“Your Majesty……” Noble Consort Pei pressed her fingertips, capped with their protective nail guards, to her temple, brow creasing, her complexion looking deeply pained.

“What is the matter?” The Prince of Xuan’s own brow gave a slight furrow.

“Your Majesty, this consort has a headache — I am feeling unwell.” Seeing that a maid had moved to support her, Noble Consort Pei let herself sway with the motion and slumped against the maid’s shoulder in a faint.

“My lady?” The maid’s voice shook with fright.

Queen Consort: “?”

The moment Noble Consort Pei fainted, the midday meal broke up entirely. Taking advantage of the ensuing confusion, the Queen Consort quietly had the nanny at her side take the food from Yan Yunning’s place to the imperial physician at the Imperial Medical Academy — the one assigned exclusively to the Queen Consort’s service.

She then brought Yan Yunning with her to her own chambers.

By now she was fairly certain: Noble Consort Pei was up to something. She simply needed evidence. Noble Consort Pei had the Prime Minister’s backing — without evidence, she could not make accusations lightly.

“Lingning will stay with Mother Consort in the palace for a few days. Yuyi, you may go back to the residence on your own.” The Queen Consort delivered her verdict without further discussion.

Yan Yunning: “……”

Xuan Yanyu immediately protested. “That will not do, Mother Consort. If the Crown Princess stays in the palace — what is this prince to do?”

“What do you mean, what are you to do? If you do not wish to leave the palace, you may stay in the palace as well — but Lingning must stay in Mother Consort’s chambers.” The Queen Consort said without hurrying.

“Mother Consort?” The man’s brow creased slightly.

The Queen Consort poked him in the center of his brow. “Be good.”

Xuan Yanyu still wanted to say a couple more things and push back a little — but Yan Yunning blinked at him, and the fight went out of him.

The Queen Consort turned her head and gave calm instructions to a maid. “See His Highness the Crown Prince out.”

“There is no need — this son will see himself out.” No sooner had he stepped over the threshold of the palace hall than Xuan Yanyu turned and came back in. He smiled at the Queen Consort with the brightness of sunlight. “Mother Consort — if Lingning should displease you at any point, please tell this son, and this son will discipline her on your behalf.”

What he meant, in other words, was: even if Lingning managed to offend the Queen Consort, she should not make any move herself — she should wait for him to step in on the Queen Consort’s behalf. As for whether any actual disciplining would occur — that was quite another matter.

“That is enough. Mother Consort has no quarrel with Lingning — put your mind at ease and go back to your Crown Prince’s residence.” The Queen Consort wanted to laugh.

The little rascal was rather good at being a husband.

Offering to discipline Lingning on her behalf — that was said purely for her ears, to put her in a good humor. If Lingning ever truly displeased her, this little rascal would sweet-talk her with pretty words and coax her along — and in private he would let it go entirely. As for actually disciplining Lingning — she did not believe a word of it!!

Xuan Yanyu rubbed the tip of his nose, took a step, looked back, took another step, looked back again, and finally walked out of the palace hall.

The Queen Consort pressed a hand to her forehead. “The way Yuyi carries on — one would think this palace had deliberately torn him and Lingning apart.”

The nanny smiled and teased, “My lady, is that not precisely so? The Crown Princess has only just been invested, and you are already keeping the Crown Princess in the palace — of course His Highness the Crown Prince is reluctant to part.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“……” The Queen Consort shook her head in fond exasperation. “Go to the imperial kitchen and order more food — we barely ate anything at the midday meal.”

“Yes, my lady.” The nanny curtsied and had just stepped out of the main hall when an imperial physician walked in.

“This subject pays respects to the Queen Consort and the Crown Princess.” The imperial physician was about to begin his report when the Queen Consort pulled Yan Yunning over, her voice carrying a hint of barely suppressed excitement. “There are things to be said in a moment — first, take the Crown Princess’s pulse.”

“Mother Consort, I do not feel any physical discomfort.” Yan Yunning said quickly.

She did not want to drink any more tonic medicine.

The Queen Consort smiled and glanced at her lower abdomen. Yan Yunning, catching on belatedly, let her lashes give a small flutter.

Though the two of them had spent quite a few nights together since the formal investiture, it was still early yet — surely the imperial physician would not be able to detect anything. If she remembered correctly, in ancient times one usually needed at least a month, or even around three months, before the pulse could confirm a pregnancy, did one not?

She also had not felt any particularly obvious changes in herself.

“If the Crown Princess would please extend her wrist.” The imperial physician spoke with respectful courtesy.

