Jiang Yuan looked up curiously, but before she could ask a question, Song Yansi pushed the chessboard over the chaise lounge. Several chess pieces rolled onto the floor, making a crisp clattering sound, and then he covered her with his body.
With their fingers intertwined, Jiang Yuan leaned against the cushion, somewhat at a loss. "The game of chess isn't over yet."
Watching the woman before him gradually transform from a delicate young beauty into a charming and alluring woman, Song Yansi suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction from the depths of his heart. She had always been his, year after year, her almond-shaped eyes slightly rounded, brimming with a watery light. His gaze darkened, his Adam's apple bobbed twice, and then he pressed himself against her.
"Not here." Jiang Yuan trembled slightly as he gently kissed the nape of her neck.
"Okay." He was instantly lifted up and carried to the bed while kissing her lips.
When Jiang Yuan was placed back on the couch, her clothes were already open, revealing her snow-white skin. Hot palms caressed her back. The man had broad shoulders and narrow hips, and his muscles were sculpted in the candlelight. He quickly covered her with his body, and Song Yan used force, causing Jiang Yuan to let out a soft cry.
Song Yansi's muffled laughter reached her ears, and Jiang Yuan blushed deeply. She opened her mouth and bit his shoulder, her fine white teeth scraping against his shoulder with his movements, like a cat's claws, tickling his heart. "What a vixen."
Beneath the gauze curtains, figures mingled, beauties as fair as jade. Jiang Yuan, her face turned to the side, breathed softly, her beautiful eyes filled with tears. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she pleaded weakly, "Zhong Li, no more, no more, please let me go, please let me go."
Red hickeys spread across her body. Song Yansi held her for a long time until her pitiful pleas for mercy turned into soft sobs, and only then did Song Yansi stop, panting heavily.
That night, Jiang Yuan almost cried herself to sleep. The incense in Fengqi Palace burned all night until the next morning. When the sunlight streamed through the windows into the quiet palace, Jiang Yuan woke up again to find the sun high in the sky. She had changed into a clean undergarment, but the aches and pains in her body testified to the violent passion of the previous night.
"Your Majesty, you're awake." Bi Fan waved her hand, and the palace servants brought in plain handkerchiefs and copper basins to help her wash and dress. Only after she was properly dressed did they begin to serve her meal.
These days, perhaps due to the sudden heat, Jiang Yuan has had little appetite. Today, she didn't even want to eat her favorite Hundred Flower Green Soup, and only managed to scoop out two spoonfuls before refusing to touch it again.
"Your Highness, please eat more." Zhang Xiang couldn't help but worry when she saw that she had only taken a small bite.
"What's wrong?" Song Yansi had just finished his official duties and stepped into Fengqi Palace when he saw Bifan and Zhangxiang earnestly urging her to eat. Jiang Yuan's brows were furrowed, and she looked at the food with obvious disgust.
"This summer is unusually hot, and the Empress has no appetite."
"When did you become a picky eater, A-Yuan?" Song Yansi sat down, lifting his robe. Jiang Yuan looked at him and, for some reason, suddenly found his dark purple robe extremely ugly. "What do you want to eat?"
"I don't want to think about anything." Jiang Yuan rubbed her lower back, which was a little sore, then quickly glared at Song Yansi and snorted.
At first, everyone thought Jiang Yuan's condition was just due to the weather, but after several days, even his once round cheeks showed signs of thinning. Song Yansi became anxious and hurriedly summoned the imperial physician to check his pulse.
Not long after the emperor and empress entered the palace, they had already caused quite a commotion for the Imperial Medical Academy. Now, they received another urgent summons from the eunuchs, and they were somewhat resigned to their fate. Several imperial physicians quickly prepared their medicine boxes and, in a grand procession, led the female physicians towards Fengqi Palace.
"The pulse is deep, thready, short, and hesitant." Several imperial physicians stepped forward to take the pulse, and after confirming it, they took small steps to report to Song Yanji, "The pulse is smooth and flowing, like pearls rolling in a plate. Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Empress! It is a pregnancy pulse, which has lasted for more than a month."
