Even if Lingning ate something and it caused a problem, it would have nothing to do with the dishes Noble Consort Pei had served her.

After all, the food itself had no issue. Lingning had no confirmed pregnancy at present, and Noble Consort Pei would claim to have had no knowledge of what the dishes were made with — she could wash her hands of it entirely.

But she had to guard against it. Yuyi would not take any secondary consorts; the future Xuan Royal Palace would produce no more Consort Pei, no more Noble Consort Pei.

And today Noble Consort Pei had brought the Pei young miss along to accompany His Majesty at the midday meal. His Majesty was indulging Yuyi for now — but if Lingning bore no heir, His Majesty would no longer continue coddling Yuyi.

If she were Noble Consort Pei, would she not be thinking of ways to ensure Lingning remained without an heir??

That way, the Pei family would once again produce a noble consort.

Yuyi was utterly set on Lingning and no one else. When that time came, he might even openly defy His Majesty — and that was not what she wished to see.

She could only hope she was being petty-minded. But in the palace, such schemes were all too common; one had to be on guard. Noble Consort Pei lowering herself to serve dishes to Lingning was suspicious in itself — for her to be capable of doing so meant she had already planned her way out.

With no evidence, it was all conjecture. She could not directly accuse Noble Consort Pei.

Lingning had no experience of court life; she would not understand. Yuyi even less so — he had little grasp of the schemes women employed between themselves. She would need to find an opportunity to speak with Lingning about it and offer her some careful guidance.

The Queen Consort had eaten the crab roe tofu and the prawn meat in turn, then the crispy shredded chicken roll. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Yan Yunning reaching for a pastry, and smiled as she spoke up. “Lingning, pour Mother Consort a cup of tea.”

Yan Yunning nodded and put down the pastry she was holding. Before she could even lift the clay teapot, Xuan Yanyu was a step ahead of her and had already poured the tea for the Queen Consort.

The Queen Consort looked at her son, rendered somewhat speechless.

“Mother Consort, what else do you need? This son happens to be entirely free right now and would like to be filial toward you. You asked Lingning to pour tea for you and not this son — this son feels quite left out.”

Xuan Yanyu lowered his lashes, his voice carrying a faint aggrieved note.

The Queen Consort burst out laughing and gave the back of his hand a light, unhurried pat. “You, you!”

The little rascal was just trying to spare Lingning from being ordered about — yet he put it so tactfully, and she was genuinely amused. From now on, for the sake of not making the little rascal “feel left out,” she supposed she really could not boss Lingning around anymore.

She had actually expected the little rascal would have a maid pour the tea and then tell her, “Mother Consort, are there not maids for that?”

She had not anticipated that he could instead say “feel left out” — letting Lingning off the hook and putting her in a good mood at the same time.

But the real point was — she had asked Lingning to pour the tea precisely to stop her from eating the pastry she had not yet tried herself. What was this little rascal stirring things up for??

Yan Yunning felt a sudden warmth at the man’s words, and was aware of her own heartbeat quickening.

It was only pouring a cup of tea……

The Prince of Xuan curled his lip. Feeling left out??

What nonsense!!

Noble Consort Pei’s eyes dimmed. Why did she suddenly feel a bit superfluous here??

“Is there anything else Mother Consort wishes to eat? This son will serve it for you — and if you wish for more tea, this son will pour it as well.” Xuan Yanyu raised his brow.

“Ahem, ahem.” The Prince of Xuan cleared his throat twice, as though his throat were bothering him — clearly deliberate.

The Queen Consort was both exasperated and amused. The little rascal feigning jealousy was just pretense — but His Majesty was genuinely piqued.

Xuan Yanyu glanced sidelong at the Prince of Xuan. What was Imperial Father adding to the chaos for??

From the time they had sat down until now, Yan Yunning had not managed to eat a single bite. Just now, taking advantage of the commotion, she had sneaked a hand toward a pastry and was about to eat it quietly — when the Queen Consort spoke up again. “Lingning, Mother Consort would like some prawn meat.”

Yan Yunning helplessly set the pastry down once more.

Noble Consort Pei felt her heart give a sudden lurch. Had the Queen Consort seen through something?

Or was she also displeased with Yan Yunning and deliberately making things difficult for her??

