In the side hall, Di Jinghan was playing with the awakened Chu'er, while two wet nurses teased him. Chu'er smiled carefree, oblivious to the wind and rain outside.

Ning Hui walked in from outside and gave a slight curtsy: "Princess, General Li has found us here."

Di Jinghan was somewhat surprised. Shouldn't he be busy today? How come he had time to come over? She didn't have time to see him either! She pursed her red lips slightly: "Ning Hui, you should let him leave the palace first. It's not convenient to see him right now."

Ning Hui agreed, turned and walked out. It was indeed not a suitable time for the two of them to meet. Not to mention all that had happened, there were still so many noblewomen and ladies in the main hall; his presence would only cause trouble.

Li Yannian is now completely clear-headed. Ning Hui sent a young eunuch to escort him out of the palace to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Li Yannian didn't say anything, followed the little eunuch out of the palace, and sat in the carriage reflecting on the events of the day. He had originally gone to find Di Jinghan, but unexpectedly, he had drunk some wine and got lost. By the time he realized it, he was already at the entrance of the Taiji Hall.

The banquet at Taiji Hall hadn't started yet, and the palace servants were busy going in and out. A palace maid accidentally spilled wine on him, so she asked him to go to the palace next to Taiji Hall to clean it up.

The young eunuch was waiting for him outside the palace. He cleaned his clothes and was about to go out when the palace maid who had just soiled his clothes brought in hot tea: "General Li, it's cold outside. I've prepared hot tea for you."

Li Yannian nodded, but had no intention of drinking; he was in a hurry to find Jinghan! So he turned to leave, and the palace maid didn't dare say anything and went back to her work.

Li Yannian realized halfway there that he had left his personal jade pendant in the room he had just been in, so he turned back to retrieve it. Upon entering, he saw a woman of striking appearance, disheveled, and flushed face lying on the bed. Judging from her attire, she appeared to be a woman from an official family. Considering that the Empress had received noble ladies and wives earlier that day, the presence of such a woman was not surprising.

But it seems she was set up.

Li Yannian quickly took out his jade pendant and had the eunuch help the unconscious woman out, taking her to the Imperial Hospital. He told the eunuch to stay and take care of the young lady, while he hurried off to find Di Jinghan.

He felt increasingly uneasy on the way, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. When he arrived at Di Jinghan's palace, the palace servants told him that she had gone to see the Empress. He realized he had indeed wasted a lot of time on the way, so he had no choice but to change course and go to the main hall. He should have just followed the Emperor directly there.

He thought about it and quickly stepped over; he was really looking forward to it.

What Li Yannian didn't know was that he was incredibly lucky. He had just left the palace with Miss Zhang when a palace maid sneaked in, drank the cooled tea, and felt extremely hot all over. Then a guard came in, and the two of them rolled onto the bed together.

Thus, the scene that Emperor Jingyuan and Zheng San witnessed later unfolded. Madam Li and Madam Li had originally timed it perfectly, intending for the Emperor and Empress to personally arrive with everyone to investigate. Therefore, by the time Li Yannian first entered the room, word had already spread throughout the main hall. Arriving then, they could just see Miss Zhang, who was handling traditional Chinese medicine, and Li Yannian inside the room.

Unexpectedly, the Empress suddenly fainted, and everyone was detained inside the palace, perfectly missing the opportunity to catch them in the act. The palace maid who soiled Li Yannian's clothes was actually Lady Li's maid, and Li Yannian's jade pendant was knocked off by her when she bumped into him and put into the room.

She left only after seeing Li Yannian go inside again. Sure enough, a short while later, people came and surrounded the area.

__

After warning everyone, Di Jingyuan turned and left, arriving outside the Emperor and Empress's bedchamber. Qinghe quickly went to greet him: "Your Highness."

"Is nothing wrong?" Di Jingyuan asked worriedly, looking at the tightly closed door.

Qinghe gently shook her head: "It's nothing."

Di Jingyuan nodded, stood to the side with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, and waited with the imperial physician for the person inside to come out.

Qinghe kept glancing at the tightly closed door; more than half an hour had passed, and she wondered what had happened.

Fifteen minutes later, there was finally movement inside. Di Jingcheng put on a robe and came out, telling them through the door to prepare hot water. Qinghe had already had it prepared, so she quickly brought the hot water over and knocked on the door to go in.

Di Jingcheng asked her to place the hot water outside the curtains, and after she went out, she personally brought it to Azi to wipe her body. He gently dried Azi, changed her into a soft nightgown, and held her, kissing her tenderly: "Baby, are you still uncomfortable?"

Azi was still unconscious, her face slightly pale, no longer flushed and uncomfortable as when she took the Chinese medicine.

"Baby, don't worry, I will make the person who drugged me wish they were dead!" Di Jingcheng's eyes were still bloodshot, filled with murderous intent.

Emperor Jingcheng gently placed her in the bedding, carefully tucked her in, and then went outside. The anxious crowd outside finally saw the emperor push open the door and come out, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Di Jingyuan stepped forward and hurriedly asked, "Brother, how is Sister-in-law?"

Di Jingcheng's face was terribly gloomy at this moment: "It's alright, the imperial physician will go in and take your pulse."

The imperial physician who was called upon hurriedly followed the emperor inside. Emperor Jingyuan, disregarding all etiquette, had only Azi's safety on his mind and rushed to follow.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is alright now. She should rest well these next few days and avoid overexertion."

Di Jingcheng nodded: "You may all leave." He closed his eyes wearily.

When Emperor Jingyuan heard from the imperial physician that she was alright, he felt relieved, but seeing her unconscious and pale face, he felt really heartbroken.

After everyone left, Di Jingcheng stayed in the room with Azi, afraid that she would be frightened when she woke up and would feel sad if she couldn't see him. He took off his clothes, lay down in bed, and quietly stayed with his precious baby, his loving and tender gaze never leaving her.

He would speak to her softly from time to time, and even though he didn't get a response, he wanted her to know that he was always with her.

More than two hours had passed, and dinner time was over. Azi opened her eyes weakly and found the room quiet. She forced her eyes open and saw Di Jingcheng looking at her with concern, his eyes overflowing with affection.

Azi wanted to raise her hand to touch his face, but she had no strength at all; her whole body was limp, and her voice was barely audible. Di Jingcheng had to lean close to her lips to hear her clearly; she was calling his name.

Di Jingcheng gently but firmly held her in his arms, patting her back softly: "Baby, rest well, don't rush, um~, I'll stay here with you."

Azi no longer had the strength to nod, and slumped against the man, closing her eyes to rest. Qinghe brought in dinner, having specially prepared congee, thinking that the Empress must be hungry now that she was awake.

Emperor Jingcheng gestured for her to put it down and leave. Qinghe knew that the Empress had woken up and couldn't help but smile. She hurriedly went out to share the good news with Zheng He.

Di Jingcheng held the little one and fed her some porridge, without eating himself. He held her and coaxed her until she fell asleep again, exhausted. He looked at the little one's peaceful sleeping face in his arms, which finally had some normal color in it, unlike the crying and struggling she had when he gave her the antidote earlier that day.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't dealt with the group of women in front of him yet!