The day before Emperor Wei Huaixu personally led his expedition, he unexpectedly changed the nameplate of Baoyi Palace.
But when he arrived, he did nothing and said nothing; he just sat there quietly.
Qingying was also feeling resentful, so she turned her back and went to sleep.
She did not go to see him off when he set off on the second day.
It wasn't until a month later that she was diagnosed with pregnancy.
She then understood what he had done that day.
Qingying was momentarily bewildered, unsure if what she was doing was the right thing to do.
But there's no turning back now; she had no choice but to keep going.
"Your Majesty, this is a freshly made snowflake soup from the Imperial Kitchen. I brought it here for you to try."
Since becoming pregnant, Qingying has had a particularly good appetite, but she has also become very picky about food. The imperial kitchen has been trying to prepare delicious meals for her every day.
She glanced at the delicate soup on the tray and instructed Tongxia to put it aside for now, "I had lunch an hour ago, so I don't have much of an appetite right now. Let it sit for a while."
"yes."
Tongxia put the lid on the jade cup and then left.
Qingying sat in a rocking chair by the window reading a book. The sunlight slanted in from the window, warmly bathing her in its glow.
Crackling sound—
Suddenly, a cracking sound startled her. She turned around and saw the white deer swaying its tail and lying by the table. The jade cup containing the snowflake soup had been pushed to the ground and shattered.
Tong Xia heard the noise and came in. Seeing the scene, she was quite helpless. "You naughty cat, you've caused me trouble again."
Bai Lu ignored her, jumped off the table, followed the aroma to the crystal-clear snowflake soup, smelled it, and then stuck out her tongue to lick it a few times.
"The greedy cat just ate a small yellow croaker, and now it's trying to steal its master's food."
Qingying laughed and said, "It's stupid, what's the use of blaming it?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Tongxia noticed that the cat had rolled over and was lying on the ground belly up.
"Oh dear!" She leaned closer to look and saw white foam coming from the cat's mouth. She panicked immediately, "Your Majesty, something has happened!"
Qingying immediately put down her book and went over to see. She picked up the white deer and hurriedly instructed Tongxia, "Quickly go and fetch the imperial physician!"
The young eunuch immediately went to do as instructed.
Qingying looked at the limp cat in her arms with a sorrowful expression. She turned to look at the shattered jade cup on the ground, took a deep breath, and ordered, "Take my jade token and go to Chang'an. Tell him that someone is trying to harm me and that he should send men to surround Baoyi Palace!"
"yes."
After Tongxia left, Qingying finally trembled and shed tears, "Silly cat, even you are leaving me?"
The kitten's body gradually lost its warmth. Qingying gently stroked its still soft and smooth fur, and slowly pressed her face against it. "White Deer, White Deer, go scout ahead for me, find him, and tell him to wait for me."
There was no response.
She didn't know if the silly little cat could understand, but she thought that since Ah Xu had brought it to her side, it should remember Ah Xu's scent and it should be able to find him.
...
Baoyi Palace was surrounded by layers of people, and Qingying ordered a thorough investigation of everyone.
They quickly identified a palace maid.
Chang An brought her in front of Qing Ying and said, "This palace maid was hiding in the corner and acting suspiciously. I found this bottle on her."
As he spoke, Chang An handed over a small ceramic bottle.
Qingying gestured for the imperial physician to step forward.
The imperial physician took the bottle, opened it, and sniffed it closely before saying, "Your Majesty, this bottle contains the exact same medicine as the one in the ice cream soup."
Tong Xia stepped forward and slapped the palace maid hard across the face. "Tell me, who ordered you to do this?"
The young palace maid shook her head, crying, "No one ordered me to do this..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chang An kicked her to the ground. Then, Chang An pulled out a dagger, pressed down on her left hand, and with a swift and clean motion, cut off a section of her finger.
The palace maid wailed in heart-wrenching agony.
Chang An pressed down on the back of her neck and said coldly, "If you don't tell the truth, it won't be as simple as just one finger."
"Speak, I'll tell you..." The little palace maid trembled, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse: "It was Consort Han, she made me do this, she wanted to harm the child in Your Highness's womb!"
"Oh? Are you telling the truth?" Qingying looked down at her and said coldly, "If you dare to deceive me, be careful that your family will be implicated."
"This servant dares not. It was Consort Han who made me do this. She is jealous of your favor and fears that if you give birth to the imperial heir, she will have even less chance of advancement in the future. So she bribed this servant to harm you."
Qingying raised her chin and instructed Chang'an, "Take her away, make her write a statement, and have her sign and affix her fingerprint."
"yes."
——
Qingying ordered people to take the white deer out of the palace and bury it under a locust tree next to Yuyue's grave.
Then, it was time to settle accounts with Han Meiren.
When she saw her arrive, Han Meiren was not flustered at all.
She smiled, bowed, and greeted Qingying, calmly pouring her tea. "Why does Your Highness have the leisure to come to my remote place?"
Qingying did not take the tea offered to her, and looked at her expressionlessly, "You know why."
Han Meiren didn't care whether she accepted the offer or not. She sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and chuckled, "It's just the death of a little beast. Is it really worth Your Majesty making such a fuss?"
"If Bai Lu hadn't broken the snowflake soup, I would be the one poisoned today."
"Yes, it's a real pity."
Qingying sneered, "You're too lazy to even pretend anymore?"
"Since you've already found out, I have nothing to argue about. Do with me as you please."
"Why? I have no grudge against you." Qingying really didn't understand why she wanted to harm her.
Han Meiren seemed to have heard a joke and burst into laughter, her laughter containing a hint of sarcasm and a touch of desolation.
"What Your Majesty said is similar to the saying 'Why don't they eat meat porridge?' We women entered the palace without any enmity, but after entering the deep palace, we became enemies in order to compete for favor and climb the social ladder. You have always been favored by His Majesty, so naturally you don't understand our difficulties. If you don't believe me, go out and ask around. There are probably too many people in this palace who want you dead. I'm afraid you can't even count them on one hand."
Qingying clenched her fists tighter, and after a moment, she suddenly smiled and said, "You're right. If you all want me dead, then let none of us live."
She turned and left, ordering, "Consort Han is confined to her quarters until the Emperor returns!"
——
Three months later, news arrived from the northern border that the Emperor had won a great victory, recovered the lost cities, and driven the enemy back a hundred miles. He would soon return in triumph.
The whole country rejoiced that day, and the people lined the streets to welcome His Majesty, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
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