Xiaoqiu thought she was tired and suggested, "Lady, why don't you lie down for a nap? You must be exhausted from last night."
Chi Ying shot her a glare, "You little brat, I'll sew your ears shut!" Xiaoqiu laughed it off, spreading a cloak on the floor and placing a pillow for her. Chi Ying figured she couldn't take in all the scenery anyway and decided to rest.
The carriage swayed gently, and Chi Ying was about to fall asleep when a sudden jolt nearly threw her off her seat, hitting her head on the wall and seeing stars.
"What's happening?" Chi Ying, dazed, was helped up by Xiaoqiu.
Outside, chaos erupted. Cui Yi shouted orders to protect the Emperor, swords clashing, horses neighing in fright, and women screaming. Chi Ying tried to peek outside but an arrow pierced the curtain near her hand, startling her back.
Chi Ying, having died once, remained relatively calm, but Xiaoqiu was terrified, clinging to her trembling. Suddenly, the carriage shook violently, splattering blood on the curtain, causing Xiaoqiu to scream.
"Don't be afraid, everything will be fine," Chi Ying reassured her, though she was anxious.
The guards escorting the Emperor numbered 1,800, forming an impenetrable shield. Cui Yi himself guarded the Emperor's carriage. Given such tight security, how did assassins manage to breach it?
The fighting subsided, and Cao Qian rode up to ask, "Lady, are you alright?"
Chi Ying quickly responded, "I'm fine. Is the Emperor safe? How about His Highness?"
Cao Qian answered breathlessly, "The Emperor is unharmed. His Highness sustained a minor injury and is pursuing the assassins. He sent me back to protect you."
Hearing Cui Yi was hurt, Chi Ying's heart clenched. "Someone actually managed to wound His Highness?"
Cao Qian explained, "An assassin hid in a tree and fired an arrow, grazing His Highness's arm."
Chi Ying frowned, her ominous feeling intensifying. She sensed the truth was just out of reach.
The assassins failed and retreated. Chi Ying waited in the carriage. Cui Yi returned with the captured assassins. Emperor Jianyuan, shaken, lost interest in the red leaves, and the entourage returned to the capital.
The female members were sent back to their residences, while the princes stayed at the palace until late at night. Cui Yi finally returned home close to midnight, finding Chi Ying and Bai Li Zan waiting in the brightly lit hall.
Before they could ask, Cui Yi lowered his voice, "The assassins targeted the Crown Prince. The Crown Princess miscarried due to shock… less than two months along…"
Chi Ying's heart raced, "What? Lingfang was pregnant?"
This was impossible! How could Prince Jie let her conceive? Once the Crown Princess bore a son, her position in the Eastern Palace would be unshakeable. Given his intentions to eradicate the Changsun family, he wouldn't allow her to get pregnant!
Bai Li Zan asked, "Does Lady suspect the pregnancy is fake?"
Before Chi Ying could respond, Cui Yi frowned, "It's real. Even the Crown Prince and Empress were shocked. No one knew beforehand. The imperial physician confirmed she hadn't been summoned for a health checkup recently."
"It seems the Crown Princess wanted to keep it secret from the Crown Prince and Empress," Bai Li Zan observed.
"Impossible!" Chi Ying protested, "Prince Jie wouldn't let Lingfang get pregnant. This can't be!"
Cui Yi and Bai Li Zan looked puzzled. Cui Yi asked indifferently, "Why not?"
Chi Ying's mind raced for answers.
Seeing her hesitation, Bai Li Zan offered, "Let's assume Lady is right. Prince Jie wouldn't want the Crown Princess to bear a child, yet he already has children, indicating he's fertile. So, he must be preventing her from conceiving—does he distrust Lord Changsun?"
Cui Yi pondered, "Then whose child was in the Crown Princess's womb?"
Bai Li Zan hesitated, unsure how to phrase it. Discussing infidelity or self-sacrifice in front of the Crown Princess's elder sister was delicate.
