Chapter 312

"The imperial physician has already seen me. It's nothing serious."

Just as Qingfeng finished speaking, a light sound suddenly came from inside the room—very light, as if something had been bumped. This little noise was nothing, but Zhuo Qing keenly felt the hands she was holding suddenly tremble. Shui Xin's bright eyes stared straight at the tightly closed window lattice, so sharp it was as if she wanted to see inside the room.

"Ruyi, stop looking. Just grab any shawl; it doesn't have to be sable fur." Qingfeng's voice, carrying a hint of helplessness and laziness, echoed softly. At the same time, she slowly sat up, quietly pulling back the hand Zhuo Qing was holding, and pretended to straighten her slightly wrinkled skirt, taking the opportunity to hide the panic in her eyes.

"That won't do, only a sable shawl is warm enough." A soft female voice came from inside the room, followed by a few more light sounds, as if someone were rummaging for something.

She really is a clever girl. Qingfeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the expression on her face became more natural. She smiled, "This girl, really."

Shui Xin also turned her head with a smile, her face still wearing that soft expression, showing none of the sharpness from just a moment ago. However, the words she spoke made Qingfeng's heart go cold again: "That sedan chair is blocking the doorway, making it inconvenient to enter or leave. Let this servant have someone come and carry it away."

There was still blood in the sedan chair; she absolutely could not let her take it away! Qingfeng chuckled, not daring to be too deliberate, and replied casually, "No need. There is still a banquet tonight. If my health improves, I might go to the banquet, and it will be useful then. That's all, you may withdraw."

Shui Xin's gaze swept over the sedan chair, but she didn't say anything else. She just bowed slightly and left Qingfeng Hall.

Although Fuling had closed the hall door, Qingfeng felt even more anxious than before. That faint, elusive smile on Shui Xin's lips...

... made her inexplicably terrified. She even had the illusion that she was harder to deal with than Xin Yuening.

Qingfeng was lost in her own thoughts until she felt her sister, who had been silent, suddenly pull her up from the lounge chair and begin carefully checking her body. Qingfeng asked in confusion, "Sister?"

Zhuo Qing ignored her and checked her thoroughly. She had no injuries, and her body temperature and heart rate were fine. After confirming this, Zhuo Qing's expression worsened. She asked in a low voice, "What exactly are you doing?"

Qingfeng subconsciously took a step back and replied in a low voice, "I'm not doing anything. I'm just tired."

"Your courtyard is full of the smell of blood, and you're telling me nothing is wrong?" As a forensic doctor, she was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. From the moment she stepped into this courtyard, she had sensed that something was wrong.

There was a smell of blood in the courtyard?! Qingfeng's face turned pale. She glanced at the closed doors and windows, then at the sedan chair, which was still some distance away, and her heart settled slightly. She took a light breath and sniffed carefully; apart from the scent of begonia flowers in the courtyard, she couldn't smell anything else. Coughing lightly, Qingfeng feigned anger and said, "Sister, what nonsense are you talking about! There's no smell of blood here."

Zhuo Qing didn't speak, just stared at her coldly. Qingfeng felt guilty but didn't dare look away. However, facing Zhuo Qing's sharp gaze, she was secretly terrified. When had her eldest sister become so sharp and her presence so intimidating? Knowing that if they continued to stare at each other like this, she would inevitably show her fear, she turned her head slightly and said in a low voice, "I'm really fine. You... go back first. Fuling, see my sister out." After saying this, Qingfeng walked past Zhuo Qing toward the room. Only after the door was firmly closed did Qingfeng dare to breathe loudly.

"Lady Lou, please this way..." Before Fuling could finish, Zhuo Qing had already strode toward the door. Before Fuling could stop her, Zhuo Qing had already pulled back the curtain of the sedan chair, and the dark red bloodstain deep inside the sedan chair inevitably came into view.

Fuling was worried that Zhuo Qing would scream in panic at the sight, but she saw her calmly climb into the sedan chair, carefully avoiding touching anything. She stopped in front of the bloodstain, scanned it once, and then exited the sedan chair as if she understood everything.

Zhuo Qing stood at the closed door, thinking and analyzing. The blood had congealed but hadn't dried; it must have been left within the last two hours. If all that blood in the sedan chair came from one person, the amount of blood loss wouldn't be fatal. There were also drag marks inside the sedan chair; the injured person must have been dragged directly into the room.

"Qingfeng, open the door." Zhuo Qing lowered her voice, guessing that Qingfeng must still be by the door and would definitely hear her.

The person inside was clearly determined to ignore her. Zhuo Qing frowned, "There is someone else in the room, right? Who is it?"

"Sister, please don't get involved in today's affairs, okay?" After a long time, the person inside finally spoke, but her voice was full of exhaustion and pleading.

"Open the door first!" There was definitely something going on. Just as Zhuo Qing put her hand on the door, Fuling grabbed her wrist and said, "Lady Lou, the Master won't open the door. You should go." Given the Master's protectiveness and affection for her sisters, she would never drag her own sister into this whirlpool. And Lady Lou didn't seem like someone who was easily persuaded. Fuling thought for a moment, then lowered her voice and whispered in Zhuo Qing's ear, "If you attract others, the Master will be in mortal danger."

Mortal danger? Zhuo Qing's hand, which she had been trying to pull away, paused. What kind of mortal danger could it be? And who was the injured person inside? At this moment, she somewhat hated that she wasn't Gu Yun and couldn't analyze the truth of the matter through clues. She had also seen Qingfeng's stubborn temper; continuing this stalemate would be useless. Shui Xin had just left—had she also noticed something?

