It happened that on this day, Ren Yaoqi’s mother, Li Shi, came to Yanbei Prince’s Manor to visit Ren Yaoqi. Ren Yaoqi asked Li Shi if she knew of any method that could make someone appear to have caught a cold with a persistent high fever that even physicians couldn’t diagnose properly.

Ren Yaoqi thought that since Li Shi came from a prince’s manor, she might have heard of such things.

Li Shi thought for a moment, then shook her head to indicate she didn’t know. However, Nanny Zhou suddenly said, “Hearing Miss mention this, this servant suddenly recalls a certain poison.”

Ren Yaoqi immediately asked: “What poison?”

Nanny Zhou frowned: “This servant once heard my aunt mention that there’s a poison in the palace called ‘Gelsemium.’ When first consumed, it causes a persistent high fever that resembles catching a cold. If taken only once, the illness will recover in a few days, but if consumed continuously for three months, the body gradually weakens, causing death without anyone knowing. This poison isn’t available to just anyone, even within the palace, and it’s unlikely to leak out to common people.”

Nanny Zhou’s aunt had once been Noble Consort Wan’s most trusted head palace maid. After Noble Consort Wan committed suicide, she also hanged herself. It wasn’t strange that Nanny Zhou would know these things from her aunt.

So it was something from the palace… Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but frown. But what was their purpose in doing this?

Xiao Jingyue was the court’s man—why would he be poisoned? What conspiracy lay behind this?

Thinking about it, Ren Yaoqi rarely became agitated, worried about Xiao Jingxi’s safety.

After Li Shi and Nanny Zhou left, Ren Yaoqi had Xiao Jinglin summoned to discuss this matter with her.

After hearing everything, Xiao Jinglin said calmly: “If this is a ruse of self-harm, what do you think it’s for?”

Ren Yaoqi had thought about many things while waiting for Xiao Jinglin, so she countered: “Do you think Yan Ningshuang is trustworthy?”

Xiao Jinglin frowned, then spoke frankly: “Although Yan Ningshuang is from the Yan family, as a second daughter, she’s not particularly clever. If she came to Yanbei with some conspiracy… she’d probably be easily exposed.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded in agreement: “Exactly. Yan Ningshuang should just be a chess piece, and one being used at that—a chess piece kept in the dark from beginning to end.”

Though Ren Yaoqi didn’t like Yan Ningshuang, Yan Ningshuang’s infatuation with Xiao Jingxi didn’t seem fake, and Ren Yaoqi believed the things she did came from her genuine feelings for Xiao Jingxi. After observing her for some time, Ren Yaoqi felt that Yan Ningshuang could be called naive to some extent.

Xiao Jinglin continued thoughtfully: “So after this incident, we’ll trust Yan Ningshuang more, believing she’ll stand on our side for Second Brother’s sake. After we let our guard down, they’ll use Yan Ningshuang to deal us a major blow…”

Ren Yaoqi sighed: “So this might be a chain of schemes. Xiao Jingyue’s illness is just preparation for their next move.”

Xiao Jinglin said coldly, “This Miss Yan is truly foolish!” Princess Xiao’s words remained as direct and pointed as ever.

Ren Yaoqi smiled bitterly and shook her head: “Indeed, she is.”

Yan Ningshuang had betrayed the court and her family for Xiao Jingxi’s sake, so she must feel uneasy, but unfortunately she didn’t know that perhaps she had been a chess piece in the Yan family’s hands for a long time—and a discarded one at that. Who knew what Yan Ningshuang would think when she learned the truth later.

Xiao Jinglin said, “If that’s the case, we can only wait and see what other tricks they want to pull.”

Ren Yaoqi kept watching the situation with Xiao Jingyue. After several days, Xiao Jingyue still showed no improvement, and his symptoms matched what Nanny Zhou had told Ren Yaoqi about continuous consumption of “Gelsemium” for several days.

However, seeing that he wasn’t getting better, his mother, Lady Su, changed physicians for him, requesting a physician from outside the manor to treat him.

Ren Yaoqi watched coldly from her side. She was almost certain that Xiao Jingyue had probably recovered by now and was just pretending to have been successfully poisoned repeatedly by Yan Ningshuang.

Both Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jinglin believed they must have other schemes, so they continued to wait and watch.

Before they knew it, October arrived. Suddenly, contact with Xiao Jingxi was lost—for several consecutive days, no news came back to the manor. Ren Yaoqi was anxious, but Xiao Jinglin comforted her: “Don’t worry. He made complete preparations before leaving. This complete silence should be part of his plan.”

Though she said this, in places where Ren Yaoqi couldn’t see, Xiao Jinglin still frowned.

The news she received was that Xiao Jingxi’s group had encountered pursuit and then lost contact near Wuzhou. This wasn’t among the things Xiao Jingxi had discussed with her beforehand. The negotiations between the court and Liao were about to begin, and if Xiao Jingxi, representing Yanbei Prince’s Manor, didn’t appear, it would be very problematic. So Xiao Jinglin also somewhat suspected whether something unexpected had happened to Xiao Jingxi.

But even though it was just speculation, Xiao Jinglin still didn’t tell Ren Yaoqi these things, because the Princess Consort said that although Ren Yaoqi’s pregnancy was stable now, it was better not to agitate her if possible.

After several more days, the Yanbei Prince returned to the manor and suddenly summoned Xiao Jinglin.

The Yanbei Prince discussed something unknown with Xiao Jinglin, and the next day, Xiao Jinglin came to bid farewell to Ren Yaoqi.

“You’re returning to Jiajing Pass now?” Ren Yaoqi frowned and asked. “Didn’t you say it would be a while longer?”

Xiao Jinglin said, “Father fears the Liao might cause trouble during the bilateral negotiations, so he’s having me return to Jiajing Pass.” As she spoke, Xiao Jinglin glanced at Ren Yaoqi and added, “I’ll come back to see you when you give birth.”

Ren Yaoqi studied Xiao Jinglin for a moment, then suddenly asked: “Jinglin, tell me the truth—are you going to Jiajing Pass or Wuzhou this time?” Without waiting for Xiao Jinglin’s answer, Ren Yaoqi continued: “Did something happen to your brother, so the Prince is sending you to provide backup?”

Xiao Jinglin shook her head with an unchanged expression: “No, I’m returning to Jiajing Pass. Don’t overthink it—it’s bad for the baby.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at Xiao Jinglin for a while, then smiled bitterly: “Jinglin, has anyone told you that when you lie, your eyes blink twice in succession?”

Xiao Jinglin’s expression stiffened. After a long while, she finally sighed and said, “I’m sorry, Yaoqi. I didn’t mean to deceive you. Father is sending me to Wuzhou to provide backup for Second Brother. He’s injured.”

Upon hearing this, though Ren Yaoqi’s expression showed nothing, her face turned somewhat pale.

“Where is he hurt? How serious is it?”

Xiao Jinglin hesitated for a while. Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s expression, she finally told the truth: “I’ll only know the specific situation after I get there. The scouts sent by the manor saw his distress signal, but his whereabouts are still unclear.”