Chapter 53

Chapter 53

What benefit does the Princess Consort gain from sowing discord between the Eldest Prince and Concubine Ning?

She has no children of her own and doesn't seek favor.

If the Eldest Prince and Concubine Ning have a falling out, regardless of who suffers, the Princess Consort would not earn a good reputation.

The more this is the case, the less likely the Princess Consort would be to engage in such divisive behavior; instead, she would go out of her way to avoid such a situation.

"Then who could it be?" Dan Tao was also puzzled. "It couldn't be Lady Ning herself, could it?"

Xie Run shook her head. "That's even more impossible."

Dan Tao had only said it in passing, but she knew it was unlikely.

"Even if Lady Ning doesn't care about her own life, she certainly cares about whether the Eldest Prince can become the heir."

Xie Run sighed. "Instigating the Eldest Prince to harm a pregnant concubine—that crime alone would be enough to permanently disqualify him from becoming the heir."

"If Lady Ning knew who did this, she would likely haunt that person to death even as a ghost."

Xie Run smiled suddenly. "Concubine Fang is unlucky, but she also has a bit of luck."

Dan Tao looked at her mistress curiously.

Xie Run said, "Under house arrest for half a year... the Prince knows that someone wants to harm Fang Yuaner, so he's protecting her."

In half a year, Fang Yuaner will definitely have given birth.

Though it's a punishment, it also allows Fang Yuaner to safely nurture her pregnancy.

After all, this pregnancy of hers has indeed been full of hardships.

As for Lady Ning's death, Prince Jing didn't blame Fang Yuaner.

After a moment, Xie Run said, "Send word to the Princess Consort that I'm unwell, so I won't be able to pay my respects in the morning."

Dan Tao was taken aback. "Yes."

...

"No... don't come near... don't come near me!"

"Ah!"

Fang Yuaner suddenly screamed and sat bolt upright on the couch.

Qiu Kui, who was on night duty nearby, quickly brought a lamp closer. "What's wrong, Mistress?"

Fang Yuaner sat dazedly on the bed, her breathing rapid.

"I dreamed of Ning."

"She was all bruised and purple, grabbing my neck and demanding I pay for her life, saying I killed her."

When she said this, her tone was eerily calm.

Qiu Kui was terrified, thinking her mistress had been frightened out of her wits.

She quickly comforted her, "It's not real! What does Ning's death have to do with you?"

"She was already at death's door, and she still tried to set the Eldest Prince against you—that's why she got her comeuppance!"

Everyone in the mansion knew Lady Ning had only half a breath left, and the Princess Consort had even prepared her coffin.

Today, Qiu Xiang and Qiu Kui had both tried to stop Fang Yuaner.

They thought, since Lady Ning was going to die anyway, why bother courting trouble?

But since becoming pregnant, Fang Yuaner had become extremely irritable and harbored deep resentment toward Lady Ning, so she couldn't contain her anger and brought people to storm the Orchid Fragrance Courtyard.

Who would have thought this visit would end with Lady Ning losing her life?

Qiu Kui also felt her mistress was unlucky.

There was really no place to argue about this.

But Fang Yuaner suddenly shook her head, the daytime scene kept replaying in her mind.

She suddenly said, "No! Wan Linlang's eyes were off!"

"And Lady Ning's body was off as well!"

Only now did Fang Yuaner recall the bruise that appeared on Lady Ning's face after she slapped her.

That was definitely not from a single slap.

"It was poison!"

"Someone must have poisoned Lady Ning!"

Sweat beaded on Fang Yuaner's forehead.

She thought of how Wan Linlang looked at Lady Ning's body when Wan Linlang entered the Orchid Fragrance Courtyard.

The hidden excitement, mockery, venom... as if she knew someone was about to be in trouble.

Fang Yuaner had memories from the novel's plot, so she was very familiar with every expression on Wan Linlang's face.

Since ancient times, medicine and poison have gone hand in hand.

Wan Linlang's greatest skill was medicine, but also poison.

Back then, countless women in the rear courtyard had silently died from Wan Linlang's poison.

"That wretch Wan Linlang must be involved in this!"

Qiu Kui hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but remind her, "Mistress, don't you think... Lady Ning's illness seemed abnormal?"

"Abnormal?"

Fang Yuaner was startled.

Qiu Kui said softly, "Since two months ago, when it was discovered that Lady Ning had poisoned you and Concubine Xie, she fell ill, and it got worse every day."

"In just two months, she couldn't even leave her bed."

"How could there be such a coincidence in the world?"

"Today, both the Prince and the Princess were present. Shiqie Ning's body was clearly abnormal, yet no one said a single word... Looks like this matter was silently approved by the Prince."

Fang Yuaner asked in a daze, "Silently approved by the Prince?"

