Chapter 72 Pei Lang's Rebellion "This humble servant dares not speak nonsense, but this medicine..."
He Luochen was overjoyed upon hearing this, but she forcibly suppressed her smile and frowned slightly, feigning difficulty: "Husband, isn't this punishment too harsh? Actually, I only wanted to give my sister a small punishment to make her realize her mistake..."
But Pei Lang looked away and said, "You're good in every way, except that you're too soft-hearted."
"If such a thing can be let off lightly, Lin Zhi will become even more arrogant after giving birth to a child and having someone to rely on."
He Luochen smiled and was about to speak when she saw Pei Lang stand up: "You've been wronged today, so go back and rest first."
"I also have official duties to attend to, so it's not appropriate for me to stay any longer."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will respectfully see you off."
He Luochen was helped to stand up, but the smile on her face could not be hidden no matter what.
"Ziyu, send a message home saying that I have some good news to discuss with my father and will return to the manor tomorrow."
"yes."
Pei Lang went to the study, but he didn't come alone. He also called the doctor who had just examined Lin Zhi.
"The doctor gave me a wink just now, is there something he wants to say?"
The doctor hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking: "I don't know the relationship between the two ladies in your household, but I only have the heart of a doctor to care for his patients."
"This concubine is now seven months pregnant and about to give birth, but unfortunately... when I was taking her pulse, I discovered that she seems to be taking some medications that pregnant women should avoid, which is causing the fetus to be unstable and making her uneasy."
Pei Lang's thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his jaw was also taut and sharp: "Does the doctor mean that someone drugged Lin Zhi?"
The doctor hurriedly knelt down, trembling, and said, "I dare not speak nonsense. It's just that the dosage of this medicine is so small that it is hard to detect. The concubine's health has always been weak. Even if the medicine takes effect, people will think that it is because the concubine is not in good health."
"And this dosage of medicine has accumulated over time, which is at least half a month's worth of time."
"More than half a month..."
That is the time since Lin Zhicai was released from confinement.
Pei Lang's expression grew increasingly grim. He had declared Lin Zhi under house arrest today because he was worried that He Luochen might do something to hurt her while he was away.
Unexpectedly, this person, who openly put on airs, secretly drugged Lin Zhi!
Pei Lang unconsciously tightened his grip on the teacup beside him until the porcelain shards shattered and filled his hands, before he came to his senses.
Seeing the doctor's face turn deathly pale with fright, he waved his hand weakly: "Someone, escort the doctor out of the mansion."
But when Xingyun returned after sending the person away, he saw that his master's face was more angry and gloomy than ever before.
"Send someone to deliver a message to His Majesty: we must expedite the plan; we cannot wait any longer."
Ke Xingyun looked stunned: "My lord... His Majesty's attitude towards you has just softened. If this continues, will it anger His Majesty?"
Pei Lang casually tossed the secret letter into his arms, his expression dark and brooding: "Do you think His Majesty trusts me that much now?"
"If I hadn't sent Jifeng to investigate, we wouldn't have known that His Majesty had also involved Xie Zheng. Xiao Ting is no longer the young boy he once was; he is now a suspicious emperor."
"Since I'm going to be suspected anyway, why should I delay any longer? I'm afraid Prime Minister He and Marquis Lu are already itching to act."
As Xingyun turned to leave, he paused, asking, "My lord, do you really intend to treat the concubine this way?"
"The concubine is now quite far along in her pregnancy; if anything were to happen to her..."
Pei Lang's eyes flashed with struggle, but then she remembered what the doctor had said about her Chinese medicine, gritted her teeth and hummed in agreement: "Do as I say, and don't ask too many questions."
Xingyun dared not say anything more and could only leave the mansion quickly.
After Lin Zhi was able to get up, she told Xia Ying and Chun Tao to go back and pack their things. Since she had been stripped of her title, she could no longer live in the courtyard she used to live in.
He Luochen's people came several times, subtly and overtly suggesting that she move to the cold and secluded courtyard of the Pei residence.
Seeing Lin Zhi's still pale face, Chun Tao felt extremely distressed: "Miss, what will happen if we don't have a comfortable place to rest soon?"
"Miss, why don't we plead with the master? You two grew up together and have a deep bond. Now that you're pregnant with the young master's child, perhaps the master will rescind the punishment..."
But Lin Zhi sat to the side, her expression indifferent and even numb: "No need. Pei Lang is a man of his word, and he chose to believe He Luochen. I don't want to argue with him about these things anymore."
"It's boring."
Seeing that her young lady seemed completely disheartened, Chun Tao and the other woman exchanged a glance. They still managed to gather a considerable amount of gold, silver, and valuables. Money can be used at any time, especially now that Lin Zhi needed to replenish her health.
Turning around and looking at her familiar residence, Lin Zhi took one last deep look before walking away without any further hesitation.
When He Luochen returned to the He residence, he was like a victorious rooster, beaming with a smile as he headed toward his father's study.
He had only knocked on the door when He Xiang frowned and blocked him from entering: "Why are you back?"
He Luochen was somewhat puzzled: "Didn't Father see the person his daughter sent back to deliver the message?"
"I told you long ago that I would be back today. I have something important to tell you!"
Just as He Luochen was about to enter the study, her father stopped her by pressing her shoulder.
He Luochen frowned and looked at his father, whose usually serious face was now even more solemn: "The study won't do today, let's find another place to talk."
Although He Luochen found it strange, he didn't ask any further questions. However, as he turned to leave, he seemed to see a dark figure flash by in the study...
