A few more days passed. Xiao Xin still brought that bottle of poison to Dongfang Yi every day. When bringing it, she would keep her head down and say nothing, but her hands trembled nervously.
Dongfang Yi really thought in her heart that Xiao Xin was not good at acting. It was to be expected that Concubine Chu's plan would be ruined by her.
However, she still pretended not to know anything. Every time, she would dismiss Xiao Xin on the pretext of wanting to apply the medicine herself. After using the medicine, she would say that her wound had somehow gotten worse. Only after seeing Xiao Xin's even more panicked expression would she let out a cold snort.
One day, when Xiao Xin came to deliver the medicine again, Dongfang Yi was half - reclined on a stool, squinting her eyes and eating grapes. Seeing the person coming, she suddenly asked, "Xiao Xin, do you know why my wound hasn't healed for so long?"
Xiao Xin lowered her head and replied in an obviously nervous tone, "This servant... this servant doesn't know."
"Oh? You don't know?" Dongfang Yi stopped eating grapes, stood up, and walked in front of her.
Xiao Xin knelt on the ground in fear and said, "Your Ladyship... Xiao Xin really doesn't know..."
"Hehe..." Dongfang Yi suddenly let out a cold laugh, and then said, "Then what kind of medicine are you holding in your hand!"
Hearing this, Xiao Xin looked up in surprise with wide - open eyes. So she had already known. Then, as if giving up on something, she sat down on the ground on her knees, with her tear - stained face showing despair.
"Concubine Chu instructed you, right!" Dongfang Yi looked down at the woman on the ground with a sidelong glance.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Xin just kept shaking her head and then said, "It was all done by this servant alone..."
Dongfang Yi couldn't help but let out a cold snort. She thought to herself what Concubine Chu had given this woman that made her defend her even when facing death... Suddenly, Dongfang Yi seemed to think of something. She remembered that Xiao Xin had an old mother outside the palace. The confusion in her heart was instantly solved.
"Concubine Chu threatened you with your mother, right?" Dongfang Yi lowered her head and asked her.
Xiao Xin seemed to lose control. She sat on the ground and cried loudly. While crying, she said, "Your Ladyship, Xiao Xin deserves to die... Concubine Chu threatened this servant with her mother. This servant had no choice..."
Dongfang Yi let out a cold snort and replied to her, "You do deserve to die. Betraying me, of course you deserve to die. But your mistake is that you naively thought that as long as I was eliminated, Concubine Chu would spare you and your mother!"
Xiao Xin suddenly stopped crying on the ground. She quickly crawled on her knees to Dongfang Yi's feet, grabbed the corner of her dress, and pleaded, "Your Ladyship, it's all this servant's fault. Please, Your Ladyship... save this servant's mother!"
Dongfang Yi looked coldly at the woman at her feet. There was not the slightest ripple in her heart. For those who betrayed her, no matter what the reason was, she would never forgive them again.
Immediately, she flicked her sleeve, turned around, and returned to the chair. She continued to hold the plate of grapes and popped them into her mouth one by one.
"It's not impossible for this palace to save her, but you have to do something for this palace." After saying that, she told Xiao Xin to come closer and listen.
Dongfang Yi wasn't that stupid. She knew that even if she took Xiao Xin to identify Concubine Chu, she definitely couldn't bring her down. So she came up with a plan.
She was going to use Xiao Xin to lure Concubine Chu out. When they met, she would catch them in the act. In return for her promise, she would protect Xiao Xin's mother's safety.
Xiao Xin nodded, wiped the tears from her face, and then kowtowed heavily to Dongfang Yi and said, "This servant thanks Your Ladyship!"
After saying that, she left the Queen's Palace and headed in the direction of Concubine Chu's Palace.
Dongfang Yi originally had little influence in the palace. But after the last incognito visit, in order to protect her, Helian Qi gave Donghua to her as a secret guard after returning to the palace. Now, as long as she sent out the signal, Donghua would appear in the palace within a quarter of an hour.
After Xiao Xin left the palace gate, Dongfang Yi took out the signal firework that Helian Qi had given her and set it off into the sky. Within a quarter of an hour, Donghua appeared in front of her.
"What are Your Ladyship's orders?" Donghua asked. She was wearing a night - suit this time, and even had a black veil on her face, making it impossible to see her features.
"I'm going to send you to protect someone..." Dongfang Yi told her about Xiao Xin's mother.
After hearing this, Donghua said yes and disappeared from the Queen's Palace again.
Next, Dongfang Yi waited in the palace for nightfall. Her plan was that as soon as it got dark today, Xiao Xin would go to Concubine Chu's palace to get new poison and stay in her palace to tell her about her situation. At that time, Dongfang Yi would go there with Helian Qi. With both the witness and the evidence there, she was sure that Concubine Chu couldn't escape.
As it gradually got dark, Xiao Xin kowtowed to Dongfang Yi. After Dongfang Yi assured her that she would definitely protect her mother's safety, she rushed to Concubine Chu's palace.
Within the time it took to burn an incense stick, Helian Qi also arrived at her palace. Dongfang Yi told him about tonight's plan. At first, Helian Qi frowned. He was a bit angry that such a rebellious thing had happened in the inner palace.
Later, after hearing the plan, he was a bit in admiration of her patience and courage. So the two of them headed towards Concubine Chu's palace.
On the other side, in Concubine Chu's palace, her personal maid told her that Xiao Xin would come here to get new medicine today. But she still hadn't come after the agreed time. Concubine Chu couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
After a while, she heard the announcement that the Emperor had arrived.
Dongfang Yi followed Helian Qi into Concubine Chu's palace gate, but didn't see the scene she had expected.
All she could see was Concubine Chu coming out to greet them. Where was there any trace of Xiao Xin?
Dongfang Yi couldn't help but frown. She thought that maybe Xiao Xin had changed her mind at the last minute, but then she denied it herself. She knew that Xiao Xin wouldn't bet her mother's life.
"This concubine welcomes Your Majesty and the Queen—"
Concubine Chu bowed to the two of them. She thought to herself that it was lucky that Xiao Xin hadn't come to get the medicine on time today. Otherwise, everything between them would have been exposed.
Even though Dongfang Yi had many doubts in her heart, she had no evidence to say that Concubine Chu was the one who wanted to harm her. A surge of anger welled up in her chest.
After a while, a guard reported that a maid's body had just been found in the imperial garden. It was suspected to be Xiao Xin, the personal maid in the Queen's palace.
Hearing the guard's words, Dongfang Yi was shocked on the surface. For a moment, she didn't care about her dignity as the Queen. She lifted her feet and ran out of the palace. Helian Qi frowned when he saw her like this. He looked back at Concubine Chu, but there was nothing unusual about her. Then he quickly followed Dongfang Yi to the imperial garden.
When they arrived at the imperial garden, there were already many palace people surrounding Xiao Xin's body. When they saw the Queen and the Emperor coming, they quickly dispersed.
Finally, the imperial doctor diagnosed that Xiao Xin had been killed by having her neck broken.
Dongfang Yi looked at the lifeless Xiao Xin lying on the ground. She still held the green medicine bottle tightly in her hand, with a terrified expression on her face.
Who on earth did this? She didn't think it was Concubine Chu who killed Xiao Xin. Concubine Chu couldn't have discovered that today was a trap set by Xiao Xin. So it meant that there was someone else in the palace, silently helping Concubine Chu and going against her.