The Double

Chapter 169: The True Culprit

The news of Princess Yongning's miscarriage eventually reached the palace.

Consort Liu was furious upon hearing it and insisted on a thorough investigation. The Li family agreed, while rumors spread like wildfire outside. Some said Princess Yongning’s pregnancy had been revealed before the customary three-month secrecy, thus angering the King of Hell who took the child back. This was merely a superstition, and few believed it nowadays. Moreover, Princess Yongning had explicitly stated that her miscarriage was the result of a deliberate plot against her within the Li family.

The word "plot" carried grave implications—it meant this was not an accidental loss but a carefully orchestrated scheme. Even the Emperor took notice, ordering the Li family to identify the culprit without fail.

In contrast, Princess Yongning’s elder brother, Prince Cheng, seemed relatively unconcerned. This was not due to a lack of affection for his sister, but because he was preoccupied with a far more pressing matter—plotting a coup. Thus, Princess Yongning’s affairs had to be set aside for the time being.

The Li family suddenly found themselves under intense scrutiny and scrambled to uncover the truth. However, after two or three days, they had made little progress. Meanwhile, Princess Yongning, as if possessed, relentlessly demanded answers from morning till night. Unable to pinpoint the culprit, she directed all her rage at the Li family, behaving less like their daughter-in-law and more like their sworn enemy.

That night, Princess Yongning sat in her room, her face etched with irritation.

Her physical recovery was remarkably swift. A miscarriage typically drains one’s strength, leaving them bedridden for days. Yet, Princess Yongning regained her mobility in just a day. Had the Li family not known of her pregnancy, no one would have believed she had ever been with child—they might have thought her never pregnant at all.

Perhaps precisely because of this, Li Xian had not anticipated her rapid recovery and appeared flustered and overwhelmed by her incessant demands to find the culprit.

Meixiang entered carrying a bowl of freshly brewed medicinal soup.

“The Li family still hasn’t provided an explanation today,” Princess Yongning fumed. “This is utterly outrageous!”

With the loss of her child, Princess Yongning’s vulnerability vanished, and she reverted to her haughty, domineering self—expecting everyone to cater to her whims. Her foul temper was on full display.

She glanced at the dark, bitter-smelling concoction Meixiang presented—a tonic intended to restore her health after the miscarriage. Staring at it, she was reminded of the innocent child she had lost, and a dull ache crept into her heart. What chilled her even more was the knowledge that her miscarriage was now the talk of the court, if not the entire populace. Shen Yurong must have heard at least a fragment of the news, yet he had not come to see her—not even a letter or a message.

But there was nothing. She waited and waited, only to be met with the Li family’s failure to find the culprit and the emptiness of her expectations.

This was Shen Yurong’s flesh and blood! How could he be so indifferent?

At this thought, Princess Yongning felt a pang of sorrow. She had always known Shen Yurong to be cold-hearted—a trait evident in his treatment of his wife, Xue Fangfei. But she never imagined that one day, that same coldness would be directed at her.The more she thought, the more restless and resentful she became. Princess Yongning asked, "Meixiang, has there been any message from Lord Shen today?"

After a long silence with no response, she turned her head and saw Meixiang standing by the table, wiping the same spot over and over with a troubled expression, her eyes fixed blankly on some point in the air. Clearly, her mind was elsewhere. Suspicious, Princess Yongning called out again, "Meixiang!"

Startled, Meixiang turned around. "Your Highness?"

"What's wrong with you?" Princess Yongning frowned. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Having served by her side for many years, Meixiang was usually the epitome of composure. It was rare to see her so unsettled, and Princess Yongning immediately grew suspicious.

"Your servant... Your servant..." Meixiang turned, walked to the door to check that no one was outside, then closed it. Returning to the room, she clenched her teeth and knelt before Princess Yongning. "Your servant just returned from outside and passed by a small room where I overheard something..."

"What is it?"

Meixiang then recounted in detail: While fetching the tonic medicine for Princess Yongning, she passed a dimly lit room with its door slightly ajar. She had intended to walk past it, as she wasn't very familiar with the Li residence. For the past two months, she had been required to stay close to Princess Yongning and hadn't had the chance to explore the place. Just as she was about to pass the room, she heard voices inside. Normally, she wouldn't have paid attention to servants' conversations, but when she suddenly heard Princess Yongning's name mentioned, she stopped. Concerned for her mistress, and seeing no one around, she hid by the crack in the door to listen carefully.