Song Yansi was stunned, and Jiang Yuan was also stunned. "I don't feel anything."
Back when she was pregnant with Chengyu, she was almost driven crazy by that little guy. He wanted to eat everything, and after eating, he would keep vomiting. But this time, she really didn't feel anything was wrong.
"What should we pay attention to?" Song Yansi came back to his senses and asked the imperial physician excitedly, his slightly upturned phoenix eyes now curving into a smile.
After the imperial physician had finished explaining everything, and Song Yansi confirmed that he remembered Bi Fan Zhang Xiang's memory, he finally let them go back.
He reached out and gently touched Jiang Yuan's stomach with his finger, then suddenly burst into laughter, leaving Jiang Yuan bewildered. "What are you laughing at?"
"Do you think this little one is a boy or a girl?"
Jiang Yuan touched her still-unresponsive belly and said, "It's a daughter, isn't it? She's so well-behaved."
"I also want a daughter."
Jiang Yuan opened his mouth. In his past life, apart from Rong An giving birth to a princess, the other three were all princes. As for the only daughter, Jiang Yuan now guessed that she was probably not his.
The news of the Emperor and Empress's pregnancy spread instantly throughout the inner court. Jiang Zhongsi was overjoyed upon hearing the news and worked even harder on Wei Zhijing's case. In his previous life, he had managed to thoroughly clean up Sishui, proving he was not a soft-hearted person. Now, with his hands full, he achieved even greater results.
Snap—Snap—
The glass cup shattered on the carved window frame. Xie Jiayan grew increasingly agitated, her fingernails digging deep into flesh, her entire being enveloped in a murderous aura. "Why? Why!"
"Madam." Bao Yun was a little scared. She had just opened her mouth when she met Xie Jiayan's eyes, which made her shiver.
"Why isn't she dead yet?" Xie Jiayan was in agony. "Such a big thing happened, and everyone believes that woman surnamed Lin, but I don't. Only ghosts know if Jiang Yuan is truly innocent. How could Song Yanji go to such lengths for her?"
He should have despised and loathed her, then left her in a dark corner to die of old age and decay. That would have been the right thing to do, wouldn't it?
Chapter 89 A White Horse Is Not a Horse
"Baoyun, go to the Imperial Hospital in a couple of days and see Physician Wang." Xie Jiayan leaned back on the chaise longue. "Just tell her that Miss has an upset stomach."
“Yes.” Bao Yun felt a chill run through her body. Jin Xiu glanced at her without leaving a trace, his head bowed low.
Jiang Yuan remained the same as always. The biggest difference was that she no longer liked to eat. Ever since Cheng Yu learned that her mother was carrying a little one, whether it was a brother or a sister, she had been running to Fengqi Palace every day, her bright eyes constantly glancing at Jiang Yuan's barely visible belly.
"Does Yu'er want a younger brother or a younger sister?" Jiang Yuan rubbed Cheng Yu's little head.
"younger sister!"
Song Yansi was sitting to one side reading a book, and didn't even look up when he heard Cheng Yu's question. "Why?"
“My mother is beautiful, so my sister must be beautiful too.” When his sister was born, he would be a year older. Mr. Wei said he was no longer a child and could protect his sister. “At that time, no one will be able to bully her.”
"What if it's a younger brother?"
Why a younger brother? Younger brothers are so unlovable! Cheng Yu thought for a moment, then said with a hint of disdain, "A younger brother is fine, but he's never as adorable as a younger sister."
Jiang Yuan flicked Cheng Yu's forehead with her finger, squinting as she said, "You little brat who favors girls over boys."
"Father!" Cheng Yu, having been flicked on the forehead, ran to Song Yansi to complain, "Mother bullied me."
Call him "Father" and Jiang Yuan "Mother," and the difference in their relationship is immediately apparent.
Song Yansi felt a little jealous and casually turned a page of the book. "Then you should ignore your mother and recite the history of Yun that you learned yesterday for me."
"Mother is the best!" Cheng Yu touched his nose, reciting his lessons while secretly thinking to himself.
