Chapter 74
“Vermilion ornaments are not rare, and we cannot be certain that they were made by Zhan Xian.” The speaker was an old acquaintance of the Zhan family and finally couldn’t bear it and spoke a fair word.
His suggestion made sense, so Emperor Zhaowen ordered a search to begin on everyone in the palace who was carrying cinnabar.
Unfortunately, apart from Zhan Xian, there were none.
Anguo was rich in cinnabar mines. Besides the emperor's "imperial edicts," cinnabar also circulated among the common people, mostly used for warding off evil spirits and protecting the wearer. Scarcity increases value; conversely, as cinnabar production increased, it became less precious. Palace banquets were attended by noble ladies from the city, who used more expensive jewelry such as jade, pearls, and gold ornaments. Using cinnabar powder to adorn jewelry, however, was a common practice among ordinary women.
They wouldn't assume that Zhan Xian couldn't afford other jewelry; they would only think that she deliberately wore this earring containing poison in order to poison Zhan Xian.
Zhan Xian's reaction was also strange. Instead of immediately defending herself and protesting her innocence, she asked Physician Chen to help examine the cups on her table.
It was something he could do, so Physician Chen didn't refuse. With his dim eyes, he leaned closer to take a closer look and sniffed it twice. "The powder on this cup looks like it was deliberately rubbed on by someone."
"Is it cinnabar?" Zhan Xian asked.
"It's not cinnabar...it's more like the most ordinary laxative."
Then Zhan Xian fell silent.
Emperor Zhaowen said, "After the banquet began, the Crown Prince lingered in front of this woman's table. Did you all see that?"
“Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. Your son and all the ministers can testify to this,” Gu Shucun said.
The emperor's voice was so cold it seemed to freeze, carrying a hint of anger: "Zhan Xian, do you have anything else to say?"
Something was off about this whole thing from the beginning. Zhan Xian had felt something was amiss ever since Qiu Qing approached her. It wasn't until Gu Shuan was poisoned that she had a fleeting moment of realization that this seemingly unrelated series of actions must be connected.
However, what Qiu Qing had smeared on her cup was actually just a laxative. This proved her earlier guesses wrong.
That's not the key point. The most fatal thing is that now, she has become the only suspect who poisoned Gu Shu'an.
"Your Majesty, I did not poison anyone." These words sounded utterly weak, just like her face at that moment. "Please investigate, Your Majesty. Apart from that... Zhan Xian has nothing more to say."
"Nothing to say." Emperor Zhaowen repeated, his tone carrying an undeniable, chilling pressure. "Guards—Zhan Xian is highly suspected in the case of poisoning the Crown Prince in front of the palace. Transfer her to the Court of Judicial Review..."
"Father...Father—" It was Gu Shu'an. He had woken up at some point, and now, ignoring the palace servants who were watching over him, he swayed and knelt down before the emperor.
Gu Shu'an, the Crown Prince, was always impeccably dressed in gold robes, a jade belt at his waist, his movements calm and composed, as radiant as mountains, rivers, sun, and moon. Never before had he appeared so disheveled—his face haggard and ashen, his hair disheveled, and dark red, dried bloodstains clinging to his robes. Emperor Zhaowen, seeing his current state, felt a pang of pity and refrained from mentioning punishment.
"Father... I accidentally ate the cinnabar before the banquet. No one harmed me. Please do not investigate further."
Gu Shu'an had just regained consciousness, his head still fuzzy. He knelt down, unable to rise, and closed his eyes for a moment. The veins on his forearms bulged, and he trembled as he propped himself up. Through his dizziness, he saw the emperor's furious, unreadable face, knowing he was about to disappoint him again. "While reviewing memorials, I inadvertently mixed cinnabar into my snacks. It had nothing to do with anyone else. I beg Your Majesty… to understand."
Not far behind him, Zhan Xian, who was also kneeling, felt a mix of emotions. How could she not know that the story of accidentally eating the food was just an excuse he used to exonerate her? Lying before the emperor was a crime of deceiving the emperor.
She knew that the others weren't stupid either; they could all see that this matter wasn't simple.
Emperor Zhaowen exclaimed in disbelief, "You're going to protect her?!"
Gu Shuan shook his head weakly: "No one wants to harm me, so what is this talk of protection? Everything I've said is true..."
Emperor Zhaowen laughed in exasperation, "Fine! It seems it was my fault. I shouldn't have entrusted you with such important matters as drafting memorials. Now you've been poisoned! Your heart isn't in this, so you don't need to attend the monthly regent's hearings from now on!"
After saying this, Emperor Zhaowen collapsed onto his throne, utterly exhausted.
Consort Shu called out anxiously, "Your Majesty?"
From the moment he ascended to this position, everyone has been pressuring him. Officials, both civil and military, are pressuring him; the people's livelihood and the border wars are pressuring him; and he himself is pressuring himself. Now, even his most cherished son is pressuring him, using his love and affection to threaten and coerce him!
But he could not resist. How ridiculous! He was the emperor, the supreme ruler, respected and feared by everyone in the country, yet he could not act as he pleased, for the sake of the nation, the people, and the harmony of the palace. For the sake of the crown prince's position, even if he knew, he had to pretend not to know—he could not punish Gu Shu'an for deceiving the emperor.
He had too many limitations, and in the end, he could only wave his hand weakly and say, "Let's disperse."
