Late spring sunlight filtered through the lotus-patterned patterns on the carved window lattices of Xiefang Courtyard in the General's Mansion, casting dappled shadows like copper coins on the golden brick floor. Shen Weiwan reclined on a soft couch covered in nine-curve cushions, twirling a piece of lychee cake between her fingers, when she suddenly caught sight of Chuntao leading an unfamiliar young palace maid in. The white porcelain soup bowl the maid held brought a slight frown to her eyebrows—the lotus pattern, a common pattern used by the Liu family, shone coldly in the sunlight, like the eyes of a poisoned snake.

"Where did this soup come from?" Shen Weiwan tapped the edge of the table inlaid with mother-of-pearl with her fingertips, and the gilded armor scratched across the wood grain, making a slight sound.

The young maid's wrist twitched in fear, sending ripples of ginseng soup sloshing in the white porcelain bowl, soaking the patch on her sleeve. "Reply, reply, Miss," she said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "It's...it's freshly brewed ginseng soup from the kitchen, supposedly to nourish you."

Chun Tao immediately took a half step forward, blocking Shen Weiwan, staring at the little palace maid's evasive eyes: "In the past, it was always Madam Zhang who brought the soup herself. Why are you being troubled today?"

The young maid's face paled, her Adam's apple rolling, and she was speechless. Suddenly, Chen Weiwan smiled. As she took the soup bowl, she deliberately let her fingertips brush against the sides—it was unusually cold, unlike freshly cooked ginseng soup. She sniffed it, and sure enough, the ginseng flavor was mingled with a faint, fishy odor, like the smell of rotten wood after rain. "Chun Tao," she suddenly said, "go get the white jade cat that His Highness gave me."

Chun Tao was startled, then caught a glimpse of the look Shen Weiwan was giving her, and quickly turned around to pick up the snow-white Persian cat. Shen Weiwan scooped a spoonful of ginseng soup onto a white porcelain dish. As the cat approached, its azure eyes suddenly glared, and with a meow, it leaped three feet away, its snow-white claws scratching five white marks on the gold brick.

"Oh?" Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and handed the soup bowl to Chuntao, "Go, pour it on the bluestone slab outside the yard."

Chuntao followed his instructions and poured the ginseng soup. There was a sizzling sound, and a wisp of white smoke rose from the bluestone. Everyone looked closer and saw that the once smooth stone surface was corroded with small pits as deep as finger joints, and the edges were charred black.

"Poison!" Shen Weiwan stood up suddenly, her voice so sharp that it penetrated the courtyard and startled the canaries under the eaves. "Hurry up! Someone is trying to poison the future prince's consort!"

The gardener pruning roses and the old butler passing by with his account books were all startled and surrounded the yard. The old butler looked at the scorch marks on the slate, his gray beard trembling. "Miss, this...where did this come from?"

The young maid fell to her knees, her forehead thumping against the brick floor. "Miss, spare me! It was...Miss Lin who ordered me to do this! She said if I could just feed you the soup, she'd give me a hundred taels of silver!"

"Miss Lin?" Shen Weiwan covered her mouth in feigned shock, then turned to the old housekeeper and said, "Is it Shen Ruorou who was exiled to the orphanage? Isn't she feeding her child in the suburbs? Where did she get the money to bribe the servants?"

Before he finished speaking, the swish of a folding fan could be heard from outside the courtyard. Xiao Yu, dressed in moon-white, dark-patterned attire, entered. The twelve emblems of the jade belt around his waist gleamed faintly in the sunlight, and the armor plates of the guards behind him clashed with each other. He glanced at the scorch marks on the stone slabs and raised an eyebrow. "I heard at the palace gate that someone had sent the young princess ginseng soup with 'added ingredients,' so I came to see who this 'kind-hearted person' was."

Shen Weiwan immediately rushed to his side and pointed at the kneeling maid: "Your Highness, look! That's her!"

Xiao Yu squatted down and lifted the maid's chin with his fingertips, causing her to burst into tears. "Where is Shen Ruorou?" His voice was not loud, but it was filled with ice.

The young palace maiden's crotch was soaked with fear. She trembled and said, "In... in the dilapidated temple next to the orphanage... She said that after you were poisoned, she would go find Master Li... and together they would run away with the charity funds..."

"Mr. Li?" Shen Weiwan pretended to be suddenly enlightened. "Is it that lame Li Xiu who hides when he sees a woman? Don't they dislike each other?"

Xiao Yu chuckled softly and pinched Shen Weiwan's cheek: "It seems that the dog has jumped over the wall." He ordered the guards: "Go, surround the three-mile radius of the Salesian Hospital. This king wants to personally meet this 'desperate couple'."

Half an hour later, the guards brought Shen Ruorou and Li Xiu back. When they were caught in the dilapidated temple, they were arguing over a map about how to cross the border. When they saw Xiao Yu's procession, Li Xiu collapsed to the ground, while Shen Ruorou screamed and grabbed Shen Weiwan's skirt.

"Mr. Li," Xiao Yu walked up to the huddled two people, waving his folding fan, "I heard you were going to elope with Miss Shen Er?"

Li Xiu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, his limping leg leaving mud marks on the ground: "Your Highness, spare my life! It was Shen Ruorou who forced me to do this! She said that if I poisoned Shen Weiwan, she would give me the key to the general's mansion in exchange for money!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Shen Ruorou screamed and tried to tear Li Xiu's mouth, "It was you who said that once Shen Weiwan died, the General's Mansion would be mine!"

"Secret key?" Shen Weiwan poked her head out from behind Xiao Yu and tilted her head to look at the old housekeeper, "How come I didn't know there was such a thing in the mansion?"

The old butler coughed, stroked his beard, and said, "Miss, Liu did hide a red sandalwood box, saying it contained the master's relics."

Xiao Yu signaled the guards to search, and sure enough, they found a palm-sized rosewood box hidden within Shen Ruorou's underwear. Opening it, they found no secret key, but several account books, stained with ink and documenting evidence of the Liu family's years of embezzlement and collusion with the salt merchants. At the bottom lay a note in Shen Ruorou's handwriting: "After this is accomplished, send Shen Weiwan to the mass grave to meet her mother."

Shen Weiwan looked at the note, a cold glint in her eyes. Xiao Yu handed the account book to the old housekeeper: "Send it to the Ministry of Justice and have them check each item." He then looked at Shen Ruoruo, whose face was ashen. "What is the legal punishment for attempting to poison the prince's wife?"

Shen Ruorou suddenly raised her head and grabbed Xiao Yu's clothes: "Your Highness! She framed me! She poisoned the soup herself!"

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