chapter 2
Neither Zhao Lang nor Qin Ruo had expected me to go that far.
They could never have imagined how much farther I was prepared to go.
As soon as I returned to my rooms, I selected a batch of rare medicinal ingredients from my dowry, made a detailed list, and sent Liufang to the side courtyard with an impressive procession of servants.
Liufang had been trained by me. I trusted her to handle the matter properly.
Soon the entire estate would know that its new princess consort was not only kind and generous, but—most importantly—rich.
Zhao Lang might be an imperial prince, but his birth mother had been no more than a palace maid, and she had died years ago. He had been raised under the Noble Consort’s protection for only three years. He had not yet had time to accumulate much of a fortune.
I was different.
The Shen clan had been prominent for a century. My grandfather had served three emperors as grand chancellor and had fought beside the founding emperor of Great Xin. My father held a seat in the Grand Secretariat. My uncles and male cousins were all pillars of the court.
I was the legitimate daughter of the Shen clan’s current patriarch. Though my mother had passed away, she too had come from the distinguished Xie clan.
When the Shen clan married off a daughter—especially to the imperial family—her dowry was unrivaled anywhere in Great Xin.
That was why, in the original plot, I had been married to Zhao Lang soon after my elder sister “died of illness.” I became Noble Consort first, then empress not long afterward.
Having me marry him from the beginning merely spared everyone an extra round of trouble.
And I did not intend merely to give Qin Ruo precious medicines.
I intended to save her life.
Liufang was gone for quite some time. When she returned, she reported everything she had seen.
“Miss Qin’s maid has terribly shallow eyes. She recognized the ginseng and deer antler, but none of the truly rare medicines. If His Highness had not given orders, she might have thrown the rest away.”
Once the gifts had left my hands, I did not care what Qin Ruo did with them. They had already served their purpose.
“And Qin Ruo?”
“Miss Qin caught a chill when she came outside. She cannot get out of bed again.”
Just as I had expected.
Whether this particular illness was real or feigned, Qin Ruo’s weak constitution was genuine.
In the original plot, she died two years after my sister married into the estate. For those two years, her head ached one day and her heart hurt the next. She kept Zhao Lang from consummating his marriage for an entire month, then managed to make him blame my sister for her death.
My sister was proud, but she would never have taken a life.
Even so, Zhao Lang eventually found a pretext to force her to her death. By then she had been empress for half a year, and Qin Ruo had been dead for twelve months.
The reason could not withstand scrutiny. Otherwise, the imperial family would never have welcomed another Shen daughter into the palace afterward, almost as compensation.
I did not want my sister to die.
I did not want to die either.
Therefore, Qin Ruo could not be allowed to die.
As long as she lived, she and Zhao Lang could entangle themselves however they pleased. I would remain the princess consort, and one day I would be empress.
That was enough.
I had not married into the Prince of Qi’s estate in search of perfect love, nor did I dream of controlling the court from behind the scenes. I wanted only to live a long, peaceful life.
For that, I was willing to put real effort into keeping Qin Ruo alive.
The medicines Liufang delivered had been prepared well in advance. They were only the beginning.
Liufang continued, “His Highness was deeply moved when he saw that every medicine you sent was something Miss Qin needed. As you instructed, I told him the list had been drawn up according to the prescriptions of the divine physician Du Guan.”
“His Highness asked several questions about Physician Du.”
My lips curved.
Excellent.
The bait had been laid. Now all I had to do was wait for the fish to bite.