Chapter 33: Concubine's investigation lays the seeds of disaster
The laundry room in the side courtyard was filled with steam. Qiu Wen rubbed the clothes in her hands, but her eyes kept glancing towards the bedroom in the courtyard - that was Yun Zhi's residence. Her fingers unconsciously tightened, and the soap scum on the washboard splashed all over the floor. Her heart was like a rabbit, beating fast.
"Qiu Wen, what are you staring at?" The maid next to her pushed her aside, her tone filled with doubt. "I've been rubbing these clothes for half an hour, and they're still not clean. Are you worried about something?"
"Nothing... nothing." Qiu Wen quickly averted her gaze, lowered her head, and sped up the speed of rubbing the clothes. However, her voice trembled slightly, "I was just... just thinking about something."
How could she be thinking? She was watching Yun Zhi's every move, remembering Su Yurou's instructions - to find out Yun Zhi's recent diet and daily life, to find out if she was really pregnant.
Yesterday afternoon, Su Yurou had someone call her to the side courtyard and stuffed a heavy ingot of silver into her hand. Her tone was filled with a sinister threat: "Qiu Wen, you've been in the side courtyard for three years and haven't had a chance to climb up. Now I have a chance for you. Go check on Yun Zhi and see what she's been eating and wearing lately. See if her clothes are bigger than before, and see if she's secretly hiding any medicine. If you find out she's pregnant, this ingot of silver is yours, and I'll promote you in the future. If you dare to lie to me or leak the information, you know the consequences."
The weight of the silver ingot was so heavy that it suffocated her, but Su Yurou's threats frightened her even more. She had no one to rely on in the palace, and if she offended Su Yurou, not only would her chances of promotion be in jeopardy, but her very survival would be in jeopardy.
Since yesterday, she has been secretly observing Yunzhi - she found that Yunzhi only eats light porridge and vegetables recently, and frowns when she smells greasy food; she found that Yunzhi's old clothes are obviously loose at the waist, and the new clothes are deliberately loose styles; she also found that Qingzhu would secretly bring back a small paper bag from outside every day and put it under Yunzhi's pillow. Every time after bringing it back, Yunzhi would hide in the room and not come out for a long time.
All these signs, like needles, point to one answer - Yun Zhi is pregnant.
Qiu Wen's heart was getting more and more anxious. She knew that if she reported this to Su Yurou, Yun Zhi would definitely end up in trouble. But she didn't dare not report it, for she was afraid of Su Yurou's revenge.
"Qiu Wen, don't wash yet." The maid next to her put away the clothes and patted her shoulder. "I just saw Qingzhu go to the kitchen. Go hang up Aunt Yun's clothes. Don't delay."
"Okay... okay." Qiu Wen nodded, picked up the laundry, and hurried out of the laundry room, heading towards the clothesline. As she passed Yun Zhi's bedroom, she couldn't help but stop and peek through the window. Yun Zhi was sitting by the bed, holding a small paper bag. She carefully poured out a pill and swallowed it with warm water.
It's a pregnancy-preserving drug! Qiu Wen's heart skipped a beat and she turned and ran to the side yard—she had to report this to Su Yurou immediately!
…
In the warm room in the side yard, after listening to Qiu Wen's report, Su Yurou placed the teacup in her hand on the table with a clang, her eyes filled with sinister excitement: "Good! Very good! I knew that bitch was pregnant! It seems that Lin Wanru was right, she is indeed a shameless thing, she actually dared to carry a bastard behind the prince's back!"
"Concubine, what should we do now?" Qiu Wen asked nervously, standing aside. "Should we tell the princess?"
"Tell her?" Su Yurou sneered, her eyes full of calculation. "Now is not the time. We have no evidence. If we rashly tell the princess and let that bitch know, she will definitely try to cover it up. Keep an eye on her and see if she shows any abnormalities, especially if she has any contact with Xie Heng. If you have any news, report it to me immediately."
"Yes!" Qiu Wen responded and turned to leave.
"Wait," Su Yurou stopped her, pulling out a small paper bag from her sleeve and handing it to her. "This contains some calming incense powder. Try to sprinkle it in Yunzhi's room so that she won't sleep well at night. It would be best if you could make her reveal more flaws. Remember, don't get caught."
Qiu Wen took the paper bag, nodded, and quickly left the side yard.
Su Yurou looked at Qiu Wen's back, a sinister smile curling her lips. "Yun Zhi, how long do you think you can keep this a secret? Once I get the evidence, I'll make sure you and the bastard in your belly disappear together!"
…
Over in the side courtyard, Yun Zhi sat by the window, feeling uneasy. In recent days, she'd felt something was wrong with Qiu Wen's gaze. Every time she spoke to Qing Zhu, Qiu Wen would secretly eavesdrop, and even glance into her room while hanging out the laundry.
"Qingzhu, do you think Qiu Wen has been acting a little strange lately?" Yun Zhi said to Qingzhu, who was sorting clothes, in a low voice.
Qingzhu was stunned for a moment, stopped what she was doing, thought for a moment, and nodded. "It's indeed a bit strange. She's been secretly watching us recently. Last time I got you some pregnancy-preserving medicine, I saw her hiding at the door. Miss, do you think she might have been bribed by the princess or concubine?"
Yun Zhi's heart sank; her worst fear had finally come true. "It's very likely," she frowned, her eyes filled with worry. "We need to be extra careful lately. We need to hide the pregnancy-maintaining medication and be careful with our words. We don't want her to get hold of anything."
"Yes, young lady." Qingzhu nodded, folded Yunzhi's clothes, and put them in the closet, deliberately placing the loose clothes at the back. "Don't worry, young lady, I will be careful."
