Seeing Yinzi withdrawn and silent, Yintang and Yin'e grew frantic with worry. Following Yinzi's gaze downward, they were met with layers of vividly red chili powder—so glaringly bright it was almost shocking. Stunned, their disbelief quickly turned to fury.
Is this even fit for human consumption?
One bite would surely knock someone out!
To dare harm a royal prince with such a method—such cruelty was beyond words!
While Yin'e stood frozen, Yintang slammed the table, his face darkening. In their past life, Yinzi's sudden high fever had been both violent and inexplicable. He still remembered their mother's heartbreak after Yinzi's passing. From then on, she had doted on him as if he were her very eyes—wasn’t that just a transfer of affection?
In this life, he had sworn a solemn oath to protect Yinzi, ensuring he lived a long and healthy life. Surely, this was also their mother’s deepest wish. Yet right under his nose, someone had dared to harm him with chili!
At the Imperial Study Hall, where they spent every day together, who didn’t know Yinzi had a sweet tooth?
Yintang paced furiously. "This is outrageous!"
Snapping out of his daze, Yin'e shared his brother’s indignation. A rare glint of coldness flashed in his usually honest eyes. "We must get to the bottom of this. The mastermind behind this—their life is forfeit!"
Yinzi, finally emerging from his stupor, looked up in bewilderment at his brothers’ terrifying words. Trembling, he dropped his chopsticks and shook his head frantically. "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, no one’s trying to harm me! This was specially ordered by His Majesty. He thought I’d developed a taste for chili!"
His explanation came out in a rush, his voice trembling like a frightened child’s.
Yintang and Yin'e were even more stunned.
Having already vowed bloody retribution, they choked on their words, erupting into violent coughs.
"Ahem... His Majesty clearly doesn’t understand our Eleventh Brother’s preferences," Yintang said awkwardly.
"My mind’s been muddled lately. Just ignore my nonsense, haha," Yin'e added sheepishly.
"There’s no time to prepare another meal now, so we’ll share ours with you. After lessons, we’ll visit Mother and have her speak to His Majesty—to correct this... misunderstanding. Using chili powder as a meal? Unthinkable!" Yintang forced a laugh. "Right, Tenth Brother?"
Yin'e nodded eagerly. "Absolutely! That’s the way to go."
Yinzi felt saved.
Wiping his chubby cheeks with his sleeve—pretending he hadn’t heard "their life is forfeit"—he sniffled, eyes brimming with tears. "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, you’re the best."
Hand in hand, the three brothers made their way to Yikun Palace, where Noble Consort Wen happened to be visiting. On the day of the Crown Prince’s wedding, after entertaining the noblewomen, she had gone looking for Yunxiu, only to find her missing. Upon inquiry, she learned Noble Consort Yi had not returned to her palace.
Noble Consort Wen grew uneasy, sensing something amiss. The next day, seeing Yunxiu safe and sound at Cining Palace, she finally relaxed. But amid the celebrations for the Crown Prince and his new consort, she forgot to ask. Only now did she remember, hurrying over for a visit.
And there, she caught Yin'e red-handed.
Noble Consort Wen narrowed her eyes at her son. Why wasn’t he at Yongshou Palace with his own mother? What was he doing tagging along with Yintang and Yinzi?
Yin'e felt wronged. Of all the coincidences—just tagging along for fun, and now he was caught?
His mother’s glare could pierce the heavens.
The Tenth Prince shrank back, hiding behind Yinzi. Noble Consort Wen’s temper flared further, but Yunxiu gently intervened. "If Tenth Brother is here, he must have a reason. No need to scold him. Besides, he calls me Noble Consort Yi Mother—there’s no rule forbidding him from paying respects."
Noble Consort Wen huffed, her anger cooling slightly.
Many called Yintang a troublemaker who led Yin'e astray, but she knew better. Yin'e might seem honest, but his schemes were just as cunning—only, he was sneakier, letting Yintang take the blame.
Take their studies, for example. While Yintang had improved his calligraphy through hard work, Yin'e remained at the bottom, even lagging behind Yinzi!
Every time she saw Yintang, Noble Consort Wen felt a pang of guilt. Such a good boy—why did he have to befriend her mischievous son?
Well, since Noble Consort Yi had spoken up, she’d let it slide this time.
Meanwhile, Yin'e bowed nervously under his mother’s scrutiny. On the other side, Yunxiu took a sip of warm milk, only to choke when she heard Yinzi’s pitiful complaint. "Cough—!"
"Your Highness!" The attendants rushed to offer handkerchiefs, pat her back, and bring water, some even casting worried glances at her abdomen.
Waving them off, Yunxiu cleared her throat. "I’m fine."
"His Majesty..." She struggled for words before sighing. "I’ll speak to him, all right? No more chili powder in Yinzi’s meals."
Assured, Yinzi broke into a relieved smile, his soft cheeks dimpling. Yintang and Yin'e quickly dragged him away before bowing out.
Yunxiu watched them go, speechless, until Noble Consort Wen burst into laughter beside her. "Truly, His Majesty’s paternal love knows no bounds."
