FID – Chapter 926

Chapter 926: The Siege of Changle Palace

Before entering the palace, Feng Qingbai hugged the woman tightly and whispered in her ear, “Thank you for your hard work, Shengsheng.”

“No trouble at all, go quickly.”

She smiled as she watched the man’s figure blend into the night.

The heaviness in her heart lessened slightly because of him. She knew what his nature was like.

Cold, stubborn, ruthless.

She never expected to change him; she loved him as he was, but unbeknownst to her, he was quietly changing.

Becoming warmer and warmer.

Back at Liuyun Pavilion, the man was already awake on the bed. When he saw Liu Yusheng, he even gave her a crooked smile—twisted from forcing back the pain.

“Stop pretending. You’re in so much pain and still trying to act cool,” Liu Yusheng snorted, walking over to sit beside the bed. She checked his pulse again. “Your face is as pale as the White Impermanence—how can you even endure this?”

“That’s… necessary… I’m… a man,” Xue Qinglian gasped between breaths, his face looking worse than from the poison itself.

He’d never been this embarrassed in his life.

“Don’t talk. Close your eyes and rest. Don’t think about anything.” After a pause, Liu Yusheng looked at him seriously. “Xue Qinglian, I will definitely cure you.”

He stared deeply at her, then after a moment, shook his head. “Don’t.”

Liu Yusheng ignored him, as if he were talking to himself. She fed him some more spirit spring water and used golden needles to detect the poison spreading through his body.

“Lucky-Nannan, don’t cure…”

“I know. Xue Zhong is using you to test my medical skills and medicine. If I cure you, it’s basically exposing myself. Xue Zhong wants me to cure him, right?” Liu Yusheng said calmly.

So that was why Xue Zhong gave Qinglian this poison—to break his tendons and bones. The symptoms are exactly the same as what Xue Zhong suffered.

The ridiculous part was, how long had Xue Zhong prepared this poison? Was it made to torture enemies or specifically for Qinglian?

“You knew. You…still… cure…me?” Xue Qinglian gasped sharply, every muscle aching as if being twisted.

The woman glanced at him with obvious disdain in her voice. “What kind of a friend abandons someone to die?”

The man on the bed was shaken at heart, his eyes trembling.

“Feng Qingbai brought you back because he knew what the outcome would be. You don’t need to worry. He will make the necessary arrangements. Your uncle won’t necessarily get what he wants.”

Until the end, no one can say who will win or lose.

Xue Zhong only has leverage because of Xue Qinglian. Without him, what else does he really hold? “That poison… I drank it… willingly…”

“I know. You’re really annoying.” The woman casually grabbed some clean gauze from the medicine box, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his mouth.

She sealed him up tight.

“…” Xue Qinglian closed his eyes. Fine, he might as well pass out. There was no need to embarrass himself any further.

By his ear, the woman spoke softly, explaining the arrangements she would make. The faint medicinal scent he knew well drifted to his nose.

Suddenly, everything grew peaceful, his thoughts slowly drifting away, and the man fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in the palace, the prince entered late at night straight to the Yangxin Hall, startling many.

The palace, once asleep, became lively in an instant, sparking countless rumors.

The Empress Dowager, disturbed from her sleep, looked very displeased and woke up in a foul mood.

When the old maid reported that the prince had brought the two little beans along, her bad mood vanished immediately. She hurried to the outer hall, almost forgetting to put on her shoes.

“What’s going on? Where is Nannan? What happened to Badou and Hongdou?” She hadn’t even passed through the heavy beaded curtains before firing off a barrage of questions.

Feng Qingbai handed the two little ones over, saying, “For the next two months, Badou and Hongdou will stay with Mother Empress. Shengsheng needs to focus on treating Qinglian’s injuries and won’t be able to take care of them.”

The old maid hastily took the babies into her arms. Before the Empress Dowager could scold Feng Qingbai for treating the children like little puppies—just tossing and shoving them around—she saw the man had already turned and left.

That was straightforward and decisive.

She had never seen such an irresponsible father!

What exactly happened with Nannan? How did Xue Qinglian get hurt? At least come back and explain it clearly to me!

When help was needed, he barged into the palace at midnight, tossed the two kids in front of her, and didn’t even say a word about the reason. Did he think she was a nanny?

“Yah——”

“Ah—ee—”

“Granny, quick, go to the Imperial Kitchen… No, go to the side kitchen and cook some rice porridge. Badou and Hongdou must be hungry. From now on, you personally prepare everything the two kids eat. Get the rice and flour yourself first thing tomorrow morning. No second person is allowed to handle it.”

“Yes, this old servant will prepare it immediately.” After placing the babies on the Empress Dowager’s bed, the maid immediately hurried to the small kitchen.

The palace was full of people and intrigue; it was dangerous and complex. The Empress Dowager only trusted her, and only this way could she better protect the two little masters.

After the maid left, the Empress Dowager personally brought in the large bundle Feng Qingbai had left in the outer hall. As she suspected, inside were the two children’s changes of clothes and diapers.

After feeling that the babies’ diapers were dry, the Empress Dowager finally lay down beside them. Looking at those two soft, adorable little faces, her expression softened.

It was the middle of the night, the fourth watch, and she should have been extremely sleepy after being awakened, yet she felt no desire to sleep.

Just quietly watching the two little ones’ faces made her feel completely content.

She reached out to stroke Hongdou’s little face and clenched Badou’s tiny fist. “Your father and mother are both busy and can’t take care of you right now. Granny Empress Dowager will be with you, and you’ll keep Granny company too, okay?”

“Ah ya—”

“Ee—”

The little babies in the inner chamber let out soft giggles. The palace lanterns nearby cast a warm yellow glow that filled the room with a cozy warmth, dispelling the usual long-standing cold and loneliness.

The rice porridge was brought up and cooled down just in time for the little treasures’ hunger.

While the Empress Dowager personally fed the babies, heavy troops had already surrounded Changle Palace.

In the dark night, a deadly chill pervaded the air.

The concubines of the various palaces in the harem caught wind of the news and hurried over to watch, regardless of the hour.

What was Changle Palace? It was the newly appointed Plum Concubine’s residence, and she was carrying Emperor Huijing’s first child!

Many in the harem secretly envied her but could do nothing about it. When they heard that something suddenly had happened at her palace, they rushed to spread the word and gather to see the commotion.

They came to see what trouble Plum Concubine, who had risen in status thanks to her child, had gotten into. What could have caused her to be surrounded by heavy troops in the middle of the night?

Inside Changle Palace, Ling Xiang was trembling uncontrollably, completely panicked. “Mistress, what should we do? What exactly is going on? Why did the Emperor personally bring troops to surround the residence? Mistress?”

Shan Lai sat by the bedside, wearing only a simple white undergarment, delicate and thin. The candlelight cast three-dimensional shadows across her face, making her expression hard to read.

After a moment, she stood up, took a robe from the bedside, draped it over herself, and quietly passed by the sobbing maidservant as she slowly walked outside.

At the doorway stood the young Emperor, dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe, hands clasped behind his back. His handsome face was sharply defined, with a cold and detached expression.