He remarried after his mother's death, seized power over the world, and slept on the emperor�

Jiang Bingning seemed to have had all her soul ripped out in an instant.

"My mother..."

Jiang Bingning's voice was trembling.

The thin sheet of paper felt incredibly heavy in her hands.

She suddenly looked up at Ji Ling, her eyes filled with unprecedented panic.

"I want to go back."

"I'm going back right away!"

Ji Ling did not hesitate at all.

He snatched the letter, glanced at it, and then turned to give orders to his guards.

"Prepare the best, fastest horses!"

"Two horses!"

"Your Highness, regarding the situation in the Northern Border..."

Before the guard could finish speaking, Ji Ling's icy gaze silenced him.

"I said, prepare the horses!"

He turned around and looked directly at Jiang Bingning.

"Come on, I'll go back with you."

***

The horses' hooves shattered the ice and snow, and also the starlight.

It only took them three days to travel from the northern border to the capital.

The men and horses did not rest, and traveled day and night.

Jiang Bingning's heart was already burning with a scorching flame.

My mother's health had been improving, so why did she suddenly become seriously ill?

Are they from the Ji family?

Or did the Lin family realize something and start making their move?

Countless thoughts swirled in her mind, each one sending chills down her spine.

Ji Ling, who was beside her, remained silent the whole way, simply shielding her from most of the wind and snow.

At each post station, he would stuff the hottest water and dry food into her hands.

"Save your energy."

This was the sentence he said to her the most over the three days.

Chun Tao was already waiting anxiously in front of the Prince Xin's mansion.

Upon seeing Ji Ling and Jiang Bingning, he practically scrambled forward to greet them.

"Miss, you're finally back!"

Jiang Bingning dismounted, staggering as she did so.

"How is my mother?"

Her voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

Chun Tao's face turned pale, and she stammered, not daring to speak.

"explain!"

Jiang Bingning gave a sharp shout.

Chun Tao shuddered in fright, then said with a mournful face, "The lady suddenly fell into a coma the day before yesterday. We summoned the imperial physicians from the palace, and also the renowned physician Zhang, but they both said..."

"What are you all saying?!"

Jiang Bingning's heart sank to the bottom.

"Everyone says it was poisoning; the medicinal herbs clashed, and he almost didn't make it!"

Poisoned!

Jiang Bingning's vision went black.

Someone did indeed make a move!

She pushed Ji Ling aside and rushed into the palace like a madwoman.

***

Inside Tingxuexuan, a strong smell of medicine wafted through the air.

Jiang Bingning rushed into the inner room and immediately saw her mother lying on the bed.

Liu Jingyi's eyes were closed and her face was ashen. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would have looked almost like a dead person.

"mother!"

Jiang Bingning rushed to the bedside, tears streaming down her face.

When Zhang Xuanzhi saw the person who had arrived, he nodded slightly as a greeting.

"Dr. Zhang, my mother..."

Zhang Xuanzhi withdrew the silver needles and sighed.

"Don't worry, Miss Jiang, the lady's life has been temporarily pulled back from the brink of death."

He paused, his tone becoming serious.

"However, the way the poison was administered was suspicious."

"The lady's medicine is all prepared by the elders of the household; outsiders have no way to interfere."

"Just the day before yesterday, someone mixed 'Angelica dahurica' into the medicine."

"This substance is harmless when taken alone, but when it comes into contact with the 'Aconitum carmichaelii' in the lady's prescription, it becomes highly poisonous."

Jiang Bingning suddenly raised her head.

"Who is it?"

Zhang Xuanzhi shook his head. "You'll have to ask the people in the Prince's mansion about that."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

The Dowager Consort walked in with a sullen face, her gaze falling on Jiang Bingning by the bedside, and finally settling on the face of the unconscious Liu Jingyi, a complex expression flashing across her face.

"I have already punished the person."

She spoke slowly.

Ji Shaohuan, who was standing to the side, suddenly shuddered and turned pale.

The Dowager Princess gave her a cold glance.

"It's Shao Huan."

"The day before yesterday, she went to deliver some snacks to Madam Liu. When she saw the medicine bowl on the table, she thought she would kindly take it over."

"Unexpectedly, I accidentally spilled the angelica powder that I had prepared in the sachet into the medicine bowl."

The Empress Dowager emphasized the word "inadvertently" very heavily.

Ji Shaohuan immediately knelt down, tears streaming down her face.

"My granddaughter really didn't do it on purpose!"

"How was I supposed to know that stuff would interact negatively with the medicine! I was just trying to help!"

Jiang Bingning's gaze was as cold as the ice and snow of Beishan Mountain.

"Wasn't it intentional?"

Why is there angelica powder in your sachet?

Ji Shaohuan's eyes widened in panic, and he quickly explained, "I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I heard that angelica root can calm the nerves, so I got some..."

"Yeah?"

Jiang Bingning approached step by step.

"You'd better pray that my mother is safe and sound."

"otherwise……"

"Otherwise what?"

A shout interrupted Jiang Bingning's words.

Ji Zhaowu stepped forward, shielding Ji Shaohuan behind him, and glared angrily at Jiang Bingning.

"Jiang Bingning! Don't go too far!"

"Shao Huan already said it wasn't intentional! What more do you want?"

The Empress Dowager's face darkened. "Zhao Wu! Silence!"

She turned to Jiang Bingning, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"This matter was Shao Huan's recklessness."

"I punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall for three days, without food or water, as a warning to others."

"This matter ends here."

Kneel in the ancestral hall for three days.

For a princess, this was an extremely severe punishment.

But compared to a life that was almost lost, it seems so insignificant.

Ji Zhaowu wanted to say something more, but was stopped by a look from the Empress Dowager.

He was unwilling to accept this, so he turned his head and glared fiercely at Jiang Bingning, his eyes full of resentment.

"Bad luck!"

He lowered his voice.

"If you and your daughter hadn't entered the manor, where would all this trouble have come from!"

"You've caused so much unrest in our Prince Xin's household!"

Jiang Bingning ignored him and simply turned back to the bedside.

All the arguments seemed meaningless in the face of the mother's faint breathing.

All she has to do now is wait for her mother to wake up.

***

On the first day, Jiang Bingning neither ate nor drank anything and stayed by his side constantly.

The next day, her eyes were sunken and her lips were chapped, but she still stayed there.

Ji Yunhan also silently stayed by her side, handing her cup after cup of hot tea.

"Ning'er, eat something, or you'll collapse."

Jiang Bingning shook her head, her gaze never leaving Liu Jingyi's face.

On the third day, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Liu Jingyi's fingers twitched slightly.

Jiang Bingning was startled.

"mother?"

The person on the bed twitched their eyelids a few times, and finally slowly opened them a crack.

Her gaze searched the room for a long time before finally settling on her daughter's haggard face.

"Ning'er..."

Liu Jingyi's voice was very weak.

Jiang Bingning's tears welled up again.

Looking at her bloodshot eyes, Liu Jingyi weakly raised her hand, wanting to stroke her cheek.

She tried to move, but she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.

"Mother... I'm a burden to you."

These words pierced Jiang Bingning's heart.

She shook her head vigorously and pressed her mother's hand against her face.

"no."

"Mother, you haven't been a burden to me."

"It's my fault, I failed to protect you."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unprecedented firmness.

This time, she would not back down.

"Accidentally"?

She wanted everyone to know that there aren't that many coincidental "accidents" in this world.