She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Hui Chun saw Consort Ling bent over in pain, her once flawless white face now covered in large red patches. She immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and ran towards the Imperial Hospital.

Emperor Jing'an carried Consort Ling around the waist to the inner palace.

Seeing that Consort Ling's condition was serious, Madam Ling was filled with fear and wanted to go and check on Consort Ling's condition, but her hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably and she could not walk at all.

She ordered two palace maids to help her into the hall, only to find Consort Ling lying on the bed, already somewhat delirious.

Madam Ling's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground with a thud: "Your Majesty, the Empress is so ill, and we don't know what's wrong with her. Please send someone to summon Prince Yu to the palace immediately."

The worry in Emperor Jing'an's eyes vanished the moment he heard Madam Ling's words.

Consort Ling rarely saw her brothers and sisters-in-law from her maternal family.

Now, as Prince Yu is about to go to his fiefdom, Consort Ling unexpectedly requests to see her family.

This action made him suspect that Consort Ling had ulterior motives.

Therefore, he did not follow the palace rules and arrange for eunuchs to stand by and watch over their meeting.

Instead, he planned to go to Yanxiang Palace himself when the time was right and catch them off guard.

When he arrived at Yanxiang Palace, Consort Ling appeared very calm, but Madam Ling's unusual behavior still revealed some clues.

Consort Ling and Madam Ling did indeed have ulterior motives.

As for their scheme, it's not hard to guess; it's likely related to Prince Yu.

As he expected, Madam Ling's words confirmed his suspicions.

Emperor Jing'an never expected that Consort Ling would risk her own life to keep Prince Yu in the capital.

Suppressing the anger that was about to surge within him, he said meaningfully, "Let the imperial physician examine the Consort's pulse first. If the condition is serious, then let Jing'er and his wife stay in the palace to attend to her."

"Your Majesty is right." Madam Ling, having finally gotten her wish, almost burst into laughter through her tears. She took out her handkerchief and pretended to wipe away her tears, suppressing the smile on her face: "Your Highness will surely be blessed with good fortune and will be alright."

Emperor Jing'an wanted to laugh as Lady Ling's scheme succeeded, but he dared not because of her presence. He tried his best to control his expression, which looked distorted and comical.

At this moment, Huichun arrived with the imperial physician.

Madam Ling quickly stepped aside and stood next to Xiu Dong. The two exchanged a glance, then moved away together, looking nervously at Consort Ling.

The imperial physician hurriedly took Consort Ling's pulse and then reported to Emperor Jing'an: "Your Majesty, the Consort's illness is due to food poisoning. I will give her a few pills, and she will be fine."

Upon hearing this, Huichun suddenly looked at Xiudong.

Xiu Dong lowered her head, not daring to look at Hui Chun.

Upon learning that Consort Ling was alright, Emperor Jing'an instructed Huichun and Xiudong, who were standing nearby, "Take good care of Consort Ling and make sure she has everything she needs. If anything happens to her again, you will be held responsible."

Hui Chun and Xiu Dong replied in unison, "Your servants obey."

Emperor Jing'an pointed to two eunuchs beside him: "You escort Lady Ling out of the palace."

Leaving these words behind, Emperor Jing'an departed without lingering.

The eunuch quickly responded and urged Madam Ling to leave the palace.

After everyone else had left, Huichun fed Consort Ling the pill and immediately went to the outer hall to check on the lotus seed and bird's nest soup, only to find the soup bowl had been removed. She rushed into the inner hall, grabbed Xiudong, and demanded, "What did you feed Her Highness?"

Xiu Dong vehemently denied it: "I...I didn't give Her Majesty anything to eat, I just...I just went to the small kitchen and brought Her Majesty a bowl of lotus seed and bird's nest soup. Madam Ling...she ate it too, and she...she's fine..."

"If it weren't for your tampering, how could Her Majesty have gotten into trouble?" Huichun sneered. "The bird's nest soup that Her Majesty eats every day is cooked by the two of us ourselves, and we never ask other palace servants to do it. Just now, when the Emperor was about to arrive, you rushed to serve the lotus seed bird's nest soup and made me make the tea, just so you could put lily bulbs in the soup?"

Xiu Dong's face turned deathly pale.

“We are both servants of the Ling family, and we have been taught since childhood that the master is the head of the Ling family, not the servants who serve us.” Huichun pushed Xiudong away fiercely, her eyes red. “But the Empress has treated us well. She warmed even a stone. How could you do such a disloyal thing? When the Empress is sober, you will go and receive your punishment.”

