Chapter 284 Forced
There are few masters and servants in Prince Ling’s mansion.
Wei Qingyan and Shi Yu easily reached Princess Ling's courtyard.
Princess Ling was leaning against the head of the bed with a white headband tied around her forehead. She must be feeling unwell, as her breathing sounded heavy, and she even groaned in pain.
The old maid beside her was holding a bowl and sitting in front of the bed, "Princess, no matter how uncomfortable you feel, you must eat something. This is the beetroot porridge that I made myself.
The taste of our hometown is what you always loved the most. Open your mouth and I will feed you."
"Cui Xiang, I know you mean well, but I really have no appetite." Princess Ling slowly shook her head.
The old nanny called Cuixiang said, "I understand your feelings. Just listen to me. No matter how uncomfortable it is, you have to grit your teeth and eat.
Only by eating can your body be healthy. We have survived so many hardships, and we will definitely be able to do it this time. You still have to take care of yourself. The young master still needs your care.
He has lost his mother now, and if you fall ill again, he will really have no one to rely on. Sister Chunliu, please listen to me and eat a bite."
She and the princess grew up together. Later, the princess married into the Shi family. The Shi family conquered the world, and the princess became the most powerful person.
The princess, mindful of their friendship, ordered people to find her.
At that time, she was very hungry and ate one extra steamed bun, so she was beaten and kicked by her husband and mother-in-law, which caused her to have a miscarriage.
The princess helped her to divorce and then took her with her. Since the princess had no family from her mother's side, she treated her as her own. The good things she received from the princess were things that her own mother and father had never given her.
In name they were master and servant, but in private the princess treated her like her own sister.
Now, seeing the princess in such pain, her heart ached, and she was even more afraid that something bad would happen to the princess.
Princess Ling's tears fell as she cried, "Cui Xiang, tell me, did I do something unforgivable in my past life? Why do I have to go through so much hardship in this life?
Sometimes, I really want to die, but I can't bear to do so. My parents wanted to live but couldn't, and the prince wanted to live but died early. How can I waste my life?
Cuixiang, I regret this. If I had known that Yanran would also die young, I should have been nicer to her.
I shouldn't have taken out my anger on her. What did she do wrong? I was just being stupid..."
"Sister Chunliu, that's not your fault. Just be obedient and eat a little. Tomorrow I will accompany you to bring the young master back."
The old nanny continued to persuade her, and passed the spoon to Princess Ling's mouth again, coaxing her like a child, "Sister, please open your mouth and drink a little. This old slave begs you."
Princess Ling must have eaten. Wei Qingyan heard some joy in the old nanny's voice, "Don't worry, swallow slowly. Eat so you can have the strength to fight those wolves and tigers tomorrow."
The two waited on the roof for about a quarter of an hour before hearing the old nanny say, "You should go to bed early. I'll make you some bird's nest porridge and keep it warm on the stove. You can drink it tomorrow morning."
"You are not feeling well yourself, so stop working and let the girls do it."
"The medicine I drank has a calming effect. I slept too much during the day and I really can't fall asleep right now. I'm going to find something to do. When I'm tired, I'll fall asleep."
Hearing the old nanny's footsteps fading away, Wei Qingyan and the other man jumped off the roof and entered Princess Ling's room.
Princess Ling lowered her eyes and stared at the quilt on the bed in a daze. It was not until Wei Qingyan sat down in front of her bed that she noticed the two of them.
Just as she was about to exclaim, she heard Wei Qingyan say, "I have a way for you to bring Yanran's child to your side."
"Why would you help me?" Princess Ling looked at the two people with their faces covered.
She never believed that good things would happen to her.
Wei Qingyan nodded, "Because I need answers to a few questions from you."
Without waiting for Princess Ling to speak, she said bluntly, "Yanran is your biological daughter, and her biological father is the late emperor, right?"
"You... who are you?"
Wei Qingyan has been asked this question countless times since he was reborn and returned to Beijing.
This time, she decided to reveal her identity and took off her veil, "Crown Princess, Wei Qingyan."
The name engraved on the royal jade disc was Shi Qingyan, but she was used to being Wei Qingyan.
After she was granted the title of Crown Princess, no one dared to call her by her name anymore, so the emperor let her do as she pleased.
Princess Ling's eyes were shocked, and she was about to salute, but was stopped by Wei Qingyan, "Old Princess, please answer my question.
As long as you answer truthfully, I will help you get the child back, along with the dowry, and the Cheng En Marquis's Mansion will never trouble you again."
Princess Ling looked a little conflicted. With the help of the Crown Princess, she could indeed bring the child back, but the Crown Princess's issue was what she was most reluctant to mention.
Wei Qingyan waited quietly.
Finally, Princess Ling nodded and said, "Yes, Yanran is the daughter of the late emperor and me."
"Did he frame you?" Wei Qingyan asked again.
This question made Princess Ling's eyes red, "Why don't you think I seduced him?"
Wei Qingyan just shook his head.
When she and Shi Yu arrived, they walked around Prince Ling's Mansion and found that many areas in the mansion had been cultivated and planted with fruits and vegetables.
In other officials' residences, these places are used to plant flowers and plants for viewing the scenery.
It can be seen that Princess Ling is not a person who is greedy for pleasure, so she has no motive to seduce Shi Dehou.
Moreover, she came from a farming family and was of average appearance. If she really wanted to seduce him, Shi Dehou might not be attracted by the numerous beauties in his harem.
On the contrary, if Shi Dehou wanted to preserve his bloodline but didn't want to be discovered, it would be safest to choose Princess Ling, who seemed the most unlikely person to outsiders.
The conversation they had just heard while hiding on the roof confirmed her guess.
Although she didn't say anything, this shake of her head finally broke the defenses of Princess Ling, who had been feeling aggrieved for a long time.
"He said he felt sorry for me being a widow and wanted to give me a child so I would have someone to rely on in the future. But I'm his sister-in-law, so how can we... Even though I'm a country woman, I have some sense of shame.
But he is the emperor, how can I resist him? I thought about fighting to the death.
But he said that even if it was exposed, people in the world would just think that I seduced him because I couldn't stand the loneliness and was greedy for wealth.
By then, not to mention whether the world would tolerate me, even the women in the harem would want me dead. I was cowardly and could only obey his wishes and get pregnant with Yanran."
"Then do you know why he wanted you to give birth to Yanran?"
If it is really for the good of Princess Ling, it is impossible to force her. Wei Qingyan believes that Princess Ling understands this.
"I know." Princess Ling nodded, "Before the prince died, he told me that his brother may appear kind and righteous, but in reality he is selfish by nature, so I should stay away from him in the future.
Don't get involved in royal affairs, just live your own life. Although my prince is an honest man, he is always good at judging people.
He had indeed seen clearly that the late emperor had the affairs of the whole world to worry about, so how could he show kindness to me?
What's more, if he really does it for my own good, there are so many poor children in the world, and it doesn't matter if I adopt any of them.
Why... do such a shameful thing, give birth to Yanran in secret, and raise her under the name of adoption.
He wanted to take advantage of us, mother and daughter. Yanran was poisoned by a poisonous insect as soon as she was born. That's why I had to cooperate with him.
Because if I disobey his wishes, Yanran will suffer.
All those allergic symptoms are fake. They're caused by the poisonous insect in Yanran's body. It's the punishment from the late emperor for us mother and daughter."
Wei Qingyan was somewhat surprised that Princess Ling knew about the Resentful Gu, so he asked, "Then do you know where the late emperor got this Gu?"
Princess Ling's answer shocked the two again. She said, "Feng Zhao."
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