Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Everyone looked closely and saw that it was the little Commandery Princess sitting beside Concubine Yun who was crying. Even as she cried, she was vomiting. Concubine Yun was frightened out of her wits. "Ruyi, what's wrong? Don't scare me!" Concubine Ning's expression also changed. "Quickly summon the government physician! No one is to touch anything on the table, and no one is to leave!" The crowd was still bewildered when the government physician arrived. It turned out that at banquets like this, they were always stationed nearby on standby. After examining Princess Ruyi, they said it was poisoning. Everyone's face changed, and they were badly frightened, quickly moving away from the things on the table. Concubine Ning said coldly, "Investigate! If anyone dares to lay a hand on the Prince's offspring, once found, they will be severely punished!" "Even if today is a good day, I don't mind seeing a little blood!" Xie Run watched the commotion at the front table and suddenly felt as if a suspended stone had finally landed. This storm had finally broken. After much investigation, the problem was traced to the sour plum drink. It was said that something had been added to it that irritated the stomach and intestines. An adult might eat it and be fine, but for a child, it could be very serious. This drink was already cold and cooling by nature, so even if one's stomach felt uncomfortable after drinking it, people would just assume they had caught a chill. Who would have thought that Princess Ruyi, who had had a weak stomach since childhood, would start vomiting and crying after drinking half a bowl? If it had been more severe, who knew what might have happened. After a thorough investigation, it turned out that only the sour plum drink at Concubine Yun's place had been tampered with. The ones at the other concubines' places were all fine. This was deliberate poisoning. Concubine An, who sat beside Xie Run, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She kept her eyes lowered, staring blankly at the bowl of sour plum drink she hadn't touched, secretly wondering who had done this. Concubine Ning had Concubine Yun take Princess Ruyi to the side courtyard to rest first. Then she turned and walked over to Fang Yuan'er, and without warning, slapped her twice across the face. Two sharp slaps rang out, stunning Fang Yuan'er. Then came a fierce scolding: "Lady Fang! I trusted you and put you in charge of this meal, and this is how you handle it?" Fang Yuan'er was naturally full of defiance. "This wasn't done by me, so why are you hitting me?!" If not for the crowd surrounding them, given Fang Yuan'er's temper, she would have slapped back on the spot. Concubine Ning sneered. "First, this matter was handled by you. Since a problem arose, that means you failed in your duties, and you deserve punishment! Second... all the food and drink passed through your hands. Who knows if you were jealous of Lady Yun and did something behind the scenes?" Fang Yuan'er pressed her lips together. "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext! If Concubine Ning wants to punish me, you must first produce evidence. Otherwise, when the Prince and Princess Consort return, they will seek justice for me!" Concubine Ning's golden hairpin swayed atop her head, its cold gleam falling across her face. "Are you trying to use the Prince and Princess Consort to pressure me?!" "You insolent wretch! Someone, slap her mouth!" "Who dares?!" Fang Yuan'er's momentum was impressive. Unfortunately, rank determined status. With the Prince and Princess Consort away from the residence, Concubine Ning alone held the highest authority. Immediately, two sturdy matrons stepped forward and pinned Fang Yuan'er's arms. Amber, Concubine Ning's senior maidservant, stepped forward and raised her hand to begin slapping. The slaps rang out, each one landing as if on the faces of every concubine present. Among all the concubines, the one in the spotlight was Fang Yuan'er. Now that Fang Yuan'er was being held down and slapped, the other concubines who weren't favored were nearly frightened into crying on the spot. Fang Yuan'er's face was visibly swelling. She glared with her phoenix eyes, filled with hatred, at Concubine Ning. Concubine Ning waved her hand grandly. "First, question every person around Concubine Fang one by one." The people around Fang Yuan'er had already been trembling in fear from those two slaps. Now they were seized and questioned. No one else had any issues, but Qiu Lan, whom Fang Yuan'er had brought into the residence, couldn't hold out and confessed. Qiu Lan wept bitterly. "It was Stewardess Liu!" "Stewardess Liu said that Concubine Yun, relying on Princess Ruyi, had repeatedly vied for favor before the Prince. She had me put some illness-inducing medicine in Concubine Yun's drink. The medicine was meant for Concubine Yun, just to make her sick for a while so she wouldn't have the strength to compete with our mistress for favor. I never expected Princess Ruyi would drink it..." Qiu Lan said, "It was my own selfishness, wanting to vent my mistress's grievances. My mistress knew nothing at all. She never had any intention of harming the Princess!" Fang Yuan'er, dazed from the beating, stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Qiu Lan. Clearly, she truly hadn't known about this. Concubine Ning, however, no longer looked like she was in a fierce mood to punish anyone. She calmly glanced at Amber and said, "That's enough." Amber stopped accordingly. Concubine Ning raised her hand. "Lock her up in my courtyard. We'll wait for the Prince and Princess Consort to return and decide the punishment." Then she swept her gaze over the other concubines. "The rest of you may disperse." Someone muttered, "On such a fine day, she had to bring such ill fortune upon us!" That "she" clearly referred to Fang Yuan'er. Many people echoed the sentiment. Fang Yuan'er hadn't left yet and naturally heard these remarks. Her expression was somewhat dazed. Just before tonight, she had been the most popular woman in the residence. These concubines had accepted her favors, and their mouths had been as sweet as honey, flattering and fawning over her in every way. It was no more than the time it took to eat a meal, and yet everyone's faces had changed, disdainful of her for bringing bad luck and disturbing the Qixi banquet. No matter how formidable or ambitious Fang Yuan'er was, she still possessed a modern soul at this moment and had never experienced anything so cruel. Concubine An was an honest soul who wanted to speak a few good words for Fang Yuan'er, but she was naturally timid and couldn't manage to open her mouth for a long while. In the end, she was dragged back by her own maidservant. Xie Run had long anticipated the storm would rise, and now, fearing she might be implicated, she hastily took Yuli and Dantao and left. Returning to Linxuan Pavilion, she ordered the doors and windows shut tight. Yuli brought tea, and Xie Run took a sip before suddenly pausing and setting down the cup. "Dantao, Yuli." "We are here, mistress." Xie Run lowered her gaze. "Find some time tonight to search Linxuan Pavilion thoroughly." Yuli and Dantao were startled. "Mistress, could it be that someone is plotting against you?" "That's not it. I'm just afraid... Not only must we search today, but from now on, we should search once every month. Fortunately, Linxuan Pavilion isn't large, and with just the four of you serving, it won't cause much of a stir." These words from Xie Run put the two at ease. But Xie Run herself dared not relax in the slightest. In all of Prince Jing's rear courtyard, there were only three offspring in total, and in such a short time, two had already been targeted. Given this group's talent for stirring up trouble, searching the courtyard and the residence was likely only a matter of time. She had no desire to become some wronged ghost one day. After Dantao and Yuli acknowledged the order, they brought up what had happened during the banquet. "Mistress, do you think Concubine Fang did it?" Xie Run smiled. "The moment you ask whether Concubine Fang did it, it's clear that even if Qiulan acted on her own, it would still be Concubine Fang's crime." Dantao and Yuli fell silent. Both understood that from the moment Qiulan opened her mouth and confessed, Concubine Fang was guilty. And since she was guilty, being struck by Concubine Ning today was simply a beating she had to endure.