Chapter 413

Madam Lin’s vision gradually went blurry. She felt that it was harder and harder for her to breathe. She wanted to shout for help, but she was unable to make a single sound. In the end, even the sound in her ears became blurry. She heard Noble Consort Qi’s increasingly cold mocking voice, “Madam Lin… this is the best ending you deserve…”

Noble Consort Qi curled her lips into a cold smirk as she watched Madam Lin’s struggle becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, there was no sound, and she slowly heaved a sigh of relief. “Take care of the matters here. I’ll go back first.”

The nurses were all her confidants. Hearing this, they hurriedly replied, “Yes, Your Grace. Please go back, lest this dirty place irritates you. We will take care of everything.”

After returning to Chunlan Palace, Noble Consort Qi sat alone for a while. The smile on her face gradually disappeared. Madam Lin died, and the palace harem became more and more empty. She wondered when would be her turn. She should go by her days carefully.

On the third day of Madam Lin’s death, the eunuch, who delivered food to Cold Palace, saw that the food had been left untouched for a long time. Only then did he realize that something was wrong. When he went in to take a look, he found that Madam Lin hung herself inside Cold Palace. The weather was hot, and her body had become smelly. He quickly sent someone to report the news to Noble Consort Qi. At that time, Baili Qingcang was taking a nap in her palace. When he heard the noise outside, he was a little annoyed. “What’s the matter?”

Noble Consort Qi looked a little pale. “Your Majesty, Madam Lin committed suicide in Cold Palace.”

Baili Qingcang was startled by the news, and then he nodded. “She has done many evil deeds. She must know that she was too ashamed to be alive. Hmph! I’ve dismissed her title, so she cannot be buried in the imperial mausoleum. Tell the Lim Family to bring her body back to be buried.”

“Your Majesty, Madam Lin has served you for many years. Although she made a big mistake, her death should put an end to all of this. How about you give her a posthumous title? After all, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince are her sons. They won’t even have a chance to pay their respects to their mother if the Lin Family brings her body back. The two princes will be devastated.”

“She has committed a heinous sin!” Baili Qingcang was indignant. “Moreover, she deceived me many times and even poisoned the wine at the palace banquet. If she had been more daring, she might have poisoned me too! I don’t want such a vicious woman to be buried in the imperial mausoleum.”

“She can’t be buried in the imperial mausoleum, but she can be buried in the consort mausoleum, so the two princes can visit her grave when they miss her. Despite her mistakes, she is still the princes’ mother. Blood is thicker than water. Your Majesty, you are angry now. When you calm down, you may regret your decision,” Noble Consort Qi spoke in a soft and gentle tone. Coupled with her plain clothes, she didn’t make Baili Qingcang feel irritated the slightest bit although she was trying to persuade him.

Baili Qingcang thought about it, reached out to hold Noble Consort Qi’s hand, and patted it gently. “You’re right. Although the Third and Fourth Princes are useless, they are my sons. I can’t let the people laugh at them. You are thoughtful.”

Noble Consort Qi smiled gently. “Although you are strict, you love all the princes very much. Madam Lin made a mistake because she had the wrong idea.”

Hearing this, Baili Qingcang felt more comfortable. “You understand me the most. Well, since that’s the case, I’ll allow Madam Lin to be buried as a royal consort. Set up a mourning hall at Changqiu Palace. As for the rest of the matters, you handle them. I don’t want to waste my time bothering with her matters.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, don’t worry. I will handle it well.”

When the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince received the news, they were stunned, especially the Third Prince. He could not believe his ears and said repeatedly, “Impossible. How could Mother commit suicide? This is absolutely impossible. Someone must have murdered her!” Mother had said before that she would wait for him to take her out one day. How could she commit suicide for no reason?

As he spoke, he strode out, but the Fourth Prince pulled him back. “Third Brother, what do you want to do?”

The Third Prince’s expression was gloomy. “I want to go into the palace to see Father Emperor. It is impossible for Mother to commit suicide. It is impossible! Someone must have murdered her.”

The Fourth Prince smiled bitterly. “So what if you can find the evidence to prove it? Do you think Father Emperor will believe you? In fact, we have to report to Father Emperor if we want to enter the palace. I’m afraid that he will ask his men to drive us out when he hears our names.”

“Fourth Brother, Mother would not commit suicide! There must be a reason behind this!”

“Now, Noble Consort Qi and her clan have absolute power in the palace harem. Who else could silently kill Mother? She is the most suspicious, but even if you find out that it is her and tell Father Emperor about it, not only will he not believe you, but he will think that you try to accuse her.”

The Third Prince was dazed. It seemed that he did not expect that his younger brother, who always spent his days leisurely, would say something like this. “Fourth brother, you…”

“Mother took all the blame so that you can survive this ordeal. At this time, I can’t watch you act recklessly.”

The Third Prince dejectedly took two steps back, sat on the chair, and fell silent. When he heard that his mother had committed suicide, the wrath in his heart was extremely strong, and it made him want to enter the palace immediately. Now that he had calmed down a little, he felt fortunate that the Fourth Prince had stopped him. His mother was dead. If he entered the palace and caused a ruckus, he would irritate Father Emperor and make Father Emperor hate him even more. It didn’t bring him any benefits. Now, he needed to calmly think about his next step. He should think of a way to use Mother’s death to restore his image in Father Emperor’s heart.

