The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 342 Delivering Soup at Midnight

Princess Yongping hurried back to her bedchamber. As soon as she stepped inside, she smelled a strong medicinal odor, and her heart sank.

Riley curled up on the couch, her face burning red, her breathing rapid, and cold sweat soaking her temples. Even calling her "Mother" was weak and trembling. She looked more than ten times worse than when she left in the morning.

Princess Yongping frowned, her expression unreadable, whether from heartache or annoyance. "They really know how to pick their days!"

Last night, Lai Li only caught a slight cold, with chills and a cough. The imperial physician came to see her and prescribed medicine, saying that she would get better if she took it on time. How could her condition have worsened so much overnight that she was even delirious with fever?

"Where is the imperial physician? Why hasn't he come in for a follow-up examination yet!" Princess Yongping's voice was sharp, her eyes filled with anxiety and resentment as she sternly rebuked the palace servants in the hall.

The maidservant beside Princess Laili said timidly, "Your Highness, the imperial physician has already come. He said that the cold had entered the body and had not been cleared, and the cold had penetrated to the bone, which caused the condition to deteriorate rapidly. She has already taken the medicine."

Princess Yongping sat by the couch, wiping the cold sweat from Lai Li's forehead. Her gaze gradually turned cold and somber. This daughter was neither the one she loved nor the one she wanted. Even now, with Lai Li in such a state, she felt more annoyance than heartache. But after all, she was her own child, and she couldn't let her die.

“Mother…” Riley slowly opened her eyes on the bed. She had always longed for maternal love, and was naturally overjoyed. She reached out to grab it, but failed to grasp it and fainted again.

"Princess!" Lai Li's maid knelt anxiously at the head of the bed, her eyes filled with tears.

"What are you shouting for!" Princess Yongping's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Go and summon the imperial physician again!"

And so, Riley would wake up and feel dizzy, then wake up and feel dizzy again, in a never-ending cycle, while Yongping's heart grew increasingly agitated.

As soon as the clock struck midnight, Yongping squinted at Laili lying on the bed. More than her daughter, she cared about Emperor Jing. Tonight, she would make Emperor Jing her subject. The flickering lamplight reflected a hint of ruthlessness and urgency in her eyes.

Lai Li's high fever finally subsided a bit, and she fell into a deep sleep. Yongping tucked her in, then turned around and summoned his trusted maid, whispering, "Bring that bowl of nourishing soup."

On the silver tray, a bowl of ginseng soup was still steaming, the soup thick and the aroma of medicine mixed with a faint, unpleasant fragrance—this was specially prepared by her, without any added ingredients. The real secret lay in the string of gilded bells on her wrist.

Today, she had Ji Quan take advantage of the ancestral worship ceremony to plant a love-sickness curse in her brother's body. Tonight, when she rings this bell again, Emperor Jing will be restless and obedient to her. Yongping rubbed the cold bell with her fingertips, a calculating smile curving her lips.

She knew that Emperor Jing was deeply in love with the late Empress, and that once the love potion entered his body, it would be able to use the late Empress's shadow to firmly bind Emperor Jing's heart.

She walked slowly toward Emperor Jing's palace. The guards outside the palace, seeing that it was Yongping who had arrived, dared not stop her and respectfully let her pass.

Emperor Jing was reviewing memorials by a solitary lamp, with a mountain of documents piled up on his desk. His brows furrowed with weariness. Hearing footsteps, he saw Yongping and said in a deep voice, "Yongping, what brings you here so late at night?"

"Today is Fengyao's joyous day, Your Majesty should also get some rest. Yongping has specially prepared a bowl of ginseng soup to send over, wishing Your Majesty good health." Yongping presented the tray, his tone as gentle as honey, but his eyes were fixed on Emperor Jing's reaction.

Emperor Jing put down his vermilion brush, took the ginseng soup, and touched the warm bowl with his fingertips. He said softly, "Yongping, you've put your heart into this." He took a small sip; the taste was mellow and there was nothing unusual about it. He then casually placed it on the table.

Yongping's heart tightened. Suppressing his eagerness, he slowly raised his wrist and gently shook his fingertips—"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling," the gilded bell emitted a crisp sound, its tone eerie, carrying a captivating frequency.

She stared intently at Emperor Jing, hoping he would show signs of unease and a dazed look in his eyes, and hoping that he would develop a strange dependence on and obedience to her, as Ji Quan had said.

However, Emperor Jing merely frowned, as if disturbed by the sound of the bell, and said in a slightly somber tone, "Ringing a bell in the middle of the night, what kind of decorum is this?"

Yongping's smile froze, his fingers stopped moving, and he stared at him in disbelief: "Brother...you..."

Emperor Jing raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing straight at her. "You left your seat hastily today because of Laili, and I didn't ask any questions. Now you come here late at night, not only bringing soup but also ringing a bell to disturb me. What exactly do you want?"

Yongping was in a state of turmoil. The bell rang again, louder and more urgent than before, but Emperor Jing remained calm, with a hint of scrutiny and displeasure in his eyes.

How could this be? Ji Quan clearly said… Her face turned deathly pale instantly. Was it not yet time? But it was already past midnight! Could it be? Could it be? He hadn't drugged Emperor Jing at all?

The thought exploded in her mind like a thunderbolt, chilling her to the bone. Everything she had meticulously planned had turned into a joke.

Seeing her flustered expression and evasive eyes, Emperor Jing became suspicious and shouted in a deep voice, "Yongping! What on earth are you up to!"

Yongping was startled and took a step back, the bell on her wrist clattering to the ground and rolling to Emperor Jing's feet. She stared at the bell, then at Emperor Jing's icy gaze, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Just then, she heard Jing Anle's voice behind her, "Aunt..."