Chapter 10 - Life and Death

Qin Feng's furious face terrified the servants and guards; they bowed their heads and stood quietly at the side.

Qin Feng walked towards the bed chambers and kicked open the door.

'BAMMM!!!'

The little boy, who was dozing off in his mother's arms, woke up with a fright. Xei Mei glanced at the door while gently placing the little one on the bed. She slowly patted him on the back to let him know she was there.

"Your Highness!!" Xie Mei stood up once she saw her husband and greeted him politely. Qin Feng couldn't control his fury at the sight of her.

'SLAP!!'

The sound rang around the room as a body covered in red fell to the ground from the impact.

"Mother!!" The little boy quickly ran towards his wounded mother. But he was immediately held back by the soldiers. Xie Mei glared at the soldiers for treating her son like that. Her cold glare gave them a chill as they unconsciously loosened their grip on the boy.

"It was you!! What did Lin'er do to you for you to treat her like that??" Qin Feng screamed.

Xie Mei got up and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips while her eyes narrowed at him.

"I don't understand what his highness is talking about. I beg of you to explain," she replied, anger evident in her voice.

"Explain?! Don't you know what you have done?? You being a mother, how can you have the heart to kill someone else's child??" He viciously snarled.

Xie Mei's eyes widened as she heard this.

'Killed someone's child??'

Qin Feng felt more anger arise due to her nonchalant behavior.

"You gave Lin'er the medicine; everyone saw it. After taking the medicine, Lin'er was in pain, and she lost the baby!!! This indicates that you killed my child!!" he snapped. Xie Mei immediately understood the problem as her gaze grew cold.

"Your Highness, it's true that I passed those medicines to her, but the medicines were given to me by Concubine Ye." She replied in a cold voice.

"Oh, so now that you are caught, you want to blame my mother?" He sneered at her. His glare made the little one's body tremble.

"Your Highness, if I wanted to take your child's life, would I be so stupid to do it in broad daylight?? To let people know that it was me?? You should know better." She spat coldly. Qin Feng felt embarrassed when she pointed out the facts, but he didn't want to admit his mistakes.

"Impudence!!! You dare talk to me like that!!! Guards, take this bitch and throw her in the dungeon!!" He ordered as the soldiers standing behind him walked towards her to take her away.

"Mother!!" the little one screamed when he saw the soldiers holding his mother's hands and trying to drag her away. He whipped his hands out of the guard's grasp and ran toward his father.

"Father, please tell them to let the mother go!! Mother didn't do anything; mother was with Yu'er," the little boy pleaded, holding his father's leg. Xie Mei's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her baby, who didn't even have any clue about the things going on, pleading for her life.

Qin Feng glared at the boy; he hated this son of his. If not for him, he could have divorced this woman long ago and married Qiao Lin.

His anger got the best of him, and he ruthlessly kicked him in the chest. The little boy's body flew and hit the wall.

'THUD!!!'

The entire room fell silent; not a single one dared to breathe as they looked at the little boy's pitiful body sliding down the wall with widened eyes.

"Yu'er!!" Xie Mei screamed as her eyes filled with horror. She pulled her hands out of the soldier's grasp and punched him in the face. Taking hold of a sword from one of the soldiers, she slashed every single person who stood in her way. She was ruthless in her kills; one after another, bodies fell, and Qin Feng stumbled back as fear crept up on him. He realized what he had done, but it was too late to go back.

With the last soldier down, Xie Mei quickly ran to her baby.

"Yu'er!!!" She pulled him into her arms. The little boy's head was full of blood, and he could barely open his eyes.

"M-mother," he called out in a barely audible voice, and he coughed up some blood.

"Yu'er mother is here!! Yu'er!!!" Her voice held fear and anxiety as she looked up at the servants and screamed.

"What the hell are you all waiting for?? Quickly get the Imperial Physician here!!!" Her cold, bloodshot eyes gave them fear for their lives as they quickly ran.

Xie Mei glared at the man who had wounded her child. Qin Feng knew what he did was wrong, but he couldn't control his anger. He looked troubled.

"QIN FENG!!!! How brave of you to come here and harm my child!!! It looks like my silence has been taken as my defeat that you forgot who I am in the first place!!" She coldly sneered. This scared everyone to the core. How could they dare forget this demon empress? This time, the prince is done for...

"When I told you it was your mother who gave me the medicines, why didn't you ask your servants to bring your mother to clarify?? Are you that dumb?? Is this child, not yours??? How can a father be this ruthless to harm his own, and a three-year-old at that??" She coldly asked. Qin Feng glared at her, but he couldn't answer her question. What she said was indeed correct. But how he handled the situation was wrong. But why did she have to embarrass him in front of the servants??

"Yu'er!!!" A woman's voice was heard from outside the chambers. The servants quietly stepped aside to give Concubine Ye some room to walk in.

Xie Mei glared at Concubine Ye as she held her little one closely. The woman's eyes widened at the vicious glare she received, and her body shivered.

"Mei'er??" She quietly called out. Xie Mei couldn't keep it in anymore and lashed out.

"Why don't you tell your dear son about how you gave me the medicine to pass it on to Qiao Lin?? It's because of him that my child is in this condition!!" She snapped.

Qin Feng wanted to say something, but one glare from her shut his mouth. Concubine Ye turned towards his son and stared at him.

"Feng'er, I gave her the medicine pouch. I didn't know something like this would happen otherwise...." She explained. Qin Feng's eyes widened as he stared at his mother.

"Mother... You??" He couldn't believe his ears.

"Do you think it was me?? Feng'er,...you disappoint me," she replied. Her eyes looked solemn as she felt disappointed in her son.

"Why didn't you investigate before coming here to blame Mei'er??" she asked.

"Mother... I..." He didn't dare to answer her.

"It's alright; I have already asked his highness to investigate this." Concubine Ye notified him.

Qin Feng looked at his mother, then at Xie Mei, and his eyes filled with remorse.

"Xie Mei... I..." he tried to explain, but nothing he said would make up for the hurt he caused.

"I will collect this debt with interest in the future. Now get out!!! She sneered coldly.

Qin Feng felt a chill run down his spine, and he quickly left the courtyard with his tail between his legs. Concubine Ye, too, left the bed chamber to wait in the garden.

Soon, the imperial physician came to check on the little one. Xie Mei quietly took the little boy to her bed and laid him down.

"Uncle Gao, how is my son??" Xie Mei asked in a low voice. She was afraid—afraid that she would lose her child, the light of her life.

Imperial physician Gao checked the little one's injury before feeding him some medicine. He then bandaged his head and turned around to look at Xie Mei.

His solemn expression told her that whatever she was going to hear was something she would not like.

"Mei'er uncle will not lie to you. The little one's condition is not good; we'll have to monitor him for the night. He took quite a fall there, and his ribs have been damaged too. If he can pull it through the night, then there will be hope, but I won't guarantee it," he informed in a grim voice.

Xie Mei's eyes filled with tears as she gazed at her baby, who was struggling between life and death. She quietly sat beside him and held his tiny hands. Everyone left the chamber to give her some alone time with her son.

Tiny fingers patting her cheeks woke her up as she saw the little one look at her in pain.

"Yu'er?? How are you feeling??" She quickly asked. The little boy struggled to speak.

"M-mother.... My h-head... P-pain.." he replied in a broken voice. Xie Mei's bloodshot eyes filled with tears as she consoled the little boy and sang him a lullaby. The little one quietly closed his eyes and slept, listening to his mother's voice.....