When Xiang Ye walked out with the medicine bowl, she was still in a daze, not quite coming to her senses.
Just then, Song Yinghuai had just returned from consoling Concubine Yao. Seeing Xiang Ye, he casually asked, "Did she drink it?"
It was the first time Xiang Ye had a face - to - face conversation with Song Yinghuai. Startled by his cold and deep voice, she blushed and replied, "Yes... she did."
Song Yinghuai waved her away and walked in.
Seeing that Cai Yu had changed into a new set of clothes and was neatly groomed, he ordered, "Since you're feeling better, pack up and return to the mansion!"
Looking at him, Cai Yu remembered what had happened in the cave. Feeling too ashamed to face him for the time being, she just gave a perfunctory response and turned around.
However—
Suddenly, she opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her face quickly turned black...
Hearing the commotion, Song Yinghuai frowned deeply. "Are you acting again..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he sensed something was wrong.
Cai Yu's complexion couldn't be faked. She had been poisoned again!
He took a step forward, picked Cai Yu up in his arms, and carried her back to the bed. He angrily demanded, "What kind of poison did you take again?!"
Cai Yu felt dizzy. Before she fell into a coma, she grabbed Song Yinghuai's arm and gasped, "The medicine..."
Song Yinghuai reacted quickly. He immediately shouted outside the tent, "Han Fen! Catch the maid who brought the medicine just now!"
Xiang Ye hadn't gone far when she was caught and dragged back. Screaming all the way, she was thrown into the tent and fell to the ground, not knowing what was going on.
Before she could look up, Han Fen kicked her to the ground. Then Song Yinghuai's cold and stern voice sounded above her head. "Who gave you the guts to poison someone right under my nose!"
Xiang Ye let out a shrill scream and rolled on the ground. Then she crawled back wailing like a ghost, "My lord, this slave is innocent! This slave doesn't know what's going on... this slave is wronged..."
The doctor was led in again. Seeing the strong smell of blood and the killing intent inside, he quickly shrank his neck and felt Cai Yu's pulse.
Song Yinghuai left Xiang Ye kneeling on the ground. His eyes were sharp. The dim light shone on his eyebrows, making him look sinister, cold, like a rock without temperature.
After the doctor withdrew his hand, he reported, "My lord, Miss Cai Yu has a new poison in her body... it's cinnabar poison."
Cinnabar is a medicinal herb that can detoxify, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. But an overdose can cause poisoning, leading to difficulty breathing and coma.
The doctor had indeed prescribed a dose of cinnabar in Cai Yu's prescription.
He quickly asked, "The cinnabar I prescribed was only one qian. It's impossible to be an overdose. Where is the dregs of the medicine Miss Cai Yu just took?"
"Here." Han Fen held a medicine bowl in his hand. He had snatched it from Xiang Ye on the way.
The doctor pinched some dregs from the bottom of the bowl and smelled them. Immediately, his face changed drastically. "This cinnabar is at least ten times more than the normal amount! No wonder Miss Cai Yu..."
"First, find a way to detoxify her." Song Yinghuai ordered, then walked towards Xiang Ye.
Xiang Ye was kneeling on the ground, trembling violently. Finally, she understood the reason.
Suddenly, she crawled two steps forward on her knees and kowtowed to Song Yinghuai. "My lord! This slave is innocent! This slave is innocent! This slave put the medicine according to the prescription..."
Song Yinghuai stood in front of her, looking down at her with a contemptuous gaze, as if she were a dead thing.
"I've always been lenient to the people in the mansion. I didn't expect you girls to be so ungrateful, causing all sorts of troubles and making a mess of the Lotus Sound Pavilion..."
"How did you steal the cinnabar? Speak!"
Xiang Ye couldn't say a word. Her mind was in a complete mess. Apart from frantically defending herself that it wasn't her doing, she didn't know how to explain anything else.
Song Yinghuai was too impatient to listen anymore. "Since you're not willing to speak, drag her out and throw her off the cliff!"
Hearing this, Xiang Ye went limp and collapsed on the ground, tears and snot streaming down her face.
