This was a conspiracy, a conspiracy against her and Qi Yihan. Rong Pin chose to have a stomach ache precisely at this moment, very likely to stop her from ruining their plans.
The more this happened, the more dangerous Qi Yihan was in.
Li Man'er's mind raced, but her feet didn't stop. She cast Rong Pin's wails aside, disregarding etiquette, and hurried out of the great hall, heading towards a secluded area.
Everyone's eyes turned towards the entrance.
Rong Pin had not expected Li Man'er to abandon her. The music in the hall was too loud, and her previous cry had not been very noticeable. Emperor Chenghua had clearly not heard it.
The Consort did glance in her direction, but quickly averted her gaze, evidently choosing to pretend she hadn't seen anything.
"Your Highness, what is wrong?"
Rong Pin was furious. She had lost her advantage; she should have stopped Li Man'er the moment she got up.
But it wasn't too late yet. Even if Li Man'er went, she might not be able to save anyone.
She had to commit to the act.
Rong Pin immediately clutched her stomach and wailed, "My stomach, it hurts so much."
"What is it?"
"Your Majesty, my lady is suffering from abdominal pain." Ping'er knew that Rong Pin's stomach was not truly ailing, but she put on a look of panic, as if genuinely frightened.
Li Qingshu quickly said, "Fetch the imperial physician at once."
Rong Pin cried out again, and Ping'er, understanding immediately, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, Consort, our lady's pregnancy has always been cared for by Princess Anning. Shouldn't we quickly send someone to find Princess Anning?"
"Oh, Anning is not here?"
Li Qingshu replied, "Anning seems to have something to attend to and just went out."
Emperor Chenghua glanced at Qi Yihan's usual seat, and said with a mix of annoyance and amusement, "Ninth Prince isn't here either. Neither of these two ever lets me rest easy."
Everyone in the court knew that the Ninth Prince was about to marry Princess Anning.
The family banquet had reached its end. Emperor Chenghua suddenly became interested, stood up, and said, "Let's go. We'll go and see where this Ninth Prince has taken Anning."
Li Qingshu's heart sank. Having been in the palace for many years, she understood Emperor Chenghua quite well. In fact, he was not one to fuss over matters of romance. Logically, even if the two were hiding to meet, he shouldn't be reacting this way.
Why did he have to go look for them!
Li Qingshu dared not delay and quickly followed.
"Everyone, let's go and see!"
Emperor Chenghua said this before leaving the hall. Naturally, everyone respected the emperor's wishes, and those who could afford to save face followed.
Rong Pin whispered to Ping'er, "You go and see too."
"Rest assured, Your Highness," Ping'er quietly followed.
Rong Pin's lips curved slightly. This time, there would be a good show.
Meanwhile, Li Man'er was anxiously searching the palace for Qi Yihan. Ah Si was also out of breath, looking for him. The mistress and servant were not far apart, and they dared not call out loud, relying only on their eyes to search.
"Your Highness, what do we do? He's not here."
"Keep looking." Li Man'er's sense of unease grew. She was now certain that someone was digging a pit for them today, and Qi Yihan was already standing in it.
Suddenly, a faint medicinal scent wafted through the air. Li Man'er was particularly sensitive to the smell of medicine and immediately followed the scent.
Ah Si, seeing her move, quickly followed. The mistress and servant soon arrived at a rather secluded garden. Two old women were guarding the entrance. The moment they saw someone approaching, the two women cried out exaggeratedly, their voices quite loud, as if deliberately trying to attract someone.
Li Man'er leaped forward, kicking one of the old women three meters away. The other, about to cry out, was knocked unconscious by Li Man'er's palm.
Ah Si, without needing further instruction, subdued the two women.
Li Man'er walked into the garden and found it unlit, but she could vaguely make out that it was a neglected garden, not large, and the buildings within were somewhat dilapidated.
The medicinal scent grew stronger. Li Man'er kicked open the door of a house and found Qi Yihan and Consort Ying inside.
Consort Ying lay on the bed, appearing to have fainted. Her clothes were still relatively neat. Qi Yihan sat on the ground, looking disheveled and in pain, his eyes filled with frost. Although the room was dimly lit, Li Man'er could tell at a glance that he was in agony, likely drugged. Furthermore, the蛊 poison within him had also flared up.
Qi Yihan visibly started when he saw Li Man'er enter.
"Why are you here?" His voice was hoarse, and his body trembled slightly, clearly in an internal struggle.
Li Man'er stepped forward to take his pulse. As expected, his蛊 poison had flared up.
Qi Yihan leaned back slightly. "Don't touch me." His entire body was burning hot, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.
Li Man'er placed her hand on his forehead and immediately said, "You've been drugged with an aphrodisiac?"
Qi Yihan, his mind unclear, gritted his teeth. "This is no place to linger. Help me up and let's go."
"Alright."
As the two of them stood up, they heard Ah Si's panicked voice, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
It was Emperor Chenghua who had found them.
"You are the princess's maid. Why are you here? Is the princess inside?"
Ah Si shook her head. "This servant came out for some air with the princess. The princess walked a bit far, and this servant lost track of her, then stumbled upon this place. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Li Man'er whispered, "With everyone watching, I doubt we can escape. The person who designed this for us is truly vicious."
They were clearly aiming to kill them.
"Don't be afraid. It's not over yet."
Just then, Emperor Chenghua and the others were already approaching the garden. The dark garden was suddenly illuminated, as bright as day.
Li Man'er knew that she had no choice but to take Qi Yihan into her spatial realm. She slowly closed her eyes and brought Qi Yihan in.
It was a pity that Consort Ying was unconscious. If she had been awake and seen two living people vanish from thin air, she would have thought she was seeing ghosts.
Ah Si was extremely nervous. As a mere maid, she naturally could not stop Emperor Chenghua. However, she did not know the situation inside the room. She could only hope that the princess and the prince had already left, otherwise, disaster would surely strike today.
The door was pushed open, and Emperor Chenghua entered. In the small room, only Consort Ying was present.
Ah Si breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn't help but wonder if the princess had taken the prince away, or if the prince had never been there at all.
Consort Ying…
She suddenly thought of something, her eyes widening. To avoid drawing attention, Ah Si quickly lowered her head.
Sweat beaded on her back and dripped from her palms.
Emperor Chenghua's expression darkened, and his voice rose slightly, "Why is Consort Ying here?"
Li Qingshu frowned. "Your Majesty, something is not right."