When the Fourth Prince saw his appearance, he knew that the latter would not want to enter the palace now. The Fourth Prince sat quietly to the side, and a light flashed across his eyes. The light was sharp and cold, unlike the muddle-headed appearance that he usually had. It was as if he had completely changed into a different person. A moment later, the light quieted down and disappeared without a trace. He resumed his original demeanor once again.

Then, the news from the palace made the Third Prince even angrier. “Father Emperor did not allow Mother to be buried in the imperial mausoleum?! What the hell! He’s old and muddle-headed!”

The Fourth Prince did not say anything, but his expression was equally gloomy. If the news that their birth mother could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum was spread out, they would not be able to stand upright in the imperial court in the future. Although he had mentally prepared himself for this, he couldn’t help but feel the coldness in his heart. Father Emperor was really ruthless!

Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua naturally received the news as well. However, the two of them did not bother to pay attention to the matters in the palace.

Shen Ninghua stayed in the pavilion by the water. There was a light gauze blocking the sunlight. The breeze brought along water vapor, making them feel cool. Baili Junyi sat beside her and accompanied her. When he saw that she had fallen asleep, he heaved a sigh of relief. He whispered to Hong Ling beside him, “Go prepare some fruits and side dishes that can cool off the heat. Serve them to your master when she wakes up.”

A few days had passed. The irritation in Shen Ninghua’s heart was gone after she took the medicine that Chen Yun prescribed, but she began to vomit profusely. In fact, she vomited whatever she ate, and she couldn’t stand the smell of meat. Baili Junyi was so anxious about her condition that he spent all his day keeping an eye on Shen Ninghua. He would ask her what she wanted to eat and immediately order people to prepare them. However, Shen Ninghua had no appetite, so he didn’t even have the chance to prepare food for her.

Big Boy and Baby Girl, who were full of sweat, walked over hand in hand. When they saw that Shen Ninghua had fallen asleep, they moved forward lightly like two silly kittens. The scene was so adorable that the people who saw them would giggle in amusement. When Baili Junyi saw them, he beckoned them over. The two children walked over on tiptoe and put their little fingers to their mouths. “Shush. Mother and baby brothers are asleep.”

Baili Junyi ignored the words “baby brothers” expressionlessly. He took out a handkerchief to wipe their sweat. “Where did you go to play? Why are you sweating?”

The two children raised their heads obediently and asked Baili Junyi to wipe their sweat with their hands behind their backs. “We went to find food for Mother.”

The two children were worried sick when they saw that Shen Ninghua could not eat anything, so they went all over the mansion and asked whoever they saw what they thought was the most delicious food. The people in the mansion did not dare to offend the two Little Masters, so they thought hard and told them the most delicious food they could think of. In the end, the two children received a variety of answers. Then, they went to the kitchen to pester the chefs and let them work on it.

The chefs were intimidated by the two children, so they worked hard to research the new recipes and came up with a few delicious food with little to no seasonings. They received a lot of rewards for their hard work. Hence, they worked even harder in preparing the food. Because of this, the two children had gained some weight.

Shen Ninghua slept in a daze for a while and woke up. She had not slept well these days, and a little noise could wake her up. Seeing that she woke up, Big Boy and Baby Girl quickly ran over. “Mother, are you awake?”

“Yes. Where did you two go? Your faces are red because of the heat.”

Baby Girl patted Big Boy who stood beside her. “We went to find some delicious foods for you. Brother, quickly take them out.”

Big Boy quickly took out two red plums from his sleeve. “Mother, they were newly delivered to the mansion. Father hasn’t eaten them yet. We happened to see them at the entrance of the mansion, so we took them to give them to you.”

Because Big Boy had been keeping guard of the plums too carefully, the plums were warm, and one of them became soft because of his grip. Despite that, Shen Ninghua took the plums with a big smile on her face and stroked their faces gently. “Thank you, my darlings. You are really my good babies.”

Hong Ling hurriedly brought the water over. “Little Master, please wash the plums for Miss. When they are clean, Miss can eat them.”

The two children quickly rolled up their sleeves, took a plum each, and carefully washed it. The water dripped from their arms and stained their sleeves. After that, they raised the plums to Shen Ninghua’s mouth. “Mother, try it.”

Shen Ninghua took a bite and beamed. “Yes, it’s delicious.” The plum was a little sour, but it was very appetizing. In addition, she was moved by the two children’s concern for her. Shen Ninghua did not vomit after eating them, which made Baili Junyi and the two children happier.

“My darling children, thank you.”

Seeing their mother finish the plums, Big Boy and Baby Girl happily hopped and danced. After dancing for a while, they touched Shen Ninghua’s belly. “Little brothers, you have to be good and don’t make Mother sick. Otherwise, I’ll spank your butt when you come out.”

“Yes, I’ll spank you too!” Baby Girl echoed. Then, she seemed to feel that it was quite harsh, so she added, “But I won’t spank you if you are good and eat more. When Father and Brother beat you, I’ll help you.”