Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 602 - 599: Admiration for Life_1

"Mother! Please stop talking!" Fu Ruoxi pleaded in agony.

Madam Fu turned a deaf ear and struggled to sit up. The wound on her head burst open. Fresh blood seeped through the thin cotton cloth, and the dark red blood snaked down her face in the damp, dark prison cell.

"Your Highness, my son is loyal to the Emperor, but he is also a famous filial son in Dadu City. He didn’t want to die, nor did he want to implicate the entire Fu Family. That’s why he sent the Empress the four words ’wait for an opportunity,’ hoping to stabilize the Empress and prevent her from harming the Fu Family! He wielded his sword against Your Highness under the protection of many soldiers only to seek a swift death! He thought... if he died, the Empress could no longer use the Fu Family and would spare them!"

Madam Fu cried out: "Your Highness, think carefully. If my son were truly in league with the Empress and aimed to assassinate Your Highness, he would have acted when no one else was around. Why would he draw his blade in the presence of the Crown Prince’s guards, the Princess of Zhen, and the soldiers of Anping Camp?"

"Madam, Madam, say no more... We’ll talk later!" The Crown Prince patted Madam Dong’s hand.

Madam Fu shook her head and looked at the Crown Prince with teary eyes: "Your Highness, my son is too filial... Even if it means my death, I can’t let my life be a burden to him, making him dare not speak the truth. But my grandson and daughter-in-law are innocent. I beg Your Highness to save them! Spare their lives!"

Lu Jin, standing aside, quickly processed Madam Fu’s words.

"Madam, rest assured! I heard your words. As you said, if General Fu truly wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t have acted in public. General Fu was coerced by the Empress. I promise to protect the Fu Family! Madam, focus on your treatment!" The Crown Prince turned and shouted, "Hasn’t Doctor Huang arrived yet?"

Madam Fu grasped the Crown Prince’s hands and shook her head: "Your Highness, don’t waste your effort on me! I... I..."

Madam Fu managed to finish speaking but could no longer hold on. She slowly slumped down: "I only ask Your Highness to protect the Fu Family... the entire Fu Family."

With that, Madam Fu’s tightly clenched grip on the Crown Prince’s hand loosened.

"Madam!" The nanny beside Madam Fu cried out and knelt down.

"Doctor! Quick!" The Crown Prince stepped aside and called to the shivering doctor kneeling on the ground.

The doctor hurriedly crawled forward. With trembling hands, he checked Madam Fu’s pulse. Moments later, he knelt and kowtowed: "Your Highness... Madam has passed away!"

"Mother!" Fu Ruoxi cried out in panic, banging her body against the prison door. "Mother! Let me out! Let me see my mother! Mother!"

Madam Fu had taken poison at the Crown Prince’s residence. It was a slow-acting poison meant to frame the Empress.

Madam Fu knew that Fu Ruoxi could hear her words here. She was using her own life to force Fu Ruoxi to admit everything she said.

Unless Fu Ruoxi valued the Empress more than his own mother’s sacrifice for the Fu Family’s descendants, he couldn’t overturn his mother’s words and tarnish her reputation after death.

Madam Fu understood Fu Ruoxi. Her life, combined with her reputation and the Fu Family’s survival, was too heavy a burden. Fu Ruoxi couldn’t do it!

Fu Ruoxi was a soft-hearted person. He felt guilty towards the Empress because of their broken engagement. Now, he would feel even more guilty towards his deceased mother.

"Mother!" Fu Ruoxi knelt on the ground, crying uncontrollably.

Lu Jin had sorted out the situation in his mind. Madam Fu’s words matched the entire event’s cause and effect, everything was clear.

Madam Fu’s poisoning could easily be verified by a coroner.

But the Empress’s pregnancy, falsely accusing Fu Ruoxi? How was that possible?

If Lu Jin remembered correctly, Fu Ruoxi returned to Dadu City and was summoned to the palace by the Emperor on July 20. The Empress’s pregnancy was diagnosed in August. Although it was a palace secret, Lu Jin had heard a bit from his wife.

They said the Empress missed her monthly period at the end of July. By mid-August, it hadn’t come, so she called in two imperial physicians. One couldn’t diagnose it, while Doctor Hu, who had always checked the Empress’s pulse, said it was a pregnancy pulse. However, due to the early stage, it was undetectable. It would be clearer as the pregnancy progressed.

Could it be... the Empress was faking her pregnancy?

"Madam Fu’s sacrifice will not be in vain. I will protect the Fu Family!" The Crown Prince ordered his personal guards to use his carriage to send Madam Fu’s body back to the Fu Mansion.

Lu Jin stood by the Crown Prince at the prison gate of the Court of Judicial Review. He watched the Crown Prince’s carriage leave with Madam Fu’s body.

The Crown Prince had known that Madam Fu would die today. But now, seeing her body being taken away and recalling her words at his residence, he couldn’t help but feel admiration.

Madam Fu had the courage and resolve to negotiate with him, thinking up a way to die alone to help him achieve his goals while protecting the entire Fu Family. This was something many men could not do.

The Crown Prince inexplicably thought of Bai Qingyan.

Hearing Lu Jin’s cough, the Crown Prince snapped back to reality and spoke sorrowfully: "Had I known, I wouldn’t have allowed Madam Fu to visit General Fu. It resulted in her losing her life! But if Madam Fu hadn’t come, we wouldn’t have known the Empress’ involvement!"

Not hearing a response from Lu Jin, the Crown Prince turned to ask: "Minister Lu, what do you think of this matter? Do you believe Madam Fu’s words are true?"

"Madam Fu’s claims can be verified, except for the Empress’s pregnancy. I need the records of General Fu’s comings and goings from the palace, the Empress’s pulse records, and the Emperor’s visits to the Empress to compare."

"We might also need trustworthy doctors to check the Empress’s pulse to determine when she got pregnant, or even if she is really pregnant. Only then can Minister Lu conclude." The Crown Prince’s voice was calm.

"Exactly!" Lu Jin bowed deeply to the Crown Prince.

"I have General Fu’s entry records to the palace here." The Crown Prince looked at Lu Jin. "I will have someone send them to you. I can also have the Imperial Medical Bureau cooperate with you on the Empress’s pulse records, and I can assist with the Emperor’s visits to the Empress."

The Crown Prince frowned, sighing as he looked at the light on the ground from the lanterns outside the prison of the Court of Judicial Review: "But for checking the Empress’s pulse... the Empress is my stepmother, I must show her respect."

Lu Jin understood the Crown Prince’s dilemma and said: "Perhaps, when the Emperor awakens, we can investigate further!"

"That is all we can do!" The Crown Prince turned and suddenly bowed to Lu Jin, startling him into kneeling.