Ying Qionglou was very satisfied with the meal. Just moments ago, he’d been exhausted—but after eating and washing up, he suddenly felt refreshed.

  And since he was feeling so energetic, of course, he decided to engage in something suited for such energy.

  Wumian, on the other hand, was so thoroughly worn out she nearly wanted to cry. She was tired, okay? But unfortunately, the Emperor was not.

  Sigh…

  By the time she was finally allowed to sleep, it was already the hour of the Ox (~1–3 AM).

  Ying Qionglou had already decided that tomorrow he would take it easy. Whatever time he woke up, so be it.

  But life has a way of interrupting even the best-id pns. When you pn out your day off, thinking of how you'll rex, how long you'll sleep in—it’s almost guaranteed that something will disrupt it.

  The more you pn, the more things go wrong.

  Just as the sky began to lighten and shapes outside were still hard to make out, Lu Zhong began calling out to the Emperor.

  Ying Qionglou, jolted awake by the voice outside the window, instinctively thought it was time for court and nearly jumped out of bed.

  Beside him, the Empress was sound asleep. One of her hands rested protectively over her belly, her head tucked against his side, one leg draped across his calf, and the other stretched out behind her in a far-reaching sprawl.

  Ying Qionglou frowned but then remembered—there’s no court today.

  He gently moved Wumian’s hand off his stomach and asked toward the door, “What is it?”

  “Your Majesty,” came Lu Zhong’s voice, “there’s a disturbance at Hanliang Pace. The pce is fully lit, and something happened. People have already been sent to investigate, but the commotion looked serious. This servant didn’t dare dey informing Your Majesty—after all, Li Fei is your favored consort…”

  “If it had really been something serious and I didn’t inform Your Majesty,” Lu Zhong said, “I’d never be able to bear the consequences.”

  The moment Ying Qionglou heard the words Hanliang Pace, he let out a deep sigh. Trouble had been cropping up there far too frequently tely.

  Before he could do anything else, he felt a familiar weight across his stomach—a hand, followed by the Empress herself, half her body flopping right on top of him.

  He could only gently nudge her aside. “Wumian, there’s been an incident at Hanliang Pace.”

  Wumian mumbled sleepily, slowly opened her eyes, and frowned. “Huh? Li Fei again?”

  Then she scowled and grumbled, “I’m not going. I’m tired. You go.”

  Not only did she say she wasn’t going—she kicked him.

  It wasn’t hard or anything, and thankfully, she was already on the inside of the bed. After rolling a bit, she snuggled up deep into the covers and curled into a “who-cares” ball.

  It really felt like she had just id down. She was so exhausted her brain hadn’t even processed the fact that, as Empress, she really shouldn’t be kicking the Emperor. But Ying Qionglou wasn’t angry. In fact, he chuckled softly.

  This was the real her—genuinely childlike and unguarded. This was the Empress in her truest form. And really, it wasn’t like she had to go. If she didn’t want to, that was fine.

  He got up with a weary sigh and started dressing. He hadn’t even left Fengyi Pace yet when Dukang came rushing in.

  “Eunuch Lu,” she said breathlessly, “the attendants at Hanliang Pace say Li Fei has been poisoned. The imperial physicians haven’t arrived yet, but things are already in chaos.”

  Upon hearing this, Ying Qionglou strode out of the pace at once, pushing past everyone with a stormy expression.

  Feixu and Yanming exchanged gnces.

  “We’d better wake Her Majesty,” Yanming said. “This isn’t just some small matter.”

  “I’ll go,” Yanming offered. “You get her clothes ready, and prepare some hot tea—she’ll need it before heading out.”

  If it were merely Li Fei falling ill again, then maybe Wumian could’ve skipped it. But poisoning? That was something else entirely.

  When Wumian was woken again, she groaned in utter misery. “Li Fei, again?! She’s driving me insane. What now?”

  “Your Majesty, Dukang says she may have been poisoned. You really should go take a look.”

  Wumian blinked. “Poisoned? Ugh. So many tricks...”

  Sighing, she sat up and rubbed her forehead. “Bring Dukang in.”

  From behind the door, Dukang replied, “This maid is here.”

  “Go seal off Hanliang Pace. No pace maid or attendant is allowed to enter or leave without permission. Send Jinbo and the others to intercept the other consorts—only Guifei is allowed inside. No one else is to enter. And do not arm the Empress Dowager. If anyone has already made it there, detain them and don’t let them leave.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Dukang, Jinbo, and the others immediately left to carry out the orders.

  Wumian got dressed and threw on a cloak. She didn’t bother properly fixing her hair—just pinned it back with a single gold hairpin.

  Hanliang Pace was nearby, so taking a panquin would’ve been more trouble than it was worth. She walked.

  By the time she arrived, the sky had brightened, though the sun had yet to rise.

  Seven or eight imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau were already present. Wumian moved quickly, so at this point, only Guifei was there among the consorts.

  The Emperor sat grimly in the main hall, face dark.

  After paying her respects, Wumian said calmly, “I came te. I’ve already ordered the other consorts held back and sealed off Hanliang Pace.”

  “You did well,” Ying Qionglou replied, eyeing the shadows under her eyes. She truly looked exhausted.

  “How is Li Fei? What kind of poison? Is it fatal?”

  “It isn’t fatal,” Guifei answered, brows furrowed. “But… the royal heir… has already been lost.”

  Wumian sighed deeply.

  Why am I not surprised? she thought. So in the end, she really couldn’t carry the pregnancy to term.

  “Your Majesty, don’t be too disheartened,” she said gently. “Li Fei is still young. There will be other chances. What matters now is finding out what happened.”

  Ying Qionglou nodded.

  A short while ter, the lead physician emerged.

  “Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Guifei,” he greeted. “Li Fei consumed a pill known as ‘Great Cold Pill.’ Because her spleen and stomach are weak and her appetite has been poor, taking such a harsh medicine caused extreme abdominal pain. That’s why it seemed like poisoning.”

  “So it wasn’t poison?” Guifei asked urgently.

  If it had been poison, she would’ve been under serious suspicion.

  Wumian wasn’t surprised. Poison might sound scandalous, but taking the wrong medicine? That was easier to believe.

  “That’s correct,” the physician replied. “This pill is not meant for women. It’s typically used for men suffering from excess internal heat. For someone already pregnant, especially someone frail like Li Fei, the effects were devastating. Her pregnancy was already unstable. Taking this drug made it impossible to preserve the child.”

  “What exactly is this ‘Great Cold Pill’?” Wumian asked.

  “It’s a formu given to men,” he expined. “Primarily for liver-fire-reted ailments. The drug is too strong, and thus is not used in the pace. Even our own supply is limited, and any request for it must go through the Chief Imperial Physician.”

  “So it’s not rare—just dangerous,” Wumian mused. “Which means it must be easily found among the common folk.”

  “Correct. It’s not considered a precious medicine. It’s avaible freely in the market, and the formu is no secret. The ingredients are common. Anyone with basic knowledge of medicine could produce it.”

  “So,” Wumian said slowly, “while it’s not suitable for women, it shouldn’t cause such damage in a normal case. But considering Li Fei had already shown signs of miscarriage and is naturally cold and frail… it was inevitable she’d lose the child if she ingested this?”

  “Exactly, Your Majesty,” the physician confirmed.