Chapter 35

◎Naturally, the father should leave and the daughter should stay.◎

After everything that had happened, Xue Lingyu began to have the idea of ​​leaving.

Having been afflicted by the "Beauty Curse," he will be unable to conceive for some time. If he continues to abide by his agreement with Father Jiang, he will likely have to stay in the Jiang family for another year or two.

Jiang He is not marrying a legitimate husband now, but it is impossible for her to never marry a legitimate husband in her life.

If he were to become a dead man in Jiang He's eyes, Jiang He might treat his parents better.

Physician Yang was naturally willing to do everything in his power to help Xue Lingyu. Although Jiang Wanyi was currently pregnant with twins and was enjoying the Emperor's favor, this also brought countless people who were jealous and attacked the Jiang family. Xue Lingyu was not safe in the Jiang family; on the contrary, she might be framed and lose her life.

Moreover, if the Imperial Physician Xue were to find out that Xue Lingyu had become a concubine, he would likely be furious and fly into a rage.

The Xue family was once considered to be of royal lineage.

"Don't worry, young master, I will be able to make the fake death medicine in a month at most. Then you can find an excuse to enter the palace," Physician Yang said confidently.

"Thank you for your trouble, Physician Yang." A faint smile appeared on Xue Lingyu's lips.

In the main hall of Chaohui, after some discussion, Jiang He finally held her teacup, her eyes thoughtful, and said, "The most urgent task now is to find this Yangtao."

"Leave this to me," Jiang Wanyi said calmly, seemingly having already seen through the mystery.

Jiang He looked at Jiang Wanyi and asked, "Brother, do you have any good ideas?"

Jiang Wanyi uttered two words with her thin lips: "Search the palace."

Regardless of the methods used, they were all aimed at Xue Lingyu; he simply didn't believe the Fifth Prince could truly remain uninvolved.

Even if he finds the slightest clue, he will teach the Fifth Prince a lesson.

The Fifth Prince recently received a painting as a reward. It is said to be a masterpiece by a great master from the previous dynasty, which the Emperor had obtained. Knowing that the Fifth Prince loved calligraphy and painting, the Emperor gave it to him.

Painting and calligraphy are a way to cultivate one's character and temperament. The painting depicts a lotus flower that rises from the mud unsullied, and the accompanying poem further demonstrates its noble character. The Fifth Prince was immediately captivated by it.

Receiving something that the Emperor cherishes is a sign of the Emperor's utmost favor. Apart from the one in the Chaohui Palace, His Majesty's most beloved person is his younger brother.

The Fifth Prince is in a leisurely mood today and is currently viewing paintings.

At this moment, a trusted servant came to report: "Your Highness, the servant from the Jiang residence has been settled. The best steward has been hired to look after him, and there is no guarantee that nothing will go wrong."

The little maid named Yang Tao was secretly kept in the palace by the Fifth Prince. According to the Fifth Prince, he was going to wait until the child in her womb was born, and then use this to threaten Jiang He.

Yang Tao's baby is now over six months old, and there is still one month left until the two-month deadline she agreed upon with Emperor Wei.

The Fifth Prince consulted with the doctor, who said that many premature babies born at seven months survive, and that inducing labor early would only cause pain for the father.

The royal offspring are inherently domineering. The Fifth Prince wanted to marry into the Jiang family. Although he could accept the Jiang family's children, he could not accept Yang Tao, who had a seductive face.

What if, by virtue of her daughter's status, she regains Jiang He's favor and becomes the second Xue Lingyu?

Naturally, the father should leave and the daughter should stay.

"I understand." The Fifth Prince's hand stroked the lotus flowers on the painting. His expression as he admired it was extremely gentle, truly like the lotus flower, which he claimed to be as pure as.

"Your Highness, there is one more thing..." The trusted servant hesitated for a moment, "Lord Jiang just went to the Imperial Study to look for His Majesty, and is now on his way here with his men."

The Fifth Prince paused, frowning. "She's pregnant with twins and still running around everywhere. Her body has become quite strong. Aren't you afraid of any accidents happening to her?"

