After the Affectionate Second Male Lead Reincarnated

Part 7

12

The mission notification from the higher-ups was delayed, while Pei Du began to show all kinds of kindness.

The morning after our dinner together, Pei Du had someone send me his diary.

Just like when I discovered it earlier, inside it was a piece of bright red thin paper filled with the birthdates of him and Song Yanyu.

The diary was placed in a wooden box, and the palace servant who brought it said that Pei Du wanted me to handle both the diary and the thin paper as I wished.

Pei Du started to frequent my Palace Fengxi even more than before.

He didn't do much, he just liked being with me.

He no longer reviewed memorials in the imperial study; instead, he had them moved here, and we had all three meals together here.

He still complained that the imperial kitchen's cooking didn't compare to mine but was considerate enough not to force me to cook, saying I could do it whenever I wanted.

Even when I neglected harem affairs, he didn't show the slightest displeasure.

According to Xi Yun, when he reviewed the memorials here with me, he also handled those matters on my behalf.

The fifth of October was the original Jiang Luo Yu's birthday. In previous years, Pei Du would host grand palace banquets, but not this year.

He didn't allow anyone to mention it because he knew I wasn't Jiang Luo Yu.

In our daily conversations, he would try to find out my birthdate, my name, and everything about me.

Every time he hit a wall, he would sigh helplessly, "Empress, I just want to know you."

Pei Du was very accommodating these days. When I asked to let Xi Yun leave the palace a year early, he agreed.

I said I hoped my brother could return to our ancestral home and live peacefully in the future, and he agreed. That very day, he bestowed upon my brother an imperial pardon token.

But Pei Du didn't just agree to everything, like letting me leave the palace.

Previously, Pei Du allowed me to come and go freely, but since the day I mentioned divorce, the palace gates no longer opened for me.

The guards outside Palace Fengxi increased, and their shifts became shorter.

He wanted to lock me here, using the palace gates to confine the rest of my life.

But Pei Du forgot that this wasn't my only way to leave if I wanted.

Pei Du knew that Xiao Yan would be assassinated by enemy forces in October. So he sent a secret letter to Xiao Yan to change his strategy.

As for the plague, he had already replaced the officials in City Ye, nipping the plague in the bud.

But no matter how Pei Du disrupted the plot, this was still a book, and before the final conclusion, the protagonists always had to endure another "trial."

I noticed that Pei Du didn't come to Palace Fengxi for dinner that day, saying he was tied up with matters from the court session.

Taking advantage of my rare free time, I went to the Bureau of Court Ladies.

I could use palace affairs as an excuse to stay there and avoid Pei Du until nightfall.

But today, I went to the Bureau of Court Ladies because I received a reminder from the higher-ups.

Today, Song Yan Yu would be abducted, and the mastermind would also send someone to kidnap me.

I needed to ensure that I stayed with Song Yan Yu to have a chance to save her.

As expected, when I arrived at the Bureau of Court Ladies, the one who served me tea was a maid I had never seen before.

Just as I pretended to drink the tea, Court Lady Cui arrived.

"Who told you to presumptuously serve tea to the empress? The empress doesn't like Longjing; don't try to be clever." Court Lady Cui scolded harshly, causing the unfamiliar maid to kneel hurriedly.

"Hurry and leave!" Court Lady Cui glared at her, and the maid left in a hurry.

I wanted to stop her but feared alarming the enemy.

I could only wait until I had dealt with Court Lady Cui.

"Your Majesty," Court Lady Cui smiled at me, "have some tea."

My mind was on the maid outside, so I drank cup after cup to calm my nerves.

Until... I felt dizzy.

I looked up suddenly, only to see Court Lady Cui smiling at me, not the usual flattering smile, but the smile of a hunter looking at its prey.

So it was her! The unfamiliar maid was just a distraction to make me drink the drugged tea prepared by Court Lady Cui.

But the book never mentioned Court Lady Cui...

"Why..." I couldn't finish my question as my eyes closed involuntarily.