Chapter 191

Chapter 191 It happened that Yueya'er came in carrying a peeled pomelo. Xie Run looked at it silently for a long moment, then said in a low voice, "You all eat it. I don't have much of an appetite." Yueya'er was taken aback. She had just gone out to handle the pomelo and had no idea what had happened. Dantao only waved a hand at her. "In the coming days, if any more pomelos are sent, don't bring them before the mistress." Dantao was afraid that seeing the pomelo would remind Xie Run of the maid Youzi, who had fallen into the well and died. Yueya'er quickly acknowledged the order and carried the pomelo away again. Xie Run continued, "Give the wet nurse a sum of money and let her go home to live out her days in peace." "Originally, I kept her in the Prince's residence because I worried life would be hard for her back home. I thought since she had nursed Taotao for a time, I couldn't just send her away once her services were no longer needed." "But now that the matter with Youzi has happened, keeping her in the residence any longer would only mean she lives in constant fear..." Dantao said, "The mistress is kind-hearted." "Actually, ever since Side Consort Fang punished the two wet nurses, she has been anxious day and night, afraid the mistress would take her anger out on her." "Now with Youzi's incident, it's only natural to let her leave the residence, so she won't be used as a pawn by others in the future." Xie Run said, "Fortune and misfortune rely on each other. If I hadn't kept her a few more days, I wouldn't have been able to learn the truth of Youzi's death." If the wet nurse had been sent away, Youzi would naturally have been transferred as well. Then she would have died silently, and Xie Run would have had no way of knowing it was Prince Jing's doing. It could only be said that in this world, events always link one to another. The Princess Consort did not return to the residence until evening. When she saw the box Xie Run had sent over, she only waved a hand. "Tell your mistress that Youzi fell into the water by accident." "As for this box, just leave it at Qingsong Court." Though the Princess Consort said "leave it," in truth she meant she would dispose of the evidence herself. When Xie Run heard the reply, she knew that the Princess Consort was fully aware of what Prince Jing had done. Though the couple's feelings for each other were not deep, in matters both inside and outside the residence, they seemed not to hide anything from one another. At Xiuyue Pavilion, Wan Linlang heard the news of Youzi's death and was silent for a long time. Suiyu was still trying to comfort her. "Mistress, perhaps it was just an accident?" "When I lived in the village, every couple of years a mischievous child would fall into a well. Such things are simply accidents—impossible to guard against." "Look on the bright side—with Youzi dead... no one can ever investigate what we did." Wan Linlang gave Suiyu a deep look. "Youzi didn't fall in by accident. The Prince made his move." Suiyu's expression changed drastically. Wan Linlang laughed bitterly at herself. She had thought she had done things cleanly, leaving no trace behind. But when a wild goose passes, it leaves its cry behind—there is no wall in this world that the wind cannot penetrate. "The Prince only dealt with Youzi, which means he's keeping an account of this debt of mine but isn't settling it with me for now... If I cannot render meritorious service or gain his favor, this debt will one day become the death warrant that claims my life." These words drained all color from Suiyu's face. But Wan Linlang was not actually that worried. Her thoughts aligned with Xie Run's. She had only added a bit of Polygonum multiflorum to frame Fang Yuan'er, and no lives had been lost—that was why Prince Jing had spared her. But Fang Yuan'er had taken three lives—Yuezhi, Ping'an, and the Fourth Young Master—and had also ruined Concubine An... Would the Prince let her off lightly? After the initial panic, a strange excitement stirred in Wan Linlang's eyes. She said to Suiyu, "Keep an eye on Songya Court these days. I have a feeling the Prince won't let this go so easily..." Suiyu said cautiously, "Yes." Wan Linlang added, "In a few months, Concubine Lian will give birth. During this time, let's keep our courtyard quiet and avoid contact with people from other courtyards as much as possible." Suiyu did not understand, but obediently acknowledged the order. Two more days passed, and both the Emperor and Empress were lying ill in bed. Suddenly, news spread from the palace. It was said that Noble Consort Chen had miscarried, and the Empress was responsible. The Empress, fearing the Emperor's wrath and punishment, had fallen ill from fright. Early in the morning, Xiaoshu took the maids to the main kitchen to fetch breakfast. Entering the room, she patted the snow off her clothes and said, "The snow stopped yesterday, but it started falling again early this morning." "On the way, I ran into the maid beside Consort Hua. She seemed unaccustomed to the snowy weather, slipped while walking, and nearly dropped the food she was carrying." Yueliang'er, who was beside her, said softly, "I saw her carrying the food and crying all the way back. She's probably worried about being punished by her mistress." "To fail even at protecting her mistress's meal—she deserves to be punished!" "You girls!" Xiaoshu tapped her finger on Yueliang'er's forehead. "It's because the mistress is too kind-hearted that you've all grown spoiled and unafraid." Yueliang'er and the other maids laughed along. Just as the meal was set out and before Xie Run could sit down, a servant announced, "Cuiniao from Concubine Lu's side has arrived." Xie Run said softly, "Let her in." "Yes." Someone immediately went to relay the message. The two heavy curtains were lifted, and Cuiniao walked in, patting snow off herself as she came. She did not dare approach, but stood at the side and bowed to Xie Run. "This servant greets Consort Xie." Xie Run raised her hand. "Rise." "So early in the morning, your mistress sent you to me—is something the matter?" Cuiniao quickly nodded and said in a low voice, "Last night, my mistress felt unwell and sent someone to summon the residence physician. By chance, she saw Doctor Zhao packing his things, preparing to return home." “When I asked, it turned out that Doctor Zhao claimed he was too old to serve and was preparing to return to his hometown.” Xie Run was taken aback. In turbulent times, every sudden event around one must conceal a deeper reason. In an instant, Xie Run thought of one thing—the source of the tapioca powder. After the incident, the household had immediately inventoried the quantities of the two items and found nothing missing. Everyone had subconsciously assumed that Yuezhi or Ping'an had purchased them from outside. But if they truly had bought them, that lead would have been easy to trace. Doctor Zhao was known to be greedy—most in the household had some impression of that—though he usually conducted himself properly, only helping to cover up things that could be covered, never involving himself in anything harmful. If he had secretly helped purchase the tapioca powder... who knows how many people's suspicions it could have diverted. As it stood now, it seemed Prince Jing had found no traces from Yuezhi or "Ping'an," but had instead discovered Doctor Zhao's involvement—hence this sudden retirement to his hometown. Even Concubine Lu could see how abrupt it was, so how could others not read more into it? The moment Xie Run understood, she said to Xiaoshu, "First invite Cuiniao next door for a cup of hot tea, then give her a handful of melon seeds." "She braved the wind and snow to bring me this news—I can't let her come for nothing." Xiaoshu said with a smile, "Coincidentally, the estate sent over some fruit yesterday—you're in for a treat." Cuiniao hurriedly bowed to Xie Run in thanks. Once they had all left, Xie Run said, "This household will finally be quiet for a while." Dantao understood her implication and said softly, "His Highness and the Princess Consort have looked exhausted every day these past days—I fear things in the palace are hard to settle." Xie Run smiled. "It was only a matter of time." Ever since Prince Su's rebellion had brought him disgrace, the palace had seemed calm for a time, but in truth, the struggle for succession had only entered its most intense phase. With Prince Su and Prince Taiyuan suppressed, Prince An stood alone in prominence, Prince Jing followed close behind, and even the usually unreliable Prince Wei had stopped his carousing. Why was this? Were they not all aiming at that throne, merely waiting for the right moment?