Chapter 68
Poisoning someone isn't easy, but what's truly difficult is distancing oneself from the situation.
If the mission fails, Lin Yi won't have Zhan Xian's protagonist's halo. If her poisoning of the Crown Prince is exposed and she's caught, she'll face certain death. Even the slightest suspicion could condemn her to the crime of plotting against the Crown Prince.
She could only wait, wait for the right opportunity.
Before this, Lin Yi lingered at Zhan Xian's desk for a long time. On the surface, she was just provoking her, but in reality, she took the opportunity to touch Zhan Xian's cup and smear a small amount of the prepared medicine powder on the cup's surface. The medicine powder had been applied to her hands beforehand and was not very toxic; it would only have an effect if ingested directly. She didn't try to hide her actions, and perhaps given Zhan Xian's vigilance, she had already noticed.
Lin Yi wasn't afraid that she would see through it, because the poison on the cup wasn't meant for her. On the contrary, the more suspicious and wary Zhan Xian was, the less likely she was to touch the cup, thus preserving the evidence of the poison on it, and Lin Yi's goal of framing her would be achieved.
A continuous stream of dishes had been laid out on each table, and the palace banquet had begun. Since the death of the Crown Prince's birth mother, Empress Yi, the Emperor had not been in a hurry to appoint a new empress, and the position of head of the harem remained vacant, with several influential concubines taking turns managing affairs. Among these women, the Imperial Noble Consort Shu held the highest rank.
Therefore, she should temporarily preside over this palace banquet.
"His Majesty works tirelessly day and night, concerned for the safety of the nation, and is still reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study. Although His Majesty is not present at the Qixi Festival banquet today, His Majesty's favor is evident, and he has specially appointed me to preside over the banquet on his behalf, so that we may all share in His Majesty's grace and the peace and prosperity."
The Imperial Concubine Shu was poised and dignified, and her words were perfectly appropriate, showing that she was very tactful in public. This put Lin Yi at ease—perhaps she was only so guileless when dealing with 'her own people'.
Next came court music and dance, followed by a royal banquet, and then the "Qixi Festival Skill Competition," which included small games such as ribbon-cutting, scattering silk, and passing on messages with flying flowers, all inspired by folk customs.
The Imperial Concubine Shu was smiling and entertaining several noble ladies who had come to pay their respects. Amidst their laughter and conversation, she heard the sound of a messenger announcing the arrival of the Emperor from outside the palace. Her eyes lit up – His Majesty had actually come in person!
For a moment, everyone was at a loss for what to do with their cups and chopsticks. Everyone stood up, knelt down, and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
Lin knew the emperor would come early on and was not surprised. He followed Xie Chengnan closely, imitating everything he did.
The Emperor's brow furrowed with weariness, likely confirming Consort Shu's words that he had just put down his memorials. Yet, looking at the young people before him, a glimmer of hope and joy stirred within him. "Good, good! Rise, all of you! I'm only a little late, why are you so reserved? Today's palace banquet is for young people; there are no need for so many rules. Everyone, please don't be shy, enjoy yourselves, drink as you please!"
After His Majesty the Emperor spoke, music and dance began, and the crowd, somewhat relaxed yet cautious, returned to their seats. However, the atmosphere remained distinctly tense.
Emperor Zhaowen and Consort Shu had a very good relationship. At least in public, he gave her a lot of face. He took her hand and sat down next to her, asking how far the banquet had progressed.
"You've finally arrived!" Consort Shu said coquettishly. "With His Majesty absent, the banquet is less enjoyable without someone in charge. In my opinion, the songs and dances just now, though good, were all the same and lacked originality. How about—having the noble ladies present showcase their talents and express their thoughts to add some fun to the banquet? What does His Majesty think?"
This was Lin Yi's suggestion when he went to toast the Imperial Concubine during the earlier gathering.
