Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Suijin was the maidservant assigned to Wan Linlang in the mansion.

On hearing the word "sick," Xie Run grew wary.

"Why come in the dead of night saying you have urgent news?" asked Dan Tao.

Suijin knelt on the ground and got straight to the point: "Lady Xie, Concubine Wan means to harm you!"

Xie Run only raised an eyebrow, unfazed, and said calmly, "Do you have proof?"

"Today, Suiyin went to fetch Concubine Wan's meal, and someone secretly put powder into her sachet. Concubine Wan, with a sharp nose, smelled it."

"She thinks someone's trying to frame her at tomorrow's birthday banquet, so she's planning to use the banquet to frame you, Lady Xie!"

Xie Run looked surprised. "She's that sure of herself?"

With her big belly, Xie Run was always surrounded wherever she went. For Concubine Wan to frame her in front of everyone, she'd have to plant something on her.

Were the people around her just dead?

Suijin said, "Framing you is her best bet. The banquet will be crowded anyway; if not you, she can just plant it on someone else."

Dan Tao asked urgently, "What effect does the powder have?"

She was more worried Concubine Wan would harm Xie Run's baby.

Suijin said, "I heard it makes animals agitated."

Xiaoshu's eyes narrowed, and she immediately said, "Mistress, a few days ago, the prince gave Princess Ruyi a dog, and she loves it, takes it everywhere."

Dan Tao also tensed up. "If the powder gets on you, mistress, and the dog rushes at you recklessly... This isn't just to frame you—it's to kill you!"

"Mistress has no enmity with her... How cruel Concubine Wan is!"

Xie Run had been wondering why Concubine Wan would plant the powder on her, but now she understood.

Concubine Wan was also pregnant and wanted to secure her child's future. Naturally, she would target another pregnant woman.

Her first choice would have been Fang Yuaner.

But Fang Yuaner was confined to her quarters and couldn't attend, so she set her sights on Xie Run, who had been in the spotlight lately.

This whole thing was originally someone else's scheme to frame Wan Linlang. Wan Linlang, going along with it, decided to plant the powder on Xie Run.

If Xie Run came out unscathed, she'd be stuck with the blame and would have to work hard to explain the powder's presence.

If Xie Run got hurt, then it would be a fight between Xie Run and the real culprit, leaving Wan Linlang clean.

Even if she chose someone else, the situation would be similar.

Xie Run chuckled. "She's quite the schemer!"

If not for Suijin's warning, she might have really become Wan Linlang's scapegoat.

Xie Run asked, "Do you know who slipped the powder into Suiyin's sachet?"

Suijin shook her head. "I don't know. Concubine Wan hasn't figured it out either."

Xie Run took a deep breath, looked at Suijin, and said, "You risked coming to tell me this in the dead of night. I don't even know how to thank you."

Suijin suddenly knelt on the ground. "Please, Lady Xie, save my life!"

Xie Run frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Suijin looked up, touching her gaunt, sallow face. "I've always been healthy, but about half a month ago I suddenly got sick, and it's been getting worse."

A tear fell from her eye. "If this keeps up, I might not last much longer!"

Xie Run thought for a moment. "Have you seen the mansion's doctor about this?"

Suijin said bitterly, "Concubine Wan, acting nice, called the doctor a few times for me. They all said I was overworked and needed rest."

"But I hardly do any heavy labor—how could I be overworked? Lying in bed recuperating, I've only grown weaker each day."

"With her background as a female physician, she has plenty of ways to make me disappear without a trace!"

"I may be greedy and gossipy, but I've served her faithfully without any thought of betraying or harming her." Suijin's eyes were full of resentment. "Yet she wants me dead!"

"I don't want to die! That's why I came to beg you, Lady Xie, to save me!"

She crawled closer, sobbing. "She's too vicious. I'm truly terrified!"

"I don't dare ask for much. Just get me out of Xiuyue Pavilion; even a scullery maid would be fine."

Xie Run only knew of Wan Linlang's cruelty from the plot lines in her memory.

But seeing her actually use such tactics on someone close to her sent a chill down her spine.

Xie Run helped her up. "Tomorrow is Princess Ruyi's birthday banquet. If what you say is true, you'll have done me a great favor."

"I'll go to the Princess Consort myself and ask for a good place for you."

A spark of excitement lit up Suijin's eyes, and she kowtowed, the thuds loud.

"Thank you, Lady Xie! Thank you!"

"I'll repay your kindness in my next life, even as a servant!"

Xie Run felt sorry for her and said to Xiaoshu and Dan Tao, "Help her up quickly."

Dan Tao helped Suijin up and asked, "You snuck out in the middle of the night. How will you get back?"

Suijin forced a bitter smile. "Everyone in Xiuyue Pavilion thinks I'm dying of sickness. No one will care where I go."

Xie Run sighed. "The snow is heavy tonight, so I can't send anything back with you without drawing suspicion. Just be careful."

Suijin hurriedly said, "Right now, I just want to leave Xiuyue Pavilion fast. I dare not ask for anything more."

After seeing Suijin off, Dan Tao asked Xie Run, "Mistress, can Suijin's words be trusted?"

Although there were no major flaws in her story, there was always a chance it could be a trick.

Xie Run leaned back in her chair, thinking idly. "I think she's trustworthy."

"Time is short, and there's not much we can do now. We'll have to stay flexible and deal with whatever comes."

Remind the maids at Spring Mountain Court to be as cautious as possible tomorrow.

Xie Run said nothing.

Given Wan Linlang's nature, it was very likely that she had drugged Suijin to cause her illness.

Wan Linlang probably never imagined that this maid, who was so sick she was at death's door, still had the strength to struggle and turn the tables on her.

Xie Run suddenly said, "I won't wear the outfit I had prepared earlier. Change all the accessories too!"

Dan Tao and Xiaoshu were quite surprised. "Mistress..."

Xie Run slowly shut her eyes. "Just in case."

"No one can guarantee that nothing else has been tampered with."

The two maids immediately nodded.

To be cautious, Xie Run even changed the birthday gift she had prepared for Lady Ruyi at the last minute.