Chapter 133: Hidden Poison

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Sun Xingye had been brought in. He was still in his undergarments, his hair was disheveled, and his face was a mask of panic.

The guards forced him to kneel. Emperor Zhou asked him, “The Crown Princess is dead. Did you know?”

Sun Xingye was horrified. “This humble commoner didn’t know! I truly didn’t know!”

Minister Lin of the Ministry of Justice reprimanded him: “Cunning villain! Don’t try to play tricks here! The imperial physicians have already confirmed that the Crown Princess died after taking the Small Fragrance Pills. You manufactured those pills; they didn’t pass through any other hands. If not you, then who?”

“I really didn’t know!” Sun Xingye defended himself. “The Crown Prince has treated me with great kindness. I have served the Crown Princess for over a month and have received countless blessings. I have no home and no profession; I only survive by the Prince’s mercy. Why would I poison the Crown Princess? I beg you, milord, investigate clearly!”

“You won’t talk, then?” Minister Lin waved his hand. “Take him down. Give him twenty lashes first to see if his mouth loosens.”

Sun Xingye continued to cry out his innocence as he was gagged and dragged away. The punishment took place right in the courtyard. The ministers watched as, before long, the sound of iron whips striking flesh rang out, accompanied by Sun Xingye’s muffled screams.

For some reason, hearing the man’s cries of pain made Noble Consort Gao shiver.

Pei Yuan walked over and sat beside her. Smiling, he held out his hand, palm up, revealing several shiny red dates. “Would Your Highness like some? They are sweet.”

The Consort closed her eyes. “Eat them yourself.”

Pei Yuan gave a short laugh. “I’m just afraid that if you don’t eat them now, you won’t have another chance.”

The Consort’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him alertly. “What do you mean?”

“These dates are very rare. It’s said they bloom once every ten years and bear fruit once every ten years. They require the perfect alignment of heaven and earth, extremely rich soil, and abundant rain for the fruit not to fall before ripening.” Pei Yuan explained patiently, nudging them closer to her. “Your Highness should really eat some.”

The Consort pursed her lips. “I have never heard of such a miraculous date. Absolute nonsense!”

“Suit yourself.” Pei Yuan leaned back comfortably in his chair and crossed his legs. He tossed a date into his mouth, chewed, spat out the pit, and praised, “It really is exceptionally sweet.”

The Consort stared at him for a long time, her heart growing increasingly frantic. She turned away and muttered, “You’re insane.”

By the time Pei Yuan finished his handful of dates, Sun Xingye’s punishment was over. He was brought back in, bloodied, and thrown onto the floor.

Minister Lin took the whip used for the lashing, cracked it loudly against the floor tiles in front of him, and asked sternly, “Still not talking? Do you insist on waiting until your flesh is shredded before telling the truth? Why suffer so much? Confess now, and you might at least keep your body whole in death.”

Sun Xingye struggled to lift his head, his lips trembling. Minister Lin leaned in close to listen. As he heard the words, his expression changed drastically.

He asked, “Is what you say the truth?”

Sun Xingye nodded. Minister Lin shot a quick glance at Pei Yuan, stood up, and walked toward Emperor Zhou to whisper Sun Xingye’s confession.

Emperor Zhou’s expression turned subtle. He paused for a moment, leaned forward, and said to Sun Xingye, “Repeat what you just said, loudly.”

“It was… the Fourth Prince’s doing.” The crowd of ministers erupted into an uproar.

Sun Xingye gasped for air and continued, “The Fourth Prince was jealous that Grand Tutor Gao looked after the Crown Prince so much. He wanted to kill the Crown Princess and frame the Prince to drive a wedge between the Prince and the Gao family. He chose Rouge Eyes because the Fourth Prince said that by doing the opposite of what people expected, no one would suspect him of using the same poison a second time.”

Emperor Zhou turned his gaze toward Pei Yuan, his eyes burning.

Noble Consort Gao suddenly felt a surge of relief.

She pinched her thigh hard, tears welling in her eyes as she knelt. “Feihe died so tragically! I beg Your Majesty to issue a decree to arrest the Fourth Prince and punish him severely! Only when the villain is dead can Feihe rest in peace!”

Grand Tutor Gao had been standing at a distance to avoid suspicion. Now that the “truth” was out, he also knelt and wept: “I beg Your Majesty to punish the Fourth Prince severely!”

In an instant, the floor was covered with kneeling ministers begging for a decree.

