Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 310: Want to See the Two Imperial Grandsons

Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Want to See the Two Imperial Grandsons

News of the Palace Maid Sha Li’s death quickly spread throughout the palace.

She had gotten up in the middle of the night and soon after, slipped and fell on the steps, hitting the back of her head against the stone staircase. She fell into a coma and bled profusely. By the time she was found, she had already died from excessive blood loss.

Consort Qin was inconsolable with grief and experienced signs of a threatened miscarriage. She refused to let the Imperial Physician examine her and insisted on summoning Princess Consort Ling to the palace.

This was within the expectations of Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu.

Sha Li and Sha Ya were both skilled, one excelling in medicine and poisons, the other in martial arts, and they were her trusted aides. With Sha Li’s death being so timely, how could she be reconciled?

Upon quick reflection, she guessed that Sha Li’s death was connected to Prince Ling’s Mansion, so she urgently called for Murong Jiu to enter the palace.

Jun Yuyan outright rejected the eunuch Chen who had come to Prince Mansion, using the same excuse as the day before. As soon as he finished speaking, a repressed coughing sound came from inside, sounding extremely uncomfortable.

Concern appeared on Jun Yuyan’s face, "Eunuch hears it too, the Princess Consort has a serious cold this time. If she passes the illness to Consort Qin, that would be troublesome. Consort Qin is pregnant, and she absolutely must not catch a cold."

Eunuch Chen hastily expressed his concern for Princess Consort Ling and, after receiving some rewarded silver, returned to the palace to report.

He thought that Consort Qin trusted only Princess Consort Ling, which is why she had asked for her repeatedly. Little did he know, when he reached Yonghe Palace and reported back, just as he mentioned that Princess Consort Ling’s cold had worsened, he heard the sound of Consort Qin smashing a vase inside.

"She herself is a Divine Doctor, so why can’t she even cure a minor cold?"

Eunuch Chen frowned and thought to himself that the old saying goes well, physicians cannot heal themselves. Besides, colds easily become serious in springtime—didn’t the Emperor also suffer greatly when he caught a cold, recovering as slowly as drawing silk?

If she is a Divine Doctor, does that mean she cannot fall ill?

However, he absolutely did not dare to voice these thoughts in front of Consort Qin. Fortunately, Consort Qin did not make things difficult for a mere eunuch. After accepting a modest reward, he returned to Yangxin Hall.

"Why so downcast? How is Consort Qin’s condition?"

The Emperor was reviewing petitions; he had felt much better after returning from Prince Ling’s Mansion. Having rested for a day, he assumed his duties again today. His eldest son, knowing his place, had immediately handed over all his power. The Emperor had taken the time to visit Consort Qin, and seeing that she seemed fine, he returned to his work.

Noticing Eunuch Chen’s demeanor, he looked up and asked.

"Princess Consort Ling’s cold has gotten worse, and she’s coughing severely. She wanted to come to the palace to check on Consort Qin but was afraid of passing on the illness. As a servant, I know how much Your Majesty suffered from the cold before. All of us saw it. However, Consort Qin seemed a bit angry, perhaps upset about the loss of her personal attendant. Ah, how could that little palace maid have missed her step."

As someone who served closely beside the Emperor, Eunuch Chen, who had been used as a go-between by Consort Qin several times and had even been snubbed by her this time, naturally felt displeased. Besides, Prince Ling and Princess Consort Ling had always given him generous rewards, so of course, he spoke in favor of Princess Consort Ling.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor remembered how he had lain ill in bed not long ago. A cold might not seem serious, but every year, many people died from it.

Possibly, he had passed his illness on to Princess Consort Ling.

"Then have the Imperial Physician give Consort Qin a thorough examination. Since Princess Consort Ling has caught a cold, she should rest well at home and not come to the palace for the time being."

The Emperor didn’t take it too seriously; it was just the death of a palace maid, not something to mourn over for long.

It was also because Consort Qin kept complaining of discomfort. He had visited her several times, and though Consort Qin’s delicate appearance with tear-stained cheeks was pitiable, his patience was wearing thin with her repeated complaints.

Yonghe Palace.

Consort Qin held her stomach, her face darkening.

This time, she truly had a medical scare.

The death of Sha Li was a severe blow to her; she could never have expected someone to silently evade Sha Ya’s vigilance and so easily kill Sha Li.

Sha Li was not only skilled in medicine, but also had keen senses; how could an ordinary person harm her?

Moreover, within the Imperial Palace, there were elite experts and countless patrolling guards, yet Sha Li still died—bled to death without even a chance to cry out.

All the poison on her had been searched and taken away.

It was fortunate that Sha Li didn’t have the antidote on her, or else...

Thinking of this, she quickly instructed Sha Ya to fetch the antidote; she could only rest easy holding it herself.

Sha Ya retrieved the antidote from a hidden spot, and Consort Qin carefully concealed it. After hiding it, she felt it wasn’t secure enough and took it out for Sha Ya to hide separately.

"Sha Ya, even if someone holds a knife to your throat, you must not reveal a thing. To control Princess Consort Ling is to control Prince Ling. You’ve seen it, Prince Ling is a madman; he dares to do anything!"

"Princess, this servant understands. Don’t worry so much, rest well for the sake of the child. They only dared to attack Sha Li because they knew she would be on duty at night. They only dare to wait passively, not to act rashly. This servant won’t let anyone get close to you," responded Sha Ya.

These words made Consort Qin’s face turn even uglier.

"Yes, waiting passively—for example, what if the person who came out last night was me?"

Remembering Sha Li’s death by blood loss induced chills of fear in Consort Qin.

"It’s not enough to have just you; I can’t be at ease. Sha Ya, you go..."

Consort Qin gestured for Sha Ya to come closer and whispered her instructions.

Sha Ya pondered and said, "Princess, wouldn’t this be inappropriate? It could easily expose us."

"What’s there to fear? The opponent is highly skilled in martial arts; only with him secretly protecting me can I be at ease. My life is very important, and we absolutely cannot let that madman Prince Ling succeed again!"

Consort Qin also feared that Prince Ling would turn desperate. There is a saying in Central Plains that even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone Prince Ling, who is certainly no tame rabbit.

She cherished her own life dearly, and the child she carried was equally vital, impacting the success or failure of her plans.

Therefore, even as her heart brewed anger over Sha Li’s death, Consort Qin dared not advance the timeline for Thin Line Heaven to take effect and provoke Prince Ling.

As a result, Murong Jiu stayed several days at the Prince Mansion to recover from her illness before she entered the palace, accompanied by Jun Yuyan, to check Consort Qin’s pulse.

However, before they even reached Yonghe Palace, Imperial Noble Consort Qi got wind of their entrance and "happened" upon them.

"You come to the palace, only to pay respects to your father the Emperor, yet do not visit my palace; do you not consider me your mother?"

Imperial Noble Consort Qi’s face showed a tinge of anger.

Seeing that both of them only offered their respects without saying much else, Imperial Noble Consort Qi’s face grew darker. She took a few deep breaths to suppress her anger before stiffly saying:

"Why didn’t you bring Zhijin and Zhiyu for your father to see? He has often mentioned them these past few days."

Murong Jiu understood at once that this was clearly Imperial Noble Consort Qi longing to see her grandchildren but too proud to admit it, using the Emperor as an excuse.

Jun Yuyan replied in a muted voice, "The two children are still too small, and the weather is cold; they can’t be exposed to the wind."

Imperial Noble Consort Qi blurted out, "Can’t be exposed to the wind, then wrap them up more securely!"

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