[…Just a quick look?]

Wu Qing asked weakly, "My Lady, is that the Third Prince in your arms?"

Concubine Lin said, "There should be no other babies in the palace."

Wu Qing secretly glanced at Concubine Lin's expression and asked, "...Are you really just holding her to take a look?"

Concubine Lin raised her pretty eyebrows and asked, "Does this palace want to snatch him away to raise?"

"The head is so big, the eyes are narrow, the nose is sunken..."

The imperial concubine sighed and said with disdain, "Who would believe that she is my child? My child will naturally inherit my beauty, a hundred times better than his."

"Then why didn't you stay in the delivery room to see him, but instead brought him to Linhua Palace?" Wu Qing was puzzled.

"Mrs. Zhao is as timid as a mouse. Do you dare to let me see her child?"

Concubine Lin recalled the previous scene and laughed so hard that her body shook. "When I gave her a painting before, she couldn't sleep or eat, and was in a state of anxiety all day long. If I touch the child's face in front of her, I'm afraid she will scream in fear."

"Besides, even if Concubine Zhao dared to let me hold the baby, would other concubines dare to do so?"

[Your Majesty... you are also aware of your reputation as a bully in the palace...] Wu Qing silently held his forehead with his hand.

Concubine Lin called Wu Qing to come over to look at the child, "Don't just stand there like an idiot. Come over and take a closer look."

Wu Qing walked up to her with mixed feelings.

Concubine Lin used her fingers to trace the baby's calm face.

The third prince, who had just been born, should have been full of vitality and hope like the rising sun, but he had been sentenced to death.

"Wu Qing, how old do you think this child can live to?"

Concubine Lin's voice was erratic. "When the Second Prince was born, he was also this thin and weak, even a few pounds lighter, but he still lives safely to this day."

The baby in the cradle didn't say a word, and Concubine Lin looked more and more worried.

Wu Qing said vaguely: "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is a prince. He must be blessed with good fortune and will surely live a long and healthy life."

She didn't have the heart to tell the imperial concubine that the third prince would live for no more than half a month.

Concubine Lin was reluctant to let go, and her eyes changed several times as she looked at the child.

Wu Qing secretly said that it was not good. She took a step forward and laughed dryly: "My queen, don't you think it's too heavy to hold the child all the time? Why don't you let me do it for you?"

Concubine Lin chuckled.

"You don't believe what I said? You don't have to test me anymore. I really don't intend to keep him, and I don't want to have another child for no reason."

[My lady, I am just worried about you! ]

Wu Qing stuck out her tongue and said apologetically, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I was concerned about your well-being and was afraid that you would be too tired."

"I will have to go and check on Concubine Zhao later. If Your Majesty trusts me, I am willing to bring the prince back on the way. Why don't you give the child to me now?" Wu Qing persuaded persistently.

"...Alright, alright, take the child back in a quarter of an hour and don't cause any trouble in front of me."

Wu Qing's eyebrows curved when she got the imperial concubine's approval. She didn't feel uncomfortable after being told by the imperial concubine, and left happily.

Zijuan let out a breath and for the first time she looked at Concubine Ji with favor.

No one in Linhua Palace dared to dissuade the queen from taking the child away, fortunately there was Concubine Ji.

If you can't read people's faces, then don't do that. At least towards the Imperial Concubine, Noble Lady Ji is sincere.

After Wu Qing walked away, Zijuan approached the imperial concubine and asked softly, "My queen, since you have no intention of taking the child away, why do you want to..."

Concubine Lin did make preparations very early, otherwise she would not have been able to place her own people in Concubine Shu's palace.

Zhao Changzai was of low status and was not qualified to raise a prince. Therefore, the third prince had to find another mother.

Although it was against the rules for Concubine Lin to take the third prince away at this time, even if the emperor knew about it, he would at most blame her.

What Zijuan didn't understand was that if the Imperial Concubine really just wanted to get close to the Third Prince for a while, she could have done it in the Concubine's Palace. Zhao Changzai and others would certainly be on guard against her, but who else could stop her except the Queen?

Concubine Lin's face showed an incongruous coldness, "I want to bring him here."

"I want to know how much I want a child, to the point where I lose my mind."

Zijuan didn't understand.

Concubine Lin turned her head and stared at her: "Tell me the truth, what was the expression on my face when I was holding the child just now?"

Zijuan hesitated: "My Lady..."

"Speak." Concubine Lin's voice left no room for doubt.

Zijuan knelt down and blurted out, "My lady, I dare not hide anything. When you held the Third Prince in your arms just now, an indescribable fear surged in my heart."

"It feels like... if someone dares to take the Third Prince away from your arms, you will grind him to dust, even if... even if that person is Concubine Ji."

Concubine Lin narrowed her eyes, "...go and light up my calming incense."

Zijuan obeyed the order and opened the incense burner immediately after getting up.

As the light fragrance filled the room, the madness on Concubine Lin's face completely faded. She lowered her head and stared at the child in her arms, her eyes gradually changing from obsessed tenderness to restrained calmness.

Concubine Lin curled up her fingers one by one, and finally, she no longer held the child tightly in her arms.

"You will go with Lady Ji and send the child back to Lady Zhao."

Concubine Lin turned her head away and never looked at the child again. However, her body was still trembling slightly, as if she was fighting a final battle with some emotion deep in her heart.

Zijuan agreed softly, took the baby in the cradle, her eyes full of worry.

Concubine Lin squeezed out a sentence from her teeth, "Go, go quickly, do you still want me to rush you?"

Zijuan left in a hurry.

After finishing her words, Concubine Lin lost all her strength and fell powerlessly on the couch. She slowly raised one hand to cover her eyes, trying to hide the pain surging in her heart.

——This was a test that Concubine Lin conducted on herself. She wanted to know how difficult it was to defy fate.

The Queen was accidentally poisoned by the Lotus Heart Gu and was saved by Concubine Ji's magic medicine. Now she is able to regain control of the palace.

Zhao Chang was supposed to die by caesarean section, but thanks to the infusion of magical power by Guiren Deji, he not only gave birth to a child successfully but also survived.

...What about her?

Although Noble Lady Ji could help her, Concubine Lin wanted to escape her fate on her own.

Concubine Ji once said that she would die because of her obsession with her children.

In this case, Concubine Lin gave herself a chance, a chance to get close to the third prince.

She succeeded and failed.

She successfully brought the third prince home, but she almost couldn't resist the child's temptation.

Zijuan was right. She had just put all those thoughts behind her. The short life span of the Third Prince, the possible punishment from the Emperor, the injustice of Zhao Changzai, Wu Qing's confusion... all these things were subconsciously ignored by her.

Once she touched the child, she wasn't herself anymore.

Concubine Lin stared at herself in the bronze mirror for a long time. Suddenly, she stood up and walked out the door.

Without Zijuan, there was no one following the imperial concubine.

Qingfang in the courtyard called her in surprise.

"My lady, where are you going? Why don't you ask Zijuan to comb your hair?"

Concubine Lin walked hurriedly and casually pinned up her long hair with a white jade hairpin.

She said, "I am going to the prince's residence. Don't ask anyone to follow me."