The news that the Crown Prince carried the Crown Princess onto the sedan chair spread throughout the harem the next day.

"I heard that the Crown Princess suffered some injustice in Mingyue Palace yesterday, which made His Royal Highness very distressed, so he personally carried the Crown Princess to the sedan chair."

"Yes, yes, I heard that too. After the Crown Prince learned that something happened to the Crown Princess, he rushed back from the palace without taking a break along the way."

"Tsk, the Crown Prince's love for the Crown Princess is truly precious. Ordinary couples may not be so loving."

"Who says it's not true? But come to think of it, the Crown Princess has been married into the East Palace for half a year, why is her belly still not moving?"

"Could it be the body of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...?"

In the palace alleys, the maids sweeping the floors were talking about it with envy and emotion.

On the palace wall not far away, Pei Lingbi's face was ashen and he sneered, "Pei Yan, a sickly man with half a leg in the earth, still wants to have children? Ha."

Pei Changzhou, wearing a royal blue brocade robe, stood with his hands behind his back. He knew that Pei Lingbi had been humiliated in Mingyue Palace yesterday and was scolded by his mother when he returned home, so he felt like he had been struck by firecrackers in the past two days.

He didn't bother her and just thought about his own business.

Pei Lingbi talked for a long time but found no response. She turned around and saw Pei Changzhou's absent-minded look, and she became even more angry, "Brother, are you listening to me?"

Pei Changzhou came back to his senses and said, "I'm listening."

Seeing Pei Lingbi staring at him, he coughed and soothed, "Okay, yesterday was just a small matter. Xiaowu is still a child, and he will be friends with whoever gives him food. Compared to you, he will naturally be more on the side of Taoti."

"That woman is really weird. I never knew she had such a way to win people's hearts. My royal brother, you didn't see that not only Xiaowu, but also Xiaoliu and Concubine Xu were on her side. Oh, and there's also father... even father's attitude towards her has improved a lot!"

"Father has always favored the Eastern Palace." Pei Changzhou said.

"Brother, aren't you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Haven't you noticed that Pei Yan's spirit is getting better and better? He used to fall down at the slightest gust of wind, but now he can even hold a woman. Tao Ti cooks for him in various ways all day long, and his appetite has increased a lot. Besides that, I also heard that Tao Ti is practicing Ba Duan Jin with him, and has asked Doctor Yu to treat him..."

Pei Lingbi said worriedly, "I don't know what's going on. Ever since Tao Ti married into the East Palace, I've always felt uneasy. She has really become very different... Brother, haven't you noticed?"

Pei Changzhou's expression also grew heavy, "It's very different."

Pei Lingbi said, "She took a deadly poison that day! I later asked Doctor Yu, and he said that even if the poison is detoxified in time, some of the poison will remain in the body, which will make people weak in qi and blood, or even cause hemorrhage. But look at Tao Ti, she is full of energy and looks better than before..."

Pei Changzhou looked at Pei Lingbi deeply, "Lingbi, what do you want to say?"

"Royal brother, do you think she is possessed by a ghost?" Pei Lingbi widened her eyes and asked the question that had been hidden in her heart for a long time.

Pei Changzhou was stunned. After a moment, he frowned and thought about this possibility.

After a moment of silence, Pei Lingbi boldly suggested, "Brother, do you think we should find a Taoist priest or a monk to take a look?"

Pei Changzhou thought about it and shook his head, "Not appropriate. Not to mention that she is now the Crown Princess, monks and Taoist priests are not allowed to get close to her. If we don't arrange it well, she will blame us and report it to my father, and we will all suffer. If she is really a ghost, don't ghosts all absorb men's yang energy? It would be better for her to stay with Pei Yan."

Pei Lingbi cursed him in her heart, saying "a cowardly idiot", but she didn't show it on her face. She just said, "Maybe we can wait until the Ghost Festival when the palace is holding a ritual and then make some arrangements based on the situation?"

