Pei Qianhao stroked Su Xi-er’s hair as he said, “I’ll stay with you.”
Seeing that he understood her without any explanation, Su Xi-er turned to Du Ling with a smile. “Elder Brother, there has to be a commander among those soldiers. Where’s he being held?”
The left faction’s commander was Xian Yue’s younger brother, Xian Liang, who had been adopted into the Xian Residence when he was younger. Despite the lack of blood relation, the brothers were on good terms, and Xian Liang would assist Xian Yue with controlling his men.
Du Ling said, “In prison. Take the Imperial Princess there.”
A guard came up to Su Xi-er and gestured towards the exit. “Your Highness, please follow me.”
Su Xi-er nodded and left, with Pei Qianhao following shortly after giving a respectful nod to the Grand Empress Dowager.
“Can they succeed?” The Grand Empress Dowager wondered aloud.
“Royal Grandmother, let me walk you in.”
The Grand Empress Dowager waved a hand to dismiss him. “It’s fine. You should go see Consort Xian instead since she’s gotten pregnant before the Queen. Speaking of which, are you unhappy with the woman I’ve selected as your Queen? Her father is the loyal Great General, even giving up his arm for your father. She herself saved Rulan by taking that poisonous needle for her. If you mistreat her, I won’t let you off the hook.” She then flung her sleeves and walked back into her repose palace.
Du Ling had his own reasons for spending the night with Consort Xian, but things were different now that Xian Yue’s coup had failed. He understood that Su Xi-er wanted to spare Consort Xian’s life to convince Xian Liang to side with them, but he frowned at the difficult situation.
“King, you haven’t been to the Queen’s palace in a while…” One of the guards nearby spoke up, having heard everything that the Grand Empress Dowager just said. He felt rather indignant on behalf of the queen since he knew how much her father had sacrificed in the past.
Du Ling remained silent as he walked out. The guard sighed inwardly to himself, but heaved a sigh of relief when he realised Du Ling was heading towards the Queen’s palace.
The imperial physician walked out just as Du Ling arrived. He bowed and greeted, “This humble subject pays his respects to the King.”
“How’s the Queen? Can she talk?”
The imperial physician said, “Not yet, it’ll take some time. It’s unclear when Her Majesty will recover, but making sure that she doesn’t get upset will help in her recovery. Other than that, we just have to be patient.”
“Use the best medicine you have to treat her.”
“This humble subject will try my very best.”
Du Ling dismissed him with a wave of his hand and walked into the palace.
The Queen saw Du Ling approach and wanted to get down from her bed to greet him properly, only to be stopped by him. “There’s no need to greet this King when you’re unwell.”
The Queen wanted to say something, but she couldn’t speak.
“Take care of yourself. I’ll need you to bear my first child.” Though Du Ling wasn’t very expressive, his tone was gentle. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, he held her hand in his own.
The Queen stiffened at this as she stared at Du Ling. What’s gotten into him? He’s never been like this since we got married, and he’s never touched me either. I’ve never even had a chance to use the aphrodisiac I procured.
The Imperial Princess was the one who saved me when I considered killing myself, but why is he telling me this now?
