Chapter 336

The next day

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Consort Qing of the Qing clan, virtuous and dignified, gentle and respectful, has brought prosperity to the royal family and raised a dragon son, which brings great comfort to my heart. Now that my son has reached his full month, he is bestowed the name: Zhi, and shall reside in Chuxiu Palace. This is the decree."

At the third quarter of the Si hour, just after the morning court session, the imperial decree was immediately delivered to Qingfeng Palace. After the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department finished reading the decree in a high-pitched, shrill voice, the person kneeling on the ground didn't know if she was overjoyed or simply not listening, remaining motionless and stunned there.

Ruyi was kneeling behind Qingfeng. After not hearing any movement for a long time, she quietly raised her head, only to see her mistress staring at the ground with empty eyes, neither accepting the decree nor expressing gratitude. Chief Eunuch Wu of the Imperial Household Department held the decree, not daring to call out to her, looking at a loss for what to do. Ruyi moved a small step forward and reminded her in a low voice, "My Lady?"

Qingfeng's body trembled slightly, as if she had regained her senses, or perhaps she was still wandering in the void. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "Thank you for the Emperor's grace. Long live, long live, long live the Emperor."

Qingfeng's reply was listless, but she had accepted the decree after all. Eunuch Wu breathed a long sigh of relief, hurriedly handed the decree to Qingfeng, knelt, and paid his respects, "Congratulations to Consort Qing, congratulations to Prince Zhi."

Ruyi supported Qingfeng to sit on the main seat in the reception hall. Qingfeng placed the decree casually on the side table and said coldly, "You may all withdraw."

"Yes." After bowing, Wu Rong immediately exited the room. He had served in the palace for most of his life and had served countless masters. This Consort Qing was the strangest one he had ever seen. Today was a great day for the Emperor to bestow a name, yet she was cold and listless; such a master was mostly difficult to serve.

The room was cleared of everyone, leaving only Shen Yao in the inner chamber coaxing the little prince. Qingfeng remained silent, sitting there alone with a cold expression. Her mistress had been sitting there all night; wasn't she tired? Glancing at the imperial decree on the side table, Ruyi smiled slightly and said, "My Lady, the name 'Zhi' bestowed by the Emperor is wonderful. It must have been chosen for the meaning of 'cherished love'!"

Qingfeng's gray, lifeless eyes lifted, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, forming a curve that couldn't be called a smile. Since returning, he hadn't even come to see them, mother and son, once. Cherished love? Why inflate one's own worth? Zhi... also had the meaning of "seize" or "grasp." Who knew what he was thinking in his heart? The most difficult thing to fathom was the monarch's heart, and she didn't want to guess it now. She was waiting, waiting for Fuling to give her an answer.

"My Lady..."

"This Palace wants to be quiet for a while. You go inside and take care of the little prince."

Ruyi still wanted to say something to make her happy, but Qingfeng interrupted her coldly. Ruyi could only retreat quietly into the inner chamber. Just as she entered, she saw Shen Yao breastfeeding the little prince. Ruyi was, after all, still an unmarried young girl, so she immediately turned her face away, and naturally didn't see Shen Yao quietly hiding something in her sleeve.

Qingfeng had never known that waiting could be the greatest torment in the world. Longing for an answer while fearing to know it, every moment that passed added to her panic. Even on those nights in the Heavenly Prison filled with fear, or even the moment she tried to commit suicide in the ruined temple, she had never felt time to be so unbearable.

"My Lady? My Lady..."

A soft voice sounded in her ear. Qingfeng lifted her head abruptly, only to find that Fuling had appeared beside her at some point, looking at her with concern. She had waited all night just to wait for Fuling to return. Now that she was standing in front of her, Qingfeng felt afraid again. She grabbed Fuling's palms and waited a long while before daring to ask, "How did it go?"

Cold hands, pale face—her mistress looked very haggard. It seemed she hadn't slept all night. She still couldn't understand why her mistress wanted to investigate her own sisters, and even if she did, why she was so terrified and urgent?

Fuling didn't answer for a long time, and Qingfeng became anxious, "Did you find out or not?"

Qingfeng clearly looked like she was about to faint, yet she was so urgent. Fuling swallowed the words advising her to rest and nodded helplessly.

"Let's go to your room to talk." Qingfeng grabbed Fuling's hand and hurried toward the side courtyard's wing room.

As soon as the door closed, Qingfeng asked impatiently, "How did the investigation go?"

Fuling closed the door and supported Qingfeng to sit on a chair. Without making her wait long, she detailed everything she could find, from how Qing Ling entered the Prime Minister's Mansion, to how she performed an autopsy in the Great Hall, how she helped Criminal Justice Official Dan solve the old Golden Case, and how she examined the heart-plucked female corpse for the Ministry of Justice. "When Lady Lou first arrived in Qiongyue, before entering the Prime Minister's Mansion, she was abducted by villagers, and later..."

For Fuling to find out so much in one night was not easy. Qingfeng only cared about one point. "Did she... really... perform an autopsy in the Great Hall?"

"Yes. This servant found the palace maids and eunuchs who pulled up the curtains in the Great Hall last night. According to them, Lady Lou did indeed perform a chest autopsy on the Beiqi Princess in the Great Hall."

"Did they see it with their own eyes? Didn't Dan Yulan step forward to help?" Qingfeng asked quickly and urgently, which could be described as aggressive. Fuling glanced at the wooden chair armrest that was creaking under Qingfeng's grip, feeling that something was not quite right, but she dared not deceive her. "They saw it with their own eyes. This servant even questioned them one by one, and the details they provided all matched. Official Dan only stood on the side, didn't say much, and certainly didn't step forward to help."