She had sent Zhaoyue to find Zhaozan knowing that Yan Yunning was also in the imperial garden — Zhaoyue could not possibly have failed to offer a pastry to Yan Yunning. If something truly did happen and the trail led back to her, she would still be able to clear her name.

First — she had not known Yan Yunning would be in the imperial garden.

Second — she had also not known Yan Yunning was with child.

Third — the pastries were ones she had made for Zhaoyue; she had no idea how they ended up being eaten by Yan Yunning, as the pastries were not something ordinary people could not eat.

If Yan Yunning truly was with child and had eaten the pastries, there was no way she would show no reaction at all — unless she had not eaten them, or was not pregnant.

So she had quietly passed word to the imperial kitchen, and had two more pastries made — the peach kernels in one variety of pastry, the coix seeds in another.

With the Crown Prince in the palace, His Majesty would certainly invite him to share the midday meal, and Yan Yunning would naturally come along with the Crown Prince.

She had also moved early to intercept His Majesty, and came together with His Majesty and the Queen Consort to the Taiyi Palace.

Earlier, using Shutong’s “ignorance” as a pretext, she had smoothly served the pastries to Yan Yunning.

As a senior member of the household, having served Yan Yunning the dishes herself, if Yan Yunning picked up her chopsticks, she would naturally finish what had been served to her before reaching for anything else.

Yet Yan Yunning had reached for a pastry — and the Queen Consort had stopped her. Was the Queen Consort trying to prevent Yan Yunning from eating, or had the Queen Consort noticed something??

Apart from the palace, there was almost no opportunity for her to get close to Yan Yunning. If Yan Yunning ate the peach kernel and coix seed pastries now and something went wrong, she would still be able to clear herself of blame.

If His Majesty openly announced the Crown Princess’s pregnancy first, and she tried this method after that point — she would have no way to escape responsibility.

There was simply no way to plant anyone inside the Crown Prince’s residence. The Crown Prince and those around him were all sharp beyond measure. It was not as though no minister had ever tried to place someone in the Crown Prince’s residence — but whoever tried would be turned away at the door the very same day, and the whole matter made known throughout Xuanzhao. His Majesty, following the Crown Prince’s wishes, had handed down severe punishments with no regard for personal feelings whatsoever.

Who would dare try to place anyone in the Crown Prince’s residence after that? The guards and maids within that residence were more loyal than even the maids and eunuchs of the Xuan Royal Palace itself.

“Mother Consort, allow this son.” Xuan Yanyu served the prawn with conspicuous eagerness.

The Queen Consort shot him a glare and promptly pushed him aside. “Yuyi, out of the way.”

The Prince of Xuan drew a slow, deep breath. “Can you not see your mother consort wants nothing to do with you?”

The ruler rapped his porcelain bowl, gesturing for the prawn to be placed in his bowl.

Xuan Yanyu raised his brow. The golden chopsticks in his hand moved without the slightest hesitation — and the prawn went straight into his own mouth.

The Prince of Xuan clenched his back molars. He was just about to tell the boy to get out when he swallowed the urge back down with a gulp.

The little rascal was doing it on purpose — just waiting for him to open his mouth and tell him to leave, so he could take his Crown Princess and go.

Yan Yunning obediently served prawn for the Queen Consort, sitting a little more properly than before, evidently still unclear as to what exactly the Queen Consort was trying to accomplish today.

The Queen Consort ate the prawn, then smilingly served Yan Yunning a portion of crispy shredded chicken roll. “Lingning, Mother Consort just tasted this — the flavor is quite good. You should try some.”

“Thank you, Mother Consort.” Yan Yunning smiled back with pressed lips.

Noble Consort Pei’s pupils gave a sharp tremor. It was not deliberate persecution of Yan Yunning — the Queen Consort had noticed something!

After more than a decade of living alongside each other, she knew her all too well. Without evidence, she was simply engineering this little scene!

She looked at the two pastries on the Queen Consort’s plate, her pupils contracting again and again. If the Queen Consort tasted something from them — and Yan Yunning then mentioned that Zhaoyue had suddenly brought pastries to Zhaozan in the imperial garden today —

With both of these things put together, given the sharp acuity of His Majesty and the Crown Prince, she would find it very difficult to extricate herself. Noble Consort — she might even lose that title. How had the Queen Consort of all people caught on?

She had thought she had been discreet enough. How had the Queen Consort detected something amiss??