Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Everyone looked closely and saw that it was the little princess sitting beside Concubine Yun who was crying.

As she cried, she was also vomiting.

Concubine Yun was terrified and at a loss, "Ruyi, what's wrong? Don't frighten me like this!"

Consort Ning's face turned pale, "Get the house physician, quick! Don't touch anything on the table, and no one is allowed to wander!"

While everyone was still bewildered, the house physician arrived.

Usually, at these banquets, the physician was on standby.

After examining Princess Ruyi, they confirmed she had been poisoned.

Everyone paled in terror and hurriedly backed away from the food.

Consort Ning said coldly, "Investigate! If anyone dares to harm the Prince's offspring, once found, they must be severely punished!"

"Even though today is a good day, I don't mind shedding some blood!"

Xie Run watched the commotion at the front table and suddenly felt a weight lift off her chest.

The storm had finally broken.

After investigating, they traced the problem to the sour plum soup.

They found something had been added that irritated the stomach. Adults might be fine, but it was dangerous for children.

The soup itself was cold-natured, so even if someone felt uncomfortable after drinking it, they would simply think it was due to catching a chill. No one expected Princess Ruyi, who had a weak stomach since childhood, to start vomiting and crying after drinking just half a bowl.

If it had been more serious, heaven knows what could have happened.

After checking, only Concubine Yun's sour plum soup had been tampered with; the other concubines' were fine.

This was clearly a deliberate act of poisoning.

Concubine An, sitting beside Xie Run, quietly exhaled in relief.

She lowered her eyes, staring blankly at her untouched sour plum soup, wondering silently about who had orchestrated this.

Consort Ning ordered Concubine Yun to take Princess Ruyi to the side courtyard to rest.

Then she turned and walked over to Fang Yuaner, backhanding her twice.

With two sharp slaps, Fang Yuaner was stunned.

Then she scolded her harshly:

"Fang Shi! I trusted you to handle this meal, and this is how you do it?"

Fang Yuaner was naturally full of discontent, "This wasn't me, so why are you hitting me?!"

If not for the crowd, with her temper, Fang Yuaner would have hit back right then.

Consort Ning sneered, "First, you were in charge. Since there's a problem, you handled it badly—you deserve punishment. Second… all the food passed through your hands. Who knows if you were jealous of Concubine Yun and tampered with something?"

Fang Yuaner pressed her lips together, "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a reason! If Consort Ning wants to punish me, she needs to produce evidence first. Otherwise, when the Prince and Princess come back, they'll get justice for me!"

Consort Ning's gold hairpin swayed, its cold light falling on her face, "Are you threatening me with the Prince and Princess?!"

"You disrespectful wretch! Someone, slap her face!"

"Who dares?!" Fang Yuaner put on a bold front.

Unfortunately, status determined rank.

With the Prince and Princess away, Consort Ning had absolute power.

Immediately, two sturdy servants stepped forward and pinned Fang Yuaner's arms.

Amber, Consort Ning's senior maid, stepped up and started slapping her.

The slaps echoed, each one feeling like it landed on every concubine's face.

Among the many concubines, Fang Yuaner was the most prominent.

Now that she was being slapped like this, the other, less favored concubines nearly cried on the spot.

Fang Yuaner's face was visibly swelling.

She glared with her phoenix eyes, filled with hatred at Consort Ning.

Consort Ning waved her hand grandly, "First, interrogate everyone around Concubine Fang one by one."

Fang Yuaner's people had already been trembling from Consort Ning's earlier slaps.

When they were taken for questioning, nothing was wrong with the others, but Qiu Lan, whom Fang Yuaner had brought into the mansion, couldn't take the pressure and confessed.

Qiu Lan sobbed, "It was Nanny Liu!"

"Nanny Liu said that Concubine Yun, relying on Princess Ruyi, was trying to win the Prince's favor. She told me to put some medicine in Concubine Yun's food to make her sick. The medicine was meant only for Concubine Yun, to keep her sick for a while so she wouldn't have the strength to compete with our mistress. I never expected Princess Ruyi to drink it..."

Qiu Lan: "I acted selfishly, wanting to vent my mistress's frustrations. My mistress didn't know anything; she never meant to hurt the princess!"

Fang Yuaner, dazed by the beating, widened her eyes in disbelief at Qiu Lan.

Clearly, she had truly been unaware of this.

Consort Ning no longer looked harsh and eager to mete out punishment. Instead, she calmly glanced at Amber: "Enough."

Amber stopped accordingly.

Consort Ning raised a hand, "Lock her in my courtyard. We'll deal with her when the Prince and Princess return."

Then she glanced at the other concubines, "You may all disperse now."

Someone muttered, "On a good day like this, she had to bring bad luck!"

That "she" clearly referred to Fang Yuaner.

Many echoed the sentiment.

Fang Yuaner hadn't left yet and naturally heard these remarks, her expression somewhat dazed.

Just before tonight, she had been the most popular woman in the mansion.

These concubines, having accepted her gifts, had all spoken sweetly to her, flattering and currying favor.

But in the span of a single meal, everyone had turned against her, finding her unlucky and blaming her for ruining the Qixi banquet.

Fang Yuaner, no matter how formidable or ambitious, was still a person from modern times who had never experienced such cruel events.

Concubine An was a simple person, genuinely wanting to say a few good words for Fang Yuaner, but she was naturally timid and couldn't bring herself to speak for a long time.

In the end, her own maid pulled her away and they returned.

Xie Run had long anticipated that trouble would arise; now, fearing being implicated, she hurriedly left with Yuli and Dan Tao.

Back at Linxuan Pavilion, she ordered the doors shut tight.

Yuli brought tea, and Xie Run took a sip, then suddenly paused. Setting down the teacup, she said, "Dan Tao, Yuli."

"Yes, mistress."

Xie Run lowered her eyes. "Tonight, find a moment to search Linxuan Pavilion thoroughly."

Yuli and Dan Tao were startled. "Master, could someone be plotting against you?"

"Not that. I'm just afraid... Not only should we search today, but from now on, we'll search once a month. Fortunately, Linxuan Pavilion isn't big, and there are only four of you maids, so it won't cause much of a stir."

Xie Run's words did make the two maids breathe a sigh of relief.

But Xie Run did not dare to relax at all.

In Prince Jing's entire household, there were only three children, and in such a short time, two had already been targeted.

Given these people's knack for stirring up trouble, it was only a matter of time before the courtyards and the mansion were searched—she didn't want to end up as a scapegoat.

After Dan Tao and Yuli agreed, they brought up what happened during the banquet. "Master, do you think Concubine Fang did this?"

Xie Run smiled. "You immediately ask whether Concubine Fang did it, which shows that even if Qiu Lan acted on her own, it's still Concubine Fang's fault."

Dan Tao and Yuli fell silent.

Both understood: from the moment Qiu Lan confessed, Concubine Fang was guilty.

Since she was guilty, being struck today by Consort Ning was a beating that went for nothing.