I'm Not Going to Change!
Song Yinghuai was stunned by Caiyu's words. He stared at her in shock, as if he couldn't believe his ears, and asked, "What did you say?"
Caiyu repeated angrily, "Your servant said that if your Highness can't accept it, your servant is not going to change!"
"You..."
"Your Highness needn't threaten your servant. Your servant has already memorized the prescription just now. I'm sure the Crown Prince's men will take action tonight. Your servant thinks that instead of getting angry here, your Highness should prioritize the important matter."
"Lan Caiyu!"
"Your servant will go back right away to copy the prescription for your Highness. Your servant takes her leave!"
After saying that, Caiyu left without waiting for Song Yinghuai to scold her.
She was so angry!
She was grateful to Song Yinghuai for his efforts on behalf of the Lan family, but it didn't mean she had no independent thoughts.
It didn't mean she had lost her freedom either.
If he really couldn't accept it, after she went down the mountain this time and rescued her family, she would rather go back to Yanmen Pass with her family than stay by his side!
Song Yinghuai watched Caiyu's quickly disappearing back, fuming with anger but having nowhere to vent.
She was really going against him!
She was a woman with a master, but she was so unchaste, using her body to seduce other men to achieve her goal.
She didn't show any sign of self - reflection and was even so self - righteous!
There were so many ways in the world, but why did she have to use the beauty trap?
This was something that Song Yinghuai, a powerful and high - ranking man in command of heavy troops, couldn't understand.
He didn't put himself in Caiyu's shoes and think about what other methods a woman like Caiyu could use besides the beauty trap to achieve her goal.
He just didn't want Caiyu's body to be seen by other men.
And two men had seen it!
That night, under the silent Xixia Temple, there was an undercurrent surging.
Sure enough, the Crown Prince Song Chengyuan's men took action.
But fortunately, Song Yinghuai had made preparations in advance. The troops lurking at various points waited for the right moment and surrounded the four poisoners.
Finally, three of them bit their tongues and committed suicide, but Han Fen captured one alive. After severe torture and secret interrogation, this man confessed that he was a close relative of the steward's family in the Crown Prince's Mansion.
After hearing the confession, Song Yinghuai remained silent.
Even if it was a close relative of the steward in the Crown Prince's Mansion, or even if the Crown Prince himself was caught poisoning, it might not be possible to bring down the Crown Prince at once.
He had learned this lesson since the last time in Chengde Hall.
All the unfavorable evidence against Song Chengyuan was just like scratching an itch through boots.
He just nodded and said, "The prescription has been obtained. The princess has already arranged for people to boil the medicinal soup during the day. Immediately order people to distribute it to the people on the mountain."
"Those who are fine should drink one dose for prevention, and those who are sick should be taken good care of."
Han Fen asked, "What should we do with the poisoner?"
Song Yinghuai pondered for a moment and said, "First, order someone to watch him closely, and then spread the news that a poisoner has been captured on the mountain."
If Song Chengyuan heard this news, he would surely panic and dare not cause any more trouble.
Under Song Yinghuai's command, things were quickly carried out one by one.
Sure enough.
The anti - plague medicinal soup worked like a charm. In just a few days, the patients with mild symptoms were basically cured.
The critically ill patients were also gradually improving and were no longer in danger of losing their lives.
As for Song Chengyuan, after hearing that three of the four men he sent were dead and one was captured, he was silent for a while.
Such a serious crime made even Song Chengyuan, who was usually willful, worried that he would be punished by Emperor Guangwu!
Song Chengyuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He beat up Lu Baiwei, who had just recovered, again. "It was your stupid idea! Now the men have been captured, and I can't escape being implicated! What else can you do now?"
Lu Baiwei was beaten black and blue, but she felt extremely happy in her heart.
She just wanted to see Song Chengyuan punished by Emperor Guangwu!
Even if they couldn't remove his position as the Crown Prince, it would still make her very happy to see him in trouble!
"Your Highness!" Lu Baiwei cried, "Your concubine has no other way! How about your Highness writing a letter of apology and sending it back to Shangjing before the Prince of Yan? This way, we can prevent the Emperor from flying into a rage when he suddenly hears about this."
Apologize first?
Song Chengyuan thought this was a good idea.
At least his father would be a little softer on him for his willingness to admit his mistake voluntarily.
Song Chengyuan quickly went to find someone to write the letter and left Lu Baiwei in the Buddhist monastery.
