"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

"Bai Hua, tell me, if I were to fall ill like Consort Yu, would the Emperor be just as worried about me?"

"What are you thinking, Your Majesty? The Emperor loves you so much, of course he'd worry about you. Your Majesty, you wouldn't be...?"

Bai Hua thought her mistress was planning to use a self-inflicted injury ruse, and quickly spoke up to stop her:

"Your Majesty, please don't do anything rash."

"What are you saying? I'm not that stupid. However, His Majesty really cares about Consort Yu. He even had those people beaten to death for her sake."

"I heard that when the Emperor was still a prince, Consort Yu was treated differently. No one except Consort Yu was allowed to enter the study."

"Hmph, so what? Even if she gave birth to a prince, she'd still only get the rank of concubine."

Thinking of this, Consort Ning couldn't help but feel a little smug.

She has only been in the palace for a few years, and although she has not yet given birth to a prince for the emperor, her rank has risen much faster than others.

Consort Ning believed that as long as she could give birth to a prince for the Emperor as soon as possible, she would definitely be promoted to the rank of Consort.

"Bai Hua, has the Emperor been staying with Consort Yu these past few days?"

"Your Majesty, for several days now, ever since Consort Yu took the antidote and woke up, His Majesty has been visiting her every day."

Consort Ning gritted her teeth and said:

"That woman is really lucky. By the way, has everything been taken care of regarding Consort Su?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, everything will be perfectly safe."

Consort Ning nodded in satisfaction.

"She thought that having some gold and silver in the house would make her rich overnight. How naive of her."

"Who can argue with that? I heard he was still struggling when he was about to hang himself."

"Have all the people around her been arranged?"

"Don't worry, Your Highness, we're already at our estate, no one can find us."

Before long, Bai Hua brought up the brewed medicine:

"Your Majesty, please drink it while it's hot."

Consort Ning frowned as she finished the medicine in the bowl and wiped her mouth.

"I don't know if this medicine will work."

"Your Majesty, you are so young, you don't need to take medicine. After all, every medicine has some degree of toxicity."

"That won't do. My periods are often irregular. If it delays the birth of the prince, wouldn't that ruin my important life?"

While Consort Ning was having some sweet dreams, hoping to give the Emperor a prince so that she could be promoted to the rank of Consort, Geng Youran was frowning and refusing to drink her medicine anymore.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that you need to take this medicine for another half month."

"This medicine is so bitter, my tongue can't taste anything else. If I drink any more, it might interfere with my making the desserts. I'm not drinking it anymore, take it away."

Just as Qianxue was about to continue trying to persuade him, a mature male voice came from the doorway:

"You're throwing a tantrum again while I'm away."

"Why didn't someone inform us in advance that the Emperor was coming?"

As she spoke, Geng Youran was about to get out of bed to pay her respects to Yinzhen. Yinzhen quickly stepped forward and pressed down on Geng Youran's hand, which was about to lift the blanket.

"You're not fully recovered yet, so there's no need for formalities."

"Your Majesty, I see that I am almost fully recovered. Can I stop taking the medicine?"

"No. The imperial physician said that although you have a good constitution, this poison is quite strange. Although it has been cured, you still need to strengthen your body and recuperate. Look what I brought."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gao Wuyong, who was behind Yinzhen, stepped forward carrying a tray. Qianxue lifted the lid on the tray, and Geng Youran's eyes lit up:

"Candied hawthorn!"

Yinzhen picked up a string of pearls, wrapped a handkerchief around the bottom of it, and handed it over:

"Try it, how does it taste compared to yours?"

Geng Youran quickly took a bite of the fruit. It was perfectly sweet and sour, and the outer sugar coating was crispy and sweet, just to her liking.

"Why did His Majesty think of bringing this? Can the imperial chefs in the palace also make such folk snacks?"

Yinzhen smiled mysteriously:

“You can’t make something that suits your taste so well.”

"What's the meaning?"

Geng Youran blinked.

Gao Wuyong also smiled, and after receiving a look from the Emperor, he explained to Geng Youran:

"Your Majesty, this was made by the Fifth Prince."

"Hongzhou?"

Geng Youran looked at Yinzhen, unsure how to react.

Yinzhen waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave.

“This kid made you angry a while ago, and then you got poisoned. I didn’t know how to face you, so I made these candied hawthorns for you to try.”

Looking at the candied hawthorn in her hand, Geng Youran smiled helplessly:

"This kid probably thinks I'm going to beat him up again."

"He's still just like you."

"What does Your Majesty mean by this? It doesn't sound like you're praising me."

"You."

Yinzhen pointed to Geng Youran's forehead but did not continue to explain.

Half a month later, Geng Youran's health had almost fully recovered, and all she needed to do now was take good care of herself.

Meanwhile, there was still no good news for Consort Ning.

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Consort Ning was furious. She'd been taking the medicine for so long, and there was still no news. It seemed the Emperor was about to be lured away by that old woman from Chengqian Palace.

"Your Majesty, please don't worry. The person who prescribed the medicine said that it's best not to get anxious or upset in this kind of situation."

"How can I not be anxious? It's been half a month, and His Majesty has only visited me twice. At this rate, when will I ever have a child of my own!"

After venting her anger, Consort Ning calmed down.

Seeing the mess of soup and broken porcelain on the floor, she waved her hand, signaling for someone to clean it up.

She didn't know why she was in such a hurry.

Perhaps it was because the emperor's eyes never showed any affection whenever he came to visit.

The one in Chengqian Palace seemed calm and collected, but when something happened, the Emperor was extremely anxious.

Consort Ning knew that she was jealous.

"Bai Hua, how's it going with the inquiry I asked you to make about the Fifth Prince?"

"Your Majesty, the person has been found."

"Yes, train them well and don't be careless."

"yes."

Consort Ning looked at the cleaned floor and sneered:

"It's all her fault for wanting to take everything when she already has it all. Then she can't blame me!"

More than half a year has passed, and a girl named Yuyan was quietly sent into Hongzhou's courtyard.

"Qianxue, what has Hongzhou been up to lately?"

Qianxue stammered, unsure how to begin.

"I'm asking you a question, speak up."

"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince was reprimanded by the Emperor a few days ago and is currently reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors."

Geng Youran felt a pang of heartache. How could she have given birth to such an unreliable son who was always causing trouble?

"What happened this time? Did they get into a fight with the censor in the imperial court?"

While processing the chrysanthemums that had just been picked, Geng Youran asked:

"Your Majesty, it is and it is not."

"What kind of answer is that? What do you mean by 'yes' and 'no'?"

"Um... it's true that the Fifth Prince had a fight with the censor, but the reason he was punished by being confined to his room to reflect on his mistakes was not because of that."

"Why is that?"