Every year during the Ghost Festival, Emperor Zhaokang would invite Taoist priests to set up a Taoist temple in Fengyi Palace to pray for the deceased Empress Gu.

Pei Changzhou did not comment, but repeatedly reminded Pei Lingbi not to act rashly for the time being.

………

In Yaoguang Palace, Tao Ti lay listlessly on the bed for the whole day.

She had a nightmare last night. She dreamed that someone poisoned the food she cooked and sickened a group of people. Everyone came to blame her. She tried to explain herself and her voice became hoarse, but they still blamed her.

She burst into tears, calling for her parents and wanting to go home.

Just when she was helpless, Pei Yan, dressed in a white robe, appeared before her like a god.

He held out his hand to her and said he would take her home.

When she opened her eyes, it was still dark. In the dim light, Pei Yan was supporting half of his body and looking at her tenderly, his eyes full of concern.

She could not distinguish between dreams and reality at that time. She hugged him tightly, closed her eyes and refused to let go.

In the end, it seemed that Pei Yan held her in his arms and coaxed her to sleep with gentle voice.

Although knowing about the Fifth Prince was just a false alarm, Tao Ti felt a little bit unwell.

She didn't want to prepare food or eat anything, she just wanted to lie down quietly.

Seeing that the Crown Princess refused to eat, everyone in Yaoguang Palace, including the cats, became anxious.

The palace servants looked at Linglong with hope, and urged her, "Sister Linglong, go and tell His Highness. The Crown Princess loves to eat. If she refuses to eat or drink now, it will be a disaster!"

Cat Yuanbao, "Meow meow meow!"

Linglong hesitated for a while, then calmed down and said, "Okay, then I'll go to Zixiao Palace and tell His Highness."

At the same time, Zixiao Palace.

After finishing the morning class, Pei Yan thought of Tao Ti's pitiful look when she was awakened by a nightmare last night, and his face became a little more serious.

When he went to find Zhan Ping with such a serious look, Zhan Ping thought something serious had happened, and his heart was hanging in the air, "Your Highness, what happened?"

Pei Yanqing's face was tense, his brows were knitted tightly, and he asked, "A Ping, how do you usually coax your wife?"

Zhan Ping was stunned and could hardly believe his ears.

When he came back to his senses, he showed a little boastful look between his eyebrows and whispered, "My wife is virtuous and considerate, she doesn't need my coaxing. But... occasionally I give her one or two pieces of jewelry, and she will be happy for a few days." After a pause, he looked at Pei Yan, "Your Highness, what are you doing... could it be that the Crown Princess...?"

Zhan Ping frowned. Could it be that the Crown Princess was up to something again? That shouldn't be the case. She doesn't look like someone who would get into a bad temper. Could it be that the Crown Prince bullied the Crown Princess?

Pei Yan got the reference answer and said no more. He patted Zhan Ping's shoulder and left.

Looking at the prince's tall and straight back, a cloud of mist appeared on his face. What was going on?

…

It was a dim afternoon, and Tao Ti was lazily lying on the bed, thinking clearly, when she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside.

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up hugging the soft pillow. She had not gotten out of bed for the whole day and was still wearing the orange bellyband and tea-white silk shirt she had fallen asleep in.

"Linglong, what's going on outside?" she asked loudly.

There was no response.

Tao Ti frowned and called again, "Linglong?"

This time, there were footsteps.

After a while, a slender hand gently lifted the smoky pink curtain and slowly hung it on the golden hook.

Looking at Pei Yan in a silver-gray brocade robe, Tao Ti was surprised, "Your Highness?"

Pei Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the thinly dressed little girl on the bed. The darkness at night made it impossible to see what she was wearing. But when he held her in his arms, he could feel that the material on her body was very silky and soft.

Now it was bright everywhere, she sat lazily on the bed, the tea-white silk shirt was thin and transparent, and the jade-like skin under the material could be vaguely seen. The orange-red bellyband was embroidered with camellia flowers, showing the bulging curves, and above it was a snow-white and slender neck. The black hair hung down behind her, and there was a strand of unruly hair on the top of her head, which inexplicably added a bit of cuteness.

