Chapter 286: Backstab (3)

Seeing Fuling come out, Xiao Chuzi lit the way with a palace lantern and said urgently, "Good sister, hurry up!"

Smoothing her disheveled hair, Fuling organized her clothes while asking, "What time is it?"

"Past 3:00 AM."

Fuling looked toward the main room. The room was lit with dim yellow candlelight, and the door was still half-open. A bad premonition suddenly rose in her heart. Fuling quickened her pace.

Pushing open the door, Fuling saw Qingfeng, who should have been lying on the soft bed in the inner room, lying on the round table in the main hall. Fuling was shocked and called out, "Master?"

Hearing Fuling's voice, Qingfeng struggled to support her body and said, "Close the door."

Fuling closed the door and dropped the bolt, walking quickly to Qingfeng's side. Before she could speak, Qingfeng suddenly grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. The cold fingers made Fuling worried, "Master, your hands are so cold. Are you not feeling well?"

Qingfeng leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Just now... a man in black came into the room."

What?

"Are you hurt?" Fuling subconsciously looked around, and coming back to her senses, she looked at Qingfeng nervously, fearing she had suffered any loss.

"I'm fine." Qingfeng gave her a reluctant smile, her face still pale. Fuling wanted to take her pulse, but Qingfeng suddenly pointed to the small cabinet beside the screen and said, "By the way, after the man in black came in, he went to that cabinet and didn't know what he was looking for, and then immediately went out. Go see, what's missing?"

"Hmm." Releasing Qingfeng's cold hands, Fuling walked to the small cabinet, her hand on the drawer handle, her heart beating violently. Gently pulling open a crack, she didn't find anything unusual. Fuling carefully pulled open the drawer. The jewelry box and silk scarf in the drawer looked a bit messy. Fuling counted them; the jewelry and silver hadn't been reduced. Under several jewelry boxes, it seemed that a piece of red cloth was pressed. She remembered the Master didn't have a red handkerchief. Fuling reached out to take it out, only to find that there was something wrapped in the red cloth, soft like a cloth ball?

Fuling took out the cloth package, opened it by the candlelight, and—

Seeing the things wrapped in the red cloth, Fuling gasped in shock, her hand loosening, and the thing rolled into the corner of the cabinet.

Hearing Fuling's gasp, Qingfeng looked up and saw a ball of things fall from her hand, as if it were... a doll? Wanting to get up, the sharp pain in her abdomen made her unable to move. Qingfeng could only say in a deep voice, "Bring it over for me to see?"

Fuling picked up the doll from the ground with lingering fear, gripped it tightly, and handed it to Qingfeng. Her hands were still shaking.

Qingfeng looked closely at the thing in her hand. It was an exquisitely made doll, wearing a red brocade robe, with hair like clouds, and four silver needles stuck in its head. A yellow talisman was pasted on its chest, with the words "Mao Hour Third Quarter" written on it. A long, thick silver needle pierced through the chest at the heart of the doll, looking very terrifying.

What did this mean? The man in black took such a big risk to put a doll in her room—what did he want to do? There was no birth date, no name—who was this cursing? And who instructed the man in black to do this?

Qingfeng gripped the doll and frowned in thought. Fuling suddenly thought of something, snatched the doll from Qingfeng's hand, and while removing the silver needles and the talisman, said urgently, "Practicing witchcraft in the palace—lightly, you'll be thrown into the Cold Palace; heavily, it's a death sentence!" If this doll were discovered, no matter how the Master explained it, she would be caught by someone with ulterior motives, and it might even cost her her head.

Fuling was busy dismantling the doll, and Qingfeng gradually calmed down, murmuring in a low voice, "The harem is heavily guarded. It's not easy for people outside the palace to get in, let alone sneak into the Qingfeng Palace without alarming the Imperial Guards. This person must be someone from the palace, and must be very familiar with the terrain of the harem, knowing the time and route of the Imperial Guards' night patrol. He was even no stranger to the Qingfeng Palace, to be able to complete what he wanted to do in such a short time." He entered her room so easily; it wouldn't have been difficult for him to kill her with one knife. Why put a doll in her room?

Her brain became clearer and clearer, but her abdomen suddenly twitched with pain. Qingfeng groaned, and Fuling looked up. At this moment, she noticed Qingfeng's face was as white as paper, her forehead full of fine sweat. At first, she thought Qingfeng was frightened, but now it seemed far from that.

"Master, what's wrong with you?"

"I... my stomach hurts a bit." Covering her abdomen, Qingfeng's voice trembled. Fuling gently held her wrist and took her pulse.

This pulse...? Fuling looked up in surprise, her eyes staring at Qingfeng with hesitation and hidden joy. Qingfeng was puzzled by her look and asked, "What's wrong?"

Fuling didn't answer for a long time, took her pulse carefully for a long time, and then replied softly, "Master, this seems to be... a joyous pulse."

A joyous pulse?!

"Impossible!" Qingfeng shouted in a low voice. How could it be? After the first time she slept with Yan Hongtian, she drank the secret medicine prepared by the Jingshi Hall. It was impossible to conceive. It had only been a month since the second time she served him, and in the days that followed, although Yan Hongtian often came to the Qingfeng Palace, many times he was so tired that he would just hold her and fall asleep.

How could she... be pregnant like this?

"This servant isn't sure either. Should we invite an imperial physician to take a look?" Fuling also panicked. Being pregnant with the dragon seed was a major event! And the Master's pulse was unstable; she should invite an imperial physician to diagnose and treat her as soon as possible.

