The male lead went insane after the female supporting character gave birth to the main villain'

Not long after, Qin Yan had the carriage curtains hung up so that people outside could see him and Su Yan sitting face to face inside the carriage playing chess.

Passing by the carriage, you can see many chess pieces on the chessboard, which shows that the two have been playing chess for quite some time.

This led everyone to believe that after the imperial physician retired, His Majesty began teaching Princess Chang Le how to play chess.

The officials all knew that His Majesty felt deeply indebted to Princess Chang Le and treated her better than his own younger sister.

When the rumors that Princess Chang Le was a good-for-nothing first came out, His Majesty was furious. He sent people to the city to arrest those who were gossiping and sent them to do hard labor for a month to build roads before they were released.

Many of them were daughters of court officials, and His Majesty showed them no respect whatsoever, sending their pampered daughters to do hard labor.

The officials were so frightened that upon returning to their residences, they repeatedly warned their daughters, strictly forbidding them from saying a single bad word about Princess Chang Le.

This is why no one dares to mock Su Yan as a good-for-nothing anymore.

Now, seeing Qin Yan teaching Su Yan to play chess, even if someone suspects there's something going on between them, no one dares to utter a single word.

It was only because rumors circulated that Princess Chang Le was a good-for-nothing and a country bumpkin that His Majesty sent the daughter of a court official to work on building roads through the mountains.

If they dare to say that Princess Chang Le has an affair with His Majesty and ruin Princess Chang Le's reputation, they will probably lose their heads.

And so, Su Yan stayed openly and legitimately in Qin Yan's carriage until the procession set off before leaving.

During the three-day journey, every time the group stopped to rest, Qin Yan would send a royal physician to examine Su Yan and send her pastries, but he did not send anyone to invite her to the imperial carriage.

The court officials weren't fools. He always sent someone to invite Su Yan over, whether it was to openly teach her chess or calligraphy. It would be foolish for those officials not to suspect that they had a secret affair.

Even the imperial physicians would go and examine other ministers and their unwell family members after examining Su Yan.

The pastries were also made in bulk by the accompanying imperial chefs and given as gifts to the ministers and their families.

Of course, Su Yan's portion was different from the wholesale pastries. Qin Yan had the imperial chef make her her favorite pastries separately. They were covered by a food box, and Su Yan didn't tell anyone else, so no one else knew about it.

Under Qin Yan's cover, everyone assumed that Princess Chang Le was simply physically weak and that His Majesty owed her something, which was why he placed her first in the gifts of imperial physicians and pastries.

They felt that His Majesty's treatment of Princess Chang Le was actually quite similar to that of them, the ministers.

No one suspected that they had an affair.

On the evening of the day they arrived at the Donglianshan Palace, Su Yan fell ill from exhaustion and was too sick to even get out of bed.

Qin Yan was so anxious that he secretly took her back to his palace to take care of her, and even lay on the soft couch with her for the rest of the night.

If Su Yan hadn't known that he was leading his officials into the mountains for an autumn hunt the next morning and was worried that he wouldn't get enough rest and might have an accident the next day due to his mental fog, and hadn't refused to let him go to bed with her, he would have wanted to lie down on the bed and sleep with Su Yan.

Qin Yan wanted to lie down and sleep with her, mainly so that it would be easier to take care of her at night, pour her water, and check if she had a fever.

However, Qin Yan only gave in because Su Yan threatened him with taking medicine, and he lay on the soft couch for half the night.

He got up many times during the night, ran to the bedside to touch Su Yan's forehead, and only went back to lie down after making sure she didn't have a fever.

Su Yan was sleeping soundly and had no idea that he hadn't been sleeping properly as instructed.

The next day, she learned from the system what Qin Yan had done the night before. Qin Yan had already led his officials into the mountains, and she couldn't find him to settle accounts.

They could only send Qin Yan's people out to deal with the people on the road outside, and then return to their own courtyards with their maids, instead of staying in Qin Yan's palace.

Because she was sick and unable to go out, Su Yan missed the opening ceremony of the first day of the autumn hunt and the banquet on the first night.

Qin Yan was preoccupied with her. Not long after the banquet began, he drank with the ministers and became "drunk" in just a quarter of an hour. He was then helped back to his palace by the chief eunuch.

Then, while everyone was attending the banquet in the open space outside the main gate of the palace, he concealed his face and body with his cloak and quietly came to Su Yan's courtyard.

