The temperature of his fingertips shifted from icy cold to warm, that touch of warmth seemed to flow gently into the young girl’s heart, nearly making her unable to suppress a comfortable “meow.”
If she weren’t in human form at this moment, she might have already rolled over to expose her belly for those hands to pet.
Xie Changlin remained silent throughout, quietly applying medicine to her, then stood up to wash his hands. Only when he leisurely wiped them with a silk handkerchief did he let out a soft, mocking laugh. “Your elder brother stirred up trouble at the Eastern Depot all night yesterday, and your second brother went to make a scene at the Western Depot.”
“And now, early this morning, Your Ladyship comes to trouble this eunuch. It truly seems as though this eunuch owes the Jiang family something.”
Jiang Wan was taken aback, her smile not yet fading as she met those mocking eyes. The flowers blooming in her heart instantly withered away.
“Um… my elder brother and second brother, they…”
She had initially wanted to ask why, but she quickly realized it was likely because she had been wronged in the palace yesterday.
However, even if it weren’t because of her, the enmity between the Jiang family and Xie Changlin was already an unchangeable fact.
Jiang Wan didn’t know what to say for a moment. She smoothed her skirt, then after a pause, looked up at Xie Changlin and teased, “If Your Eminence had woken me up earlier yesterday, wouldn’t this have been avoided?”
Xie Changlin was both angered and amused by her words. “Your Ladyship chose to go and endure punishment yourself, and now you blame this eunuch for not caring?”
He tossed the handkerchief to Rong Qing and, without another glance at Jiang Wan, said coldly, “Tonight, Your Ladyship must ensure you consummate the marriage with the Emperor.”
Jiang Wan: “??”
“Only then will Your Ladyship realize that you are now a person of the palace, the Emperor’s woman.”
“Behave yourself, Your Ladyship. Don’t force this eunuch to resort to rough methods.”
After saying this, he walked out. But as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back with a faint, mocking smile. “Of course, if you can conceive a royal heir sooner and cut off Jiang Wenshan’s ambitions, that would be even better.”
Ambitions? What ambitions?
Before Jiang Wan could ponder further, she felt both angry and anxious. “Your Eminence, this is like forcing an ox to drink water by pushing its head down!”
Forgetting to act as if she were in pain, she lifted her skirt and hurried after him, blocking his path. “Am I not Your Eminence’s person anymore? How can you still send me to the Emperor’s bed?”
The bluntness of her words was almost too much to bear.
Xie Changlin, however, merely chuckled softly. “When did Your Ladyship ever become this eunuch’s person?”
Jiang Wan was stunned.
Had all her efforts these past few days, risking her life to flirt with him, amounted to nothing?
Thinking back carefully, she had indeed expressed her feelings to him early on, but this lord had given no indication of reciprocation from start to finish.
She had gotten carried away, assuming that Xie Changlin’s lack of opposition meant he tacitly agreed, thinking that at the very least, he wouldn’t force her to serve the Emperor in bed.
Turns out, he had been fixated on her having a child with Huan Cheng as soon as possible.
Tonight, her magic would also fade, and Huan Cheng wouldn’t faint.
For a moment, Jiang Wan felt her heart shatter. “Your Eminence, can we still discuss this?”
“Hmm—” Xie Changlin pondered for a moment, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. “If Your Ladyship gives birth to a son in one go, this eunuch will surely enshrine you with the utmost reverence.”
Jiang Wan: …
Returning to the palace, she couldn’t help but sigh.
Qiaoqiao, seeing her despondent after leaving Qu Palace, worriedly offered her some pastries. “Your Ladyship, what’s wrong?”
“I have to go to the Emperor tonight,” Jiang Wan said, stuffing a pastry into her mouth, though it tasted like wax.
“Then… will you no longer seek out His Eminence?”
Qiaoqiao’s heart, which had been in her throat for several days, finally settled back in place. When she first heard her mistress, the Empress, say she wanted to get close to Your Eminence, she thought that Nine Thousand Years was the family’s sworn enemy and a wicked eunuch who committed every evil imaginable. It seemed obvious that one should stay far away from him.
Over the past few days, seeing Jiang Wan so enthusiastic, as if she genuinely liked someone she shouldn’t, Qiaoqiao had been terribly worried.
