The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

It was still early, and the Imperial Ancestral Temple was solemn and dignified.

Just as Shen Wangxi was about to insert the incense stick in his hand into the cauldron, the incense broke and fell out without warning.

His heart skipped a beat as he flashed his eyes to Shen Qingruo's delicate face.

"Aruo..." he murmured, no longer caring about the sacrificial rites. He turned around abruptly, rushed out of the ancestral temple amidst the astonished gazes of the court officials, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the palace.

Meanwhile, at Qingyi Palace.

Wulan Yun personally picked up the bowl of medicine.

She walked up to Shen Qingruo, who was being held down and kneeling on the ground by two palace maids, and looked down at her.

"Your Majesty! No! This really is His Majesty's child! You can't..." Shen Qingruo struggled to look up at him and pleaded.

Ulan Yun leaned down and said coldly in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Of course I know this is his dragon seed."

She stared at Shen Qingruo's wide, watery eyes, a cruel smile curling at the corner of her lips. "That's precisely why he must die."

She gestured for Emerald to come forward, and forcefully pinched Shen Qingruo's cheeks, forcing her to open her mouth.

"No—!" Shen Qingruo shook her head desperately, struggling, but her delicate wrists were being pinched by the nanny and she couldn't break free.

"Aruo, just hold on a little longer! Shen Wangxi is already at the palace gate. He's good at light footwork, he'll be there soon!" Xiao Jiu shouted anxiously in her mind.

Just as the medicine was about to be poured into her mouth, Shen Qingruo suddenly found a surge of strength and abruptly turned her head to break free from Emerald's grip. She then forcefully pushed the bowl away from Wulan Yun's hand.

"Splash!" Most of the bowl of medicine was spilled on the ground.

Wu Lanyun's face immediately darkened, and she scolded, "What kind of person are you if you can't even hold one person down?"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Qingruo stood up, disregarding everything else, wanting only to escape this terrifying place, and stumbled and ran towards the palace gate.

"Trying to run away?" Shen Jingyan, who had been waiting by the door, suddenly stuck out her foot and tripped Shen Qingruo, while pushing her backward with force.

"Ah!" Shen Qingruo exclaimed in surprise, losing her balance and falling heavily backward to the ground.

She instinctively reached out to protect her lower abdomen.

Shen Jingyan smiled maliciously as she watched her fall to the ground in a disheveled state.

She actually stepped forward, bent her knees, and knelt down with all her might on Shen Qingruo's lower abdomen, which she was protecting.

"Ah—!" Shen Qingruo felt a sharp pain that spread from her lower abdomen throughout her body, making her vision go black and almost causing her to faint.

"Little sister, how could you be so careless?" Shen Jingyan asked with concern, but the force under her knee was unmistakable.

Wulan Yun watched all this indifferently, preparing to order someone to fetch the medicine again.

Just then, Shen Wangxi arrived, pushed open the door of Qingyi Palace, and saw a scene that made his eyes widen in horror.

He saw his Aruo curled up on the ground, his body trembling in pain, unable to make a sound, but Shen Jingyan was still pressing down on his lower abdomen.

"Stop! What are you doing!" he shouted angrily, his fury instantly stunning everyone present.

Startled by the angry shout, Shen Jingyan was terrified. She practically scrambled off Shen Qingruo, her face pale, and retreated to the side, not daring to utter a single word.

Wulan Yun was also startled, not expecting His Majesty to return so quickly.

But she quickly composed herself, stepped forward, her face filled with sorrow:

"Your Majesty! You've come at the right time. It's Shen Qingruo. She's been having an affair, defiling the palace, and is now pregnant with an illegitimate child!"

"As the Empress, I have no choice but to cleanse the palace and deal with this scourge on Your Majesty's behalf."

Shen Wangxi didn't even glance at her.

He strode forward, knelt down, and carefully reached out to help the unconscious Shen Qingruo up.

His voice was very soft, trembling without him even realizing it, "Aruo..."

Shen Qingruo fell into his familiar embrace, tilted her small face up, and sobbed:

"It hurts so much, Your Majesty, my stomach hurts so much... Please save our child... I beg you..."

Shen Wangxi reassured her with a resolute tone, "Don't be afraid, Aruo, we'll protect it. Our child will be safe."

He glanced at her lower abdomen, his pupils contracting sharply. A glaring crimson stain had spread across the hem of her skirt. Panicked, he roared at the palace servants of Qingyi Palace:

"Go and summon the imperial physician! Quickly!"

Wu Tian, ​​who had rushed over, hadn't even settled down when he heard this and immediately turned and ran back to the Imperial Hospital.

Shen Wangxi picked up Shen Qingruo and strode towards the inner room.

As he passed by Wulan Yun, he paused slightly, turned his head, and his voice no longer held the warmth he used to use when calling her "Ayun":

"Ulan Yun, there is no illegitimate child, this is my imperial offspring."

"And listen carefully: if anything happens to my child today, you will never see your child again."

Wu Lanyun froze on the spot, her face drained of color, only disbelief remaining.

His Majesty actually used Ah-Yan and Yi-Nian to threaten her?