Chapter 27: The Fatal Blow

Gu Xuezhi was seated at the table next to Yin Jiaojiao, just an arm’s length away. However, due to the tense atmosphere, no one had noticed what was happening on their side.

It was only when Hanyan lunged forward that the crowd finally reacted.

Gu Xuezhi, who had been fine just a moment before, suddenly rolled off her chair. Her face was deathly pale, and blood stained the corners of her mouth—it was clear at a glance that she had been harmed.

"Xuezhi!"

The arm that had been resting on Yin Jiaojiao’s lower back was suddenly withdrawn. Xiao Yuanchi rushed forward instantly; the gust of wind he created caused her to stumble, nearly falling onto the table. Fortunately, Xialan caught her. Once she regained her balance, Yin Jiaojiao immediately turned her head.

A dense crowd had already gathered around Gu Xuezhi. Xiao Yuanchi was the fastest, standing in the innermost circle. The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were not far behind, also standing close by. Consort Ji and Lady Gu hurried down from their seats, supported by their maids, calling out as they approached, "Xuezhi! What happened to Xuezhi?"

Xuezhi clutched her chest, her hair in disarray. Having hit the edge of the table as she rolled to the ground, her temple was flushed red, and she looked utterly wretched.

As she gasped for air, she gazed at Xiao Yuanchi with tear-filled eyes, as if harboring some unspeakable suffering.

"Don't worry, the physician will be here in a moment."

As Xiao Yuanchi comforted her while carefully examining her, Xiao Yuxi, who was also observing from the side, asked with a puzzled expression, "The County Princess’s lips are turning dark. Could it be that she ate something wrong?"

Hanyan thought for a moment and said, "That shouldn't be. The dishes on the County Princess’s table are all ordinary food, no different from what the Prince and the Duke are having. Besides, the County Princess has always had a small appetite; she only took two or three bites before stopping. What could she have possibly eaten that was wrong?"

Lady Gu hurriedly interjected, "Aside from the food on the table, was there anything else?"

Hanyan pondered again.

"She drank a bowl of clear porridge this morning. It was prepared in the small kitchen of the courtyard, and I handled the whole process myself. There shouldn't have been any issues."

Hearing this, Yin Jiaojiao glanced at Xialan. Xialan’s expression was tense, and she looked rather surprised. Yin Jiaojiao immediately understood the situation.

Though she did not know why, it was clear that Gu Xuezhi had decided to stage a framing act right then and there. If nothing went wrong, a bucket of filth was about to be dumped on her.

With this thought, Yin Jiaojiao pushed Xialan aside and squeezed through the crowd. The physician had arrived; it was Master Ji, who was specifically tasked with overseeing Gu Xuezhi’s health. He was a clansman of Consort Ji and had been with Gu Xuezhi for many years.

"Oh dear, this is critical!" Master Ji had barely taken her pulse before he cried out, "The County Princess’s pulse—she has certainly been poisoned!"

Consort Ji stammered, "Poisoned?!"

"It is floating, weak, and powerless, yet occasionally rapid—like boiling water. She must have been poisoned by something akin to cinnabar," Master Ji sighed. "This is meant to take the County Princess’s life. Your Highness, I must administer acupuncture immediately to protect her heart. Please, you must find the source of the poison with all haste so we know how to treat her."

Lady Gu let out a cry to the heavens and shouted, "Hanyan, hurry and think! What else did she eat!"

Hanyan’s eyes began to dart around, likely gauging whether the time was right. Before she could finish her calculations, Yin Jiaojiao spoke up with the correct answer.

"Hanyan, aside from her three daily meals, doesn't Madame Sun take medicine three times a day? Perhaps it was the medicine."

Yin Jiaojiao’s tone was calm and her pace steady, standing out starkly among the frantic crowd. Everyone’s gaze shifted toward her.

"What are you standing there for? Go get the medicine and have it tested."

Hanyan looked dazed. "O-okay!"

"Don't go..." Gu Xuezhi, having been pricked by Master Ji’s needles, caught her breath. "Your Highness, there are guests tonight; it’s not appropriate to investigate such trivial matters. Let us discuss it later."

Before Xiao Yuanchi could answer, Master Ji intervened, "That won't do, County Princess! Poisoning is never a trivial matter. If it truly is cinnabar, it could take your life in an instant!"

"Xuezhi! You are dying, how can you still care about the big picture! These are guests, but they are also family and friends; they won't speak carelessly!" Lady Gu scolded. "Hanyan, go quickly!"

Hanyan looked at Xiao Yuanchi while responding, and only after Xiao Yuanchi nodded did she fly off.

Gu Xuezhi put on a look of utter, sorrowful despair and said pitifully, "Your Highness, you really shouldn't."

"Why not?" Xiao Yuanchi asked. "Lady Gu is right. This is a matter of life and death; nothing is more important than your life."

Gu Xuezhi let out another mournful sound, and her feeble gaze finally crossed over Xiao Yuanchi to rest upon Yin Jiaojiao.

Yin Jiaojiao, standing with her arms crossed behind Xiao Yuanchi, received that look perfectly; it was filled with malice.