"Whether there will be any accidents or not, I don't know, but Your Highness has certainly created quite a few accidents these days."

As if to suit the occasion, Jiang Wanyi barged in with her palace servants.

"I am deeply sorry for not being able to welcome Lady Jiang properly today." The Fifth Prince's smile was impeccable, as if he were truly so respectful to Jiang Wanyi.

He glanced at the palace servants behind Jiang Wanyi, then shifted his gaze to Jiang Wanyi's protruding belly, and covered his mouth with a smile, saying, "It's fine if Lady Jiang comes alone, but why bring so many people? Are you afraid that I will harm the phoenix fetus in your womb?"

The Fifth Prince's words alerted the palace servants around Jiang Wanyi, who immediately stepped in front of her to prevent him from suddenly losing control and doing something.

Jiang Wanyi dismissed the palace servants, walked up to the Fifth Prince, and with a gentle smile, said with a hidden barb: "Your Highness is really humorous. The child in my womb is His Majesty's child, your own nephew. If His Majesty knew about this kind of joke, he would be unhappy."

The Fifth Prince's face immediately darkened.

Everyone in the palace knows that the Emperor dotes on Jiang Wanyi as much as his own life. If he were to truly harm the child in Jiang Wanyi's womb, the Emperor would probably take his own life.

He couldn't understand what Jiang Wanyi had done to deserve such favor from the Emperor.

Is it just because of that pretty face?

Despite looking haggard during her pregnancy, Jiang Wanyi had spent so many years in the palace, and she displayed the demeanor of a first-rank imperial attendant, completely overshadowing the Fifth Prince.

He instructed the palace servants behind him: "The Fifth Prince knows why I am here today. I ask all the maids to search carefully and not miss a single brick or tile in this palace. We must find something out."

"Jiang Wanyi, how dare you!" The Fifth Prince suddenly dropped his disguise.

"I am acting on His Majesty's orders. Please forgive me, Your Highness. If you find anything amiss, you may seek His Majesty's clarification," Jiang Wanyi said leisurely. He was pregnant with twins and his legs ached from standing for so long, so he sat down on a chair in the Fifth Prince's palace. Immediately, palace servants came forward to massage his legs and shoulders.

No one paid any attention to the Fifth Prince. He could only watch helplessly as the maids searched his palace. Even though he disliked Jiang Wanyi very much, there was nothing he could do.

The maidservant was very efficient and quickly searched the entire palace. "Your Majesty," she reported, "we did not find anyone from outside the palace, but we did find a forbidden medicine that had been lost to the palace for a long time."

The maidservant took out a rusty box containing a half-used bottle of "Red Beauty Broken Essence".

The Fifth Prince's expression was rather unpleasant. "Your Excellency has come to my palace in such a grand manner, just to search for a single medicine?"

“Of course not.” Jiang Wanyi was helped up by the palace servants. He strolled to the lotus painting, looked at it for a while with his phoenix eyes, and smiled meaningfully.

The fifth prince did not understand his meaning.

"I remember His Majesty once asked me if I liked this painting. I said that although the lotus flowers were beautiful, the person who painted them was not a person of high moral character, so I refused. I never expected that this painting would end up in Your Highness's possession." Jiang Wanyi's tone was very gentle, but the content of her words was genuinely humiliating to the Fifth Prince.

The emperor gave him what he didn't want, isn't that just showing off how much the emperor favors him?

"Your Highness, even though the Jiang family are merchants, they are not people you can manipulate at will." Jiang Wanyi warned the Fifth Prince in a deep voice, then turned away, refusing to look at him again, and commanded firmly:

"By my decree, the Fifth Prince has been found guilty of possessing forbidden medicines and his conduct is inappropriate. He is hereby confined to the palace from this day forward and is not to step outside the palace gates without my order!"

He was a first-rank attendant, second only to the late emperor in status. Moreover, the late emperor had given him the authority to handle various matters in the harem, including the confinement of a prince.

After Jiang Wanyi left, more guards were added to the palace gates, leaving only the Fifth Prince and his confidant inside.

The trusted aide knelt on the ground, momentarily at a loss: "Your Highness, what should we do next?"

