Chapter 412

The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince did not know that Baili Qingcang already knew everything. They wanted to take this opportunity to let Father Emperor believe that they were truly filial children, so they kept on kneeling outside Baili Qingcang’s palace. Lin Yue had submitted the letter many times to plead for mercy, but he was reprimanded harshly by Baili Qingcang.

It was summer now, and the sun was high in the sky at noon. The two princes held on for two days. On the third day, they collapsed due to the heat.

The guards hurriedly went forward to check on them, and the eunuch reported the situation to Baili Qingcang. Baili Qingcang’s expression was extremely calm. Hearing that they had fainted, he directly ordered, “Carry them back to their palace and tell them that I’ve dismissed their mother. If they were truly filial, they should stay in the palace and repent their sins. They should also copy the Book of Filial Piety, so as not to waste their mother’s efforts.”

With that, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were carried back to their palace. It took them a while to wake up. When they heard Baili Qingcang’s message, they almost fainted again. “Not to waste their mother’s effort?” Did Father Emperor already know that their mother took all the blame? At the thought of this, they felt dizzy and distressed again and wished that they could faint and fall asleep.

The officials all became more docile and were more and more fearful of Baili Junyi. He was released a few days ago, but he had caused Noble Consort Li to be dismissed and the two princes to be implicated. Despite that, the Emperor trusted him greatly this time and asked for his opinion on many things. The favor Baili Junyi now enjoyed was not even inferior to when Crown Prince had not lost power.

The Fifth Prince Mansion became lively again. All kinds of invitations were sent to the mansion one after another. However, Shen Ninghua was now pregnant, so she had the best excuse to reject the invitations. Other than the invitations from the royal consorts in the palace, she rejected all the other invitations.

In Huajun Pavilion, Shen Ninghua was leaning against the soft couch with her eyes closed. There were a few large ice basins placed a little further away. Qing Que stood at the side with a fan in her hand. She fanned her from time to time, but Shen Ninghua still felt a burst of heat.

When Baili Junyi opened the door and walked in, a gust of heat came in. Shen Ninghua frowned in dismay. Feeling the chilling temperature in the room, Baili Junyi was shocked. “Ninghua, how many ice basins do you have in the room?”

“What?”

“The temperature in the room is too low. It’s not good for your body.”

“But I feel hot all the time.”

Baili Junyi stepped forward to hold Shen Ninghua’s hand and touched her forehead. He felt the cold touch on both her hands and forehead. He waved to Qing Que to dismiss her and then gently embraced Shen Ninghua. “What’s going on? Are you not feeling well?” He asked softly.

Shen Ninghua frowned slightly, feeling the frustration in her heart growing stronger and stronger. She knew that this was her problem, so she tried her best to control her anger against Baili Junyi. “I’m fine. Maybe I have stronger symptoms during the first trimester.”

Baili Junyi gently rubbed her hand. “Ninghua, you seem to have something on your mind since we came out of the palace. Can you tell me? We can share the burden together.”

Shen Ninghua was stunned and couldn’t help but frown. “I don’t know what happened either. I clearly don’t have any worries in my heart, but I just feel restless and uneasy.”

“I’ll get someone to invite Uncle Chen over and ask him to check on you.”

Shen Ninghua reached out to touch her wrist and carefully felt the pulse. The frown between her eyebrows became tighter and tighter. “Junyi, get someone to invite Uncle Chen over immediately. I feel that something is wrong.”

Baili Junyi’s expression changed. He stood up and walked out. “Ye Yi, go invite Uncle Chen.”

Chen Yun came very quickly. After entering the room, he frowned. “Why is it so cold here?”

Baili Junyi quickly got up to greet him. “Uncle Chen, something is wrong with Ninghua. Please come and check on her.”

Shen Ninghua sat on the bed. Her lips were a little pale, but her cheeks were a little red. Chen Yun’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly felt her pulse. “Ninghua, how long have you been in this state?”

“Two days. I began to feel a little agitated after attending Bu Jinglan and Lin Feiran’s farewell banquet that day. At first, it was not obvious, and I did not find anything abnormal when I checked my pulse. I only thought that it was a normal reaction after being pregnant. Today, I feel that something is wrong.”

Chen Yun’s expression was gloomy. “If I’m not mistaken, you have been poisoned.”

Baili Junyi’s face turned pale. “Uncle Chen, what kind of poison is it? How is the toxicity?”

“It should be a kind of incense. The toxicity is not strong, and it only makes people feel annoyed and impatient. Normally, it will subside after two days. But Ninghua is pregnant now, and she is in her first trimester. Anger and uneasiness have a very serious effect on the fetus. If she doesn’t control her emotions well, it is possible to have a miscarriage.”

“What a vicious scheme. Uncle Chen, do you have a solution?”

“I’ll prescribe some medicine for Ninghua to calm down her mood and strengthen the fetus. But you’d better be careful these days and make sure that she doesn’t come into contact with this poison again. Luckily, Ninghua’s five senses are more sensitive than ordinary people, and her reaction to the poison is more obvious, so I can diagnose it easily. If it was delayed a few more days, the impact would be even more serious.”

After figuring out what was going on, Shen Ninghua was relieved, and the irritation in Shen Ninghua’s heart lessened a little. After taking the medicine that Chen Yun prescribed, she fell into a deep sleep. Baili Junyi asked Qing Que and the others to carefully move most of the ice basins out, leaving only two small ones to make the room not too stuffy. Then, he walked out of the room with Chen Yun.