Pei Yan's throat moved slightly.

After a moment, he turned his gaze away and raised his hand to her head, smoothing down the unruly strand of hair.

Tao Ti stared at him in a daze and asked curiously, "Your Highness, it's still early now, why are you here?"

Pei Yan said, "I heard that you didn't eat, so I was afraid that if I came too late, my wife would be hungry, so I hurried over."

Tao Ti heard his teasing and felt a little embarrassed, her eyelashes trembling slightly, "I just didn't eat a meal..."

Pei Yan ruffled her hair and said, "Okay, get up first. I have a gift for you."

Taoti, "......?"

Seeing Pei Yan waiting for her with a smile on his face, she couldn't be shy anymore and nodded, "Okay, I'll get up."

Linglong walked in quickly, her face still showing excitement and joy that could not be concealed. She helped Taoti to wash and dress while secretly laughing.

Seeing her like this, Tao Ti became a little excited and wanted to go out to see what Pei Yan had given her.

Soon, she changed into a willow-leaf yellow dress, tied her hair into a low bun, and walked towards Pei Yan.

Pei Yan put down the teacup in his hand, stood up, took her hand, and led her to the main hall.

There were six large boxes neatly placed in the main hall. When they approached, Fu Xirui smiled and motioned for the palace servants to open them.

Box after box of glittering jewelry and box after box of gorgeous silks and satins almost blinded Tao Ti's eyes.

She stood there in a daze. Did Pei Yan sweep through the East and West Market of Chang'an again?

Seeing that she remained silent, Pei Yan walked up to her and asked softly, "Do you like it?"

Tao Ti turned around with a smile, her fair face showing an extremely sincere expression, and said with emotion, "Your Highness, you are so rich."

Not to mention Pei Yan, even the palace maids were stunned: Why didn't the Crown Princess answer according to common sense!

Shouldn't she be moved to tears at this moment, and then throw herself into the prince's arms and say something like "I like you, I like you very much. Your Highness, you are so good to me."

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes, his expression still calm, staring at her and said, "If you want to manage the money, I'll give you the key to the warehouse later."

Taoti: "Huh?"

When she realized what was happening, she waved her hands and said, "No, no, no, I'm just expressing my gratitude. Please don't give it to me. I don't know how to manage money."

She is not the Pi Xiu next door, and managing money is not her forte.

Pei Yan saw that she was trying to avoid him, so he said nothing more. He pointed at the boxes and frowned slightly, "Don't you like these?"

Tao Ti thought to herself, I am not a dragon and I don’t like shiny jewelry, but she could see that Pei Yan was coaxing her, so she naturally felt sweet in her heart.

After thinking for a while, she took his hand and led him back to the bedroom.

After making sure that there was no one around, she stood in front of him, her bright eyes flickering, and whispered, "Your Highness, bend down."

Pei Yan raised his eyebrows slightly and did as he was told.

Tao Ti plucked up her courage, stood on tiptoe, stretched out her two white and tender arms, hooked them around his neck, tilted her head back and gave him a quick kiss.

"Your Highness, thank you." She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

Pei Yan's eyes darkened, and he hooked one hand around her waist. With a little force from his arm, her body pressed tightly against his arms.

Without giving Tao Ti a chance to react, he suddenly leaned over, captured her lips, and kissed her deeply.

As they kissed, Tao Ti's back pressed against the cold screen, and in front of her was the man's iron-hard chest. She was like a beast cornered by a hunter, with no power to fight back.

I don’t know how long it took before this lingering kiss ended.

Pei Yan held her face in his hands, caressing her slightly swollen lips with his slightly thin fingertips. His forehead was pressed against hers, his thick eyelashes hiding the desire surging in his eyes, and he said in a hoarse voice, "You're welcome."

Tao Ti leaned in his arms and panted softly, but she was wondering why Pei Yan seemed to have become a different person during these kisses, and his aggressive attitude became stronger and stronger...

She was so flustered that she didn't know what to do.