Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 590

Shen Lingjun lowered her head, feigning shyness.

"His Highness is virtuous, upright, and gentle. He treats me with the utmost respect. It is truly a blessing from my past life that I was able to marry him."

To outsiders, her relationship with "Huo Jinghuai" seemed quite good, and in reality, it wasn't bad either, so she didn't hold back her praise.

Consort Xing chimed in, "I see he's quite ambitious now. He used to be the least noticeable of the princes, practically invisible, but now he's increasingly standing out. Has he developed some new ambitions?"

Shen Lingjun knew what she wanted to ask, but pretended to be naive: "As a mere woman, I dare not inquire about His Highness's ambitions, much less hope for anything. As long as he can continue to be like this, I will be content."

Consort Xing tried to get information from Shen Lingjun indirectly for a long time, but Shen Lingjun was unmoved and couldn't get anything out of her.

Consort Xing couldn't even tell whether "Cheng Wu" was genuinely naive and innocent, or if she was just pretending and actually a formidable character like "Huo Jinghuai."

Currently, only three princes have reached adulthood: the Third Prince, Huo Jinghuai, and the Eighth Prince. The Eighth Prince has a congenital stutter, which essentially eliminates his chances of becoming the crown prince. There are two other princes, both very young and of far lower birth than the Third Prince, making them no match for him.

Theoretically speaking, the Third Prince should have a sure win. Huo Jinghuai's birth mother is Fang Kui, which means Huo Tingsheng would never pass the throne to him.

But Consort Xing was still worried. Huo Jinghuai gave her the impression that he was not to be underestimated, and she felt that she could not let her guard down.

That's why she summoned Cheng Wu to the palace, hoping to extract some information about Huo Jinghuai from her.

But Cheng Wu's mouth was too tight; after talking for a long time, it was all useless talk.

Consort Xing's eyes darkened slightly, but she quickly put on a smile again.

"Huilan, bring out today's crispy abalone and snail dish."

A palace maid brought out a plate of exquisitely crafted pastries, small and delicate, shaped like snails with spiral patterns on them. A sweet, milky aroma wafted from the plate.

Consort Xing smiled and said, "This is a kind of pastry that has recently become popular in the palace. You can't get it outside. It's made with ghee and is sweet and delicious. Today's ghee-flavored abalone is especially authentic. Sister Wu, please have a taste."

Shen Lingjun picked up a crispy abalone, but before she could even put it to her mouth, she could already smell something strange.

This conch shell was poisoned!

Shen Lingjun remained expressionless, put the crispy abalone snail into her mouth, pretended to eat it, but actually put it into her spatial storage.

She exclaimed, "It is indeed delicious; I have never even seen anything like it before."

Consort Xing smiled and said, "If Sister Wu likes it, then eat a few more."

Shen Lingjun ate half a plate, but actually she put half a plate into her spatial storage. Consort Xing watched her with a smile.

Shen Lingjun estimated the time and symptoms of the poison taking effect. About the time it would take to brew a cup of tea, she began to show signs of pain and pretended to be poisoned.

Consort Xing immediately asked with concern, "Wu'er, are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Lingjun frowned deeply: "For some reason, I suddenly have a stomachache..."

A glint flashed in Consort Xing's eyes as she said, "It must be from the crispy abalone snails we just ate. Some people have trouble digesting them. It's alright, I have some medicine here, just take one and it'll be fine."

As she spoke, she asked a palace maid to bring out a bottle of medicine and poured one pill for Shen Lingjun.

Shen Lingjun pretended to have taken the medicine, and after a moment, she returned to normal, saying happily, "The Imperial Concubine's medicine is truly miraculous; I'm cured!"

Consort Xing smiled meaningfully, stared at her, and slowly said, "Just taking this one pill is not enough. You will need to take one every month to ensure that it does not recur."