Ever since he visited that day, he never came back. It was just her and her baby in the big and lonely prison.
The maids would often come to replace her food. When they do, they would whisper the gossips of the outside world. One of them was about Wanyue.
After her miscarriage, Beichen took her on a trip to the Maldives. He feared that she would not be able to get out of the misery of losing a baby. So, this was the reason why Yanyue had not seen him again since that rainy day.
When she heard this, she could imagine them in her head. They smiled at each other, and they embraced each other under the bright ocean sun. When night fell, they would look at the stars together and also share the same bed. Even though he was her husband, he was holding someone else in his arms while locking her up in this cold, desolated room.
When she married Beichen, her only thought was preventing him from being kicked out of the inheritance because she understood how important that was to him.
However, she did harbor some hope of receiving his care because they would be husband and wife, an intimate relationship by the standard. It turned out that she was dreaming way too big at that time because, except for when he used her body, he would ignore her every chance he got. That was a painful feeling. And she didn't know if she could ever forget the loneliness he gave her.
Being in seclusion added more to that emptiness. It was a very depressing feeling that messed up with her head. Usually, she would turn to work for consolation, but she couldn't even do that now.
She even thought about hurting herself to get out of this miserable life, so she tried to drown herself in the bathtub. But, after a while of submerging her head in the water, some weird images popped up in her mind.
One of those images was a little boy crying for his mother. His cries sounded lonely, just like hers. At that moment, a piercing kick came from her stomach, and she opened her eyes abruptly. She emerged out of the water, racing to catch her breath.
Her eyes widened in relief. Her mind was blank. She felt fear which was evidenced by the non-stop shaking and shivering of her body.
She almost experienced death.
If her baby did not stop her in time, then she would have been as good as dead.
How could she make such a hasty decision? At least she needed to give the little bean sprout a chance to live life. And she hadn't avenged her mother yet, so how could she decide to leave so early?
She was too selfish!
Suddenly afraid of her action, she quickly got out of the bathtub.
That night she had a life-threatening fever. She received treatment after three days when the maids finally noticed that she hadn't gotten out of bed.
*
Yanyue didn't know how long Beichen would keep her in here. She wanted to go and see Grandma Lu and drink tea with her in the greenhouse behind the Eastern Palace. At first, she didn't like that big mansion very much because she was always alone there. But now, she wished that she could go there because at least she had more freedom living like that.
As she was reminiscing the days she spent with the old lady, the maids came in to deliver lunch. As usual, they greeted her solemnly and then continued straight to set up the table. They ignored her as they whispered to each other.
One could see that even though they weren't rude, they had no respect for her who was the princess consort. She guessed that everyone had probably guessed her importance or lack thereof to Beichen.
"Did you hear that the dowager queen was unconscious yesterday?" whispered one of the maids.
Then, the other maid inserted, "I heard. My friend is the queen dowager's maid and she witnessed the event. Our great queen dowager is so ill that she had been bedridden for a month now."
The first maid sighed sadly, "Do you think that the dowager queen will be okay?"
"I don't know either. She hadn't woken up yet based on my new-"
Yanyue got up from her seat in front of the window. She marched to the maids and pressed, "What's wrong with the queen mother!?"
The maids were surprised and scared of her frenzy appearance, so they coward down onto the floor for fear that they would be in trouble.
"Prince consort..."
Yanyue asked them desperately again, "Tell me, what happened to the queen mother!?"
Then one of the maids answered, her voice wavering, "Th-the queen dowager passed out yesterday and sh-she had been bedridden for a month now."
Yanyue's heart dropped. She shouted Grandma Lu's name in her heart. The few people after her mother that ever showed love and care for her experienced such a critical thing, but she didn't know about it until now. It had been a month!
No!
Yanyue shook her head in disbelief. She must go see the old lady! She was afraid that she would be too late!
Without any signal, she rushed to the door. Luckily, the maids did not lock the door before coming in.
The guards were also surprised by the sudden burst of the door, so before they figured out what was happening, Yanyue had already run down the long corridor.
"Catch the princess consort!" yelled one of the guards.
But Yanyue kept on running with her hands resting on her six-month belly. She ran down the grand stairs and passed the greek statue fountain approaching the doors. As she was about to open the tall doors, it was kicked open from the outside, making her heart jumped in alarm.
"Yueyue, I'm here to save you!"
Jason! A smile appeared on her face.
"Please, take me to see Grandma!"
Jason stood in front of the doors. He observed Yanyue, who he hadn't seen for a month now. Every time he tried to sneak in to save her, his brother's guards would find him first. The woman in front of him looked thinner than before. She was extremely pale and he could almost see her eye sockets. He clenched his hands in anger. One day, he would make his brother regret treating her so poorly.
"Princess consort, please come back, or else we will all get in trouble!"
The guards finally caught up.
Yanyue had always been a sympathetic person, so throughout this whole time being locked in this dead-end place, she never caused trouble. She knew that Beichen was a heartless man and could punish anyone who failed at their job. But at this moment all she could think of was the old lady's frail body, so who cared if anyone got punished anymore.
"No, I have to go! Jason, hurry up!"
Jason glared at the guards and used his authority to stop anyone who tried to stop him.
"You dared to stop me, the third prince!?"
The guards who were blocking the doorway hesitated. This was the third prince, so they didn't know how to proceed. But, if they let the princess consort escape, then they would also face serious consequences from the second prince. Either way, there was no way to anger both of the princes!
"Third Prince, please understand that we're only doing our duty!" yelled out one of the guards in fear.
Jason sneered, "Your duty is to lock someone away in this place!?"
The same guard said again, "We don't dare, but we must follow the second prince's order!"
"I don't care. If anyone tried to stop me, then you will see how I deal with you later!"
With that final threat, no one attempted to hold them further.
Jason then grabbed Yanyue's hand and they strode to his car.
"How is grandma?" asked Yanyue once they got inside the car.
"You will know once we get there," responded Jason heavily.
Yanyue did not have a good feeling at all based on Jason's reply. She prayed silently in her heart that the old lady was fine.
From Bayside Garden to the Palace took a long time as the villa was located on the edge of the country, while the Palace was more towards the center of the country. Jason was also aware of Yanyue's big stomach, so he drove with extra care while still trying to keep a steady speed.
Soon, they arrived at the Palace. Then, they drove a couple more minutes until they reached Grandma Lu's residence at the Moon Palace.
Due to the old lady's sudden collapse, Beichen had come back from his trip with Wanyue the day before. So, when they opened the door, Yanyue was shocked to see Beichen.
She was scared of him, but she knew that he wouldn't do anything in front of Grandma Lu or everyone else in that room—the king, queen, crown prince, crown princess, and Aunt Li.
She gulped and walked past him with Jason to the old lady's bed.
It had only been a month, but the old lady had lost a lot of weight. Yanyue could barely recognize the small body curled up in the blanket, while a ventilation mask assisted with her faint breathing. Her eyes were closed as if she was in a deep slumber.
Yanyue's heart was pulled seeing the always enthusiastic woman under such an ominous condition. Before she realized it, her eyes were already wet.
Doctor Mo along with two other doctors came into the room to discuss further plans. It appeared that the old lady's heart condition was so serious that she must go to the hospital for immediate treatment.
Beichen listened carefully and only nodded at the end to voice his agreement with the doctors. The king and crown prince also agreed to move with the plan.
Everyone followed Grandma Lu to the Royal Hospital. After an emergency operation, the old lady was transferred to the intensive care unit where visiting was limited.