The Crown Prince was gravely ill, and the Imperial Hospital could not ascertain the cause.
The Crown Princess, in her desperation, invited a high monk from Da Xiangguo Temple to examine the feng shui.
She suspected foul play, that some malicious sorcery had been used to harm His Highness the Crown Prince.
The monk, as expected of a master, toured the Eastern Palace. Though he did not enter the individual palaces and halls, he definitively stated that the Crown Prince's condition was not an illness, but rather the result of someone in the Eastern Palace suppressing him.
"This woman's destiny is exceptionally strong. Marriage will surely bring about the demise of her husband. Only by dedicating herself to a life of austerity, accompanying the Buddha, can she expiate her sins."
The Crown Princess gasped, covering her mouth, "Is there such a person in the Eastern Palace? Master, please enlighten me."
The monk divined the circumstances, writing down a birth date and zodiac sign.
The Crown Princess compared this with the concubines, mistresses, and maids in the Eastern Palace and discovered that the person was none other than Liang Yuan He Rufang, who had only recently entered the Eastern Palace!
The Crown Princess was shocked.
He Rufang held a special status, and the Crown Prince was unconscious. The Crown Princess dared not act on her own, so she reported the matter to Noble Consort Wei.
Coincidentally, when the report was made, Noble Consort Wei was visiting Consort Chen in Ruhu Palace, and the Emperor was also present.
The Emperor, overhearing part of the conversation, found it peculiar, "What is the background of this Liang Yuan He? The Crown Princess should handle it; why is it necessary to specially invite the Noble Consort to make a decision?"
The Crown Princess hesitated for a moment and said, "Liang Yuan He... Liang Yuan He is the adopted daughter of the Old Dowager of Ding'an Prince's manor. Originally... she was brought to His Highness the Crown Prince by the Princess of Ding'an... If I were to act rashly, I fear the Old Dowager would be displeased. The Old Dowager is elderly, and it is rare to have an adopted daughter to dote upon. I fear both hurting her feelings and the Crown Prince's failure to awaken. Caught in a dilemma, I came to seek guidance from Mother Consort."
Lu Peishan was clever. She only briefly mentioned He Rufang's origin, focusing on the Old Dowager.
However, a clever person would quickly connect this to Ling Yun's identity, inevitably suspecting that Ling Yun had deliberately sent a woman who would bring misfortune to the Crown Prince.
Noble Consort Wei's eyelid began to twitch halfway through the explanation.
She had repeatedly warned the Crown Prince not to act rashly, but he still lost his composure.
She had found the Crown Prince's illness suspicious from the start, and her intuition had not been wrong.
But now that the play had begun, as the Crown Prince's mother, she could only play along.
She secretly cast a reproachful glance at Lu Peishan and asked with feigned confusion, "Since she is the Old Dowager's adopted daughter, why would she enter the Eastern Palace as a concubine?"
The adopted daughter of the Old Dowager of Ding'an Prince's manor, this status was neither high nor low.
But if the Old Dowager had intended it, there were certainly eligible young men in the capital for a proper marriage.
Yet, she was sent to be a concubine to the Crown Prince.
If she were her own flesh and blood, would the Old Dowager have been willing to part with her?
The Emperor's expression clearly changed. He had seen too many people sell their children for power, but he had never imagined the Old Dowager would be such a person. He couldn't help but think of the First Prince, raised under her care, and if she had planned this all along...
The Emperor dared not think further.
The Ding'an Prince's manor held significant importance for him.
He did not wish to make baseless assumptions.
Consort Chen then said softly, "I have never heard of the Old Dowager having an adopted daughter?"
She looked at Lu Peishan, "Was there ever a ceremony to acknowledge this adoption?"
Lu Peishan hesitated for a moment, "No."
"That's it," Consort Chen smiled and said, "The Xiao family is powerful and wealthy; it's inevitable that some people would covet them."
This implied that He Rufang was impersonating an adopted daughter.
Lu Peishan calmly replied, "But Liang Yuan He was indeed brought to the Prince's manor by the Princess of Ding'an."
Consort Chen nodded and looked at the Emperor, "Since Your Majesty harbors suspicions, why not summon the Princess of Ding'an to the palace to inquire?"
The Emperor's heart tightened, and he regarded Consort Chen with even greater respect.
Sincerity, indeed, was the greatest weapon.
The Emperor dispatched a palace attendant to deliver an oral decree. Soon after, Wang Qingyao arrived.
Palace attendants were adept at reading expressions. Wang Qingyao, as the Princess of Ding'an and the beloved of the First Prince, had an unpredictable destiny.
The attendant, wishing to foster good relations, subtly hinted at a few things to Wang Qingyao.
Wang Qingyao understood the situation.
Ruhu Palace.
Wang Qingyao paid her respects to the assembled dignitaries and asked the Emperor with a smile, "Does Your Majesty have an urgent matter that requires summoning this humble subject?"
The Emperor's expression softened considerably at her address of "Father Emperor," and he got straight to the point, "There is a Liang Yuan He in the Eastern Palace; do you know her?"
Wang Qingyao nodded with a composed expression, "She is a distant cousin from my maternal family."
Lu Peishan's lips curved slightly. Hmph, the Princess of Ding'an was unaware of what had transpired, yet she admitted it so readily.
"I heard that the Old Dowager of the Xiao family adopted her as her goddaughter. Is this true?"
"This is a long story," Wang Qingyao said, still smiling, "If Your Majesty is not in a hurry, I can tell you slowly."
The Emperor was amused, granted her a seat, and told her to proceed.
"...Although she is a distant cousin, I never met her during my maiden days. She was suddenly brought to the Wang family by my grandmother, intending to become the Prince's concubine... Naturally, I was unwilling to agree. But refusing would make me appear petty, so I devised a plan: to have the Old Dowager adopt my cousin as her goddaughter. Then, comparing the two situations, my cousin would no longer wish to be a concubine."
This matter was unknown to Lu Peishan and the Crown Prince.
Lu Peishan never expected that Wang Qingyao, despite the family scandal, would expose her maternal grandmother's ugly nature so thoroughly.
She instinctively retorted, "What kind of grandmother would offer her own granddaughter as a concubine?"