Song Xibai was taken aback.
"Pink?"
Wei Hong nodded: "Yes! It's a pink color like peach blossoms, it looks quite pretty!"
After a long silence, Song Xibai asked about other things.
Who has fainted?
"It was Princess Qin. She said she was too tired from standing for so long, so she was taken to a side hall to rest. But somehow she fell asleep and couldn't be woken up no matter what she did."
Song Xibai's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
Noticing her unusual expression, Wei Hong quickly asked, "Master, is there a problem?"
"Where's the pipe?"
"Miss Dingxiang stayed, saying she wanted to try something else."
Song Xibai pursed her lips, got up and walked around twice before suddenly stopping.
"Change my clothes, I need to go to Renshou Palace."
Wei Hong was shocked: "But Your Highness, Renshou Palace is full of people right now. Not only is the Crown Princess there, but there are also other princesses and concubines. If you go there, I'm afraid you will be targeted."
Song Xibai took out her needle case and stuffed it into her sleeve.
"There's nothing we can do about it, we can't afford to delay any longer."
Pink... then there's only one possibility: the Princess Consort of Qin was given Thousand Days' Intoxication.
Thousand-day intoxication is a potent sedative, even stronger than ether; ingesting just a tiny amount will cause immediate unconsciousness.
Song Xibai had only seen descriptions of this medicine in ancient books, but the prescription for this medicine had long been lost and could not be verified.
She could only guess that a large amount of datura powder had been used in it; as for anything else, she couldn't guess.
Since it is a drug used for sedation, strictly speaking, it is not a potent poison. In addition, it is difficult to detect whether it is inhaled or ingested by taking a pulse.
What's even more troublesome is that there's no antidote for this situation; we can only wait for the effects of the medicine to wear off and for Princess Qin to wake up on her own.
However, if this were to happen, the fact that Princess Qin had been drugged in Renshou Palace would no longer be a secret. At that point, both the owner of the Thousand-Day Intoxication potion and the people of Renshou Palace would try every means to cover it up.
How will we investigate the origin of this drug then?
As Song Xibai put on her outer robe, she thought to herself: I must get the clues from Princess Qin before anyone else can react!
Unable to dissuade her, Wei Hong could only gather others and hurriedly chase after her.
Song Xibai hurried to Renshou Palace, and after calming his rapid breathing at the entrance, he went inside.
Hearing the commotion, the Crown Princess turned around, saw her, and was clearly taken aback for a moment. Then, a look of displeasure appeared on her face.
"Why are you here? This is not a place for you."
Song Xibai bowed respectfully to her and the other princesses without being humble or arrogant.
"I was very concerned about Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's illness, so I came to check on her. I wonder how Her Majesty is doing?"
The Crown Princess's gaze was sharp, and her eyes held displeasure.
Just as she was about to speak, Princess Wu, sensing the awkward situation, quickly spoke first.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's condition is stable, and Consort Xi's filial piety is commendable. If Her Majesty the Empress Dowager knew this, she would be very pleased."
Princess Wu mediated, and the Crown Princess, not wanting to cause a scene and lose face, flicked her sleeves, turned her head away, and remained silent.
Song Xibai smiled at Princess Wu and asked casually.
"I heard that the Princess Consort of Qin has also come. Where is she? I should pay my respects to her."
Princess Wu, unsuspecting, pointed towards the side hall.
"She's not feeling well, so she's gone to rest in the side hall."
Song Xibai curtsied: "Then I will go and pay my respects to Princess Qin."
After saying that, she led the others to the side hall.
Princess Wu noticed her hurried steps and wondered: When did Consort Xi become so close to Princess Qin?
In the past, Princess Wu would never have paid any attention. But after visiting the estate, she discovered that the Crown Prince had leverage over her family!
Princess Wu's eyes darted around, and she secretly gave her maid a wink.
The maid understood and casually took a few steps toward the side hall, her eyes scanning the surroundings like an eagle's to prevent others from spying or probing.
At this moment, Song Xibai had already strode into the side hall and exchanged a glance with Dingxiang.
Dingxiang waved to the maid of the Princess of Qin and instructed, "I can watch over things here. You go back and tell your master that your princess has fainted."
The maid was completely flustered and not one to be easily swayed. But upon hearing Dingxiang's instructions, she immediately felt reassured. Without even glancing at Song Xibai and the others, she hurriedly ran out.
Song Xibai instructed the palace servants who had come with her: "You few, go with this young lady, so that she won't be harassed at the palace gate."
The palace servants in the east hall, under the tutelage of Granny Fangqi, were already well-trained. No one questioned them; after bowing in unison, they escorted the maid out.
Soon, only Song Xibai, Ding Xiang, and Wei Hong remained in the side hall.
Wei Hong stayed at the door to guard it. Song Xibai strode to the soft couch, took off the bracelet on his wrist, and placed his fingers on the Princess Qin's pulse, sensing it carefully.
After a long while, she finally let go.
"How is it?" Dingxiang asked anxiously.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Thousand Days' Intoxication without a doubt."
Song Xibai replied in a deep voice.
Dingxiang's eyes widened suddenly: "Thousand-Day Intoxication? Isn't that a lost art? How could that be? Who would dare make such a thing in the palace? Isn't that a forbidden drug?"
"It's too late to investigate now. Help me wake up Princess Qin first."
"Do you have a way to detoxify?"
“No.” Song Xibai shook her head. “However, this is not a deadly poison, but a sleeping potion that the body can metabolize and eliminate. But given her current condition, if she continues to sleep, it might alert others, and that would be bad if we alerted them.”
As Song Xibai spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.
She had thought it through very carefully along the way.
Princess Qin, like the King of Qin, was a nobody in both the court and the harem, so it was impossible for anyone to deliberately harm her.
Her situation is different from that of the Crown Prince. The Prince of Qin has no chance of succeeding to the throne, and the Emperor would not poison a deposed prince.
Moreover, the Queen Consort of Qin had given birth to the eldest daughter of the King of Qin.
The Qin Prince's family had fewer offspring than the Wu Prince's family. The Qin Prince had only one son and one daughter. The daughter was born to the Qin Princess, while the son was born to a concubine. This concubine was originally a palace maid, and she was the first palace maid who taught the Qin Prince to adulthood. She also gave birth to a son, so she was promoted to concubine and recorded in the imperial genealogy, which shows that she held a different position in the Qin Prince's heart.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for anyone in the Qin Prince's mansion to harm Princess Qin, who was weak-willed, from an unremarkable family, and had no legitimate son.
After much thought, it could only have been an accident.
Didn't an accident happen once before on the estate?
However, one accident is one accident, but now that another has happened, it can no longer be called a simple accident.
The oleander poisoning incident in Zhuangzi, through meticulous investigation of the "accident," revealed the unusual behavior of the maid named Hongxiu.
So, what can be found out about the Qin princess being drugged this time?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