One person inside said, "The princess has finally lost the child. It's fortunate she did. Now the eldest young master won't have to go through the trouble of tampering with her fetus-protecting medicine, which never seemed to have any effect. Could it be that the princess wasn't drinking the medicine? Otherwise, why would there be no reaction? If the eldest young master hadn't taken drastic measures this time, who knows if it would have succeeded?"

Another replied, "Exactly. If we had waited until her belly grew larger, it would have been harder to act and could have cost her life. Before this, the eldest young master tried so many methods—using medicines, incense, everything—but there was no response. If even being pushed down the stairs didn't cause a reaction, I'd start to wonder if she's even human or has some kind of supernatural power?"

The first voice cautioned, "Keep your voice down. If someone hears, we'll be in trouble. Anyway, this outcome is for the best. Let's stop talking about this and get back to work. Once the princess makes a fuss for a few more days, His Highness will just produce a scapegoat, and that'll be the end of it."

Meixiang listened in horror, wishing she could uncover more secrets, but the two shifted to other topics. Hearing footsteps approaching in the distance, she dared not stay longer, afraid of being discovered. She couldn't burst into the room and expose them—after all, this was the Li residence. If what they said was true and Li Xian was the culprit, the Li family would surely silence anyone who knew. She feared she might be killed and vanish from the world before she could even report this to Princess Yongning.So she pretended nothing was amiss as she stood up and quietly left. She continued to the kitchen to fetch the medicine, then returned to Princess Yongning's chamber. After setting the medicine down, her heart remained unsettled, pondering how to broach the matter with the princess.

Eventually, Princess Yongning noticed something was wrong.

After hearing the account, Princess Yongning's lips trembled slightly as she said, "How dare they!" Then suddenly raising her voice, "How dare they!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" Meixiang quickly interjected.

Princess Yongning glared, "What are you trying to do? Li Xian killed my child! I demand he pay with his life! I'm going to confront Li Xian right now and see what excuses he has left. No wonder..." she sneered coldly, "I always felt the Li family was being perfunctory in their search for the murderer. So the killer was Li Xian all along! The thief crying 'stop thief'! I'm sure my actions have been nothing but a joke in their eyes!"

Princess Yongning was extremely agitated. Meixiang lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, this matter hasn't been confirmed yet. The reason I hesitated to tell you earlier was because I myself don't know whether this is true. If someone deliberately led me to that room to overhear those words, intending to frame Eldest Son Li, wouldn't we be falling into their trap? Your Highness must remain calm!"

"Oh?" Princess Yongning said furiously, "How can you expect me to remain calm? Now you tell me Li Xian might have killed my child - even if it's just a possibility, I simply cannot stay calm!"

"I'm not speaking in defense of Eldest Son Li, nor am I trying to exonerate the Li family. I'm considering what's best for you, Your Highness. Please think - if it really was Eldest Son Li who did this, why would he do such a thing? Would the Li family not want a grandson? Or have they already discovered something?"

Princess Yongning froze, gradually calming down. After a moment, she said, "Li Xian must have known all along that the child I carried wasn't of Li blood. From the very beginning, there wasn't the slightest trace of affection in his eyes when he looked at me."

When the imperial physician first came to the residence to announce the "happy news," Princess Yongning had found Li Xian and his father somewhat strange. Especially Li Xian - though his words were gentle and his manner considerate, his eyes clearly held none of the joy a father should feel upon learning he would have a child. There was even a hint of disgust. At the time, Princess Yongning thought she might have misread him, but now she realized she hadn't been mistaken at all. Perhaps Li Xian had known from the start that the child wasn't his, so the news brought him no surprise. When the child was lost, he merely pretended to grieve along with her without shedding a single tear.

"That scoundrel!" Princess Yongning gritted her teeth, "Playing me like a fool!"

Over the past two months, all the lies Princess Yongning had told about this child must have seemed utterly ridiculous in Li Xian's eyes. He knew everything clearly yet pretended ignorance, even accompanying her in this charade. Looking back, Princess Yongning herself felt foolish, as if she'd been thoroughly manipulated and stripped of all dignity.

"If Eldest Son Li really knew about this from the beginning, how did he find out? Was there evidence, or did he hear rumors?" Meixiang remained as calm as ever, "We don't know any of this yet.""What are you trying to say?"