Was it really true? She had heard people say that her eldest sister performed an autopsy in the Great Hall, but she had never believed it, always thinking that Dan Yulan had let her sister perform the autopsy just to appease the Beiqi Prince as a mere formality. It turned out that she was the only one who had been kept in the dark.

Taking a deep breath, Qingfeng asked cautiously, "Qing Mo... what about Qing Mo?"

"The General's Mansion has strict discipline, and Miss Qing rarely leaves the mansion to interact with others, so it was difficult to verify. Fortunately, Miss Qing has a very high reputation in the Su Family Army. According to the guards of the General's Mansion, as soon as Miss Qing entered the mansion, she competed with General Su Yu in training new recruits and won a complete victory."

Training troops? Since when did Mo'er know how to train troops? Recalling Qing Mo's beautiful archery skills last night, Qingfeng felt her head buzzing. If the autopsy could be explained by her eldest sister being naturally intelligent, well-read in medical books, and self-taught, martial arts couldn't be practiced overnight, could it? If this Qing Mo knew martial arts, then she was definitely not her Mo'er!

After careful consideration, Qingfeng asked with a trembling voice, "In the hearts of the people in the General's Mansion, how is her... martial arts?"

Her mistress was truly a good sister, surely worried about her own sister being wronged in the General's Mansion. Fuling smiled, "Miss Qing's martial arts naturally cannot compare to General Su Ling, but there are few opponents in the General's Mansion. It is said that General Su Yu is also one of her defeated opponents." After investigating all night, she had to admit that the three Qing beauties were famous throughout the Six Kingdoms, and it was truly well-deserved.

Fuling was praising her sincerely, but Qingfeng's complexion became even paler because of her words. In fact, this result had been swirling in her mind since last night. She had just been telling herself over and over again that this was absolutely impossible, but now Fuling was telling her that her eldest sister could perform autopsies and her little sister knew martial arts. Were they still her sisters?

If they weren't, then who were they?

Who were they?!

"My Lady?!" The strength in Qingfeng's body seemed to have been drained away. Fuling hurriedly supported her as she went limp. At this moment, Ruyi's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "My Lady..."

There was no response from inside the room for a long time. Ruyi called out even louder, "Sister Fuling, are you there?"

Fuling supported Qingfeng and couldn't go out to open the door, and the door had just been locked. Fuling could only reply loudly, "What is it?"

"Prince Zhi seems to be somewhat uncomfortable; his whole body is burning with heat..."

"The child..." Qingfeng, who was leaning in Fuling's arms, sat up abruptly, walked quickly to the door, opened it, and asked urgently, "What's wrong with him?"

Ruyi was startled and hurriedly replied, "Prince Zhi seems to be sick; his body is very hot. Please go and take a look."

Qingfeng ran back into the room in a hurry. Just as she pushed the door open, she heard the child's wailing. Qingfeng felt a pang of heartache and took the child from Shen Yao's arms. The little guy's body was already hot, and after crying so hard, his whole face was flushed red. Qingfeng brought her face close to the child's little head and felt a wave of scorching heat.

"Why is he so hot? Wasn't he fine just a moment ago?!" Since last night, she had been thinking about her eldest and youngest sisters, and only now had she properly held the child. It was all her fault for not taking good care of him. The torment of the night, coupled with her self-reproach at this moment, finally caused tears to stream down her face.

Seeing her like this, Ruyi and Shen Yao were both startled and knelt on the ground, "This servant deserves to die. The little prince was already about to fall asleep, but for some reason, he suddenly started crying. This servant just touched his forehead and discovered that his body was burning hot."

Fuling gently touched the child's wrist and found that his pulse was a bit strange, but a child's pulse was naturally weaker. Fuling hadn't diagnosed the child before, so she could only comfort her, "My Lady, don't worry too much. It might be that he caught a cold on the day of his full month; it's nothing serious."

Fuling was a medical maid; if she said it was nothing serious, it should be fine. Calming her distraught heart, Qingfeng asked, "Have you called for an imperial physician?"

"Lan'er has already gone to call for one. This servant will go and check again." Ruyi hurriedly got up and retreated. It seemed that calling only Physician Lin wasn't enough; they should also call Physician Wang. If anything happened to the little prince, they couldn't afford the consequences even if they lost their heads several times over.

After holding the child in her arms and coaxing him for a while, although his body was still burning, he at least stopped crying. Qingfeng's anxious heart finally settled a little. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Qingfeng called out softly, "Fuling..."

Fuling bowed her body, and Qingfeng whispered in her ear, "Go and invite my sister over, right now."

"Yes." Fuling nodded hurriedly. Lady Lou could perform autopsies; perhaps her medical skills were also very impressive.

"Wait." Just as Fuling was about to leave, Qingfeng said again, "Just say I miss her very much and want her to come into the palace for a chat. Don't tell her about the little prince's fever."

"Yes."

Why couldn't she tell Lady Lou? From last night until today, Fuling was already full of questions, but unfortunately, looking at how nervous her mistress was, she probably wouldn't get any answers from her.

Qingfeng held her son in her arms, looking at his quiet, slightly flushed little face, and listening to his slightly rapid breathing. Her heart, which had been filled with panic since last night, seemed to slowly calm down.

(End of chapter)