After Being Marked by the Eldest Princess, I Got Pregnant with Her Child [Transmigration into a Novel] - Chapter 12

Yan Chen’s face was cold and pale. Huang Ying must have been poisoned with the same toxin, but she had skilled martial artists under her command, which allowed her to hold on for many days. However, mere delay was no solution.

Hong Chou looked worried. “If this drags on, Ah Ying might be in danger.”

“She’s trapped in a dream.”

According to Song Shujiu’s explanation, Dream Incense forces the victim to relive the thing they least wish to confront something deeply buried in their subconscious, a matter they avoid mentioning in reality.

If the dreamer cannot break free, they will remain trapped in the nightmare, suffering both physical and mental torment until they are utterly consumed.

Who doesn’t have something they’d rather not speak of?

Yan Chen gazed out the window. Xiao Yunli’s tactics were truly despicable.

Unable to defeat her on the battlefield, she resorted to such underhanded methods.

Thinking of that arrogant, unrestrained face, Yan Chen clenched her fists tightly.

“We’ve found something.”

Shi Qi returned from outside and looked at her.

Yan Chen slightly lifted her chin, and Shi Qi stepped forward. “Our informants report that the Kingdom of Li is developing a new poison. To test its potency, they’ve released it here as a trial.”

“How utterly shameless.”

Hong Chou’s face twisted with fury upon hearing this.

How innocent they were, reduced to mere test subjects.

“Any progress on the recent disappearances?”

Yan Chen’s expression was unreadable as she suddenly spoke.

Hong Chou frowned. “Your Highness suspects a connection between the two?”

The missing were all young women.

And the poisoned were also young women. The Kingdom of Li sought to sever Zhao’s future at its roots.

“If this is an experiment, they won’t stop so easily.”

The Kingdom of Li was committing an act of extreme and cruel persecution.

“We’ll intensify our search immediately.”

Hong Chou and the others looked at her, their hearts burning with resolve.

In a hidden chamber of the Li Kingdom’s palace…

Qing Ye watched the woman panting on the throne, her long hair disheveled, a few strands already turning white.

Her hands gripped the lion heads carved into the phoenix seat, her face twisted in agony. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, quickly soaking her exquisite robes.

The monarch was suffering another tide cycle.

Qing Ye spoke carefully, “Your Majesty, perhaps this servant could find a few… for temporary relief?”

“Silence. My affairs are none of your concern.”

Xiao Yunli’s lips were parched, the delicate makeup around her eyes distorted by waves of overwhelming stimulation.

Yet, despite this, her innate noble bearing and the ruthless, decisive aura of a warrior remained entirely unaffected.

Qing Ye wanted to say more but bowed her head under that icy gaze.

Their monarch was a born Kuniang.

After her glands matured, she experienced regular tide cycles. Yet in all of Li, she found no one worthy. Each time the cycle struck, no matter how unbearable, she endured it alone.

Qing Ye didn’t know what to say.

She couldn’t bear to see her monarch suffer, but there was no one else in the kingdom who could match her.

Xiao Yunli’s vision blurred, and a long-unseen figure surfaced in her mind clad in armor on the battlefield, swinging a blade against her. Without armor, as her spies reported, she favored sapphire-blue brocade and crimson gauze.

In this world, everything required a perfect match.

Some people were destined to stand at the same height, their actions and temperaments mirroring each other in every way.

She reached out to grasp that fleeting blue silhouette, only to find her hand closing on empty air.

Her forehead damp with sweat, Xiao Yunli lay sprawled across the throne, her eyes gleaming with a viper-like aggression. Every ounce of her suffering stemmed from Yan Chen.

“How are things progressing?”

Qing Ye replied, “Word has come from Zhao Kingdom. The plague engineered by the Junior Mentor is now spreading steadily. The potency of Mengxiang’s drug is formidable.”

A smug expression crossed Qing Ye’s face, the Junior Mentor’s pharmaceutical skills were truly unparalleled in Li Kingdom.

