Chu Yulan (Xiao Wenqiang) noticed that Situ Zixian's hands began to tremble slightly, and he no longer referred to himself as "Zhen." She knew the drug was taking effect. Although she didn't know what kind of drug this man had given her, she would find out soon enough.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, shall we retire early!" Xiao Wenqiang got off his lap and helped the increasingly unsteady Situ Zixian to the bed.
Within a few minutes, Situ Zixian's eyes closed completely, and he fell into a deep sleep, his body limp. A while later, his face seemed to turn red, and he frowned, his breathing deepening, as if he were about to wake up. However, after struggling for a moment, he returned to his slumber.
Outside the palace, Wang You was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth, occasionally looking up, but unable to see anything inside the sleeping quarters.
Just as he was calculating the time and preparing to find an excuse to enter and check on the situation, another imperial guard arrived outside and whispered in his ear, "Eunuch Wang, His Majesty has an urgent matter and requests your presence at Jinle Palace immediately."
Wang You glanced at the Emperor's sleeping quarters a few more times, and finally left. As he walked away, he thought to himself: the Ninth Prince is the Emperor's own brother and has always worked for the Emperor; he wouldn't do anything reckless, would he!
Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince, Situ Zixian, whom Wang You had been worried about potentially harming the Empress, was having a beautiful spring dream. In his dream, Chu Yulan was as heroic and radiant as she was in the army years ago, with a bright smile.
He seemed to recall the memory of being rescued after drowning. The woman's cold, soft lips were giving him breath, and the pleasant sensation merged with the image of her feeding him wine. Then the scene shifted to this large bed, where the woman beneath him had alluring eyes, and the tear mole beneath her left eye was particularly tempting. He couldn't help but move closer...
When Situ Zixian woke up, he found that it was already late at night. He was lying on his imperial brother's dragon bed, with his imperial brother's consort beside him, sound asleep with her eyes closed.
Terrified, he quickly sat up, then as if remembering something, he quietly got out of bed. Picking up the clothes scattered on the floor, he put them on one by one, and Situ Zixian hastily fled.
After he left, Xiao Wenqiang opened her eyes. She hadn't been asleep at all. Perhaps it was due to Situ Zixian's profound internal energy, but the drug's effect on him was short-lived. She had only managed to remove their outer garments before pretending to be asleep.
Fortunately, Situ Zixian was already guilty, so he didn't observe closely and hastily tidied himself up and left the scene. Otherwise, with his eyesight, he would have surely noticed the flaw.
In the secret chamber.
"Is the Empress asleep?" Situ Chuanqiong, while Leng Yuanxiang was asleep, quickly came to see his ninth brother, concerned about the Empress's situation.
Situ Zixian's eyes avoided direct contact, and he tried to maintain his usual demeanor as he replied, "Imperial sister-in-law is asleep. The hallucinogenic powder has been administered. The specific outcome depends on the scene in her dream."
Fortunately, Situ Chuanqiong didn't notice his brother's guilt at all. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "That's good. It's fine even if she just thinks she drank too much and fell asleep."
"Then, Imperial Brother... may your subject leave the palace now?" Situ Zixian asked tentatively.
"Don't leave yet! Continue to stand guard there for me. You can withdraw tomorrow after I've attended the morning court," Situ Chuanqiong was afraid that the Empress might wake up in the middle of the night and cause a scene if she couldn't find anyone. He himself still had to accompany Leng Yuanxiang.
Helplessly, Situ Zixian had to return to the Emperor's sleeping quarters. However, he absolutely dared not get onto that bed and could only make do with the small couch nearby for the night.
Xiao Wenqiang was already asleep, and with Yandan by her side, she had nothing to fear.
Wang You, who was most worried about her, was summoned by the Emperor but was told nothing and kept waiting. It wasn't until Situ Chuanqiong had met with Situ Zixian and emerged from the secret chamber that he said to him, "You can rest assured now. Zixian just said that the Empress is asleep and has no suspicions."
"Your Majesty... you... you know that this servant..." Wang You looked at him in astonishment.
"Your worried expression is too obvious, how could I not know?" Situ Chuanqiong said irritably, "You've always looked out for the Empress. You put in a lot of effort when she was in the cold palace, didn't you?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! This servant once stayed in the same place as the Empress. I couldn't bear to see her being bullied alone in the cold palace, so I acted on my own initiative..." Wang You knelt down with a thud.
"Get up! I know you are a loyal and righteous person. You also saved me without hesitation back then. And I also know that although you sympathize with the Empress, you know where your loyalties lie in critical moments. It's enough that you are still on my side!"
Situ Chuanqiong was referring to the Chu family incident. Although Wang You sympathized with Chu Yulan, he didn't say much more. Because he was a smart man and knew what he should and shouldn't meddle in!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang You stood up, bowed, and left. He touched his forehead, feeling the cold sweat of fear. No wonder they say that accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger; he was truly frightened just now.
Chu Yulan (Xiao Wenqiang) woke up to find that Situ Chuanqiong had already gone to the morning court.
Situ Zixian also quickly changed his clothes and disguise mask, and hurriedly left the imperial palace. That night, he hadn't slept at all, his mind filled with self-doubt. Were the dreams he had experienced hallucinations caused by the hallucinogenic drug, or had he truly offended his imperial sister-in-law?
In his heart, he knew he had probably done something wrong, because their clothes were scattered on the floor. After all, his imperial sister-in-law had also drunk the wine with the hallucinogenic drug, and it was unlikely she could have carried him onto the bed. Furthermore, the Emperor's sleeping quarters were heavily guarded by soldiers and imperial guards, and it was impossible for anyone else to enter.
However, Situ Zixian couldn't believe this fact. By doing so, he felt he had failed his imperial brother who trusted him implicitly, and also let down his imperial sister-in-law who had saved his life. "Crack!" Situ Zixian slapped himself hard, filled with self-reproach.
Then he didn't enter the palace for several days, constantly condemning himself internally. As he continued to condemn himself, Situ Zixian's thoughts began to change.
In fact, the one who wronged his imperial sister-in-law the most was his imperial brother himself! The decision to annihilate the Empress's entire clan was the imperial brother's idea, and the method of substitution was also devised by the imperial brother. Since the imperial brother allowed him to do this, it meant he didn't care about the Empress at all.
If that was the case, Situ Zixian began to have a dangerous thought: Could I take the Empress... no! Could I take that woman, Chu Yulan, away from the imperial palace? After all, didn't the imperial brother say he only loved that Leng Yuanxiang? Moreover, that woman Chu Yulan was clearly unhappy in the imperial palace. A life of riding horses and seeking revenge in the martial world was clearly more suited for her...