Chapter 47 The Concubine's Swan Song
The news that Yu Tiezui had been struck by lightning and turned into charred remains silenced the opposition forces throughout the capital for several days.
Inside the Regent's Palace, Jiang Mianmian once again lived a life of leisure, where everything was done for her. However, like the calm before the storm, this tranquility did not last long.
In the West Courtyard, Consort Su, who was once punished with diarrhea for a bowl of chicken soup, has recently become unusually well-behaved. She stays indoors, spending her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, as if she has truly reformed.
That evening, a notice was delivered to the main courtyard.
“Your Highness,” the maidservant said tremblingly as she handed over the invitation, “Consort Su said that tomorrow is her birthday. Knowing that she has committed many sins, she dares not hold a grand celebration. She only wishes to invite you to the lakeside pavilion for a drink as a way of… apologizing to you. Afterward, she plans to go to the family temple to practice Buddhism and pray for the Prince.”
Jiang Mianmian was sprawled on the tatami mat, munching on a freshly harvested crisp pear, when she heard this, she raised an eyebrow.
[To apologize? To practice Buddhism while still keeping one's hair?]
[This script...sounds so familiar! In palace dramas, when they say "one last toast" or "I'm leaving now," it means they're about to unleash their ultimate move!]
[Is this a trap? It's definitely a trap!]
Jiang Mianmian looked at the post over and over again, a playful smile appearing on her lips.
To go or not to go?
[If I don't go, it'll seem like I'm afraid of her. But if I do go... what if she goes crazy and bites me?]
[However, Su Rou isn't very bright; she was so obvious about drugging me last time. This time she's probably just trying to annoy me. I'm bored out of my mind lately, so I'll go see what other tricks she has up her sleeve!]
“Reply,” Jiang Mianmian took a bite of the pear, juice overflowing, “say that I, the Princess Consort, have given my permission. Be on time for the appointment tomorrow.”
...
The following evening, the setting sun was like blood.
The pavilion in the middle of the lake in the back garden of the Prince's Mansion is surrounded by water on all sides, connected only by a winding corridor. At this moment, wine and dishes have already been prepared in the pavilion, and white gauze curtains hang all around, fluttering in the wind, exuding an indescribable desolation and... eeriness.
Su Rou was dressed in plain white clothes today, with no makeup on her face, and she did look somewhat pitiful and remorseful.
Upon seeing Jiang Mianmian approaching with several maids, she quickly stood up, her eyes slightly red.
“Sister…you’ve arrived. I thought you were still blaming me for not honoring me with your presence.”
Jiang Mianmian sat down with an air of authority, her gaze sweeping over the food and wine on the table.
Wow, the dishes look pretty good. Steamed sea bass, crystal shrimp, lotus root stir-fry... they all look quite light and don't seem poisonous.
However, this wine jug...
Her gaze fell on the exquisite mandarin duck revolving teapot.
She'd seen this kind of pot countless times in apocalyptic novels. Inside, there was a secret: turning the lid would pour out two different kinds of wine. One side was good wine, the other poison.
【Consort Su, are you insulting my intelligence? Trying to ambush me with a prop that costs only 9.9 yuan on Taobao?】
Jiang Mianmian sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, even revealing a hint of "I'm very touched":
"Sister, you're too kind. It's never too late to admit your mistakes and correct them. Since you're leaving, it's only natural for your older sister to come and see you off."
Su Rou was overjoyed and quickly picked up the wine pot, pouring two cups of wine for her.
As she poured the first cup, she subtly rotated her fingers on the lid of the teapot.
"Splash—"
The clear, cool liquor was poured into the glass.
Then, she turned the lid of the kettle and poured herself a cup.
"Sister," Su Rou raised her wine glass, her eyes brimming with tears, "it's all my fault, no matter what. I'll drink this glass first as a sign of my respect and to apologize to you!"
After saying that, she tilted her head back and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp, and even showed the bottom of the glass to show her sincerity.
Then, she looked at Jiang Mianmian expectantly: "Sister, please."
Jiang Mianmian picked up her wine glass and gently sniffed it.
A faint aroma of wine.
But beneath the aroma of the wine, Jiang Mianmian's enhanced sense of smell, enhanced by her supernatural abilities, keenly detected a faint... extremely subtle, fishy scent with a bitter almond flavor.
Is it arsenic or a poisonous substance?
[Tsk tsk tsk, they've really gone all out this time. This poison is much stronger than that muscle-relaxing powder from last time. One sip and he'd probably be meeting his maker in three steps, not seven.]
[And this woman has gotten clever; she drank first to lower my guard. Too bad, you've run into me—Niu Hulu, the Breaking Bad Master, Mian!]
"My sister is so generous."
Jiang Mianmian held her wine glass but didn't drink. Instead, she looked at Su Rou with a half-smile, "However, since this is an apology, how can one glass be enough? Besides..."
She suddenly pointed to the sky outside the pavilion, her face full of surprise: "Look! Is that the Prince returning?"
Su Rou was startled and instinctively turned around: "Where? Where is the Prince?"
In that split second...
Jiang Mianmian's hands moved so fast they were blurry. She didn't use any complicated cup-switching techniques at all; instead, she simply—switched the two cups over.
In the world of martial arts, speed is the only way to break through defenses!
"Trying to pull magic tricks on me? While I was practicing my hand speed in the apocalypse, you were still playing in the mud!"
When Su Rou turned around, she found the lake empty; there was no sign of the prince.
"Sister, you must have seen wrong," Su Rou said, somewhat displeased.
"Oh dear, maybe I'm seeing things." Jiang Mianmian rubbed her eyes, looking apologetic. "It's all my fault for missing the Prince so much. Come, come, let's drink! Don't let your sister's good intentions go to waste."
