That Imperial Concubine is both wicked and cunning! Your Majesty, wake up!

After returning from the autumn hunt, the Second Prince moved into the Phoenix Palace with the Empress.

The second prince was a carefree and thoughtless person. In the first few days after entering Fengyi Palace, he would tug at his wet nurse's clothes every day, crying and wanting to see Yun Shi. But he couldn't resist the sweet pastries and novel toys in Fengyi Palace. After only two or three days, he had forgotten about Yun Shi.

The Empress held the eldest princess's hand, her tone gentle yet firm: "Wan'er, you are the older sister. From now on, you should play with your younger brother more often, be more accommodating to him, and treat him better, understand?"

The eldest princess lowered her eyes and replied softly, "I understand, Mother."

After saying this, the Empress took out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the thin layer of sweat from the Second Prince's forehead.

She felt a pang of sadness as she watched her mother wipe the Second Prince's sweat.

Her mother used to only have eyes for her, but now her heart is full of her younger brother. She doesn't understand why.

"Come and have some pastries," the Queen said with a smile, handing over a plate.

The second prince picked up a piece and handed it to the eldest princess, then wolfed it down himself.

"Look how much your younger brother misses you," the Empress urged Wan'er to try it.

The eldest princess held the jujube cake with a hint of sadness. She didn't like this kind of jujube cake, but she still forced herself to take a bite.

The second prince ate four pieces in a row before the empress stopped him. She frowned inwardly: Yun Shi really doesn't know how to raise children; they are so greedy.

The two children went to play football in the open space, but not long after, the second prince squatted down, clutching his stomach, and cried out, "Mother, my stomach hurts so much!"

A moment later, the eldest princess also said her stomach hurt.

The Empress was alarmed and quickly took the two children back to Fengyi Palace.

Before long, Xiao Yan and Imperial Physician Li arrived at Fengyi Palace.

The two children lay on the bed, clutching their stomachs and crying out in pain. Xiao Yan sat on the edge of the bed, and the eldest princess grabbed his sleeve dependently, biting her lip as she said, "Father, I can still bear it."

But the second prince's condition was much more serious. He suddenly vomited violently, his whole body convulsed, and his face turned blue.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan's face immediately darkened, and he urgently urged the imperial physician, "Quickly examine the Second Prince!"

Imperial Physician Li quickly took the Second Prince's pulse, but his expression changed as soon as he touched him. He hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince has been poisoned by ginkgo!"

As he spoke, he took out silver needles and first needled several acupoints on the Second Prince. "Your Majesty, I will first stop his convulsions and pain, and then prescribe medicine to help him expel the poison."

After calming the second prince down, Imperial Physician Li asked, "What have your two princes eaten?"

The Empress was completely flustered, so Qingdai answered on her behalf: "Both princes started experiencing stomach pains after eating the pastries."

Physician Li glanced at the remaining pastries on the table, picked up a piece, smelled it, and frowned even more deeply: "These pastries have a lot of ginkgo powder in them! Using too much ginkgo powder is dangerous; an overdose can be fatal!"

The Empress pressed further, "How was the eldest princess? She ate a piece too!"

"The eldest princess ate little and is fine," Physician Li reassured her. "But the second prince ate a lot and is more severely poisoned. He needs extra care these next few days, and must not be allowed to eat any meat, raw food, or cold food."

The candlelight flickered in the hall, Xiao Yan's face was ashen, and the Empress was also frightened and pale. The whole room smelled of medicine.

In his dazed state, the second prince kept calling out "Mother Consort." Fearing that the Emperor might soften his heart and release Lady Yun, the Empress quickly held the second prince in her arms and comforted him, "Mother is here. Be good, Tai'er, Mother is here."

After finally coaxing the second prince to sleep, the empress turned to face Xiao Yan, feeling both agitated and resentful.

Hongtai's jade tablet had not been replaced, and no mistake could be tolerated. Hongtai had only been in Fengyi Palace for a few days when he was poisoned.

Isn't the person behind this blatantly demonstrating that she, as empress, is completely unworthy of the position?

She gathered her clothes and bowed deeply, her waist bent extremely low, and the phoenix hairpin at her temple swayed gently with the movement.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I failed to protect Hongtai and Wan'er. I beg Your Majesty to entrust this matter to the Empress for a thorough investigation. I will definitely find the poisoner and give Hongtai and Wan'er an explanation!"

Xiao Yan helped her up. "Alright. I trust the Empress."

The Hall of Diligent Governance was busy with official business, so Xiao Yan did not stay long.

Before leaving, Xiao Yan's gaze lingered on the Empress's face for a moment, as if he had seen through her inner calculations and biases. When he turned his head, he said in a flat tone, "Even with Hongtai, we must not neglect Wan'er."

The Empress was startled. "Your Majesty, I obey your decree. Hongtai and Wan'er are both my beloved children. I will not show favoritism."

"Hmm." Xiao Yan turned and left.

The Empress exhaled, sat on the edge of the bed, stroked the eldest princess's tender face, and murmured, "Wan'er, you were born after I carried you for ten months. In my heart, you are the only one."

However, the most important thing right now is to transfer Hongtai's jade disc to her name.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hidden Winter Pavilion.

Song Shuangning leaned back on the soft couch, holding a rose pastry in her hand, sipping her homemade jasmine tea, staring at the open storybook, looking both lazy and content.

Tinglu entered quietly and whispered in her ear, "My lady, news has just come from the palace that the eldest princess and the second prince have been poisoned."

"Hmm?" Song Shuangning raised an eyebrow and smiled.

She casually placed the rose pastry back on the plate and gently wiped her lips with a handkerchief.

That idiot Song Luowei is truly blinded by greed. Of all people to poison, she had to target the eldest princess and the second prince. Isn't this a blatant slap in the face to the empress?

Has he lost his mind?

On second thought, she chuckled softly. Well, with a foolish opponent like Song Luowei, it's not worth her time to bother with her.

Song Shuangning picked up the storybook again, "Continue to keep an eye on the movements of Tingzhuxuan."

"Yes," Tinglu said.

Tingzhuxuan.

Song Luowei unconsciously rubbed the jade bracelet on her wrist with her fingertips, her brows furrowed with impatience: "That girl Xiaohe, why have we been silent these past few days? She hasn't come back to reply, and we have no idea what that bitch Song Shuangning is doing every day."

She looked up at Tinglan, her tone becoming stern: "Go find her immediately and make sure she comes to see me before tonight, without fail!"

"Yes, this servant will go right away," Tinglan replied with a bow.

Song Luowei nodded, then asked, "Have you taken care of all the messages I asked you to deliver?"

"Your Majesty, the message has been spread as you wished, and many people in the palace believe it."

Upon hearing this, a sinister smile flashed across Song Luowei's eyes.

She thought to herself: Song Shuangning, you dared to scheme against me, you should have known what would happen to you today!

This time, I will definitely ruin your reputation and leave you with no chance to recover. I'll show you what real skills are!

Thinking of this, a smug smile appeared on her lips, and her eyes brightened, filled with a ruthless determination to succeed.