A/N~~: I suggest everyone to leave their common sense by the Danming Lake before reading this chapter.

Su Ying was giving Fu Gui some advice on life and stuff when Fang Zhi came back with food. Fang Zhi bought peach cake, sachima, nuts and etc other stuff along with some tea. 

Su Ying who was hungry immediately wanted to jump into eating. But he stopped when he saw Fang Zhi's expression not being right. 

"What's wrong, Fang Zhi?"

"No... It's just that... Well... Nothing really, master." Fang Zhi shook her head and then smiled.

Su Ying raised his eyebrow. "If you say so." Then he motioned for Fang Zhi to serve them. 

Su Ying ate the food as he said, "Bao Bao finally calmed down. Baby was kicking me so hard for food ah."

Everyone,"......" Your child is an even bigger foodie than you?

Bao Bao,"......." I'm not even born yet but my reputation has already been tainted by my own mother.

Su Ying was about to take a sip of tea when he suddenly had a bad premonition... A very bad one. Like someone squeezed his heart very hard. 

As if to confirm his bad premonition, his baby kicked him in a way that kind of hurt. It should be mentioned that Su Ying's baby was already very considerate even though he wasn't born yet. His movements were a bit uncomfortable but very rarely did it hurt. 

Su Ying put the cup down and asked Fang Zhi,

"Fang Zhi... Did something unusual happen on your way to the kitchen?" 

"Something did happen, master. The guards didn't let me enter the kitchen. Maybe because I'm of low class. They said that the Empress ordered that since the Emperor's food will be cooked there. But I think it should be alright. We bought the snacks from home. Even the ingredients for tea are brought by us. They only made the tea. There shouldn't be any problem."

Su Ying sighed as he looked at Gu Rong and asked him to let the physician Yusheng hired for him to accompany him test the tea. Fang Zhi immediately became worried but she waited for the result to come out. 

The young physician tested the tea and frowned when he saw the result. He lightly bowed to Su Ying and said, "Madam, there indeed is poison in this tea. It's a type of abortifacient that can cause miscarriage in late trimesters of pregnancy by killing the fetus in their mother's womb. This type of abortifacient can also make the consumer infertile."

Su Ying's face paled as his heart went cold. He subconsciously repeatedly rubbed his abdomen. He only thanked his premonitions and didn't dare think about the consequences.

Fu Gui held his hand and worriedly asked, "Su Ying, are you alright?"

Su Ying snapped out of his thoughts and tried to show a faint smile but failed.

"I'm... I'm fine. Gu Rong, see if the snacks are okay..."

Gu Rong nodded. The physician tested the snacks and found that they were okay. Su Ying sighed out of relieve when he heard that.

Fang Zhi was unable to hold her tears. She cried as she said,

"Master, it's all my fault. I... I should have been more careful... If you... If you really would have drank the tea... I... Please... Please punish me..."

"It's not your fault, Fang Zhi. I know that. You were already careful enough. What happened...is something none of us ever expected... 

Nothing went wrong... So... It's okay, Fang Zhi. Don't blame yourself."

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The hunting had already ended. Everyone looked at what Yusheng and his soldiers hunted and couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Dear great General, did you hunt for the Imperial hunt or the restaurant you're about to open? The pile of wild boars and other things...each bigger than the other was a sight to see.

Yusheng ignored their gazes and quickly moved towards his wife's tent. He wanted to tell Su Ying how much they had hunted for him *cough* for their baby. But when he went near the tent, he could sense that the atmosphere there was very wrong.

Yusheng frowned. He went towards Su Ying and kneeled down as he held his hands.

"What... What's wrong?"

Su Ying looked at his husband as he pursed his lips. He looked at Gu Rong and motioned tor him to say. 

When Yusheng heard about the incident, he felt anger crept in his bones... The anger and the helplessness he felt almost killed him inside. He anxiously asked the physician to check Su Ying. 

Su Ying held his anxious hubby's face with his hand and lightly smiled at him as he kissed his forehead.

"I already let him check myself. We are alright. Don't be afraid."

Yusheng took a deep breath. By then, Wu Jiayi and Wen Zhao had already came to the tent and heard about the incident. 

Yusheng looked towards Wen Zhao and asked him to investigate the matter as soon as possible. Wen Zhao nodded as he ran out of the tent. 

At the present perspective, the one who held the highest military power was obviously Yusheng. He was born a natural warrior. With his morals and amazing leading capabilities, soldiers couldn't help but be loyal to him. 

Yusheng was indeed a very honest and righteous person. Even though he looked cold, he unexpectedly had a kind side of him. In some ways, he was even kinder and forgiving than Su Ying. 

