So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

Ning Yu buried her face in his chest and rolled her eyes at him. Seeing that he didn't seem to suspect anything, she rubbed her forehead and said uncomfortably, "My head hurts. I want to sleep. If the Governor is busy, he can go ahead and do his work."

Xie Xun hadn't finished his official duties. If he hadn't heard that she had fallen into the water and fallen ill, he wouldn't have abandoned his heavy and troublesome affairs to rush back. He touched her still slightly feverish forehead and let her lie down.

"Take good care of them."

A deep, cold voice came, and the maids and nannies kneeling on the ground quickly responded. Seeing the person put on a cloak and leave in a hurry, they quickly got up and lowered the curtain on the golden hook so that Ning Yu could sleep more comfortably.

Ning Yu hadn't actually fallen asleep; she was afraid Xie Xun would interrogate the maid alone. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the maid had actually left.

It seems he's really busy; it's already late, and he still has to go to the palace.

Remembering Xie Yan's words that the capital was about to descend into chaos, her eyes darkened slightly. Was the emperor about to pass away?

Whether it was the herbal soup that had a calming effect or not, Ning Yu's mind began to feel dizzy as she thought about it, and she drifted off to sleep under the covers.

Xie Xun came out of the inner room and stood under the eaves, listening to Qingfeng's report that no one had broken into the East Garden. He glanced at the quiet room and strode towards the outside of the mansion.

The palace was brightly lit day and night. At night, the emperor suddenly vomited blood. The empress, who was attending to him, quickly suppressed the matter and summoned the crown prince to the palace.

When the news reached the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was still awake.

Crown Princess Wei was so tormented by the baby in her womb that she couldn't sleep. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat. The imperial physician rushed from the palace to prescribe medicine, and she took it and rested for a while.

Crown Prince Xie Jingchen sat by the bed, looking at the woman on the couch who was trapped in a nightmare with a pained expression, and rubbed his forehead.

The Wei family is one of the four powerful clans in the Elders' Council. The Crown Prince's legitimate son should not have been born from the Wei family, which is why the Empress and the officials of the Eastern Palace have always disagreed with this marriage.

If she were a concubine or a high-ranking concubine, that would be fine, but she happens to be the Crown Princess, the future Empress, and the child in her womb could very well be the next Crown Prince.

Lady Wei had been married into the Eastern Palace for many years. Besides the royal family not wanting her to give birth to a legitimate son, the Crown Prince himself also deliberately did so.

He loved Wei Qingrou, but did not want the throne of the Great Xia to fall into the hands of the Elders, so Wei had not borne any children for many years after marrying into the Eastern Palace.

Later, Wei Qingrou always thought it was her fault, and she even went to Huguo Temple to pray for a pregnancy. The Crown Prince did not want her to worry about this matter all day long, so he stopped giving her the tonic soup. Not long after, she became pregnant.

I don’t know if it was because she drank too much tonic soup before, but Wei Qingrou had a very difficult pregnancy and was often in pain.

Every time Xie Jingchen saw her in pain and unable to sleep, he felt incredibly regretful for having given her so many nourishing soups.

She was the wife he fell in love with at first sight. When she came of age, her dance became famous throughout the capital. On his way back to the capital, he was assassinated, but he hid in her boudoir and was saved by her.

The moment he looked up and saw her, he felt his heart pounding like never before, a violent pounding.

After returning to the Eastern Palace, he requested permission to marry her. His father disagreed, his mother disagreed, many officials of the previous dynasty also objected, and even the Xie family, the head of the Elders' Council, was vaguely wary and did not want the Wei family's daughter to enter the Eastern Palace.

It was through his strong opposition, killing countless people and uncovering numerous major cases, that he finally forced his father and mother to agree.

From the moment he married her into the Eastern Palace, he doted on her alone, yet he still failed to protect her, causing her to suffer so much.

"Your Highness, Eunuch Guan says that the Empress has urgently summoned you to the palace."

In her hazy state, Wei Qingrou vaguely heard the eunuch's hurried voice. She opened her eyes in a daze and saw the man leaning against the bedpost. She gently reached out and tugged at his clothes.

Xie Jingchen noticed and looked up at her. Seeing that she was awake, he quickly leaned down and asked, "Did I wake you?"

With his help, Wei Qingrou sat up, supporting her belly, and said weakly, "Perhaps the Empress Dowager has something urgent to discuss with you. You should go quickly."

"You go to sleep first, I'll be there in a bit."

"Your Majesty, I am fine now, so there is no need for you to worry."

After the emperor fell seriously ill, the court and the harem began to stir with ambitions. She knew how difficult his situation was and did not want to be a burden to him.

"It's probably because the journey to Yueshan was long and steep a few days ago and you got tired. You'll be fine after a rest."

Looking at her gentle and considerate appearance, Xie Jingchen kissed her forehead. "Be good, I'll watch you fall asleep before I go to the palace."

Knowing that he always meant what he said, Wei Qingrou couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she had no choice but to lie down and continue sleeping.

The lights in the Hall of Diligent Governance never went out all night. The ministers and imperial physicians coming and going all looked distressed. The palace servants in the emperor's bedroom listened tremblingly to the angry shouts and rebukes coming from inside, too frightened to breathe.

In the afternoon, while the elders were discussing matters in the cabinet, a battle report came from the front lines: several princes who were ordered to return to the capital were ambushed by rebel forces on their way.

Assassinations have occurred from Balin in the northeast to Linzhou, where the clan resides, leading many to suspect that the northeastern clans are plotting a rebellion.

That night, the emperor suddenly vomited blood and fell into a coma. Everyone knew that the emperor was dying, and if the news got out of the palace, the Great Xia would be in chaos.

Inside the Cabinet Council Hall, the elders of the Council of Elders had all gathered.

Xie Xun sat in the chair below, listening to several old men talk at length about the collusion between the northeastern clans and court officials, and clamoring indignantly to send troops to punish them. A hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, but he remained silent.

Some things are predetermined at birth, like fate.

Ning Yu was completely unaware of the power struggles within the palace. She slept soundly until the next morning when she woke up.

The curtains were not yet closed, and the dim light of daylight shone in. She rubbed her dazed head and sat up.

But then she suddenly heard a man's voice beside her, "Awake?"

She looked up at the sound and saw Xie Xun sitting on the soft couch. He had probably just returned from court and was still wearing his court robes. There was a pile of folding paper on the couch.

Seeing her dazed state, Xie Xun put down his folding book, got off the bed, and went over to her, touching her warm forehead.

"Are you feeling better?"

Ning Yu woke up when she saw him, obediently hummed in response, and asked with concern, "Why are you back?"

Shouldn't he have just finished the morning court session and be going to the palace to handle official business? What is he doing back here?

"From what you're saying, you don't want to see me?"

She felt a jolt in her heart and quickly moved closer to him, saying, "No, I was just worried that the Governor would be too tired from running around for me."

Xie Xun had been thinking about her all night in the palace. As soon as he finished court today, he didn't even go to the council hall, but went straight back to his residence, thinking that she should be awake by now.

When I returned, I found her fast asleep, so I took care of some business next to her.

"It's still early, stay and sleep with me for a while."