"Hahhh, finally he's gone!"
Yunxi exclaimed with relief. Sumi just chuckled softly at her.
Sumi never imagined she would be at this point, where Yunxi was even reluctant to spend a little time with His Highness the Crown Prince.
"But, Madam, isn't it too much of a coincidence that Concubine Liu Qinmei suddenly fell ill while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was spending time with you?"
"Phew, I don't care. I know she did it on purpose. Maybe she thought I would whine and lash out at her like before. She thought she could hurt me and humiliate me at the same time. But unfortunately, I am different from my former self."
Yunxi said, and Sumi nodded in understanding.
"Now, let's forget about that snake woman. I want you to do something, Auntie Mu. It's about the gift I prepared for His Highness the Third Prince."
This time, Yunxi spoke to Sumi in a whisper to her servant's ear.
"You mean, someone is planning to trap us?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"That's not important. The most important thing is to carry out all the plans I have prepared."
"Yes, ma'am. Understood."
****
Meanwhile, at the Rose Pavilion...
"Your Highness..."
Liu Qinmei's voice sounded weak, her pale face and dry lips made anyone who saw her feel sorry for her. Yan Ling felt the same way. He was sad to see Liu Qinmei looking so weak.
"I'm here..." He said with his usual gentleness.
Liu Qinmei smiled. Then she said,
"Forgive me, Your Highness, I was in so much pain that I instinctively sought out Your Highness, even though I knew you were with Consort Yunxi."
Hearing the name Yunxi, Yan Ling remembered what had happened that morning when he had been expelled by Yunxi. He became angry and replied,
"I was only following the Emperor's orders to be fair to both of you. I am only obeying the rules."
"I understand. But I still feel bad for disturbing your time together. Yunxi must be sad now and might misunderstand me..."
'Sad ? Ain't no way!!' Yan Ling thought to himself. But in front of Liu Qinmei, he said nothing.
"What did the doctor say?" Yan Ling then changed the subject.
"The doctor hasn't said anything yet, Your Highness. Perhaps he will come to report his diagnosis shortly."
Hearing this, Yan Ling simply nodded slowly as he gently stroked Liu Qinmei's head.
In her heart, Yan Ling's second wife felt a little relieved, because Yan Ling was still very attentive and loving towards her. Although Yan Ling had suddenly left to go to the Crown Prince's office, he had instead visited Yunxi, which made her very angry. However, seeing that Yan Ling had come to see her immediately and left Yunxi as soon as he heard that she was ill was enough to prove that her husband's words were true, that he had visited Yunxi in accordance with palace rules.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, the palace physician is here to see you."
"Hm, tell him to come in."
Yan Ling ordered. The servant nodded, then left the room and conveyed the message to the palace physician.
A few moments later...
"Your Highness, I congratulate you. Based on my diagnosis, Consort Liu is currently pregnant, and she is now in her fourth week."
Hearing this, Yan Ling was very surprised. Meanwhile, Liu Qinmei was already in tears of happiness.
Seeing Yan Ling standing there silently, Liu Qinmei immediately got up and hugged him.
"Your Highness... You must be very surprised. Did you hear that? I'm pregnant?"
Liu Qinmei hugged Yan Ling even tighter as she cried. Yan Ling hugged her back. But his expression was very complicated.
Yan Ling felt that he should be very happy because the woman he loved was carrying his child, but... there was something strange about his feelings. However, Yan Ling did not want to hurt Liu Qinmei, so he said gently,
"Of course I'm very happy, Qinmei, very happy."
"Your Highness..."
Liu Qinmei buried her face in her husband's chest, smiling quietly with satisfaction.
'Just you wait, Wang Yunxi, you will never be able to take Yan Ling away from me!'
*****
"I understand, Madam. I will do as you command."
"Thank you, Auntie Mu. Keep this antidote. Yan Xiao gave it to me. It will neutralise the poison that was sprinkled into the tea."
"Yes."
Sumi then put the bag containing the herbal antidote into her robe pocket.
"In that case, Madam, please rest. I will keep watch outside."
"Hm. All right, Auntie Mu, you may leave," replied Yunxi.
For the past few days, Yunxi had been following Yan Xiao to conduct investigations. If Yan Xiao couldn't take her with him, Yunxi would go to the library and study important information about the empire.
Her father's condition had begun to improve, so Yunxi was no longer too worried. Yan Xiao had been administering treatment regularly. He had also removed the source of the poison from her father's room.
It turned out that the poison came from incense burned in her father's room, which had been mixed with poisonous plants and enchanted with magic.
From her efforts to gather information, both from the library and from the mercenaries she hired, it turned out that the issue of black magic was very complex.
In fact, there were indications that the palace was also involved. There was a massive force that continued to move quietly beyond the reach of the empire, with the aim of rebelling and targeting the position of the Ming Empire's ruler.
It seemed that in her past life, after her death and that of her family, the palace had also been destroyed because the real rebel was not her father.
But who was it?
There was actually a name that Yunxi continued to suspect, namely Her Majesty the Empress. However, she had not been able to find a strong reason or evidence to prove it.
Yunxi then opened the notes she had managed to obtain from various sources.
"Hopefully this will help. I will also ask Father for help. I remember very well that there was a student of Father's outside the Empire who was very loyal. If Father is willing to persuade him, that person will definitely be willing to become my people."
Yunxi was so focused on her activities that she did not realise that it was already dinner time.
"Ma'am, I will serve your dinner."
"Yes, Aunt Mu, please. I happen to be hungry too."
Yunxi got up from her reading chair and sat quietly at the dining table.
One by one, the dishes were served. Fortunately, her pregnancy symptoms were only temporary, and now she felt even more hungry.
After serving the food, Sumi whispered something.
"Madam, there is a rumour going around the palace that Concubine Liu Qinmei is pregnant."
Hearing this, Yunxi, who had just taken a spoonful of meat soup, instantly widened her eyes.
"What???"
Sumi bowed her head, knowing that her mistress would surely feel sad. But...
"Wow, amazing!!! This time, fate is truly on my side! Hahahaha!"
Yunxi jumped from her seat and began dancing while shouting with joy. Then she prostrated herself on the floor several times.
Sumi and several servants who witnessed this were immediately stunned.
Yunxi noticed the confusion of her personal servant, and awkwardly sat back down.
Yunxi pulled Sumi close and whispered,
"If that snake woman is pregnant, of course it will be to my advantage, because the Crown Prince will definitely love her more, and that child will most likely be made his successor, right? So I can take my baby away with me."
Yunxi smiled broadly as she raised her eyebrows. Sumi finally understood what she meant and immediately laughed along with her.
"Ma'am... That's right, fufufu!"
Yunxi nodded in satisfaction and continued her dinner, which was even more appetising after hearing the news.
"Ah, it's been so long since I've felt such happiness... Hah—ahhh??? Y-Your Highness? W-why did you suddenly appear here?"
Yunxi almost threw up her food when she saw someone who was none other than Yan Ling, standing tall in front of her...