The next day, all the disaster relief work was completed, and Ning Changle was escorted back to the dungeon of the East Palace and locked up with the old nanny.
After the Qingyu Guards used torture once, Ning Changle fainted from the unbearable pain.
As time went by, Ningyin's belly began to show, and she could no longer fit into her previous clothes.
However, Empress Dowager Zhang had already ordered the Imperial Clothing Bureau to make many clothes for Ningyin to wear during her pregnancy.
Because of the old nanny's incident, Empress Dowager Zhang felt somewhat guilty, feeling that she had almost caused the death of her great-grandson, so she took great care of Ningyin during this period.
"Your Highness, was my great-grandson harmed in the incident last time?"
Zhang Tai-hou picked up the teacup, took a sip of ginseng tea, and glanced at Ning Yin's stomach.
Today, Ningyin was wearing a silk brocade dress with pleats that she had specially ordered the Imperial Wardrobe to embroider. The more Empress Dowager Zhang looked at Ningyin, the more she felt that even when she was pregnant and wearing a loose robe, her beauty could not be concealed.
Ningyin knew that Empress Dowager Zhang was only concerned about the child in her womb, so she just smiled faintly and replied respectfully, "Grandmother, the child is fine. Your granddaughter-in-law will do her best to protect her."
Seeing that Ningyin was not arrogant because of the child in her womb, Empress Dowager Zhang's attitude gradually softened.
She raised her hand and touched her smooth cheek. Thinking that the five boxes of whitening cream she had given her were almost used up, she said again, "The whitening cream you gave me before was indeed very good. I felt very comfortable using it. However, you are pregnant now, and I don't want you to work so hard. Why don't you write down the formula for this whitening cream, and I will instruct the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital to make it?"
When Ningyin heard Empress Dowager Zhang say that she wanted to hand over the secret recipe, her fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the handkerchief. How could she possibly give away the only memento her grandmother had left her?
However, it wouldn't be good to refuse directly, as Empress Zhang was a person who cared about her reputation and hated being disobeyed.
So Ningyin had no choice but to tell Empress Zhang that her people could help with the production and that the products would be ready soon.
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhang didn't think much of it. As long as there was something readily available, it didn't matter who made it.
"That's good. You may instruct the palace servants to do as they please, but they must not overwork themselves."
After giving her some instructions, Empress Dowager Zhang ordered Mei Ying to send Ning Yin a lot of jewelry and tonics, but did not invite Ning Yin to stay for dinner.
After Ning Yin left, a graceful and beautiful figure slowly emerged from behind the gate of Chang Le Palace.
Wang Yuan's beautiful face was now filled only with resentment and bitterness.
Ningyin's belly grew bigger every day. If she continued to sit and wait for death, she would truly have no hope left.
She had assumed that Consort Chen would try every means to get rid of Ningyin's child, but she never expected that Consort Chen's methods were nothing more than this.
That day, when she went to fetch something for Empress Dowager Zhang, she passed by the side gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and saw the old nanny and Zhuang Dahai being all lovey-dovey.
It was only after looking at it that Wang Yuan had a sudden idea. She realized that it was never as satisfying to use someone else to do the dirty work herself.
After she revealed this information to Consort Chen, Consort Chen sent people to keep an eye on Zhuang Dahai, and as a result, she actually managed to find something to use against him.
If palace servants were to have affairs, regardless of their age, they would be beaten to death for the crime of defiling the palace.
The old nanny had already reached her current status and could live a life of luxury. She sent back a considerable amount of money every month, more than enough to cover her grandchildren's weddings.
But the old nanny was only in her early fifties. Having spent her whole life in the deep palace, she would also yearn for a man's pity.
However, she never expected that her few secret meetings with Eunuch Zhuang would be discovered.
The old nanny's move was a waste; Wang Yuan wanted to start by investigating the child's biological father.
She didn't believe that Shen Yun could remain unmoved and not touch Ning Yin while she was abducted for a month.
He liked Ning Yin so much, it's impossible that nothing happened between them.
Besides this, Wang Yuan also thought of the skin-whitening cream that Empress Zhang had just mentioned.
If something goes wrong with the Snow Skin Cream, such as ruining Empress Zhang's face, would Ning Yin still have a chance to survive?
However, she doesn't plan to use such a strong drug all at once; she has to take it step by step.
That morning, the old nanny who was in charge of registering the menstrual periods of the concubines in each palace said that she was having severe stomach pains and had to go to the outhouse several times a day.
Wang Yuan knew perfectly well why she had a stomachache; she had secretly given someone some medicine yesterday, and it had just started acting up this morning.
The old nanny occupied the communal outhouse in the side room for half a day without coming out, and Wang Yuan thoughtfully asked the old nanny if she needed any help.
The old nanny sighed and said, "Miss Junzhu, I was just afraid of delaying my trip to the palaces, but my stomach hurts so badly that I can barely walk. I just can't stop having diarrhea."
This was exactly the effect Wang Yuan wanted—to have her stay in the outhouse all day, so she could take the place of the old nanny and see the registration book without any problems.
Thinking it over, Wang Yuan said considerately, "Granny, why don't I go to the palaces for you today? You can't possibly run around like this in your condition."
She paused, then looked at the sun and said, "I'm afraid we won't have enough time. Give me the booklet, and I'll go for you."
The old nanny sighed with some difficulty, thought for a moment, and then decided that she could only ask Wang Yuan for help.
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, young lady. The booklet is in the second drawer of my desk, the red one. Go and take a look. Remember, you must record everything truthfully and not falsify anything."
The old nanny wiped the sweat from her forehead and gave her careful instructions.
Wang Yuan responded with a "hey," and then quickly went to the old nanny's room to find the booklet.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
