The abortifacient.
They confessed.
They truly confessed!
Feng Ye Xuan felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water from head to toe.
For the first time, he realized his own body could be this cold.
So cold!
So cold that he felt as if he might tremble.
Truly, so cold.
His child, just like that, had been killed by these two people.
And he, clueless!
During those days, he had even confined his Li'er to Qianyun Pavilion, forbidding anyone from seeing her or caring for her.
She had managed to survive alone.
What a terrifying miracle that was!
If there had been the slightest mistake, would she no longer be in this world?
He had almost lost her...
"Guards." Feng Ye Xuan's voice was hoarse.
Outside, two guards immediately rushed in: "Your Highness!"
"Drag this palace maid out."
Feng Ye Xuan turned back, his gaze now fixed on Consort Zhen.
His voice was cold and merciless: "Beat her to death with sticks."
"Your Highness! Your Highness, spare me! This servant was forced, this servant was forced by Consort Zhen!"
Jing'er was dragged out, struggling and screaming frantically along the way.
"Your Highness, spare me! Consort Zhen, Your Highness, save me!"
"You said you would take all the blame, that this servant would be fine, you said this servant would be fine!"
"Your Highness... Your Highness... Your Highness, spare me, ah... ah..."
Jing'er was being beaten with sticks in the courtyard, her screams indescribably tragic and piercing.
Feng Ye Xuan walked towards Consort Zhen.
Consort Zhen trembled like a leaf in the wind. She barely managed to catch her breath before immediately trying to explain in a hoarse voice:
"No, it's not like that, it's not... It's... It's them... They framed me, they all framed me..."
"Xuan'er, Xuan'er, what are you doing? You want to... Mmph— mmph mmph..."
Her neck was being choked by Feng Ye Xuan.
His five fingers were slowly tightening.
Consort Zhen's breath hitched, and then she could no longer breathe.
He wanted to kill her, did he really want to kill her?
Xuan'er, Xuan'er, I am your birth mother!
You actually want to kill your birth mother for a woman, for a woman of lowly birth, for that bastard in her belly who has no claim to inheritance?
Xuan'er, Xuan'er, I am your birth mother, Xuan'er!
But she couldn't utter a single word. She only felt as if her neck was no longer her own, completely unable to breathe.
Consort Zhen struggled with all her might, her hands gripping Feng Ye Xuan's wrist, trying to push him away with her last ounce of strength.
But her strength was insignificant before Feng Ye Xuan.
Tears streamed down Consort Zhen's face. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape, trying to breathe.
But there was not a single breath of fresh air in her chest.
His eyes were filled with killing intent.
A pair of blood-red eyes, as if burning with fierce flames.
That was his rage.
He had completely lost his mind!
Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't...
A stream of warmth flowed from between Consort Zhen's legs.
She had wet herself! Not just from fear, but because her bodily functions were gradually failing!
She stared at Feng Ye Xuan in disbelief.
She truly couldn't believe that her Xuan'er would one day actually kill her.
No, no, she was his mother...
"Fourth Imperial Brother!"
Feng Jin Rui's voice suddenly broke into the room from the doorway.
He also couldn't believe his eyes. He strode forward and forcefully grabbed Feng Ye Xuan's wrist.
"Fourth Imperial Brother, what are you doing? Let go! Let go! She is our mother! Fourth Imperial Brother!"
Fourth Imperial Brother's eyes were full of killing intent, his gaze was hazy, he might not even know what he was doing.
He had completely lost his mind!
Feng Jin Rui couldn't pull him away. Suddenly, he struck Feng Ye Xuan's wrist with a palm.
Caught off guard, Feng Ye Xuan's fingers loosened slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, Feng Jin Rui grabbed his wrist and pulled hard.
Leng Ji also immediately took the chance to pull Consort Zhen away from his grasp.
With their combined efforts, they finally managed to rescue Consort Zhen from Feng Ye Xuan's grip.
Feng Ye Xuan looked at Consort Zhen, who was gasping for breath in Feng Jin Rui's arms, and then at his own hands.
He was also stunned.
He had almost killed her, killed his own birth mother.
Even if she wasn't his biological mother, she was ultimately his adoptive mother.
His mother...
He truly didn't know that he had completely lost consciousness just now.
All he knew was that they had killed his child!
They had colluded to force his child to death!
In the courtyard, Jing'er's screams gradually faded.
The sticks continued to fall mercilessly on her limp body.
Until the body showed no reaction at all.
Only then did the guards drag her away.
The entire world seemed to fall into a complete silence.
A deathly stillness.
Consort Zhen was still gasping for breath, crying as she did.
She had almost died.
If Leng Ji hadn't sensed the gravity of the situation and gone to find Feng Jin Rui, she would have been strangled to death by her Xuan tonight.
After a while, Consort Zhen finally managed to catch her breath. She looked at Feng Ye Xuan, a mixture of fear and resentment in her eyes.
"I... am your... mother, I am your mother!"
Finally, Consort Zhen burst into tears.
Because her neck had been choked and injured, her voice was now very hoarse.
The crying was unspeakably despairing, unspeakably desolate.
But Feng Ye Xuan remained unmoved.
As a son, he had wronged his mother, which was wrong.
But as a husband and father, he had failed to protect his wife and child, and that was a far greater mistake!
"You are this king's mother, but when have you ever treated this king with true affection? When you gave Li'er the abortifacient, did you ever think that the child in her belly was this king's? Did you ever think!"
"Xuan'er..."
"You could even harm my child, when have you ever had true affection for this king!"
She had only ever thought of herself.
She had only ever thought of her own bright future!
Adoptive mother!
Heh! In the end, not a real mother, no blood relation, and ultimately only thinking of her own interests.
His child, just like that, had completely vanished...
Feng Ye Xuan left, carrying an aura of despair with him.
Only after his presence had completely left the room did Consort Zhen slide to the floor like a leaf in the wind.
Feng Jin Rui did not help her up, because he too was completely stunned.
Leng Ji had rushed to find him earlier, saying that Fourth Imperial Brother was going to kill Consort Zhen.
The situation was urgent, and Leng Ji hadn't had time to explain clearly.
He couldn't even fathom what could have made Fourth Imperial Brother so enraged that he lost his sanity!
He never expected it to be like this.
He truly never expected it!
"Rui'er..."
Consort Zhen reached out, trying to touch him.
Feng Jin Rui suddenly took a step back and stood up abruptly. He looked down at her, his gaze becoming increasingly unfamiliar.
She had killed Fourth Imperial Brother's child, she had killed her own grandson...
No, not her grandson, because they were not her real sons!
Fourth Imperial Brother was right, when had she ever shown them any true affection?
How could she be so cruel?