Xiao Wan stepped forward and turned back Yan Yunning’s sleeve, then laid a handkerchief across Yan Yunning’s wrist, retreating two steps back.

The imperial physician crouched, dropping to one knee, and rested his fingertips on the handkerchief. He felt a quiet wave of relief — it was fortunate His Highness was not present.

He had heard Senior Imperial Physician Wen grumbling upon his return to the Imperial Medical Academy — that His Highness had used his own sleeve as a barrier across the Crown Princess’s wrist and had Imperial Physician Wen examine her through it.

Senior Imperial Physician Wen’s medical skills surpassed his own, and even he had been unable to detect anything through His Highness’s brocade — he himself would have fared even worse.

The Queen Consort had brought Yan Yunning’s food to him to be examined — to see whether a pregnant woman could safely eat it — and had now asked him to take the Crown Princess’s pulse. It was quite clear she was asking him to determine whether the Crown Princess was with child.

The hall was utterly quiet. The Queen Consort sat with a face full of anticipation, her hand pressed to her heart — she felt her pulse beating faster than it had when she first learned that Yuyi had just been born and been designated Crown Prince by His Majesty. Yan Yunning, by contrast, was entirely composed.

The imperial physician’s brow creased ever so slightly, then smoothed. He bowed. “If the Crown Princess would please change to the other hand.”

Yan Yunning raised a brow and switched hands. A quarter of an hour later, the imperial physician bowed his head and reported: “Your Grace the Queen Consort, this subject has not detected signs of the Crown Princess carrying an imperial heir.”

He hesitated, then added: “If it is still very early, it would be most difficult to detect. At a minimum, approximately one month would be needed — unless the Crown Princess’s constitution is particularly sensitive, and some mild discomfort has appeared.”

Even Senior Imperial Physician Wen, with all his experience, found it nearly impossible to detect a pregnancy in the very early stages. One month at the earliest, generally speaking.

Yan Yunning lowered her sleeve. She had known — nothing to detect, just as she had thought. It seemed that the more one longed for a child, the harder it became.

The Queen Consort pressed her lips together. Had it not been ever since that time — when His Majesty had issued a decree ordering secondary consorts to be brought in for Yuyi — that this little rascal had been saying he was going to give His Majesty a grandchild?

So the little rascal had been coaxing His Majesty along again?? One look at how composed Lingning was made it plain enough.

If the two of them had already been together at that point, there would have been good news by now.

“Your Grace the Queen Consort, regarding the food from the Crown Princess’s bowl that you asked this subject to examine — this subject found that two of the pastries each contained either peach kernels or coix seeds. If the Crown Princess were in the early stages of pregnancy and consumed too great a quantity, there is a very strong likelihood she would miscarry and sustain injury to her constitution.”

Yan Yunning’s pupils contracted sharply. At once, everything became clear — this was why the Queen Consort had been stopping her from eating during the meal. The Queen Consort had seen through what the Prince of Xuan’s Noble Consort was trying to do and wanted to protect her??

All of the food in her bowl — had it not been served to her by Noble Consort Pei?

Noble Consort Pei wanted to harm her?

Was this because of Pei Shutong??

The imperial physician continued, “Your Grace the Queen Consort — however, on the basis of the pastries alone, it would be difficult to use this before His Majesty to speak against the Noble Consort.”

The Queen Consort exhaled quietly. That was precisely why she had not told Yuyi — otherwise, he would absolutely not let the matter rest.

The pastries themselves had no other irregularities. Lingning was not pregnant. His Majesty would not punish Noble Consort Pei over this.

Noble Consort Pei also had the Prime Minister behind her, and moreover, no real harm had been done to Lingning. His Majesty would not move against Noble Consort Pei. Even if Yuyi was furious, His Majesty still would not take action against her. Telling Yuyi would only drive a wedge between him and His Majesty.

As for Yuyi himself — he had certainly not seen through Noble Consort Pei’s scheme. She knew without needing to think about it: at the time, his mind had probably been entirely occupied with wondering why she was making things difficult for Lingning, all of his attention fixed on her. Besides, he would never have imagined that anyone would dare employ such an underhanded scheme right in front of his imperial father.

“That is all — you may withdraw.” The Queen Consort waved her hand in a weary, troubled gesture.

The imperial physician bowed and backed out of the hall.

“Lingning — in the palace, you must be careful about everything. Even though there is only you in the Crown Prince’s residence, you must not let your guard down.”

The Queen Consort took Yan Yunning’s hand and offered careful, attentive counsel. “Noble Consort Pei is targeting you because ever since the founding of Xuanzhao, there has always been a legitimate daughter from the Prime Minister’s household entering the Xuan Royal Palace.”