Qixiang Palace.
Wan Xiuyi leaned on the small couch with his forehead in his hand and closed his eyes to rest.
But her tightly furrowed brows showed that she was not comfortable.
Ye Jun's sudden return to the palace made all her previous arrangements come to nothing. At this moment, she wished she could strangle to death the person who poisoned the Fourth Prince.
She first spread the rumor that the emperor intended to make Ye Yun the empress, alerting everyone in the harem. She then managed to teach Li Wanrong the method of astrology, allowing Yi Shunyi to take action and force Ye Yun to leave the palace to pray for blessings.
It just so happened that a large number of people in the palace were infected with the cold, which meant that God was helping him.
Although the emperor later left the palace with Ye Jun, it didn't matter. All she wanted was to separate Ye Jun and the fourth prince and his mother. With the help of the empress dowager, she could get rid of Ye Jun. The fourth prince, an orphan, would be easy to control.
If there was anyone who believed most that the Queen Mother did not poison, it would be her.
After all, she knew best that the Queen Mother intended to take the Fourth Prince in for Concubine Qian to raise, so how could she want to poison the Fourth Prince
No one knew who was behind the plan, and the emperor and Ye were successfully brought back to the palace, causing her plan to fail.
When she heard footsteps at the door, Wan withdrew her thoughts and sat up straighter.
"How's the investigation going?"
"I am incompetent and have not found anything." The maid looked troubled. "The emperor does not allow anyone to approach the Cining Palace, and he secretly sent the people who used to serve him to various places. There is really no clue at all."
Wan Xiuyi narrowed his eyes, and a trace of unwillingness and irritation flashed in his eyes.
"The Queen Mother has completely disappointed the Emperor this time. Well, I can't get involved in this muddy water, lest the Emperor also get disgusted with me."
Shi Hua nodded and said nothing more.
But Wan Xiuyi suddenly asked, "When will Qin Wanrong give birth?"
"According to calculations, the baby will be born in March next year." Shi Hua said.
Suddenly, his face froze, and he looked up at his master, "Qin Wanrong is relying on Concubine De, her child is not easy to have."
"She already has two princes. How could the emperor give her two princes?" Wan Xiuyi said indifferently.
Shi Hua pursed her lips, but didn't say anything else.
At this moment, Shiqin came in through the curtain, "Xiuyi, the eldest prince has brought you some soup."
"Really? Call him in quickly." Wan instantly put away the cold expression on her face and replaced it with a gentle smile.
The eldest prince came in and bowed politely.
"Your son is here to pay his respects to you. The imperial physician said that it is easy to catch a cold in winter and you need to eat more tonic food. So I asked someone to prepare some pigeon soup for you. Please try it."
The six-year-old eldest prince has finally developed the bearing and demeanor of a royal family.
Although Wan was not truly emotionally devoted to him, she taught him with all her heart.
"Rong'er is such a good child. Mother will try it right away." Wan Xiuyi personally helped the eldest prince up and instructed, "Shihua, go get another small bowl so that the eldest prince and I can drink the soup together. Also, bring a stack of crescent moon cakes that the eldest prince likes to eat."
"Thank you, mother!" The eldest prince looked up and smiled brightly and innocently.
When Shihua saw this scene, she felt a little uncomfortable and left immediately.
What a sin! The eldest prince is wholeheartedly good to his master, but his master is planning to abandon him.
But these were not things that she, a servant, could influence. Moreover, she had been serving her master since she was a child, and her master treated her very well. She would only sigh over such things, and in the end, she would still do things according to her master's instructions.
Jiuchen Palace.
Ning Chen's brows have been furrowed since he saw the small note enclosed in the memorial handed over by Liang Chengsi.
The gist of it is that the Duke of England has been particularly alert recently, and even if he is often called to the palace to discuss matters, he will not reveal any sensitive information.
"Your Majesty, I think that we have been keeping too close an eye on the Duke of England's Mansion recently, and the Queen Mother's incident...it is inevitable that the Duke of England will be alert." Xu Jiangbai said.
Ning Chen raised his hand and rubbed his forehead.
"I know that I've been pushed too hard lately, but it's a rare opportunity to leave the palace. I finally have a chance to get closer, so I have to seize the time. Now that I'm back in the palace, I can only take it easy for now."
Xu Jiangbai cupped his hands and said, "It may not be a bad thing to slow down. We already know that there is such an account book, and we will find it eventually. Let's play the long game and catch the big fish."
Ning Chen nodded, realizing that there was no time to rush.
Let's investigate slowly. We have already taken over the Rongqing Marquis' Mansion. Liang Chengsi can't stand this marriage with the Chen family anymore.
Apart from Ning Chen, what he wanted most was to see the Chen family fall as soon as possible so that he could get rid of this woman, Chen Suzhi.
The courtiers withdrew and it was already evening.
Yuan Jiu came in and served tea, and then asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to have dinner and sleep in Jiuchen Palace today, or go to a certain lady in the harem?"
Ning Chen lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Let's go to Concubine Qian. She has been taking good care of the Queen Mother during this period. I haven't been to her for a long time."
"Yes." Yuan Jiu bowed, turned around and sang loudly to the outside world, "Go to Yaoguang Pavilion."
When Concubine Qian heard that the emperor was coming, she was completely surprised.
How could that be? The Emperor doesn't like the Chen family very much. The Queen Mother was imprisoned recently for doing something like that. She, the daughter of the Chen family, has been out of favor for a long time. Why would he come to her out of the blue
Accidents were accidents, but when she saw the bright yellow dragon robe appear at the door, she had no choice but to go ahead and welcome him.
But even more surprised than her were the other people in the harem.
Zhao Chunxuan.
Ye Jun was feeding the Fourth Prince when Bai Zhu told him the news.
Because Kong Qing and Nan Zhi had just been brought back from outside the palace and had not yet come to serve, Bai Zhu had to take care of both sides.
"Did he go to Concubine Qian?" Ye Jun paused.
Bai Shu nodded, "Yes, the emperor has arrived now. I have already inquired around Jiuchen Palace, and there is nothing else. It is just that the emperor has met with ministers all day."
After all, he is the master, and he is more thorough than Kong Qing, and he has already grasped the information from both sides.
Ye Jun narrowed her eyes and continued to feed her son while thinking about this anomaly.
Suddenly something flashed through my mind, and I understood it in an instant.
"I understand. Concubine Qian's glory days are probably coming. You should be more restrained and cautious these days."
The servants in the room looked at each other, somewhat confused.
But since the master said so, I should just respond honestly.
"Mom, I'm full." The Fourth Prince said softly.
Ye Jun collected his thoughts and put down the bowl with a smile, "Jing'er is great, go and ask the wet nurse to take you to wash up, how about sleeping with mother tonight?"
"Good!" The Fourth Prince was very happy.
He usually sleeps alone, so the child naturally wants to be closer to his mother.
Ye Jun had been separated from her son for more than ten days, and with something like that happening, she was particularly worried about him.
So it’s better to just sleep together. The child is still young, and in a few years, when he is five or six years old, it will not be possible to sleep together.