"It seems the County Princess knows where the poison came from, but is unable to speak because of the Seventh Brother," Xiao Yuxi suddenly said softly. "Could it be that someone in the manor is the one who poisoned her?"

His speech was also calm, yet it filled the crowd with more terror than Yin Jiaojiao had.

Consort Ji was stunned.

"What does the Crown Prince mean?"

Before the words were finished, Gu Xuezhi suddenly clutched her head in pain, shouting, "Your Highness, do not say that! Xuezhi does not know! I know nothing!"

Even a fool could see from this reaction that she knew everything. And who else in the Prince’s manor could make a noble County Princess so fearful and worried?

The clever ones had already looked toward the person they were meant to look at.

Lady Gu was the sharpest. She said, "Xuezhi, do not be afraid. The Crown Prince is here. Even if it was some heartless wretch in the Prince’s manor who harmed you, regardless of their status, the Crown Prince and the Prince will see justice done for you!"

Xiao Yuxi replied, "That goes without saying."

With this promise, Gu Xuezhi glanced at Yin Jiaojiao with hesitation, as if conflicted.

In this situation, if it weren't for the assassination attempt waiting in the wings, Yin Jiaojiao would have liked to applaud and ask her to perform a few more scenes. But unfortunately, she had no time to wait for the play to finish.

Yin Jiaojiao crossed her arms and feigned confusion. "Why are you all looking at me? Don't tell me the County Princess wants to say that I am the one who poisoned you?"

Her thoughts having been spoken aloud, those looking at her panicked. Gu Xuezhi, who was in the midst of her sorrow, froze. Up until this point, Yin Jiaojiao’s behavior had been contrary to her expectations. She was too calm, not appearing in the slightest bit worried about the accusation of poisoning being solidified; on the contrary, she seemed to be urging her to hurry up with the slander.

Gu Xuezhi struggled even more intensely.

"No, it was not the Princess Consort."

While her lips denied it, her eyes grew increasingly terrified, making it obvious to all that it *was* the Princess Consort.

Consort Ji was furious. "Yin Jiaojiao? Was it really you?"

Yin Jiaojiao met Consort Ji’s enraged eyes. "Your Highness, I would like to know that myself."

Hanyan returned at that very moment, her timing perfectly calculated. Behind her followed the young maid who also served in the West Garden, the group looking incensed.

The following act played out exactly as Yin Jiaojiao had anticipated.

Hanyan and the young maids knelt on the ground, weeping. "Your Highness, it truly was the medicine. The County Princess’s medicine was swapped! Master Ji, look!"

Master Ji took the dregs of the medicine and began to pick through and identify them, quickly reaching a conclusion.

"Fortunately, it is not cinnabar. It is 'Wanku Grass,' which has a similar toxicity to cinnabar. This herb is slightly bitter and cold, with potent toxicity. In the common folk, it is often used as a pesticide to kill rats," Master Ji sighed. "Judging by the dregs, the person who did this was cautious and meticulous, using only a small amount. It was likely intended to be administered in small, frequent doses to harm the County Princess without anyone noticing."

"Your Highness," Hanyan hurriedly added, "this ingredient is not in the prescription. It was her—Cuiju! She accepted someone’s silver and secretly added it while boiling the medicine."

Xiao Yuanchi looked at the shivering Cuiju, his voice chillingly cold.

"Whose silver did you accept?"

Cuiju cried and spoke a name that no one heard clearly. Hanyan gave her a nudge, and she raised a hand to point.

"Hers... her silver."

She pointed at Xialan, but almost everyone looked instead at Yin Jiaojiao, who stood beside Xialan.

The silence around them was eerie. Yin Jiaojiao turned her gaze to Xialan, but before she could speak, Xialan dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Your Highness, I am wronged! She is lying! I don't even know her!"

"Your Highness, I am not lying." Cuiju had come prepared, pulling a small pouch of silver from her bosom. "This is what she gave me. On the pouch, there is even the 'Spring Swallow Circling the Beam' embroidery that Sister Xialan stitched herself!"

Xialan’s face turned deathly pale, and her voice trembled. "I... that is not... I didn't..."

"Oh my, I have seen this embroidery pattern at the Princess Consort’s place," someone remarked. "It wasn't stitched by Sister Xialan; it was... it was one of the Princess Consort’s discarded works from when she was practicing needlework."

Everyone looked at the embroidery on the pouch. The stitches were sparse and crude, and the colors were dull—especially the swallow, which one might mistake for a duck if not told otherwise.

As a high-ranking maid from the Prime Minister’s residence, it was impossible for Xialan to have such clumsy craftsmanship. This verified that the item had indeed come from Yin Jiaojiao’s hands.

Consort Ji trembled with rage. She pointed at Yin Jiaojiao.

"You! What else do you have to say for yourself!"

Xialan lost the ability to refute the claim, looking toward Yin Jiaojiao for help as she delivered the final, fatal blow: "Princess Consort, Xialan is wronged. I was only following your orders to plant the 'Zhaojian Powder,' why did it turn into Wanku Grass?"