“And the other matter?”

Xiao Yunli narrowed her eyes, her voice hoarse. The unbearable discomfort blurred her vision as the scent of strong liquor surged through her body, quickly permeating the hall.

“The Junior Mentor mentioned those dry nurses are still in the experimental phase,  further refinement is needed.”

Xiao Yunli frowned, the overpowering aroma of alcohol intensifying her dizziness. Slumped on the throne, she watched the pheromones pulsing at her wrist. “Tell her to hurry.”

At first, the tides came every few months. Now, the intervals grew shorter and shorter, the torment of restraint was becoming unbearable.

She was nearly at her limit.

What she desired, she would claim.

The thought of that unyielding figure eventually entwining with her, dissolving into liquid and enveloping her, brought a faint smile to Xiao Yunli’s lips.

Soon. It would all come to pass.

“Still making rabbit cakes?”

Yan Chen frowned. Why was this girl so obsessed with that particular snack?

“I wanted to make them for you.”

Song Shujiu’s hands were dusted with flour. She had ground rice into powder with a mill, mixed it with water into a paste, and now added a dollop of yellow liquid, its sweet-and-sour fragrance filling the air.

“Orange juice,” Song Shujiu explained, her face alight with excitement. “I thought rabbits shouldn’t all be white. Some have yellow fur too.”

As she poured the juice into the rice paste, the entire bowl instantly smelled of oranges. Yan Chen took a step back, skeptical. “Is this… edible?”

Steamed rice with oranges, could that possibly taste good?

None of the chefs in her estate had ever attempted such a thing. Song Shujiu really loved her reckless experiments.

Watching her bustle about with such delight, Yan Chen didn’t interrupt further.

Song Shujiu said, “Just sit over there. I’ll bring it to you once it’s steamed.”

A warmth stirred in Yan Chen’s chest. Song Shujiu had a way with words.

Ever since their return from the funeral parlor, she had been unusually attentive.

Strangely, Yan Chen didn’t mind. Those delicate hands once accustomed to being waited on in the Prime Minister’s household now toiled in the kitchen just to please her.

An odd sensation surged within Yan Chen, a restless current flowing through her heart.

She lingered nearby, quietly observing.

Seeing that Yan Chen hadn’t left and was genuinely watching, Song Shujiu felt a sweetness bloom in her chest.

When had it started? Since coming here, this person had taken root in her heart. All those years at work, she’d never realized she was drawn to women.

No wonder she’d stayed single for so long. Was this the reason?

What a peculiar feeling.

Song Shujiu scooped a portion of the rice cake mixture with a spoon, then shaped it into an oval for the rabbit’s body. Now came the four legs, simple in theory, but a true test of patience.

She lowered her head to look at the dough basin, acutely aware of Yan Chen’s gaze following her from behind. Her heart pounded like a drum thump, thump her cheeks growing warm. When she suddenly glanced up and met those narrow phoenix eyes ahead, Song Shujiu nearly dropped the dough in her hands.

Noticing her flushed face, Yan Chen glanced around. The kitchen was well-ventilated, yet Song Shujiu, unused to hard labor, had already worked herself into a sweat.

Yan Chen walked over with a handkerchief, offering it like a rare favor. “Wipe your face.”

Song Shujiu blinked pitifully. “But my hands are dirty right now.”

They were covered in flour. Secretly, she wished Yan Chen would wipe her face for her that would be perfect.

Yan Chen said, “Then wash your hands and wipe it yourself,” making as if to withdraw the handkerchief.

Song Shujiu’s face fell, and she immediately grabbed Yan Chen’s retreating hand. “Wait!”

The moment she did, the dough in her hands smeared all over Yan Chen’s sleeve, leaving floury streaks on the elegant robe. Yan Chen’s brows knitted as she glared at her.

Song Shujiu’s heart sank. In the novel, Yan Chen was fastidious, obsessed with cleanliness, changing outfits up to eighteen times a day.

She had just stepped on a tiger’s tail.

