“Secondary Consort, they must have said that on purpose!” Zhenzhu suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Secondary Consort, have you forgotten?”
“At first, we overheard two old servants saying that His Highness loved drinking ginseng tonic. That was why you told me to prepare some.”
“And what happened?”
“That soup sent His Highness into a rage, and he even had you locked up!”
The more Zhenzhu spoke, the more convinced she became that her guess was right.
“Secondary Consort, those two people just now must have deliberately said that where you could hear them! They must have had another motive!”
“Think about it. This place is so secluded, and there are guards outside. Who would dare come here to spread rumors?”
“Unless there’s only one possibility—the Princess had someone say it on purpose for you to hear!”
“The Princess must want you to lose your temper and turn against His Highness! You mustn’t fall into her trap!”
As she spoke, Zhenzhu clutched Secondary Consort Wei’s arm tightly, afraid that in a moment of impulse, Secondary Consort Wei would do something she would regret for the rest of her life.
The strength that had just risen in Secondary Consort Wei vanished at once.
She leaned against Zhenzhu and murmured, “That’s right!”
“You’re right!”
“It must be her scheme! I can’t fall for it.”
“My Lin’er must be fine!”
“If something had really happened, they wouldn’t dare keep it from me!”
The more Secondary Consort Wei spoke, the more uneasy she became.
Her desire to get out grew stronger and stronger.
Her son was her only support. If something happened to him, what would she do for the rest of her life?
She couldn’t just sit there and wait for death!
She had to get out!
“Zhenzhu, I can’t stop worrying about Lin’er. I’m going out!” With that thought, Secondary Consort Wei struggled to get up.
Zhenzhu held her back desperately. “Secondary Consort, you can’t!”
“Without His Highness’s permission, leaving would mean defying his orders!”
“His Highness will never let you off lightly!”
“Secondary Consort, please bear with it a little longer! We can wait until the person bringing our food arrives, ask what happened, and then decide what to do!”
Smack!
“That’s my child—the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to—and you’re telling me to wait?”
“What if what those people said was true and something happened to Lin’er? Even if I killed you, it wouldn’t bring him back!”
“Whether they were telling the truth or not, I must see Lin’er today! Even if His Highness beats and punishes me, I’ll accept it!”
Secondary Consort Wei slapped Zhenzhu across the face. The sharp crack rang especially loudly in the cramped room.
Zhenzhu’s cheek burned.
Although Secondary Consort Wei had gone several days without food, that slap had still landed with considerable force.
Zhenzhu released her and covered her face.
Secondary Consort Wei froze for a moment. But in the next instant, her longing to see her son overcame her guilt.
Before this, she hadn’t felt anything because she hadn’t heard any news about Xiao Yunlin.
But now, her heart was pounding relentlessly, as though something terrible were happening.
As long as she could see her son and daughter, she was willing to be locked back in the dark room afterward.
Secondary Consort Wei followed the direction she remembered and pounded on the door with all her strength.
“Open the door!”
“Open it!”
“I want to leave!”
“I want to see His Highness!”
Outside, everything was silent.
There wasn’t a sound.
Secondary Consort Wei kept pounding on the door and shouting.
The silence outside made the fear in her heart grow stronger and stronger.
She clenched her teeth, grabbed the door bar, and yanked it inward with all her strength.
With a loud clang, the door swung open with ease.
She had pulled so hard that Secondary Consort Wei fell heavily onto her backside.
Sudden sunlight flooded in, illuminating the dark room and driving away the shadows. Even the dust floating in the air was clearly visible.
Secondary Consort Wei had never imagined that the door to the dark room hadn’t been locked at all, much less that there would be no one outside guarding it.
The light pouring in blinded her, and she instinctively shut her eyes.
Zhenzhu stood there in a daze for a long while.
What was going on?
There hadn’t been anyone guarding them at all!
The door hadn’t even been locked!
Then what had these past few days of being shut inside without food or water meant?
Secondary Consort Wei opened her eyes again and gradually adjusted to the brightness outside.
Without hesitation, she scrambled to her feet and ran out.
But as soon as she reached the doorway, she tripped over the threshold and fell. The skin on her palms was scraped raw instantly.
Secondary Consort Wei had gone several days without eating and had no strength left in her body. In her current condition, she couldn’t possibly make it to her son’s courtyard.
“Zhenzhu! What are you waiting for? Get over here!” she ordered fiercely, turning her head.
Zhenzhu hurriedly got up and went over to help her to her feet.
The two women stumbled along, supporting each other as they headed toward the front courtyard.
Along the way, they barely saw any servants.
Even when they spotted one or two, they hurried away and made no attempt to stop them.
Secondary Consort Wei felt even more unsettled.
What major event had happened in the prince’s residence?
At last, Secondary Consort Wei and Zhenzhu reached the outer courtyard, where they happened to see Xiao Yunlin’s attendant.
Secondary Consort Wei grabbed him at once. “Where is the Second Young Master?”
The moment the attendant saw her, he dropped to his knees in fright.
“Please spare me, Secondary Consort! Please spare me!”
Secondary Consort Wei felt the world spin around her. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, the attendant quickly scrambled to his feet and ran away.
Zhenzhu wanted to catch him, but she didn’t dare let go of Secondary Consort Wei.
After a long moment, Secondary Consort Wei let out a heart-wrenching scream.
“My Lin’er!”
“My Lin’er! How could you have died? You were still so young!”
“You studied so hard, working yourself to the bone because you hoped that one day you could make something of yourself and bring honor to your mother!”
“Who did this? How could anyone be so cruel as to spare not even a child?”
As she cried out, Secondary Consort Wei struggled to her feet. But after taking only one step, her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees.
She seemed not to feel the pain. She got up and ran again.
Zhenzhu hurried after her and held tightly to her arm.
The two of them searched the entire courtyard but couldn’t find any sign of Xiao Yunlin.
In the end, a servant girl doing menial work told them where Xiao Yunlin was.
Without the slightest hesitation, Secondary Consort Wei took Zhenzhu and rushed into Prince Ling’s room.
Inside, the imperial physician wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.
“Your Highness, the Second Young Master has been saved!”
The tension in Prince Ling’s body finally eased, and a piercing pain suddenly shot from his lower back down to his buttocks.
Before he could even lie down, a shrill voice rang out.
“My Lin’er! How could you leave your mother behind?”
As the voice faded, Secondary Consort Wei—disheveled and stumbling—rushed into the room.
The moment she saw her son lying on the daybed, she charged over and pulled him into her arms.
“My Lin’er! Mother’s precious boy! Mother will avenge you!”
“Pull her away!” Prince Ling ordered, his trembling hand pointing at Secondary Consort Wei.