"What this servant means is, even if Your Highness were to go before the Imperial Consort and Prince Cheng right now to claim that Eldest Son Li caused the death of the child in Your Highness's womb, I'm afraid no one would believe it. Before that, we must focus on obtaining evidence. Then we can test Eldest Son Li with the evidence to determine whether he truly is the mastermind behind this."

Princess Yongning asked, "How do we obtain evidence?"

"This servant overheard from the two people in the dark room that Eldest Son Li had used various methods hoping to cause Your Highness to miscarry, but none succeeded. This was because while at the Li residence, Your Highness protected the young prince in your womb extremely well. To mention one thing, you never drank a single bowl of the fetus-protecting medicine prepared in the Li family's kitchen, fearing someone might have drugged it. You only took the fetus-protecting pills this servant brought from the princess's residence. However, others were unaware and assumed you had consumed all the medicine, when in reality, this servant poured it all under the willow tree by the door."

"There are still some medicinal residues left from those doses, and quite a lot has accumulated over time. If this servant goes to dig now, some should still be retrievable. We just need to take them to an apothecary for a physician to examine, and we'll know if they contain any abortifacient drugs. If they do, it would confirm what those two people said earlier—that Eldest Son Li truly intended to kill the young prince. If the residues show no issues, it would mean those two were lying to slander Eldest Son Li and cause mutual destruction between Your Highness and him."

This explanation left Princess Yongning unable to find any fault. After a long silence, she finally said, "Very well, I'll follow your plan. Go dig up those medicinal residues and take them to the apothecary tomorrow for clarification. If it turns out to be nothing, so be it. But if Li Xian truly harmed my child, I will stake my life to drag the entire Li family down with me!"

Her eyes blazed with vengeful fire. Meixiang bowed her head and replied, "Yes."

...

The news of Princess Yongning's miscarriage had spread throughout the court, and Shen Yurong was not unaware of it.

When he returned to the Shen residence, he saw a carriage parked at the entrance—it was from the Marquis Ningyuan's estate. Shen Ruyun had come.

He frowned and walked inside, where a servant came forward to help him remove his outer robe. As he entered the main hall, he found Shen's mother and Shen Ruyun deep in conversation. They immediately stood up upon seeing him.

Since marrying into the Marquis Ningyuan's household, this was Shen Ruyun's first visit home aside from her formal post-wedding return. Her attire had become more exquisite than before, with intricate patterns on her clothing that were dazzling to the eye. Her head, hands, and neck were adorned with jewelry, each piece gleaming conspicuously, as if afraid others might miss them.

She appeared to be living well—at least her dress and accessories surpassed what she had before—but her face showed increased anxiety. After becoming a married woman, whatever remained of her youthful charm seemed to have been worn away, transforming her completely into an official's wife, no different from the other ladies in Yanjing City. In fact, she seemed even more discontented.

"Elder brother," Shen Ruyun stood up and blurted out without preamble, "Do you know? The princess has had a miscarriage!"

Shen Yurong glanced at her, sat down nearby, and a maid hurriedly poured him hot tea. He took a sip before replying expressionlessly, "I know.""Why don't you go ask her? You should find a way to see her!" Shen Ruyun said. "This is when she's at her most vulnerable."

"She is now Li Xian's wife, Madam Li. What identity would I use to see her?" Shen Yurong replied calmly.

"So what if she's married? After all, she only has you in her heart, not that useless Li Xian."

"Shen Ruyun!" Shen Yurong said sharply.

Shen Ruyun was startled by his severe tone, but after a moment's hesitation, she muttered quietly, "It's true though. The princess has treated our family well. She's already pitiful enough after having a miscarriage. I only said that because I sympathize with her."

"Yes," Shen's mother couldn't help joining in. "Yurong, don't blame your sister. What she said isn't wrong. The princess's feelings for you are something our Shen family all knows about. You mustn't let her down."

With his mother speaking, Shen Yurong couldn't reprimand her as harshly as he had his sister. A sense of helplessness suddenly washed over him. His family members all spoke in favor of Princess Yongning, not because of any deep affection between her and the Shen family, but simply because of her status as a princess—it could make him the Imperial Son-in-Law and connect him with Prince Cheng as brothers-in-law. Through this relationship, he could climb step by step to an enviable position without any effort.

"She's already married, Mother," Shen Yurong reminded her.

"I know, but she just had a miscarriage," Shen's mother said. "She miscarried, and she still has feelings for you. If you just say a few words to her, she could divorce the Li family and marry into our Shen family."

"That's right, that's right," Shen Ruyun chimed in enthusiastically. "Our Shen family wouldn't treat her like the Li family did. We'd take good care of her!"

