Ying Tao sensed something was amiss and quickly grabbed Shi Ning'an's hand. "Miss, this is really strange," she said.
Shi Ning'an also stopped in her tracks. It was indeed odd. This place seemed to have been deliberately cleaned up. However, on the other side of the river, the guards on the bridge were still faintly visible.
Ying Tao asked, "Miss, should we go over there?"
Shi Ning'an hesitated for a moment. Should she go over there for help and then come back to look for Rong Sui?
Your fiancé won't be yours tomorrow.
Shi Ning'an's eyes narrowed. What would Rong Sui do? What did Shi Qingmei want her to see? Or did she want to alarm everyone and let them all see something?
She didn't think for long. Shaking her head, she led Ying Tao out of sight of those on the other side of the river and walked along the wall towards the North Courtyard.
There were no guards at the door, and they didn't see anyone along the way.
The North Courtyard was quite large, with row upon row of houses. The front part was probably where the guards of the Beijing Garrison changed their clothes, while the back was where they rested.
Shi Ning'an walked through the corridor to the back living quarters. As soon as she arrived, she smelled a strange fragrance.
"Don't breathe in," she warned.
The mistress and the maid covered their noses with their sleeves. Ying Tao was quick-witted. Seeing a well nearby, she immediately took out her handkerchief, fetched some water, and soaked it.
Shi Ning'an smelled the water on the handkerchief and nodded, indicating that it was usable. Then they covered their mouths and noses with the wet handkerchiefs.
Ying Tao looked around for a moment and pointed to a house on the west side with its curtains drawn. "Miss, it should be there," she said.
Shi Ning'an didn't hesitate and quickly walked over. The fragrance was stronger here, but there was also a strong smell of blood mixed in.
Shi Ning'an and Ying Tao glanced at each other.
Ying Tao stepped forward to take a look. The door was locked from the outside. She tried to break the lock with her hand, but it didn't budge. A long cut appeared on her hand.
Shi Ning'an was extremely surprised. "Is this lock specially made?"
Ying Tao nodded. "Not only the lock, but the whole door is also specially made."
Was this to prevent people from escaping?
Ying Tao tried the window beside the door. It was the same. Without tools, they couldn't open it at all.
Shi Ning'an walked around the house to the back and saw a small window on top. It seemed that a relatively small person could get in and out, but a fat or burly person couldn't. There happened to be a haystack beside it, which they could climb on.
She tried it. Lifting her skirt, she climbed up. When she reached the window, she felt something sticky on it. She frowned. It seemed that something was blocking the window.
Shi Ning'an pushed it with her hand. All the hairs on her body stood on end. What she touched seemed to be someone's hair.
Perhaps because of her push, the thing on the window slid and turned over, just facing Shi Ning'an's face.
Shi Ning'an fell off the haystack and almost screamed.
When Ying Tao rushed over, she saw the young lady sitting on the ground, covering her mouth tightly with her hand, her face full of horror.
She looked up and was also startled. It was a woman, a dead woman. Her eyes were wide open, obviously struggling hard before she died. Her mouth and nose were all covered in blood, looking extremely terrifying.
Ying Tao helped Shi Ning'an up and whispered, "Miss, shall we go?"
Shi Ning'an gasped for breath and slowly calmed down. Shaking her head, she said, "Look at the jade hairpin on her head."
Ying Tao squinted her eyes. She looked at the jade hairpin on the dead woman's head and then at the one on her young lady's head. They were not exactly the same, but they were about 70 - 80% similar.
She subconsciously looked at the woman's face again. She had been carefully dressed before she died. But if she were still alive, her features and dressing style would be about 50% similar to her young lady's.
This was the woman beside Shi Qingmei they met in the suburbs this morning.
Shi Ning'an pointed to the window. "We can get in here," she said.
Ying Tao didn't hesitate. She jumped up and kicked the woman in. Then she squatted on the window and took a look. She was so shocked that she quickly jumped down.
Shi Ning'an asked, "What's there?"
Ying Tao looked panicked. "Third Master is inside... He... He..."
Shi Ning'an's heart tightened. She quickly asked, "Is he okay?"
Ying Tao held Shi Ning'an's hand. "He's still alive, but... Miss, let's go!"
Shi Ning'an shook off her hand. "Rong Sui is here. How can I leave? I'm going in."
Ying Tao shook her head. "Miss, this fragrance is not normal. And the way Third Master looks is also not normal. That woman just now was probably killed by Third Master. Miss, I'm no match for Third Master. What if... What if..."
What if Third Master went crazy and they all died.
Shi Ning'an's mind was in a complete mess, but she was also extremely clear. Rong Sui had protected her all her life. Even when her whole family was beheaded, he still came to look for her regardless of everything and wanted to take her away.
How could Rong Sui hurt her?
She couldn't leave. If she left, what would happen to Rong Sui? She had to save him.
Shi Ning'an climbed onto the window. Shi Aoxue's body was lying beside the window. Suppressing the fear and nausea in her heart, she quickly climbed in. Because the window was too high, she rolled when she jumped down and was in so much pain that she could hardly stand up.