Han Fen stepped forward to drag Xiang Ye out. However, they heard Cai Yu's weak voice, "Wait..."
Han Fen stopped in his tracks and looked at Cai Yu, who was weakly opening her eyes.
Song Yinghuai frowned. "Do you have any opinions?"
Cai Yu had just been revived by the doctor's silver needles to expel the poison. Her breath was still unsteady, but her mind was extremely clear.
"My lord... has any cinnabar gone missing from the doctor's apprentice?"
The accompanying apprentice quickly replied with a pale face, "No cinnabar is missing. I weighed one qian of cinnabar in front of Miss Xiang Ye. The accounts are clear. The amount before weighing and the current amount just differ by one qian. You can even check the weight of the cinnabar in the medicine box. There's definitely no mistake!"
"Then it wasn't Xiang Ye who poisoned her." Cai Yu said.
Hearing this, Xiang Ye's tears rolled down. "Miss Cai Yu, please see the truth. It really wasn't me who poisoned her!"
Song Yinghuai gave her a surprised look.
He thought that since these maids had been making things difficult for Cai Yu, she would take the opportunity to get rid of her rivals. But he didn't expect that she was actually saving someone.
"Even if she didn't steal it from the medicine box, she might have stolen it from somewhere else." Song Yinghuai judged coldly.
"My lord is a Buddhist. Why do you have so much hostility?" Cai Yu scolded gently. "If she stole it from somewhere else, there should be physical evidence!"
Song Yinghuai raised his eyebrows and silently scrutinized Cai Yu.
It wasn't that he was full of hostility. He was really annoyed by the repeated scheming and infighting among the women.
At first, Concubine Yao had forced these girls into the Lotus Sound Pavilion. If they had all been well - behaved, it would have been fine. But their endless intrigues made him want to dismiss these maids.
But seeing Cai Yu like this, it seemed that she was going to interfere and stand up for others.
He slowly said, "Oh? Then what's your idea?"
Cai Yu coughed lightly and struggled to sit up from the couch. "My lord, this slave remembers that Huaping has a string of cinnabar beads on her wrist."
Xiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then realized. "Yes! Sister Huaping does have a string of cinnabar beads! When we were boiling the medicine today, the three of us were all by the stove! It must be Huaping who threw the cinnabar into the medicine!"
There was a flash of hatred in her eyes.
On weekdays, they called each other sisters affectionately. She never thought that Huaping would try to kill someone by proxy!
If it weren't for Cai Yu's righteousness, she would have been thrown off the cliff by now!
Huaping was quickly pushed in by Han Fen. Han Fen was still holding a string of cinnabar beads in his hand.
Song Yinghuai took them from Han Fen and slowly twirled the dark - red cinnabar beads.
He sat in the middle of the armchair, his long legs slightly apart. His calm and composed posture was like that of a king.
Looking at his fingers twirling the cinnabar beads, Cai Yu's heart suddenly started pounding. Song Yinghuai's low and seductive voice from the cave suddenly flashed through her mind.
"You often see me twirling the prayer beads. Have you ever wondered how it would feel if my fingers were on your body?"
In a place where no one knew, how dexterous his fingers were, driving her almost crazy with desire.
Cai Yu suddenly felt her body tense up, and her breathing quickened a little.
Fortunately, Song Yinghuai put down the cinnabar beads. "Twenty beads."
He leaned forward, looking down at Huaping intently. "Where's the other one?"
In the customs of Daye, the number of beads on a bracelet is always odd.
Huaping's eyes fluttered nervously. "My lord, my lord... this slave, this slave doesn't know either. One bead was lost a few years ago..."
Cai Yu said, "If one bead was lost a few years ago, why didn't you match it with another one?"
Huaping was stunned. "This..."
Song Yinghuai sneered. "You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Drag her down and beat her until she tells the truth!"
Huaping was terrified. The scene of Bailu being beaten with a cane was still vivid in her mind.
Bailu had only received a minor punishment. This time, it seemed that Song Yinghuai was determined to punish her. She would be beaten to death!
Before Han Fen could drag her away, she couldn't bear it anymore. She cried out loudly, "My lord, please spare my life! This slave will confess! This slave will confess..."