Hearing this, one might think this was a truly warm-hearted family. They didn't mind that the woman had been married before and had a child with another man, still eagerly looking forward to having her marry into their family. And this was without knowing that the child in Princess Yongning's womb was his. If they knew, they would probably make even more of a fuss.

"Don't even think about this matter," Shen Yurong said coldly. "She won't divorce, and she doesn't need to enter the Shen family."

Shen Ruyun and Shen's mother were taken aback. Shen's mother was extremely disappointed, but Shen Ruyun said, "Why not? She's a princess. Shouldn't she be free to marry whoever she wants? The Li family didn't take good care of her, so she has every reason to divorce. Besides, Elder Brother, you've been married before, so marrying her would seem most appropriate!"

Appropriate... Shen Yurong almost wanted to laugh out loud. So in his sister's eyes, he and Princess Yongning were a suitable match. Perhaps they were—equally ruthless and calculating.

"There's no why," Shen Yurong said. "It's late. You should go back." With that, he ignored Shen Ruyun, nodded to his mother, and left the hall, heading into the courtyard.

Behind him, he could hear Shen Ruyun and his mother arguing, but he didn't want to listen. In truth, his current official position wasn't low, but for some reason, his mother and sister still hoped he could climb higher by relying on Princess Yongning. There was a time when they only urged him to study hard, scrimping and saving to gather enough money for his schooling without complaint. But now, even though they were well-fed and clothed, they still weren't satisfied.When did he start becoming greedy? Shen Yurong didn't know. By the time he suddenly realized things had reached an irreparable point, it seemed already too late.

To obtain higher power and status, his family wouldn't hesitate to have him sacrifice his dignity. Even though the other party was already a married woman, they still wanted him to engage in secret affairs with her. Shen Yurong himself felt somewhat disgusted by this.

He truly didn't want to be entangled in these matters anymore. Recently, the only thing that brought him comfort was actually the loss of his child—the one in Princess Yongning's womb. As a father, Shen Yurong felt no sorrow. Instead, he was even grateful to the culprit, whoever they might be. He didn't care about their identity, only feeling relieved that they had done him this favor.

It allowed him to completely sever ties with Princess Yongning.

...

After speaking with Shen's mother for a while, Shen Ruyun finally boarded the carriage back to the Marquis residence.

The Marquis Ningyuan's household didn't restrict her not because she was Shen Yurong's sister and they didn't dare to control her, but because Zhou Yanbang, the Heir of Marquis of Ningyuan and her husband, simply didn't care about her existence. He was completely indifferent. Therefore, whether she went out during the day or returned to her maternal home at night, no one paid any attention.

During this visit to the Shen family, besides persuading Shen Yurong to reconcile with Princess Yongning, Shen Ruyun also poured out her grievances to Shen's mother.

Since marrying into the Marquis Ningyuan's household, Shen Ruyun's life hadn't been easy. Zhou Yanbang spent his days lingering in pleasure quarters, drinking and enjoying himself, only returning home late at night completely drunk. Shen Ruyun would get angry at the sight, but Zhou Yanbang treated her as if she were a stranger, never regarding her as his wife. He even treated Jiang Yu'e, the concubine from the Shen family, better than he treated Shen Ruyun.

Jiang Yu'e knew how to play the submissive role, being extremely attentive to Zhou Yanbang and employing countless underhanded tricks to keep him tied to her courtyard. Shen Ruyun wanted to confront her, but she could never catch Jiang Yu'e red-handed. Jiang Yu'e would slip away like an eel, evading her grasp every time.

It was then that Shen Ruyun realized she had no tactics to speak of in the inner courtyard battles. Perhaps it was because the Shen family had few women to begin with, with a simple household structure. The only outsider, Xue Fangfei, had a gentle and compliant nature. In the Shen family, Shen Ruyun had no rivals and naturally never needed to learn such skills. In the unfamiliar battlefield of the Marquis Ningyuan's household, she became defenseless. The only thing she could rely on was her status as the wife of the heir, but even this status meant nothing to Zhou Yanbang. It seemed as though anyone could fill the role of the heir's wife.

This was likely because, among all the women Zhou Yanbang knew, Shen Ruyun was simply too ordinary-looking. Back before the incident at the palace banquet, Zhou Yanbang had no impression of Shen Ruyun at all, which showed that he didn't like her—not even the slightest bit of fondness.

