Liu Chan gathered the burnt ashes from the Incense Burner, found a piece of paper to wrap them in, and then stuffed the Incense Burner into her sleeve. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
Right now, this incense had no effect on her.
It must have an aphrodisiac effect only when combined with something else. Xiao Lin must have smelled or used something at Jing Guifei’s beforehand, only feeling the effects after coming into this room.
Liu Chan glanced around the room’s decor and couldn’t help but sigh.
In her past life, she had trusted Jing Guifei, her legitimate older sister, far too much. She had been too naive, not even noticing something was amiss when she was led into this room.
Looking at it now, this was where Xiao Lin usually rested. The decor was clearly of a standard only the emperor could use.
With no time to think further, Liu Chan looked at her torn clothes and decided to go find Jing Guifei.
Since she had been given a second chance at life, she could not betray Heaven’s kindness.
Jing Guifei was probably waiting to burst in with a group of people any moment now!
Liu Chan held her breath and ripped her clothes a few more times, making herself look even more pitiful before pushing the door open and walking out.
It was bitterly cold outside. She hunched her shoulders, her eyes red-rimmed as tears streamed down her face. She stumbled toward Jing Guifei’s bedchamber.
“Sister!” Liu Chan was stopped at the entrance to the bedchamber.
Tonight, Chun’er, the head maid of Weiyang Palace, was on night duty. She had been on edge ever since the Emperor left earlier and had quickly reported it to Jing Guifei.
Since the matter hadn’t blown up, they could only wait and see what happened.
And now, wasn’t Liu Chan here, crying?
Chun’er immediately stepped forward to support her, feigning confusion. “Miss Liu, what’s wrong? It’s the middle of the night, and Her Ladyship is already asleep.”
Tears streamed down Liu Chan’s face, and her sobs were so violent it seemed she was about to faint. “Sister, I want to see my sister… Save me.”
Chun’er’s face filled with alarm. Without bothering to announce them, she led Liu Chan straight through the door.
As Liu Chan stepped into the room, she saw a fully dressed Jing Guifei hurry out from the inner chamber, a look of pure astonishment on her face, as if she truly knew nothing at all.
“Sister, save me.” Liu Chan cried as she threw herself at her. “Sister, the Emperor, he…”
“What did the Emperor do to you?” Jing Guifei asked urgently.
Her voice even carried a trace of unconcealable delight, and her gaze subconsciously drifted to Liu Chan’s lower abdomen.
For the past month, she had followed the imperial physician’s advice, calculating the days Liu Chan would be most likely to conceive if she were to share a bed with a man.
She had even helped her regulate her body to ensure she would conceive a son in one go!
“The Emperor, he… he…” Liu Chan’s eyes were blurry as she looked up at Jing Guifei. The surging hatred in her heart made her want to tear the person before her to shreds.
What a dear sister, who claimed to dote on her and love her!
Seeing the joy in Jing Guifei’s eyes grow stronger, as if she couldn’t wait to announce the pregnancy to the entire palace on her behalf, Liu Chan finally curved her lips into a slight smile and sobbed out, “The Emperor… he almost had me.”
Almost?
“So the Emperor didn’t touch you!” Jing Guifei couldn’t help but blurt out.
The maid Chun’er at her side immediately raised a hand to steady her, her voice rising to remind her, “How could such a thing happen? Miss Liu, you must have been frightened!”
As she spoke, she shot Jing Guifei a meaningful look.
Jing Guifei quickly calmed down. Disappointed as she was, it would have been great if it had succeeded on the first try, but if not, they could always find other ways.
This Liu Chan was remarkably beautiful for her young age, and of all the girls in the Liu family, she was the one who resembled her the most. There was no fear that the Emperor wouldn’t sleep with her!
“I… I want to go home, Sister,” Liu Chan suddenly cried out, her eyes red. “I want to go home!”
With that, she abruptly tried to run outside.
How could Jing Guifei dare let her go out and shout about this? She quickly grabbed her and threatened in a low voice, “Sister, this concerns your reputation. If you go out like this, and word of today’s events reaches Meng Xun’s ears…”
Meng Xun.
Liu Chan’s body stiffened.
Jing Guifei thought she had scared her and quickly added, “Your wedding to him is approaching. If word gets out that something like this happened to you in the palace, what will the Meng family think of you? Meng Xun will definitely break off the engagement!”
Liu Chan’s steps indeed halted. The hatred in her eyes surged once more. If his name hadn’t been mentioned, she might have forgotten!
That Meng Xun was from the Anyang Marquis Manor. He was twelve years her senior, a dissolute rake and a frequent patron of brothels. After happening to see her once outside, he had sent someone to her family to propose marriage.
As a daughter of a concubine, when had she ever had a say in her own marriage?
To curry favor with the Marquis Manor, her legitimate mother had accepted the proposal on her behalf, saying it was to foster good relations between the two families.
But who would have thought that Meng Xun was her dear legitimate sister’s admirer before she entered the palace?
Meng Xun’s so-called affection for her was just him using her as a substitute for her sister.
Among the Liu family’s daughters by concubines, she was the one who most resembled her legitimate sister.
And the incense in the exquisite burner she saw today had also been provided by Meng Xun. Meng Xun had friends from all walks of life in the capital, and being a profligate son himself, he could get his hands on all sorts of sordid things.
For her sister to be able to entice Meng Xun to do her bidding even from within the palace was quite a skill.
Liu Chan’s thoughts spun rapidly. When she turned back, she once again looked like a frightened little rabbit.
She gripped Jing Guifei’s hand tightly. “Sister, help me. I’ll listen to whatever you say. You must help me keep this a secret. It must not reach Young Master Meng’s ears. If the engagement is broken, how could I have the face to go on living…”
Seeing that Liu Chan was finally placated, Jing Guifei immediately shot a look at Chun’er.
There was still an aphrodisiac Incense Burner in that room.
According to Meng Xun, the aphrodisiac was extremely potent. Using the two components separately should have been foolproof. How did it fail with the Emperor?
They were so close!
Chun’er naturally understood her thoughts and hurried off to deal with it.
Seeing Chun’er leave, Liu Chan naturally guessed she was probably going to check on that room. But… her sister was about to get nervous.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Chun’er returned with a panicked expression.
Liu Chan discreetly glanced at Jing Guifei and saw her expression change slightly.
“Your Ladyship, it’s gone,” Chun’er whispered.
This time, Jing Guifei’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. But with Liu Chan present, Chun’er couldn’t speak plainly and could only make frantic expressions.
Both of their gazes swept over Liu Chan. Her torn clothes clearly couldn’t hide something like an Incense Burner.
Just as they were thinking this, the voice of a young palace maid came from outside.
“Your Ladyship Guifei, Eunuch Huang from the Emperor’s side is here.”