Cui Yi turned to Chi Ying, "What do you know?"
Chi Ying struggled to answer, frowning in confusion.
Cui Yi studied her silently before dismissing her, "It's late. Go rest."
Chi Ying was surprised by his tone, sensing he suspected her involvement. "I genuinely didn't know. I just had suspicions based on previous conversations with Lingfang about her inability to conceive."
Cui Yi nodded indifferently, "Understood."
His lack of reaction left her unable to defend herself. Since the Shan Jian incident, Cui Yi still showed affection but no longer trusted her completely.
"I'll go check on Xian'er," Chi Ying forced a smile and left.
After she left, Bai Li Zan noticed the tension in the hall. Cui Yi's expression darkened, and he revealed, "The Empress suspects I hired assassins to kill the Crown Prince."
Bai Li Zan couldn't help laughing, "Seems like a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Why assassinate the Crown Prince during the Emperor's outing, surrounded by hundreds of people? Blaming you is too obvious. They should've pinned it on a minister instead."
Cui Yi added, "The one accusing me is none other than Changsun Tai."
Bai Li Zan fell silent, realizing his guess was accurate. Cui Yi continued, "Changsun Tai spoke first, with the Empress backing him. Third Prince and Fourth Prince eagerly distanced themselves…"
Bai Li Zan sighed, "When a house falls, everyone pushes it down. As long as you're innocent, they can't pin it on you without evidence."
"Hmm," Cui Yi sat on the couch, looking worried despite Bai Li Zan's reassurance.
That night, Cui Yi slept in the main chamber, while Chi Ying spent the night alone in the Parasol Tree Courtyard, cradling her daughter.
The next morning, Cui Yi left early. Bai Li Zan visited the courtyard, noticing Chi Ying's disheveled appearance and dark circles under her eyes. He sighed, "Lady, you truly care for His Highness, yet others constantly plot against you."
Chi Ying smiled wearily, "At least Master trusts me. Aren't you worried I'm conspiring with the Crown Prince against His Highness?"
Bai Li Zan shook his head, "No. From your actions and words, it seems you harbor a grudge against the Crown Prince. Given His Highness's lack of interest in the throne, it's wiser to stay safe rather than confront the Crown Prince directly, risking your life."
Chi Ying remained silent, gently stroking her daughter's head. Little Cui Xian slept soundly, unaware of her mother's worries.
Bai Li Zan relayed Cui Yi's words from the previous night. Chi Ying listened, her voice hoarse, "It's a setup… Poor Lingfang, Father actually went this far."
"Perhaps Lord Changsun doesn't know about the child," Bai Li Zan speculated, "Having a legitimate heir is crucial. If he wants to secure ties with the Crown Prince, he wouldn't risk harming the child."
Chi Ying took a deep breath, called for the nanny to take the child, and slumped onto the couch, burying her face in her hands.
Now, the situation was murky. First, was the Crown Princess's pregnancy real or fabricated? Did Prince Jie and the Empress know?
Assumption One: The pregnancy is fake, part of the assassination plot to manipulate Emperor Jianyuan's emotions, making it easier to frame Cui Yi.
Assumption Two: The pregnancy is real, but Prince Jie and the Empress didn't know, meaning the Crown Princess deliberately concealed it. Why?
Assumption Three: The pregnancy is real, known to Prince Jie but not Changsun Tai. Was it a calculated move to appease the Changsun family under pressure from Cui Yi, or an unexpected development used as leverage in framing Cui Yi?
Chi Ying hoped it was the first assumption, but given Cui Yi's revelation, she feared the worst.
Returning late, she was convinced that the child was real. Unless the entire Eastern Palace, including the Empress and the imperial physicians, were all in on a grand deception, it would be impossible to fool Emperor Jianyuan.