The Fifth Prince clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Does Jiang Wanyi think that confining me to my quarters will solve everything? As long as that little servant is still in my hands, I can keep the Jiang family in turmoil."

The Fifth Prince stared at his trusted aide and gave a firm order: "Make sure the person is hidden well."

The maids were all assigned to Jiang Wanyi by the late emperor. Jiang Wanyi originally wanted to take the shards of ...

Jiang Wanyi stopped in her tracks, her eyes filled with doubt.

The old maid explained in a low voice, "Consort Xue has never had a daughter, which is why he has been cursed with the taboo of 'beauty curse'. This is a taboo of the late Emperor and His Majesty. Besides, Your Highness is currently pregnant, so please leave it to this old servant to handle."

Since Xue Taifu was involved, Jiang Wanyi could no longer insist.

When he entered the palace, Xue Taifu had already closed his doors and refused to let anyone in the palace pay their respects to him. He stayed in the Jiaofang Palace as if he wanted to be forgotten.

Xue Lingyu went to the palace once and learned that he had been poisoned. With a lot on his mind, he couldn't face Jiang He anymore, so he suggested that he move back to the small courtyard.

After such a big incident, Jiang He naturally wanted to keep him under her watchful eye to feel at ease, so she refused to let him move back.

"I've ordered Xue to stay by your side for twelve hours a day, and I'll also send several guards to protect you. Your meals will be taken care of by Yuange. I promise there won't be a next time," Jiang He promised, embracing him and softening her tone.

She held Xue Lingyu very tightly, but worried about hurting him, so she was torn and still refused to let go.

Xue Lingyu's body was warmed by the warmth, but her expression contained self-mockery: "Actually, marrying the Fifth Prince would be quite good. He comes from a noble family and is good-looking. If we marry him, the Jiang family can become a royal family overnight, and your child will be born as a princess."

He wasn't stupid. The beauty was a thing of the palace. Now, wasn't it obvious who in the palace had a reason to harm him?

"Wouldn't marrying you be a good thing?" Jiang He pursed her lips, speaking cautiously, "Do you think I'm useless? I haven't made any progress in these three years, neither able to grant you an official title nor able to clear the Xue family's name right now..."

Moreover, she repeatedly put her beloved in danger.

Xue Lingyu shook her head with a bitter smile: "I am just a concubine, how could I be worthy of being married? The Xue family deserves to be punished. I ask for nothing now, only that my parents can be safe and sound."

Jiang He earnestly promised, "I will take good care of your parents, so don't think too much about it."

Jiang He looked into Xue Lingyu's eyes and asked solemnly, "Can you wait for me a little longer?"

Xue Lingyu didn't know why Jiang He wanted him to wait. He was eager to leave, but looking at Jiang He's face, he felt reluctant to part with her. In the end, he nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He can leave in a month at most.

A note from the author:

The strawberries arrived today! However, they weren't very sweet, but they had a nice strawberry aroma. There were some bad ones, and the seller said they would compensate me tomorrow. Overall, they were just so-so. I've never had authentic Dandong strawberries before, so this makes me suspect that what I bought wasn't genuine!

I placed another order for strawberries in another live stream today; I'm determined to get some sweet strawberries!

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-18 20:39:23 and 2022-01-19 20:41:28!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: and the one who bought the medicine;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!

◎Latest Comments:

[Where is the author from? They seem to be from Northeast China.]

Good luck!

[Ding ding ding, your nutrient solution has arrived, please update and check!]

Strawberries in Dandong cost five yuan each.

Why has this become a post protected against piracy...?

【Wow】

[Hahahaha, running with the ball]

Actually, strawberries in winter are generally just so-so; the best way is to pick them fresh from a strawberry greenhouse.

[I want to run! Run! Hahahaha]

【Berry!! Sweet berries!!】

I haven't brought a ball yet, so does that mean it's still a while before I can start running? Will I really have a ball in a month?

[Still wanting more]

[Xiaoyu, remember to bring the ball when you run!]

Let's see if we should run first or open our hearts first.

I have a feeling I won't be able to run it.

No gifts accepted for today's update, except for nutrient solution!

-over-