How To End This Marriage-Chapter 181: Royal Betrayal

"Is your mistress’s order more important than the Emperor’s order?" Tribal Princess Sylvia said, her voice firm.

"I haven’t heard about the Emperor giving you such an order," the head maid replied, her eyes narrowed. "How can I believe you, when you clearly dislike my mistress?"

"Who said I don’t like your mistress?" Princess Sylvia countered, her chin raised. "Have I ever made any such comment regarding this issue? Have I ever said anything nasty about her? Has anyone seen me speaking disrespectfully to your mistress? If not, then how did you come to the conclusion that I hate her? You must have made your own unfounded assumption."

"You may not have made explicit remarks," the head maid conceded, "but it’s evident that you see her as a rival. She’s carrying the heir to the throne, after all."

"You seem to be living in a fantasy," Princess Sylvia scoffed. "No one can definitively determine the embryo’s gender before birth. It’s all speculation, based on outdated beliefs about food cravings and nature. Unless your mistress has somehow magically predicted the sex of her child, such pronouncements are meaningless."

"You cannot speak to the mistress in such a way," the head maid hissed.

"You!" the princess spat, her eyes blazing. "Do you think you have the right to speak to me like that? You are beneath me, remember? How dare you answer back to the First Princess of this empire! Have you forgotten your place? Or are you so eager to remind me just where that is?"

She glared down at the head maid, her voice a dangerous whisper. "Kneel! I command you!"

With a shove, the princess forced the woman to her knees, shivering on the cold stone floor. "I’ve tolerated your insolence for long enough, but I won’t anymore. You are a mere maid, and I am the princess. You have no right to speak to me with such disrespect, someone so far beneath me in station."

Turning away, the princess marched forward. "Open the cloth! I want to see the concubine, Feng Mei!"

The handmaidens exchanged nervous glances. "But Your Highness," one stammered, "it is not fitting to view a woman in labor."

The princess whipped around, her anger flaring. "Did I ask for your opinion? Are you all deaf and blind to your own stations?"

"No, Your Highness," the head maid answered quickly, "but..."

"Did I require your assistance?" the princess cut her off, her voice sharp as a knife. "Open the cloth!"

"No, right? Then open all of this. I want to see what is going on inside," The princess ordered. Slowly, the handmaiden removed the cloth surrounding the concubine. Before the cloth fully opened in front of the princess, she heard the baby crying.

"Congratulations, princess! A boy has been born!" The doctor said, holding the bloody baby in his hands and giving it to the handmaiden, who ran outside to inform the emperor.

"Princess, I had no idea you were so eager to see your brother that you came all the way here to see him," Concubine Feng Mei said with a faint smile.

"Concubine Feng Mei!" The princess asked.

"Yes, princess?" She replied.

"Why is there less blood on your clothes when you have just given birth?" The princess asked.

"Didn’t you hear? I had a risk while giving birth as I am lacking blood. But still, I succeeded in giving birth to the son of the empire," Concubine Feng Mei said.

"No, something is suspicious! She doesn’t look like she has just given birth!! She looks so normal. She doesn’t have much blood on her clothes while the child came out full of blood. How is it possible?" The princess thought and ran to check the entire room while no one noticed.

She found a string of blood leading out the back door, which alerted the princess.

Raising an eyebrow, she came out, hearing the announcement: "The heir is born! Concubine Feng Mei has given birth to a baby boy!"

"Baby boy? Ha! I’ll see how long his reign lasts," Princess muttered, confronting the crowd.

"Princess, your brother has arrived," the emperor said, presenting the child’s face. But the princess shook her head.

"He is not the son of the empire, Your Highness," she declared.

"Have you lost your mind? Accusing your own brother of illegitimacy just because someone threatens your throne?" The emperor shoved her back, his voice thick with anger.

"I apologize if my words were harsh, Father," the princess said, her voice steady. "But I beg you, grant me one chance to prove my suspicion."

