Chapter 90 The Flawless Cinnabar Scheme (Part 2)
Hongli was shocked and puzzled.
In reality, he hadn't touched Ruyi since she entered the household. After all, Ruyi was someone Yongzheng had placed there, not someone he had chosen, so he didn't have to take responsibility for her.
They used to use illusions, now they use sleeping potions.
Ruyi was still a virgin, how did she get pregnant?
As for being cuckolded, absolutely not! The palace is under his control; not even a fly could get in unless he wanted to.
As for Ling Yunche, he was eliminated during the Eight Banners Army's reorganization due to failing the assessment. His role as a palace guard was long gone; he was demoted to guarding the city gates.
"Jiang Yubin, what happened?"
"Your Majesty, when I take her pulse, it truly seems like she is about a month pregnant, but the pulse is still very weak."
Jiang Yubin was also in a dilemma. How could the people serving the Emperor not know whether he had touched Consort Nara? Even if they didn't know at first, they would find out once they were involved in the plan.
Yes, in order to delay Ruyi's strong desire to act as a "matchmaker," Jiang Yuan, a veterinarian and former physician of the Imperial Hospital, and Su Xin's childhood sweetheart, Yu Bin, made his grand entrance.
After Su Xin introduced him to Ruyi, Ruyi hesitated, after all, a trusted imperial physician was also very important to her.
So, Ruyi came up with a good idea: she would use Su Xin to keep Wang Qin and Jiang Yubin hooked up. Both sides said they were optimistic about the relationship and began to win them over.
Sure enough, Ruyi, who was very confident in her ability to win people over, noticed that her period was late and suspected that she was pregnant. She immediately asked Su Xin to call Jiang Yubin over to take her pulse.
As a result, Ruyi was happy, but Su Xin and Jiang Yubin were terrified and immediately went to secretly inform the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I am a veterinarian, and I am more skilled in sterilization. This pregnancy pulse may be inaccurate..."
Jiang Yubin explained, feeling wronged, that he had been switching tracks for so many years and was truly still not skilled enough. He really couldn't diagnose how Ruyi had become pregnant.
Hongli was almost amused by him. "It's alright. Just pretend she's pregnant and continue to listen to her orders. I have my own plans for this matter."
I just sent the system to check. With the help of advanced technology, Ruyi's physical condition was completely exposed without her even realizing it.
Hongli never expected that Ruyi would actually be pregnant! Because of her desire to conceive, both her mental and physical states changed, leading to symptoms of a false pregnancy. Of course, she could only fool herself for the first three months. After all, without a real embryo inside, it couldn't possibly grow.
Hongli found it somewhat amusing, yet also curious. Just how obsessed was Ruyi with having a son? However, with Jin Yuyan already pregnant, what would Ruyi do?
On the other side, Ruyi, whom Hongli was talking about, touched her belly, feeling joy and pride. In her eyes, this was the fruit of her and Hongli's love.
She actually realized that Hongli didn't like her that much. But with this child, she thought she could create more beautiful memories with Hongli and ease their relationship.
The more she thought about it, the more Jin Yuyan's child seemed like an eyesore. The title of "precious son" should rightfully belong to her son.
"Three Treasures".
Ruyi summoned the only connections left to her by the Ulanara clan.
"Your servant is here."
Ruyi touched her belly, implying, "Consort Jia's pregnancy came at an inopportune time..."
Sanbao stared at her movements with wide, surprised eyes. Ruyi smiled and nodded in response.
Sanbao was overjoyed and immediately said in a deep voice, "I will obey your orders, Master."
Looking at the distant vermilion palace walls, Ruyi said with compassion, "It's not that I don't want her to get pregnant, but it's not possible at this time."
"Before I was married, I often stayed by my great-aunt's side to fulfill my filial duties. My great-aunt was a Buddhist, and I often copied Buddhist scriptures for her. It was during that time that I learned that cinnabar, when heated, would release mercury, and mercury is poisonous..."
