WebNovels

Chapter 36 - 35

As Dowager Taihou stepped out of her bath, drying her hair, the door suddenly flew open....Jasrah burst into the room without knocking. The Dowager froze, startled by both the intrusion and the fury blazing in Jasrah's eyes.

Before she could even speak, Jasrah's knees gave way and she collapsed onto the bed, clutching her stomach. Her breathing turned ragged, her face pale with pain.

"Jasrah! What's wrong?" Dowager Taihou exclaimed, hurrying to her side. She lifted the young woman, but Jasrah could barely respond....her abdomen had tightened painfully, locking her voice in her throat.

Panic flashed across the Dowager's face. She eased Jasrah down and quickly grabbed the bedside phone to summon the royal clinic. Within minutes, a doctor rushed in....and almost immediately, blood began to spread beneath Jasrah.

★ ★

The incident threw the entire palace into chaos. Dowager Taihou's focus shifted completely from Zhan's mysterious return to King Yibo's private quarters....she was consumed with Jasrah's condition.

The bleeding had been severe. The pregnancy she, Jasrah and Prince Langya had cherished so deeply ended that night. For hours, even the mother, Jasrah were feared lost. Becouse Banou, the servant who had been secretly meddling in the background, almost eat Jasrah soul too if not for the Dowager's wrath descended upon the household.

Jasrah spent the night in the palace infirmary, weak and shaken. When she finally regained consciousness the next day, the doctor told her the miscarriage was caused by emotional distress....the kind brought on by intense anger.

That explanation only deepened her hatred for Zhan. She and Prince Langya swore that the one who caused her such pain....the one King Yibo and Dowager Ruyan had protected....would pay dearly. They blamed Zhan for everything, vowing he would never recover from what had happened.

Meanwhile, Dowager Taihou's rage was directed elsewhere....at Dowager Ruyan. She refused to believe that King Yibo had chosen to move Zhan to his quarters on his own. No, she was certain Dowager Ruyan and Daneen had manipulated him.

Her fury erupted publicly. She ordered the medical team attending Zhan to be detained until they revealed who instructed them to make the transfer. Despite her intimidation, the doctors swore they were only following orders and had no part in any conspiracy.

Dowager Taihou dismissed their words and demanded a fresh investigation.... this time treating Zhan's condition as if he were a prisoner rather than a patient.

But even the guards assigned by Dowager Ruyan refused to disclose anything. Their silence only fueled Taihou's suspicions, while Prince Langya quietly encouraged her anger from the sidelines, urging her to retaliate.

Through it all, Dowager Ruyan remained calm, saying nothing....not even to deny the accusations.

- - - -

Later that evening, she sent her younger sister Yumen to visit Jasrah, hoping the sight of family might calm her, though she knew deep down nothing could ease the fire that now burned in Jasrah's heart.

★ ★ ★

Elsewhere, in the quiet of his chamber, King Yibo lifted his gaze from the papers in his hand when the doctor entered.

The physician bowed deeply, waiting for permission to speak. King Yibo responded only with a subtle nod, the kind that carried the weight of silent authority.

The doctor approached the bed and extended a folder toward him.

"These are the latest reports, Your Majesty. The medical team is still analyzing the cause of His highness prolonged unconsciousness. By now, he should have regained consciousness.... but nothing has changed."

King Yibo accepted the file and flipped through it silently. When he looked up again, his eyes met the doctor's, steady and sharp.

After a long pause, his voice came low and controlled. "What do you make of it?"

The doctor straightened slightly, bowing again before speaking carefully.

"Your Majesty, if I may, I believe it would be wise to summon another specialist... someone with deeper expertise. Given their skills, it is… strange that the current team has found nothing at all. There must be an underlying cause. It's impossible that he would remain like this without reason."

King Yibo gave a faint smile for the first time. Without commenting on the doctor's explanation, he slipped his bare feet into the slippers beside the bed. His voice was calm yet commanding as he said,

"Take me to him."

The doctor quickly moved ahead, bowing slightly. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

They both left the recovery room.....King Yibo walking with quiet authority, the doctor following close behind. The next room wasn't far; only a few steps separated the two chambers, divided by a glass partition. The doctor opened the glass door for him and stepped aside.