Eunuch Jingquan, who had been anxiously watching his master, understood and announced loudly, "The Qixi Palace Banquet is now adjourned. All esteemed ladies and gentlemen, please leave your seats—"
Gu Shuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Father."
Emperor Zhaowen closed his eyes and refused to look at him again.
The palace banquet began at dusk and lasted until late at night. The arrival was filled with pleasantries and laughter, but the departure was marked by silence. A series of unexpected events kept everyone occupied for half the night, and everyone remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts, boarding their respective carriages.
"pain……"
Lin Yi hissed softly, trying to break free from Xie Chengnan's grip on her wrist—but she couldn't.
Xie Chengnan only slightly loosened his grip, but still held her firmly, as if she would run away and cause trouble the moment he let go.
Xie Chengnan gave her a sinister smile, revealing a small tiger tooth, "You'd better explain to me what happened tonight."
His smile was only meant to intimidate, and it had no real power to deter anyone. Lin Yi was not afraid of him and had anticipated that he could fool everyone, but he still couldn't hide the possibility from Xie Chengnan.
However, she carefully observed Xie Chengnan's expression, which was indeed very serious, and he looked genuinely angry.
Upon reaching the carriage, Xie Chengnan, for the first time, roughly shoved the person into the carriage, and then tried to follow suit himself.
Lin Yi interrupted him, saying, "Wait, it looks like someone's coming."
Xie Chengnan was getting impatient and his patience was about to run out. He glanced back and saw a blurry figure jogging after him. He clicked his tongue impatiently.
It was a young eunuch, not particularly strong, and he was slightly out of breath after running just a few steps, but he quickly recovered and said in a soft yet sharp voice: "Good evening, Marquis Yong'an! This servant congratulates you on receiving the title of Marquis! May your manor rise to great heights and become even more glorious!"
Even a servant in the palace is not someone to be offended at will. Even though Xie Chengnan disliked this flattering manner, he still nodded at him.
After offering his congratulations, the young eunuch turned to Lin Yi and said, "Madam Qiu, Princess Changning invites you to Ning'an Palace for a chat." The young eunuch's face was full of smiles. "Madam Qiu's medical skills are truly superb. Her Highness the Princess also wishes for you to take her pulse."
Before Lin Yi could respond, Xie Chengnan stopped her and said, "Please go back and tell the princess that it is too late today. Madam drank some wine at the banquet and needs to go back to her residence to rest." After a pause, Xie Chengnan continued, "If Her Highness is sincere in seeking medical treatment, we will visit the palace another day."
"this……"
Xie Chengnan took out a silver ingot from the money pouch at Lin Yi's waist and stuffed it directly into the eunuch's hand, saying, "Madam is indeed not a good drinker, thank you for your trouble, sir."
The young eunuch weighed the silver in his hand and immediately beamed with joy. "It's late and windy. Since the Marquis's wife is drunk, she really shouldn't be out in the wind. This servant will report to Your Highness that we will invite her to the palace for a chat another day."
Xie Chengnan nodded slightly, then nimbly leaped onto the carriage.
Inside the cramped carriage, the air felt colder than the night breeze.
Lin Yi lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently tracing the rough texture of the cushion. Silence was more unsettling than questioning.
She could sense that if Xie Chengnan's anger before had some element of deliberately trying to scare her, now it was definitely genuine.
As for the reason for his anger—Lin Yi roughly knew—it was nothing more than her inexplicable and outrageous behavior at the palace banquet. If Xie Chengnan asked her about it, she really would have nothing to say.
But not asking is almost impossible now. What can I do? Make up an excuse, or pretend to be stupid and get away with it?
Lin Yi shook her head; none of these would work. Honesty was necessary to solve the problem, but how could she be honest? Should she just tell Xie Chengnan that the world was actually a book, and they were all fictional characters within it, while she was the only real human being who had once existed vividly? Wouldn't saying that scare him to death or get her locked up as a lunatic?
"Do you have anything to say?" Xie Chengnan asked abruptly.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Xie Chengnan took a deep breath: "I said—is there anything you want to say to me?"
Almost instinctively, Lin Yi chose to run away, even though just a moment before she was thinking about how to be more tactful with Xie Chengnan to make the truth more acceptable.
"Should I... say something?"
"..." Xie Chengnan's scrutinizing gaze was mixed with an emotion akin to loss and confusion. Lin Yi couldn't accurately describe that emotion; it was as if what he had been expecting had slowly shattered, or as if he had suddenly realized that it might not exist at all.
Lin turned her head away, unable to bear watching any longer.
They remained silent throughout the journey until the carriage finally stopped in front of the Marquis's residence. Xie Chengnan lifted the curtain and strode down, the curtain hitting Lin Yi's face behind him as he pulled away.
The carriage curtain was made of fine linen. Xie Chengnan didn't mean to throw it, he just let go casually. It didn't hurt when it brushed against her face, but Lin Yi felt inexplicably wronged—when she went there, Xie Chengnan would thoughtfully lift the curtain to wait for her.
She knew it was her fault, so she forced herself to turn that grievance into heartache, which choked her in her throat, making her feel nauseous.
The people who attended the palace banquet had not yet returned, and Cang Xie and Xue Ya had not slept, so they waited in the front hall.
Upon seeing the two return, he immediately went to greet them, but upon seeing their expressions, he wisely swallowed the question he wanted to ask.
"What about Chun'an?" Xie Chengnan asked.
“Princess Chun’an has been back for a while now and should be asleep,” Xueya said.
Xie Chengnan nodded and strode back to his bedroom.
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