Suddenly, a smile bloomed on Yu Huiyan's face, and the viciousness in her eyes vanished in an instant.
She had reverted to being the gentle and well - educated woman once again.
"Right now, there's really no way to discipline her."
A smug smile curled up on her lips. "I won't bother Sister Wanchu with her wedding dress embroidery. The martial examination is less than a month away. Sister Wanchu, you'd better hurry up."
As soon as Yu Huiyan left, Song Wanchu's face changed drastically.
"Quick, spit it out!"
She grabbed Yaoguang and was about to rush outside, scolding her involuntarily. "How dare you eat whatever she gives you!"
Yaoguang had a simple thought. "If I eat it, she won't be able to force Madam to eat it."
Suyue and Nanzhi, who had disliked Yaoguang so much before, were now extremely nervous.
"Miss, do we have any emetic pills?"
"Where are they? Hurry up and find them."
The two girls were bustling around in a flurry.
Yaoguang took the emetic pill and vomited out all the pea cakes she had just eaten.
She looked perfectly fine, and the color of her lips and fingernails was normal. There were no signs of poisoning.
"Madam, don't worry. I'm perfectly fine."
Yaoguang's self - sacrificing act made Song Wanchu inexplicably think of Liang Yuzhou at the palace banquet three years ago.
"Aren't you being stupid?"
Yaoguang wanted to shake her head but noticed that Madam's eyes were looking into the distance. It seemed like she was talking to her, yet not really.
Still worried, Song Wanchu asked Nanzhi to invite Shen Yuhe.
Shen Yuhe sniffed the residue of the pea cakes on the plate, picked up a small piece, and dropped a drop of a mysterious potion on it.
The piece of residue turned blue after being soaked in the potion.
Song Wanchu didn't know much about pharmacology, but looking at the strange blue color, she guessed that there must be something wrong with the plate of pea cakes.
"Ugh, such a heartless and vicious person!"
Shen Yuhe spat out in disgust. "There's 'Soul - startling Powder' in it!"
Just the name sounded like a poisonous drug!
Suyue looked at Yaoguang, on the verge of tears. "Then isn't Yaoguang poisoned?"
"Don't worry. This kind of poison won't work on people without heart diseases."
Shen Yuhe patted her on the back to comfort her.
"This poison contains aconite and nux vomica. If a person with a heart disease takes it, they will have arrhythmia and respiratory failure."
Song Wanchu's hands suddenly clenched tightly. Wasn't this the poison that the princess had forced her to drink?
"Is Liang Yuzhou not only blind but also stupid?"
Shen Yuhe deeply felt that it was unfair to Song Wanchu. "Does he have some special fetish to like a woman as venomous and ruthless as Yu Huiyan?"
Song Wanchu gave a sad smile. Liang Yuzhou and Yu Huiyan were both people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
In essence, they were the same kind of people.
Looking at the thin and haggard Song Wanchu, Shen Yuhe was so angry that her chest felt stuffy.
Having known Song Wanchu for many years, she had witnessed the once bright, charming, and smiling woman being gradually tortured by Liang Yuzhou until she lost her luster.
She was still stunningly beautiful, but she seemed like a walking corpse, just a gorgeous empty shell.
"Wanchu, didn't you say you would find a way to leave Liang Yuzhou? Now that he's about to marry Yu Huiyan, do you still expect him to have a conscience one day?"
Shen Yuhe had been waiting for the day when Wanchu would leave.
She had even thought about how to mock Liang Yuzhou to vent her anger.
"I... I'm not leaving." Song Wanchu lowered her head, her eyes slightly red.
Shen Yuhe didn't know that she had already failed to escape once.
That suffocating feeling of almost regaining freedom but then being forced back into the cage and falling into the abyss was something she couldn't bear, and she didn't want to struggle for survival anymore.
Shen Yuhe stared blankly at her empty eyes.
Wanchu, you were so determined to leave before. Why did you suddenly change your mind?
"Wanchu, if you need my help..."
Song Wanchu gently shook her head. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
"Can you help me prepare some of this Soul - startling Powder?"
The Shen family was a medical family. Doctor Shen had set strict rules for the younger generation who studied medicine.
The first rule was that they were not allowed to use poison to harm others, let alone help others use poison to harm others.
Shen Yuhe knew that Wanchu would never use poison to harm others.
But was she going to use this poison...
"Wanchu, there's hope only if you live. Please don't do anything stupid!"
She suddenly grabbed Song Wanchu's hands tightly, her eyes trembling.
Song Wanchu held her hands back and smiled calmly. "It's not what you think. I'm not that stupid."
Yu Huiyan's actions towards her were no longer just simple provocations.
She had orchestrated a "caught in adultery" drama behind the scenes, trying to completely ruin her reputation and push her into hell.
Now, she openly brought the poison to her and wanted to make Princess Jiahe take the blame for her.
If she was doomed to be in a fight with her, she would never just sit back and do nothing.
"Okay, give me seven days. I'll send it to you as soon as it's ready."
The two of them talked intimately for a long time. In the evening, Song Wanchu personally sent Shen Yuhe to the front gate.
Not long after Shen Yuhe's carriage left, Liang Yuzhou came back.
He dismounted his horse neatly and quickly.
When he saw Song Wanchu, his sword - like eyebrows frowned slightly on his cold face.
Liang Yuzhou walked towards her, covered in the glow of the sunset.
Song Wanchu gave him a cold glance and turned to leave.
It was a great disrespect for a concubine not to pay respects to the master.
Anyway, her situation couldn't get any worse, so why should she still abide by so many rules?
Liang Yuzhou grabbed her slender wrist, his anger palpable. "You're dressed so thinly and standing in the wind. Don't you know your own physical condition?"
He took off his outer robe and was about to put it on Song Wanchu.
"Achoo!"
A sneeze sounded just in time. Yu Huiyan walked towards Liang Yuzhou with a big smile on her face and in a hurry.
"Cousin, you're back."
Caidie behind her complained worriedly. "Miss, why are you walking so fast? It's cold at night. You didn't even have time to put on a coat."
"I... I just wanted to see cousin quickly."
Yu Huiyan looked at Liang Yuzhou affectionately, her eyes shy and full of longing. "Cousin, I cooked a whole table of dishes myself. Aunt said it's been a long time since our family had a reunion dinner. Come to Fragrant Snow Pavilion for dinner tonight."
The autumn wind made her nose red. She blew on her hands and shivered slightly.
Liang Yuzhou's face was as cold as ice, and his eyes were always fixed on Song Wanchu.
Song Wanchu curled her lips sarcastically. "I won't delay Second Master from having a reunion dinner with Miss Yu."
She left without hesitation. Yu Huiyan felt extremely happy now that the annoying person was gone. She happily wrapped her arm around Liang Yuzhou's.
As if by accident, she got into the robe that Liang Yuzhou had opened.
"Thank you, cousin." She blushed shyly and pulled the robe closer to her body.
It was the scent she had been longing for...
Liang Yuzhou stared at Song Wanchu's back, his eyebrows furrowed deeply.
At the dinner table, Yu Huiyan eagerly served Liang Yuzhou food. Princess Jiahe chattered on and on about the dowry and betrothal gifts.
It seemed as if she had already forgotten that not long ago, she had made a fool of herself while asking for the betrothal gifts, which had made the Duke's Mansion the laughingstock of the noble families in the capital for a long time.
Liang Yuzhou put down his chopsticks with a "click".
"Mother, it's been less than two months since Yu Rongbai died. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to talk about Yu Huiyan's marriage now?"