Li Ying paid no mind to his soaked clothes. He just stared fixedly at Hua Manman, his gaze dark and heavy.
"Don’t make me get rough with you."
Each word was deliberate, heavy with pressure.
As if frightened, Hua Manman’s struggles lessened.
She bit her lower lip and said softly, "You should go change your clothes."
Li Ying refused.
Hua Manman said nervously, "But I’ll feel uncomfortable with you here."
’You don’t care about me in the slightest, so my presence shouldn’t affect you at all.’
But when he saw the uneasy look on her face, like a startled fawn, he couldn’t bring himself to force her.
"I can go, but don’t do anything rash. You have to listen to the Imperial Physician."
Hua Manman replied with a small "Oh."
Li Ying released her arm. Seeing that she had stopped struggling, he finally felt at ease and gave an order to the Imperial Physician.
"Examine the Princess Consort carefully. I will be right back."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Li Ying left the bedchamber and went to the adjacent room to change.
The Imperial Physician stepped forward and said respectfully.
"Please extend your right hand, Princess."
Hua Manman slipped her hand out from under the covers, her eyes fixed on the doorway.
In truth, her stomach didn’t hurt at all. She had deliberately put on an act to trick Li Ying, all for the purpose of getting him to soil his clothes.
Over the past half-month, she had secretly exchanged two more letters with Hua Qingqing.
Hua Qingqing wrote that she had found the imperial edict for the investiture of the Crown Prince. She had also sent someone to infiltrate the Imperial Study, but they had failed to find the Jade Seal.
Li Ying handled official documents in the Imperial Study every day. If the Jade Seal wasn’t there, it was most likely on his person.
That was why Hua Manman had deliberately orchestrated the scene just now.
’Now, it’s all up to Qing Huan.’
The Imperial Physician placed his fingers on Hua Manman’s wrist and carefully took her pulse.
His brow furrowed slowly, his expression growing puzzled.
"Why is the Princess’s pulse so..."
Hidden by the covers, Hua Manman pressed down hard on her right forearm with her left hand. She feigned a curious expression and asked,
"What’s wrong with my pulse?"
The Imperial Physician replied, "Your pulse is extremely weak. It’s as if... as if you are on the verge of death. But that can’t be right. Someone with a pulse like this couldn’t possibly conceive a child."
It was the greatest puzzle he had ever encountered in his medical career.
Hua Manman pretended to be frightened and said hastily,
"Could you have been mistaken? Please check again, carefully."
So the Imperial Physician began to take her pulse once more.
In the adjacent room, Li Ying stripped off his clothes, placing them and his personal belongings to the side.
The chicken soup had gotten on his skin as well. It was cold now, leaving a congealed, greasy, and sticky film that felt awful.
Liang Yong said, "I will go fetch some hot water for you to wash up, Your Highness."
Li Ying nodded. "Mm."
Liang Yong turned to leave, taking the soiled clothes with him to be cleaned.
With the soiled clothes gone, only a few personal items remained on the table.
Among them were a worn-out small pouch, the Jade Seal enclosed in a Brocade Bag, a Jade Pendant, and a waist token.
Li Ying casually pulled a blanket and draped it over himself.
He picked up the small pouch, gently stroking its surface with his thumb. His eyes stared at a point in the distance, unmoving for a long time, as if lost in thought.
What he didn’t realize was that someone was sitting on the rafters directly above him.
Qing Huan held her breath, her eyes fixed below, unblinking.
Her gaze shifted between the Jade Seal and Li Ying. He was too close to the seal; she couldn’t find an opportunity to strike.
’Fortunately, she had come prepared.’
Qing Huan opened the cloth bag in her hands and released two rats.
She had hidden sweets under the bed beforehand.
The rats were famished. They immediately scurried down toward the scent and ran straight under the bed.
Next to the sweets, she had also placed a pile of melon seeds and peanuts.
How could the rats resist such a temptation? They immediately began to feast.
Li Ying, who had been lost in thought, was suddenly pulled back by a faint, rustling sound.
He snapped back to reality, his eyes scanning the room. He quickly located the source of the sound.
’It was coming from under the bed!’
As Li Ying turned and walked towards the bed, Qing Huan leaped down, landing silently on the ground.
She snatched the Brocade Bag containing the Jade Seal and tucked it into her robes. Just as she was about to leave, Li Ying turned back around.
Upon noticing the strange movement under the bed, Li Ying hadn’t rashly bent down to investigate.
He was always cautious and would never take such a personal risk.
He had intended to call someone in to check what was under the bed, but he never expected to see Qing Huan the moment he turned.
Qing Huan’s heart almost stopped.
She noticed his gaze land on the table.
’He must have noticed the Jade Seal is gone!’
’No, I can’t just wait here to be captured.’
Before Li Ying could open his mouth to call for help, Qing Huan flicked her wrist, sending a hidden silver needle flying.
Li Ying immediately sidestepped to dodge.
However, the silver needle was just a diversion.
Before Li Ying could fully regain his balance after dodging the needle, Qing Huan appeared behind him like a phantom.
She swung the Brocade Bag containing the Jade Seal, striking Li Ying hard on the back of the neck.
Li Ying felt a sharp pain in his neck as his vision went black. He swayed and collapsed to the floor.
But he wasn’t completely unconscious; a sliver of awareness remained.
He could sense Qing Huan approaching him.
His vision was a blur, and he couldn’t see what she was doing, but he could feel that she was likely trying to take this chance to kill him.
An intense sense of danger washed over him, and the will to live forced his mouth open.
He tried to call for help.
Qing Huan did intend to kill Li Ying then and there, to eliminate the threat for good.
She had already drawn a hairpin, preparing to pierce his throat with its sharp tip.
Just then, however, Li Ying managed to make an extremely faint sound.
"Help..."
Qing Huan froze.
That brief moment of hesitation cost her the perfect opportunity to strike.
Footsteps sounded outside, and then a knock came at the door.
Liang Yong’s voice carried through the door.
"Your Highness, may I come in now?"
Qing Huan knew if she didn’t leave now, she wouldn’t get another chance.
She still had to deliver the Jade Seal to the Princess Consort and protect her. She couldn’t let herself get trapped here.
She gritted her teeth, slid the hairpin back into her hair bun, opened the window, and slipped out.
After landing, Qing Huan took a roundabout path back to the Princess Consort’s bedchamber.
Hua Manman had been keeping her eyes on the door, so she spotted Qing Huan the moment she crossed the threshold.
Qing Huan looked extremely anxious, as if something had gone wrong.
But with the Imperial Physician present, she didn’t dare say anything.
Hua Manman stopped pressing on her right forearm, and her pulse immediately returned to normal.
The Imperial Physician was stunned.
’How did the Princess’s pulse suddenly change?!’
Before he could react, he heard Princess Consort Zhao speak.
"My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, so I should be fine. I’m sorry to have troubled you and made you come all this way for nothing. Qing Huan, see our guest out!"