Peach Blossom.

Chen Ji was just getting angry when he heard a guard outside shouting, "My Lord, the princess's little girl Xiaoying is here to tell you something."

That was the person Chen Ji specially arranged to guard the door outside the study, in case Si Rong suddenly came back and broke in and saw something she shouldn't see, so someone could make a report in advance.

When Chen Ji heard this, he quickly put the booklet under a pile of books and walked out of the study quickly.

Chen Ji always knew that Xiaoying, as Si Rong's most personal maid, knew how to avoid suspicion because of her beautiful appearance. She would only enter Chen Ji's study when she was with Si Rong. If Si Rong was not there, Xiaoying would always talk to Chen Ji in an open area outdoors.

"Why didn't the princess come back? Did she only send you back?" Chen Ji went out and asked Xiaoying.

Xiaoying bowed to Chen Ji and replied, "The princess said that she was worried about the emperor, so she would stay in the palace tonight to accompany the emperor. She asked me to tell the county lord. After I pass on the message, I will go back to serve the princess."

After saying that, Xiaoying bowed to Chen Ji again and turned to leave.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Chen Ji thought to himself, although Si Rong had been visiting the palace more and more often and staying longer in the palace recently, this was the first time that she didn't even come back at night...

"Could it be that the emperor is about to..." Chen Ji muttered to himself and did not dare to continue.

But Fang Xiang had already heard it, so he naturally understood what it meant, so he stepped forward and whispered, "Mr. Jun, you are the official's son-in-law. If he is really in danger, you should be by his bedside to guard him."

Chen Ji nodded, but he thought that this time entering the palace was different from the previous times, and he was afraid that it would not be so easy to come back, so he should be careful about some things.

He hurried back into the house, took out the two long books, as well as some letters that he had hidden in the past, most of which were letters from Jiaozhou, and counted them all.

Fang Xiang followed in, very confused by Chen Ji's behavior: "What is the county lord doing?"

"Close the door." Chen Ji just gave the order without explaining.

Fang Xiang first leaned out to look at both sides of the door before closing it. When she turned back, she saw Chen Ji had already opened the lid of the stove in the house, thrown the letters and booklets into them, and gently fanned the flames to let those things burn fully and turn into ashes.

The smell of burning food made Chen Ji cough several times.

After finishing the work, Chen Ji took out two more keys and handed them to Fang Xiang: "I will go to the palace later. These two keys, one is for my study, and the other is for this drawer. You must keep them close to you and never leave them. The princess can't come back before me, but there are spies everywhere in the mansion. You must ensure that no one is allowed to enter my study. If there are any more letters from Jiaozhou, you must hide them in this drawer first, and then lock both keys. You must wait for me to come back and hand them to me in person. You can't give them to anyone else, not even your sister and brother-in-law. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Lord. Even if I swallow the key, no one will find it."

Chen Ji nodded, and Fang Xiang put the key away.

Fang Xiang and her sister Fang Qing, as well as their parents, have been following and serving Chen Ji's father since his father was alive. Apart from Mada, Chen Ji had no choice but to trust him.

After Ma Da took up the post of Xiaoqiwei and moved out of the Duke of Qiao County's Mansion, Fang Qing's parents also followed, leaving only Fang Xiang to continue serving Chen Ji, replacing Ma Da's original position in the mansion.

When Chen Ji arrived at Jiankang Palace on horseback, it was already completely dark. As he expected, there were crowds of people standing inside and outside the east wing of Shiqian Palace.

Because it was dark at night, Chen Ji could only see clearly when he approached that it was Shang Yun who was standing outside. Shang Yun brought a large group of guards stationed in every corner of the East Chamber.

"General Shang."

"Duke of Qiao."

The two men bowed to each other, and Shang Yun made way inside: "Please come in, Duke Qiao."

Chen Ji went in and saw that the hall was brightly lit with candles. Madam Han led all the palace concubines, as well as Crown Prince Si Xiu, Crown Princess Wang Yu, Madam Han's youngest son Si Yan, and his wife Princess Si Rong, were all there, some sitting and some standing.

Si Rong's eyes were swollen like peach pits from crying. Madam Han and others were trying to persuade her. When she saw Chen Ji coming, Madam Han hurried over and greeted him with a smile: "You are here at the right time, Prince Consort. The princess is pregnant and can't stand crying like this. Come and try to persuade her."

Chen Ji walked to Si Rong's side, bent down and wiped her tears: "What happened to the emperor?"

Si Rong shook her head and burst into tears: "I don't know... I don't know... He hasn't woken up today... He hasn't spoken to me yet..."

Chen Ji was shocked. This meant that Si Yuan had been unconscious since before Si Rong entered the palace in the morning, and it was already late at night, but Si Yuan still hadn't woken up.

He looked up at Si Yuanchang's living room. The door was closed. He could see that there were several imperial doctors inside, but he didn't know what they were doing.

Madam Han advised again: "It is already late at night. Princess, for the sake of the child, go to the side hall and rest for a while. If the emperor wakes up, I will send someone to call you immediately."

"Yes, you can bear staying up late like this, but the children can't." Chen Ji also persuaded.

