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

Jiang Guo'er blushed, gently nuzzled against his shoulder, and didn't say anything more.

Dinner was prepared by Lüyi in the kitchen. Several small dishes from the Xue family banquet, plus a bowl of lotus seed soup, filled half the table.

As soon as Jiang Guo'er picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of pickled goose foot, she felt a wave of nausea and vomiting.

She quickly put down her chopsticks, turned her head away, and gagged twice. Her small face instantly turned pale.

Xue Lingyi's face changed in fright. Just as she was about to speak, Lüyi pulled her back.

Pei Yan paused, his hand holding the bowl still.

He didn't say anything, put down his chopsticks and bowl, whistled, and Xiao San leaped down from the roof.

Pei Yan wrote a few words in Xiao San's palm. Xiao San was surprised for a moment, then accepted the order and left.

Jiang Guo'er took a while to recover, but she only managed to eat half a bowl of plain porridge.

Not long after the dinner table was cleared, Xiao San returned, holding an oil paper package, which he handed directly to Jiang Guo'er.

Green Ripple curiously leaned over to take a look and discovered it was a string of crystal-clear sugar candies.

It wasn't hawthorn, but rather plump, shelled walnut kernels coated with a layer of amber-colored syrup, giving them an enticing golden-brown hue.

"This is something the Prime Minister specially ordered to be bought for... Guo'er?" Green Ripple couldn't help but tease.

Xiao San nodded, and then disappeared in a flash.

Jiang Guo'er's ears suddenly burned. She held the bamboo skewer and carefully took a bite.

The aroma of walnuts mixed with the flavor of caramel melted in my mouth, and the nausea I felt earlier dissipated by more than half.

She chewed the candy in small bites, her cheeks bulging, when suddenly a thought struck her.

A few days ago, she craved something sweet at night and murmured it to the doll. Unexpectedly, the Prime Minister sent her a candied fruit that very night.

At the time, I just thought it was a coincidence...

Jiang Guo'er's gaze involuntarily fell on the person in the armchair.

He was looking down as he flipped through a scroll of official documents, the candlelight casting a faint shadow on his handsome profile, revealing no emotion.

"Prime Minister." She moved closer, her voice extremely low.

Pei Yan hummed in response, without even lifting his eyelids.

"That red date candied fruit from last time..." she blinked, "was that one you specially asked someone to buy?"

Pei Yan's hands never stopped turning the pages of the booklet.

"Or perhaps..." Jiang Guo'er tilted her head, her voice growing softer, carrying a hint of coquettishness she herself was unaware of, "did you make it yourself in the small kitchen?"

He remained silent, but a faint blush began to spread from the base of his ears.

That touch of red, following the thin line of his neck, silently disappeared deep into the collar.

Jiang Guo'er stood there, stunned. Her heart felt like it had been gently brushed by a cat's tail, both itchy and numb.

He actually...

I've done it myself!

She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and took another small bite of the walnut in her hand.

Gradually, a blush crept up onto her earlobes.

Late at night.

Xue Lingyi pulled Lüyi along and tactfully went to another room, leaving the space here to them.

Jiang Guo'er sat on the edge of the bed, placed the silk doll beside her pillow, and took out a sachet from her bundle and hung it on the curtain hook.

He turned around properly and curtsied to Pei Yan.

"Prime Minister, the time has come to administer the antidote."

Pei Yan was wiping his hands with a handkerchief when he heard this, and he raised his chin in response.

Jiang Guo'er deliberately saved a sugar-coated walnut kernel, the largest one still covered in sugar. She bent down and held it between her lips.

Then he stood on tiptoe and pressed himself against it.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is neither long nor short.

The walnut kernel crumbled, the sugar shell melted, and as their lips and teeth intertwined, most of the walnut ended up in Pei Yan's mouth.

Jiang Guo'er kept her hands clutching his clothes, feeling like a fish that had offered itself up, even though she was the one who had taken the initiative.

She is the one who is about to suffocate now.

His hand gripping her lower back tightened, and his breath grew increasingly hot.

As soon as the incense stick burned out, he immediately released her.

He turned and walked towards the washroom.

Jiang Guo'er was pushed onto the bed, and then she heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom.

Her cheeks were burning hot. She pulled the quilt over herself and wrapped herself up like a silkworm cocoon, burying her head inside.

I should have asked Lvyi to prepare the hot water.

But this is the Xue residence, and they had just gone through that ordeal today, so everyone had forgotten about it.

This is terrible... I hope Your Excellency doesn't catch a cold.

There's nothing he can do; she's pregnant right now, so he'll have to make do for the time being.

Jiang Guo'er buried her face in the pillow, her ears burning hot.

Oh dear, stop thinking about it!

The sound of water from the bathroom finally stopped after a long while.

She listened intently and could hear rustling fabrics and splashing water, and her heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Could he be... washing his underwear?

Jiang Guo'er quickly pulled the blanket up higher, covering her entire face.

No, no, maybe she was taking a cold shower, she must have misheard!

I listened intently for a long time, and before I knew it, my eyelids were drooping. Suddenly, a gust of wind carrying a chill and the smell of soap shavings blew to the bedside.

Before Jiang Guo'er could react, she was lifted up, blanket and all, by an iron arm.

"Prime Minister?"

Pei Yan didn't answer her. He pulled her out of the quilt with one hand, wrapped a cloak around her and put it in his arms, then picked her up and strode to the four screens in the central hall.

A large armchair had been placed there sometime ago.

He sat down, placed her on his lap, and wrapped one arm tightly around her waist.

Before Jiang Guo'er could ask what was going on, she heard a familiar voice coming from the other side of the screen.

"My lord, I have arrived."

It is Xue Lingyi.

"sit."

As Pei Yan spoke, he reached out and gently pinched Jiang Guo'er's earlobe.

Jiang Guo'er shuddered and reached out to try to pry his fingers away, but he grabbed her hand and she couldn't move.

"What I need to ask about today's events, I will ask clearly here and now."

There was a moment of silence outside the screen.

Xue Lingyi knelt down first, followed closely by Lüyi.

"Zhao Yuanzhe's genitals," Pei Yan said calmly, "were you... the one who cut them off?"

Xue Lingyi froze for a moment, then took a deep breath: "...Yes."

"What did he do to you back in Suzhou?"

After a brief silence, Xue Lingyi said in a trembling voice:

"One night, he climbed out of the window and onto my bed... I struggled desperately, but luckily Lvyi arrived in time, and that's how... he didn't succeed."

Does your maternal grandmother know?

Xue Lingyi's fingernails dug into her palms as she clenched her back teeth.

"...I know. It's precisely because she refused to uphold justice for me that I...decided to take action myself!"

Pei Yan rubbed Jiang Guo'er's fingertips, pondering for a long time.

"So after returning to the capital, you took the initiative to make a good impression on the old lady and married the prime minister in order to take revenge."

This is not a question, it is a statement.

Xue Lingyi gritted her teeth and lay prostrate on the ground, refusing to get up.

"I did not mean to conceal it, but this matter is too...filthy, and I was afraid it would offend Your Majesty's ears. Please forgive me."

"Did you offend the ears of the true self?"

Pei Yan scoffed lightly.

"You're not afraid of offending my ears, but rather that if I knew beforehand, I would dislike you and refuse to marry you."

"Then you won't be able to rely on your true power to take revenge, right?"