Chapter 329 What to Test

Over the past four years, there were indeed no more children born in the Marquis's Mansion. At first, Lu Lingyun only thought that Cheng Yunshuo struggled to have children, but now it seemed someone had rendered him incapable of fathering children.

But who could it be, who held such a grudge against Cheng Yunshuo, making him childless?

That didn’t add up!

Though Cheng Yunshuo was a bit simple, he didn’t harbor ill intentions and had no enemies out there. Even if he had disputes with others, it would be hard for people to retaliate against him like this.

Since it wouldn’t benefit anyone.

Cheng Yunshuo already had five children, so having more kids wasn’t that big of a deal.

Or... perhaps for some people, it was a good thing that Cheng Yunshuo would never have children again?

An idea popped into Lu Lingyun’s head.

She furrowed her brows and said to Shuang Hong, "Go fetch Concubine Li for me."

"Right away, Young Mistress."

Not long after, Li Bihan, with an air of exhaustion, came back to Lu Lingyun.

These past few days, she had to patrol at night. Even though she only supervised the patrols and assigned duties, the Marquis's Mansion was so large that it took quite a bit of time to go around. During the patrols, she also had to check each courtyard thoroughly, and the doors and windows needed thorough inspection. It was quite the workload.

After just a few days, Li Bihan was already looking haggard and weary.

And since she was already over thirty, staying up late had affected her looks.

Seeing her state, Lu Lingyun thought she looked years older.

"You’ve been putting in so much effort lately, Concubine Li."

"It’s my duty, Young Mistress," Li Bihan replied humbly.

Lu Lingyun sipped her hot tea. "I really admire all the hard work you’ve put in for the Marquis's Mansion. You’ve done a lot, and if I keep asking you to patrol at night, it could take a toll on your health."

Li Bihan couldn’t figure out what Lu Lingyun wanted to say for a moment, and even thought she might want to grind her down further by assigning her to another position.

Patrolling at night was tiring, but there were still many things in the mansion that were more exhausting and disgusting than night patrols.

For example, sweeping the courtyard, or even dealing with night-soil...

She knelt down with a thud. "Young Mistress, it’s appropriate for your servant to work hard patrolling at night for the Marquis's Mansion. Fortunately, I haven’t failed in my mission and disappointed you, Young Mistress."

"Why are you kneeling, Concubine Li?" Lu Lingyun smiled. "I’m really concerned about your health."

"Your servant isn’t tired, I can handle the night patrols!"

"If you can handle it, then continue," Lu Lingyun looked at her. "I called you here just to chat casually, get up."

Li Bihan was even more uncertain about Lu Lingyun’s intentions. She cautiously got up and sat on the chair as required by Lu Lingyun.

"You’ve done a great job bearing two children for the family."

"Young Mistress, it’s not a big deal," Li Bihan answered very carefully.

Lu Lingyun smiled, "Speaking of which, Concubine Li, you have the strongest constitution I've ever seen. Look at our mansion—Aunt Qiu only has one child, the late Aunt Xing gave birth to twins, which counts as one pregnancy. As for Aunt Ling and Concubine Du outside, they’ve never been pregnant."

Upon hearing this, Li Bihan was about to kneel down with a thud.

"Don't kneel!" Lu Lingyun stopped her, "I’m just chatting with you about family matters, and I am very satisfied with you."

She personally helped Li Bihan up.

Li Bihan felt the warmth of Lu Lingyun's hands, and her heart became even heavier and more nervous.

What did Lu Lingyun mean by this?

What exactly did she want to do?

Looking into Lu Lingyun’s eyes, Li Bihan said anxiously, "Young mistress, maybe I take after my mother, who gave birth seven times and had a strong constitution for childbirth."

"I think so too." Lu Lingyun smiled, "In the whole mansion, only you, Concubine Li, give birth to a child every year. First came Lan Ying, then Bing Zhi. Given your strong constitution, I originally thought that you could have a few more children for the Marquis’s Mansion!"

"No way!" Li Bihan wanted to kneel again.

Lu Lingyun tightly held Li Bihan's hand, "Concubine Li, what are you doing again? I merely thought that because you're strong and favored by the crown prince, you could help expand the family."

A flicker of panic flashed in Li Bihan's eyes, but she quickly resumed her usual humble and ingratiating demeanor, saying, "Young mistress, Lan Ying and Bing Zhi are enough for me. I don’t want anything more."

She acted perfectly, but the initial flash of panic was noticed by Lu Lingyun.

She stared into Li Bihan's eyes and let go of her hand, "Fine, Concubine Li, you may go back first."

Having received permission, Li Bihan hurriedly bowed and retreated, "Thank you, young mistress."

She hurried off from Lu Lingyun, like she’d be eaten alive if she stayed longer.

Lu Lingyun watched her retreating figure and called Nanny Wan inside.

"Nanny Wan, when you get a chance in the next few days, go to Bi Shui Yuan and secretly find the maidservants there. Ask them what they regularly serve the crown prince."

"Yes."

Because Cheng Yunshuo was poisoned gradually over time, it has to be a toxin that builds up with repeated exposure.

About Cheng Yunshuo’s poisoning, Lu Lingyun was almost certain that Li Bihan was responsible.

Firstly, the poison that Cheng Yunshuo was affected by impacted his fertility, making him unable to have more children. This kind of poison was useless for outsiders but had a significant impact on his concubines.

It was very likely the work of a woman.

Secondly, the timing of Cheng Yunshuo being poisoned coincided with after Cheng Bing Zhi's birth. For four years, Cheng Yunshuo had no more children.

Finally, there was Li Bihan's reaction just now.

Lu Lingyun was almost certain that Li Bihan was behind this.

The reason she did such a thing was rather simple.

Li Bihan had given birth to a son and a daughter, her offspring were sufficient, and she didn't need more children.

If Cheng Yunshuo had children with other women, it would affect her own children.

Especially as the head wife, currently all the children in the mansion were illegitimate. If she had a child as the main wife, none of the illegitimate children could compete with her.

Li Bihan wants to pave the way for her children, and the first step is to ensure Cheng Yunshuo doesn't have any more children.

After leaving Lu Lingyun's yard, Li Bihan was lost in thought during her walk back.

What was Lu Lingyun getting at with those words?

What exactly was she probing?

Was she planning something for Lan Ying and Bing Zhi?

Or had she noticed something......

Li Bihan's mind was spinning. After returning to her own Bi Shui Yuan, she secluded herself and completely forgot about the night watch.

When Cheng Yunshuo came back in the evening and saw her there, he was very curious. "Didn't you go on patrol tonight?"

When Cheng Yunshuo's voice reached her ears, Li Bihan's jumbled thoughts suddenly cleared. She looked at him and said coquettishly, "My Lord!"