Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1169: Chapter 1171 How did you guess it?_1

Bai Ruozhu chuckled coldly, ”How can one tolerate others snoring by their couch? Not to mention the entire Imperial Palace, isn’t the whole Danliang Country the Emperor’s?”

The Emperor’s face alternated between shades of green and red; he understood Bai Ruozhu’s meaning—that the palace was his domain of power, and could he not handle things himself? At that moment, he wished desperately to chop off this woman’s head, but, thinking of the unconscious Consort Yue, he had to swallow his anger.

”If the detoxification is delayed for several months, might Consort Yue suffer any lingering illness?” After a long while, the Emperor suppressed his anger and returned to a state of composure.

”This humble concubine dares not guarantee anything; it will depend on the situation. I can only assure you that I will do my utmost to treat Consort Yue,” Bai Ruozhu responded.

The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head and said, ”We can only proceed this way for now, but if Consort Yue’s condition changes, save her first...” He paused, his voice growing much lower, ”We can have more children in the future.”

For a moment, Bai Ruozhu’s anger towards the Emperor lessened. Whether in ancient times or the modern era, there have been no shortage of choices to save the child over the mother. It was truly commendable for the Emperor to utter such words.

The Empress Dowager also stood stunned, looking at the Emperor in surprise and murmuring, ”Wenwen wouldn’t bear to see the child in trouble, she would blame herself for a lifetime...”

”Then let her not know. It’s better for me to bear these matters!” the Emperor said, somewhat annoyedly.

The Empress Dowager fell silent for a moment, and in the end, nodded with difficulty.

Inwardly, Bai Ruozhu felt happy for Consort Yue, but also anxious for herself. Given the critical situation of Consort Yue, the Emperor would likely not allow her to leave the palace.

As expected, the next day, Lin Ping’er and Dengdeng were brought into the palace to accompany Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu, seeing her mother and son whom she hadn’t seen for days, was naturally overjoyed, but also worried and helpless that they were dragged into the vortex of the palace.

Dengdeng, hugging his mother’s neck, kissed her face fiercely, saying, ”I missed Mommy, missed Mommy so much.”

Bai Ruozhu joyfully held her son and kissed him back; she, too, had missed Dengdeng. How could a mother not think of her child?

Soon, Dengdeng, looking into his mother’s eyes, asked, ”Where’s Daddy?”

Bai Ruozhu’s expression stiffened, and she glanced involuntarily at Lin Ping’er, who, with a face of helplessness, said, ”While you were away, if Dengdeng wasn’t asking for you, he was asking for his father. He has been restless at night; do you think the child can sense something?”

Bai Ruozhu hurriedly signaled to her mother with her eyes, instructing her not to say too much. The child was growing up and could understand and comprehend everything; if he knew what had happened to his father, who knows how he would cry.

”I miss Daddy.” Dengdeng pouted and suddenly burst into tears, which also made Bai Ruozhu feel choked up. She held him tightly in her arms, unable to stop her own tears from falling.

Lin Ping’er, watching by the side, also secretly wiped the corners of her eyes.

Later, after the Empress Dowager saw Lin Ping’er and Dengdeng, she rewarded them with quite a few items and then kept them in Cining Palace to accompany Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu knew she couldn’t change the Emperor’s decision and didn’t make things difficult for the Empress Dowager; she just arranged for Jianqi to ensure the safety of her mother and Dengdeng.

That day, Jianqi was taken by a eunuch to change into the uniform of the palace guard. It seemed that the Emperor tacitly gave him an honorary position among the Imperial Guards, so he could legitimately stay in the palace and carry out tasks for Bai Ruozhu. As guards were allowed to leave the palace, every couple of days he would exit the palace to gather information, mainly waiting for news from Chen Feng and Muyu to see if they had found Jiang Yichun.

Several days passed, and Consort Yue started to reject even liquids. Luckily, the needle head that Bai Ruozhu had commissioned a skilled craftsman to make was ready. Although it was not as fine as those in the modern era, and the needle was somewhat thick, it could still be reluctantly used.

She found a way to prepare a nutrient solution and hung an IV drip for the concubine Le, then she taught Hao Mu a set of massage techniques, repeatedly emphasizing that it was essential for him to massage the concubine Le to prevent her muscles from atrophying.

And just like that, in the midst of their fussing, New Year’s Eve arrived in the blink of an eye.

It was still Bai Ruozhu who went to the Imperial Medical Bureau to select medicinal materials. Walking on the road and seeing the lanterns and streamers everywhere, she suddenly remembered that New Year’s was upon them. She couldn’t help but think of her father, her elder brother, sister-in-law, and her second brother. How would they spend the New Year, now that the once boisterous family had been scattered? Could this year truly be a good one for them?

As per tradition, the Imperial Palace would host a palace banquet during the New Year, and capital officials of the fifth-rank and above, along with their wives, as well as the daughters of prestigious families, would all attend. However, this year, the Empress Dowager was not in the mood to be concerned with the New Year’s Eve dinner, and she simply threw all the responsibility on the Empress.

Thinking of the palace banquet, Bai Ruozhu’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch, and an ominous premonition arose in her heart.

With this thought in mind, she hurriedly quickened her pace. Returning, she gave a few instructions to Jianqi, telling him to inform Lu that she feared someone might take advantage of the bustling New Year’s Eve to make a move against the concubine Le.

It wasn’t long before Lu came searching for her, bowed respectfully, and said, ”I am aware of Madam Jiang’s extraordinary wisdom. Please advise me, Madam, where might the adversary attempt to strike?”

Bai Ruozhu gave him a sidelong glance and said, ”Can’t you think for yourself? For instance, performers will be invited to the banquet, couldn’t there be an issue among them? And on New Year’s Eve, fireworks will be set off, right? Couldn’t there be danger hidden within them?”

Lu spoke seriously, ”The performances are managed by the Si Lefang of the Palace. There should be no issues. As for the fireworks, they are sourced from reputable imperial merchants, and we have carefully inspected them beforehand, with no problems found.”

”I’m simply providing examples. You could think of more,” Bai Ruozhu said irritably. ”Alright, alright, discuss it with others yourself; I still need to think about a treatment plan for the concubine Le. Do not disturb me.”

Lu had no choice but to leave and soon went to the Imperial Study Room, conveying Bai Ruozhu’s words to the Emperor.

”Why would she suspect these two areas?” the Emperor frowned.

”I do not know,” Lu replied.

Of course, he didn’t know. Bai Ruozhu’s suspicions were based on watching palace intrigue TV shows and reading novels from her previous life; they weren’t founded on any substantial evidence.

”Arrange for someone to check these two areas again, more thoroughly,” the Emperor commanded.

Two hours later, a dark guard came to report that within the performers from Si Lefang, two individuals had been discovered in disguise. These two were not the original performers; they were imposters who had murdered the innocent performers to take their place!

”What? Such a thing has happened? Bring them to me; I want to interrogate them personally!” the Emperor said angrily, his forehead’s veins bulging.

The reporting Shadow Guard, drenched in cold sweat, knelt on the ground and said, ”Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. Those two haven’t taken any drugs, but they suddenly became stupified. I’m afraid nothing can be asked from them now.”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly. ”Another use of the Soul Capture Technique? It seems Prince Duan is still not giving up, eh?”

In the end, the Emperor personally inspected the two impostor performers, but indeed, they had become stupified, and even the Imperial Doctor was at a loss. No clues could be obtained from questioning them.

The Emperor, with an iron-colored face, said to Lu, ”Go, bring Bai Ruozhu here for questioning. How did she know there was a problem with Si Lefang?”