Chapter 55:

After the tenderness, the two lay in each other’s arms on the bed.

Seeing her panting continuously, as if a fish out of water, Emperor Jing gently stroked her back, tenderly comforting her.

“Are you feeling better now? Little one, you always find ways to make me love you even more. You must be exhausted from serving me, aren’t you?”

“Mmm.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

“I thought you were angry just now. Turns out you were upset because I didn’t tell you. You little ungrateful thing, haven’t you considered it? Am I not doing this for your own good? I’ve arranged everything for you. All you need to do is live happily in the palace. Isn’t that better?”

(Note: “朕” is the imperial first-person pronoun used exclusively by Chinese emperors. In modern English translation, it’s typically rendered as “I” or “We” depending on context, as there’s no direct equivalent. The tone has been adjusted to maintain the original’s mix of affectionate scolding and authority while sounding natural in English.)

Seeing her sorrowful expression, Emperor Jing couldn’t bear it and gently lifted her chin. “Don’t speak such nonsense. Why say such gloomy words? I will always protect you, shield you from all harm, and ensure your everlasting happiness.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Layue murmured, “Your Majesty, please don’t be so good to me, please don’t treat me so kindly. Whenever you do this, I feel so distressed. I don’t know what I would do if one day you no longer favored me.”

“I will always love and cherish you, forever.”

A wave of sorrow surged in Layue’s heart. How could she believe him? Yet on the surface, she pretended to be deeply moved.

“Yue’er, Imperial Physician Zhu harbored malicious intent and added harmful substances to your medicine. I have already assigned Imperial Physician Zhang to examine you and prescribe a treatment. Just follow the regimen daily, and you’ll recover soon.”

She nodded silently against his chest, murmuring a muffled “Mmm.”

Emperor Jing gently stroked her hair and continued, “Thankfully, the gods must have pitied you, for the dosage was light. Otherwise, you might have faced difficulties conceiving in the future.”

The emperor sighed as he spoke.

Layue lifted her head and smiled. “It wasn’t the gods who pitied me.”

“Hmm?” The emperor looked at her.

Imperial Physician Zhang had examined her pulse and found only slight coldness in her body, nothing serious. He was somewhat puzzled.

Under normal circumstances, even with a small dosage, the medicine from Imperial Physician Zhu should have had some effect after ten days of consumption by Lady Chun. Unless there was another reason, it was possible that Lady Chun’s constitution was naturally stronger, which was quite plausible considering her youth.

The suspicious nature of Emperor Jing naturally led him to question this.

“It wasn’t the gods pitying me. It was me saving myself.” After saying that, she lowered her head, somewhat guiltily and shyly.

“What exactly happened?” The emperor asked curiously, though his inner thoughts remained unknown.

Layue tugged at her fingers. “Well…Promise you won’t scold me.”

“I won’t scold you.”

“It’s just that the medicine was too bitter. Having to drink it three times a day, how could I bear it? So I poured it out secretly when no one was watching.” Seeing his expression change, Layue raised her hand as if swearing.

“But I did drink some of it. I naturally wanted to recover quickly. I made sure to drink it at least once a day.”

After finishing, she stole a glance at him, looking like a child afraid of being scolded.

The emperor, furious, ended up laughing instead. “Tell me the truth. Did you do this every time?”

“Of course not.” She tugged at her fingers.

“Tell the truth.”

“Er…Well…Yes.”

“Slap!” Her little bottom received a light smack.

Layue rubbed her bottom, furious but dared not say anything.

“This time, you accidentally avoided the harmful medicine, so I won’t punish you severely. Otherwise, I would have spanked you more. You’re still a child, yet you hide your illness and secretly pour out your medicine?”

Emperor Jing looked at her carefully, trying to see if she was lying.

Layue muttered, “If it weren’t for my good habit, I would have been harmed. Now look, I’m perfectly fine.”

She was still arguing. Seeing this, the emperor sighed, thinking he had probably overthought the matter.

“You’re actually making excuses for it! From now on, I will personally oversee this matter. But you must obediently take your medicine. If I find out you try such tricks again, just wait and see.”

(Note: The term “朕” (zhèn) is the imperial “I” used exclusively by Chinese emperors. In modern English translation, it’s typically rendered as “I” or “We” depending on context, unless intentionally preserving the imperial tone. Here, “I” is used for natural flow while maintaining authority.)

She twitched her lips but eventually said nothing.

Seeing her indignant expression, Emperor Jing once again felt he had overthought it. No wonder her pulse showed no abnormalities—she had barely consumed any of the medicine at all. Having taken only one dose out of three, it was no surprise she remained unaffected.

Had she argued more, he might have suspected further. But since she somewhat guiltily admitted everything, Emperor Jing finally felt reassured.

“Didn’t the servants around you notice this habit of yours?”

Layue grinned proudly, “I’m not stupid. I naturally made sure to send them away. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed me to do that.”

