Chapter 53

Chapter 53 What benefit would the Princess Consort gain from sowing discord between the Eldest Young Master and Concubine Ning? She had no children of her own, nor did she seek favor. If the Eldest Young Master and Concubine Ning clashed, no matter who came to harm, the Princess Consort would not earn a good reputation. The more that was the case, the less the Princess Consort would do anything to stir up trouble—on the contrary, she would do her utmost to prevent such things from happening. "Then who could it be?" Dantao was equally puzzled. "It couldn't be Concubine Ning herself, could it?" Xie Run shook her head. "That's even more impossible." Dantao had only said it casually, but she knew it couldn't be. "Even if Concubine Ning didn't care about her own life, she would certainly care about whether the Eldest Young Master could become the Heir Apparent." Xie Run sighed. "Inciting the Eldest Young Master to harm a pregnant concubine of his father—that crime alone would be enough to strip him of any chance at the position of Heir Apparent for the rest of his life." "If Concubine Ning knew who did this, she'd haunt that person even as a ghost." Xie Run suddenly smiled. "Consort Fang is unlucky, but she also has a bit of luck." Dantao looked at her mistress curiously. Xie Run said, "House Arrest for half a year... the Prince knows someone was trying to harm Fang Yuan'er, and he's protecting her." In half a year, Fang Yuan'er would have certainly finished giving birth. Though it was called a punishment, it was actually letting Fang Yuan'er rest peacefully during her pregnancy. After all, this pregnancy of hers had truly been fraught with hardship. The Prince hadn't blamed Fang Yuan'er for Concubine Ning's death. After a moment, Xie Run said, "Send word to the Princess Consort to ask for leave. Say I'm unwell and likely won't be able to pay my respects tomorrow." Dantao was briefly startled. "Yes." ... "No... don't come closer... don't come closer!" "Ah!" Fang Yuan'er let out a sudden scream and sat up from the couch. The one keeping watch for the night was Qiukui, who hurriedly brought a candle closer. "Mistress, what's wrong?" Fang Yuan'er sat on the bed in a daze, her breathing somewhat rapid. "I dreamed of Lady Ning." "Her body was covered in purple bruises. She grabbed my neck and demanded I pay with my life, saying I killed her." As she said this, Fang Yuan'er's tone was unusually calm. Qiukui was terrified, thinking her mistress had been frightened out of her wits. She quickly comforted her, "That's all fake! What does Lady Ning's death have to do with you?" "She was already sick with only half a breath left, and she still had to incite the Eldest Young Master against you—she got what she deserved!" Everyone in the residence knew Concubine Ning had only half a breath left. The Princess Consort had even prepared a coffin for her. Today, Qiuxiang and Qiukui had both tried to stop Fang Yuan'er. They thought, since Concubine Ning was going to die sooner or later, why should their mistress go and court bad luck? But Fang Yuan'er had been extremely hot-tempered since becoming pregnant, and she harbored deep resentment toward Concubine Ning. Unable to swallow that anger, she had led her people to storm the gates of Lanxiang Court. Who would have thought that this time, Concubine Ning would lose her life? Qiukui also felt her mistress had been unlucky. There was truly nowhere to take this grievance. But Fang Yuan'er suddenly shook her head violently, the scene from the daytime constantly replaying in her mind. She suddenly said, "No! Wan Linlang's expression was wrong!" "Concubine Ning's corpse was wrong too!" Only at this very moment did Fang Yuan'er recall the purple bruise marks that had surfaced on Concubine Ning's face after she slapped her. That was not something a single slap could produce. "It's poison!" "Someone must have poisoned Concubine Ning!" A thin layer of sweat covered Fang Yuan'er's forehead. She thought of the look Wan Linlang had given Concubine Ning's corpse when she entered Lanxiang Court. The hidden excitement, mockery, malice... as if she knew someone else was about to be in trouble. Fang Yuan'er had memories of the plot from transmigrating into the book, so she understood Wan Linlang's various expressions very well. Since ancient times, medicine and poison were inseparable. Wan Linlang's greatest skill was medicine—and also poison. Back then, who knew how many people in the inner court had died silently under Wan Linlang's poison. "That bitch Wan Linlang must have had a hand in this!" Qiukui hesitated, then couldn't help but remind her, "Hasn't the mistress noticed... that Concubine Ning's illness was abnormal?" "Abnormal?" Fang Yuan'er was taken aback. Qiukui said softly, "Ever since it was discovered two months ago that Concubine Ning had poisoned you and Concubine Xie, she fell ill—and her illness grew worse day by day." "In just two months, she couldn't even get out of bed." "How could such a coincidence exist in this world?" "Today, the Prince and Princess Consort were both present. Concubine Ning's corpse was clearly unusual, yet no one mentioned a word... I'm afraid this matter was tacitly approved by the Prince." Fang Yuan'er said blankly, "Tacitly approved by the Prince?" "Concubine Ning died quietly—this both punished her crime of poisoning a concubine and preserved the father-son relationship between the Prince and the Eldest Young Master. This was the best way to handle it." The best way to handle it? Fang Yuan'er suddenly let out a