Still, there was the little Crown Prince in Her Ladyship's belly... How could he withstand this drug?
Yanzhi felt her heart pound anxiously. She cried out in alarm, with tears plopping onto her hands.
Yin Lan's fingers were trembling, but she had to pretend to stay calm. "There must still be a way. There must be!" My Lady, don't sleep... Wake up!"
Gu Ying smiled wryly again and opened her eyes once more. She lifted her hand to brush aside Yanzhi's sideburns, damp with tears. "It's alright. Don't cry. I'll be fine..."
"How could you be fine?" Even the usually steady Yin Lan couldn't help but want to cry. "Does My Lady know where the Crown Prince's men are? Shall I go find them right now to help?"
Gu Ying shook her head. "Useless... Yanzhi already asked them... the Crown Prince's men..."
Yanzhi bit her lip, eyes red. "Sister Yin Lan, Lord Xia dealt with the Crown Prince's men. The entire Qingyun Monastery is filled with Concubine Wan's people now. Concubine Wan sent My Lady the poisoned flower tea... her intentions are too malicious... Sister, look at My Lady's state. We must think of something..."
Yin Lan was stunned for a moment, cold sweat on her body. Her lips were pinched tight. "My Lady, wait for me. I will go find a way right now!"
"Yanzhi, you must swear to stand guard right here and not leave no matter what. Do you understand?"
She didn't dare let Yanzhi leave. As she departed, she ordered Yanzhi to stand guard over the meditation room without letting anyone else enter.
Yanzhi nodded heavily, eyes brimming with hot tears. "Sister Yin Lan, don't worry. I swear I will guard My Lady with my life! No matter who tries to harm My Lady, they'll have to step over my dead body first!"
Yin Lan clenched her fists. Still uneasy, she told Shen Munian to keep watch over Yanzhi before she felt somewhat reassured to head toward Concubine Wan's meditation room.
As expected, Concubine Wan's people seized her right outside the room.
Concubine Wan had Yin Lan gagged and thrown into the meditation room.
Yin Lan glared fiercely, unable to break free no matter how she struggled.
As she watched Concubine Wan leave with Madam Zhang and Mrs. Li, the despair in her tear-filled eyes gradually intensified.
The wind was mild, the clouds carefree. Birds chirped softly.
A fine rain fell pitter-patter, tapping the tranquil green tiles in a smooth, delightful melody.
In Gu Ying's meditation room, a solitary lamp glowed like a firefly.
The anxious Yanzhi paced back and forth in the room, eyes glazed over. She peeked outside from time to time before looking back worriedly toward the bed.
In the vast Qingyun Monastery, beneath the tranquil and harmonious exterior churned tumultuous undercurrents.
...
After an unknown period of time, the urgent clopping of hooves stopped at the monastery gates. Li Yang leapt off his horse with a smiling brow.
He casually threw the horsewhip to a young monk before striding proudly through the gates.
Concubine Wan came to receive him personally. Upon seeing each other's faces, before Li Yang could even take a sip of warm water, he hurriedly asked, "Imperial Concubine Mother, where is Gu Ying?"
Concubine Wan said unpleasantly, "Why the hurry?"
Li Yang raised a brow. "How could a son not hurry? That drug is potent. If I don't go now, she may die here."
Concubine Wan eyed him coolly. "Now that you have her, do you no longer care for your mother?"
Li Yang thought of Gu Ying's soft pink skin and felt his whole body grow hot. He couldn't wait a moment longer.
At the last banquet, it was bad luck that he was somehow knocked unconscious and randomly thrown into a brothel, causing him to miss the chance to frolic with Gu Ying on Mount Wu.
This time, no one would interrupt his affair.
The more unattainable she was, the more he liked her.
Especially at the banquet, watching her belly grow bigger, the twisted desires in his heart grew increasingly unrestrained.
He had thought he disliked pregnant women, but upon seeing Gu Ying, he understood that when you truly like someone, even if she becomes pregnant or uglier, you would still be overjoyed.
Moreover, unlike other women, Gu Ying only became more radiant and buxom when pregnant, drawing even more eyes.
Her figure had also become more charming...
He even fantasized about how she would look leaning against him with downcast eyes and a faint smile, pregnant with his child.
He thought that if he obtained her this time, he would dismiss all his other women and wholeheartedly treat her well, letting her give birth to four or five children for him, sons and daughters alike.
"Imperial Concubine Mother, what is this you say? How could a son not care for his mother? This time your son must thank you for your assistance." Li Yang sidled up to her coquettishly, catching a strange whiff of sandalwood from his mother. He exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to Imperial Concubine Mother's neck?"
Concubine Wan awkwardly pulled up her collar to hide the intimate marks. "I was carelessly bitten by bugs. There are many trees here in the monastery. Surely you know that."
Li Yang paused, brow slightly furrowed. "Let me see."
"What's there to see?" Concubine Wan pushed him away. "Gu Ying is in the second meditation room behind Imperial Concubine Mother's courtyard. Considering the timing, the drug should have taken effect. Why haven't you gone yet?"
Li Yang's attention was immediately diverted. He hooked the corners of his lips upward and left.
After Li Yang's departure, Concubine Wan blankly gazed into space for a while. Since the afternoon, she had felt strangely restless.
Yet she also couldn't specify what exactly was wrong. Everything seemed under control—she had people watching the Emperor's whereabouts, and Gu Ying's situation was also in her grasp.
Her affair with Xia Zixi was also undiscovered. Logically, she should currently be cavorting blissfully with that man in a secret room.
But no matter how she lay awake this long night, she couldn't fall asleep or be in the mood for pleasure.
She sat stiffly for a moment before dismissing the palace maids. Carrying an oil lantern herself, she headed toward the stillroom located deep within the meditation chambers.
The stillroom was at the very end of the winding blue stone path, with candle flames flickering faintly on both sides. The light extended down the long corridor before fading back into darkness.
After arriving in Bianjing, she had specially asked the old Daoist priest of Qingyun Monastery to establish this stillroom for the Nalan family—herself, her husband, and her son. Counting now, it had nearly been eighteen years.
She raised the paper lantern with bare hands and pushed open the dark heavy doors.
Inside, long wax candles burned in rows atop wooden shelves. In the center of the altar stood three spirit tablets carved from ebony.
At this late hour, Xia Zixi was also present in a light robe loosely tied at the waist, exposing much of his chest.
Concubine Wan wore only a thin peach-colored brocade gown herself, the long skirt trailing behind her as she slowly walked inside.
Xia Zixi's eyes shifted slightly to glance at the woman behind him.
"Where is Yang?"
"He went to Gu Ying's room," Concubine Wan replied.
Xia Zixi raised a brow. "Didn't you ask him about the Emperor's whereabouts?"
Concubine Wan inserted three incense sticks into the burner. She lowered her gaze and closed her eyes, pressing her palms together in prayer. "He was anxious to see Gu Ying, so I didn't ask. But I did ask his escorting guards. After making offerings, His Majesty returned to the palace. Zhao Changdu also escorted him back with all the attending Imperial Guards."
"Are you certain he returned to the palace?"
"Mm. I sent that man to escort Yang. He's very clever and wouldn't make a mistake."
