Chapter 203:

Perhaps hearing everyone’s calls, Jiaojiao was finally saved. Seeing her breathing finally stabilize, Cuiwen collapsed there.

At this point, no one was still arguing about why a palace maid would possess such excellent medical skills or why the emperor trusted her.

Upon hearing that Jiaojiao had temporarily escaped danger, Emperor Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“How is Her Majesty the Empress?”

Lin, the imperial physician, felt that perhaps there really was something supernatural in this world.

While the little princess escaped life-threatening danger on this side, the Empress’s condition on the other side seemed to improve significantly as well.

They say a mother and daughter’s hearts are connected; indeed, it proved true.

“Her Majesty the Empress has also stabilized. Later, this subject will provide the prescription to Miss Jinxin for daily decoction. Although Her Majesty will be fine, she is indeed physically weak.”

Hearing that several loved ones had finally escaped danger, Emperor Jing felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

Thinking again about the many consorts waiting outside, he left the room with a cold expression.

“Your Majesty, this humble concubine greets you—”

Emperor Jing looked at them but did not ask them to rise.

“The incident involving Princess Zhaoyang this time wasn’t accidental. I have no more words to say about the rest. Return to your quarters. This matter isn’t over yet. I suppose no matter what I say, you won’t remember. If you won’t remember, then die!”

After speaking, Emperor Jing turned and walked back inside. Hearing his sinister tone, everyone was greatly frightened, neither daring to rise nor to speak further.

Yet it seemed even kneeling here at Fengxi Palace displeased Emperor Jing.

Before long, Lai Xi arrived to chase them away.

“The Emperor said, if you don’t want to return to your quarters, then kneel outside Fengxi Palace. This place cannot tolerate such ill omens.”

They were actually compared to ill omens.

Many of their faces turned alternately green and pale, but they also understood that this incident must have touched Emperor Jing’s most sensitive nerve, or else it wouldn’t have gone this far.

When Layue woke up, her first question was about Jiaojiao.

Seeing her pale little face, Emperor Jing held her hand: “It’s okay. Jiaojiao is fine now. Don’t worry.”

Upon hearing this, Layue finally exhaled in relief.

“It’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of Jiaojiao. I didn’t accompany her to the imperial garden. If I had gone, things might not have turned out like this,” Layue wept.

It seemed that after this incident, everyone blamed themselves, and Emperor Jing knew well that it had nothing to do with anyone specifically.

“It’s not you. It’s not your fault. I know you were unwell. More importantly, I must tell you, Yue’er. We have our second princess now.”

Upon hearing Emperor Jing’s words, Layue was stunned. After a long while, she gently placed her small hand on her abdomen and asked, “I’m pregnant?”

Emperor Jing nodded: “Yes, you are pregnant. I know you were unwell because you are with child. Don’t blame yourself for this matter. It has nothing to do with any of you. Someone deliberately did this. Even if they didn’t find an opportunity today, they would have done the same another day. I won’t let such a bastard go. Rest assured, I will definitely not let them go.”

…

Because Jiaojiao was still very young, there were some fluctuations, but with Cuiwen’s care, she wasn’t in serious danger.

Previously, Emperor Jing had already ordered Lai Fu to investigate the matter.

After receiving the order, Lai Fu acted decisively. Indeed, not long after, some evidence was uncovered. It seemed that as long as one was determined, anything could be found in the palace.

Emperor Jing flipped through the collected evidence, his expression grim.

“Go and bring Bai Youran to me.”

The palace guards acted without hesitation. Before long, Bai Youran was brought in, not only did she come, but she was also holding the young Yan Ning.

Emperor Jing glared coldly at her: “Do you know your crime?”

Bai Youran knelt there, terrified: “This humble concubine doesn’t know of any crime, nor do I understand what Your Majesty is saying. If Your Majesty believes that the incident with Princess Zhaoyang was my doing, then this humble concubine would rather die than accept such a false accusation. I really didn’t do it!”

Emperor Jing looked at her expression and threw the evidence on the table: “You look at this. Do you think denying it will make it go away?”

Looking at those items, Bai Youran felt a chill run through her heart, but she still tried to defend herself: “If I really wanted to harm someone, I should have targeted one of the young princes instead. Why harm the little princess? No, it’s really not me. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth. This is a frame-up, a setup!”

Bai Youran knew in her heart that if she was innocent, then someone must be trying to frame her. But who, who exactly was trying to frame her?

Certainly, she was very jealous of Shen Layue and wished her ill, but she had Ning’er. She wasn’t a fool.

As long as she had Ning’er, things were different.

Moreover, in her opinion, if Princess Zhaoyang had an accident and she was framed, it would benefit the Empress the most.

However, she would never dare to say such things recklessly.

At present, Emperor Jing was in no mood to hear anyone speak ill of Shen Layue.

Emperor Jing carefully observed Bai Youran’s expression, trying to read something from her face.