Xiu Dong stumbled and fell to the ground, crawling and kneeling on the ground, her lips trembling as she tried to say something but didn't know how to explain, so she could only wipe away her tears.

While she was helping Lady Ling with her makeup in the inner palace, Lady Ling slipped a packet of powder into her hand, saying it contained powdered lilies and that she should find an opportunity to put it into Consort Ling's bowl.

Consort Ling will not be in mortal danger after eating lily powder; she will only develop red spots on her face, which will look frightening. With Consort Ling ill, Prince Yu will surely be able to stay in the capital and save the Ling family.

Otherwise, not only would the entire Ling family be executed, but even Consort Ling and Prince Yu would not be able to escape unscathed.

Finally, Madam Ling pulled out the indentures of her parents and siblings from her sleeve, the threat of which was self-evident.

After weighing the options in her mind, she finally decided to add lily powder to Consort Ling's lotus seed and bird's nest soup.

It wasn't just for his parents, but also for Consort Ling.

Half an hour later, Consort Ling regained her senses and looked coldly at Xiu Dong, who was kneeling by the bed.

Although she was previously delirious, she could hear the sounds coming from inside the inner palace.

"You...you idiot."

Consort Ling cursed angrily, saying that even if the Third Prince racked his brains to harm them, he was methodical in his actions and they could always guess his thoughts, so they could take precautions in advance.

But a fool acts without any rhyme or reason, making him impossible to guard against.

Consort Ling was so angry that her chest ached. She instructed Huichun, "Quickly write to Jing'er and tell him about the Ling family's affairs. Tell him not to listen to Madam Ling's words and not to send anyone to the palace to inquire about information. He should prioritize the overall situation."

She originally planned to secretly transfer Ling Zhongshi's shipping business to someone who would serve her and her son, thus taking the blame for the Ling family. If the Third Prince's people were to investigate, she was sure they would find a way to trace it back to the Third Prince.

This is also the reason why she told Emperor Jing'an earlier that the Ling family had sold off their properties and intended to resign and return to their ancestral home—to show Emperor Jing'an that they had no intention of vying for the position of crown prince.

Unexpectedly, Madam Ling took it upon herself to administer lily powder to her and even had Emperor Jing'an summon Prince Yu to the palace to attend to her illness, disrupting her plans.

Consort Ling felt a sharp pain in her stomach and coughed up blood.

Hui Chun and Xiu Dong turned pale with fright and cried out, "Your Majesty..."

Consort Ling knew very well that she had not only eaten lily powder, but was also very likely poisoned.

She endured the excruciating pain in her stomach, as if being stabbed with knives, and grasped Huichun's hand, instructing her word by word: "Remember to write to Jing'er, you must write to him. Also, do not tell Jing'er about my hemoptysis, nor let it reach the Emperor. Just say that I am perfectly fine."

Huichun nodded, tears streaming down her face. She kept telling herself not to panic, not to be afraid.

The master has already fallen. If she doesn't take care of things soon, the Empress and His Highness will truly be finished.

Suppressing her panic, she immediately ordered the palace servants to fetch the imperial physician, and then sent someone to deliver a message to Prince Yu.

Xiu Dong looked at Consort Ling, her mouth covered in blood, lying painfully on the bed, the quilt covering her also stained red with blood. She was filled with remorse and tearfully begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, I am so sorry, please punish me."

Consort Ling didn't look at Xiu Dong, but instead looked at the tin box placed on the bedside table: "Like master, like servant. I don't have a heart, so how could you possibly have one? According to the rules of Yanxiang Palace, go and receive your punishment."

Xiu Dong's face drained of color, and she collapsed to the ground.

Consort Ling felt excruciating pain in her internal organs. She reached out to grab the tin box, but couldn't reach it no matter how hard she tried; she was just a hair's breadth away.

She struggled to move her body upwards, and her fingers finally reached the tin box.

With a "bang," the tin box fell to the ground.

A string of prayer beads snapped as it was flung out, the string breaking and the beads scattering to the ground, making a "tap-tap" sound that resonated in Consort Ling's heart. She stared blankly at the scattered beads.

In a daze, she seemed to hear someone say in her ear: "Youyou, the silk thread for the rosary was specially made by someone using a special process. It is very tough and can last for a hundred years without breaking, which means that my Youyou will live to be a hundred years old."

-

On the other hand, after leaving the palace, Madam Ling went to Prince Yu's residence.