Chapter 243

It was an extremely long dream, in which there was an endless road.

Gu Ying dreamed that she was barefoot, walking on a cold, damp, narrow path. It was dark all around, and she was running desperately alone on the path.

It felt as if she could never escape from the darkness no matter how hard she tried. She was exhausted, her whole body went limp, yet she could not stop.

Finally, a childish, milky voice called out to her, "Mother!"

She gave a start, and abruptly woke up from the dream, her small hands tightly clutching her belly.

She had gotten up too abruptly, her head was a little dizzy, and she only felt that there were several blurry figures and dim candlelight in front of her eyes, and occasionally, she could hear people talking.

She could not hear clearly, her mind was groggy, and she felt a pain in her lower abdomen, so she could only curl up to feel slightly better.

"Madam, you are finally awake. How are you feeling now?" someone asked gently.

"She was probably having a nightmare. Smelling this incense I have should help wake her up," another voice said.

"Very well, Miss Shen, thank you so much for your help. It's very fortunate that you happen to be a female doctor and can take a look at my wife's illness."

The female voice laughed, "Please don't mention it. As a doctor, treating illnesses and saving lives is my duty. I should be the one thanking your wife for saving my life."

There were all kinds of noises around Gu Ying’s ears. From time to time, there was also the childish voice calling her "Mother".

Gu Ying only felt extremely cold. Her whole body shuddered as she looked at the blurry figure sitting next to her.

After a long while, she could finally see the person's face clearly in the firelight.

It turned out to be the woman she had saved, the one with the goose egg face. She had washed her face clean. With pretty, gentle features, arching willow brows, slender and delicate phoenix eyes full of tranquility and indifference, as if she was used to seeing life and death. Even her smile was light.

At the moment, she sat beside Gu Ying with her small hand on Gu Ying’s wrist, appearing to be taking her pulse. Gu Ying finally felt a little clearer headed and frowned slightly, “Who are you?”

The girl gave a faint smile, “My surname is Shen and my name is Ruxu. I’m a doctor. Today, I was fortunate to be saved by the young lady, otherwise I'm afraid I would have...”

She smiled and did not go on. After all, it was not a very honorable matter. There was no benefit in saying more about it. Fortunately, she still had her chastity, and she really had this beautiful madam to thank.

Seeing Shen Ruxu’s slender, white fingers on her wrist, Gu Ying sucked in a breath painfully.

Yin Lan and Ning Si immediately gathered around.

"Ying, are you alright?" Ning Si asked.

When Shen Ruxu heard the name "Ying", her expression flickered almost imperceptibly, but soon returned to normal.

Gu Ying shook her head with a smile, "It's nothing serious, just...my stomach hurts a little...down there..."

She also felt a little embarrassed. It felt wet there, as if she was bleeding again.

Hearing Gu Ying say this, Yin Lan and Ning Si were also very puzzled in their hearts.

Ever since they left Bianjing, Ying hadn’t been well. If not for the medicine from Lady Yu, they didn’t know what would have happened.

Today, they happened to meet a female doctor by chance. It was really like heaven helping her.

"Miss Shen, you have to take good care of Ying. She wasn't this physically weak before... Now her stomach is always hurting like this, it's not right. No matter how much silver, when we arrive at Yueyang City, we will pay you."

Shen Ruxu continued resting her hand on Gu Ying's pulse. Her mind lingered on the "Ying" Yin Lan had just mentioned...

She had only heard this name from the Prince of Zhenguo Mansion who came to Yueyang for disaster relief. She wondered if this Ying in front of her was the "Ying" the Prince had mentioned...

If so...

Shen Ruxu's heart skipped a beat, suddenly feeling chaotic.

She didn't say anything, her long lashes drooping slightly. Her face was tranquil as she casually asked, "May I have the honor of knowing your respected name?"

Gu Ying smiled gently, "You can call me Gu Ying."

Shen Ruxu raised her eyes. A trace of almost imperceptible panic flashed in her eyes, "Gu Ying?" Wasn't Gu Ying the Prince's wife?

How could she be in Yueyang?

Gu Ying looked at her doubtfully, "Does Miss Shen know me?"

Shen Ruxu quickly let out an embarrassed laugh and lowered her head, focusing on the smooth, fair wrist before her, "I don't know you. I just think your name sounds very nice, so I lost composure for a moment just now. Please don't take offense, Madam."

Gu Ying noticed the panic in Shen Ruxu's eyes. They had just happened to meet in this remote, dilapidated temple, so there was no reason she should know who Gu Ying was.

Yet from her expression, she seemed to recognize Gu Ying.

Gu Ying secretly became wary and asked with a smile, "Miss Shen, what illness do I have?"

When Shen Ruxu heard that she was called Gu Ying, her mind was in turmoil. But now that she focused her senses to take Gu Ying's pulse, she quickly felt a pulse indicating pregnancy.

She was already pregnant for over a month...yet completely unaware?

It made sense when she thought about it. Gu Ying had abundant yang energy in her body and was in good health. She had also gone through special conditioning, so she didn't have the usual symptoms of early pregnancy and hadn't noticed anything.

Besides, the child was only over a month old... It was reasonable that she didn't know, but for her to have traveled such a long distance from Bianjing to Yueyang while pregnant, and the child was still steadily growing in her belly, it really was a bit strange.

"Miss Shen?" Gu Ying asked puzzledly.

Shen Ruxu curled and uncurled her fingers in that instant, her mind racing.

If this Gu Ying really was the Prince's wife...she couldn't let her know she was pregnant... The best way would be to quietly get rid of the child in her belly without anyone noticing.

She was a doctor after all, she could do it cleanly without anyone finding out.

But she had no enmity or grievance with Gu Ying... To just take the child's life for no reason...it would...make it hard for her heart to be at peace.

Yet the Prince... Such a wise and martial man, how could he be constrained by a young lady from a boudoir?

If the Prince knew his wife was pregnant, he probably wouldn't want her anymore, right?

No...

She was the one who would become the Prince's wife in the future...

She would not allow anyone to steal her position.

Thinking thus, Shen Ruxu steadied her mind. With an unconcerned smile, she gently said, "My expertise is in external injuries and orthopedics. I'm not very knowledgeable about gynecology. However, the madam's condition is not uncommon. You must be very anxious and stressed, leading to liver qi stagnation and blood stasis. This is why your menstruation has become irregular. After all, most married women will experience minor pains and illnesses to some degree. Your condition is not serious at all. I will prescribe some medicine for you, Madam. After taking two to three doses according to my prescription, you will recover completely."