If it were the third scenario, Chiying could understand it. Cui Jie had once done the same thing to her, so using the same tactic against Lingfang did not surprise her at all. It was just pitiful that her sister, who had finally conceived a child, had to endure a miscarriage. It was heart-wrenching.
But how could the second scenario be explained?
"Madam," Baili Zan suddenly interrupted her thoughts, "after I returned home last night, I thought about this matter over and over again. There is something I want to ask you, but I don't know if it's appropriate."
Chiying weakly replied, "Ask away."
"Before Princess Consort left for marriage, did she have someone she liked?"
Lingfang's love interest? Chiying sat up straight, her expression stiff as she looked at Baili Zan, who blinked innocently, not understanding her reaction.
Right, that must be it.
If the child was real, but Lingfang had hidden it from everyone, even her parents, then the only explanation was—the child wasn't Cui Jie's!
Then whose could it be?
Perhaps her expression changed too drastically, because Baili Zan thought he had upset her and quickly explained, "Madam, please don't misunderstand. I was just asking casually, trying to consider every possibility..."
Chiying bent over in pain, clutching her head.
Before her rebirth, she was the Crown Princess, and Lingfang was merely the youngest daughter of the Grand Tutor. If it weren't for Cui Jie's betrayal, which led to the extermination of their entire family, she should have married her father's favored student, a young man named Zhong Wei.
Now, with the change of circumstances, Lingfang had married into the Eastern Palace before she turned fourteen. Did she have any old feelings for Zhong Wei? She didn't know. If she did, could the child in her womb be his? If so, were her parents unaware, or were they eager for her to bear an heir, turning a blind eye? Since Cui Jie didn't intend to let her become pregnant, he must have been closely monitoring her physical condition. What would he think if he discovered she was pregnant? Could this assassination attempt be a double-edged sword, both framing Cui Yi and punishing Lingfang?
Chiying was shocked by her own conjectures, breaking out in cold sweat. Although the assassination attempt failed, the hidden possibilities behind it were numerous and terrifying.
Or perhaps none of these were the truth; it could be a ploy designed to make them think along these lines, causing them to panic and reveal their weaknesses.
Was it Cui Jie's plan? No... such a complex and ruthless plot, targeting multiple birds with one stone, seemed more like Shan Jian's style.
"As expected of the cunning strategist, even an unborn child isn't spared," Chiying murmured to herself.
That afternoon, before Cui Yi returned, an imperial decree arrived. Chiying led the servants to receive the decree, feeling as if she had been doused with icy water.
The decree mentioned that the captured assassin had confessed under torture that he was hired by the King of Wu to assassinate the Crown Prince and the Emperor. The Dali Temple had searched their hideout based on their confessions and found a large number of armor and weapons. The guards had also admitted under duress that they were ordered by the King of Wu to purchase and guard the military equipment.
"...After verification, considering the King of Wu's contributions to the empire through years of warfare, he will not be executed. His title will not be revoked, but starting today, his property will be confiscated, his servants dismissed, and he will be stationed in Gan Prefecture without imperial permission to return to the capital. By imperial decree!"
Chiying knelt on the ground, numbly responding, "We accept the decree with gratitude. Long live the Emperor, may he reign forever."
Jiang Huaisheng, the chief eunuch of Wansheng Palace, rolled up the decree and placed it in her hands, giving a noncommittal laugh, saying, "Don't just thank the Emperor. You should thank the Crown Prince. If it weren't for his plea on account of their brotherhood, the Emperor intended to execute the entire Wu. Take care of yourselves!"
The servants were filled with anger, wanting to punch Jiang Huaisheng, but they had no choice but to endure his mocking laughter as he left.
"Madam!" Xiao Qiu cried out, catching Chiying just before she stumbled.
Nong Yue anxiously asked, "How could this happen? The King hasn't returned yet. What should we do?"
Chiying, supported by Xiao Qiu, stood up, fighting off dizziness, and said, "Pack our things. If we can't stay here, there are other places we can go."
Surviving in the Frontier