The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

The old lady's prayer beads fell to the ground with a "clatter".

"Then... what should we do?" Her voice trembled, and her eyes were filled with terror.

Pei Yan's back stiffened abruptly, and he forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his eyes.

He picked up the brush on the table and quickly wrote a line of characters.

Is there any other way?

Master Longchuan didn't respond. Instead, he stroked his white beard and asked a question slowly.

"May I ask, Madam, is there any progress on the destined woman I was asked to find?"

The old lady nodded repeatedly, as if grasping at a straw.

"Found her! Found her! Not only found her, but that girl is now pregnant with his child!"

Master Longchuan's eyes lit up.

"Excellent! Now that the destined woman has appeared and is pregnant with the Prime Minister's child, things will be much easier."

Pei Yan frowned slightly and picked up his pen again.

The Taoist priest spoke frankly.

"There are two ways," said Daoist Longchuan, holding up two fingers.

"Firstly, take the heart's blood of the destined woman, one bowl each day, and decoct it into medicine to drink. Continue for forty-nine days, and the poison will be cured."

Pei Yan suddenly tightened his grip on the pen, drawing a sharp black line across the paper.

Drink a bowl of blood every day for forty-nine days?

His heart tightened.

Not to mention that Jiang Guo'er is pregnant, even a rough and tough warrior would not be able to withstand such blood loss!

He couldn't bear to part with it.

The old lady waved her hands repeatedly.

"Absolutely not! That girl is the apple of our Pei family's eye now; we can't afford the slightest mishap to the child in her womb!"

[The other one?] Pei Yan wrote quickly, his handwriting revealing a hint of fierceness.

Master Longchuan coughed twice, a hint of unease appearing on his old face.

"As for the second method... the poison in the Prime Minister's body is an extremely cold substance."

"The life force of the destined woman can counteract this cold poison. If that girl could be made to kiss the Prime Minister willingly every day..."

He gave himself a thumbs up.

"It must be mouth-to-mouth, and each time it takes the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"This poison can be gradually dissolved and eliminated."

An eerie silence fell over the room.

The old lady's eyes widened, and her mouth was half-open.

Pei Yan felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head, and even his earlobes felt like they were burning.

initiative?

Mouth to mouth?

Another stick of incense?!

The image of Jiang Guo'er, delicate and timid, uncontrollably popped into his mind.

Although she is usually obedient, how could she dare to be so shameless?

But then she thought about it again, and realized that she had been relentlessly kissing the doll, so she must have been willing to do so.

Perhaps it was simply because of her lowly status as a concubine that she dared not do it, adhering to the rules.

But if he, the Grand Secretary, were to say such a thing... wouldn't he have any face left?!

Pei Yan threw down his pen and turned his face away awkwardly.

The old lady panicked when she saw it.

Is saving face more important than life?

"Let him go, don't be stubborn! This method doesn't hurt anyone and doesn't cause suffering, isn't it great!"

Pei Yan pursed his thin lips, staring at the floor-standing blue and white porcelain vase in the corner.

The old lady thought for a moment, then patted her chest.

"Grandma knows you're shy, so you don't need to ask. Leave it to Grandma; Grandma will talk to her!"

As long as she can save her great-grandson and grandson's lives, she'd do anything, even if it meant living in a side room and watching over them every day!

Pei Yan lowered his eyelashes, tacitly accepting the old lady's offer to take care of him.

"Master, you have come from afar and must be tired from your journey. Why don't you stay at our Pei residence?"

The old lady turned her head and began to arrange where Daoist Longchuan would go.

Master Longchuan flicked his whisk, his expression grave.

"I am at your disposal, wherever you may stay. However, I have come here with a matter of trouble to report."

He lowered his voice.

"On the way to the capital, this humble Taoist priest and that Granny Li were intercepted by a group of strange bandits."

The old lady gasped.

Pei Yan's face was gloomy.

"Those men held knives to the necks of me and Granny Li, demanding to know what we had come here for."

"Before I could even begin to explain, that old woman Li was terrified and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube."

The old lady's face drained of all color.

Pei Yan suddenly stood up, his tall body causing the desk to shake.

He grabbed a pen. [The whole story of the destined woman and the doll has been revealed?!]

The old lady was so anxious that she kept slapping her thigh.

"That foolish old woman, Li! I'll cut out her tongue!"

"Where are those robbers? Send the elite guards to chase them!"

The Pei family has made countless enemies both in and out of the court.

If the enemy were to discover Pei Yan's weakness, not only would that girl be in danger and Pei Yan's life be in peril, but the entire Pei family would also be doomed!

Master Longchuan waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.

"Please wait, sir. Judging from the manners of those bandits, they don't seem like outlaws."