Emperor Zhou stared at Pei Yuan and said slowly, “I will give you one chance to explain.”

Pei Yuan kept his eyes down, brushing a stray wrinkle from his sleeve.

Even though he had set this trap himself specifically to make Emperor Zhou suspect him, now that the Emperor had actually taken the bait, he felt a faint sense of mockery amidst the relief of his plan succeeding.

A father who suspects his own son time and time again—is it the father’s failure or the son’s? Perhaps both.

Everyone was waiting for his explanation.

Pei Yuan looked up. He remained seated, legs apart, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He asked calmly, “Mr. Sun, have we met? Do I know you?”

Sun Xingye replied, “Over a month ago, it was I who delivered Eunuch Changxi to your manor. Do you not remember?”

He was referring to the time Changxi was turned into a human vessel. Pei Yuan nodded. “I remember.”

Sun Xingye said, “It was after that time that you secretly arranged a meeting with me. You told me the detailed plan to poison the Crown Princess and bribed me with gold to induce my agreement.”

The ministers were convinced. They pointed and whispered: “What Sun Xingye says is logical and grounded. The Fourth Prince was never a good person; it’s not surprising he’d do such a thing. If it can be proven they truly met in secret, this matter is confirmed.”

Everyone began to curse Pei Yuan for being unrepentant and cold-blooded. A few elderly ministers even began to cry, lamenting the decay of human morality and seeking justice for Gao Feihe.

Emperor Zhou’s eyes filled with deep disappointment.

Pei Yuan laughed. “Mr. Sun is indeed a man of letters. This talent for fabrication is enough to write books.”

“Are you still trying to deny it?” Noble Consort Gao stood up abruptly, pointing at Pei Yuan. “Both witness and physical evidence are present! What more do you have to say? You are so young, yet your schemes are so deep. Even with your crimes exposed, you have the heart to eat dates and the face to smile? You are shameless; your character is rotten to the core!”

“Do you know why I am so calm?” Pei Yuan reached out and swiped her finger away. “Because I have been through this more than once.”

The Consort’s heart skipped another beat.

Emperor Zhou also looked over suspiciously.

Pei Yuan stood up. “Her Highness just said that both witness and physical evidence are present. If the witness is Sun Xingye, that’s a stretch, but let’s count it. But where is the physical evidence?”

Emperor Zhou looked at Minister Lin, who immediately understood. “This official will immediately arrange for men to search the Jibei Manor.”

“Don’t be biased,” Pei Yuan said coldly. “If you’re going to search, you must search the Crown Prince’s manor as well. What if the Crown Prince is the one with the deep schemes, trying to frame me? Sun Xingye is his advisor; it’s not impossible that he ordered Sun Xingye to plant the blame on me.”

Noble Consort Gao stared intently at Pei Yuan’s profile. Suddenly, she understood what was happening. This was exactly like the way Pei Yuan was framed years ago… In this situation, if Rouge Eyes were found in the Crown Prince’s manor, Xiao’er would be unable to defend himself even with a hundred mouths! She snapped her head toward Sun Xingye. She now suspected that this man was also Pei Yuan’s plant—he was currently biting into Pei Yuan to make everyone believe Pei Yuan did it, but as soon as the physical evidence was found, he would immediately turn and push all the blame onto Xiao’er.

From beginning to end, Pei Yuan was acting!

His goal was to use this fake case to overturn his own past wrongful conviction and, in one stroke, send Xiao’er to the execution block!

Her head buzzed, and her limbs grew cold. What could she do? This was like a deadlock. She could guess the whole plot, but she couldn’t say it—and even if she did, who would believe her? Just like Pei Yuan years ago, no matter what he said, no one believed him.

Once Minister Lin brought back the poison, the situation she had painstakingly built for years would collapse.

Drenched in cold sweat, she cried out to stop Minister Lin just before he left: “On what grounds! The one who died is my daughter-in-law, my niece! The one being slandered is my son! Why must you insult us so, not even letting my Feihe rest in peace! Xiao’er and Feihe were deeply in love; he could never poison her. I will not allow you to search the Prince’s manor; what would Feihe think from the underworld!”

“Lijiang, calm down,” Emperor Zhou consoled her helplessly. “Only by investigating more thoroughly and finding the real killer can Feihe rest in peace.”

“Is the killer not already before our eyes?” The Consort’s gaze locked onto Pei Yuan like a venomous snake. “Why must the Prince’s manor be searched! With such a lack of trust, how can the Crown Prince hold his ground in court? The officials will ridicule him!”

