In the dead of night, Su Xiaoqi was sore all over, but a certain person showed no restraint, insisting that Su Xiaoqi give him everything he had requested, all at once.
He said that if she defaulted this time, the debt would accrue interest, and the next time would be principal and interest.
Su Xiaoqi was almost in tears and quickly brought up the matters concerning the Grand Princess, hoping to distract him.
Shen Yun knew her little scheme and did not stop her, but his hands did not cease their activity.
Su Xiaoqi was helpless, whining that he had court the next day and should rest early.
"Tomorrow is a holiday. Since you are your husband's bedfellow, you don't even know this. It shows you don't care enough about your husband. I'll punish you again..."
"Ah, no... Don't you want to hear what the Grand Princess told me?"
"It's all old news, the same old story. Your husband knows without listening." Shen Yun had a good grasp of the situation.
To Su Xiaoqi's astonished gaze, he recounted the entire case of Concubine Yan poisoning the Grand Princess at her mansion.
"You, how did you know?" Su Xiaoqi's body tensed in fright, making Shen Yun take a deep breath, no longer daring to scare her so easily.
He panted and told her, "Don't underestimate the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They are everywhere!"
Su Xiaoqi's eyes rolled, "Are they here now too?"
She instinctively reached to pull the covers over them both.
Shen Yun gently bit her earlobe. His little wife was too adorable.
"If my wife says that, aren't you looking down on Zhang Feng and Zhang Dian?"
Su Xiaoqi then realized that when Shen Yun said the Embroidered Uniform Guard was everywhere, he was specifically referring to residences not heavily guarded by capable subordinates.
Like the Grand Princess's mansion, which had always been outwardly strict and inwardly lax.
Little did she know, some of the Embroidered Uniform Guard might just be a laundry woman or a cook in her own residence.
With no way to guard against it, information naturally leaked.
"Should we remind the Grand Princess?" Su Xiaoqi was worried about the Grand Princess being harmed again.
Shen Yun, however, told her that the matters of the Grand Princess's mansion were precisely what the Emperor needed to know.
This was because the Prince Consort, Liu Junsheng, was a capable strategist for the Crown Prince.
Many of the schemes targeting Prince Duan had been his ideas.
Su Xiaoqi thought of the Grand Princess's exceptionally handsome Prince Consort and found it hard to believe that someone like him would engage in such power plays.
"Does my wife really think that Concubine Yan, a foreign woman, could scheme against the Grand Princess on her own?"
Su Xiaoqi was suddenly enlightened. In her emotional excitement, she made Shen Yun pant repeatedly.
But he had to admit, the experience was quite thrilling, making him yearn for more.
Because the night had been too unrestrained, Su Xiaoqi slept very soundly.
She didn't get up until it was broad daylight.
This time, as usual, she reached out to touch, expecting to grasp nothing.
Instead, her hand landed on a place it shouldn't have.
This startled Shen Yun, who was reading a book by the bedpost.
He looked at his wife in surprise.
Her peach-blossom eyes sparkled, filled with panic and innocence.
Shen Yun immediately understood. His wife had probably just woken up and was a bit groggy. He deliberately teased her:
"My dear wife, still not satisfied? You wanted some of this during the day, which is not ideal. I'll serve my wife again tonight!"
"Shen Yun!" Su Xiaoqi was furious and indignant. Her body was still sore, and he dared to bring it up again.
Just as Su Xiaoqi was contemplating how to escape this awkward situation in her mind, Shen Yun turned serious:
"My dear wife, I just received news that the Grand Princess has gone to the palace."
Su Xiaoqi pondered for a moment and said, "She probably has come to her senses."
Su Xiaoqi had also thought about what Shen Yun had said earlier.
She just didn't want to think too much about it, always feeling that people shouldn't be thought of too badly.
Unfortunately, her optimism had been misguided. Sometimes people were indeed that bad – worse than one could imagine!
Therefore, the Grand Princess must have also understood the matter of Concubine Yan.
Knowing she wasn't alone, that there was someone behind her.
Thus, she could no longer tolerate it!
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, the Grand Princess, looking haggard, gazed at the equally worn-out Emperor Xing Zhao lying on the dragon bed.
She could hardly believe that after only half a month of not seeing her imperial father, he had aged so much.