"Shiqie Ning died silently. Her death punished her for plotting against a Shufei while preserving the relationship between the Prince and the eldest son. It was the best way to handle it."

"The best way to handle it?"

Fang Yuaner let out a mocking laugh.

"No wonder the Prince never punished Shiqie Ning after the truth came to light... I thought he was still protecting her, that she just wasn't up to it and got sick."

It turned out she had been naive.

Qiu Kui quickly tried to soothe Fang Yuaner while admitting her own fault: "It's our fault for not reminding you, Mistress, and causing you to suffer such a big loss."

Since Fang Yuaner had always seemed clever, Qiu Yue and Qiu Kui assumed she understood.

"No!" Fang Yuaner's tone hardened.

She shook her head. "Wan Linlang definitely had a hand in this!"

"The look on her face was off!"

"Tomorrow, you send someone to investigate discreetly, starting with the people around Wan Linlang! We're sure to find something."

Qiu Kui coaxed her, "I'll take care of it tomorrow, Mistress. First, have some tea and get some rest."

She handed a cup of tea to Fang Yuaner.

After a bit of coaxing, Fang Yuaner finally fell asleep.

Fang Yuaner originally had four Senior Maids.

But Qiu Yu betrayed her and died by crashing into the wall.

Qiu Yue had witnessed Qiu Yu's death and was now a wreck, lying in her room, having nightmares every day.

So it fell to her and Qiu Xiang, the two of them having to do the work of four.

The next day, Qiu Xiang sent people to investigate secretly.

And indeed, they discovered that Wan Linlang had been in contact with Shiqie Ning!

But the trail suddenly went cold, as if someone had deliberately erased it.

Qiu Xiang reported back to Fang Yuaner immediately.

Fang Yuaner was silent for a long time before saying flatly, "Forget it. Stop investigating. Let it go."

Whoever is behind this must know that Wan Linlang is involved, since they know what she's investigating.

Given that person's tactics, Wan Linlang may not come out well.

Wan Linlang is cruel and ruthless; sooner or later, she'll get what she deserves!

Meanwhile, in the front courtyard study, Prince Jing was practicing calligraphy.

With a flick of his wrist, characters flowed fluidly from his brush.

Jing Wu stepped forward. "Your Highness, Shufei Fang's people seem to have traced things back to Wan Linlang."

"I had the clues erased, and Shufei Fang stopped in time."

Prince Jing continued writing, his voice calm and low. "She's always been at odds with Wan Linlang. This time, she must have discovered something."

Although Prince Jing was annoyed that Fang Yuaner had gotten involved in Shiqie Ning's death, his anger faded after the eldest son's outburst at Lanxiang Courtyard.

Hearing that Fang Yuaner had traced it to Wan Linlang, Prince Jing was not surprised.

"You did well." Prince Jing stopped writing and looked up at Jing Wu. "Have you found out who is behind Wan Linlang?"

What angered the Prince most about today's events was not the conflict between Fang Yuaner and Shiqie Ning.

It was the eldest son's words and behavior!

The son he had carefully raised was yelling threats to kill a pregnant Shufei!

Stupid and incompetent!

Someone had deliberately instigated this.

At that moment, Prince Jing felt a surge of murderous intent.

Jing Wu lowered his head. "Your Highness. Following the trail from Shiqie Wan, I traced it to Shiqie Ning's people..."

Prince Jing didn't believe that Shiqie Ning had instigated his son to do something so foolish.

The person behind this clearly intended to kill two birds with one stone.

Using Shiqie Ning's death to destroy the eldest son and harm Fang Yuaner and her unborn child.

Prince Jing's eyes darkened. "Shi An, Shiqie Ning managed the household for years. After her death, who took over her network?"

During Shiqie Ning's prime, she had controlled half the Prince's household management, inserting countless people throughout the rear courtyard.

After seven years of careful management, Shiqie Ning's network spread across the entire Prince Jing manor.

If that network fell into someone else's hands, the rear courtyard of Prince Jing's manor would be chaos.

Eunuch Shi'an, suddenly called upon, was nervous.

"This... this servant doesn't know."

"Given Shiqie Ning's nature, she would pick someone childless, favored, and resourceful..."

Prince Jing said flatly, "Watch Yun Shi, the newly arrived Han Shi, and Li Shi."

Among these three, one must have colluded with Shiqie Ning and is now using her network to set up this plot to kill two birds with one stone.

Jing Wu nodded. "Yes, Your Highness!"

He then asked, "Your Highness, how should we handle the people around the eldest son?"

Among them, two were Shiqie Ning's confidants.

And it was precisely these two confidants who had been badmouthing Shufei Fang to the eldest son daily, making him hate her and storm into Summer Pond Courtyard to hurt people.

Prince Jing's lips parted slightly: "Get rid of all attendants close to him. Send the rest to the manor farms."