Su Yan was a princess of the first rank, and the courtyard she was assigned was very close to Qin Yan's palace. In just a quarter of an hour, Qin Yan slipped into Su Yan's room from his palace.

Smelling the bitter smell of medicine wafting through the room, Qin Yan felt a pang of heartache. "Ayan?"

"Ahem...Your Majesty?"

A little girl's hoarse voice came from behind the bed curtains. Qin Yan strode over, lifted the curtains, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Ayan, are you feeling any better?"

"Your Majesty shouldn't have come. What if you catch the disease? Cough cough..." Su Yan pulled the blanket over her mouth and nose, her upper face showing a fragile and pitiful sickness.

Qin Yan didn't care about any of that. He pulled back the covers, scooped her up, and hugged her tightly. "Ayan, have you had dinner yet?"

"They've already eaten. Where is His Majesty? The banquet just started not long ago. Won't the court officials say something if His Majesty leaves like this?"

"I was drunk, what could they possibly say?" Qin Yan touched her forehead worriedly. "Luckily, I didn't get a fever."

The imperial physician said this morning that as long as Ayan rests for a couple more days and drinks a few doses of medicine for treating colds, she will get better.

Ah Yan, you need to stay in your room obediently for the next two days and take your medicine properly. Once you're better, I'll take you horseback riding and hunting. I'll hunt rabbits and foxes for you to take home and raise, okay?

Su Yan pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his strong, powerful heartbeat, and softly replied, "Okay~"

After hugging her for a while, easing his longing and yearning, Qin Yan put her down, covered her with a blanket, and asked someone to prepare water for her to bathe before returning to lie down and hold her to sleep.

The following afternoon, Qin Yan sent someone to deliver two lively rabbits.

On the third day at noon, Qin Yan sent someone to deliver a white fox with an injured front paw.

By the fourth day, Su Yan was much better and could go out for walks. She wore a thick cloak and carried a rabbit when she went out.

The imperial palace was built for the emperor to hunt in the Donglian Mountains in autumn, and he only came once a year. Therefore, Qin Yan did not allow the Ministry of Revenue to be extravagant and wasteful, and did not allow them to build any pavilions, towers, artificial hills and ponds, or plant any exotic flowers and plants.

His own palace was not large, and the courtyards for his ministers were also very simple.

Moreover, the courtyards in the imperial palace could not accommodate so many people, so they were only allocated to members of the royal family, important officials of the court, dukes, marquises, and nobles.

The remaining officials and their families could only camp on the open ground on both sides of the palace, while the open ground behind the palace was used by the soldiers who were guarding Qin Yan and the officials.

Since there was no good scenery to see in the entire palace, Su Yan took Jing Xia, Ling Chun, and the other two maids arranged by Qin Yan and went out to take a walk at the foot of the mountain.

Lingchun and her two maids both knew martial arts; they could protect her if she encountered any snakes, insects, or other accidents.

As soon as Su Yan stepped out, the system said, "Host, Qin Yang has sent someone to guard outside. As soon as you came out, that person ran to report to Qin Yang's follower. It's estimated that Qin Yang will come looking for you soon."

Su Yan paused, handed the rabbit to Ling Chun, and said, "This rabbit is a bit too heavy. My arms are getting tired from holding it. I'd better not take it out. You can take it back and put it in its cage."

"Yes!"

Stepping out of the palace, Su Yan felt the air was much fresher.

The trees on the opposite mountain range were withered and yellow, and the whole world exuded a desolate atmosphere.

At the foot of the mountain, there were many wives and daughters of officials who could not ride or shoot horses, strolling around.

Su Yan didn't want to deal with them, so she took her maid and found a secluded spot to walk slowly. When she saw pretty wildflowers, she would pick them and admire them from time to time.

Sure enough, Qin Yang arrived shortly afterward.

Moreover, he also brought two horses.

"Chang Le, I heard you've recovered from your illness, so I came all the way from the mountains to find you. Shall I take you horseback riding?" Qin Yang looked at her with a bright smile.

Knowing she was sick, he visited her every morning and evening these past few days, but she was so sleepy from her illness that she woke up late in the morning and went to bed early at night, so he was unable to see her even once.

Upon hearing from a servant that she had gone out, he immediately abandoned the princess and his other close friends, and rushed back on horseback.

He didn't know why he cared so much about her, and he didn't want to delve into it. He just wanted to win her heart and make her fall deeply in love with him!