Si Rong had no choice but to stand up with the help of Chen Ji's hand and slowly walk to the next room.

When Chen Ji was about to step out of the door with the help of his mother, he heard Madam Han's voice coming from behind: "Madam Meng Xue is pregnant with the royal heir, so she should also go to rest."

Chen Ji glanced back inadvertently and saw Madam Meng Xue standing opposite Madam Han. Her belly didn't look pregnant at all, and she was probably just pregnant. This made Chen Ji very puzzled. Si Yuan was in such a bad condition, how could he still make his concubine pregnant?

However, Chen Ji did not dare to ask, nor should he ask.

The next day was another day of confusion, and Si Yuan still did not wake up. Chen Ji learned from the palace people that Si Yuan's coma had been getting longer and longer recently, and this time would undoubtedly be the longest one so far.

Two days later, it was still the same. The palace ladies came and went like a meeting, guarding during the day and going to sleep at night. Only Si Xiu, because he had the responsibility of supervising the country and had official business to attend to from time to time, could not guard all the time.

Seeing that Si Yuan was neither awake nor dead, Chen Ji felt very uneasy. He was always thinking about Wang Huan and the Wang family members who were sending him off for the wedding. He wondered if anything had happened after he arrived in Jiaozhou. He thought that Chen Liang must have sent a letter and was waiting for his reply.

So Chen Ji told Si Rong that he wanted to go home, on the pretext of getting some clothes. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of the room where he and Si Rong were temporarily staying, he ran into Mrs. Han.

He didn't know when Mrs. Han was standing outside their house, it felt like she was waiting to catch him.

"If the princess just goes back to get some clothes, can't the servants run errands? The princess is in a trance every day, and I am very scared. Only when the princess stays with her every step, I feel a little relieved." Mrs. Han smiled and looked very polite.

Chen Ji also smiled and said, "It's like this every day. I can go back for a while and come back later. It won't be a problem."

"You are wrong, Prince Consort. If the emperor is like this, something could happen at any time. The princess is pregnant, but she is getting weaker and weaker these days. If something happens to the emperor, I am really afraid that the princess will not be able to hold on. If it affects the baby in her belly, then I will be the sinner. Please be considerate, Prince Consort."

As they were talking, Si Rong also walked out of the house, supported by Xiaoying. She looked really bad, like a patient.

"You should go and accompany us, my dear son-in-law. No matter what we need, there is nothing missing in the palace." Madam Han smiled and pushed Chen Ji towards Si Rong.

Si Rong's face was filled with sorrow. She was too lazy to pay attention to any of this and didn't say anything. This made Chen Ji in a difficult position and he had to go over and help Si Rong go to Si Yuan.

Chen Ji didn't know whether Mrs. Han was really worried about Si Rong and afraid of taking responsibility, or if she had other thoughts.

After another two or three days, Chen Ji was unable to sleep or eat. He had thought that this time he would be in the palace for a long time, but he did not expect it to be this long.

At night, Chen Ji was too anxious and inevitably suffered from insomnia. He finally fell asleep late at night but was suddenly awakened by a knock on the door.

"Duke, Princess..." The voice outside sounded like that of Xiang Ran, Madam Han's maid.

Chen Ji hurriedly sat up, and then helped Si Rong up. Si Rong had woken up when the first knock on the door sounded, but her belly was too big for her to get up quickly.

After Si Rong sat up and put on her clothes, Chen Ji hurriedly opened the door.

Xiang Ran said, "The emperor has woken up and sent the princess over."

The two of them came to the East House and happened to meet Si Xiu and Wang Yu at the door.

Wang Yu glanced at Chen Ji with an extremely unfriendly look.

Chen Ji vaguely felt that in the past few days, every time Wang Yu saw him, his eyes were not right, like hatred. It seemed that it was not like this when they met before.

This midnight was indeed the most special. All the concubines did not return to their bedrooms to rest, but all waited in the Shiqian Palace.

Si Rong, Chen Ji, Si Xiu and Wang Yu came to Si Yuan's room, only to see Si Yuan half lying, Madam Han standing on one side, and the imperial doctors had all gone outside.

"Father..." Si Rong couldn't help crying again. She forgot to greet him and sat down next to Si Yuan, hugged his neck and burst into tears.

Si Xiu, Wang Yu and Chen Ji knelt down and saluted.

"Don't cry..." Si Yuan smiled gently, "Crying...can't change anything..."

Hearing Si Yuan say this, Si Rong became even sadder.

Si Yuan comforted Si Rong, raised his head slightly, and stared at Chen Ji: "You... come here..."

Because Si Yuan didn't say "stand up", Chen Ji didn't dare to stand up. He knelt in front of Si Yuan's bed and bent over to obey his orders.

Si Yuan spoke in a low voice, so he asked Chen Ji to get closer: "After I die... you must treat Rong'er well. If you hurt her, you will be punished and die without a burial place."

These harsh words shocked Si Rong so much that she even forgot to cry. Her head unconsciously left Si Yuan's shoulder and she stared at Si Yuan with wide eyes.