Chapter 46: This Is His Child with Su Yao

“Pregnant?” Su Yao was momentarily stunned. Her eyes widened as she stared intently at Chun Tao, searching her gaze for any hint of denial.

After a long pause, she slowly raised her hand. Her movements were weak and sluggish as she gently placed it on her lower abdomen. Her hands trembled slightly. “How could this be? I always took the medicine…”

Seeing her like this, Chun Tao could no longer hold back and burst into tears. She collapsed onto Su Yao, sobbing bitterly, “Miss, it’s all my fault!”

“Chun Tao…” Su Yao called softly.

She wanted to uncover the truth but found she scarcely had the strength to speak.

“I truly don’t know how the medicine got switched,” Chun Tao sobbed between her tears. “After hearing you were pregnant, I thought it over and over. The only possibility is that when I went to Chongren Hall to get the doctor’s prescription, my purse was stolen…”

“That day, the doctor’s eyes were evasive. I should have noticed… but he said he changed it to a nourishing formula…”

Chun Tao’s voice grew faint, as if confessing and blaming herself.

Su Yao closed her eyes. Crystalline tears clung to her long lashes.

Who could she blame?

In this vast, oppressive manor, under Lu Huaijin’s ever-watchful control, who could escape his gaze?

Her so-called cleverness had been nothing but a childish farce in his eyes—a pawn he toyed with at will.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days, Miss.”

Chun Tao quickly wiped her tears and said, “Don’t move about recklessly. You fell and saw blood. The fetus is unstable. The doctor gave you injections just now, barely managing to save the child.”

Su Yao stared blankly at her belly. There was no visible bump, but the weight pressed on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Suddenly, she laughed.

Heavens, why?

Why, just as she wished to escape everything, was she given this child?

Su Yao did not want this child. With it, how could she break free from Lu Huaijin’s shackles?

“The imperial edict has come several times urging the master to return to the capital,” Chun Tao hesitated before gathering courage to say, “Miss… I see that the master truly cares for you. Now that you carry his child, it’s best not to harbor other thoughts…”

Chun Tao’s voice grew softer, watching Su Yao’s expression nervously.

Su Yao’s face clouded with sorrow, her eyes filling with tears.

Slowly, she lifted her hand to brush away the tears streaming down her cheeks, but they fell like unbroken strings of pearls, unstoppable.

Outside the window, the night lay dark and silent.

A tall figure stood quietly, bathed in moonlight that outlined his stern features.

The conversation between mistress and servant inside reached his ears clearly.

He was thirty now, yet had no heir. This was his first child, and whether boy or girl, he would be delighted.

Most importantly, this child was his and Su Yao’s.

This child would surely be beautiful and smart.

Lu Huaijin wanted that child.

He feared Su Yao would reject the child if she knew.

So he kept it hidden, believing that mother and child share a bond, and over time, she would grow attached.

He was gambling: on her kindness, on the faint feelings she might have for him.

If she agreed to bear the child, perhaps she would abandon other thoughts and stay by his side.

When he married his official wife later, he would give her a proper status.

At that moment, his heart was uneasy—an unfamiliar anxiety.

He feared Su Yao’s resentment and even more that she would ruthlessly reject the child.

His palms were sweaty, dampening his sleeves, but he was unaware.

Seeing Lu Huaijin arrive, Su Yao trembled slightly, turned away, and lay down, showing only her back.

The recent unconsciousness left her unable to drink water; her already frail body grew even weaker.

Lu Huaijin’s gaze darkened, a sharp pain stabbing his heart.

Chun Tao, sensing this, quickly withdrew, gently closing the door behind her.

Lu Huaijin sat by the bedside.

“Yao’er, are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat?”

Su Yao kept her eyes tightly shut, ignoring his question.

She heard him sigh.

The room fell into a terrifying silence.

After a long while, Lu Huaijin swallowed hard, his throat dry and voice hoarse, “Are you angry with me?”

Su Yao feigned sleep. With him present, she felt as if needles pricked her back and could not rest.

She remained silent, but her heart was in turmoil.

She clutched her belly tightly, overwhelmed.

“The child is innocent…”

Su Yao still said nothing.

Lu Huaijin’s large hand slowly brushed her shoulder.

In that instant, he felt her body shudder violently.

Was it fear—or tears? He dared not guess.

His eyes were filled with tenderness.

“The doctor said the child is strong, Yao’er. I will take good care of you and the child.”

His gaze never left Su Yao’s fragile back, as if trying to lock her there with his eyes.

Tears slipped silently from Su Yao’s eyes, soaking the bedclothes.

They were tears of hatred.

Of regret.

Of despair.

…

Before reaching the city gates of the capital, a group of palace attendants awaited.

Leading them was a eunuch holding a bright yellow imperial edict.

The Empress Dowager urgently summoned Lu Huaijin to the palace; the order was pressing.

Lu Huaijin glanced at Su Yao lying in the carriage. “I will send someone to escort you back home to rest first.”

Su Yao’s expression was listless, her eyes dull and void of life. She weakly responded, “Oh.”

Lu Huaijin personally drew back the carriage curtain, stepped down, and walked to the driver’s side, whispering instructions.

Afterward, he looked deeply at Su Yao once more, then turned and boarded another carriage already waiting, kicking up dust as he departed.

The driver quickly returned to the Lu residence. Chun Tao and Qiuyue supported Su Yao inside.

Su Yao wanted to return to her Qingfeng Garden but was stopped by the driver.

“Miss Su, the master has ordered that from today on, you will move to his Moxiang Residence.”

Su Yao’s face instantly paled, drained of color.

All her belongings had been moved there.

She had lived in the Prime Minister’s mansion for nearly three years, but she had never willingly set foot in his courtyard.

It was cold and desolate, like a prison.

Unconsciously, Su Yao’s hand went to her belly.

Was this child really going to be kept?