Xiao Jingxi took Ren Yaoqi's hand, and the two sat down together on the soft couch.
"Gong Mama entered the palace with my mother back then. She was someone my mother's birth mother left for her and was originally from the Yun Family. What? Do you think she has a problem?" Xiao Jingxi asked with a smile.
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and then shared her suspicions with Xiao Jingxi from when Ren Yaohua was giving birth. At the time, she had no evidence, only baseless doubts, and since Gong Mama was the Princess Consort's person and had even saved Ren Yaohua's life, she hadn't mentioned it to Xiao Jingxi.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jingxi laughed after hearing this: "So that's it."
Ren Yaoqi glanced at him. "But judging by Mother's attitude, this Gong Mama doesn't seem to have any issues. Could it be that I overthought it?"
Xiao Jingxi sighed. "No, you didn't overthink it. Gong Mama does have a problem, but the problem isn't with her."
"Oh? Then who is it with?" Ren Yaoqi grew even more curious.
Xiao Jingxi pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I should have told you about this long ago, but I never found the right opportunity. After all, it's not exactly a glorious matter, and it's something that happened over a decade ago."
Ren Yaoqi stood up and personally poured a cup of warm tea for Xiao Jingxi, handing it to him. "Then take your time and tell me. Mother said I could come to you for answers about anything."
Xiao Jingxi couldn't help but laugh at this, pretending to be aggrieved. "Your husband already has little authority, and now you've enlisted Mother to back you up. From now on, where will I have any say in this household? Wife, you should at least leave me a shred of dignity."
Ren Yaoqi shot him a sidelong glance.
"Both Jinglin and I were delivered by Gong Mama." Xiao Jingxi, having teased enough, finally got to the point.
Ren Yaoqi immediately grasped the key point. "Only you and Jinglin were delivered by Gong Mama? I remember you saying last time that the Crown Prince was also delivered by Gong Mama."
Xiao Jingxi smiled at this. "If I recall correctly, what I said was that my elder brother was also delivered by Gong Mama."
Ren Yaoqi frowned, about to ask what the difference was between the two statements, but before she could speak, she suddenly thought of something. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Xiao Jingxi with astonishment.
"The Crown Prince... isn't your elder brother?"
Xiao Jingxi gently touched Ren Yaoqi's hair and sighed softly. "The one in the capital isn't. My biological elder brother died while still in Mother's womb. When Mother was pregnant with my brother, someone poisoned her. The fetus was already fully formed, just a dozen or so days away from birth. If it weren't for Gong Mama, it would have been a tragedy of two lives lost."
Although Ren Yaoqi had speculated about this before, speculation was still speculation. She hadn't expected the truth to be so cruel.
Unconsciously, Ren Yaoqi tightened her grip on Xiao Jingxi's hand.Xiao Jingxi held Ren Yaoqi's hand in return and continued, "Back when the late emperor was still on the throne, he was a strong-willed ruler. If not for his excessive dominance, the conflict between the two princes in his later years would not have occurred. Even toward his own sons, he was so harsh—how could such a ruler tolerate the existence of a place like Yanbei Prince's Mansion? Moreover, the situation between Yanbei and the imperial court back then was different from what it is now. When my great-grandfather first reclaimed Yanbei, the various noble families there were still very powerful, almost forming an alliance to rival Yanbei Prince's Mansion. To prevent the humiliation of Yanbei falling under the iron hooves of the Liao people from happening again, my great-grandfather used many forceful measures to bring these families to heel, and Yanbei was temporarily stabilized. So, at that time, Yanbei Prince's Mansion truly could not afford to clash head-on with the imperial court. Even if my elder brother had survived back then, Yanbei Prince's Mansion would have obeyed the emperor's decree and sent him to the capital as a hostage."
"But he died, so the one sent to the imperial court as a hostage would have been you?" Ren Yaoqi frowned.
Xiao Jingxi nodded. "Yes, he died, so naturally, it would have been the second son of the Prince of Yanbei. My mother had just lost her first child and was utterly devastated. To help her regain her strength, Nanny Gong and Nanny Xin came up with an idea: to publicly claim the child had not died, find a newborn baby to replace him, and send him to the capital as a hostage a few years later. That way, her second son could be spared."
"So that's how it was, no wonder..." Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment. "Earlier, there was a rumor that the child you sent was your mother's sister's son, but that wasn't true. Could it be that the 'heir' is? Is he your cousin?"
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi curled his lips and shook his head. "That rumor is pure nonsense. The 'heir' is the child of one of my mother's maids who accompanied her as part of her dowry."
Ren Yaoqi blinked. "Then... is this 'heir' really dead?"
Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi in surprise, then smiled. "Why do you ask?"
Actually, Ren Yaoqi had only asked casually because she always felt that this "heir," whether in this life or the previous one, had died "at just the right time," which made her think more about it.
"It just feels a bit off," Ren Yaoqi said.