"Jinxiu." The door was tightly closed. Baoyun had just come out of the Imperial Hospital. She grabbed Jinxiu's arm and was about to cry. Her voice was very low. "Please save me."
The object in her arms gleamed with a dim light. She had entered the Imperial Hospital openly and honestly. If they wanted to investigate, they would find out about her immediately. She wasn't stupid. Xie Jiayan was clearly trying to use her life to exchange for the child in Jiang Yuan's belly. He was afraid that if she made a move, she would only lose herself while the other party would be unharmed.
"Our lives belong to Miss, what other choice do we have?" Jin Xiu felt sorry for Bao Yun, but was even more grateful that it wasn't her who had to do it. Xie Jiayan didn't really have any deep-seated hatred for Jiang Yuan; she just couldn't stand seeing others doing better than her. What she didn't have, and what she wanted, Jiang Yuan obtained effortlessly.
Jealousy is a poison that pierces the heart and gnaws at the bones.
Baoyun shook her head at Jinxiu. Although it was the height of summer, she felt as if her entire body was immersed in the icy water of the dead of winter. She didn't want to die. Her brother was immoral and only knew how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore. She also had an elderly mother to support. If she died, her family would be gone.
People are selfish. Even if she was just a maid, she couldn't bring herself to die for no reason.
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep a wink.
"Your Majesty." Before dawn, Bi Fan's voice preceded He Qian's, waking Jiang Yuan and Song Yansi, who were still asleep.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Yuan asked sleepily, her voice thick with a nasal tone. Song Yansi was holding her at the moment, and before Jiang Yuan could get up, he pulled her back into his arms.
Bi Fan crouched down, approached the gauze curtain, and whispered, "Miss Bao Yun, who serves Madam Xie, says she wants to see Your Highness."
Upon hearing this name, Jiang Yuan disregarded Song Yansi and quickly pushed him away. With one hand, she lifted the smoky-blue gauze curtain, her eyes sparkling, "Change your clothes."
"A-Yuan." Song Yansi casually tugged at her sleeve, his expression slightly aggrieved, as he rarely had a day off.
Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then crawled back into the tent, wrapped her arms around Song Yanji's neck, pouted and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips, comforting him, "I'll be right back." Then she dashed out like a gust of wind.
Song Yansi was taken aback by her, but after a moment he came to his senses and chuckled to himself, "She's really a likable person."
Bao Yun kept picking at her fingers, oblivious to the blood seeping from her nails. Her mind raced, trying to figure out how to save herself. She couldn't listen to Xie Jiayan; that was a dead end. But would Jiang Yuan give her a way out?
"You want to see me?" The beaded curtain swayed slightly, and Zhang Xiang helped Jiang Yuan out of the inner hall. She wore an elegant emerald green fairy dress, and her hair was styled in a bun with only a pearl and jade hairpin.
Baoyun hurriedly knelt down to greet him, but the words stuck in her throat could not be uttered.
"It's not even dawn yet. You don't really think I'm so carefree, do you?" Jiang Yuan's voice was devoid of emotion. After waiting a while and seeing that she still didn't speak, she got up to leave.
Bao Yun's heart trembled slightly. If she missed this chance, she might really never have another one! She quickly crawled forward two steps, her forehead hitting the ground with a thud. "Please, Empress, save this servant!"
"You're not one of my Fengqi Palace members." Jiang Yuan lowered his head and looked down at her, slowly bending down as he watched her head droop lower and lower, and said softly, "If you don't talk, how can I save you?"
Baoyun raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, and opened her mouth but couldn't utter a sound for a long time.
"Disturbing my peaceful dreams so early in the morning." Song Yansi's voice came from behind the curtain. "Drag him out and give him twenty strokes of the cane, then throw him back into the Yuanluan Palace."
"Your Majesty, spare my life." Bao Yun hadn't expected Song Yanji to be there. If she were carried back to Yuanluan Palace like this, she would most likely die. Bao Yun felt a little relieved and knelt on the ground, weeping as she spoke, "This servant has something to report."