"Imperial Father..." The Grand Princess prostrated herself before the dragon bed, clutching Emperor Xing Zhao's hand, sobbing uncontrollably.
No matter how old she was, or whether she was married with children, before her most doting imperial father, she would always be that proud and willful little daughter.
"Man'er, Man'er." Emperor Xing Zhao, aged, his face etched with wrinkles, his sharp eyes gradually losing their majesty, leaving only concern for his beloved daughter.
Emperor Xing Zhao clasped the Grand Princess's hand, his voice hoarse: "Man'er, your family matters,朕 knows."
"Imperial Father, Imperial Father, you don't need to worry about your daughter's affairs. Just recuperate well, and once you're better, your daughter will have support."
This statement from the Grand Princess conveyed both her concern for Emperor Xing Zhao and a blunt truth.
If the Crown Prince ascended the throne, given her long-standing discord with the Crown Prince's faction, her situation would likely be quite difficult.
Emperor Xing Zhao said, "The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince has recently disappointed朕, cough, cough..."
The Grand Princess's eyes lit up, and she boldly spoke out:
"Imperial Father, Imperial Brother, he was wronged back then. He always respected and was filial to you. How could he have done such a thing? It was only Noble Consort Huang..."
Emperor Xing Zhao interrupted her with a cough, expressing his displeasure:
"Man'er, you are siblings with Prince Duan, and you are also siblings with the Crown Prince. Why be partial, cough, cough..."
Noble Consort Huang held a different significance for him; he did not wish for anyone to disrupt that.
Emperor Xing Zhao would cough for a long time after each sentence, leaving the Grand Princess flustered and unsure of what to do, only able to cry and plead:
"Imperial Father... Your daughter won't speak anymore, your daughter won't speak anymore. Please take good care of your health. Your daughter will handle the matters in the mansion herself."
The Grand Princess was not indecisive. She was simply accustomed to relying on the most exalted person in the world on the dragon bed.
But if he was now willing but unable, then her years as a Grand Princess had not been in vain, and she could certainly stand on her own.
However, she still hoped her imperial father would recover soon.
And last a little longer, at least until her imperial brother produced evidence that the Crown Prince had deliberately framed him back then.
But after several coughs, Emperor Xing Zhao spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm tinged with blood.
Wrapped in a handkerchief, the Grand Princess felt utterly devastated.
She closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face.
This father, no matter how ruthless he was to outsiders, had always doted on her.
Her feelings for him were genuine and could not be feigned.
She suddenly remembered that her illness had been cured by Su Xiaoqi and immediately, as if grasping a lifeline, knelt before Emperor Xing Zhao and said she knew a divine physician.
It was she who had been poisoned along with Bao Ge'er, and she was also the one who had identified the medicinal herbs and helped her see through Concubine Yan's poisonous scheme.
The Grand Princess said urgently, "Your daughter wishes to invite her to examine Imperial Father. Who knows, she might have a solution."
Emperor Xing Zhao's first reaction was refusal.
He believed his illness had likely reached a point where no medicine could help, and his time was short.
But the Grand Princess's urgency made him reluctant to disappoint her, so he reluctantly agreed.
At that moment, Ji Chenggang, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, entered.
He stated that he had an urgent matter to report.
Emperor Xing Zhao did not exclude the Grand Princess and told him to speak freely.
Thus, the Grand Princess heard about the issue of the Crown Prince's parentage.
The rumors outside had not ceased; instead, they were escalating.
Emperor Xing Zhao slammed his hand onto the table beside the dragon bed with a loud "bang." The teacups on it shattered, making a heavy crashing sound.
Startled, the eunuchs on duty at the door trembled.
"What? They dare to be so audacious as to spread rumors about royal bloodlines!"
The Grand Princess felt that an opportunity had arrived and interjected at the appropriate time:
"Imperial Father, where there is smoke, there is fire. This matter requires further thorough investigation."
Admittedly, her words held some truth.
As Emperor Xing Zhao himself had said, royal bloodlines, especially concerning an important figure like the Crown Prince, could not afford any errors.
Emperor Xing Zhao issued an order: "Investigate, investigate for朕!"
Ji Chenggang bowed his head and cupped his hands in acknowledgment. As he withdrew past the palace door, he secretly glanced up at the Grand Princess.
Their eyes met, and a certain emotion passed between them.