"...Indeed," Yunxiu murmured after a pause. "His actions grow more baffling by the day. Though the chili powder... well, there’s some justification."
She then recounted the assassination attempt on Yinzi in detail, her tone calm but edged with coldness.
"So that’s why you vanished that day!" Noble Consort Wen gasped, her brow furrowing. "To dare target a royal prince—such audacity! Who would do such a thing?"
She pressed further. "Was Yinzi hurt? Have you identified the culprit?"
"Yinzi is unharmed, thanks to the Imperial Hospital’s medicinal powder—one ingredient being His Majesty’s beloved chili," Yunxiu replied with a faint smile before sighing. "As for the mastermind... it’s a mystery. I have no leads."
She had many enemies in the palace. But Concubine Hui was confined, Consort Ping bedridden, and the rest had been thoroughly subdued. Who would dare risk their lives by targeting Yinzi?
Besides, the assassin was trained—no ordinary servant. They must have slipped through the selection process, lying in wait for years. Could it be an outside force? Suo Etu, perhaps?
But that made no sense. What would disrupting the Crown Prince’s wedding achieve?
"Could it be a remnant of Mrs. Tongjia’s faction?" Noble Consort Wen wondered aloud. "After all, Empress Xiaokang was of their line."
"You mentioned Longkodo," Yunxiu raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That makes sense. But Longkodo is practically finished—beaten to the point of life or death unknown. Even if he miraculously survives, how could he possibly reconnect with the Tongjia family in the palace? He can never return."
"Then it must be someone from the palace." Noble Consort Wen's expression gradually turned solemn. After a pause, she lowered her voice and said, "Do you remember Concubine Hui's recent behavior? Openly tormenting her daughter-in-law, proposing to take a concubine in front of the Empress Dowager, even scorning the imperial bloodline—compared to before, it's as if she's a completely different person. I hadn’t noticed at first, but when the Emperor demoted her and reprimanded the Eldest Prince for being 'raised by women,' it felt almost too convenient."
"Now that you mention it," Noble Consort Wen continued, "there’s also that sudden concubine Concubine Hui wanted for the Eldest Prince—Lady Cheng. Where did she even come from? Last year wasn’t an imperial selection year."
The more she thought about it, the more everything seemed unreal.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"Someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes. The Eldest Princess Consort’s difficult childbirth might have been planned too," she said after a long pause. "It’s likely the same schemer."
After speaking softly, Yunxiu abruptly fell silent.
Closing her eyes, she masked the cold fury in her gaze and smiled self-deprecatingly. "I was too careless, thinking I was untouchable. I never expected a venomous snake lurking in the shadows."
She had noticed something off about Concubine Hui but hadn’t dug deeper. It was her own arrogance.
"Don’t blame yourself," Noble Consort Wen shook her head, taking Yunxiu’s slightly cold hands in hers. "Who could’ve predicted this? If it weren’t for the Eleventh Prince’s assassination attempt, I wouldn’t have recalled last year’s events either."
A warmth spread through Yunxiu’s heart, and her expression softened slightly.
She strained to recall, "Lady Cheng… the daughter of a Han Army Banner deputy commander. Wait, do you remember which banner she belonged to?"
Noble Consort Wen corrected her, "The daughter of a deputy commander." Then, hesitantly, she added, "The Plain White Banner? Or the Bordered Yellow Banner?"
It had been months ago. They’d treated it as gossip at the time—who would remember clearly?
But there were plenty of Han Army Banner deputy commanders surnamed Cheng. Tuyue, who served as the deputy commander of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, had once mentioned in a letter that he nearly embarrassed himself at a banquet by mistaking this Deputy Commander Cheng for another.
But if they couldn’t find her, how could they follow the trail?
Yunxiu’s brows furrowed in frustration.
"You’re carrying twins, yet you fret over everything. Aren’t you exhausted?" Noble Consort Wen chided gently. "There’s no need for you to worry. I’ll have A Ling’a investigate."
"Very well." Yunxiu was about to nod when a sudden thought brightened her eyes, a faint smile curving her lips.
"I have an idea," she said.
The next morning, the sun hung warmly in the sky.
Yanxi Palace, where Concubine Hui resided, had long been desolate, overgrown with weeds. Aside from the occasional sweepers, kitchen eunuchs, and the steward delivering monthly provisions, the place seemed devoid of life.
But today was different.
Outside the palace gates stood a grand, gold-canopied palanquin fit for a noble consort, complete with banners and a full retinue of attendants. The commotion was so loud that even Concubine Hui, reciting sutras in the small prayer hall, opened her eyes.
"Ying’er, go see what’s happening."
Ying’er bowed silently, then walked down the long corridor. With a creak, she slowly pushed open the palace doors.
The moment light flooded the hall, her eyes widened in shock, fear and panic surging through her.
There stood Noble Consort Yi, resplendent in an elaborate red-and-gold gown, her hair ornaments glinting in the sunlight. Behind her loomed a group of sturdy matrons. She smiled gently at Ying’er and said, "I’ve been feeling unsettled. Yesterday, I specially sought the Emperor’s permission to visit your mistress. We have… personal matters to discuss."