He Xiang sat down and took a sip of tea. "Speak," he said, "what important matter requires you to come back in person?"
He Xiang's brows were only slightly furrowed at first, but they tightened when he saw his smug daughter.
“Father, you have no idea how capable your daughter is. Lin Zhi used to always flaunt her power in front of me, but I just used a little bit of my power and she had to be confined to her quarters by Pei Lang!”
"Not only that, Pei Lang also promised me that as soon as Lin Zhi gives birth to the child, he will kick her out of the mansion!"
Listening to his daughter's words, He Xiang felt more and more uneasy: "You came here in person today just to talk to your father about this?"
He Luochen stared wide-eyed hesitantly, "Father, isn't this a big deal...?"
But Prime Minister He slammed the teacup down on the table: "Nonsense!"
The father's stern and cold expression frightened He Luochen so much that she unconsciously lowered her breathing.
"With the situation in the court in such a chaotic state, do you know how busy your father is? And you still want to mess around with such trivial matters in the inner quarters?"
Seeing her father stand up to leave, He Luochen's voice trembled with grievance, almost crying: "Father! In your heart, will I never be as good as my elder sister?!"
"We are all your daughters, you can't be so biased just because the eldest sister is your first child!"
Upon hearing this, He Xiang walked back to her with a gloomy face and slapped her hard across the face.
"He Luochen! Is this how you talk to your father?"
"When will you ever clear your head? What kind of situation is this? You're still thinking about vying for favor in the inner quarters and competing with your elder sister for the emperor's affections?"
He Luochen covered her face, tears streaming down her face: "Instead of crying here, why don't you go to the palace to see your elder sister?"
Watching her father storm off, He Luochen gripped her clothes tightly, almost tearing them.
As night fell, Chun Tao carefully lifted the gauze to change the dressing on Lin Zhi's hand, but couldn't help but tear up when she saw the obvious scar on her hand.
"Miss must be in a lot of pain."
Lin Zhi didn't have the strength to laugh, but she just bit her lip to stop herself from crying out in pain: "It's okay, it will get better in the future."
Chun Tao didn't respond, but both mistress and servant knew perfectly well that with such a vital injury, Lin Zhi would probably never be able to use her hands normally again.
But just as the two were silently applying the medicine, they suddenly heard a muffled thud from the courtyard outside the door, as if something had fallen to the ground!
Xia Ying rushed out, only to find a strange bundle on the ground. She picked up a twig and poked it, but found nothing wrong with it, so she picked it up and carried it back to her room.
"Miss, look! This seems to be a book?"
Lin Zhi wrapped her hands, frowned, and went forward to look. After opening the bundle, she saw that it was indeed a thick stack of storybooks, all of them new and ones that Lin Zhi had never read before.
"There's another envelope here."
Chuntao handed the envelope to Lin Zhi, and seeing her hesitant expression, she understood and led Xia Ying out first.
Lin Zhi pulled out the letter and recognized Pei Mingli's handwriting. Besides saying these things to amuse himself, he also mentioned that the current political situation was not going well and that something big was about to happen.
Lin Zhi turned the letter over with a solemn expression, feeling uneasy. If the situation in the court was truly dire, Pei Lang would undoubtedly be the first to be affected...
But remembering how Pei Lang had protected He Luochen that day, her worried eyes dimmed again. "This isn't the first time I've been so presumptuous. Why would someone consider so much for me?"
Lin Zhi sat back in the soft chair, but her heart was still unsettled.
She had harbored resentment towards Pei Lang, but she never expected that Pei Lang would run into trouble so soon.
Compared to this, Lin Zhi hesitated and touched her belly. She didn't want anything now, she just wanted to give birth to the child safely.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhi picked up her pen with her free hand and wrote a reply to Pei Mingli, but she didn't know how to give it to him.
Standing by the window, she bit her lip and thought for a moment. She placed the envelope outside the back window and closed it. Not long after, she heard a rustling sound. When she opened the window again, the envelope was indeed gone.
Looking up at the full moon obscured by dark clouds, Lin Zhi thought of what Pei Mingli had mentioned at the end of his letter: he wanted to take her away from the capital...
Lin Zhi was filled with mixed emotions. She never expected that after going through so much, she would still only be able to rely on her second cousin in the end.
"By the Moon Goddess, I, your faithful daughter, wish that my child and... Pei Lang be safe and sound, even if we never see each other again in the future, I will be willing."
Half a month later...
"Pei Lang is plotting a rebellion? How could that be!"
He Luochen waited all night but Pei Lang did not return to the mansion. Early in the morning, he sent people out of the mansion to look for him, but unexpectedly they ran into the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial decree.
After everyone left, He Luochen felt as if her feet were floating on air.
Ziyu quickly patted her chest, "Madam, don't panic. These days, the Lord has frequently entered the palace to discuss official business and politics. He is someone the Emperor relies on. How could he possibly plot a rebellion..."
"Why don't you go to the palace to see the Imperial Concubine?"
Mentioning her elder sister, He Luochen couldn't care less about anything else at the moment and nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, my elder sister will definitely not abandon me! She must know about Pei Lang!"
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Author's Note: The countdown to my escape is on! [Starry-eyed]
I'm recommending my upcoming historical romance novel, "The Restriction on the Henpecked Wife's Crematorium," a new story about a spoiled little princess and a taciturn scholar. Please add it to your favorites if you like it! [heart emoji]
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