Aunt Mei managed to get up and helped her up, asking worriedly, "Why did you help the Crown Prince excuse himself, my lady?"
Lu Baiwei sat back on the bed with her bruised lips trembling. "If I didn't stabilize him for the time being, what if he beats me to death?"
Aunt Mei looked at her black - and - blue body and felt extremely heart - broken. "Then what should we do? We finally managed to let the Prince of Yan steal the credit and the Crown Prince suffered heavy losses. If we don't strike while the iron is hot..."
Lu Baiwei's cheeks twitched in pain. She forced herself to concentrate and asked, "Has that dead girl Qingqing sneaked back?"
"She's back. She's hiding in the mountains." When Aunt Mei mentioned Qingqing, she couldn't help showing her hatred on her face. "My lady, are you still counting on that ungrateful thing?"
Lu Baiwei rubbed the painful area and said with a split lip, "There are advantages to being ungrateful. She just has her own thoughts as she grows up. If I go along with her a little, I can still use her slowly... Go and call her back to see me!"
That night.
Qingqing, who should have been in the Prince of Yan's Mansion in Shangjing, reappeared in Lu Baiwei's Buddhist monastery.
"My lady, what are your orders?" Qingqing asked listlessly.
Lu Baiwei glanced at her. Seeing that she was in a low mood and listless, she curled her lips and asked "concernedly",
"What's wrong? Are you tired after staying in the cave for so long?"
"I'm not tired. I was born into a slave family in Tartary. I've suffered much more than this since childhood. Staying in the cave for a few days is nothing. I've received a lot of training to get into the Zhuque Camp. I can bear this kind of hardship."
Qingqing paused for a moment, with her eyelids drooping, still looking gloomy.
She would secretly watch Sheng Jiangli from a distance every day. Seeing Sheng Jiangli taking care of Caiyu so meticulously, she felt heart - broken.
Lu Baiwei's eyes flickered slightly. She seemed to have guessed the reason.
Indeed, Sheng Jiangli was so charming and had a natural charm that attracted women. It was normal for Qingqing, who was just in the first flush of love, to fall in love with him.
That was just right...
Lu Baiwei said, "The Crown Prince wanted to poison the water source, and one of his men was captured by Xuan Yao."
Qingqing nodded. "I've heard about this. Isn't this a good thing? The Crown Prince will be implicated. It's a happy thing for you, my lady!"
Lu Baiwei frowned and sighed. "That's exactly the problem... I heard that Xuan Yao doesn't plan to report this to the Emperor."
"Why is that?" Qingqing asked in surprise, widening her eyes.
Lu Baiwei lowered her eyelids and said softly, "Maybe the Crown Prince made a deal with Xuan Yao by letting him gain merit and not making things difficult for him anymore... I'm not sure about the specific situation. Anyway, Xuan Yao doesn't plan to pursue the matter of the Crown Prince's poisoning. He just plans to return to the court tomorrow to receive the reward."
"Outrageous!" Qingqing, who was unaware of the truth, was immediately angry. "Such a thing as poisoning and harming the common people, yet the Prince just let it go so easily. Then won't your plan to bring down the Crown Prince fail, my lady?"
Lu Baiwei nodded regretfully. "Yes! I'm also very unwilling... Ask Caiyu. I think she must be unwilling too."
"Sister Caiyu?" Qingqing looked at her in confusion.
Lu Baiwei looked back at her in surprise. "You can't not know the merits that Caiyu has made this time in catching the Crown Prince's poisoning and solving the plague, right? She hates the Crown Prince's evil deeds deeply and has tried several times to make the matter of the Crown Prince's poisoning public."
"It does sound like Sister Caiyu's character." Qingqing pondered. "But if the Prince doesn't agree, she can't do anything about it."
Lu Baiwei looked at Qingqing with a smile. "There is a way... Xuan Yao puts the overall situation of the court first and doesn't dare to go too far against the Crown Prince. But both I and Caiyu are just women. We just want to completely remove the cancer of the Crown Prince from the court."
She held Qingqing's hand and said to the little girl weakly and helplessly,
"Qingqing, look at what the Crown Prince did to me after his failure this time... I'm so afraid that he will beat me to death after we return to Shangjing!"
"Qingqing, help me one more time. Help me rescue the poisoner and let Caiyu take him as a witness to sue the Emperor and make the Crown Prince's evil deeds public!"