As she spoke, she picked up the glass of wine in front of her and drank it all in one gulp.
Upon seeing this, a hint of wild joy flashed in Su Rou's eyes.
I drank it!
She drank it!
This contains the "Soul-Severing Powder" secretly sent by the Empress Dowager, which has no antidote! As long as Jiang Mianmian dies, even if the Prince blames her, she can say that Jiang Mianmian died suddenly, and there will be no way to prove it!
To hide her excitement, Su Rou quickly poured herself another glass.
Changing the cup is too basic. I'll just add some ingredients directly to it.
While Su Rou was looking back, Jiang Mianmian not only switched the wine, but also casually flicked a real poison into Su Rou's wine pot.
She configured it herself, and the effect was immediate.
"Little sister, you should drink too," Jiang Mianmian urged. "Have another drink with your sister, this wine is really good."
Su Rou looked at Jiang Mianmian, whose face was still rosy after drinking the wine, and wondered to herself: Why hasn't it taken effect yet? Is the medicine slow to work?
Never mind, as long as she drinks it.
In order not to give herself away, Su Rou had no choice but to pick up the wine pot and pour herself another cup.
"Sister has a great capacity for tolerance, and I'll risk my life to accompany you!"
Su Rou drank it all in one gulp again.
Wine enters my sorrowful heart.
However, Su Rou's expression changed as soon as she swallowed the wine.
A searing pain, like being burned alive, exploded in her abdomen, as if countless knives were twisting her intestines.
"puff--!"
A mouthful of black blood spurted out of Su Rou's mouth without warning, splattering all over the table.
"Ouch—! My stomach! It hurts so much!"
Su Rou screamed and tumbled off the stone bench, writhing on the ground in agony, her hands clutching her throat desperately. "Help...it's poisoned...the wine is poisoned!"
Jiang Mianmian sat motionless in her seat, and even picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of sea bass into her mouth.
Oh dear, it started acting up so quickly.
Is this what it means to reap what you sow? Sister Su, you poured this wine yourself, and you drank it yourself. How can you say it's poisoned?
"Sister...save me..."
Su Rou, her face dark with despair, reached out to Jiang Mianmian, "The antidote...give me the antidote..."
She couldn't understand why she was the one who ended up being poisoned when the poisoned wine was clearly prepared for Jiang Mianmian.
"Antidote?"
Jiang Mianmian put down her chopsticks, stood up, and looked down at her with an icy gaze.
"Su Rou, did the Empress Dowager give you this 'Soul-Severing Powder'?"
Su Rou's pupils dilated suddenly.
How...how did she know?!
"What did the Empress Dowager promise you that allowed you to harm me in this way, by sacrificing yourselves?"
Jiang Mianmian shook her head. [Fool. You don't even realize you're being used as a pawn. The Empress Dowager wants to use you to kill me, and then use Shen Jin to kill you—killing two birds with one stone, extricating herself completely.]
"I...I don't want to die..." Su Rou cried, tears streaming down her face, her voice growing weaker and weaker.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the pavilion.
Shen Jin, exuding a chilling aura, rushed in with Ying Yi. He had clearly received the news and rushed to the rescue.
Upon entering the pavilion, seeing Su Rou lying on the ground coughing up blood, and Jiang Mianmian standing unharmed to the side, his tense nerves suddenly relaxed.
"princess!"
He strode forward, pulled Jiang Mianmian behind him, and checked her over, asking, "Are you alright? Did you bump into anything dirty?"
"fine."
Jiang Mianmian shrugged. "I just watched a good 'suicide' show."
Shen Jin coldly stared at Su Rou on the ground.
Su Rou was on the verge of death, bleeding from all seven orifices, a sign of severe poisoning.
"Your Highness... save... save me..." Su Rou reached out, trying to grab Shen Jin's clothes.
Shen Jin took a step back in disgust, avoiding her hand.
"Those who reap what they sow will not live."
The deep, cold voice said, "Since you dared to collude with outsiders and plot against the mistress, this is the end you deserve."
"Shadow One".
"exist."
"Investigate. Find out everything about this wine, and everyone Consort Su has been in contact with these past few days. I want everyone to know that this is the price to pay for plotting against the Prince's residence."
"yes!"
Upon hearing this cruel verdict, the light in Su Rou's eyes completely died out.
Throughout her life, she schemed and plotted to win favor and achieve wealth and status, but in the end, she was abandoned and died tragically on the spot.
She hated it...
But what's the use of hatred?
With one last convulsion, Su Rou's hand fell limply to her sides, and she breathed her last.
Inside the pavilion in the middle of the lake, there was a deathly silence.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Jiang Mianmian felt no sense of revenge, only sorrow.
This is what women in feudal society are like. They are either players or pawns.
Although Su Rou is hateful, the one who truly deserves to die is that old hag hiding deep in the palace, who treats human life like dirt!
Are you scared?
Shen Jin turned around, blocking her view and preventing her from seeing the horrific scene.
Jiang Mianmian shook her head.
"I'm not afraid. I was just thinking..."
She raised her head and looked into Chen Jin's eyes. "The Empress Dowager has failed this time, and she certainly won't let it go easily. Next time, it probably won't be so simple."
Su Rou is just the beginning.
The real storm is yet to come.
Shen Jin grasped her hand; his palm was warm and strong.
“No matter what methods she uses,” Shen Jin said, emphasizing each word, “I will ensure that she never returns.”
"Let's go back to our room."
He led her out of the lakeside pavilion, which reeked of blood.
"Tonight... I will sleep with you."
Jiang Mianmian: […Could you use a different word? Like, "keep me company all night"?]
Chen Jin: No.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com