Confirming that Zhuo Qing understood the seriousness of the situation, Fuling let go of her hand. "Lady Lou, please."

This time, Zhuo Qing didn't struggle anymore. She just took a deep look at the closed door and then followed Fuling out of the hall.

Fuling walked a few steps, then stopped when she saw Zhuo Qing hadn't followed. She heard Zhuo Qing's low voice: "Fuling, I'll only ask one thing: is what you are doing today... immoral?" Zhuo Qing had wanted to ask "is it harming a life," but changed her words at the last moment. Deep down, she still didn't believe Qingfeng was that kind of person.

Fuling looked up at Zhuo Qing in surprise, her brows slightly furrowed, but she quickly returned to her usual calm and replied, "No. You should trust the Master."

Zhuo Qing, whose heart had been hanging since she saw that bloodstain, relaxed a little. If it wasn't, that was good. Perhaps due to her previous work, she respected every life. She knew that surviving in the inner palace was difficult, but she didn't want Qingfeng's hands to be stained with blood.

The two walked all the way without speaking. When they reached Ganyang Hall, Zhuo Qing stopped. "Ganyang Hall is right ahead. You go back."

Thinking of the chaos in Qingfeng Hall, Fuling nodded, bowed, and was about to leave when Zhuo Qing suddenly called her back: "Wait. If she has any difficulties, send a message to the Prime Minister's Mansion for me."

Fuling looked up quietly and glanced at Zhuo Qing again. The corners of her mouth, which had been tightly pursed all day, finally relaxed. "Yes."

Fuling went back, but Zhuo Qing stood there for a long time without returning to the celebration. Should she tell Lou Xiyan about these things today? After all, these were matters of the inner palace—would it be useful to tell him? Unfortunately, Gu Yun had just woken up from a serious injury, so she couldn't discuss it with her either. She would just have to wait and see. Zhuo Qing smiled bitterly; she had also learned to wait and see...

After Zhuo Qing left, Qingfeng leaned against the door for a long time before she recovered. She had felt a sense of pressure from her sister for the first time, something that had never happened before. But at this moment, Qingfeng had no energy to delve into it. After calming her mood, she immediately turned and went into the inner chamber. She said to the midwife standing by the screen coaxing the baby, "Without my orders, you are not to breathe a word of today's events to anyone."

The midwife naturally didn't dare to talk much and replied repeatedly, "Don't worry, Your Highness."

"Give the child to me, you go first."

"Yes." The midwife carefully handed the child to Qingfeng and followed Ruyi out of the room.

Holding the child, she walked to the inner room. Lin Feng was packing up his medical tools, his head covered in sweat, showing how much energy the treatment had consumed. Qingfeng asked softly, "How... is she?"

Lin Feng sighed as if relieved of a heavy burden, "She is very weak, but she has temporarily pulled through. This official will go back and decoct another dose of medicine and send it over in a while."

"Mm."

Lin Feng left with his medical kit. The room suddenly became quiet, and Qingfeng's heart sank as the problems she had to face came one after another.

The celebration was about to end, and there was still more than an hour until the evening banquet. If Shui Xin said something to the Empress, it wouldn't be so easy to dismiss the Empress if she came over. Should she confess to Yan Hongtian first? But how could she do it and what could she say to make him accept it without flying into a rage? Looking at the baby sleeping sweetly in her arms, and then at the person on the bed who had just returned from the gates of hell, Qingfeng pondered how she should proceed.

Qingfeng thought over and over again but couldn't come up with a foolproof plan. Zhen Zhen, who had been in a coma, woke up again. Perhaps because she had taken some medicine and rested for a while, her complexion was still pale and bloodless, but her spirit was much better than the previous two times.

"Wu'er, help me up."

Although Wu'er was reluctant, under her master's insistent gaze, she could only help her up and let her lean against the head of the bed.

"Qingfeng, send me and the child back to the Cold Palace." The cold voice echoed softly. Qingfeng frowned, "You still want to go back?" Did she want to raise this child in the Cold Palace by herself?

"Mm."

Qingfeng was puzzled, "Now that the child has been born safely, and it's a prince, you only need to wait until the celebration ends, find an opportunity to explain it clearly to Yan Hongtian. He should believe you. As long as he is willing to protect you both, he will definitely be able to."

Zhen Zhen shook her head with a bitter smile, "Do you remember I said you don't understand him, and you don't understand this inner palace?"

Qingfeng's expression darkened, and she didn't answer. Zhen Zhen didn't mind and continued, "Now you might understand him a little, but you still don't understand the inner palace. As long as the witchcraft matter isn't cleared up, I will always be a person under suspicion. I won't be allowed to raise the child; he will only be adopted by other concubines. Currently, you are the only concubine in the inner palace, and you are pregnant. The child will definitely not be given to you to adopt; he will eventually fall into the Empress's hands. You are also a mother; you should know the pain of being separated from your own flesh and blood, not to mention that handing the child to the Empress is like throwing a lamb into a tiger's den."

Qingfeng had already thought of this just now, so she replied, "It might not necessarily be the Empress; he could be raised by the Empress Dowager."

Zhen Zhen sneered, "You should have heard of Consort Shu."

"Mm." This Qingfeng Hall was originally Consort Shu's place, so she had naturally heard of this Consort Shu.

(End of Chapter)