From her perspective, regardless of whether Jiang Wan liked the Emperor or not, she was already the Empress. If the marriage were consummated tonight, people would stop gossiping about her. Surely that was better than living in constant fear around Nine Thousand Years.
But Jiang Wan didn’t give her the reassurance she sought. “Of course I’ll look for him. Why wouldn’t I?”
Propping her head on her hand, she shook the phoenix hairpin in her hair. “I just don’t know how to find him.”
Only a few days had passed on this long road—it was impossible for her to give up now.
Instead, she was reflecting on whether her approach to getting close to Xie Changlin had been too blunt, perhaps even counterproductive.
In other words, if a man she had only met once came to her making a grand declaration of love, she would probably think he was insane.
Jiang Wan slapped her forehead—she had finally understood.
So, whatever little patience Xie Changlin had shown toward Jiang Wan was likely entirely because she was Jiang Wenshan’s daughter. If she had to guess his true feelings toward her, it could only be disgust and hatred.
It was just that he couldn’t act against her yet, nor could she die. Otherwise, anyone who dared get this close to him would have been dead a thousand times over.
Having clarified her position, Jiang Wan stopped dwelling on it, and her mind felt much clearer.
“Qiaoqiao, how many princes and princesses are there in the palace?”
Qiaoqiao was taken aback and shook her head. “It seems there really aren’t any.”
Jiang Wan’s eyes widened. “None? With so many women, not a single one has given birth?! Is Huan Cheng even capable?”
“Your Majesty!” Qiaoqiao nearly rushed to cover her mouth, then shot a warning glare at Cai Chun, who was standing not far away. “Leave.”
Cai Chun bowed respectfully and withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the room.
“That can’t be right. Has the Emperor been examined by an Imperial Physician?” Jiang Wan frowned, sensing that things weren’t as simple as they seemed.
Qiaoqiao sighed and lowered her voice. “Before entering the palace, Madam reminded this servant that if Your Majesty consummates the marriage with the Emperor, you must not drink the tonic sent by the Ceremonial Directorate the next day.”
Every woman in the palace who had shared the Emperor’s bed received a bowl of “tonic” from the Ceremonial Directorate the following day, without exception.
Most women didn’t suspect anything and obediently drank it.
Those with some knowledge of medicine might notice something amiss but had no choice but to drink it anyway.
Even those who managed to avoid drinking it and were lucky enough to conceive would lose the child within a few months due to various “accidents.”
Though Qiaoqiao spoke vaguely, Jiang Wan understood perfectly. “Did Mother also say what I should drink instead?”
Qiaoqiao pursed her lips and nodded, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Your Majesty, Madam doesn’t want you to bear a royal heir, but the medicine from the Ceremonial Directorate is too harmful to the body. Many palace consorts who drink it become infertile for life. So, an Imperial Physician will secretly bring you a contraceptive medicine instead.”
Jiang Wan had only been testing the waters with her question, but it turned out to be true.
Xie Changlin surely had sinister intentions for her child, while her family undoubtedly wanted the opposite—for her not to have one.
“But why didn’t Mother tell me herself?”
Qiaoqiao’s face fell. “She was afraid you would ask too many questions and couldn’t keep secrets. Many things were only entrusted to this servant.”
Jiang Wan had no rebuttal and pouted. “Most women in the palace are quite young. Drinking that medicine early on would surely leave them with lasting health problems, wouldn’t it?”
She couldn’t help but sigh.
There is another question: why doesn’t Xie Changlin allow the palace consorts to have children, yet wants hers?
Qiaoqiao suddenly remembered something and widened her eyes. “Your Majesty, I recall now—there is a princess in the palace! She was born to Consort Wan and is now about three or four months old.”
Consort Wan… Jiang Wan searched through her memories of the first time she saw the palace consorts and found the delicate, gentle beauty standing in the front row.
Just as her title suggested, she was gentle, graceful, and virtuous. She was also the highest-ranking among the four consorts and could be considered the most prominent figure in the harem before Jiang Wan arrived.
Jiang Wan had even helped her punish Consort Ning.
“Why was she able to give birth to a child?”