“What on earth has happened?” Sun Shi’s heart lurched, and she asked without thinking.

Ling Jingshu furrowed her brow and replied: “Someone has come from the palace, with orders for Wei Yan to return to the palace at once.”

Everyone was startled.

Today was the day Wei Yan was accompanying Ling Jingshu for her return visit to her maiden home. If the matter were not exceptionally urgent, the palace would never issue an emergency summons for Wei Yan to return.

Could the Emperor’s illness have flared up again?

The thought flashed through Ling Jingshu’s mind. She rose quickly to her feet: “I’ll go to the main hall to see.”

With an emergency summons from the palace, Wei Yan would have to set aside even the most pressing personal matters and return to the palace immediately.

Ling Daye and Ling Wuye naturally could not detain him. Seeing Ling Jingshu come over so hastily and urgently, they assumed she was displeased.

Ling Wuye cleared his throat: “A’Shu, Empress Wei herself sent someone to summon Wei Yan to the palace — it must be a matter of great importance. You must not make a scene.”

Ling Jingshu had no patience to explain herself to Ling Wuye. She said directly to Wei Yan: “Something serious must have happened at the palace. Go back quickly — don’t concern yourself with me.”

Wei Yan was filled with guilt: “I’m sorry. I should have spent the whole day here at the Ling residence with you today.” Now that he was leaving, he would have to leave Ling Jingshu here at her maiden home alone.

A newly married young woman staying on her own at her birth family’s home, having to return to the estate by herself in the evening — no matter how one thought of it, it felt wrong.

Ling Jingshu did not mind in the slightest and kept urging him: “What is there to fear in staying here alone? I have the family to keep me company. Getting back to the palace is what matters — don’t delay.”

Ling Xiao stepped in at just the right moment: “I’ll have someone pack my things shortly. Come afternoon, I’ll accompany A’Shu back to the Wei estate, and then settle in there. Brother-in-law won’t take issue with that, will he?”

How could he possibly take issue!

He was grateful enough.

Once he entered the palace, there was no telling how many days would pass before he could return. With Ling Xiao keeping Ling Jingshu company, he could at least have some peace of mind.

Wei Yan gave Ling Xiao a grateful look — there was no time for lengthy words: “Then it’s settled. I’ll go on ahead.”

The palace attendant waiting nearby had a face full of anxiety but had not dared to press too hard. Seeing Wei Yan at last willing to leave, he finally let out a breath of relief.

……

This sudden development cast a shadow over the hearts of everyone in the Ling household.

Ling Jingshu, who was thoroughly familiar with the situation inside the palace, was especially agitated and ill at ease.

Nine times out of ten, something had happened to the Emperor — which was why they were in such a hurry to summon Wei Yan back.

She had no fondness whatsoever for the foolish and dissolute Emperor. However, Empress Wei had been formally installed as Empress less than a year ago, and her foothold in the palace was still not secure. If the Emperor were to suddenly succumb to a critical illness and die, Empress Wei would immediately become Empress Dowager Wei.

If the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Crown Princess would naturally take up residence in the palace as the Empress of the Dazhou dynasty. Empress Wei’s standing in the palace would then become deeply awkward.

For Empress Wei’s sake alone, she hoped the Emperor would live a few more years. At least enough for Princess Anya to take a prince consort, and for Empress Wei to firmly establish her footing in the palace — only then would it be all right for him to pass on…

The Ling household was also on edge, unable to sit or stand in peace, each person speculating about the cause. No one was in the mood for conversation.

After a tasteless lunch eaten without appetite, Ling Xiao immediately ordered his book servant to pack up his belongings.

Two hours later, as evening was drawing near, Ling Xiao accompanied Ling Jingshu back to the Wei residence.

Ling Jingshu was weighed down with worry and said little throughout the journey. Upon arriving at the Wei residence, she immediately instructed the head steward to settle Ling Xiao into quarters. The inner compound of the Wei estate was expansive, with no fewer than seven or eight courtyards that could serve as living spaces. Ling Jingshu specifically chose the one closest to her own main courtyard.

