranking families but rather inconspicuous individuals. However, their families were all influential clans in the Western Capital with most following Prince of Southern Peace. Furthermore, marriages between nobles often involved these families, and exterminating three generations would leave a significant portion of the Western Capital's nobility dead or injured. The influence of Prince of Southern Peace’s house could be almost completely eradicated. Compared to her weak father, Princess Lingyun always admired her capable uncle, Thunderbolt Rinting. Her relationship with the Prince of Southern Peace was also good; thus, she did not want his Western Capital's power to be entirely wiped out.

"Even so, this matter should still be reported to my father before any action is taken," Princess Lingyun said.

Feng Ziyao sneered. "The Western Capital now belongs to Prince of Southern Peace’s house. Your royal family merely resides here temporarily. When will the owner need advice on how to act from a guest"

"You… You're shameless!" Princess Lingyun had no retort and could only angrily accuse him.

Feng Zhiyao rolled her eyes speechlessly and was about to open her mouth to retort to Princess Lingyun a few times when a white figure swept past in front of her like the wind. The haughty Princess Lingyun who had been looking down on everyone just now had already been choked by someone, with both eyes rolling up into the sockets. Mo Xiuyao looked down from above, staring coldly at the elaborately made-up woman in front of him. His voice was as chilly and severe as a winter gale, "When did it become your turn to butt in about my business Do you think that just because you are Western Capital’s Princess… everything is going to be okay"

Princess Lingyun was choked by Mo Xiuyao; she could hardly breathe and struggled to say: “I... I haven’t done anything... I, ahem…” Mo Xiuyao did not show any mercy at all. No matter how hard Princess Lingyun tried, she couldn’t even utter a complete sentence, only able to watch helplessly as her breathing became more and more difficult and the pain in her chest was so intense that it felt like it would burst.

"How many people did you bring here Huh" Mo Xiuyao asked.

Princess Lingyun’s face changed, fear flashing in her eyes. She looked at Mo Xiuyao’s handsome smiling face with dread and saw nothing but murderous intent in his deep dark eyes, "N-no…" This was the last word Princess Lingyun said under everyone's watchful gaze; just now she had been loudly arguing with others but suddenly fell silent and dropped to the ground. Blood bubbled from her mouth.

"Ah!" Someone couldn't bear the sight before them anymore and let out a shrill scream. Instantly, there was chaos in the garden and all the women present hurriedly knelt down on the floor and repeatedly begged for mercy. Even someone as esteemed as Princess Lingyun could be killed without hesitation by Duke Ding; how much more so for them

"Shut up!" Feng Zhiyao glanced at Mo Xiuyao who clearly had become impatient with all the crying and screaming, immediately roaring.

Under his roar, the wailing stopped. Mo Xiuyao walked over to a chair that was already placed not far away and sat down; his gaze slowly fell upon Bai Qingning and her mother in the crowd. The moment Bai Qingning sensed Mo Xiuyao’s gaze falling on her, she couldn’t help but shiver involuntarily as she tried to snuggle closer into Bai Mama’s embrace. After what had just happened, where was there any trace of ambition left in her heart At this point, Duke Ding appeared even more terrifying than the evil ghosts and hell demons of the netherworld to her. If she could leave right away, all she wished for was never to see this person again.

"Bai Qingning" Mo Xiuyao called out in a bland voice; his tone gave no indication as to whether he felt happy or angry.

Due to the chaos at the scene earlier on, Bai Mama hadn’t seen what exactly Bai Qingning had done. Although she was also extremely afraid of Mo Xiuyao right now, she thought that Duke Ding must have taken a liking to her daughter and hurriedly stretched out her hand to push Bai Qingning forward. Bai Qingning’s body trembled as she shook her head repeatedly in an attempt to hide behind Bai Mama who didn’t dare move at all. Feng Zhiyao by Mo Xiuyao’s side waved his hand, two guards easily picking up Bai Qingning and bringing her before Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiuyao sized up Bai Qingning carefully for a long time before saying blandly: "Not bad looking."

The praise sounded to Bai Qingning like an execution order. Recalling how Mo Xiuyao had just praised those two assassins as having backbone, Bai Qingning’s face became even paler than paper. Trembling and kneeling on the ground, she tried hard to suppress her fear and said: "My Lord… thank you for My Lord’s praise…"

Mo Xiuyao gave a cold laugh, "This Duke didn’t praise you; this Duke’s beloved Consort fainted because of you. You have a lot of nerve!"

"No!" Bai Qingning cried out: "It has nothing to do with me! I haven’t done anything at all!" She really hadn’t done anything, that was right she had pulled Ye Li one hand but that was an accident; the person she wanted to pull wasn't Ye Li. Furthermore, she just wanted to survive; in such a situation when her hands were tied behind her back, wanting to live could be wrong

"You did nothing" Mo Xiuyao stared at her. Bai Qingning nodded repeatedly: "That’s right, I haven’t done anything!"

“Doing nothing… also deserves death!” Mo Xiuyao's eyes revealed his wrath; he glared at Bai Qingning with disgust and even hatred, his tone gentle yet firm: "You are by Aili’s side, why didn’t you shield her"

Bai Qingning was speechless. So not shielding Duke Ding’s consort from the sword was also a reason to die No! Bai Qingning shook her head repeatedly as a sense of injustice rose up inside.

Why should she Why did she deserve death for not shielding Duke Ding’s wife with her body Why should she, an unarmed weak woman, shield someone who had martial arts skills and was completely unrelated to her She just wanted to survive; how could that be wrong

"No! I won’t accept this!" Bai Qingning cried out shrilly.

———Extra———

Mmm, Bai Qingning is indeed very unlucky. What’s called cannon fodder This is cannon fodder. Perhaps she once had a certain thought but before that could even be realized she has become cannon fodder already. If she hadn’t become cannon fodder, after today she would definitely have run far away from Mo Xiuyao~Army was about to be defeated and no one came out to support them but instead sounded the retreat.Well...Don't rush it, try them again tomorrow.The dejected Yun Ting and his group returned to the camp...