The Double-Chapter 550 - 164: Rift_3

Every intimate moment he had with Princess Yongning, she had taken contraceptive medicine. But now, to have become pregnant, this was no small matter!

"I don’t know," Princess Yongning shook her head and said, "Maybe the contraceptive medicine isn’t completely foolproof... By the time I realized, it was already too late."

The more she spoke, the more Shen Yurong doubted that Princess Yongning had done this intentionally, wanting to use her pregnancy to force him into marriage. But he had not anticipated that in the end, Emperor Hongxiao would decree her marriage to Li Xian, which truly sent him into a panic.

"What do you plan to do now?" Shen Yurong asked.

"What do you mean, ’what do I plan to do’?" Princess Yongning looked at him blankly until she saw the chill in Shen Yurong’s eyes. A shiver went through her, and she suddenly understood. "You can’t possibly be thinking of making me get rid of this child!"

Shen Yurong was silent, "His existence is indeed not the best option right now..."

"No!" Before Shen Yurong could speak, Princess Yongning screamed, "This is my child, I will not allow anyone to harm him, nor will I abandon him!"

Shen Yurong tried to soothe her patiently, "Yongning, you are now to marry Li Xian. If the Li Family discovers you are with child, it will be very disadvantageous for you. The Li Family will certainly not tolerate such a disgrace, and even if you manage to keep the child for now, it is unlikely that you will be able to bring him into the world. The Li Family will find ways to eliminate the child and will harbor grievances against you and His Highness Prince Cheng."

He thought that after speaking these words, Princess Yongning would at least relent a little, for in the past, she always used to heed his words somewhat. But today, Princess Yongning just looked at him coldly and said, "You claim to be considering my well-being, but in truth, you’re just afraid that if the affair comes to light, it will reveal that you’re the father of the child, making it difficult for you to continue living a carefree life! Shen Yurong, this is your child. You’ve thought of everything, but have you spared a single thought for this child? That’s right, I forgot, you’ve already lost one child, so losing another doesn’t matter to you."

Shen Yurong’s expression changed drastically.

He had lost a child before, one that belonged to him and his wife, Xue Fangfei, an unborn child. When he had longed for the child’s arrival and learned of the good news, Shen Yurong was not happy. Because by that time, Princess Yongning had already expressed several times that she liked him a lot.

Would having a child mean everything would be alright? Now when he thought back to the time Xue Fangfei miscarried, although he did not do it himself, he even felt relieved upon knowing, as if a burden had been lifted. Back then, he consoled himself by thinking that even if the child was born, outsiders might say it was the result of an affair Xue Fangfei had, which wouldn’t benefit the child’s future at all. Why bring the child into the world to suffer?

So in the end, any trace of guilt vanished. He didn’t feel joy when the child was coming, nor did he feel pain when it left. It was like the child was an insignificant stranger, and he had even forgotten about it altogether. But at this moment, when Princess Yongning brought it up, his heart felt as if it was being pricked by fine needles, spreading a dense pain.

Shen Yurong no longer wanted to stay there; he turned to leave, but Princess Yongning hugged him from behind. In her bewildered and anxious voice, she said, "Mr. Shen, I misspoke earlier, I spoke without thinking, I didn’t mean it. You’re the child’s father; of course, you like him, don’t you?" She seemed to be trying to convince Shen Yurong and herself, "There are no fathers in the world who don’t love their own children."

Shen Yurong sighed, turned around, and saw Princess Yongning looking at him in a fluster.

"Do you really want to keep this child?"

"Exactly!" Princess Yongning immediately replied with conviction, leaving no room for doubt, and said, "Empress Dowager Liu knows about this as well, she has promised to keep it a secret for me when I marry into the Li Family!"

Empress Dowager Liu already knew; Shen Yurong’s heart sank. With this, trying to secretly harm the child in Princess Yongning’s womb seemed very unlikely. If anything went wrong, Empress Dowager Liu would surely suspect him first.

"So how do you plan to keep it a secret?" asked Shen Yurong calmly, "It is still early, and it doesn’t show yet, but as time passes..."

"Empress Dowager will request assistance from Empress Dowager’s mother for me to be married next month. Once I’m married off, I’ll find other ways to conceal it," Princess Yongning said, "But once this child is born, Li Xian will be seen as his father."

She spoke with an unwilling tone.