Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Yes, Madam, that's true. Last night, quite a bit of trouble also happened at the Grand Tutor's residence."

Lin Wantang's heart tightened upon hearing this, and her expression became worried: "What happened? Is my father alright?"

"That's all right. The Grand Tutor woke up this morning and is temporarily fine. But last night, the steward of the manor said that the Grand Tutor's temperament suddenly changed. He became confused, couldn't recognize people, and couldn't hear what was being said. He even picked up a knife and chased after people to attack them. Fortunately, the servants managed to dodge in time and didn't really hurt anyone. However, for some reason, the Grand Tutor rushed to the Wutong Pavilion."

Wutong Pavilion was originally the residence of Lin Yasong before her death. Because she loved paulownia trees, Lin Rucong personally planted paulownia trees all over the courtyard, hence the name.

After Lin Yasong's assassination attempt was exposed and he died, Lin Rucong had no choice but to transfer the ownership of Wutong Pavilion to the Chen family in order to avoid being noticed. However, the paulownia trees that filled the courtyard had already been cut down.

"As you know, Madam Chen only retains the title of Madam now. She is imprisoned in the mansion. Granny Li is also ordered to beat her every day to make her repent and reflect on her mistakes. Last night, the Grand Tutor broke in with a knife. The servants dared to run out of the courtyard to hide, but Madam Chen is not allowed to step out of Wutong Pavilion. So... she was seriously injured."

"The messenger said that things are probably not good either, but after the Grand Tutor woke up this morning, he ordered that no one be allowed to leak the news. Even if it is delayed, Chen should be kept in the first month of the lunar calendar until she passes away. Otherwise, it would be too unlucky to have a funeral during the year."

Lin Wantang didn't care whether Chen lived or died, and didn't find it strange at all. But after thinking about it for a moment, she couldn't help but ask, "So, my father only injured Chen last night when he was poisoned?"

Jiang Fulu nodded: "Yes, Madam."

Lin Wantang exchanged a glance with Wei Wujiu, and said with a wry smile, "Is my father sure it's a relapse of the poison? I have a feeling that he...did it on purpose."

After all, Lin Rucong had tolerated the Chen family for more than ten years.

"Never mind, as long as my father is alright. By the way, with all the commotion last night, was Lin Che frightened?" Lin Wantang still doted on her younger brother.

Jiang Fulu laughed and said, "I don't think so. I heard that the young master is very calm and decisive. He told everyone in the manor to keep quiet and not to spread this matter. Aunt Xia is also managing the inner quarters of the manor very well."

Lin Wantang nodded in relief, still concerned about how to detoxify. She then accompanied Wei Wujiu for a meal before taking a sedan chair to Jinxiu Palace.

After chatting with Yong'an for a few more minutes, the two went together to the Imperial Study to continue organizing and copying historical records.

In her spare time, Lin Wantang strolled among the rows of bookshelves, searching through them. When she got busy, she didn't even have time to eat or rest. She continued until the sun was setting. Fortunately, her hard work paid off, and she found a few books on the top shelf in a hidden spot.

Many of them recorded the customs of Miao territory, and there were also two unofficial historical stories. But the last one caught her eye as soon as she opened it.

Mirage heart sand.

The large words immediately catch the eye, but you have to scroll down to the next page...

It's gone! It's been torn up!

She gritted her teeth. Fortunately, there was still the previous page, which read, "Mirage Heart Sand, Mirage Heart Sand, hallucinogenic and alluring, poisonous invisibly, harming people without their awareness."

"Its poison does not affect the pulse, but only disrupts the mind; initially it is like viewing flowers through fog, but ultimately it is like a demon's backlash, leading to madness and death."

"To cure this poison, one must use the Twin Dream-Awakening Fennel..."

What came next was on the next page, but it has been destroyed.

Lin Wantang carefully studied each character on it, then took out paper and pen and copied each character down. While waiting for the ink to dry, she couldn't help but murmur to herself, "Twin Dream-Awakening Fennel? What is this?"

Is it a flower or a medicine?

But she had never heard of the latter.

That's the former...

"How dare you! Who let you in? Didn't I say no one was allowed to come in to serve us or disturb me and Sister Wan Tang?"

Yong'an's rebuking voice came from afar.

Lin Wantang had no choice but to suppress her thoughts, get up and put the ancient books back in their original places, then fold the copied paper and put it into her sleeve.

She walked around the stacks of bookshelves and saw a little eunuch kneeling timidly on the ground, begging for mercy: "Princess, spare me! I have broken the rules, I deserve to die, but I had no choice but to dare to come to Miss Lin."

They came looking for her?

Lin Wantang looked slightly puzzled, then approached Yong'an with a reassuring glance before asking the young eunuch, "What do you want with me?"

"It's...it's Lin Qinglian!"

Stripped of her title as Crown Princess, Lin Qinglian was demoted to a concubine. However, according to the Emperor's wishes, he did not want her to remain in the Eastern Palace to serve Shen Huai'an. As early as the day of the palace banquet, he had her sent to Jing'an Temple to practice Buddhism.

"This wretched maid was dissatisfied with her punishment. On the day she was sentenced, she made a huge fuss and refused to go to Jing'an Temple. The servants of the Eastern Palace were worried that she would disturb the palace banquet, so they gagged her and tied her up, intending to send her there the next day. But to their surprise, she insisted that she was pregnant!"

Yong'an looked disgusted: "What kind of nonsense is this? Wasn't her pregnancy a lie? How dare she lie to people and cause trouble?"

"Your Highness is unaware that this lowly servant was undoubtedly faking her pregnancy, but after His Highness the Crown Prince found out, he visited her several times, so... so she took advantage of the situation and kept making a fuss until today. Imperial Physician Liu has examined her pulse with several imperial physicians and confirmed that she is not pregnant."

Yong'an couldn't stand it anymore: "And then what? Since she's not pregnant, just send her away already! Why are you still coming to see Sister Wantang?"

The young eunuch trembled, "Your Highness, but this wretched maid is refusing to leave. She even brought out the imperial edict from the Grand Tutor's mansion, saying it's a death-exemption token bestowed by the Emperor Taizu, and that even the Emperor cannot punish her or separate her from His Highness the Crown Prince..."

Lin Wantang's brow furrowed deeply, a surge of anger and resentment rising within her, but she took a deep breath and calmly asked, "Is His Majesty aware of these things?"

The young eunuch kowtowed, his voice trembling with tears, "Your Highness, the Emperor is aware of the situation. That's why he sent Eunuch Hua to summon me to ask you whether you should go and comfort that lowly maid, or... or perhaps return to the manor to inquire with Grand Tutor Lin about whether you should produce the imperial edict bestowed by the Emperor Taizu..."

Lin Wantang's breath caught in her throat, and the knuckles of her fingers, gripping the embroidered handkerchief, turned white.

The emperor was still ill, but he was not confused at all. He wanted to avoid putting too much pressure on Lin Qinglian, so as to preserve the honor of the royal family and demonstrate his reputation as a wise and benevolent ruler. At the same time, he wanted to use Lin Qinglian's troublemaking to force Lin Rucong to make a decision: whether to use the imperial edict bestowed by the founding emperor to pardon Lin Qinglian's crime, or to let Lin Qinglian cause trouble and implicate the entire Lin family.

No matter which option is chosen, the Lin family will inevitably be punished and implicated because of this fool Lin Qinglian.

Do you think the palace is a joke? Who can act recklessly and make a scene just because they're unhappy with their punishment?

That madwoman Lin Qinglian is determined to kill the entire Lin family!