mocking laugh. "No wonder after the truth was uncovered, the Prince never punished Concubine Ning... I only thought he was still protecting Lady Ning, and that it was Lady Ning's own failure that made her fall ill." In the end, she had been naive. Qiukui quickly tried to soothe Fang Yuan'er, while also admitting fault: "It was us servants who failed to remind you, and that's why you suffered such a loss." The main reason was that Fang Yuan'er had always appeared quite clever, so Qiuyue and Qiukui assumed she understood things clearly. "No!" Fang Yuan'er's tone grew more resolute. She shook her head. "Wan Linlang definitely had a hand in this!" "Her expression at that moment was wrong!" "Tomorrow, send people to investigate quietly. Follow the trail of those around Wan Linlang! We're bound to find something!" Qiukui soothed her, saying, "This servant will handle it tomorrow. Mistress, have a cup of tea first, then sleep a while longer." She handed a cup of tea to Fang Yuan'er. It took quite a while before Fang Yuan'er was coaxed to sleep. Fang Yuan'er originally had four senior maidservants. But Qiuyu had betrayed her mistress and died by crashing into a wall. Qiuyue had witnessed Qiuyu's suicide with her own eyes, and the sight had broken her. Now she lay in her room like a corpse, tormented by nightmares every day. That left only her and Qiuxiang to bear the workload of four people. The next day, Qiuxiang sent people to investigate discreetly. And indeed, they uncovered that Wan Linlang had been in contact with Concubine Ning! But the trail suddenly went cold at that point, as if someone had deliberately erased it. Upon receiving the news, Qiuxiang immediately reported back to Fang Yuan'er. Fang Yuan'er was silent for a long moment, then said flatly, "Forget it. Stop investigating. Leave it at that." Whoever was behind this, since they already knew what she was investigating, they must also know that Wan Linlang was implicated. Given this person's methods, Wan Linlang might not come out of this well. Wan Linlang was black-hearted and venomous-handed; sooner or later, she would reap what she sowed! Meanwhile, in the front courtyard study, Prince Jing was practicing calligraphy. With a flick of his wrist, characters flowed effortlessly from his brush. Jing Wu stepped forward. "Your Highness, Consort Fang's people seem to have traced things back to Lady Wan." "This subordinate had the trail erased, and Consort Fang wisely withdrew in time." Prince Jing's brush never paused as he said in a low, calm voice, "She has never gotten along with Lady Wan. This time, she must have discovered something." Though Prince Jing was angered that Fang Yuan'er had been drawn into Concubine Ning's death, the fury had dissipated after Eldest Young Master's outburst at the Orchid Fragrance Courtyard. Hearing that Fang Yuan'er had traced things to Wan Linlang, Prince Jing showed no surprise at all. "You did well." Prince Jing set down his brush and looked up at Jing Wu. "Have you found out who's behind Lady Wan?" What angered Prince Jing most about today's events was not the quarrel between Fang Yuan'er and Concubine Ning. It was Eldest Young Master's words and behavior! His carefully cultivated eldest son had actually called for the death of a pregnant concubine! Stupid and incompetent! Someone must have deliberately instigated this. At that moment, a fierce killing intent had blazed in Prince Jing's heart. Jing Wu lowered his head. "Reporting to Your Highness. Following the trail from Concubine Wan's people, this subordinate traced it back to Concubine Ning's people..." Prince Jing did not believe that Concubine Ning had instigated his son to do something so foolish. Whoever was behind this clearly wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Using Concubine Ning's life to destroy Eldest Young Master and harm Fang Yuan'er and her child. Prince Jing's eyes turned dark and deep. "Shi'an, you say Lady Ning managed the household for years. After her death, who do you think her network of connections fell into?" At the height of her power, Concubine Ning had held sway over half the prince's household management authority, and had planted who knows how many people throughout the rear courtyard. Seven years of careful cultivation meant Concubine Ning's network spanned the entire rear courtyard of the prince's residence. If those connections fell into someone else's hands, the rear courtyard of Prince Jing's residence would never know peace again. Eunuch Shian, suddenly called upon, was quite nervous. "This... this servant wouldn't know either." "Given Concubine Ning's temperament, she would have chosen someone without sons but favored by Your Highness, and someone with the skill to wield power..." Prince Jing said flatly, "Send people to keep watch on Lady Yun, and the newcomers Lady Han and Lady Li." Among these three, one of them must have been in collusion with Concubine Ning, and was now using Concubine Ning's people to set up this scheme that killed two birds with one stone. Jing Wu nodded. "This servant obeys!" He then asked, "Your Highness, how should we deal with the people around Eldest Young Master?" Among them, two were Concubine Ning's trusted confidants. And it was precisely these two confidants who, day after day, spoke ill of Consort Fang in front of Eldest Young Master, stirring up his resentment toward her until he stormed into the Summer Pond Courtyard to cause harm. Prince Jing's thin lips parted slightly. "Not one of his personal attendants stays. Send the rest to the estates." "Yes!"