Song Shujiu quickly put on a woeful expression. “I’m cooking for you, shouldn’t you wipe my face in return?”

“I’ve read storybooks where it’s always like this. Why are you dodging?”

Her eyes reddened. Ever since realizing her feelings for Yan Chen, she had gone out of her way to get closer, yet Yan Chen remained indifferent.

How could that not hurt?

Yan Chen hadn’t expected this tactic from Song Shujiu. She stood frozen in place. “What kind of books have you been reading?”

“Just things like The Vinegar Gourd and Fragrance Beyond the Screen, where couples are blissful, frolicking like fish in water, soaring through heaven and earth like immortals.”

Seeing how seriously she recounted it, Yan Chen nodded. “No wonder all your cleverness goes into this.”

Holding the embroidered handkerchief, she gently dabbed Song Shujiu’s reddened eyes, well aware she was faking it but choosing not to expose her.

“If you don’t start steaming soon, I might not get to eat at all.”

The rabbit-shaped pastries had been sitting too long and were starting to crumble.

Song Shujiu immediately brightened and began arranging them on the steaming tray.

Watching her suddenly bustling, cheerful figure, Yan Chen felt her own mood lift.

Having someone who could suddenly breathe life into a long-dormant heart this feeling was fresh, intriguing.

She didn’t exactly dislike Song Shujiu fluttering around her either.

When the pastries were done, Yan Chen eyed the lopsided, yellowish batch, then Song Shujiu’s drooping mouth.

She knew culinary skill wasn’t something mastered in a day.

Still, she picked one up and took a bite. Under Song Shujiu’s hopeful gaze, lying felt impossible.

“It’s… not bad.”

Song Shujiu beamed and kissed her cheek. With that, her hours of labor felt worth it. Even if they looked unappealing, Yan Chen said they tasted good.

“I’ll make them for you every day from now on.”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Yan Chen’s temple twitched. “Please don’t. Stick to reading in the library.”

Seventeen entered from outside.

The moment Yan Chen spotted her, her smile vanished.

A moment later.

“Kun Niang?”

“You’re saying the missing women are all Qian Niang’s doing?”

Seventeen looked at her and nodded, “It’s strange, but those who died from Dream Fragrance were random victims.”

What exactly was the other party trying to achieve?

This was all so perplexing.

Yan Chen asked, “Where are the bodies of those foster mothers?”

“Only two have been discovered so far. They, they…”

Seeing Seventeen hesitate, Yan Chen said, “Speak plainly.”

After all these years together, this was the first time Seventeen had been so reluctant to speak.

Seventeen’s expression stiffened momentarily before she declared clearly, “Those foster mothers seemed to have been drugged with some kind of narcotic. They appeared to be in a state of ecstasy, experiencing madness before death.”

“When they died, their bodies bore severe scratch marks, their pupils were dilated as if drawn to something, and their faces wore twisted smiles in bizarre postures. From one of them, we can speculate she was in the process of undoing her own garments.”

Recalling the two corpses she had seen, Seventeen remembered they carried an extremely strong fragrance. Who knew what they had witnessed.

“Using two different poisons?”

Yan Chen pondered. If Li Kingdom wanted to poison Zhao Kingdom, why choose two different toxins.

“Could these be two separate groups?”

Seventeen raised the question.

“Should we consult Miss Song? She recognized Dream Fragrance last time.”

Yan Chen’s expression shifted slightly. Song Shujiu?

“Night Enchantment,” Song Shujiu murmured as she listened to their description. This matched exactly what the book described as the Night Enchantment aphrodisiac.

It induced hallucinations, allowing users to glimpse paradise.

An overdose would cause loss of control, ultimately trapping victims in delirious intoxication.

This was the polar opposite of Dream Fragrance, one instilled terror while the other induced euphoric madness.

Unfortunately, she only knew the name of this drug but not its role in the plot before transmigrating here. Moreover, most of the original storyline had been disrupted. Even if she wanted to help Yan Chen, she didn’t know how.

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