Super-Fertile Darling: Forced to Marry the Heirless Tyrant

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Woke Up, and the Sky Has Changed Again

As she left Mrs. Qiao’s room, Ji Qingwu looked through a window and saw what was happening in the side house.

Nanny Li was playing shuttlecock with Jiu Jiu.

It had been about ten days since she’d last seen the little girl, and it seemed she had already grown taller.

When Jiu Jiu caught sight of Ji Qingwu, she flew out of the room like a little swallow.

Ji Qingwu caught the girl as she leaped into her arms and lifted her up.

Jiu Jiu asked cheerfully, "Mama, before you left, you said you were going to find a big house for Jiu Jiu to live in. Did you find it?"

Ji Qingwu remembered the grand promise she’d made to the little girl before entering the Imperial Palace.

She was silent for a moment. "The big house caught fire," she said. "There’s a smaller one, but it means you’ll have to make do for now, sweetie."

Jiu Jiu sensed the shift in her mother’s mood. Her big, dark eyes gazed up at her. "As long as I’m with you, Mama, I’ll be happy anywhere."

「The day before the wedding.」

There were countless things that should have been prepared, but Ji Qingwu didn’t think of herself as a woman on the verge of marriage.

She played with Jiu Jiu for a while, then returned to Wutong Garden to loosen the soil and water the single, precious seedling in the courtyard.

By the time she finished, Ji Qingwu’s strength was completely gone.

After the ordeal of the previous day and a sleepless night, she was already exhausted in both body and mind.

But as long as she had a shred of energy left, she couldn’t control her thoughts. Unbearable, heart-wrenching scenes would flood her mind.

Only by keeping busy could she find a temporary reprieve.

Ji Qingwu returned to her room, took off her outer garments, and lay on the bed. A tear glistened at the corner of her eye as she slowly closed her heavy lids.

She did not have the restless night she had anticipated.

On the contrary, she slept deeply and soundly.

She had already forgotten that she had drunk a mouthful of medicinal soup laced with Blood Crow Vine...

The drug’s effect was to induce a deep sleep lasting a full day and night.

*

「A dilapidated estate on the outskirts of Lin’an City.」

A masked man pushed open a secret panel, entering a hidden chamber concealed within the woodshed.

The chamber was lit by more than twenty Luminous Pearls, making the dim space as bright as day.

The masked man said, "Fourth Prince?"

Yu Wen Tianqing slipped out from behind a rack, silently moving behind the masked man and pressing a dagger to his throat with his left hand.

The masked man said in alarm, "Fourth Prince, my master sent me."

He pulled a seal from his robes—the very token of trust between Yu Wen Tianqing and the man’s master.

Yu Wen Tianqing lowered the dagger and walked over to sit at a table.

He asked, "Why didn’t your master come himself and send you instead? There are some things I can only discuss with him."

The masked man clarified his status. "I am the household steward. My master informs me of all his affairs. Please, trust me."

He added, "The Emperor’s condition is dire—he is on the verge of death. My master must remain in the Imperial Palace to manage the situation, so he has no time to meet with you."

Upon hearing that Emperor Wu Su was about to die, an uncontrollable ecstasy spread across Yu Wen Tianqing’s face.

"So it’s really true!"

He had initially suspected the information was a trap. Until this man’s arrival, he hadn’t fully believed it.

Although the main assassination attempt was focused on the Emperor of Beili, he hadn’t held out much hope for its success. That was why he had taken the desperate risk of sneaking into the Imperial Palace with a few of his men.

A Shaman from Xijin had once told Yu Wen Tianqing that the Emperor of Beili was fated to be without issue. Killing his only heir would be tantamount to strangling the destiny of the Beili Country—two different paths leading to the same end.

But the poisoning plot had been seen through by Ji Qingwu, and the subsequent assassination attempt failed because that woman delayed them.

But he never, ever expected...

The masked man said, "My master thought abducting Princess Consort Wei would be sufficient. It was you, Fourth Prince, who was truly farsighted and saw through it all."

Yu Wen Tianqing laughed aloud, gloating, "No hero can resist a beauty’s charms! That old saying has never been more true."

’She was my downfall, and she was my salvation!’

Yu Wen Tianqing twirled the dagger in his hand. The palm of his right hand still bore the sword wound inflicted by Ji Qingwu.

"To be honest, I didn’t see the whole picture myself," he admitted. "I just found it strange."

"The Emperor of Beili has always been famously aloof with women—there are even rumors everywhere that he’s impotent. So why was this Miss Ji Wu the one person who could get close to him? She not only stayed overnight in his personal chambers but also lingered in the Diligent Governance Hall while he handled state affairs."

"But if he truly cared for her, why did he let her remain outside the palace? His distant behavior a few days ago, in particular, was what I couldn’t figure out."

A malevolent smile twisted Yu Wen Tianqing’s lips, and his gray-blue eyes darkened to the color of iron.

"I always make a habit of having a backup plan. When I can’t figure something out, I prepare for every possibility. And look how that turned out."

The masked man nodded in admiration. "That was another stroke of your genius, Fourth Prince. You specifically found a woman with a similar build and appearance to Ji Qingwu, dressed her in the gown she wore for her dance performance, and had two horses appear before the Emperor, one after the other."

"From such a distance, not even the Emperor could tell whether the person tied to the back of the horse trailing Princess Consort Wei was truly her."

Yu Wen Tianqing said with a sigh of regret, "My one regret in this life is that I didn’t get to see the look on his face when he lowered that bow."

"To think that the cold, ruthless, and seemingly omnipotent Emperor of Beili is actually so besotted. It’s truly ironic."

The masked man said, "My master instructed me to tell you that after His Majesty’s passing, the new ruler of Beili will be the four-year-old little prince. My master and General Zhenbei, Wei Ting, will serve as co-regents."

Yu Wen Tianqing sounded surprised. "Wei Ting is willing to serve under a mere child? He and the Emperor of Beili were once in the same army camp. They had a true battle, blade to blade, before Wei Ting was willing to acknowledge him as his superior. The man is incredibly proud. This is unexpected."

The masked man said, "Wei Ting swore a solemn oath that he would never be disloyal."

Yu Wen Tianqing mused, "Wei Ting is an extremely difficult man to deal with, and cunning besides. As long as he’s in Beili, he’s a great threat to Xijin. We have to find a way to eliminate him."

"Tomorrow is his wedding day. Perhaps we can use the occasion to make our move."

Yu Wen Tianqing’s interest was piqued. "Who is Wei Ting marrying?"

The masked man replied, "The very same Miss Ji Wu."

*

When Ji Qingwu woke again, her head was pounding. She tried to open her eyes, but immediately squeezed them shut.

The room was ablaze with candlelight, the glare so bright it stung her eyes.

It was noisy outside. She could hear the clatter of pots and pans, loud shouts, and even what sounded like opera music, but it all seemed to be coming from far away.

The thick scent of perfumed powder tickled Ji Qingwu’s nose. Her elegant nose twitched, and she let out a sudden sneeze.

She realized the fragrance was coming from her own face.

Ji Qingwu felt something uncomfortably lumpy underneath her.

She slid a hand beneath the silken quilt and her fingers closed around a handful of something. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was Peanuts and red dates.

Ji Qingwu slowly cracked her eyes open, taking in her surroundings.

She shot upright in shock.

Clutching her spinning head, she slowly settled back, leaning against the headboard.

She remembered that before her nap, it hadn’t even been dark yet...