"Wait." Qingfeng stopped Fuling, who was about to go call someone, and said in a low voice, "Let me... think."

She was actually pregnant with Yan Hongtian's child.

A child...

After knowing this news, the pain in her abdomen didn't seem to be just pain anymore. A life was gestating in her stomach? Yan Hongtian's always deep black eyes flashed in her mind instantly. Qingfeng's hand covering her abdomen clenched into a fist involuntarily.

Qingfeng's face was as pale as paper, and her lips were gradually turning blue. Fuling said urgently, "Master, your body cannot be delayed, otherwise the child might..."

The child might be gone! Glancing at the doll that had been dismantled into pieces by Fuling on the round table, Qingfeng suddenly thought that the child could not be lost. She didn't know what would happen at the Mao hour third quarter, but no matter what happened, this child was her life-saving talisman!

Qingfeng grabbed the dismantled doll and threw it into the purple clay tea tray containing the tea set, saying, "Candlelight."

Fuling brought the candle in understanding, lit the cloth pieces in the tea tray, and in a while, the high-quality silk had been burned into a small pile of black ash. Qingfeng scanned the room, her gaze stopping on the begonias on the windowsill, and said, "Bury the ashes in the flower pot."

Fuling quickly buried the cloth ashes into the soil and didn't forget to clean up the burn marks on the purple clay tea tray.

"You... go invite Huang Jiao. You must invite him, hurry..." It hurt so much! She couldn't hold on anymore, but she didn't trust anyone else.

"Yes." Fuling didn't dare to delay any longer and ran out, opening the door.

"Sister Fuling...?" Xiao Chuzi was annoyed about sleeping while on night duty and was pacing in the courtyard. Fuling ran out of the Master's room. He called her, but she didn't ignore him.

"Come here—Lan'er! Xia Yin!"

Before Xiao Chuzi could react, Qingfeng's loud shout came from the other side. In the dead of night, Qingfeng's sudden shout not only startled Xiao Chuzi, but all the servants in the Qingfeng Palace were awakened, and there was a commotion in the servants' quarters. Lan'er and Xia Yin were the Master's close maids and had their own separate rooms. After Xiao Chuzi reacted, he ran to knock on their doors.

Lan'er and Xia Yin ran into the courtyard in panic, not knowing what had happened. Their steps didn't dare to stop, and while buttoning their outer clothes, they ran toward the main room.

The two had just entered the room when they heard Qingfeng ask sharply, "Where is the Emperor tonight?"

It was an unwritten rule in the harem that every night, someone from each palace would go to the Jingshi Hall to ask where the Emperor was staying, so that they could answer when their Master asked. But Qingfeng never asked. What was happening tonight? The two looked at each other. Lan'er lowered her head as usual and didn't make a sound. Xia Yin replied in a low voice, "The Emperor has been sleeping in the Zhengyang Palace these days."

Glancing at Xia Yin, Qingfeng turned to Lan'er and said, "Lan'er, go to the Zhengyang Palace and tell the Emperor that I have unbearable abdominal pain and ask the Emperor to come over." She couldn't let Xia Yin leave the Qingfeng Palace at this time.

"This..." There were less than two hours until the morning court. Disturbing the Emperor in the middle of the night—she was afraid she would be driven back before even seeing the Emperor. Lan'er looked up in a panic, meeting Qingfeng's gray-white face, and couldn't help but be stunned. Was the Concubine really that ill?

She was shaking with pain, and this girl was still standing there blankly. Qingfeng slapped the table angrily and shouted, "Hurry!"

"Yes." Lan'er ran out in a panic, lifting her skirt.

After Qingfeng finished speaking, she lay on the table again. The heavy panting also scared Xia Yin, who said helplessly, "Master... this servant... this servant will go invite an imperial physician!"

"Stop..." What should have been a powerful command was now weak and powerless. Qingfeng grabbed Xia Yin's hand and said tremblingly, "Fuling has already gone, you help me lie down on the bed."

"Yes." Qingfeng's fingers were cold, her palms wet, and her long nails scratched Xia Yin until it hurt. She didn't dare to groan, helped Qingfeng lie down on the bed, and covered her with a thin quilt. Qingfeng curled up, still shaking violently.

"Cold..." Qingfeng murmured softly.

"Master?" Xia Yin called out a few times, but Qingfeng didn't respond. Her eyes were slightly closed, her lips tightly pursed, and she seemed to be delirious.

Xia Yin suddenly turned and rushed out of the room. Qingfeng's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and the cold light in them was enough to be intimidating. Just as she was about to support herself to get up, Xia Yin ran back with a thick winter quilt, followed by a little maid holding a tea cup.

Xia Yin covered her with the thick quilt and took the tea cup from the little maid, sending it to Qingfeng's lips, saying, "Master, this is ginseng tea, drink some to warm your body."

Staring at Xia Yin with cold eyes for a while, Qingfeng lowered her eyes, took the tea cup, but didn't drink it, just held it tightly to warm herself. After the waves of pain passed, Qingfeng said in a low voice, "Have them light all the lanterns in the courtyard, and light the candles in the room too."

"Yes." Qingfeng's gaze wasn't sharp, calm as water, but it made Xia Yin's heart tremble.

Qingfeng's shout just now had awakened all the servants in the Qingfeng Palace, who were waiting outside the house, not daring to make a sound. Qingfeng gave the order, and although everyone was confused, their movements were still agile. For a time, there were mixed footsteps inside and outside the entire Qingfeng Palace, and the lights were bright.

"The Emperor has arrived—"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 287 =====