In the original book, Qiu Qing also suggested presenting gifts, but Lin Yi felt that it would be more legitimate for the Imperial Concubine to speak on this matter. When the incident occurred, she could also distance herself from the matter and at least prevent people from paying too much attention to her.
The Emperor had no objection. "Very well, then let it be as the Consort says—" Emperor Zhaowen turned his gaze to the table, "Which noble lady would like to go first and start this auspicious occasion for me and my beloved ministers?"
Princess Chun'an slowly rose to her feet, but this prize was not for her own benefit.
"Your Majesty, Lu Yanran, the daughter of Minister Lu, is qualified for this position. Just now, I passed by the banquet and saw her dancing to the music. Her movements were quite fluent, which shows that she must have rehearsed for this palace banquet many times. Her efforts are truly commendable. With her opening this ceremony, she will surely live up to everyone's expectations."
Lu Yanran glanced at her with some surprise, not expecting this princess to be so shrewd. Such a golden opportunity was not to be missed, so she rose and bowed gracefully to the emperor: "This humble woman humbly requests this prize from Your Majesty, and will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty and the Imperial Concubine's expectations."
"Very well! Then I and my ministers shall watch your dance!"
"Yes. Please allow me to change into my dance attire."
Lu Yanran obeyed and left her seat. She had long been unable to stand this dress! For some reason, it was incredibly itchy, and the collar and cuffs felt like they were being bitten by insects. With so many eyes watching her, she couldn't even scratch herself; she simply couldn't bear it any longer!
Chun'an also got up, using the excuse of helping Lu Yanran change her clothes, and exchanged a glance with Lin Yi before leaving.
From that one glance, Lin Yi knew that Lu Yanran's arrogant and domineering days were coming to an end.
To bring up the rear.
"What's wrong with this outfit?" Lu Yanran asked, impatiently taking off her outer skirt.
"What? These clothes don't fit?" Chun'an asked in surprise.
"It's so itchy!"
Chun'an took the clothes she had just taken off and pretended to look them over inside and out. "They seem fine... Never mind for now, quickly change into this one. I prepared this feather robe myself, without asking anyone else, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Lu Yanran, unsuspecting, quickly changed into the new clothes.
It wasn't that she lost her guard, but rather that Princess Chun'an had played her part too well.
The day after returning from Yunxiu Workshop, Lin Yi went to the palace to pay respects to the Imperial Noble Consort Shu. Chun'an was also busy; she took the prepared clothes and went to the Minister's residence.
Upon meeting Lu Yanran, she went straight to the point about wanting to form an alliance with her. In order to gain Lu Yanran's trust, she embellished her story, describing how she had left Mingzhou City in a sorry state and how she had been ridiculed by Qiu Qingye after returning to Mingzhou.
"Are you still angry about what happened yesterday, sister? It's no wonder you're angry. I can't stand Qiu Qingye either!"
Hearing that someone shared her hatred, Lu Yanran's eyes lit up: "Is what you say true, Princess?"
“Of course it’s true! Do I look like someone who would lie?” Chun’an blinked her big eyes.
Lu Yanran thought to herself that this princess didn't seem very good at lying; she seemed rather brainless and could be used as a pawn. "Then, in your opinion, is there any way to punish Qiu Qing as well? Sister, don't misunderstand, I just felt indignant when I heard how she treated you, and I wanted to teach her a lesson for you."
"You're lecturing me? I'll teach you a lesson tomorrow!" Chun'an thought to himself, but in reality, he was moved and held Lu Yanran's hand.
I must say, this act of feigned surrender was quite entertaining to perform.
Chun'an scoffed dismissively, "That kind of person is so hypocritical, and what she fears most is others stealing her thunder! Sister, what skills do you have to offer? Show them at the palace banquet tomorrow and teach her a lesson for her arrogance!"
Lu Yanran lowered her eyes, then raised them again with a hint of smugness: "I've practiced dancing diligently since I was a child, and no one can beat me in a dance contest. But is that enough? If you're going to teach her a lesson, you should make her bleed..."
