Baili Yingfeng strode up to Miao Nanyan, grabbed her by the neck, and roared with a livid face, "Speak! Did you tamper with the tea set I asked you to deliver to the Emperor of Nanyang at Princess Nanyang's first birthday banquet?!"

Princess Nanyang's first birthday banquet...

Tea set...

Miao Nanyan remembered that this happened more than ten years ago.

That was the first task she received as the imperial concubine of Northern Liang when she first arrived in Northern Liang.

He represented the Northern Liang royal family to attend the first birthday banquet held in Nanyang and presented a gift to the little princess of Nanyang.

At that time, Baili Yingfeng sent two boxes, saying they were congratulatory gifts for the Emperor of Nanyang and Princess Nanyang.

The tea set given to the emperor of Nanyang was very beautiful. It consisted of a carved teapot surrounded by several delicate and exquisite crocheted teacups, made using the craftsmanship of the Northern Liang dynasty.

The hairpins given to Princess Nanyang were also exquisitely designed. One was carved from mutton-fat jade into the shape of a snowflake, another from yellow jade into the shape of a forsythia, and yet another was made of rubies and pearls into the shape of a peony. The third was outlined with red silk thread and made of gold leaves.

The four hairpins represent spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively.

As for why she was chosen to deliver the congratulatory gift to Nanyang, perhaps it was because her life was as insignificant as grass.

The journey from the capital of Beiliang to the capital of Nanyang was long and arduous, and she was bound to encounter bandits, robbers, and even enemy troops along the way. As an unfavored concubine, her death was simply a matter of life and death.

Miao Nanyan gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Oh well, this is her fate."

She thought the journey from Beiliang to Nanyang was too long and she would die at the hands of bandits along the way, but she never expected that her worthless life would survive to this day.

Miao Nanyan couldn't help but smile bitterly as she looked at the man in front of her who was about to go crazy. She knew why he was so angry.

"More than a decade has passed, why is the Emperor of Nanyang still alive and well!"

"The Emperor of Nanyang was very fond of that tea set and used it to drink tea every day. Counting the days, he should be long dead by now!"

Baili Yinfeng roared.

"Do you know that you have ruined my grand plan!"

Miao Nanyan's face turned bright red from being pinched, and her eyes almost popped out. She felt like she was getting less and less air in her chest.

Perhaps, dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

That year, on her way to Nanyang, she discovered that the tea set and hairpin in the wedding gift were poisoned.

Born into a family of healers, she was skilled in poisons and gu. The poisonous gu insects she carried with her for self-defense were placed next to her tea set, and within a few days, the gu insects died.

She then realized that there was something wrong with the teaware.

That poison is slow-acting; it's a drug that causes a slow death.

At that time, she felt that she was already miserable enough and that she was about to die. She did not want the newborn baby in Nanyang to be without a father and to die inexplicably right after coming into this world.

So she cleaned the tea set and hairpin, removing the poison from them.

But later, after she arrived in Nanyang and met Yun Duoduo, she realized that even if she hadn't helped wipe off the poison, the Ninth Princess, being so intelligent, would surely have noticed the anomaly.

"Tell me, did you do it?" Baili Yingfeng questioned again.

A bitter tear rolled down Miao Nanyan's cheek and landed on Baili Yingfeng's hand.

Baili Yingfeng paused for a moment, then released his grip.

"Cough cough cough..."

Miao Nanyan collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing violently, as if her lungs were about to explode. It took her a long time to catch her breath.

"Yes, it's me."

Miao Nanyan's voice was cold and desperate.

"Your Majesty, have we come here to demand an explanation?"

Over the years, on the surface, the King has treated me very well.

But if something goes wrong, they still want to kill me.

I am a joke.

"If I had truly presented that poisoned tea set and hairpin to Nanyang that year, I suppose I would have been executed on the spot before even leaving the Nanyang palace?"

"Haha, hahahaha..."

Miao Nanyan suddenly laughed, a laugh that sent chills down the spines of the palace maids and eunuchs outside.

"Do you know how long it took Medicine King Valley to develop the Western Return Powder?"

Xi Gui San, as its name suggests, is a medicine that, if taken for a long time, can send a person to the Western Paradise.

This drug is colorless and odorless, and its effects on the human body are painless. It only makes people feel physically tired, gradually fall into a deep sleep, and eventually die peacefully.

The poison applied to the outside was handled very carefully and meticulously; those quack doctors in Nanyang couldn't detect it at all.

Because this medicine can only be found in Medicine King Valley of Northern Liang.

"I trusted you and sent you to deliver the congratulatory gift, but you went ahead and made the decision on your own to wipe off the poison on the surface?"

[Hmph, trust? She had just married into the family then; how much trust could she possibly have?]

[It's just sending myself to my death.]

"If the poison on the teaware were still there, the Emperor of Nanyang would have been dead long ago, having ingested some poison every day from drinking tea!"

Baili Yingfeng's eyes were bloodshot; his grand plan had been ruined by this woman.

"I can also lead troops to attack Nanyang, and then..."

"Will His Majesty then be able to unify the Central Plains, fulfill his long-cherished wish, and go see Sister Nanchen?!"

Miao Nanyan interrupted Baili Yingfeng, looked up at him, and vented her resentment and anger.

Unifying the Central Plains is no easy task; Nanyang, Western Chu, and Shu... are all formidable opponents.

After all these years, she couldn't take it anymore.

Baili Yingfeng was stunned for a moment, not expecting that Miao Nanyan, who was always as gentle as a little white rabbit, would yell at him.

Baili Yingfeng remained silent. The invisible wall that had been on the verge of shattering between them had now been erected again and become indestructible.

"Do you think that you're the only move I have?"

Baili Yingfeng walked up to Miao Nanyan again and pinched her chin.

Miao Nanyan felt as if her chin was about to be crushed by him.

Every year, the Northern Liang would send people to deliver love tokens and spring breezes to the royal family in Nanyang.

"Since we can't poison the emperor of Nanyang, it's not a bad idea to let him die from exhaustion."

At this point, Baili Yingfeng smiled wickedly.

Miao Nanyan looked at Baili Yingfeng in disbelief.

This guy is a complete lunatic!

"You'd better watch yourself."

Baili Yingfeng released his grip, glanced at Miao Nanyan who was slumped on the ground looking extremely haggard, and looked at her with a complicated expression.

He pushed open the door and walked out: "From this day forward, Consort Nan is confined to Yiqin Palace, and no one is allowed to visit her!"

Miao Nanyan gave a bitter smile.

If only it had ended this way from the beginning, I wouldn't have had so many unfounded expectations.

Yun Jin and Xiang Ling stared in shock at Baili Yingfeng's departing figure. They had thought their mistress had won the king's heart, but now it seemed...

What exactly happened?