"This servant understands."
Sanbao nodded, and Ruyi smiled and said, "Take your time. I don't want Consort Jia dead."
Hearing A'Ruo's commotion, Ruyi frowned in annoyance. "She's just a servant of the Ulanara clan after all. Let A'Ruo be loyal one last time. Everyone knows A'Ruo is unhappy that Consort Jia is pregnant, isn't she?"
...
When Su Xin returned, she happened to brush past San Bao, who had just left. Her eyes flickered, and she casually reported to Ruyi, "Your Highness, this servant is back."
"Hmm, did you send Physician Jiang back?"
Ruyi was increasingly pleased with Su Xin, and her tone became even gentler.
Su Xin forced a shy smile and said, "Yes, this servant will take him back."
"That's good. Physician Jiang is a good person. You should keep in touch with him more often in the future."
Su Xin nodded, understanding. Now that Ruyi is "pregnant," the scales have tipped in Jiang Yubin's favor.
Thinking of Ruyi's pregnancy, Ruixin tentatively asked, "Your Highness, your pregnancy is a joyous occasion. Why don't you inform the Emperor?"
Ruyi shook her head. "There are many disputes in the palace. Although I don't care about gender, if it's a prince, then I have to plan ahead. I can't make the emperor happy too soon, nor do I want others to be unhappy too soon."
Su Xin was speechless. Do you believe that? She didn't even mention gender, but she brought it up herself. It's quite interesting how she shows her preference for boys over girls.
Su Xin gave a perfunctory bow: "Your Majesty is wise."
...
Hailan originally intended to use A'ruo to deal with Ruyi. The first three years went quite well; she watched the jokes in Yanxi Palace every day, and her embroidery efficiency improved considerably.
Now that Consort Yi has left the palace to teach at a girls' school, she has officially become the embroidery teacher at the girls' school, which is naturally something to be happy about.
But to her dissatisfaction, the two of them somehow managed to reconcile because of "Takako".
Hailan was somewhat anxious. She didn't actually intend to continue targeting Ruyi, but she didn't want Ruyi to have a child and rise to a high position again. The Emperor was benevolent and saved her once, but if Ruyi were to rise to a high position again, what would happen to the other palace maids?
Look at her head maid, Su Xin; she used her to win over the eunuchs around the emperor.
To be honest, Hailan, who had originally planned to give up, felt disgusted upon hearing this news, which only strengthened her resolve to continue targeting Ruyi, but she just couldn't find an opportunity.
I just never expected that Ruyi would dare to do something like this.
"What did Ruyi ask you to do?"
Xin Yan stammered incredulously, "She told me to put the cinnabar in Consort Shen's dressing table... and told me to say that Consort Shen hid it... No, why does she think that ten taels of silver can bribe me?"
Xin Yan was Hai Lan's mole, and she used to think it was too easy. Sowing discord between A'Ruo and Ruyi, and gathering information about Yanxi Palace—she didn't have to lift a finger for either of these tasks; you could say she was just coasting along.
But she didn't expect Ruyi to dare to do something so big! Could Ruyi have thought that just because she was being vague, she wouldn't realize that something big was about to happen?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. If someone has the guts to use palace maids to win over the eunuchs around the emperor, what wouldn't Ruyi do?
But, but, she's just a lowly spy; she really wouldn't dare to frame someone! Besides, where does Ruyi get the confidence that a few kind words and ten taels of silver would make her risk her life for her?
So she immediately went to find Hailan, "Hailan, what do you think is the use of this cinnabar?"
Having been by An Lingrong's side for a long time, Hailan had learned a lot about spices. With a complicated expression, she explained, "Cinnabar can be refined at high temperatures to obtain mercury, and mercury is highly poisonous."
"ah?"
Xin Yan panicked even more. Who was Ruyi trying to harm, and why was she framing A'Ruo?
Suddenly, the two of them understood each other and said in unison, "Consort Jia!"
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