A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling was really frightened now, and the dull ache in her stomach induced even more fear.

She did not want to delay going to the hospital any further and planned to get the chauffeur to drive her to Huaxin Mother and Child Specialist Hospital for treatment. Bearing with the pain, she changed out of her sleep attire and went down the stairs.

There was nobody in the living room, and Nanny Zhou was busying about in the kitchen.

Xia Ling was about to leave the house but felt that she should let Nanny Zhou know about it out of courtesy, just in case she would panic when she discovered her missing. She walked towards the kitchen with footsteps so light on the carpet they were practically silent.

Nanny Zhou did not hear her approaching.

Xia Ling found it odd that Nanny Zhou was not preparing food in the kitchen, but rather, talking to herself. She looked pale with fear and seemed to be under a lot of stress. With one hand over her chest, Nanny Zhou said, “Ohh Heavens, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to harm Miss Ye this way, it is Mister who ordered me to add the abortion medicine to her food. I had no choice…”

Xia Ling felt a buzzing confusion. What? There was abortion medicine in her food?

In a split second, she recalled the bowl of chicken soup from the previous night and the breakfast she just had… no wonder she felt discomfort the whole time. And the worst part of it all was that Nanny Zhou assured her she was fine!

Not a single person around Pei Ziheng could be trusted!

Xia Ling did not even have the time to fume. With her hand on her stomach, she dashed out of the house. Baby… she had to save the baby!

In a hurry, she had accidentally knocked over a table, sending the antique porcelain piece shattering to the ground.

Nanny Zhou finally heard her this time and came out of the kitchen. “Miss Ye, where are you going?”

She did not respond. In fact, she did not even want to go to the chauffeur that Pei Ziheng had arranged to be at her disposal. She went straight for the garage and pulled the door handle on the Rolls-Royce.

It was locked.

The chauffeur was alerted and rushed over towards her. “Miss Ye, Mister has made himself clear that you’re not to go out on your own, as it could be dangerous. I’ll drive you to where you want to go.”

As much as she did not trust him anymore, Xia Ling had no other choice under such circumstances. She was afraid there would be dire consequences if she did not get to the hospital in time.

Xia Ling said, “Huaxin Specialist Hospital, now!”

Seeing how flustered she was, he hurriedly opened the door and let her into the car.

Nanny Zhou rushed out of the house. “Miss Ye, I’ll go with you.”

Xia Ling did not want her company. Knowing that Nanny Zhou had done her part in hurting the baby made Xia Ling disgusted at the thought of even sitting next to her. But she did not have any more energy to chase her away.

The pain was coming again, wave after wave. It had aggravated from a dull ache to an almost unbearable torment that took her all her efforts to suppress it. She clenched her fists and almost curled up in pain as she prayed for the best.

While driving, the chauffeur asked, “Miss Ye, what’s going on?”

Pei Ziheng’s chauffeur was very professional and hardly poked his nose into the family’s business, but today was an anomaly. Xia Ling was all too absorbed in the pain and did not hear him.

Nanny Zhou spoke on her behalf, “Miss Ye was a little unwell this morning, maybe… it’s a case of food poisoning or indigestion.” She looked at Xia Ling guiltily and saw that sweat had gathered on her forehead. Only when she realized that Xia Ling was clearly not paying attention to the conversation did she continue, “We should get her to a doctor fast.”

“Chauffeur, could you go faster!” Xia Ling’s breaths were short and rapid now as she felt the fear envelop her. Baby… will the baby be alright? She felt as like the baby’s will to live was slipping away, and her fist clenched even tighter…

Baby, you’ve got to be strong…

Xia Ling was praying hard. You’ve got to be like your father, surviving even in the toughest of conditions…

She was in utter regret now. How could she be so careless? She had already seen the spots of blood when she woke up in the morning, how could she believe Nanny Zhou that it was “no big deal” and even finish her breakfast?

If she hadn’t done all that, her condition would not be this serious now.

She was practically curled up from the immense pain.

The chauffeur notified Pei Ziheng along the way and updated him about the situation in the car.

That morning, Pei Ziheng had already instructed him not to let Miss Ye leave the house alone. If she acted strangely or was going to the hospital, the chauffeur was to notify him immediately.

And also…

“Go faster!” Xia Ling was in so much pain she was practically screaming.

The chauffeur accelerated and a few moments later, the car came to a stop. “Miss Ye, we’re here.”

Xia Ling’s stomach was hurting more by the minute, and she heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that they had finally arrived at the hospital. With the chauffeur and Nanny Zhou’s help, she got off the car and walked towards the hospital building.

But something was wrong.

The buildings at Huaxin Mother and Child Specialist Hospital were a warm and welcoming brick-red color. Meanwhile, this building in front of her was just like any other hospital in this city — a cold, rigid white.

Xia Ling stopped in her tracks. “Where’s this? Are we at the wrong hospital?”

“This is Compassionate Peace Hospital.” The chauffeur did not hide the truth from her. “Your condition seemed critical, so I made my own call and drove here instead. Their gynecology department is the best around here, and much nearer to our place than Huaxin is.”

Xia Ling knew all these.

But she also knew that Compassionate Peace Hospital had a close relationship with the Pei family. If she were to seek treatment here, Pei Ziheng could keep tabs on her and the baby at any time. By then, even if the baby survived this mishap, there would be no running away from a forced abortion.

She was already pale from all the pain, but still turned around and staggered back. “I want to go to Huaxin.”

The chauffeur was practically dragging her along as he persuaded her. “You’re already in so much pain, what more is there for you to consider? It’s better if you just get the job done here. Otherwise, we might be too late by the time we get to Huaxin.”

He was right about this. Given such an emergency, she could not wait another 20 minutes or so, when even a few seconds could potentially cost a life. Xia Ling couldn’t take such a risk.

She was caught in a dilemma when her insides wrenched. The pain was so intense that she lost her footing and could barely think.

Out of the blue, she heard a familiar male voice. “Xiao Ling, are you alright?!” It was a charismatic voice, but it reminded her of the devil lurking in her nightmares.

She looked up and saw Pei Ziheng.