The next day.
Jiang Wan visited Song Tingyue in her room.
The three princes and Pei Tang were all there, along with several wives of officials who had come after hearing the commotion.
The imperial physician stayed by her side all night and administered the medicine, but Song Tingyue's condition not only did not improve, it became even worse.
Pei Xi was so anxious he couldn't sit still: "I'm going to find the head of the Imperial Medical Academy!"
"Several imperial physicians are here; seeking the chief physician will likely be of no use," said the eldest prince, Pei Feng. "Why is the princess in this state?"
"Your Highness, this humble subject...this humble subject does not know either."
The imperial physician wiped away his cold sweat and said cautiously.
"The princess's pulse is normal, yet she is in such pain; this is truly strange!"
Gu Yurong suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, the princess's symptoms came on suddenly, and last night she was inexplicably attacked by a poisonous snake. It doesn't seem like she's sick, but rather like... she's been attacked by an evil spirit."
Pei Xi's eyes widened.
He knew best why the venomous snakes had come, and he thought Gu Yurong was talking nonsense and cursing Song Tingyue.
"Can't you speak properly? I think you're the one who's possessed! Believe me or not..."
Gu Yurong, not knowing what she had done to offend the prince, was so surprised that she immediately knelt down.
"There is a Buddhist temple to the north of Qiyun Manor. If Your Highness does not believe me, why don't you invite a monk to come and take a look!"
Pei Feng was somewhat persuaded: "I'd rather believe in the existence of gods and ghosts."
He sent someone to the Buddhist temple.
The round trip took less than half an hour, and a monk wearing a kasaya was brought over.
He glanced at Song Tingyue's face and sighed, "The princess is under a curse."
"If this is not resolved soon, I fear for my life."
These words shocked everyone in the room.
Pei Feng frowned: "Where is the curse, and how can it be broken?"
The monk calculated for a while and then said, "The northwest corner. The princess's curse is not severe; it should last no more than two days."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wan's expression hardened, and then she quietly lowered her eyelids.
She thought she knew what Song Tingyue was planning.
"Isn't that the storeroom in the northwest corner of the village?"
Pei Tang asked in confusion.
"The warehouse has been empty for a long time, and now only..."
All that remains is the kite I retrieved yesterday.
All the kites were brought over, and the monk went forward and searched through them, taking out a kite depicting a beautiful woman.
"This is it!"
Pei Tang looked closely and said first, "You're saying this is a cursed object? How could that be! This is clearly a kite that An Yang used to pray for her child."
After saying that, she pulled Jiang Wan over again: "Madam Jiang can be a witness!"
The maidservant beside Song Tingyue walked over, picked up the kite, glanced at it, and then screamed, dropping it to the ground in terror.
"This...it's written with curse words!"
She suddenly looked at Jiang Wan.
"Madam Jiang, why did you write these vicious things to harm our princess!"
The other maids from Donglai also gathered around, and after seeing the words on it, they all showed expressions of fear.
Just then, Pei Feng snatched the kite.
He had been to Donglai and could recognize a few characters, which immediately enraged him.
"Madam Jiang, how do you explain this?"
Jiang Wan glanced at the kite: "I don't recognize these; I'm just copying the words written by the princess."
"Are you saying that An Yang cursed her unborn child? Has she gone mad?" Pei Feng questioned.
Gu Yurong spoke softly and gently, adding fuel to the fire.
"Sister, do you really not recognize these? When you were at home, Princess Anyang taught you Donglai characters for many days, and you could even read the account books."
"Is that so?"
Pei Feng took a deep breath.
"Madam Jiang, how do you intend to argue your way out?"
In the silence, a lady suddenly spoke up: "Even if Madam Jiang knows Dong Laiwen, it doesn't prove that she wrote it. There were many people around yesterday, and it's possible that someone might have switched the words on the kite."
Jiang Wan looked at her and felt that the lady's features were familiar.
After searching her memory for a moment, she finally recognized her...it was her maternal aunt, Madam Wang.
Her uncle was the Prefect of Fengyang, and he was away from the capital most of the year. In her previous life, she rarely interacted with her uncle.
Moreover, because of this marriage with the Song family, she had a very strained relationship with her father and hadn't received any news from the Jiang family for a long time. She also didn't know when her uncle and aunt had come to the capital.
Wang's voice interrupted her thoughts: "Take a closer look, did you write these words yourself?"
Jiang Wan and she exchanged a glance.
Wang's eyes were gentle yet wise, and she nodded almost imperceptibly to her.
Jiang Wan understood, and a faint warmth welled up in her heart.
Her aunt was helping her.
As long as she insists she didn't write it, and the other party has no solid evidence, it's just a matter of arguing back and forth.
Jiang Wan remained silent.
Because she knew things weren't that simple.
Sure enough, upon seeing this, Song Tingyue's maid ran into the inner room, took out a stack of Xuan paper from the cabinet, and said angrily.
"These were all written by Madam Jiang when she was practicing calligraphy. If Your Highness does not believe it, you may ask a great scholar to check. These characters and those on the kite are clearly the same handwriting! They are all from Madam Jiang's hand!"
Seeing these things, Jiang Wan was not surprised; instead, she gave a mocking smile.
"The princess loves me so much that she carries my doodles with her at all times. It's really touching."
The maidservant froze: "The princess, she, she..."
Just then, a cough came from inside the curtain, followed by the cries of a nanny.
"Oh no! The princess has vomited blood!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Xi became agitated and glared fiercely at Jiang Wan: "You woman, how could you be so vicious!"
He grabbed the monk again and said violently, "Tell me! How can this curse be broken? Do you want me to kill her?"
The monk seemed frightened by him and shook his head, saying, "That's not necessary. Just... just cut off the hand that wrote the curse and drip its blood onto the talisman, and it will be broken."
Pei Feng's expression darkened.
Jiang Wan is a third-rank imperial consort; taking her life on the spot would be quite a difficult task.
But if it's just a hand that needs to be cut off... that's much simpler.
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