“Uncle Chen, you said that the poison which affected Ninghua is a kind of incense. Can you tell what kind of incense it is?”

“I only judged it based on the toxicity. There are many medicinal herbs that have the effect of agitating a person. I can’t tell which one it is exactly.”

“Will that affect Ninghua and the baby?”

“Try to prevent fluctuations in her emotions and cheer her up during this period of time. Don’t make her too emotional or upset. After she recovers, there shouldn’t be too much of an impact.”

Only then did Baili Junyi feel relieved. “Alright, thank you, Uncle Chen. Please stay in my mansion for a while. It’ll be easier for you to check on her.”

“Ninghua’s medical skills are on par with mine. She knows what she is doing. It doesn’t matter if I stay here or not.”

“Well, Uncle Chen, I am going to dig out two jars of wine today. Ninghua had someone brew another batch of wine some time ago. I think the ones she made previously are ready to drink.”

“Oh my, Ninghua’s condition is still unstable. I think I’d better stay for two days just in case.”

“Alright, the courtyard that you lived in before has been cleaned up. I will order someone to clean it up again now.”

Baili Junyi ordered Hong Ling and Ye Yi to investigate who did this to Ninghua. However, there were many womenfolk at the banquet that day, and they didn’t know what type of incense it was. After investigating for two days, they didn’t get any results.

In order to take good care of Shen Ninghua, Baili Junyi directly asked for sick leaves and skipped the morning court. Baili Qingcang called him over and scolded him, but he felt more at ease with Baili Junyi. Since Baili Junyi didn’t care about politics or reputation, he should not have the heart to seize the throne. Baili Qingcang was especially relieved.

In the remote northwest corner of the imperial palace, Madam Lin, the former Noble Consort Li, was sitting in the corner, looking at the broken window in a daze. In the past, she never thought that there would be such a dilapidated palace in the imperial harem. It was full of dust and mold. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds. At night, mosquitoes bit her until she couldn’t sleep. During the day, the weather was so hot that she couldn’t sleep. In just a few days, she had lost a lot of weight.

That night, Madam Lin angrily clapped the mosquitoes in the room. Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to capture them after a long time. Instead, she was panting and sweating all over. The anxiety and anger in her heart rose up, and they made her want to destroy everything in the room. With that, she grabbed anything she could grab and smashed them to the floor.

“Bitch, all of you are bitches! One day, when I get out of here, I will show you my true colors!”

“Whom do you want to show your true colors to?” A smiling voice suddenly sounded.

Madam Lin turned to look at the door abruptly and saw Noble Consort Qi walking in with a few nurses. She looked at her in a gorgeous dress and then looked at the clothes she hadn’t changed for a few days. The anger in her heart became more and more vigorous. “Are you coming here to laugh at me?”

Noble Consort Qi walked in and sized up the surroundings. She could not help but frown slightly. “I originally wanted to come here to chat with you, but I’ve never thought that this place would be so dilapidated. There was not even a place to sit. You were born with a silver spoon and were appointed as a consort as soon as you entered the palace. You have never suffered such a mishap. It must be hard on you.”

“Hsh, are you done? If you are, get lost with your people! You’re such an eyesore.”

Noble Consort Qi curled her lips into a smirk. The nurses standing behind her stepped forward, grabbed Madam Lin’s shoulder, kicked her knees, and forced her to kneel down. “Madam Lin, how dare you! You didn’t kneel down to salute when I came in. Do you know how serious this is?!”

Madam Lin’s eyes were red. “The Emperor thought that you were the calmest and most indifferent person, and your disguise was on point too. Who would have thought that you’re actually a liar and a vicious woman?! If the Emperor sees you today, he will definitely dismiss you!”

Noble Consort Qi raised her head, her eyes full of ridicule. “I’ve been in the palace for twenty-five years, and this personality has existed for twenty-five years. Until now, I can’t tell if I am pretending to be like this, or if this is my original personality. I have deceived myself, so how can I not deceive the Emperor?”

“Bitch, you bitch! What do you want?” Madam Lin bit her lips slightly, and her heart was thumping wildly. Only after losing her power did she crave the benefits of being in power. Over the past few days in Cold Palace, she felt like she was in hell.

Noble Consort Qi said slowly, “Seeing that the situation is hard on you, I’m here to see you off.”

Madam Lin widened her eyes in disbelief. “Do you want to kill me?”

Noble Consort Qi smiled. The nurses had already stepped forward to hold her down and strangled her. Madam Lin struggled violently. She was still waiting for her sons to take her out of this hellhole. How could she die just like that? Unfortunately, those nurses were exceptionally strong. They grabbed her hands tightly, and she couldn’t break free from their grip at all.

“Noble Consort Qi, why do you do this to me? There is no hatred between you and me. What good will it do you to kill me?”

The nurses had already held Madam Lin down, and the snow-white silk wrapped around her neck and gradually tightened. “Q-Qi Yuan… W-Why do you do this?”

Noble Consort Qi slowly stood up and looked down at Madam Lin, whose face was starting to turn purple. “Why didn’t you ask yourself this question when you helped Baili Jinze frame my daughter and killed her child? You thought that you hid this matter so well that I would never be able to find out the truth, huh?”