Seeing her like this, the emperor rubbed his forehead. “So you’re proud of yourself now? Where did you pour the medicine?”

“In the potted plants.”

The emperor snorted, “That explains why the once lush green plants have become withered and yellow-leaved. It was all your doing. The servants around you also deserve a serious reprimand. They didn’t even realize you were pouring medicine into the plants instead of taking them.”

Layue protested, “Your Majesty, why are you always scolding me? Look, I avoided a disaster by not taking the medicine. Don’t tell me you wanted me to fall into the trap?”

Helplessly, the emperor touched her face and sighed, “See? You’re such a little girl, knowing nothing. These are two completely different matters.”

“They are the same matter.”

Seeing her glare, Emperor Jing decided to drop the topic.

“Alright, alright. Whatever you say.”

The Consort De had indeed been ruthless. She added a drug causing infertility into the medicine. The dosage was extremely light, imperceptible to the untrained eye, and even experts would need to examine it carefully to notice. Moreover, the ingredients for treating the cold had been stir-fried so much that they had lost their potency. It was a clever plan. If Lady Chun had died from the cold, that would have been ideal. But even if she recovered, the infertility drug would have ruined her chances of having children in the future.

Such a scheme was indeed cruel.

If it hadn’t been for Emperor Jing ordering Lai Xi to investigate thoroughly, Lady Chun would have been ruined. Looking at the innocent girl before him, Emperor Jing’s eyes darkened slightly. At least for now, she was still very dear to him.

His possessions—no one but himself had the right to destroy them.

The two lay together warmly, but Layue’s mind was filled with more thoughts.

She had discovered everything long ago. The hairpin gifted by her master indeed proved to be extraordinary.

On the very first day, she had noticed the problem. However, there were some things she shouldn’t say, so she waited—for the emperor to grow suspicious and investigate on his own.

There were only so many people in the palace, and even fewer who could bribe the imperial physicians. Take Imperial Physician Wan, for example, although there were many connections with her family, when it came to matters of imperial power, he might not necessarily side with her. Not because of anything else, but simply due to the nature of human life.

Therefore, the suspects were quite easy to guess. She herself had three suspects in mind: Consort De, Concubine An, and Fu Jinyao. As for people like Bai Xiaodie and Chen Yulan, they definitely didn’t have the capability.

It was better for the emperor to uncover this himself.

Layue curled her lips.

As for having children, she had thought about it when she had previously feigned illness. She would have them, but not now. At such a young age, childbirth was not good—for both the child and herself. Moreover, as a mere concubine, she would not be allowed to raise her own child. She would never hand her child over to someone else. Therefore, without sufficient strength and status to properly raise and protect her child, she would never get pregnant.

“Yue’er?”

“Mmm?”

Emperor Jing held her tightly in his arms. “I am looking forward to it, looking forward to having a child with you.”

Layue inwardly sneered. The emperor knew she had been injured last time and would find it hard to conceive within a year. He was just saying these seemingly affectionate words.

This man was always like this.

On the surface, he seemed like the best man in the world, but inside, he was the coldest-hearted.

“Yue’er feels the same. Yue’er also hopes to have a child of Your Majesty. Once Yue’er recovers, she will definitely give Your Majesty a lovely little princess.”

The emperor smiled. “Why a princess instead of a prince?”

In the palace, who didn’t want to give birth to a prince? Who didn’t want their son to be named heir? How could a son and a daughter be the same? Emperor Jing looked at Layue carefully, trying to discern her thoughts.

Layue playfully replied, “That’s natural. Your Majesty already has two little princes. So I want to have a little princess, making me unique.”

There was a hint of pride in her tone, as if she were proud of her own cleverness.

Emperor Jing laughed heartily.

This girl was indeed adorable.

“Alright, I will wait for you to give me a little princess. I will make you the mother of my first princess.”

What was originally just playful banter between the two unexpectedly became a prophecy destined to come true.

Of course, that is another story.

“Your Majesty, when the time comes, you name our daughter. Don’t be as careless as my mother, okay?” Layue traced circles on Emperor Jing’s chest with her finger.

The emperor chuckled. “Don’t you like your name?”

“Of course not. It’s just that it feels so careless. Grandmother said my name sounds like that of a poor family’s little girl.”

The emperor laughed even harder.

“A baby girl born in the twelfth lunar month, simple and straightforward,” Emperor Jing consoled.

Layue sighed.

“I wish I could have a name like Shi or Hua. It sounds so elegant.”

“Since your grandmother also thinks your name is common, why didn’t she change it for you?” This was purely out of curiosity.

Layue hesitated for a moment, somewhat embarrassed, and murmured softly, “They said a humble name makes a child easier to raise…”

Emperor Jing was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter.

To think that the family of a prestigious Hanlin Academy official still clung to such old superstitions?

Layue pouted, “Your Majesty is laughing at me. I shouldn’t have told you the truth…”