But they didn't know that Qiu Wen had already started to act. That night, Qiu Wen took the opportunity to clean Yun Zhi's room and secretly sprinkled the incense powder given by Su Yurou into the incense burner. After the incense powder burned, it emitted a faint fragrance that was unnoticeable without careful sniffing.
In the middle of the night, Yun Zhi began to sleep restlessly. She tossed and turned, feeling restless and her lower abdomen aching. Finally falling asleep, she had another nightmare—in the dream, Xiao Jin took an abortion drug and forced it into her mouth. The baby in her belly slowly disappeared, and blood stained the bed red...
"No! My child!" Yun Zhi woke up suddenly, sweating and gasping for breath. She reached out and touched her lower abdomen. It was still flat, but the pain in her dream was so real that it left her with a lingering fear.
"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Qingzhu heard the noise and hurried in from outside. He lit the candle and saw Yunzhi's pale face. He asked worriedly, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Yun Zhi nodded, her voice trembling, "I dreamed about the prince... I dreamed that he gave me an abortion drug, and that the child was gone..."
Qingzhu quickly sat down beside the bed, patted her back, and comforted her: "Girl, that was just a nightmare, it's not real. The child is fine, don't worry."
Yun Zhi nodded, but she still couldn't calm down. She kept feeling that this nightmare would come true, that danger was getting closer and closer to her.
…
The next morning, Qiu Wen reported to Su Yurou that Yun Zhi had a restless sleep and nightmares the previous night. Su Yurou smiled and said to the maid beside her, "Let's go to the princess."
In the warm room of the main courtyard, Lin Wanru listened to Su Yurou's report with a sinister look in her eyes: "So, that bitch is really pregnant?"
"It's almost certain," Su Yurou nodded, her tone firm. "Qiu Wen said she saw Yun Zhi secretly taking pregnancy-maintaining medicine, and her clothes are looser than before. She also had a nightmare last night because she couldn't sleep well. These are all signs of pregnancy."
Lin Wanru put down the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes filled with murderous intent. "Alright! Since she's pregnant, we can't wait any longer. However, we have no evidence. If we rashly tell the prince, he won't believe it. How about... let Qiu Wen go and tell the prince that Yun Zhi has been behaving strangely recently, and let the prince investigate himself."
Su Yurou's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "This is a good idea, Princess! Qiu Wen is a maid in the side courtyard, so the prince will be more likely to believe what she says. As long as the prince becomes suspicious, he will definitely investigate personally. By then, Yun Zhi's fox tail will be exposed!"
"That's what we'll do," Lin Wanru nodded and said to the maid beside her, "Go call Qiu Wen and tell her to go to the study and tell the prince that Yun Zhi has been eating abnormally lately and is secretly hiding medicine. Tell the prince to be careful."
"Yes!" the maid replied and turned to look for Qiu Wen.
…
In the study, Xiao Jin was reading the files about an old case at the Grand Tutor's Mansion when he heard a maid's report from outside the door: "Your Highness, Qiu Wen, the maid from the side courtyard, wants to see you. She said she has something important to report."
"The maid from the side courtyard?" Xiao Jin frowned, put down the file, and said in a tone as cold as ice, "Let her in."
Qiu Wen walked into the study, plopped down on the ground, lowered her head, and said in a trembling voice, "Your servant Qiu Wen greets His Majesty. I have something important to report, about...about Concubine Yun."
"Yun Zhi?" Xiao Jin's eyes suddenly became sharp. "What happened to her? Is she in contact with Xie Heng again?"
"No, Your Highness," Qiu Wen hurriedly shook her head, her voice filled with a hint of deliberate hesitation. "It's...it's that Madam Yun has been acting a little strange lately. She only eats plain porridge and vegetables, and becomes nauseous at the smell of greasy food. Her clothes are also much looser than before, and she even had Miss Qingzhu secretly bring back some paper packages from outside and hide them under her pillow. Every time she finishes eating the contents of the paper packages, she hides in her room for a long time..."
She did not explicitly say that Yun Zhi was pregnant, but only reported Yun Zhi's abnormality in a vague way, but it was enough to make Xiao Jin suspicious.
Xiao Jin's fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes filled with deep thought. Qiu Wen's description of these anomalies was consistent with his previous suspicions—Yun Zhi was likely pregnant.
"Are you serious?" Xiao Jin's voice grew colder, with a subtle hint of nervousness. "Is she really hiding the medicine?"
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!" Qiu Wen nodded quickly, her tone full of certainty. "I also saw that Madam Yun had a nightmare last night. She cried and called 'child' and seemed very scared. I dare not hide it, so I came to report it to His Majesty. I hope His Majesty will be careful."
"Child..." Xiao Jin's heart suddenly tightened, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes - suspicion, anger, and a hint of concern that he himself was not even aware of.
He was silent for a moment, then said to Qiu Wen, "Go down. I know about this matter. Remember, don't tell anyone, otherwise I will not forgive you."
"Yes! I obey your command!" Qiu Wen kowtowed quickly, stood up and quickly left the study.
Xiao Jin sat behind his desk, his eyes growing ever deeper. Qiu Wen's words, like a needle, pierced his heart, deepening his suspicions.
Is Yun Zhi really pregnant? Are the pills she secretly hid the ones Xie Heng gave her to help her stay pregnant? Is the "child" she cried about last night Xie Heng's bastard?
Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, making him extremely restless. He suddenly stood up and walked towards the side courtyard - he wanted to see for himself what Yun Zhi was hiding!
Meanwhile, Yun Zhi, in the side courtyard, was unaware that Qiu Wen had already informed on them, and unaware that Xiao Jin had become even more suspicious. She sat by the window, gently stroking her belly, silently praying, "My child, you must be safe. You must wait for me to find the opportunity to convince the prince that you are his child."
She didn't know that danger was approaching quietly and a bigger storm was about to come.
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