"Judging from his accent and the boots he's wearing... he seems to be a servant in the palace."

Pei Yan's gaze darkened, and he picked up his pen.

[Eunuch? Guard? Or secret bodyguard?]

Master Longchuan remained silent for a long while before saying:

"They walked with extremely light steps, like close guards in the palace."

"The soles of the boots were covered with what looked like fine white stone powder found only on palace paths."

Pei Yan's eyes turned completely cold.

He wrote: [Kunning Palace?]

"This..." Daoist Longchuan frowned, "This humble Daoist does not know."

"After listening to Granny Li's words, that group of people forced me to make another silk doll that was exactly the same. They even asked me... if I could exchange it for a destined woman."

Pei Yan and the old lady looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Fate is predetermined; how can it be changed at will?"

"I intended to refuse sternly, but the blade almost cut through the skin of this old man's bones..."

Master Longchuan coughed lightly.

"To save my life, I... told a lie."

Pei Yan's brow twitched violently.

What did you say?

"I told them that this destined woman can be exchanged, by using a Taoist ritual implement to bless her. However, this implement is very valuable and requires one hundred taels of gold."

The old lady was taken aback.

"Did they really give it to me?"

Master Longchuan paused for a moment.

"They abducted me to a secluded, dilapidated wooden hut, leaving two men to watch over me as I made silk dolls."

"The rest of the people went out for a while, and when they came back, they gave me a box of gold, more than a hundred taels."

Pei Yan's mind was in turmoil.

Such a grand gesture... and she's too obsessed with him...

He couldn't think of anyone else besides Xiao Yuzhen.

"After receiving the money, I used the silk they bought to make a doll. I also used the peach wood I already had to carve a peach charm."

"I told them that as long as they burn this peach charm to ashes and swallow it with water, they can take the place of the original destined woman."

The old lady's lips moved.

For a moment, I didn't know who to blame.

Master Longchuan stroked his beard and sighed repeatedly.

"I just made it up on the spot to get away. I didn't expect those people to believe me so readily and leave with the doll and the peach charm."

"If this matter is exposed in the future, my life will be over! I beg Your Excellency to protect me!"

As he spoke, he stood up and bowed to Pei Yan.

Pei Yan repeatedly reassured him, telling Daoist Longchuan to rest assured and stay there, as he would surely protect him.

After Granny Qin led Daoist Longchuan to rest, the main hall became quiet again.

Pei Yan's face alternated between pale and flushed, a truly fascinating sight.

As the Empress, Xiao Yuzhen would not believe such words.

But what if she actually believed it, and even considered harming Guo'er...?

Pei Yan pressed his throbbing temples. "Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

At the same time, in Kunning Palace.

The underground heating system was extremely warm, and the hall was filled with a faint scent of agarwood.

Xiao Yuzhen sat on the phoenix couch, her fingernails lightly tapping the kang table.

The leader of the secret guards knelt below and gave a detailed report on the day's events.

"You mean, Pei Yan's fate is tied to a maidservant?"

"And if I drink this talismanic water, I can take your place? Absurd—"

Xiao Yuzhen held the rough peach charm in her hand, her face full of suspicion.

The leader of the secret guards kowtowed.

"Your Majesty is wise. I have learned that in recent months, the Prime Minister has indeed shown great favoritism towards that concubine named Jiang Guo'er."

"Not only did he often stay in her room, but even when the main wife, Madam Xue, came into the family, she couldn't take away even a fraction of his favor."

Xiao Yuzhen let out a cold laugh.

Pei Yan has always been cold-hearted and indifferent, so why would he suddenly break his vows for a lowly concubine?

She had previously ordered Cuiping to kill Suyue, but he did nothing about it.

unless……

There really is such a thing as a destined woman.

Xiao Yuzhen's fingers tightened, the edges of the peach charm digging painfully into her palm.

She didn't want to believe it.

But she was even more unwilling to accept it!

Let me... Do you know how much I want to go back to the way things were?

At that time, Pei Yan had not yet become the Grand Secretary, and she had not yet entered the palace. They shared similar interests and were deeply in love.

It's all that old geezer's fault. He openly and secretly threatened the Xue family, insisting on marrying her as his empress...

Just wait, one day, she will make Pei Yan sit on this dragon throne!

Xiao Yuzhen burned the peach charm in her hand.

She absolutely could not let another woman steal it away before everything was accomplished!

Pei Yan's joys and sorrows, Pei Yan's desires, Pei Yan's life... all belong to her.

Xiao Yuzhen used a long silver spoon to scoop up a spoonful of black ash and poured it into a cloisonné teacup, then added warm tea.

The talisman water was murky and had a strange smell.

Without hesitation, she picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.