“Mother—!” Yan Ning clung tightly to Bai Youran’s side, refusing to leave. Compared to the other children, Emperor Jing had had very little contact with his third son.

It wasn’t that he favored some over others, but every time he played with the children, Bai Youran would become extremely anxious, fearing something might go wrong. Additionally, Ning’er was always wary of his older and younger brothers. Over time, Emperor Jing had grown colder toward him.

“Take the third prince away.”

Lai Xi hurried over to pull the child away.

Yan Ning resisted fiercely: “No, no! I want to stay with my mother! All of you, go away, go away!”

Seeing his rude words, Emperor Jing became somewhat displeased.

“Hurry and take the third prince away.”

“I won’t! I won’t! You’re a bad person—” he cried bitterly.

Emperor Jing looked at Bai Youran: “Since you claim someone framed you, I won’t sentence you to death based solely on the evidence uncovered in a single day. For now, go stay in the Cold Palace for a while!”

Bai Youran tearfully watched the direction her son was taken, finally regaining a bit of her composure.

Since the emperor had spoken like this, it meant he might not entirely believe the evidence. Especially with those last words, there was considerable ambiguity.

After thinking, she finally calmed down.

“This humble concubine obeys Your Majesty’s command.”

Bai Youran was demoted to the Cold Palace for allegedly attempting to harm Princess Zhaoyang.

Everyone in the palace was shocked, but then again, considering how harshly the emperor had spoken initially, today’s leniency suggested he didn’t truly intend to condemn Bai Youran to death. Thus, many thought, it was indeed different once one had a child.

This was exactly like the case of Consort De previously. Despite committing a grave error, she had been repeatedly forgiven because she had Yan Jia. No wonder Consort Qi had taken her own life.

Looking at today’s events, they bore a striking resemblance to Consort De’s case.

Layue’s pregnancy wasn’t very stable, so she remained in seclusion. Although she didn’t go out much, she had heard bits and pieces of the news.

“Your Highness, please don’t worry too much or think about these things. Now that you’re with child, it’s most important to take good care of yourself,” Jin Xin comforted her, fearing that the mistress might become upset because Bai Youran hadn’t been severely punished.

“I’m not.”

“Really not?” Emperor Jing entered from outside.

He sat beside Layue. Now, besides visiting Jiaojiao, she didn’t move around much.

Seeing the emperor come in, Layue quickly greeted him.

Emperor Jing continued questioning her: “You’re really not angry?”

Emperor Jing carefully observed Layue’s expression. She looked serene and nodded.

“What the emperor does must have its reasons. This humble concubine believes in Your Majesty.”

Seeing her like this, Emperor Jing was pleased and took her hand.

“I’m glad you’re willing to believe me.”

Seeing Layue looking at him, Emperor Jing elaborated on the matter: “I feel the situation isn’t that simple. You and I both know Bai Youran’s character. She’s definitely not that reckless. She’s always extremely cautious in her actions. How could she leave behind so much evidence? Actually, I also considered whether she might be doing it on purpose, going against expectations. But upon further thought, I found that possibility quite low. Think about it, if she left no evidence, she could temporarily clear herself and later find other reasons for any new evidence. It wouldn’t make sense for her to rush into implicating herself so quickly, especially since I had already declared earlier that I would show no mercy. She definitely wouldn’t do this, after all, she still has Ning’er.”

“So the emperor thinks this matter was a setup against Bai Youran?”

Layue had actually considered this point herself.

“Didn’t you think that way?” Seeing her ask like this, Emperor Jing smiled and replied.

“I just don’t understand who would want to harm Bai Youran. Or perhaps, harm both of us? But the fact that Jiaojiao was targeted in the first place puzzles me.”

Layue had her own considerations.

“I feel the person must have had Bai Youran as their primary target. As for me or my little Jiaojiao, we were secondary. Perhaps, all she needed was a child of the Empress. It didn’t matter which one. If it had been the fourth prince by the pond yesterday, then the fourth prince would have been the target. If it had been the fifth prince watching the fish by the water, then the fifth prince would have been the target. Yesterday, it happened to be Jiaojiao by the water, so she became the target. Since the child wasn’t specifically chosen, it shows I wasn’t the other target in a two-birds-with-one-stone scenario. It’s simply because I’m favored, and my child is favored. This way, Your Majesty would be even more furious.”

Layue was a rational person. When she learned the culprit was Bai Youran, she had already considered this layer, although she wasn’t sure if it was true, she felt it was likely.

“I didn’t sentence Bai Youran to death. Perhaps the real culprit will act again. We just need to wait, no matter what the reason,” Emperor Jing looked into Layue’s eyes.

“No matter the reason, I will not tolerate anyone harming my children. No exceptions. I said that whoever truly lays a hand on them will die—they must die. Yue’er, rest assured, I won’t let Jiaojiao’s suffering be in vain.”

Layue looked at Emperor Jing for a long time, so long that Emperor Jing thought she wouldn’t reply. Finally, Layue broke into a smile: “This humble concubine believes in Your Majesty.”