The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 293

"If only I had known it would come to this, why did I ever start?" Chu Heng hardened his heart, refusing to yield.

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This child—he could not let it live.

Luo Shu wept in despair, her words dripping with anguish: "My entire life has been lived for others—for my father and brothers before I married, and for the Emperor after entering the palace... But I am a living, breathing person too. I have dreams of my own. What does it matter to be the most favored in the harem? Who understands the bitterness behind it? I never wanted to scheme or fight. I only wanted a child of my own, just once, to live for myself... Just once. With a child, I could watch her grow, teach her to read and understand propriety, and she would keep me company through the endless nights in these palace walls. Do you know how envious I am every time I see children like you, clinging to your mothers, chattering away? But... why... why did it have to be a boy?"

As the Luo family grew increasingly powerful, and despite the Emperor’s unwavering favor, Luo Shu remained childless—until she realized she was being deliberately prevented from conceiving. She purged every contraceptive from her quarters and went to great lengths to finally become pregnant. Fearing discovery, she feigned a grave illness and confined herself to bed, refusing to reveal the truth even when her brothers came to visit.

Back then, she had naively believed that if the child were a girl, she could find a way to keep her. But fate had other plans—her entire scheme crumbled because of the child’s gender.

A boy. It was a boy.

If his existence were discovered, the Emperor and Empress would have him killed. Her brothers would use him as a pawn for power, condemning him to a life of turmoil.

Luo Shu’s desperate gamble had ended in utter ruin.

Broken but resolute, she refused to hand the child over to her brothers. Instead, she planned to secretly send him away, to live an ordinary life. But now, Chu Heng stood before her—the future Crown Prince, who would never let the child live. He would kill him without hesitation.

"I’m sorry," Chu Heng murmured, then pushed past her and moved toward the infant on the bed.

Luo Shu gasped in horror. Stumbling forward, she clutched at his robes and cried, "Your Highness! No—you can’t kill him! He’s just been born, he hasn’t even opened his eyes to see the world... Please, he’s your brother, your own flesh and blood, your future subject! You’ve always preached loving the people as your own—spare him, Your Highness! I’ll give him to you, let you send him anywhere, just let him live... I beg you!"

Chu Heng shoved her aside again and reached for the child’s neck—

"Your Highness!" Luo Shu suddenly shouted, her face streaked with tears, her voice trembling with sorrow. "Have you forgotten... that I once saved your life?"

When ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‍Luo Shu first entered the palace, her favor drew jealousy. The other concubines called her a seductress who had bewitched the Emperor, and none would associate with her. Over time, rumors spread that she was cold and unfeeling.

But when Chu Heng was eleven, he had recklessly injured the heir of a noble family during a martial contest. Normally obedient, his sudden misstep coincided with the Emperor’s foul temper, earning him a day kneeling in the imperial gardens, followed by eighty lashes.

The Empress never interfered with the Emperor’s punishments—but Luo Shu pleaded for him, sparing him both the flogging and the kneeling.

The young prince had never forgotten that kindness.

Luo Shu saw the flicker of hesitation. She stepped between Chu Heng and the child, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Your Highness, the teachings of the sages say that kindness must be repaid, don’t they?"

Chu Heng fell silent.

The texts did say that—but he was not so foolish as to trade a child’s life for a debt. "I will repay you another way. Not like this. The price is too high."

Luo Shu’s face paled. "Must Your Highness force me to this?"

Chu Heng shook his head. "You should have foreseen this when you began your scheme."

Luo Shu wept, then suddenly laughed through her tears. "Your Highness, you’ve grown up. You’ll make a fine emperor one day. But... I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."

Before he could react, she seized his hand and drove it toward herself with all her strength.

A sickening shunk—the sound of steel piercing flesh.

A bolt of lightning split the night, illuminating her fragile, grief-stricken face.

Chu Heng’s eyes widened in horror. He looked down to find a dagger in his hand—plunged deep into Luo Shu’s heart by her own grip.

A thunderclap boomed, deafening in its fury.

"Consort Luo!" Chu Heng cried.

He tried to pull back, but Luo Shu, with unnatural strength, forced the blade deeper. Blood gushed from her chest, her mouth—

Under the lightning’s glare, her face—once the most beautiful in the capital—was now streaked with blood and tears. She had lived a life of kindness, enduring humiliation without ever striking back. Yet now, to save her child, she had ruthlessly trapped Chu Heng: "Your Highness, I saved you... yet you repay me by trying to murder my son. How could you?"

Chu Heng’s hands trembled violently, his vision filled with her blood, her accusation ringing in his ears.

"No—this isn’t what I wanted! I didn’t come to kill you! I’m not—I wouldn’t betray you like this!"

With her last breath, Luo Shu let her tears and blood fall together, leaving behind her final words: "Your Highness... you killed me. This is your debt. You will repay it."

......

Chu Heng’s composure shattered. At fifteen, though skilled in martial arts and trained in statecraft, he had never taken a life—let alone the life of a woman who had once helped him.

"No... I didn’t kill you... This wasn’t supposed to happen... How did it come to this?"

His hands slick with blood, he swayed on unsteady legs, terrified of collapsing—because on the ground lay Luo Shu, dead, her eyes still open.

It was too cruel.

Shattered, Chu Heng scooped up the infant from the bed. The child, eyes still closed, smiled obliviously, unaware his mother was gone.

Clutching him, Chu Heng staggered toward the door—only to be blocked by a figure cloaked in black.

"Your Highness, don’t act rashly."

The young man stepped into the light, and in the flicker of lightning, Chu Heng recognized his most trusted confidant. "Zong Zhao... I—he’s just an innocent child. He’s done nothing wrong!"