King Yibo entered and stopped at the bedside without taking the chair prepared for him. His gaze moved to the machines connected to Zhan. The monitor showed a steady heartbeat, but his breathing was almost nonexistent. Slowly, Yibo's eyes returned to Zhan's still face.

Zhan lay there, pale and motionless, his once vibrant features now ghostly white under the sterile lights. King Yibo's expression remained unreadable, though the tension in his jaw betrayed the storm beneath his calm exterior. Then, suddenly, he let out a faint, bitter smile....one that carried too many meanings at once. The doctor froze, uneasy under the weight of that silent reaction.

Yibo blinked once, suppressing the smile, then stepped closer. He gently placed two fingers against Zhan's temple, feeling the weak pulse for nearly a minute before withdrawing his hand. His voice came low and firm:

"Remove every machine attached to him."

The doctor's eyes widened in alarm. His lips trembled as he replied, "Your Majesty, these machines are keeping him stable. Removing them could be dangerous....perhaps even fatal. Forgive me if I speak out of turn."

King Yibo's tone didn't change. "I said, remove them."

The doctor hesitated but knew he couldn't argue. With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone and called for a nurse from the royal clinic. Within moments, she arrived....only to freeze the instant she saw King Yibo himself in the room. She dropped to her knees in shock and reverence, bowing deeply.

King Yibo merely gestured toward the doctor, a silent signal to proceed.

The doctor ordered the nurse to stand and began instructing her on how to carefully detach the equipment. Her hands shook as she obeyed; Yibo's imposing presence filled the entire room. It was an encounter she knew she would never forget....few ever saw the king in person, let alone under such tense circumstances.

When everything was done, the nurse left, and the doctor stepped back, unsure what would happen next.

King Yibo leaned closer to Zhan, adjusted the duvet around him with surprising tenderness, and brushed his hand gently over Zhan's face and hair. Then he bowed slightly and placed a soft kiss on Zhan's temple. Without a word, he turned and walked toward the door, saying coolly,

"Bring Prince Aoying to me. Now."

The doctor hurried to open the door. "At once, Your Majesty."

Within minutes, Prince Aoying arrived. He bowed deeply, showing proper respect. King Yibo didn't respond, his attention fixed on a display screen before him. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the monitors.

After a long pause, Yibo finally spoke without looking up.

"I need purified water and these items," he said, motioning toward a note beside him.

"Right away, Your Majesty," Prince Aoying replied, bowing again before leaving swiftly to fulfill the order.

Soon, everything he requested was brought in.

King Yibo ordered that no doctor was to touch Zhan that night....only Daneen, whom he had summoned personally. When she entered and saw the machines gone and the strange set of materials beside the bed, she was startled. Yet one look at Yibo's cold, impenetrable expression silenced every question she had.

Even though Yibo was her nephew, tonight he was her ruler...and when he gave an order, there was no room for hesitation.

Everyone in the palace knew: when King Yibo made a decision, it was final.

King Yibo watched as Daneen carried out his orders; she stayed with Zhan until he told her otherwise. About thirty minutes after Daneen left, Yibo rose, took his book, and....with his usual air of authority and composed dignity....went to Zhan's room.

He sat in the chair beside Zhan's bed, his tired eyes fixed on him. For a few minutes he simply observed, then took a steadying breath and opened the book. He read aloud in that calm, practiced voice that made every word sound precise and important. He read for a long while, then closed the book and set it aside.

Yibo edged his chair closer to the bed but kept his hands from touching the duvet. He studied Zhan's face; the faint line of tension on Zhan's brow had smoothed a little. After a few moments he looked away, pursed his lips, and began quietly reciting prayers over him. He stayed there like that through the early hours of the morning; only when the palace clock struck three did he finally leave and return to his own bed. He, too, needed to lie down....his body was not yet fully recovered.....so he yielded to exhaustion and lay back.

By dawn the palace was awake. Yibo had been finishing his checks of the system when the doctor followed Dowager Taihou in; her attendants were not permitted to accompany her inside. From the way she entered, it was easy to see the worry etched on Dowager Taihou's face. The doctor adjusted the chair at Yibo's bedside and, after nodding politely, left them alone and closed the glass door.

