In the previous life, Xie Pingchuan had complained about him many times.
Xie Pingchuan was a civil official who prided himself on being a nobleman and never wanted to associate with a power-hungry eunuch like him. Moreover, he held enough power to control the emperor, which was almost a thorn in the eyes of Xie Pingchuan and others.
Not only did he fight for power in the former dynasty, but he also had a hand in the harem. He was always included in every memorial requesting Yin Chengyu to take a concubine and establish a queen.
At that time, Yin Chengyu was already a powerful figure, and these powerless civil officials always wanted to follow the example of the previous dynasty and bring down this treacherous villain to make themselves famous forever.
Until Yin Chengyu passed away, the two of them, who were both regents, disagreed on many political views and were still at loggerheads. They even argued with each other in front of the young emperor Yin Chengqian.
But now, this future Prime Minister who claimed to be noble and upright, bowed down in front of him and thanked him sincerely.
Xue Shu looked the man over from head to toe to make sure that he was not just pretending.
Xie Yunchuan has finally come to this day.
That's right. At that time, he was not yet a top official who was immersed in the intrigues of officialdom. No matter how mature he appeared, he was just a young man who had just come into contact with power and was still very inexperienced.
Xue Shu smiled. He raised his hand to help the man up, imitating Zheng Duobao's demeanor and tone, and acted very approachable: "Thank you, sir, there is no need to be polite. We have always hated those powerful people who harm ordinary people. It was just a casual act, not worth mentioning."
Xie Pingchuan was obviously stunned for a moment, probably because he had never expected that the head of the East Factory would be so friendly. Then he heard the man in front of him say in a friendly manner: "I never went to school when I was young, and I admire scholars the most. If you encounter difficulties in the future, just come to us and we will help you in any way we can."
Xie Yanchuan became even more surprised when he heard this. He secretly looked at his expression but could not see any flaws.
He was somewhat alert and suspected Xue Shu had some ulterior motives, but then he thought again that apart from his unrevenged blood feud, he really had nothing to ulterior motives for.
Xie Pingchuan bowed, said goodbye to Xue Shu, and left with a heart full of doubts.
Xue Shu stood where he was, and only after he saw him walk away did he put away his fake smile and sneered.
He owed him a favor, so he wanted to see if Xie Pingchuan would still have the nerve to report him in the future.
Inside the Hongren Hall.
Through a window, Yin Chengyu saw Xue Shu and Xie Pingchuan bump into each other. He was worried that Xue Shu would be jealous of Xie Pingchuan again, but as he watched, he found that the two seemed to be talking happily.
He stared at the smile on Xue Shu's face and slowly frowned.
When Xue Shu entered the hall, he calmly reviewed the memorials on the table, but asked, "What did you say to Xie Pingchuan just now?"
Xue Shu thought about it, but did not reveal his own little plan. Instead, he said, "Nothing to say. Lord Xie just wanted to thank me for my help in the Sun Miao case." After a pause, he smiled meaningfully and said, "I didn't realize that Lord Xie was actually a good person before."
It's really deceptive.
Yin Chengyu stared at him for a moment, then looked away calmly, as if he didn't care too much: "Really?"
Xue Shu nodded and said yes, then he remembered what he had meant and turned to talk to him about business: "The subordinates have already found out the relationship between Yao and the Prince of Ziyang. On the fifth day after the Third Prince's wedding, he took Yao to the Wenquan Villa outside the city and stayed there for five or six days before returning to the capital. Coincidentally, the Prince of Ziyang was also outside the city during those days. He kept a mistress in a nearby town, and that mistress was a widow. He would go to the town to stay for a few days every one or two months to meet with the widow privately. The town where the widow lived was less than two miles away from the Third Prince's villa. And according to the time when Yao was rumored to be pregnant, it should have been during the time when she was in the Wenquan Villa."
Not to mention that the guards sent to the other village to investigate also found out that Yao had taken fertility-enhancing soup every day during her time in the other village.
Putting all the clues together, we have almost pieced together the truth.
If it were someone else, they would not have connected these two things together. After all, no one would have thought that a prince would ask his cousin for sperm.
Although Yin Chengjing's move was risky, if successful, the benefits would be obvious.
Prince Ziyang and Emperor Longfeng were cousins, so Yin Chengjing and Prince Ziyang's son naturally bore some resemblance. Once Yao gave birth to a prince, he would no longer have to worry about the future.
I just don't know how he hid it from Yao and the Prince of Ziyang. Judging from the reactions of these two people, they were not aware of this matter, especially the Prince of Ziyang.
"Let Wuzhu go and find out Yao's attitude. If possible, it would be best to bring the person over." Yin Chengyu said after thinking for a moment.
Yao's father, Yao Zhao'an, was the Left Commander of the Rear Army Commandery, which governed 18 guards in the capital, 20 guards in the direct line, and 11 thousand households in the outer areas. The total number of soldiers in the capital and direct line was nearly 200,000, not to mention the soldiers in other local guards.
