For no apparent reason, the Third Prince found himself feeling hot all over.

The third prince tugged at his collar, and the empress noticed something was wrong. "My son, what's wrong?"

The Third Prince shook his head. "It's nothing. Mother, I'm a little thirsty and would like some iced drinks."

"It's spring now, drinking cold drinks can easily make you sick,"

The Empress ordered, "Bring me a cup of chilled tea."

Soon, a palace maid brought over a cup of cool tea.

The palace maid knelt before the third prince and offered the offering with both hands.

Unexpectedly, the Third Prince did not take the teacup, but instead began to undress in front of the palace maid.

Such a presumptuous act startled the Empress, and the palace maid screamed in fright.

The Empress slammed her hand on the table. "Yuan Cheng, what are you doing in broad daylight?"

The Empress said sternly, "Hurry up and pull it open."

In broad daylight, the Third Prince stripped naked in his mother's palace and did such a thing.

If word gets out, Pei Yuancheng will not only lose his position as crown prince, but he may also face severe punishment.

The palace maids and nannies serving in Changqiu Palace stepped forward and, with considerable effort, separated the two.

At this moment, the Empress looked at the Third Prince, whose face was flushed, and knew that something was wrong.

The Empress instructed the nanny, "Take my token and summon the imperial physician."

The Empress then ordered people to tie up the Third Prince with ropes.

The third prince was tied to a chair, letting out mournful cries and furious roars.

The Empress frowned as she listened. Fortunately, the Third Prince's incident occurred in Changqiu Palace.

Today, the Empress kept the Third Prince a little longer and asked him about his studies.

Normally, the Third Prince would have already left Changqiu Palace by now.

If the Third Prince were to have a fit of rage in the harem, he might just grab a palace maid or a concubine and do such a thing.

The Empress understood this, and her face instantly turned pale.

"Detain all the palace servants who serve Yuan Cheng. I will interrogate them thoroughly later!"

The imperial physician arrived quickly; he was one of the Empress's men, so there was nothing to hide.

The imperial physician examined the third prince for a long time, his brows furrowed tightly.

"The Third Prince seems to have been poisoned."

The Empress raised her voice: "Poisoned?"

"Then you should quickly detoxify him."

"Fill a bucket with cold water, add some ice, and let the Third Prince soak in it."

Seeing the Third Prince's condition, the Empress also became worried. "Isn't this too much damage to his body? Perhaps we should find a few palace maids..."

"Absolutely not!" the imperial physician hurriedly refused. "This medicine is extremely potent. If it is used with women, at least several women will die or be injured."

Although the Empress is the head of the harem, countless eyes in the harem are watching her.

The Third Prince had clearly been set up. Now that palace maids had been killed or injured in Changqiu Palace, the person who orchestrated this would surely seize on this as leverage.

The Empress gritted her teeth and had no choice but to agree to the imperial physician's idea.

The imperial physician stayed by the side to prevent any accidents from happening to the third prince.

The Empress, on the other hand, went to interrogate the palace servants who served the Third Prince.

The people who serve the Third Prince are all carefully selected by the Empress.

The Third Prince's daily meals are never prepared by anyone else.

When questioned, the palace servants claimed to know nothing and denied poisoning the Third Prince.

"Your Majesty, I remember now."

The Empress pointed to the eunuch who served the Third Prince and said, "Speak."

"Today, Princess Dekang came to the study again to bring pastries to Young Master Xie. Young Master Xie did not eat them, but the Third Prince ate one piece. Apart from that, the Third Prince did not consume any other food of unknown origin."

"Dekang?" The Empress's expression was somewhat ambiguous.

"She was perfectly fine, why would she drug the Third Prince?"

The nanny serving the Empress said, "Your Majesty, please don't forget that Princess Dekang and the Fourth Prince are siblings born of the same mother."

"Of course I know."

The Empress naturally knew that if something happened to the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince would be the direct beneficiary.

"But if Yuan Cheng doesn't eat this pastry, De Kang can't force it into his mouth, can he?"

The eunuch who served the Third Prince continued, "Princess Dekang first spoke rudely to the Third Prince, and then the Fourth Prince came out with pastries to apologize."

The old woman pondered for a moment and said, "This is strange. Princess Dekang deliberately provoked the Third Prince in front, and the Fourth Prince came out to pretend to be a good person."

“They all know that the Third Prince is kind-hearted and will certainly not make them lose face.”

The Empress, however, still had some doubts and said, "This matter is very strange."

"Your Highness, please don't be careless. This move may seem risky, but if it succeeds, the Third Prince will be doomed."

"The people from Mingyue Palace can still argue that these pastries were never intended for the Third Prince in the first place, thus absolving themselves of any responsibility."

The Empress, reminded by the nanny, also came to her senses.

Yes, whether it's far-fetched or not, as long as the Third Prince is in trouble, wouldn't the Bright Moon Palace lose a powerful competitor?

She only has one son, Yuan Cheng. If something happens to Yuan Cheng, what hope will she have for the future?

"Very well, very well indeed. I'm not going to cause trouble for Mingyue Palace, yet they've already made a move against Yuan Cheng. Are they really that impatient?"

The old woman advised, "News has spread from the previous dynasty about the establishment of a crown prince. The people of Mingyue Palace are probably getting restless."

"Okay, okay."

The Empress heard the Third Prince's trembling voice, filled with pain, coming from behind the curtain.

"Isn't Dekang eager to marry into the Xie family? Since they're so desperate to get married, I'll give them a hand."

The old woman asked, puzzled, "Does the Empress intend to arrange a marriage between Princess Dekang and the Xie family?"

Wouldn't this strengthen the power of the Bright Moon Palace?

“Today, Yuan Cheng told me that it would be great if De Kang could be sent to marry a foreign ruler. I think this is a very good suggestion.”

The Third Prince made this suggestion, but it was rejected by the Empress.

The Empress believed that the Fourth Prince was the real threat, while Dekang was just a princess and not a problem.

“They don’t like to use drugs. Have the imperial physician prepare a batch for me and return it to Mingyue Palace at the palace banquet three days from now.”

The next morning, Consort Lin went to the Empress's palace to pay her respects.

As it turned out, the nanny by the Empress's side said that the Empress had caught a cold last night and would be excused from paying her respects today.

Consort Lin returned to the palace grumbling, saying that the Empress loved to make things difficult for people, and that she didn't even send someone to give a heads-up beforehand, so there was no need to pay respects.

After Consort Lin finished scolding, people from the clothing bureau came to deliver clothes to Pei Zhi.

A few days ago, when Pei Zhi returned from the Empress's palace, people from the clothing bureau came to take her measurements.

“You will attend the palace banquet the day after tomorrow with me. Prince Thoreau will also be there.”

Consort Lin pointed to the exquisite clothing, "That day, have someone dress you up nicely. If nothing unexpected happens, your father should appoint you to a marriage alliance."

"My daughter knows."

Consort Lin looked at the silent Pei Zhi and said, "Don't blame your mother for being heartless."

“In the future, if your brother rises to a high position, my daughter and I will still have the opportunity to meet.”

Consort Lin instructed, "So once you're married, you must quickly establish yourself so that you can provide assistance to your brother in the future."