Qin Sheng awoke from a deep sleep and was surprised to find himself lying on the dragon bed in the Imperial Study, a symbol of supreme power.
Startled, she immediately sat up and carefully tidied her appearance, trying to make herself look more presentable.
She tiptoed to the screen between the inner and outer rooms of the imperial study, and suddenly, she heard Zhao Yi and Li An talking.
“Your Majesty, just as you predicted, the Empress has not returned all day. Miss Qin is looking for an opportunity to make her move and seems very anxious,” Li An replied respectfully.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a piece of clothing peeking out from behind the screen, and added, "If it weren't for Your Majesty's concern for the Empress, how could she have imagined that her own sister would conspire with Imperial Physician Song to secretly plot against her and the princes!"
Zhao Yi nodded and instructed, "Li An, you must protect the Empress at all times. If necessary, you must protect the Empress even if it means sacrificing yourself."
Li An responded softly, stood to the side with his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the ground, but his mind was filled with the face of Dongling, the palace maid beside the Empress.
He wouldn't have dared to covet this favored palace maid by the Empress's side before, but that might not be the case in the future.
Thinking about this, his mood suddenly improved.
Zhao Yi, standing to the side, continued to handle government affairs. His eyes were on the memorials, but his ears twitched slightly as he kept a close eye on what was happening behind the screen.
Seeing that they had finished speaking, Qin Sheng slowly walked out from behind the screen, pretending to have just woken up. She apologized to Zhao Yi, saying that she had fallen asleep in the Imperial Study, which was a disgrace to the Empress's dignity, and asked Zhao Yi to punish her.
Zhao Yi smiled and shook his head, indicating that Qin Sheng should not feel burdened.
He glanced at the dark sky outside and gestured for Li An to escort the Empress back.
Li An acknowledged and withdrew, then had his sedan chair carried out and waited outside.
The night was already deep when Qin Sheng stepped out of the imperial study. Palace lanterns lined the road, casting long shadows of the sedan chair and palace servants.
Her heart was filled with mixed feelings. It turned out that the Emperor had already seen through the plot by her sister Qin Wen and Song Jin to harm her, and was secretly protecting her.
This mix of gratitude and guilt made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Qin Sheng returned to her bedchamber in a daze. Dong Ling hurriedly went to help her wash up and sent someone to the Imperial Study to fetch a bowl of warm minced meat porridge.
When Qin Sheng saw the minced meat porridge, she thought of how nervous Qin Wen looked when she tested her that morning.
"Dongling, go check if Wen'er is asleep. Tell her I miss her."
Dongling responded and left. A short while later, Qin Wen rushed over and anxiously asked, "Sister, is the Emperor feeling any better?"
Qin Sheng slowly stirred the minced meat porridge in the bowl and said, "It's nothing serious, just a bit tired from the busy official duties lately. I heard from Dongling that you were very worried about your sister today, which is why I asked you to come over so late. By the way, Wen'er, this is minced meat porridge that the imperial kitchen made for your sister. Would you like to try it for her?"
As she spoke, she handed the bowl in her hand to Qin Wen.
Qin Wen looked at her, her heart filled with fear. She carefully took the bowl, the porcelain spoon in her hand trembling slightly.
"Qin Wen, what's wrong? Is the meat porridge too hot?" Qin Sheng looked at her with a smile. She looked at her palms and said, "It shouldn't be hot anymore. Look, my palms aren't red at all!"
Qin Wen thought to herself: I'm not afraid of being burned, I'm afraid you've poisoned this porridge!
She was filled with fear, but dared not show it.
"Try it, Wen'er," Qin Sheng urged her from the side.
Qin Wen steeled herself, closed her eyes, and took a bite.
She was filled with fear. She didn't know if the porridge was poisoned. All she could do was wait and see what would happen.
After a while, nothing happened, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Sheng keenly observed Qin Wen's subtle expressions, noticing a hint of relief on her face. She knew in her heart that Qin Wen must have been quite frightened just now.
Qin Wen gently handed the bowl to Qin Sheng, her fingertips unconsciously gliding along the rim. Then, with a smile, she urged, "Sister, this porridge tastes really good, you should try it!"
Qin Sheng took the bowl, her eyes flashing like cold stars. She didn't drink the porridge immediately, but gently shook the bowl, letting the porridge flow in it.
Qin Wen stared intently at the flowing porridge until she saw Qin Sheng finish all the porridge in the bowl, only then did her heart finally settle down.
"Wen'er, I'm a little tired, you can leave now." Qin Sheng's voice was as calm as a still well.
Qin Wen was secretly pleased to see that Qin Sheng had already drunk the porridge.
She gave a slight bow, then slowly left the room.
Qin Sheng watched Qin Wen's departing figure, clenched her fists tightly, and instructed Dong Ling to help her change clothes and go to bed.
After a long day of fussing around in the Imperial Study, Qin Sheng was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.
In the dead of night, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.
At first, she mistakenly thought it was because the porridge was a little cold, and assumed it was just ordinary diarrhea. However, the pain quickly worsened, and she realized that her initial guess was wrong.
Her abdomen felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible force, and waves of spasmodic pain surged through her, as if something was violently pulling inside her, trying to forcibly rip out a part of her body.
"Dong-ling-" Qin Sheng's pain reached its peak, cold sweat poured down like a waterfall, and her voice became barely audible due to her weakness.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Dongling's voice trembled so much that she could barely speak when she saw this.
"I'll go fetch Physician Song!" She hurriedly turned around and ran towards the side hall.
"No—no—" Qin Sheng rolled off the bed and onto the floor in pain, clutching her abdomen and curling up in agony.
Immediately afterwards, warm liquid began to slowly flow from beneath her.
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