Hmph, this woman is indeed vicious, not content with just stealing the limelight... In that case, we might as well turn the tables on her.
"Then what should be done between you and Sister Yi?"
"My sister lives at the Xie residence; could she have found out what she's planning?"
"Well... I'll go back and check on her today. She's keeping her distance from me, so she's probably very wary and won't tell me easily." Chun'an was afraid that agreeing too readily would arouse her suspicion, so he pretended to be hesitant.
"It's alright if we can't find it. I'll make preparations first, and we'll meet again tomorrow morning."
Before leaving, Chun'an seemed to suddenly remember something and said to Lu Yanran, "For tomorrow's palace banquet, you will need to prepare the most magnificent dress to show off your elegance. I have a treasured feather robe that I was worried I wouldn't have a chance to use, so I'll give it to you as a finishing touch!"
That evening, Chun'an told Lin Yi about it. Lin Yi instructed her that if Lu Yanran asked again, she should say that she heard the sound of a zither coming from her room at night, perhaps she was preparing to perform a piece at the palace banquet.
Qiu Qing is also skilled in playing the zither, which is nothing new in Mingzhou. Lu Yanran probably assumed that she would make such preparations.
This morning, Lu Yanran noticed that Qiu Qing hadn't brought his zither either, and she looked around for a while.
Lu Yanran changed into the feather robe Chun'an had prepared for her, looked in the mirror, and indeed, she was dazzling and captivating. However… “Why is this robe so itchy?!”
"That's impossible! There's absolutely nothing wrong with this dress. Could it be that the dress you just wore wasn't washed properly? New clothes are like that. You just changed out of it; it'll be fine after a while!"
Whether she was used to it or not, there was no time to delay. In the main hall, the emperor and all the officials were waiting to see her stunning dance.
The moment the golden feather robe unfurled, everyone's eyes lit up. A moment of silence followed, then whispers of amazement and envy.
Lu Yanran, however, had no way of enjoying the praise that arose because of her.
Perhaps the itching from the previous garment irritated my skin, and now my neck is burning with pain. Ironically, the collar of this feathered robe is indeed woven from feathers. It looks beautiful, but only the wearer knows how unbearable the pain and itching is when those protruding feathers pierce into the injured skin!
Lu Yanran just wanted to rip the feathered robe off, slap it across Princess Chun'an's face, and yell, "Didn't you even try on the clothes before giving them to someone?!"
That wasn't the worst part. As she spun and twisted, the feathers on her clothes seemed to wrap around her more and more tightly, especially around her waist and abdomen. The royal dishes and snacks she had just eaten were almost coming out of her mouth!
Those below the stage were confused. They saw Lu Yanran dancing gracefully to the beat of the drums. At first, her movements were very elegant and graceful, but after only a few steps, her movements became distorted. Not only did she fail to turn and move properly, but her face also showed an expression that was somewhere between ferocity and pain.
The emperor watched her movements and tapped the table with his knuckles in displeasure.
To ensure that everyone at the banquet could see clearly, the stage was set up in the center of the red carpet, near the front, closest to Lin Yi and his group's table, so they could see it most clearly.
Xie Chengnan didn't have a good impression of Lu Yanran, so he naturally didn't want to watch her dance much, only glancing at it briefly. But that one glance was enough to captivate him. The reason was simple: the dance of this high-ranking official's daughter was simply too fascinating.
It didn't resemble dancing; it was more like a ritual performed by a shaman. However, this comparison wasn't quite accurate. Rather than someone collecting corpses, she was more like the corpse being collected, as if she had just crawled out of the coffin, her limbs stiff and her movements disjointed and unable to connect.
Xie Chengnan chuckled briefly, then leaned close to Lin Yi's ear and asked, "You did this?"
Lin Yi shook his head, smiled at him, his smiling eyes revealing his undisguised malice, like a mischievous and wicked villain: "I just provided some of my own specially made itching powder as an auxiliary measure."
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