By then, they both knew that the incident was possible because the Empress didn't stop it. The kitchen was being handled by the Empress. It's security was also assigned by her. If not for her letting loose, how would someone be able to mix the poison in the tea?

Yusheng almost couldn't believe that his aunt could do something like that. She might not be one to poison the tea but she absolutely knew about that with the way she handled everything. How could she still not stop it? Why would she allow someone to hurt his wife and child? 

Was he only a chess piece for them to help Qin Junqing ascend the throne? 

Su Ying knew that his husband couldn't accept the fact. He didn't try to force Yusheng to accept it although he knew that it was important for them to cut ties with the Empress. Yusheng is too soft when it comes to those people who he owes a lot and thinks that they are his family. 

Wen Zhao returned after sometime. He already knew who the culprit was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Emperor frowned as he as heard about the incident. The Empress worriedly said, 

"This is my fault Yusheng. I should have increased the security."

Yusheng looked at the Empress and lightly nodded. He didn't want to talk to her at all. 

The Emperor sighed. Many people present including him also understood that the Empress indeed had some hand in the incident. But he couldn't point it out as the Empress was the mother of the empire. It would be bad if something like that spread out.

The Emperor said, 

"Yusheng... Su Ying... I'll leave the entire matter to you two. You can punish the culprits whichever way you want. To try to poison Su Ying is already serious. On top of that to try to do something like that during the Imperial hunt is unforgivable."

About the culprit you all are asking about... It was Yao Mingli. Shocking, right?

How is it possible for a concubine to attend the Imperial hunt? In fact, Su Ying had the same question. From what he learnt from the Harem dramas, concubines aren't allowed to attend such things.

But this world is very different. The children of the nobles, despite being a concubine can attend such things as long as they had permission from their husband or in-laws. Yao family was already so powerful. And why wouldn't the Li family or Ding YiFan give him permission?

Yao Mingli was screaming. "I didn't do anything. Why would I put poison in his tea? I wouldn't do something like that."

Both Yusheng and Su Ying kept silence. They only looked coldly at him.

Just then, Gu Rong entered the place with Lai Ruolan. Su Ying had asked him to bring her there as he knew that she might have also known about the whole thing. 

Naturally, before bringing Lai Ruolan there, with the instruction of Su Ying, Gu Rong had 'politely' asked her to speak the truth. 

Lai Ruolan greeted everyone. The Empress asked her if she knew anything about that incident. 

Lai Ruolan kneeled on the ground and replied, 

"Please punish me, my lord! I knew that 'sister' Mingli wanted to do such a despicable thing. I tried to stop him! But I couldn't!"

Lai Ruolan is indeed a smart woman. She knew that it was better to confess as it might lessen her punishment. If she were to get caught later, it would have been bad. 

Yao Mingli was shocked. He never expected Lai Ruolan to turn against him. 

"Lies! You are framing me! I never did anything."

"My lord, we've searched Young master Yao's room and have found the exact same poison." Gu Rong said. 

"No... I'm being framed. Father... Help me!" Yao Mingli shouted as he looked at his father. 

But father Yao ignored him. His expression said that he didn't intend to help him. 

Yao Mingli was shocked. He never thought that the father who pampered him so much since he was born actually decided to ignore him... To not help him... To abandon him... And to sacrifice him for his own greed. 

Su Ying sighed. He said, 

"Your majesty... I've already decided what to do." 

The Emperor said, "Speak. What sort of punishment do you want them to have?"

Su Ying had lowered his eyelids so no one could see the emotions in his eyes. He said, 

"I want them to be sent far away from the capital... And live the rest of their life as nun."

Almost everyone present were shocked. Yao Mingli almost killed his child. How could Su Ying still be so benevolent? 

Only Su Ying himself knew why he decided that. He knew that he wasn't the one who gave him the punishment. Yao Mingli who was pampered and loved by his family was punished by his own greedy father. To be abandoned by his family was probably the worst punishment he could gain as it both shattered his arrogance and pride into million pieces. He probably didn't even imagine something like that even in his dreams. 

In some sense, Yao Mingli was pitiful to Su Ying. Death would end everything. Imprisoning him would make him even more of an evil person. The punishment Su Ying gave him was indeed the worst as Yao Mingli would have to live with the pain for the rest of his life. Probably someday he would understand how wrong he was... Probably he might become a nice person someday. 

A/N~~: Yao Mingli is indeed pitiful. It's not his fault that he is like that. It was the environment he grew up in that made him like that. 

Anyways... Thanks for reading this chapter~ ฅ•ω•ฅ​