Chapter 211 Madam Ye Arrives
"Madam Ye is here? What? Did the Empress Dowager send you to supervise me again?" Consort Chen said sarcastically.
Ye Wanning stepped forward to take the pulse and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is too kind. I am here to take your pulse. The Empress Dowager is concerned about the baby in Your Majesty's womb and asked me to come and check on you every now and then."
The pulse is clear and mild, indicating that the child is developing well, but Consort Chen is slightly anemic.
"Your Majesty is in good health, only slightly anemic," Ye Wanning said. "I will prescribe a mild tonic for Your Majesty. Taking it on time will benefit both you and Long'er."
Ye Wanning thought for a moment, then whispered a reminder: "Also, you are pregnant with Long'er, so your body is in a special condition. You must pay close attention to your diet. Don't eat raw or cold foods, and don't trust anything that others give you, lest you harm Long'er."
Consort Chen's heart tightened. Ye Wanning was reminding her that someone wanted to harm her.
"Don't worry, Madam Ye, I will keep an eye on it." Consort Chen forced a smile, but inwardly she was seething with hatred—Ye Wanning was clearly implying that someone wanted to harm her.
Ye Wanning did not take sides; she only fulfilled her duty as a doctor, protecting the imperial heir and reminding Consort Shu.
Not long after, Ye Wanning went to Consort Shu's palace again and took her pulse. The pulse was clear and even, but slightly sluggish.
"The Empress Dowager is already at ease about Consort Chen's heir. While you are in the palace, it is most important for you to protect yourself," Ye Wanning said softly. "Some things cannot be forced. It is better to take good care of your health and see how the situation develops before making any plans."
Consort Shu raised her head with some doubt: "I will keep Madam Ye's words in mind. Thank you for your guidance."
Ye Wanning smiled and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. I will prescribe some medicine to soothe your liver and regulate your qi. If you take it on time, your mood will gradually improve."
Leaving Consort Shu's palace, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't taken sides, hadn't made a choice; she had simply fulfilled her duty as a doctor, protecting the imperial heir and giving Consort Shu a reminder.
She thought the Empress Dowager should understand her meaning.
Sure enough, not long after, Chief Steward Li sent someone to tell her that the Empress Dowager was very satisfied with the results she had achieved and trusted her even more.
Ye Wanning thought that was the end of it, but she didn't expect Xiaolian to suddenly return with an urgent message.
"Miss, something terrible has happened!" Xiao Lian quietly ran into the Heritage Hall. "I found out in the palace that Consort Li's former subordinates are still in contact with the remnants of the previous dynasty! It seems they're hiding a poison vault in the Cold Palace! There are all sorts of rare poisons, as well as secret letters for communication!"
"The Cold Palace? It's remote and desolate; it's indeed a good place to hide things," Ye Wanning thought to herself.
“It’s true!” Xiaolian nodded. “I secretly followed Consort Li’s former subordinates to investigate. They came from the Cold Palace, carrying a large package full of poison.”
Ye Wanning knew in her heart that if she found the poison storage and the secret letter, she could really bring down the Li Fei family and the remnants of the previous dynasty, and eliminate future troubles forever.
"Do you know where the poison vault and the secret message are?" she asked.
“I know, it’s in a small house in the northwest corner of the Cold Palace,” Xiao Lian said.
After thinking for a moment, Ye Wanning decided to go to the Cold Palace.
The Cold Palace was indeed desolate, with broken walls and overgrown weeds; the moonlight shining inside made it even more eerie. Following Xiao Lian's directions, she found the small hut. The door was locked with an iron padlock; Ye Wanning used a silver needle to unlock it and went inside.
The room reeked of medicine. Boxes of poison and needles were scattered on the floor, along with a wooden box full of secret letters.
Ye Wanning found the secret letter, which was densely filled with the conspiracy of Consort Li's lineage and the remnants of the previous dynasty: to poison the Empress Dowager, poison the concubines, poison the imperial heirs, overthrow the emperor's foundation, and then seize the throne in one fell swoop!
"Found it!" Ye Wanning was overjoyed. Just as she was about to put the poison and the secret letter into her pocket, she suddenly felt a "click" behind her—the door to the secret room was locked!
"Who?" Ye Wanning's heart tightened, and she turned to look behind her.
Several masked men stood at the door, holding steel knives and their eyes gleaming with malice: "Ye Wanning, you really came! This is the trap I set for you!"
Ye Wanning finally understood that she had been tricked! It must have been Consort Chen who sent these people. She had always hated her and knew that she was investigating Consort Li's former subordinates. She deliberately sent Xiao Lian to spread false information, trying to trap her here and kill her.
"Did Consort Chen send you to kill me?" Ye Wanning asked calmly, her mind racing as she plotted her escape.
"That's right!" the masked leader sneered. "Consort Chen said you're too much of a hindrance. Only if you die can she give birth to the eldest prince smoothly and become the head of the harem in the future!"
Before she could finish speaking, several masked men rushed at her with knives. Although Ye Wanning knew some self-defense techniques, she was no match for several masked men wielding weapons. She dodged while retaliating with her silver needles, taking down two of the masked men, but her own arm was slashed, causing her to wince in pain.
Just then, the door to the secret room was violently kicked open, and a figure that was all too familiar rushed in, shielding her behind him.
"Pei Zhi!" Ye Wanning was both surprised and delighted.
Pei Zhi's face was gloomy. When he saw the wound on her arm, his eyes were filled with heartache and anger: "Wan Ning, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Ye Wanning waved her hand. "Why are you here?"
"I saw you go out at night and was afraid something might happen to you, so I secretly followed you," Pei Zhi said, drawing his sword and fighting the masked man. He quickly dispatched the remaining masked men.
Only the two of them remained in the secret room. Moonlight streamed in through the broken window, making it feel eerily quiet. Ye Wanning's arm was still bleeding, and Pei Zhi took out some medicine he carried with him and carefully applied it to her arm.
"Does it hurt?" Pei Zhi touched her very gently, his eyes full of heartache.
"It doesn't hurt." Ye Wanning shook her head, looking at him with deep emotion.
The room was drafty, and Ye Wanning couldn't help but shiver. Pei Zhi took off his outer robe and wrapped it tightly around her, warming her with his own body heat: "Are you warmer now?"
"Mmm." Ye Wanning leaned against him, smelling his scent, listening to his heartbeat and the familiar sandalwood fragrance, and the fear and unease in her heart instantly vanished.
"I distanced myself from you before because I was afraid the emperor would become suspicious and implicate you." Pei Zhi's voice rang in my ears, hoarse and full of heartache. "I was really scared, scared that something would happen to us together, scared that I would lose you."
Pei Zhi gently stroked her hair: "No matter what happens in the future, I will be with you and never let you face it alone again."
"I understand your difficulties. I misunderstood you before," Ye Wanning said softly. "From now on, we will never be apart again and will face all the storms together."
Pei Zhi held her tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones. In the narrow, enclosed room, their breaths mingled, and their feelings for each other deepened in their desperate situation.
After a while, footsteps were heard outside, and Steward Li arrived with his guards.
"Madam Ye, Lord Pei, are you alright?" Steward Li rushed into the secret room and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the masked man on the ground.
"We're fine." Ye Wanning broke free from Pei Zhi's embrace, her cheeks flushed.
"Chief Steward Li, please send someone to deliver the poison and secret letter here to the Emperor, then deal with these people and investigate their background."
"Yes, Madam Ye," Steward Li quickly replied.
Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi left the Cold Palace together and returned to the Heritage Hall.
The next day, the two of them presented the poison and the secret letter to the emperor.
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