"I don't know what the concubine ate or used, but her whole body is burning red, and she's bleeding profusely from her lower body. Doctor Zhou has already gone over, but the concubine won't let him examine her; she'll only let the doctor from the Nian family take her pulse..."
The young eunuch who came to deliver the message knelt on the ground, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve. He dared not look up at the prince's expression, and naturally did not see the fleeting look of satisfaction on Yinzhen's face.
Qian Shengyan never expected such a thing to happen. She stood up in shock and turned to look at Yinzhen in fright: "Your Majesty, this..."
"Don't be afraid, sit down." Yinzhen pulled her hand and helped her sit down again, then glanced to the side, "Su Peisheng."
"yes!"
Su Peisheng led a large group of people out of Peach Blossom Village, but Yinzhen pulled Qian Shengyan to slowly eat all the pastries in front of him before heading towards Ying Shui Lan Xiang.
Before even entering the courtyard, he heard a series of cries coming from inside. Yinzhen straightened his expression, stepped inside, and saw Su Peisheng standing in the middle of the courtyard, with eunuchs coming and going, and a maid being forced to kneel on the ground.
Yinzhen glanced at it and stepped into the main hall. Qian Shengyan followed beside him, feeling a little flustered at the sight of the scene.
Qingxue grasped Qian Shengyan's forearm and whispered "Master." Qian Shengyan nodded, then slowly let out a breath and followed her into the main hall.
Inside, Ulanara, Li, and Geng had already arrived. They were sitting there with furrowed brows, not talking. When they heard the sound of someone coming through, they all stood up and bowed to Yinzhen. Qian Shengyan followed suit and bowed to him one by one.
She had come with the prince, but none of the women were in the mood to stab her. They were all anxiously listening to the screams and cries coming from the inner room, their expressions varied.
Li was indifferent, Geng's face turned pale as if she was thinking of herself, while Ulanara seemed a little restless, probably hoping that something really happened to Nian but not daring to show it, so everyone was conflicted.
Qian Shengyan remained silent, sitting at the lowest seat, determined not to get involved in the matter.
Before long, devastating news arrived from inside—Nian's dowry maid knelt before Yinzhen, weeping, and said, "Your Highness, the concubine... has miscarried!"
Li covered her mouth with a handkerchief and made a dramatic "Ah?" sound, while Geng's mouth was half open as if she was stunned. Ulanara stood up abruptly, then slowly sat down again, and turned to look at Yinzhen.
Yinzhen slowly stroked the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist and said in a deep voice, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me! Su Peisheng!"
Su Peisheng trotted in from the courtyard. Yinzhen gave him a look that seemed both angry and not angry, and the servant immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, I just ordered someone to keep a record of everything the Consort ate and touched today, so that Doctor Zhou could examine it one by one. But a maid in the kitchen was acting suspiciously, carrying a teacup and trying to leave. I had her detained, and after a thorough investigation, we found—"
His head drooped even lower, almost touching the ground, but his voice was exceptionally clear: "We discovered that a lot of aphrodisiacs had been added to the teacup. Doctor Zhou speculates that the concubine suffered a miscarriage due to these drugs."
“Aphrodisiac.” Yinzhen finished speaking word by word, then suddenly smashed his teacup on the ground. “Investigate! Investigate for me! How could such filthy things appear in the concubine’s courtyard!”
Su Peisheng responded with a "Yes, sir," and crawled out on his knees without daring to lift his body.
The main hall was completely silent. Everyone held their breath and tightened their necks to minimize the sound of their breathing.
The one who was most frightened was Ulanara. From the moment Su Peisheng uttered the words "aphrodisiac," Ulanara began to tremble uncontrollably.
She dared not turn around to look at Granny Wu behind her, nor even dared to think about what Granny Wu had been doing recently. She remembered when she was angry a few days ago because of Nian Gengyao's letter, Granny Wu said something about "Consort Nian definitely won't be able to give birth this time." At the time, she thought Granny Wu was just trying to comfort her, but she never expected...
In the past few days, Granny Wu has been taking extra care of her, treating her almost like a young girl who has not yet been married. Ulanara thought that Granny Wu was worried that she would be upset because of Nian's matter, but she did not expect that she had decided to die.
Ulanara clenched her fists in her wide sleeves, her long nails digging into her flesh. She pressed her lips together, afraid to make a sound; her eyes were wide open, as if she might accidentally shed tears.
But Yinzhen, who was also sitting at the head of the table, glanced at her sideways. This glance made Ulanara feel as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
He knows, doesn't he?
He knew it all along...
He had known all along that he had that kind of drug. Now that Mrs. Nian had miscarried, and he was the one who would benefit from it, no matter how you looked at it, it was more likely that his side was the one who did it...
No, no! She has to save Granny Wu!
Ulanara's teeth were making a soft "clucking" sound, but she tried her best to endure it and put on an indifferent expression.
But the next moment, even worse news struck her heart.
An old woman rushed in, and her eyes lit up when she saw Ulanara. She knelt down in front of her with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Highness! Your Highness, please save me! Please, Your Highness, save the Fifth Prince's life!"
"Fifth Prince? Hongzhou?" Ulanara hadn't reacted yet. "What happened to Hongzhou?"
“Fujin, Fifth Prince, Fifth Prince, he…” The old woman’s lips were trembling, and she could not speak coherently. Yinzhen was already impatient and shouted angrily, “Speak quickly, what happened to the Fifth Prince!”
The old woman seemed to only realize now that the prince was also there. She trembled like a leaf, stammering "This servant, this servant," unable to utter a single word for a long time.
But Yinzhen couldn't wait any longer and got up to leave Ying Shui Lan Xiang.
Because it involved the Fifth Prince, Lady Li and Lady Geng hurriedly followed. Qian Shengyan thought for a moment and also got up to follow, but before leaving, she turned back to look at Lady Ulanara.
Aphrodisiacs, that sounds so familiar...
Could it really be that Ulanara was behind it...?
Qian Shengyan lowered her eyes and had just stepped out the door when she suddenly heard the Fujin scream, "Nian Shi!"
She turned around at the sound and saw Ulanara hurriedly following her out. At the door, she said to her, "Wait here for a moment and see how Consort Nian is doing." As she spoke, Ulanara reached out and grasped Qian Shengyan's hand, slightly flustered, "When I brought you back from the outskirts of the capital, I knew you were a good person, and you haven't let me down these past two years. Now… listen to what's happening, and report back to me and the Prince."
Ulanara was truly anxious. She didn't know how things had happened, but everything was coming at her all at once. She now only hoped that Qian Shengyan would understand her meaning, and Qian Shengyan was clearly different from the prince. If she could speak up for her, it wouldn't be a bad thing.
She was staring intently at Qian Shengyan when suddenly she heard a scream from inside the room: "What nonsense are you talking about! What do you mean I can never get pregnant again?!"
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