Yao Zhaoan rose to prominence through military exploits and enjoyed high prestige in the army. However, the conflict between the civil officials and the military nobles of the Great Yan Dynasty has become increasingly serious in recent years. Yin Chengyu's mother's family, the Yu family, is a family of high rank and nobles. The military nobles headed by Yao Zhaoan have never been close to him, and were even pulled over by Yin Chengjing to protect their own interests.
Now is a good opportunity to disrupt the cooperation between the two parties.
After receiving the reply, Wuzhu began to try to get close to Yao.
But Yao was now like a frightened bird, and when she heard Wuzhu coming to pay her respects, she immediately refused. She paced anxiously in the room, subconsciously reaching out to touch her belly, which had begun to curve slightly, and then immediately moved her hand away as if it was burned.
Before Wuzhu came to look for her, she had received a reply from her parents. She had previously asked her third brother, who loved her the most, to secretly find out the whereabouts of the Prince of Ziyang, but she did not dare to tell her parents the reason.
Today, my third brother sent someone to bring me news saying that in late February, the Prince of Ziyang was not in the capital, and seemed to have gone to a small town near Wangjing.
And that town was not far from the hot spring villa... More and more coincidences made Yao unable to deceive herself anymore, and she recalled what happened on the night of the Qianqiu Banquet.
The Qianqiu Banquet was held in the Huangji Palace, which was divided into two parts: the inner and outer parts. The officials attending the banquet were in the outer part, while the female relatives who accompanied them were in the inner part.
That night, she sat in the inner hall for a long time and felt dizzy and stuffy, so she took her maid to the garden outside to get some fresh air. As a result, she ran into the drunk Prince of Ziyang on the way.
The Prince of Ziyang was a scoundrel, she had heard of his name and didn't want to run into him, so she wanted to take her maid away. But unexpectedly, the Prince of Ziyang was drunk and had the audacity to pull her away, and he was still talking incomprehensible drunken words.
She didn't dare to call for help at the time, and hurriedly pulled the man away with her maid. Unexpectedly, the Prince of Ziyang's clothes were torn open during the scuffle, and she saw a birthmark on his left chest.
The blue birthmark was very special, it was in the shape of a copper coin.
The birthmark brought back some memories that she was ashamed to recall. She actually felt that the drunk Prince of Ziyang was somewhat similar to her husband.
She was shocked by this sudden absurd illusion and when she ran away in panic, she heard the Prince of Ziyang calling her nickname.
Apart from her family members, she only told Yin Chengjing the nickname.
But except for those few nights at the hot spring villa, Yin Chengjing never called her by her nickname again.
She didn't want to let her imagination run wild, but the absurd guesses in her mind were like a deep ancient well. She knew that if she continued to move forward, she would be doomed, but she couldn't help but explore step by step.
Thinking back to the rumors about Yin Chengjing in the capital before the marriage, Yao's face turned paler and paler.
She recalled that on their wedding night, Yin Chengjing did not come to her place, but went to Princess Wuzhu's courtyard. After returning home, Yin Chengjing took her to the hot spring villa, treated her with great tenderness and care, and explained to her that he went to Princess Wuzhu's place on their wedding night just to give her some face and not embarrass her, so as not to affect the diplomatic relations between Dayan and Tatar.
Later, at the hot spring villa, they made love every night. Yin Chengjing even said that he wanted to have a child with her, and even promised that after returning, he would never go to other people's yards again.
After returning to Beijing, he kept his promise and never went to anyone else's courtyard again, even ignoring the two concubines given by Concubine De.
Not long after, she discovered that she seemed to be pregnant. Yin Chengjing treated her even more considerately and attentively, and in order to let her take good care of the baby, he kept her staying in the study.
She was trapped in the sweet trap he had woven, and now she was shocked to realize that he had not touched her since returning from the hot spring villa!
The blue copper coin birthmark flickered in her mind, but she couldn't remember whether she had seen this birthmark on Yin Chengjing.
Yao squatted down in pain and bit her handkerchief to keep from making any sound.
She stayed alone in the room for a long time before she wiped her tears and asked the maid to bring in some water so she could wash and dress.
After washing up again, looking at the woman in the bronze mirror with no unusual color, Yao smiled and took her maid to the front yard to look for Yin Chengjing.
When Yin Chengjing heard the servant come to report that Yao had come, a gloomy look flashed across his face, but when he went out to greet her, his face was full of pity again: "Didn't you say you had a miscarriage? Why didn't you take a good rest and come to my place?"
Yao nestled in his arms and said softly, "I've had nightmares these past two days and I can't sleep well." She seemed a little shy and hesitated for a while before pulling his sleeve and saying, "Your Highness, can you come back to your room to accompany me tonight?"
Yin Chengjing paused with a smile, then stroked her back and said "OK" softly.
That night, after taking a bath, Yin Chengjing entered the main house wearing only his underwear.
Yao was waiting for him in the room. When she saw him come in, her eyes fell on his chest, but she found that even though he was only wearing a shirt, the collar was tied very tightly, not revealing any skin.
She shuddered inwardly, the reason was obvious, but she still wanted to verify it herself.
After turning off the lights and getting on the bed, Yao leaned obediently in his arms, waiting patiently.