"What suspicion?" the emperor boomed, his eyes narrowed.

"That the child is not yours," the princess said calmly. "Soon, you will understand."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "What is she saying?" they whispered.

"I demand the presence of every pregnant woman in the empire, immediately," the princess ordered.

"What is the meaning of this?" the emperor demanded.

"You will see soon, Father," the princess said, turning back to the crowd. "All women who were pregnant and gave birth today, step forward with your children."

Knights fanned out, searching for the women. Some came forward willingly, while others needed assistance.

"Princess, they are all here!" a knight announced.

"All?" the princess asked, her eyes scanning the crowd.

"Yes, Princess," the knight confirmed.

The princess began, ignoring the few remaining pregnant women. Her gaze fell upon a woman without a child. "Lady, where is your child? Why are you alone?"

"Greetings to the princess," the woman said, bowing her head.

"It grieves me to say that I lost my child during childbirth," she whispered.

"Were there any complications?" the princess asked gently.

"None, Your Highness," the woman replied.

"Then may I see the deceased child?" the princess asked, her voice firm.

"I apologize, Princess, but the child has been buried. We couldn’t bear to look upon it in such a state," the woman said, tears welling in her eyes.

"So, in less than fifteen minutes, you gave birth, grieved your child’s death, and even managed to bury it? Have you no maternal instinct? Or did you simply give birth to fulfill a demand?" the princess asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

"How dare you say such a thing, Princess!" the woman cried.

"Let me explain," the princess said, her eyes unwavering. "Father, you wanted to know if this child is truly yours. I will tell you now."

"When I entered the birthing chamber, a large cloth covered the room, big enough for two women. I was not allowed to enter until after the birth. But when I did, Concubine Feng Mei showed no sign of blood on her clothes, while the child was covered in it. Yet, she claimed to be weak from blood loss. This is illogical."

"Later, I found bloody footprints leading out the back door. I followed them, finding nothing until this woman emerged. See, she has a bloodstained cloth, but no child. What other conclusion can we draw? I may not have been here long, but I know something is amiss, Father."

"What is the meaning of this?" the emperor demanded.

"It’s simple, Father," the princess said. "Concubine Feng Mei was never pregnant. Everyone lied, claiming she carried your child just to have a boy born in the palace and named heir. They arranged for another woman to deliver a healthy son and deceive you." Her voice trembled with anger. "They deserve punishment."

"Forgive us, Your Highness!" the handmaidens cried, bowing deeply. "We were pressured to hide the truth. We have families to feed."

"Head maid, anything to add?" the princess asked, her eyes cold. "Or are your lips sealed?"

The head maid met her gaze defiantly. "I only followed my mistress’s orders."

Suddenly, Concubine Feng Mei emerged from the room, composure shaking. "This is a wicked accusation, Your Majesty! The child is yours. I bore him. My pregnancy was real, even foretold by the royal astrologer."

"So my accusations are lies?" the princess challenged.

"Lies orchestrated to discredit me!" Feng Mei hissed.

The princess marched back into the birthing chamber, returning with a bloodstained cloth. "Behold, Your Highness! This was under Feng Mei. Notice how the left side, where she supposedly slept, has barely any blood, while the right side is soaked. Who, then, is the liar? Why a foreign doctor? Surely, our own skilled physicians could have attended! Feng Mei orchestrated this elaborate deception."

"Had the princess not arrived in time, you would have deceived me all my life, raising another’s child as my own. I never thought you could stoop so low, seeking the empress’s throne while my daughter, the rightful heir, still lives!" the emperor growled in fury.

"Knights! Arrest them all and throw them in the dungeon! I will personally decide their punishments. This is not just about deception, it’s about betrayal of me and the entire empire. This cannot be tolerated!"

"And that woman who birthed the false son shall be imprisoned as well. She conspired to deceive the emperor and place her child on the throne. Her punishment will be severe."