Xiao Jingxi gently tapped Ren Yaoqi's nose and chuckled, "Could it be that you smelled something off?"
Ren Yaoqi swatted Xiao Jingxi's hand away and glared at him. Did he think she wouldn't realize he was indirectly calling her a dog?
Xiao Jingxi shook his head with a sighing laugh, half-jokingly teasing, "It's a good thing I married you. How could anyone rest easy with someone like you out there? This 'heir' indeed did not die. He completed his mission and retired. We thought this matter was handled flawlessly, without even the imperial court noticing. Who would have thought you'd 'sense' it? Tell me, isn't your nose sharp?"
Ignoring Xiao Jingxi's teasing, Ren Yaoqi steered the conversation back on track. "Then what about the poison in your body? How did that happen?"
Xiao Jingxi's smile faded slightly. "When my mother was pregnant with her first child, the fetus died in the womb because someone had poisoned her. Although Nanny Gong saved her afterward, the toxins were not completely eliminated. So, I was born with poison in my body."Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but feel shocked—Xiao Jingxi had actually been poisoned while still in Princess Consort's womb! With some knowledge of medicine, she naturally understood that toxins carried from the womb were the hardest to cure. No wonder Xiao Jingxi had been ill for so many years. He must have suffered greatly as a child.
Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Seeing the look in Ren Yaoqi's eyes, Xiao Jingxi took the opportunity to pull her into his embrace, gently rubbing his chin against her head. "Actually, it's nothing. I'm fine now, and I even benefited from the misfortune—no poison works on me anymore."
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi felt even more heartache for Xiao Jingxi and nestled silently in his arms.
"Then... has the person who poisoned you been found out?" Ren Yaoqi asked quietly.
Xiao Jingxi remained silent for a moment before replying, "Although Yanbei Prince's Mansion isn't as impenetrable as the gates of Jiajing Pass, it's not a place where just anyone can enter to poison someone."
Ren Yaoqi frowned at his words. If outsiders couldn't have done it, could it have been someone from Yanbei Prince's Mansion?
Sure enough, Xiao Jingxi continued, "Back then, only someone from this mansion could have had the opportunity."
Ren Yaoqi fell silent. In this mansion, the ones with both motive and ability to poison were either Old Princess Consort or Xiao Heng's side of the family. Truly, it was easier to guard against outsiders than those within.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi silent, Xiao Jingxi glanced down at her. Remembering the prescription Ren Yaoqi had been holding earlier, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, such a thing will never happen again. I won't tolerate anyone harming you or our child." Though his voice was as gentle as ever, it carried his characteristic certainty and strength, as if anything he said would surely come to pass, bringing immense reassurance.
After a long silence, Ren Yaoqi finally asked, "Is Matron Gong keeping a low profile in the mansion because of this? Since Matron Gong knows about what happened back then, it's possible someone suspects the heir's identity and used my sister's childbirth to drag Matron Gong into it."
At the time, when Ren Yaohua gave birth prematurely, they had all thought it was Madam Xiao Qiao's doing. Now, thinking back, it might have been the midwife using some means to get her to summon Matron Gong. The thought sent a chill down Ren Yaoqi's spine. Thankfully, Ren Yaohua and the child were fine in the end, or else...
If that were truly the case, the mastermind behind it was truly sinister. How innocent Ren Yaohua and the child were! A single misstep could have meant two lives lost.
Still nestled in Xiao Jingxi's arms, he naturally sensed Ren Yaoqi's emotions and gently patted her back to comfort her. "Don't worry, I'll have someone investigate. If someone is truly scheming behind the scenes, I won't let them off."
Ren Yaoqi sighed softly and murmured, "Mm."
Xiao Jingxi retrieved the prescription Matron Gong had given from Ren Yaoqi's sleeve pocket. "Although Matron Gong isn't a physician, she's more skilled than many renowned doctors when it comes to childbirth. Since she gave you this prescription, you should try taking it."
Ren Yaoqi blushed slightly, snatched the prescription back, and tucked it into her sleeve pocket again, muttering softly, "You don't like taking medicine yourself, yet you're lecturing me!"Xiao Jingxi, with his exceptional hearing, gently turned Ren Yaoqi's face towards him and said with a smile, "My dear, what are you muttering about?"
Ignoring how her face was being playfully pinched out of shape by Xiao Jingxi, Ren Yaoqi mumbled indistinctly, "I was saying that the potted plant in your study smells like Chinese medicine! What kind of water have you been watering it with?"
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi remained unfazed: "This is a new variety I had brought back from Yunnan. It can only survive if watered with medicinal liquid."
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but roll her eyes, reaching out to pinch Xiao Jingxi's cheek. The two of them pinched each other's faces, distorting them into funny shapes—utterly childish. "My father has grown plenty of flowers and plants too. Don't think I don't know what kind of herb that is! You're just talking nonsense..."
Before Ren Yaoqi could finish, Xiao Jingxi leaned in, quick as lightning, and sealed her lips with his own.
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