When the rooster crowed for the third time outside, she carefully opened her eyes and tore open her tightly held collar.
She breathed lightly, her eyes fixed on the gradually exposed skin, and when she saw the smooth, bare left breast, her eyes trembled and her body shook slightly.
After letting go of his hand, she took a long time to calm down the shock in her heart. Recalling the rumors she had heard from the servants, she gritted her teeth, mustered up the courage to put her hand on his abdomen, and reached down -
Before she could touch her, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Rou'er?"
In the darkness, the gentle voice sounded like a ghost. Yao pretended to be awakened, opened her eyes drowsily, and said sleepily, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Yin Chengjing narrowed his eyes and looked at her. After a long while, he held her hand in his palm and said softly, "It's nothing. You had a nightmare again. Go to sleep."
Yao hummed softly, moved closer to him and closed her eyes.
She was afraid that her flaws would be discovered, so she forced herself not to think about anything and fell asleep.
When I woke up the next day, Yin Chengjing was already awake.
Yao pretended to be unaware and stood up. She took the belt from the maid and buckled it for him. She said softly, "Your Highness, I had a nightmare again last night. I'm afraid I bumped into something. I want to go to Jinyun Temple to burn incense and pray for the child."
Yin Chengjing looked at her inquiringly, but found nothing unusual.
After a brief thought, he smiled and said, "You are a double now, so bring more people with you when you go out. I'll let Chen Da follow you."
Yao lowered her eyes and responded.
After sending Yin Chengjing away, Yao took out the prepared abortion pills and hid them in her sleeve, then asked someone to prepare a carriage to go to Jinyun Temple.
When she arrived at Jinyun Temple, she burned incense seriously, and then used the excuse of taking a rest to send away Chen Da and others who followed her.
Left alone in the meditation room, Yao nervously held the medicine bag in her sleeve.
Stay or not, today is her only chance.
She originally thought that she must not keep this child, as she felt disgusted just thinking about how this child came about. But after calming down, she had to admit that this child was her only life-saving talisman.
If something happened to the child, she didn't know if Yin Chengjing would do something else after tearing off the human skin.
And at home... Although her mother and third brother doted on her, her father had the final say in all family affairs. Compared to her, her father obviously loved power more. Her father asked her to marry the third prince, so she had already stood on his side... Although her father didn't tell her much, she had guessed that the entire Yao family was involved.
If her father knew that the Third Prince was inhumane and that the child in her belly was a borrowed one, for the sake of the family's future, her father would most likely force her to keep the secret.
Yao thought for a long time but couldn't find a way out.
This child has to stay.
She looked at the abortion pill hidden in her sleeve with a sullen look. She had asked her maid to buy many medicinal ingredients and then mixed the pill herself, but it was of no use now.
After throwing the medicine bag into the pool outside the window, Yao sat for a long time before getting up and leaving.
However, in her trance, she didn't pay attention to her feet, and when she stepped down from the stairs, she suddenly missed a step.
She screamed and subconsciously protected her stomach, but when she was about to fall, a hand held her steadily.
Yao stood up in shock, and the maids and guards around her were also startled and rushed over to her.
"My third brother's wife is pregnant. She must be careful when she goes down the stairs." Yin Ci Guang withdrew his hand, moved his nose, and smelled a very faint strange fragrance. The look in his eyes when he looked at Yao suddenly became a little strange.
This smell...is safflower.
Safflower can promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, promote qi circulation and relieve pain, and is not suitable for pregnant women.
Yin Ciguang looked at Yao's pale face and recalled the news he had learned on the night of the Qianqiu Banquet. Many doubts were connected by a thread, and the answer gradually became clear.
"Thank you, big brother." Yao avoided his gaze and bowed to express her gratitude.
"You don't have to be polite, Third Sister-in-law." Yin Ci Guang pretended not to notice and said with concern, "Sister-in-law is pregnant and cannot be frightened again. I just finished burning incense, so I will escort her for a while."
Yao felt a little uneasy, but she had no reason to refuse, so she just thanked him again and got on her carriage.
Yin Ci Guang's driver followed behind and escorted the person back to the Third Prince's Palace.
Yin Chengjing received the report and heard that Yao almost fell and was escorted back by Prince An, so he hurried out to meet her.
"Thank you so much for your kindness today, big brother." Yin Chengjing bowed politely, but his smile did not show in his eyes.
"Third brother, you are too polite. It just happened to be a coincidence." Yin Ciguang waved his hand and kindly reminded him: "But I have some knowledge of medicine. I just smelled the fragrance of safflower from your wife. Pregnant women should avoid using safflower. Third brother, you must be careful and don't let your wife use it incorrectly because she doesn't understand medicine."
After hearing the word "red flower", the fake smile on Yin Chengjing's face froze instantly.
But Yin Ci Guang still felt that it was not enough, so he moved closer and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Third brother, you are already like this, what else is there to fight for?"
After saying that, she stepped back slightly and looked at him with a gentle smile: "I won't bother you, Third Brother. I'll leave first."
Yin Chengjing clenched his fists and stared at his back with bloodshot eyes.
He actually knew it too!