After handling the Empress, Yebu Cheng immediately moved against the Marquis of Duan's residence.
The Prince of Duan died one night, and it appeared as though he had died of illness.
In fact, it was Yebu Cheng who sent someone to poison him.
But no doctor dared to say the truth.
Both of her sons had met with mishaps, and her husband had died as well.
The Princess Consort of Duan could no longer bear the blows, and she hanged herself that very night.
The entire Marquis of Duan's residence was left with two crippled princes.
The prosperity of the Marquis of Duan's residence came to an end, and it became a place where even sparrows were rare, with no one visiting.
Yu Yao knew it was Yebu Cheng who did it, but she pretended to be unaware.
Every day was filled with eating and drinking, or occasionally taking a walk in the Imperial Garden.
Her belly was getting bigger and bigger, and it was not good for her to stay inside the palace every day. A little bit of exercise would be beneficial for childbirth.
Of course, as long as she doesn't bump into Princess Lin.
Princess Lin has been released from confinement, naturally she has lost favor.
She used every means at her disposal, and infused all her tenderness, yet she still couldn't win back Yebu Cheng's heart.
Let alone having Yebu Cheng come to her palace.
Princess Lin was filled with hatred for Yu Yao. She hated that Yu Yao had stolen her love and favor.
She felt that all that Yu Yao had now was once hers.
Her personality became increasingly gloomy, twisted, and filled with anger.
She was said to frequently vent her anger on her palace maidservants and eunuchs, striking them or verbally abusing them.
Even the Princess Consort's close palace maid, Caiyue, was not spared.
The Office of the Imperial Household has become the place that palace maidservants and eunuchs most do not want to be.
Many palace maidservants and eunuchs with connections have also been finding ways to transfer away from there, serving in other places.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yao merely smiled and said nothing.
As the weather turned colder, winter quickly approached.
Snow began to fall, fluttering down from the sky.
The Great Song palace was dressed in pure white snow, and the Yuexian palace was covered with thick snow, everything sleeping, only the hollyhock stood firm amidst the snow.
Yu Yao's belly has been eight months and a half.
A midwife had been hired long ago, and there were four in total.
They were all personally chosen by Imperial Concubine Yebu Cheng and had been investigated.
All four midwives were clean and not biased.
However, Yu Yao still checked them over and confirmed there were no issues, so she arranged for them to stay in the Yuexian Palace.
She was carrying twins, and there was a possibility of preterm labor, so the delivery room had already been prepared.
All the items needed for childbirth had also been prepared.
It was just waiting for her to go into labor.
However, before she could give birth, something significant happened.
That day, Qingtan was arranging her room when she suddenly found a man's clothing under her bed.
Yu Yao was instantly baffled, not understanding why there would be a man's clothing under her bed.
However, she quickly realized that someone was trying to frame her.
"Qingtan, dispose of that clothing as quickly as possible…"
After she realized what was happening, she said to Qingtan with a cold expression.
Qingtan knew the seriousness of the situation and quickly took the man's clothing and burned it.
But before she could take it to burn it off.
The Empress Dowager arrived at the Yuexian Palace with a group of attendants, full of anger.
The Empress Dowager's leg had recovered fully after nearly a year of rest.
When she came, a large group of people followed her.
There were people from the Cining Palace and consorts from the rear palace. It was clear from their appearance that they had come to accuse her of wrongdoing.
The entourage was quite intimidating.
Yebu Cheng was also informed. He simply did not believe that Yu Yao would have an affair behind his back.
She is not even able to serve him properly, let alone have the energy to carry on an affair with another man.
Moreover, she is already carrying a large belly.
Although he didn't believe it, he still went over to investigate.
Yuexian Palace.
Qiumaozi grabbed the clothing prepared by Qingtan to burn and handed it over to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager glanced at it and her expression turned dark. Then, she threw the clothing in front of Yu Yao and frowned, "Concubine Yao, whose is this man's clothing? How could it be under your bed?"
"And whose child is the one in your belly?"
The Empress Dowager pointed at Yu Yao's belly, which was so large that her toes couldn't be seen.
"Madam Empress, the child in my womb is surely the emperor's."
Yu Yao looked at the Empress Dowager and then glanced at the clothing at her feet. "A man's clothing can't prove anything. It's clear that someone is framing me. I hope the Empress Dowager will look into this matter properly."
