Chapter 177

Chapter 177 Suiyu remarked, "At least we managed to avoid danger today." Only then did Wan Linlang let out a sigh of relief, taking the tea and sipping it slowly. The moment it touched her lips, she could tell it was cheap, low-quality tea. Wan Linlang couldn't help but furrow her brows, the anger she had just managed to suppress flaring up again. As she handed over the tea, Suiyu asked in a low voice, "Mistress, who do you think slandered you with the tapioca powder business?" Wan Linlang curled her lips into a mocking smile. "With such tactics, who else could it be but Fang Yuan'er?" Suiyu hesitated. "But... there's no evidence." Wan Linlang fell silent as well. She couldn't very well say that in her previous life, Fang Yuan'er had used this same foolish trick against others, could she? Ever since Prince Jing returned from Cloud City last time and suddenly promoted Fang Yuan'er to Side Consort, Wan Linlang had a sudden realization. Fang Yuan'er was likely just like her—someone with a swapped soul! She couldn't possibly guess that Fang Yuan'er had transmigrated into a book, but she vaguely sensed that Fang Yuan'er was probably in the same situation as herself. A swapped soul, and one who knew what would happen in the future. Wan Linlang's ability to predict had never been taken seriously by Prince Jing—likely because there was already a Fang Yuan'er by his side who could also predict the future! Wan Linlang suddenly understood why she had been at a disadvantage against Fang Yuan'er from the very beginning. With the enemy hidden and herself exposed, wasn't it only natural that she was constrained at every turn? Now that she knew Fang Yuan'er's origins, Wan Linlang no longer feared her. In fact, she now had a measure of confidence. When she had been summoned today, she had thought it was about something else entirely, and had even prepared herself for the worst. But she never expected that someone was accusing her of putting tapioca powder in Fifth Young Master's water. In her previous life, Fang Yuan'er had used the exact same method to frame other consorts. That was why, the moment she heard the words "tapioca powder," she immediately thought of Fang Yuan'er. Unfortunately, she had no evidence in hand, so she couldn't take the opportunity to bring Fang Yuan'er down. She only sneered inwardly. Even with a swapped soul, Fang Yuan'er still wasn't particularly clever—in fact, her methods were becoming more and more similar to her previous life. In her last life, Wan Linlang had toyed with Fang Yuan'er like a monkey on a string. Why would she fear her in this life? Having figured everything out, Wan Linlang became much more composed. "Now it all depends on whether Yuezhi lives or dies." "If she dies, the tapioca powder matter ends here. If she lives and says something, then this case may still have more to uncover." But Wan Linlang had a nagging feeling something wasn't right. Fang Yuan'er knew her well, and having been rivals for so long, Wan Linlang knew Fang Yuan'er just as thoroughly. If Fang Yuan'er wanted to frame her, a mere tapioca powder incident... was too light. Even if the blame truly fell on Suici, Fifth Young Master was unharmed—surely Prince Jing wouldn't take her life over it? On the contrary, if the framing failed, it would most easily backfire... Fang Yuan'er hadn't done something this foolish in a long time. But Wan Linlang couldn't guess Fang Yuan'er's specific intentions either. After thinking it over, Wan Linlang instructed Suiyu, "Send someone to keep watch over Spring Mountain Courtyard later. See if any more news comes out." Suiyu acknowledged, "This servant obeys!" After taking a few more sips of tea to moisten her throat, Wan Linlang said, "As for Spring Mountain Courtyard, you need not make contact anymore." Suiyu quickly nodded. "The He Shou Wu matter has been exposed—that girl must be terrified." "As long as this servant doesn't go to her, she certainly won't dare come to me, nor will she dare show the slightest trace." "Now that the investigation has led to Side Consort Fang, and the Prince has already convicted her, the matter ends here!" As she spoke, a smug smile crept onto Suiyu's face. Wasn't that right? Side Consort Fang had tried to frame their mistress but failed, and even lost Yuezhi in the process. Their mistress's scheme, however, had succeeded with ease. All things considered, wasn't that a huge loss