Yibo gave her a respectful nod and said softly, "Good morning, Mother."

Despite the strain around her eyes, Dowager Taihou managed a small, caring smile. She reached out and took his hand; he returned the gesture gently, cupping her palm and stroking it as if to soothe her. They sat together in quiet for several long minutes until she visibly relaxed.

"I prefer to see your smile than anything else," Yibo said, voice low and intimate. "It steadies me more than anything."

His short, earnest words warmed her. Dowager Taihou was a formidable woman....strong, proud, and regal....and yet in that moment she looked like any mother moved by her son's tenderness. She let her smile linger, her heart easing as she watched him.

Her expression shifted. She spoke plainly, without drama. "I don't understand Momma's position on this boy. As I've always known, she would punish anyone who harmed our family. Yet now she insist on protecting him without giving me the evidence I asked for. How can I breathe while someone who tried to destroy me remains under the protection of the palace? If the bond that ties him to our family is this marriage, then cut it. End it. Sever it completely. Only then will I have any chance at peace."

Her words were blunt, raw with the ache of betrayal and the need for certainty. Dowager Taihou's gaze hardened for a moment, reflecting the complex loyalties and the heavy history that bound them all. She had always been decisive, and her plea....equal parts demand and confession.... pressed upon the difficult choices she now faced.

King Yibo squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled sharply, then forced himself to relax. Even so, no onlooker could fully read the mix of fear and worry on his face....not even Dowager Taihou, who answered him as he were simply her son.

"Rushing to judgment in anger before the facts are clear is not the behavior of a proper leader," Daneen said, stepping into the room. Her voice cut through the tension; it was clear she had heard Dowager Taihou's words.

King Yibo did not move or open his eyes. Only after her words did he release a hidden, long-held breath and begin to open his eyes slowly. The two women watched one another, each bristling; the whole room hummed with the force of wills clashing....something none of them had ever seen between them before, not even from Yibo himself.

Daneen put a hand on Dowager Taihou's shoulder, visibly trying to steady her.

"Jie," she said....the name she sometimes used for her.... "I don't accuse you of carelessness, I don't claim you're blind to the facts, and I don't think you're acting out of malice. I beg you: hold back. Be patient. Be the strength that steadies a leader who is not yet ready to test himself openly. I won't deny I want Zhan held accountable if he's guilty, but I want you to be the one who insists we do this properly....that we prove guilt before we punish. We're not asking you to shield him from justice. We want him treated as evidence and law demand, and we also want those other hidden hands that have harmed our house to be exposed. You saw how the crimes of the past connect to the present. If we punish Zhan now without careful inquiry, we risk signaling that anyone can be condemned on suspicion alone. Remember who Yibo is: he is a ruler, not a tyrant. People mistake him for indifference, but he has the steadiness every leader needs. He endures hardship without spectacle; he weighs burdens without dramatic outcry."

Daneen drew a breath and continued in a quieter tone, "If we ourselves cannot understand our own responses, how will those around us? If a mother cannot control her impulses toward even one child, how can she be expected her son and a ruler to show discernment for a whole nation? If Zhan is found guilty and later exonerated....whether because he was forced, framed, or innocent....who do we blame then? Who takes responsibility for the stain that will remain on his name? That stain will follow us, Dowager. The only person who will truly carry the weight of such consequences will be the sovereign: the one they call our leader."

"Please....calm yourself. Don't let anyone use your anger to further their own aims. Stay who I know you to be; if you don't, they'll use your own hands to smear a stain on you that no washing can remove....a smear born of someone manipulating your love. You're not only a mother, you're also a leader."

Daneen's words cut deep into Dowager Taihou. They didn't entirely erase the hard edge she still felt toward Zhan, but they did soften her enough to accept a patient, proper process for judging him.... that, she decided, would bring her some peace. Taihou is not a woman to give in easily to hatred or to surrender her love; she needs to be sure before she acts.

(That would be a mistake, Dowager Taihou...don't let hatred harden you, and don't let affection blind you; people can switch places.)

Then she made a second, sterner resolve: she would see the second matter through, no backing down....even if no one in the Beiping Empire agreed, even if King Yibo himself opposed her.

Zhanxianyibo💚❤️💛

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