Rong Sui was covered in blood, and his eyes were also full of bloodshot eyes. He was like a blood - thirsty beast. Alarmed by the noise, he immediately came over and grabbed Shi Ning'an's neck.
Ying Tao climbed in after her. Seeing this, she was about to take action. Shi Ning'an made a gesture to stop her. Ying Tao didn't dare to move and could only stand there anxiously, not knowing what to do.
Shi Ning'an was being grabbed quite hard. Covering Rong Sui's hand, she called out, "Cousin..."
Rong Sui seemed to pause for a moment, but soon he continued to squeeze.
Shi Ning'an's eyes flashed. The strength Rong Sui used was not right. Normally, Rong Sui could break her neck with one squeeze. But now, although Rong Sui seemed to be using all his strength, he could only make her unable to move.
Rong Sui really had no strength. Using all his strength, he became extremely agitated. There were one blood hole after another on his arms and legs, and the blood was flowing continuously.
Shi Ning'an was being grabbed so hard that her eyes were full of tears. Suddenly, she pouted. "Cousin, Ning'an is in so much pain," she said.
Just this one sentence made Rong Sui suddenly widen his eyes. He let go of his hand and took a step back. He bumped into a pillar and shook his head desperately. His face was full of disbelief.
Rong Sui's hair was in a mess. His jade crown had long since rolled on the ground, and the hairpin on it was lying there bloodily beside it.
He quickly picked up the hairpin and stabbed it hard into his own shoulder. Blood gushed out. When he looked up again, his vision was blurred.
"Ning'an..."
Shi Ning'an came to her senses and rushed up. She grabbed his hand. "Cousin, it's me. I'm Ning'an," she said.
Rong Sui was delirious. He hugged Shi Ning'an tightly. "Ning'an, Ning'an..."
He turned over and pressed Shi Ning'an against the pillar. He pounced on her like a hungry wolf, and his lips came down.
Ying Tao was startled. She quickly rushed over and kicked Rong Sui away. Rong Sui didn't have much strength and couldn't even defeat Ying Tao. He soon lost and lay on the ground gasping for breath.
Shi Ning'an asked, "Can you make him faint?"
Ying Tao struck Rong Sui on the shoulder with one palm. Rong Sui let out a painful groan and fell into a coma.
Shi Ning'an finally breathed a sigh of relief. But after this commotion, the handkerchief they used to cover their mouths and noses was long gone. The incense burning on the table aggressively got into their noses, making them drowsy. There seemed to be something else in it.
If it weren't for the strong smell of blood in the room, they might have already been affected.
Ying Tao stamped out the incense. Frowning, she took a look and then looked up at Shi Ning'an. "Miss, this incense..."
Shi Ning'an pointed to the window. "Throw it out. This is a strong aphrodisiac. If it burns, it will make people lose control in less than a quarter of an hour. Even if it's not burning, the medicinal properties can still be emitted," she said.
Ying Tao immediately threw the incense out. But the incense had burned in the room for too long, and the smell in the room couldn't be dissipated.
Shi Ning'an didn't care about anything else. She pulled up her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose and crawled to Rong Sui's side. Tears welled up in her eyes again. At this moment, Rong Sui was in a complete mess. There were holes one after another on his two arms and two legs, and his shoulders and chest were not spared either.
Even when he was in a coma, he was still gasping for breath.
Ying Tao frowned. "What should we do?"
Shi Ning'an lowered her head. "This is not an ordinary aphrodisiac. It's more like a poison. But I've never seen it before and don't know how to detoxify it. He inhaled a large amount of the drug..."
Ying Tao asked in horror, "Is Third Master doomed to die?"
Shi Ning'an shook her head. "The best way is to have sex. The person who harmed him didn't want him to die, so they sent Shi Aoxue here."
Ying Tao pointed to the dead woman. "That person is called Shi Aoxue?"
Shi Ning'an nodded. "Yes, Shi Aoxue, my half - sister. She looks about 30% similar to me. Look at her current dressing."
Ying Tao stared at the dead woman's body for a while. The red dress and the yellow front - buttoned jacket were exactly the same as her young lady's attire today. Whether it was her hair or clothes, they were deliberately imitating her young lady's, just to make Third Master mistake her.
It was a pity that Shi Aoxue underestimated Third Master's self - control. Third Master actually strangled her to death in order to remain chaste.
She crawled over and turned over Shi Aoxue's body. She whispered, "Miss, she wasn't strangled to death."
Shi Ning'an quickly crawled over too. She carefully looked at Shi Aoxue's mouth and nose and couldn't help but widen her eyes. "She died of poisoning, or rather, she was already poisoned," she said.
Just thinking about it, she could figure out the whole thing. Shi Qingmei used Shi Aoxue to seduce Rong Sui and deliberately put drugs in Shi Aoxue's food.
Rong Sui was affected by this strong and incurable aphrodisiac. Shi Qingmei also made Shi Aoxue dress up like her. When Rong Sui was confused and couldn't see clearly, he would have sex with Shi Aoxue.
This was what she had thought before, but now she finally understood. