"Are you planning to deliver the message to her, Second Brother?" Cui Zhao asked, a wary look flashing across his eyes. If Second Brother intended to, he would have to temporarily detain him to avoid things going awry.

If Chenchen discovered the truth, who knows what she might do. He couldn’t let the Cui Family be caught off guard.

Cui Chen said desperately, "How would I dare to deliver the message to her, Big Brother."

The candlelight was dim, but he still caught the look of alertness in his brother’s eyes. He thought if he dared to say yes, he might be kept under lock and key until the matter was resolved.

"I don’t have the courage to do such a thing. If she finds out, what will you all do?" After saying this, Cui Chen lost all his strength, staring at the candlelight in a daze, tormented inside. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

"That’s for the best. I hope you don’t do anything foolish. One moment of carelessness could result in countless deaths." Cui Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, though still not completely at ease. He planned to have someone watch over Cui Chen, lest his impulsive brother suddenly do something rash and implicate the entire Cui Family.

He patted Cui Chen on the shoulder, comforting him, "Reaching this point is largely her own doing; this is called reaping what you sow. She could have been fine. Second Brother, you and I only just found out the truth, so don’t burden yourself too much."

"If you can’t do anything, just rest at home and wait for the situation to end."

Cui Chen said nothing, and Cui Zhao didn’t speak further, turning away to open the door and leave.

"Big Brother, how is Second Brother?" Cui Jing stopped Cui Zhao, looking worriedly in the direction of Cui Chen’s room. So much had happened today that she didn’t return to the Princess Mansion but stayed at the Cui Mansion.

Cui Zhao replied, "He’s fine, just caught in a moment of stubbornness."

"Jing’er, tomorrow you’ll have to take a risk and lead people into the palace. Find a way to get the doctor to diagnose them, but do it secretly, without drawing attention. You must find a good excuse and ensure that neither Your Majesty nor Lady Li suspects anything, and especially don’t mention her, understand?"

The best plan for now was to awaken Your Majesty and Lady Li. Once they regained clarity, everything would be easier to handle.

If that failed, other measures would have to be considered.

The doctor had already been found, a capable man from the Fifth Prince Mansion. Whether it worked would only be known after diagnosing Your Majesty. It wasn’t a lack of trust in the Imperial Physician but a fear of alerting the enemy.

Cui Jing nodded, "I understand, Big Brother."

"Good that you understand. It’s getting late. Go rest. You’ll probably be on edge until this is over."

Cui Jing suddenly said, "Big Brother, once everything is settled, I’ll definitely plead with Father for leniency. But with what Chenchen did, I don’t know if Father will spare her life, though I will do my best."

"No matter what, she did save me once, and I feel guilty about it."

"You don’t need to feel too troubled," Cui Zhao said. "She did such egregious things; whatever the outcome, she brought it upon herself and can’t blame anyone else, nor you. Besides, in Bei Qi, she didn’t lose out and even turned her misfortunes into advantages. The status of Princess An Ning and the favor from Your Majesty and Lady Li should offset what she went through before. You don’t owe her anything. It was all fine originally, but she wasn’t satisfied and wanted more," Cui Zhao said.

Cui Jing insisted, "I’ll do my best, Big Brother."

Cui Zhao sighed, "Alright."

The next day, Cui Jing entered the palace under the pretext of visiting Song Chong and Consort Li, accompanied by that skillful doctor, seeking opportunities to examine them.

At the same time, she had arranged for someone to monitor Ah Chen’s movements, learning that today she wasn’t planning to see Song Chong and Consort Li but was busy with other matters, which gave Cui Jing some relief.

Little did she know, this was a chance Ah Chen deliberately created for them, even arranging for the doctor to infiltrate Fifth Prince Song Li’s mansion. Not only in Song Li’s mansion, but since she established Canglan Country, she had placed many people in various places for convenient use at any time.

If they didn’t cooperate, the drama would be hard to play out.

Let them struggle first. If it ended suddenly, they wouldn’t even feel the thrill, Ah Chen thought, somewhat displeased.

Cui Yu must hold her in contempt; otherwise, with his character, why wouldn’t he want the Cui Family to reach the pinnacle?

The Commissioner just wanted the Cui Family to suffer, and she had to help fulfill their wish.

They could have risen to power in one step, yet it was missed. Cui Yu must be the most aggrieved person, and second would be Cui Zhao. This big brother of the Commissioner’s was cut from the same mold as Cui Yu. They disdained women. On that day, they might think if she got the throne, even if they couldn’t ascend to the highest position, they would certainly be in real control, and the future successors would only be the Cui Family’s descendants—the more they thought about it, the more unbearable it became.

Ah Chen laughed at the thought.

"Your Majesty, someone tried to contact Cui Yu but was stopped by our people," Lu Zhu reported, bringing the latest information. "Cui Yu would surely disclose the false princess situation to Your Majesty, which might affect your plans, so we didn’t let anyone contact him."

"Hmm." Ah Chen acknowledged.

Cui Yu only guessed part of it but couldn’t guess everything.

This journey to obtain Nan Qi was imperative and already arranged; no one could stop it.

Controlling all important figures in Nan Qi and using the army to intimidate—let’s see who could block her!

"Song Jie has delivered a letter to Your Majesty," Lu Zhu presented a letter to Ah Chen.

Glancing at it with a smile, Ah Chen said, "He’s complaining to me, saying that lately, Fan Shi has been irregular in his schedule and not eating properly, despite advice."

"The Think Tank does tend to forget meals when busy," Hong Zhu interjected. "Song Jie probably couldn’t persuade him and sent a letter to Your Majesty because the Think Tank only listens to you."

Ah Chen put the letter away and returned to her desk, "Then I’ll write him a letter. Send it with a carrier pigeon."

With that, she picked up a pen and wrote a single line: Eat well.

Fan Shi, currently in the Nan Qi area, saw the carrier pigeon that day. Expecting urgent news, he opened it only to find the words "Eat well."

"Where’s Song Jie?" He slipped the small piece of paper into a book, then squinted and asked, "Send him over."

Song Jie arrived, smiling broadly, "Does the gentleman have any instructions?"

"I’ve suddenly realized you’ve not practiced your calligraphy. After so many years, it’s still a mess. You need practice."

Song Jie’s face fell, soon realizing the reason. He whispered, "Sir, did you receive a letter from Your Majesty?"

"You have the nerve to ask? Song Jie, whose person are you, and who raised you to this age?" Fan Shi scolded, "Is eating or not eating worth reporting to Your Majesty?"

Song Jie stood firm: "If the gentleman doesn’t eat and rest well, I’ll send another letter to Your Majesty next time."

Fan Shi: Rebellious!

"Practice one hundred pieces today."

"Sir, it’s been sunset for a while," Song Jie pleaded, "I can’t delay rest."

Fan Shi gave him a sidelong glance, "Then make it five hundred tomorrow."

Song Jie sighed, realizing he couldn’t escape.

Meanwhile, Cui Jing had returned to the Cui Mansion, sharing the latest news with the Cui Family.

"Doctor Chen said he could resolve Father and Mother’s confusion. It just takes some time to prepare the medication, but gathering the ingredients will take a bit of time."

Cui Zhao took a deep breath, "Then we’ll wait."

Song Li also learned of this matter and was arranging for people to gather the herbs Doctor Chen needed, though some were hard to find. It wasn’t easily resolved, and no one noticed anything amiss. They all assumed waking Song Chong would solve everything.