The head steward, noticing that Wei Yan was nowhere to be seen and that a young maternal relative had appeared instead, was naturally puzzled. However, one didn’t rise to the position of head steward without a certain composure — he asked no questions, received the instruction, and withdrew.

“A’Shu, stop worrying yourself.” Ling Xiao broke the silence: “What has actually happened at the palace is still unclear. Dwelling on it does no good. Put your mind at ease and wait. Perhaps Brother-in-law will send someone home soon with news.”

She could only hope so.

Ling Jingshu let out a long, slow breath, gathered herself, and said: “You’re right. We don’t know the situation yet — there’s no point in frightening ourselves. It’s getting late. I’ll have the kitchen prepare dinner.”

“By the way — you’ve been on leave for quite some time now. Shouldn’t you return to the Imperial Academy soon? You mustn’t fall behind in your studies. This place is very close to the Imperial Academy — no more than the time it takes to burn one stick of incense on foot. Settle in here at ease from now on, and go back and forth each day.”

Ling Xiao smiled and agreed.

When the siblings sat down together for their evening meal, Ling Xiao was suddenly moved to reflection: “How unpredictable a person’s fate truly is. A few years ago, the two of us were still in Dingzhou, racking our brains every day trying to please Grandmother. I thought we would never see the light again — that I was destined to spend the rest of my life blind.”

Who could have imagined that in just a few short years, their lives would have changed so utterly and completely?

Ling Jingshu smiled gently.

For Ling Xiao, it had been only a few short years.

For her, it had been two lifetimes. Those dark and painful memories of the past had receded completely with Lu An’s death and the Ling clan’s exile. Now, she had a husband she loved, and her own full-blooded younger brother by her side.

This happiness — for her — was a beautiful dream from which she never wished to wake.

……

That night, Wei Yan did not return, nor did he find time to send word home.

Ling Jingshu had mentally prepared herself for this and waited with a calm heart.

It was not until the third day that news finally came from the palace.

Wei Yan was still being kept in the palace. It was Tian Dong who came back to deliver the message.

“Tian Dong, what has actually happened at the palace?” Ling Jingshu asked urgently. “Has the Emperor’s condition worsened again?”

Tian Dong wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and said in a low voice: “Yes. The Emperor’s condition had previously stabilized — so long as he did not lose his temper or become agitated, and simply rested and recovered, there would be no great danger. But then Prince An fell ill while in the Court of the Imperial Clan. The Emperor sent Physician-in-Chief Zhang and Imperial Physician Zhou to the prison of the Court of the Imperial Clan to examine Prince An.”

“Unexpectedly, that examination stirred up a great commotion…”

Prince An had been unable to eat anything for two full days. He had grown visibly gaunt and frail with alarming speed. Physician-in-Chief Zhang and Imperial Physician Zhou went to the Court of the Imperial Clan on imperial orders, and carefully examined Prince An. After the examination, they arrived at a diagnosis that struck everyone with a chill.

Prince An had been poisoned with a rare and slow-acting toxin.

This slow-acting poison worked with extreme sluggishness. For a period of time, it produced no abnormal symptoms whatsoever. Only after three months of ingestion would it slowly begin to take effect — the toxin first spreading through the stomach, rendering the afflicted person unable to eat. Even if food was forced down, it would come back up whole.

This was precisely what made the poison so uniquely sinister and formidable.

By the end, the person who had been poisoned could only be starved to death by slow degrees.

Hearing this, Ling Jingshu felt a chill crawl up her spine. She blurted out: “Taking a life should be done cleanly. This person who administered the poison — if they already had the opportunity to do so, why not simply use a swift and lethal poison and take Prince An’s life directly?”

This was clearly designed to torment Prince An to death by inches!

Exactly who harbored such a deep-seated, bone-deep hatred for Prince An?