As she finished speaking, her gaze unconsciously swept towards Princess Lin.
The system informed her that the man's clothing was secretly brought in by a palace maid named Cai Xing, sent by Princess Lin.
She is about to give birth, and there have been a lot of people coming and going in the Yuexian Palace recently.
There are too many people, and everyone is busy with their own tasks. No one has paid attention to anything.
Yu Yao wanted to send someone to find Cai Xing, but the system said that Cai Xing had been killed by Princess Lin.
The body was thrown into the dry well in the Cold Palace.
The person is dead and cannot come to testify for her.
Yu Yao was truly flustered now, and she secretly thought of how to solve this predicament.
The Empress Dowager also realized that someone was trying to frame her, but she had to investigate since it concerned the imperial bloodline.
After that, she ordered a search.
The result was dire.
A pink drawer embroidered with a pair of ducks was found in a guards' room.
The smell of gardenias was strong on it.
It also had a strong smell of gardenias, just like the one on Yu Yao's body.
Who in the palace doesn't know that Concubine Yao loves the scent of gardenias? Whose is it then?
Upon seeing the drawer, Yebu Cheng's tension vanished, and he laughed afterwards.
Yao'er's fragrance is unique, and he can tell it immediately from the smell.
"Ha ha ha… Is this drawer mine?"
Yu Yao was laughing so hard that she was trembling like a branch in the wind, her expression extremely exaggerated.
Seeing both Yebu Cheng and Yu Yao laughing, everyone else in the room was confused, not understanding why they were laughing so happily.
"Concubine Yao, is this drawer yours or whose? Don't try to pretend to be mad and foolish!"
After losing favor, Princess Lin had become increasingly vengeful and had lost her former gentleness. Now, she spoke without any civility.
Yu Yao mockingly looked at Princess Lin and did not answer her question. Instead, she looked at Yebu Cheng with a smile that was not quite a smile, and said, "Your Majesty, you know this fragrance the best on me. Do you think this drawer is mine?"
Yebu Cheng smiled faintly and said, "Of course, it is not your drawer!"
The Empress Dowager, thinking the emperor wanted to shield Yu Yao, said uneasily, "Your Majesty, the royal bloodline cannot be mixed."
Yebu Cheng looked at the Empress Dowager and explained in a low voice, "Mother, I did not want to cover up Yu Yao's affairs. Yu Yao has a unique fragrance that cannot be imitated. As for this drawer, its fragrance is not the same as hers. She doesn't even move and her fragrance can be smelled."
"And as for this man's clothing, it's likely someone else who sneaked it into the Yuexian Palace."
He said this in a low voice again.
Now not only did the Empress Dowager shock, but all the palace concubines were also shocked.
At the same time, they also understood why Yu Yao was favored by the emperor.
Having an exotic fragrance that only comes out when moving is like a natural aphrodisiac, isn't it?
Such a woman, who wouldn't love a man?
Shocked and then, jealousy.
They too wished they had such a fragrance.
Princess Lin shocked and jealous looked at Yu Yao.
How could this woman have body fragrance?
How could she have body fragrance?
That's why Chenlang was attracted to her. It makes sense now.
Princess Lin was full of resentment.
She had finally found an opportunity to frame Yu Yao, but she was surprised that Yu Yao managed to escape.
Yu Yao watched Princess Lin's expression, and didn't say anything.
She was only thinking that after the birth, she would have to deal with this woman as soon as possible.
She had never been a good person, let alone dared to frame her for having an affair.
Soon, everyone left.
After everyone had left, Yebu Cheng held Yu Yao in his arms and whispered to her softly, "Don't worry, dear, I will definitely find out who framed you."
Yu Yao smiled and subtly led the Imperial Guard to retrieve Cai Xing's body from the Cold Palace.
A few days later, Cai Xing's body was retrieved, and Fukuchong immediately recognized her as being from Yongfu Palace.
It seemed likely that the matter had something to do with Princess Lin.
Although there is no evidence that Princess Lin was involved, the matter seems to be very likely related to her.
Yebu Cheng shared the same view, and his goodwill towards Princess Lin dropped to 20.
But without evidence, there was no way to properly handle the situation.
It was just banned from walking, without a specific time frame.
In fact, it was just a form of banishment to the Cold Palace.