Unable to win Zhou Yanbang's affection and constantly falling victim to Jiang Yu'e's underhanded schemes, Shen Ruyun, in her anxiety and anger, had no choice but to seek help from the Marquise of Ningyuan, her mother-in-law.

The Marquise appeared kind and comforting, but in reality, she subtly probed Shen Ruyun about whether her elder brother, Shen Yurong, could put in a good word for Zhou Yanbang before the Emperor, so that Zhou Yanbang could return to his official career.Shen Ruyun had mentioned this matter to Shen Yurong before, but he refused. Once her eldest brother made up his mind, not even nine oxen could pull him back, so Shen Ruyun had no choice but to resign herself to it. After noticing Shen Ruyun’s evasive responses several times, the Marquess’s wife grew tired of involving herself in these affairs. The next time Shen Ruyun came to complain, the Marquess’s wife claimed she was unwell and couldn’t be bothered to come out at all.

Come to think of it, since Zhou Yanbang had no future in his official career anyway, he could do as he pleased. At most, people would gossip behind his back, and a few words wouldn't cause any real harm. Why damage the mother-son relationship over such trivial matters?

Shen Ruyun was truly at her wit's end. She had originally intended to seek help from Princess Yongning. Though Shen Yurong refused to assist, Princess Yongning would surely have helped—but now, at this critical moment, Princess Yongning had married into the Li family. Shen Ruyun panicked. If Princess Yongning severed ties with Shen Yurong after marrying into the Li family, how far could the Shen family go? Would their days of prosperity come to an end? That was why she hurried back to the Shen residence to persuade Shen Yurong not to cut ties with Princess Yongning, even if she had married.

Unfortunately, her thoughts seemed to run counter to her elder brother's.

Shen Ruyun found herself pleasing neither side. She had no way to resolve her predicament at the Marquis Ningyuan's estate, and Shen Yurong's attitude within the Shen family was equally unhelpful. Suddenly, Shen Ruyun felt that if only Xue Fangfei were here, she would have thought of a solution. Fangfei was so clever—she would surely have found a way for Shen Ruyun to secure her footing in the Marquis Ningyuan's estate.

The carriage sped away into the night as Shen Ruyun pressed her fingers to her temples.

Xue Fangfei was dead. She shouldn't dwell on the dead. Moreover, it was precisely because of Xue Fangfei's death that the Shen family enjoyed its current prosperity.

She was merely disoriented by recent troubles and found Shen Yurong increasingly difficult to understand, that was all.

...

"One day and one night"—though the phrase sounded short, for Princess Yongning, it passed with excruciating slowness.

The previous night, Meixiang had dug up the medicinal dregs beneath the willow tree, wrapped them in paper, and waited until this afternoon. Taking advantage of the estate's procurement activities, she slipped out to visit several pharmacies to verify whether the dregs were indeed problematic. Princess Yongning remained alone in her room. Though she had maids attending her, without Meixiang by her side, she felt as if she lacked a pillar of support. Especially after learning that the Li family might be harboring sinister schemes, sitting alone made her feel as though danger could strike at any moment.

She had no trust left for the Li family.

She waited from broad daylight until dusk, until Li Xian and his father returned, until she had her solitary dinner, and until the lamps were lit in her room.

Li Xian had visited her briefly in the afternoon, and Princess Yongning guessed he had already retired to his own courtyard to rest. Just as her impatience peaked, she heard Meixiang's voice outside, chatting with the other maids. Her spirits lifted, and she rose from the couch just as Meixiang entered.

Princess Yongning waved away the surrounding servants and instructed Meixiang to close the door. After ensuring no one was around, Meixiang drew the paper-wrapped dregs from her bosom.

"To avoid any mistakes, I visited several pharmacies today and had them identify what was mixed in these dregs."

Princess Yongning pressed urgently, "Did you find anything?"

Meixiang met her gaze and replied gravely, "These dregs indeed contain substances that can induce miscarriage. At first, there would be no noticeable effects, but after continuous consumption for over a month, the body becomes extremely weak. Even slight movement could easily cause a miscarriage, and a pregnant woman would find it difficult to detect these gradual changes in her condition.""What those two said is true! Eldest Son Li truly intends to harm the young prince!" Meixiang exclaimed.

Princess Yongning staggered backward, leaning against the bedpost. Suddenly clenching her fists, her eyes blazing with fury, she gritted out word by word through clenched teeth: "Li Xian, I will have your wretched life!"

(End of Chapter)