Jiang Yuan listened calmly to Bao Yun's words, and couldn't help but find it somewhat laughable. Xie Jiayan was truly relentless in his pursuit of her. She glanced at Bao Yun, who was kneeling on the ground trembling like a quail, and after a moment's thought, she smiled and said, "Then do as she says."
"This servant wouldn't dare." Bao Yun couldn't figure out what Jiang Yuan was trying to do either.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Jiang Yuan straightened his robes and gestured for her to stand up. "When the time comes, just agree to everything."
Bao Yun looked at Jiang Yuan in horror, then heard her laugh and speak sweetly, like a summer nightingale's song, "You can't stay in the palace, but I can let you out."
"Go out?" Bao Yun stared at her blankly.
"If you don't trust me, don't you trust His Majesty?" Jiang Yuan glanced at the swaying beaded curtain before looking at her with a smile. "I'll keep you safe. Go."
"This servant thanks Your Majesty and the Empress." Bao Yun kowtowed three more times before rising to take her leave.
It was still dark when Bao Yun touched the small porcelain bottle in her sleeve and strode towards the Imperial Hospital. Whether she believed it or not, she had to take the gamble. If she won, she wouldn't die; if she lost, she couldn't blame anyone else.
Jiang Yuan watched as the palace doors closed before lifting the beaded curtain and stepping into the inner hall. Song Yansi had already tidied himself up at some point and was sitting alone at the table. Jiang Yuan walked over and sat down pitifully beside him, resting her face on her hands, saying, "What should I do? Your concubines all want to kill me."
"With me here, who would dare to hurt you?" Song Yansi reached out and cupped Jiang Yuan's face, gently pressing a kiss to her lips. "Now, you can be without any worries."
"Really?" Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up. This meant that a major reversal had occurred in the previous dynasty, and Song Yanji was in the upper hand in his struggle against the Xie family.
"real."
At noon, the Imperial Hospital was as peaceful as usual. Physician Lin and his companions were stroking their beards, sipping tea and discussing medicine when a guard rushed in, startling Physician Lin so much that he almost dropped his cup.
"What's wrong now?" The imperial physicians were old, and they were almost scared to death by being frightened like this once or twice.
"A poison was found in the Emperor and Empress's pregnancy-preserving medicine." Zhang Xiang, who had come with the guards, immediately said in a high-pitched voice, "Surround everything, and don't let anyone be taken out."
While Zhang Xiang was busy surrounding the Imperial Hospital, Bi Fan led people to the Cold Palace. Jiang Yanting was dead, but Xiao Qiao was still pretending to be crazy and living on.
Jiang Yuan came prepared this time, and directly sent people to break into the Yuanluan Palace to capture Baoyun.
Xie Jiayan coldly watched without saying a word. Jin Xiu watched as Bao Yun was dragged out of the palace by the guards. Bao Yun's pitiful cries for help seemed to linger in her ears. Finally, she couldn't help but shed tears. She and Bao Yun had grown up together since they were little and had some affection for each other.
Physician Wang was meticulous and had already tidied everything up. Now, all the responsibility fell on Bao Yun alone, and the evidence was conclusive.
Xie Jiayan sat to one side, her emerald and gold bracelet gleaming in the sunlight.
Baoyun's forehead slammed hard against the ground, and her head gradually turned bright red. "I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"
“To murder a royal heir is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of one’s entire family.” Jiang Yuan listened quietly, and finally said coolly, “It’s not worth risking your whole family for admitting to this crime.”
The people below stopped trembling, their eyes met Xie Jiayan's, their expressions filled with terror, and then they suddenly rushed towards her, crying, "Madam, save me! Madam, save me!"
"How can I save you? I know you care about me, but you can't make such a terrible mistake!" Xie Jiayan immediately understood what Baoyun was about to do and quickly took Baoyun's hand. Her palm was cold, and her eyes were devoid of warmth as she looked at Baoyun. "When you did this, why didn't you think about your family?"
Bao Yun's words caught in her throat. How could she forget that the woman in front of her wasn't so easily resigned to her fate? She hadn't considered one step ahead: what if this woman held the lives of her family in her hands?