for Fang Yuan'er? The girl Suiyu mentioned was a young maidservant assigned by the manor to attend to the wet nurse, named Youzi. The wet nurse's main duty was to care for the young master, and two young maidservants were assigned to handle their daily needs. These past days, Youzi had been responsible for fetching the wet nurse's meals. Besides Qiu Lu from Fang Yuan'er's side, she was the only other person who had daily access to the wet nurse's food. On the way to fetch the meals each day, she would quietly add some He Shou Wu powder into the dishes, completely unnoticed. Conveniently, Qiu Lu from the main kitchen served as the perfect scapegoat—she put on airs in the kitchen every day and brazenly came into contact with the meals of all the masters and mistresses. Wan Linlang had precisely counted on this when she dared to pull off this framing scheme. Sure enough, when trouble arose, everyone immediately thought of Qiu Lu. She had also chosen the perfect timing to have someone secretly stuff a good amount of He Shou Wu powder into Qiu Lu's pouch, just waiting for Prince Jing or the Princess Consort to send people to search Qiu Lu's room. With both witnesses and evidence present, Qiu Lu couldn't talk her way out of it. The revelation that Qiu Lu harbored feelings for Prince Jing had been a complete accident, but it conveniently completed the motive for her harming Fifth Young Master. This scheme of Wan Linlang's had originally been meant merely to divert Fang Yuan'er's attention, keeping her too occupied to focus on her own son, while also deflating her arrogance. Now she only regretted not striking hard enough—she hadn't managed to cripple Fang Yuan'er in one blow! Thinking of the intelligence she had gathered, a smile curled at the corners of Wan Linlang's lips. Fang Yuan'er was still so pleased with herself—she probably had no idea that her son had been targeted. Let her be pleased. All the better. Once people get too pleased with themselves, they grow careless and naturally overlook what truly matters. When they finally realize it, wailing and putting on a show—that's when it gets interesting. The Third Young Master had been born prematurely to begin with. The longer his discomfort persisted, the more lasting ailments he would carry into the future. Best if he simply died young... then Fang Yuan'er would lose all her capital for pride. "What a pity we missed a good show today." Suiyu flattered Wan Linlang. "I wonder how flustered and helpless Side Consort Fang will be when the evidence is laid out before her..." Wan Linlang said expressionlessly, "She's so favored and arrogant now that she doesn't even put the Princess Consort in her eyes. Even with irrefutable evidence, how could she ever appear flustered?" "I'm afraid she'll rely on the Prince's favor and refuse to admit her crimes to the very end." Even without being present, Wan Linlang could still picture exactly how Fang Yuan'er would flaunt her favor and act spoiled. Suiyu was taken aback, then smiled and said, "She has favor and a son, but Consort Xie isn't lacking either, is she?" "If Side Consort Fang still dares to act arrogant before the Princess Consort, offending both Consort Xie and the Princess Consort at once, she'll have plenty of hardship coming her way." Wan Linlang said, "As long as the Prince protects her, where would any hardship come from?" The truth stings the most. What stung even more was that in her previous life, all this protection and favor had originally belonged to her! Fang Yuan'er, relying on having arrived in this life one step ahead of her, targeted her at every turn, snatching away her favor and her fortunes. She was practically Wan Linlang's mortal enemy. Wan Linlang's eyes gradually reddened, and a murderous glint suddenly surfaced in them. She couldn't endure it anymore—and she didn't want to keep enduring! Suiyu was still muttering on the side: "The Prince is indeed partial. Side Consort Fang's crime of harming the Fifth Young Master is proven beyond doubt, yet he only confined her for half a year." As for the docking of her monthly allowance, Suiyu couldn't even be bothered to mention it. Who in the entire Prince's residence didn't know that Side Consort Fang was the last person to lack money? "If the Prince hadn't deliberately shielded her, the punishment would likely have been far harsher—at the very least, she should have suffered some physical pain."