Emperor Zhou ignored her and ordered Minister Lin: “Go search.”

“Do you remember how my manor was searched back then?” Pei Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, smiling. “Red ants are drawn to poison. Mixing arsenic with sugar can lure them out. By following their trail, one can find the nest and the poison.”

Minister Lin cupped his hands. “Thank you for the reminder.”

The Consort practically collapsed into her chair. She had only one sliver of hope: that all her guesses were wrong, that Sun Xingye wasn’t Pei Yuan’s man, that he hadn’t been bribed, and that he hadn’t hidden poison in the Crown Prince’s manor… Everyone waited in silence. Less than an hour later, there was movement outside. Minister Lin had returned with his men.

Seeing the red bottle in his hand and the hesitant look on his face, Noble Consort Gao’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

The servants were thrown into a panic, rushing to give her water and pinch her pressure points. Emperor Zhou, acting as if he hadn’t seen her, asked Minister Lin, “Where was it found?”

“In the backyard of the Crown Prince’s manor, hidden very secretly under a tree.”

Emperor Zhou closed his eyes, grabbed a cup near him, and smashed it onto the floor. He roared at Sun Xingye, “I will give you one last chance! Tell the truth, or I will have you sliced into a thousand pieces!”

Minister Lin signaled to his men, and someone immediately brought out finger-crushing racks to shove Sun Xingye’s fingers into.

Sun Xingye endured it for a moment, then finally broke down, wailing, “I confess! I confess!”

“This matter was indeed the Crown Prince’s doing! The Prince promised me that if I did this for him, he would reward my family with a hundred hectares of fertile land and ensure my family’s prosperity for generations…”

Emperor Zhou interrupted him: “Is your family not dead and gone?”

“I am a twin. Because we were poor, my parents only kept my older brother and sold me to a childless couple in a neighboring village. Later, my biological parents died and my brother was dying of illness. Before he died, he gave his identity to me, and I have been living under his name…” Seeing the Emperor’s increasingly cold eyes, Sun Xingye swallowed and continued, “The Crown Prince told me to poison the Crown Princess today and frame the Fourth Prince… He could no longer stand her arrogance. This move was to kill two birds with one stone.”

Noble Consort Gao struggled to wake up and rushed forward to throttle Sun Xingye. “You villain! What nonsense are you talking! There is no such thing! You are clearly in league with Pei Yuan, acting together just to destroy my son…”

Emperor Zhou, reaching the limit of his patience, had her pulled away. Then he shouted, “Where is the Crown Prince? Where is he! Has the servant sent to find him come back? Was he not resting in the side hall? Why is there no sign of him?”

Pei Yuan laughed. “Perhaps he has already fled out of fear?”

The Consort was fuming, looking as if she wanted to tear him apart alive. Pei Yuan leaned back into his chair, looking at the noisy, chaotic hall, and suddenly felt it was all incredibly dull. All this intrigue, plotting back and forth—it wasn’t as comfortable as going home and eating a meal with Bao Ning. These people, himself included, were saying one thing, thinking another, and doing a third. It was meaningless.

It had been several hours since he had seen Bao Ning. Pei Yuan rubbed his lower lip, wondering what she was doing. Perhaps she was already asleep?

As he was thinking, he looked up and saw Nanny Qiu Shi just stepping into the hall. His heart sank, and a premonition of disaster hit him.

Nanny Qiu Shi also saw him. She hurried over and whispered everything that had happened in the Empress’s palace, finally asking, “Your Highness, has the Princess been here?”

Pei Yuan stood up abruptly. He walked with heavy steps toward Noble Consort Gao. She was still in a daze when Pei Yuan suddenly grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

He gritted his teeth, his gaze predatory. “Your doing?”

The servants were terrified and wanted to rescue her, but seeing Pei Yuan’s face, they didn’t dare move, looking at each other in fear.

Emperor Zhou frowned. “Yuan’er, what are you doing!”

The Consort’s face went white. She struggled for breath. “What nonsense are you saying? Let me go!”

“You know in your heart what I’m saying.” Pei Yuan leaned close to her face, practically screaming, “Give her back to me right now. If anything happens to her, I will skin you alive right here!”

—

In the Suoyang Palace, Bao Ning looked at the secret letter before her, stunned.

It was written by Consort Xian. The paper had already yellowed. The first four words were: To be opened by Mingshan.

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