The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

The door opened, and a palace maid carrying a swaddled baby came out with a beaming smile to congratulate them on the safety of mother and daughter.

Immediately afterwards, she handed the swaddled baby to Qi Yitang.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Look at your beautiful little princess!"

Qi Yitang took the child awkwardly, her hands and feet stiff and unsure what to do. "Slow down, slow down..."

I've held two nephews before, but they were both born wrinkled and looked like monkeys. They weren't good-looking at all; in fact, they were... very ugly.

Although he was her nephew, Qi Yitang felt somewhat disgusted with him.

My little niece is different. She has a soft face, narrow eyes, a slightly pouting mouth, and her fingers curled into a small fist resting on her cheek.

Qi Yitang stretched out a finger and gently poked her little face. "So small..."

The little guy was touched, his little mouth moved, his curled fingers opened, he grabbed one of her fingers, and then wouldn't let go.

Qi Yitang inwardly cried out "Oh dear!" and her whole body went limp like a puddle of spring water.

"So cute, cousin, look, it looks like a kitten."

Ning Nishang's eyes crinkled as she watched. Tangtang must have been even more well-behaved than this little guy when she was a child.

When Qi Yitang is in a good mood, she likes to reward people.

"By imperial decree, Second Sister-in-law has given birth to a healthy daughter. All servants in the Grand Tutor's residence will be rewarded with three months' wages each. Physician Feng and the two nannies will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver each."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The servants all knelt down, deeply grateful.

The maids held the heavy silver ingots, their hearts filled with joy. The Imperial Concubine was indeed a good mistress; this trip with her out of the palace was worth several years' wages.

The delivery room was cleaned up, and Qi Yitang carried the baby in.

Zhou Jingyi lay on the couch, her face pale, her hair soaked with sweat and plastered to her forehead, but she was in relatively good spirits, being fed ginseng soup spoonful by spoonful by Qi Zhongheng.

Seeing Qi Yitang enter, Zhou Jingyi smiled weakly, "Tangtang, why don't you give the child a nickname?"

"Me?" Qi Yitang was stunned.

Looking down at the tiny bundle in her arms, a scene from the original story suddenly flashed through her mind—she was the villainous supporting character, and her little niece, because of her, met a tragic end at the young age of a few years old, being devoured by wild wolves.

Her heart tightened, and she instinctively hugged the child tighter.

"Let's call her... Sui Sui."

Qi Yitang said softly, "May you have peace and good health every year."

Zhou Jingyi nodded, "Okay, let's call her Sui Sui."

With her second sister-in-law safe and sound and the child healthy, Qi Yitang finally felt relieved. As she played with her little niece, she felt that something was not quite right.

She seems to have forgotten something important. What is it?

When the nanny took the child to wash her body, wrapped her in a swaddling cloth with the character "福" (fortune) and handed her back, Qi Yitang suddenly shuddered.

—Oh no, Xie Jingyu!

She practically jumped up, shoving the swaddled baby into Ning Nishang's arms. "Cousin, hold her for a moment, I have urgent business to attend to at the palace!"

Everyone was bewildered by her sudden outburst. What was the matter that was so urgent?

"Tangtang, slow down, don't fall—" Ning Nishang called from behind, but Qi Yitang had already rushed out, lifting her skirt and running away, with a group of palace maids and eunuchs chasing after her.

Qi Yitang's heart was pounding, her mind filled with Xie Jingyu's crazy words.

She couldn't let Xie Ling hear these things, or things would go terribly wrong!

But just as she approached the gate, the eunuch's voice came from outside the mansion.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Qi Yitang paused. Why was Xie Ling here?

The black imperial carriage with gold patterns stopped outside the mansion gate, with the Qilin Guards lined up on both sides, and the bright yellow canopy gleaming in the autumn sun.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and first stepped out a black dragon-patterned boot, its surface spotless. Then came the black hem of a robe, with a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered in gold thread swaying slightly with the movement.

Xie Ling stood at the door, tall and elegant.

The sunlight fell on his shoulders, but it couldn't penetrate the darkness in his eyes.

"Tangtang, come here."

They were perfectly fine last night, but after only half a day apart, Qi Yitang felt that Xie Ling's aura was very low, as if she was in a bad mood.

Could he be here to take her back to the palace?

But she clearly had Yunzhu give her permission, and the palace exit token was given to her by him himself, which he never took back. Wasn't that a way of letting her come and go as she pleased?

Xie Ling was still waiting for her to make a move.

Qi Yitang was too lazy to think anymore. She lifted her skirt and threw herself into his arms, the begonia hairpin at her temple brushing against his chin. "Yanzhi, what brings you here?"

"I heard that my second sister-in-law is about to give birth, and someone is so anxious about it, so I'll join in the fun."

"Greetings, Your Majesty—" Upon hearing that the Emperor had arrived, all members of the Qi family, except for Zhou Jingyi who had just given birth, rushed out of the mansion and knelt down to greet him.

Xie Ling did not immediately make them get up, but gently wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead.

The movements were gentle, but the voice carried a faint, deep tone.

"Why are you running? You're all sweaty."

Although Qi Yitang is often slow to catch on, she is exceptionally good at reading people's expressions.

She felt that Xie Ling's smile today was different from usual. The curve of her lips was the same, but it inexplicably gave her the creeps.

Then look at Li Degui behind him—his face was deathly pale, as if he were constipated. He seemed to want to say something but couldn't, and finally sighed and closed his eyes.

"?"

What's with that expression? What did she do wrong?

"Tangtang," Xie Ling's fingers slid from her forehead to her chin, gently touching her, "who are you looking at?"

Li Degui's legs went weak on the spot, and he almost knelt down.

His mother, please don't say you're here to see him. Although he has no children and no worries, he hasn't lived enough yet.

Now, anyone who dares to offend His Majesty will face certain death.

"I didn't see anything, I just felt like we were on the same wavelength. I was just about to go back to the palace when you arrived." Although Qi Yitang didn't know what had happened, she still took his hand and shook it. "Come on, I'll take you to see my little niece."

Xie Ling's expression softened slightly.

His gaze shifted from her face, then swept indifferently over the Qi family members still kneeling on the ground. "Get up."

Everyone then stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Ning Nishang's heart tightened involuntarily.

Because of Tangtang, His Majesty has always been kind and lenient towards the Qi family, taking care of them in every way. But just now, she clearly felt a distant scrutiny.

In fact, not only Ning Nishang, but everyone in the Qi family also noticed it.

What happened?

……

Little Sui Sui was brought over, wrapped in a red brocade swaddle, and was fast asleep.

"Look at it, isn't it cute?"

Xie Ling glanced at the swaddling clothes and then looked away, her gaze indifferent and unmoved.

"Tangtang, you really like children?"

Qi Yitang was a little conflicted. She liked girls as cute and well-behaved as this, but not much.

Adding to that, the fear from hearing my second sister-in-law's cries of pain outside the delivery room was still clinging to my back.

"It's alright, I don't really like it... Yanzhi, do you want children?" Qi Yitang said, "Actually, we're still young, there's no rush, right?"

Xie Ling: "What if there's an accident?"

Qi Yitang frowned, looking conflicted. "Well, I guess I'll stay. I already have everything..."

Xie Ling did not respond.

"Yanzhi?" Qi Yitang really felt that something was wrong.

As if realizing something, she was startled. What had Xie Ling been doing during the few hours she had been out of the palace? Who had he met?

Is it...

She looked into the void, hoping the comments section would give her some spoilers.

Why are there no comments?

Qi Yitang was so anxious she almost peed herself. Just as she was about to press for answers, Xie Ling suddenly spoke up, "Tangtang, Xie Jingyu is dead. I killed him myself."