Ji Feiyu looked at the fine wine in front of her, took a gentle sniff, then picked up the ladle to scoop up a little and took a sip. It was mellow yet not cloying, with a delicate fragrance that lingered, and a faint hint of the fragrance of a young girl. She pondered for a moment, then walked over to the long table on the other side, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write. As she wrote, she deliberately changed her handwriting style, trying to make it ordinary yet bold. After all, her current identity was the Princess of Beihan. If she wrote the characters of Dayong too well, it would be courting death.
Last year at this time, the sun rose in the morning.
Butterflies fluttered and bees buzzed, busy gathering dew.
Let's brew a jar of wine to accompany the years.
Without someone to taste it, its delicate fragrance lies hidden.
Ji Feiyu slowly wrote a poem that wasn't very rhyming. She only wanted to express the charm hidden in the wine.
Brewing wine in the deep palace was sometimes not as joyful as it seemed on the surface.
Ji Feiyu handed the poem to Lady Xiuyuan. Lady Xiuyuan read the poem and smiled happily. "Princess Shuanghua, you've written it so well. I don't dare to hope for a prize. I'll be happy as long as someone can taste the feelings I've hidden in the wine." After saying that, she folded the paper with the poem on it and placed it under the wine jar. Then she pulled Ji Feiyu aside to chat.
At this moment, Yong Yaxuan and Yun Xuan were tasting the jar of wine that Ji Feiyu had hidden away years ago. The two of them argued over the taste, but it was still a heart - warming moment between family members.
"Let me write the poem."
"Let Yun Xuan write it!"
Ji Feiyu looked at their happy expressions, feeling as if she was watching a fire from the other side of the river. She didn't really listen to what Lady Xiuyuan was saying about her family background.
Everyone in this world had their own stories, and not everyone could have a happy ending.
After all the poems were written, the imperial wine - taster began to taste the wine and read the poems. Yun Xuan made a face at Ji Feiyu from afar. He really was still child - like. Ji Feiyu responded with a faint smile.
There was no suspense about the winner this year. With Yun Xuan and Yong Yaxuan helping to cheat, it would be strange if Ji Feiyu's jar of wine didn't win.
"Good! This year's winner is the posthumous wine 'Full Joy' brewed by the Empress Dowager. Since Her Majesty has passed away, the part where the winner makes a wish will be cancelled. Now, ladies, please pick up the wine cups in front of you and line up to drink in order of when you entered the palace. This is called 'sharing weal and woe'." Ji Feiyu heard Father Li loudly announce the next part of the event and couldn't help but smile faintly.
Sharing weal and woe? She was afraid that after all the new and old concubines shared the same jar of wine today, they would still be ruthless towards each other in the future palace intrigues. People in the palace were always heartless. It couldn't be changed just because of some expectations.
Ji Feiyu stood at the end of the line. She watched the elegant skirts of the concubines in front of her gently swaying on the ground, looking like beautiful flowers blooming. Then she looked at the absent - minded emperor on the stage and wondered if she should continue playing this game with him.
Beautiful women tasting wine was indeed a wonderful thing in the world. Ji Feiyu looked at the subtle expressions on those familiar or unfamiliar faces and wondered how well she had actually brewed this wine.
When it was finally her turn, Ji Feiyu clearly saw the beauty in front of her who was passing the ladle to her flick a bit of powder into the wine. She pretended not to notice, smiling faintly as she scooped up a ladle of wine into her cup. Then she lifted a corner of her veil and drank it in one gulp. Finally, she even praised, "Good wine!"
The wine was really strong, just like Ji Feiyu's personality. It was just a bit spoiled by the extra "seasoning".
She quietly wiped off the bit of powder on the ladle handle and then gracefully walked back to her seat like everyone else. Along the way, she seemed to see many people smiling strangely at her.
After returning to her seat, when no one was paying attention, she brought the powder to her nose to smell it and then tasted it carefully with her tongue. She roughly knew what kind of poison it was.
This poison was called the Tasteless Powder. In fact, it still had a bit of a smell, but it wasn't very obvious when dissolved in water. Although it wasn't a highly toxic poison, it could still make people feel intense pain all over their bodies.
If an ordinary person was poisoned by this, they would probably suffer a lot. But who was Ji Feiyu? Since the Tasteless Powder was designed to make it hard to tell that someone was poisoned at first glance, she would add some "Plum Blossom Nightmare" that would cause red dots to appear on the skin to expose their scheme.
After that, the dishes were served during the banquet. Ji Feiyu excused herself, saying that she couldn't hold her liquor, and returned to her palace. On the way, when no one was looking, she swallowed a "Vermilion" pill that could cure all poisons and smeared some "Plum Blossom Nightmare" on her exposed skin.
Ji Feiyu lay down on the bed. She calculated the time when the Tasteless Powder should take effect and then started to scream in pain, each scream louder than the last. Before long, red rashes started to appear on her body, which scared the maids in Frost Blossom Palace.
"Quickly go and call His Majesty! Hurry!" The maids shouted in a panic, but Ji Feiyu thought it was funny in her heart.
The pain caused by the Tasteless Powder was a bit like the muscle soreness all over the body after getting drunk, and the effect lasted for three days. It was generally hard to notice. Ji Feiyu guessed that the person who came up with this plan must be very knowledgeable about pharmacology and only wanted to give her a small punishment.
The "Vermilion" pill was a special antidote. It wouldn't completely cure the poison immediately, but it could suppress the pain caused by the poison. So all she had to do was attract the attention of the imperial doctor. Once the doctor diagnosed her, they would know that she was poisoned.
Anyway, it was her who was poisoned. As long as she screamed in pain, others would think that she was really suffering. As long as she could attract Yong Yaxuan's attention, she didn't believe that he would ignore her.
"Ah—" Ji Feiyu's screams got louder and louder. Finally, the imperial doctor was called, and Yong Yaxuan also rushed over.
"What's going on!" The somewhat anxious emperor didn't disappoint Ji Feiyu. It was worth the little chat she had with him when opening the wine earlier.
"Your Majesty, Her Highness has been poisoned." The imperial doctor beside him replied respectfully.
"What kind of poison?" Yong Yaxuan asked.
"This poison is very strange. It should be a poison that causes pain all over the body and red rashes, but it looks as if the person is just drunk. I know of a poison called the Tasteless Powder, which should have such an effect. But the Tasteless Powder leaves no trace and won't cause red rashes on the body." The imperial doctor stroked his beard and thought for a moment. Then he said, "But Your Majesty, don't worry. This poison can be suppressed. I'll go and write a prescription for Her Highness right away."
"Alright, all of you can leave." His Majesty nodded, then sat down beside the bed and looked at her, asking softly, "Shuanghua, are you okay?"
Seeing this, Ji Feiyu quickly covered her face with the quilt and shouted, "Your Majesty, I'm so ugly. I'm afraid I'll scare Your Majesty!"
Yong Yaxuan said, "At a time like this, are you still afraid of me seeing you?"
Ji Feiyu said, "I can't show myself now. Please go back, Your Majesty."
Yong Yaxuan helplessly stroked her head and said, "If I leave, what if someone in this palace wants to harm you again?"
Ji Feiyu said, "Then just let me die. Anyway, if those people can poison me once, they'll do it a second time."
Yong Yaxuan laughed softly and mercilessly pointed out, "Come on, did you notice something? Otherwise, you shouldn't have left the banquet on your own initiative. Besides, if someone really wanted to poison you, why would they use such an obvious poison?"
Ji Feiyu's heart skipped a beat. Uh... had her act gone wrong? Had he found out?