When the Crown Prince rushed to the Rong Mansion upon hearing the news, there were already several carriages parked in front of the main gate.
He walked in such a hurry that he almost broke into a run, and the people following him were in a flurry of footsteps.
In the Rong Lady's bedroom, people were coming and going. Some were carrying hot water, some were holding medicine jars, and some were fetching medicinal herbs. Faintly, stifled sobs could be heard from inside.
The Crown Prince's heart tightened, as if he couldn't breathe.
He lifted the curtain and saw Cheng Simian leaning against the doorframe of the inner chamber, tightly clutching a string of bead curtains in her hand.
She stood there quietly, staring intently at the unconscious Rong Lady without blinking. Big teardrops rolled down her cheeks.
Hearing the footsteps, she mechanically looked up.
Their eyes met.
The Crown Prince opened his arms and rushed towards her.
"Your Highness!"
The moment her head nestled into his embrace, Cheng Simian choked with sobs.
Her slender white fingers tightly grasped his collar, as if finally reaching the shore after drifting on the vast sea for days.
Her whole body was trembling, and her long eyelashes fluttered constantly. Beneath them were a pair of terrified and tearful eyes.
It was as if an iron hand had mercilessly seized his heart, tugging it with piercing pain.
This was the first time he had seen Mianmian cry.
Back then, when she encountered a vicious rapist on her way to the capital, she didn't cry. When she was harassed and intimidated by the concubines even before entering the mansion, she didn't cry. When she was framed by Qin Xuanyan for carrying obscene items, she didn't cry.
She always seemed so steady, calm, and tough.
So much so that the Crown Prince almost forgot that she also had her weaknesses.
She was determined to return to the capital for revenge in order to rescue her mother from that mire.
She also had someone she cared about!
And he had only seen her intelligence, quick - wittedness, and outstanding abilities. He had so easily entrusted her with the dangerous task of investigating the inner courtyard of the Qin Mansion!
He was so damned!
But now he was sober and knew that Mianmian didn't need his repentance or apology at this moment.
She needed a shoulder to lean on and someone to listen to her cries.
The Crown Prince let out a long breath, hugged Cheng Simian tighter, and said with a trembling voice, "Your mother will surely be fine. Don't be afraid. I'm here."
This simple consolation seemed to have an effect. Cheng Simian stopped sobbing, and her cold and stiff body gradually warmed up.
Inside the bedroom, Rong Lady's condition was still heart - wrenching.
Shen Yuhe was applying acupuncture to Rong Lady. She had also brought a female disciple, who was using jade stones boiled in hot water to scrape Rong Lady's abdomen from bottom to top.
Finally, Rong Lady let out a pained cry in her coma, and Shen Yuhe quickly helped her sit up.
A jar full of medicinal soup was brought to Rong Lady's nose.
Rong Lady smelled the strong odor of the medicinal soup and vomited "wow".
It was a mouthful of thick black blood.
"Mother!"
Cheng Simian rushed to the couch and supported Rong Lady's back.
Rong Lady was still groggy. Her eyes barely opened a slit, and she was too weak to speak.
The mother and daughter hugged each other, shedding silent tears.
Shen Yuhe let out a sigh of relief and showed a refreshing smile. "Mianmian, Madam is fine. Look!"
The purple - black color on Rong Lady's fingernails was fading at a visible speed.
"Although this poison is very dangerous, Madam didn't consume much of it. Since the treatment was timely, the poison has been forced out of her body. However, Madam has over - exhausted her physical strength, and vomiting blood has damaged her vital energy. She needs to be carefully nursed for a period of time."
"Thank you, Yuhe. If you hadn't arrived in time..."
Shen Yuhe's Benevolent Heart Medical Hall was just across the street from the Rong Mansion.
Within a quarter of an hour after Rong Lady was poisoned, Steward Chen had invited Shen Yuhe over.
It was a great blessing in the midst of misfortune that the two baskets of cherries that Cheng Simian had prepared for Song Wanchu and Shen Yuhe hadn't been delivered yet.
The Crown Prince's face was solemn, and his eyes were filled with surging anger.
"What kind of poison is it that is so powerful?"
The two cherries that Rong Lady had eaten had been washed twice.
The remaining toxicity had almost cost her life.
In the Crown Prince's chest, his heart was pounding. He didn't dare to think about what would have happened if Mianmian had eaten that plate of cherries...
A world - destroying hatred welled up in his heart!
Shen Yuhe took an unwashed cherry, pricked it with a silver needle, and soaked it in the medicinal liquid.
"Your Highness, it's red arsenic."
Red arsenic was the most poisonous medicine in the world. Just a fingernail - sized amount could poison an elephant!
The Crown Prince's eyes were blood - red, as if they were about to spew fire.
"Red arsenic." He said each word slowly, as if chewing his hatred to pieces. "No matter who poisoned her, I will surely make him die a miserable death!"
Liang Yuzhou and Song Wanchu also rushed over upon hearing the news.
The Crown Prince was giving an order.
"Go and summon Shi Jinglu, the Minister of the Supreme Court. I want him to personally oversee the case of poisoning the Crown Princess!"
"Inappropriate."
A calm voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone's gazes turned to Cheng Simian.
Her emotions had calmed down. Her eyes were clear and calm, but her eye sockets were still a bit red.
"Mianmian, why..."
The Crown Prince was stunned for a moment. Didn't Mianmian most urgently want to find out who the poisoner was?
Why did she stop him from giving the order?
Cheng Simian slowly stood up, looked at everyone, and said, "It's in a mess here. Let's go somewhere else to talk."
Although Rong Lady's poison had been cured, her internal organs had been damaged. Shen Yuhe left a prescription.
Cheng Simian arranged for the servants to fetch and decoct the medicine. Several loyal and considerate maids took turns to guard beside Rong Lady's couch.
They were told to report any situation in time.
She, the Crown Prince, Liang Yuzhou, and Song Wanchu went to a quiet room to discuss.
Liang Yuzhou thought for a moment and then said, "Your Highness, what the Crown Princess said is reasonable. We can guess who the poisoner is without an investigation. If we really conduct a high - profile investigation, we may alert the enemy. In the end, we may only find a scapegoat."
"Those in power hold the right to speak. Even if the truth is obvious, they can still distort right and wrong and find a scapegoat."
Song Wanchu's eyes were deep. She was too familiar with the insidious tricks in the inner courtyard. "In the matter of the erotic pictures, even a fool could tell that the Qin family, in alliance with the Second Prince, had set a trap for Mianmian. But the Queen chose not to expose the last layer of the window paper. So, Lady Yang could tell a blatant lie and push Hongrui out to take the blame."
The Queen chose to let the matter rest because Qin Feng was a high - ranking official, the Second Prince was the emperor's own son, and Concubine Lan was a favored concubine.
If the matter was thoroughly investigated, it would damage the emperor's face.
So, some things were understood by everyone without saying. From the highest level of power, the last layer of the window paper was not to be exposed.
Everyone still maintained a decent appearance on the surface.
"The poisoning incident is indeed vicious, but Qin Feng must be scared and acting recklessly."
Liang Yuzhou analyzed carefully. "This time, he took a risky move, which is equivalent to exposing his true intentions to Your Highness. It's equivalent to openly siding with Lu Siming. Moreover, there are too many uncontrollable factors in the middle, and the probability of failure is extremely high. It's really not a wise move."
"If we don't investigate this matter, it's hard to quell my hatred! Even if we can't pin it on Qin Feng, we should find out all the participants one by one and make an example of them!"
The Crown Prince's eyes were filled with surging killing intent.
Liang Yuzhou and Song Wanchu exchanged a glance.
They both understood that the Crown Prince had become so un - calm because he cared too much about Cheng Simian.
But Cheng Simian was thinking more deeply and far - sightedly than the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, this basket of cherries was picked from the royal orchard, sent to the Imperial Household Department. The people in the department selected them, and then someone sent them to the Eastern Palace. After another round of selection in the Eastern Palace, they were finally delivered to me. How many hands did they pass through in the middle? The cherries could have been poisoned at any stage. If we investigate, it may involve hundreds of people and shock the whole court."
The Crown Prince was shocked but also deeply touched.
Mianmian had thought one step further than him.
Although the poisoning incident was extremely bad, if he insisted on investigating it at the official level, he might be impeached by some officials with ulterior motives.
They might say that he was making a mountain out of a molehill and disturbing the whole court for the sake of his woman.
His Crown Princess had suffered a great disaster, yet she still cared about his reputation and image.
"Mianmian!" He was excited. He tightly embraced Cheng Simian into his arms, not caring that there were others present. He kissed her red lips and whispered softly, "Sometimes, I wish you weren't so virtuous!"
Song Wanchu didn't know whether to sit or stand. She just wanted to disappear on the spot.
Liang Yuzhou hooked her finger and showed a mischievous smile. "Wanchu, how about we also give each other a kiss?"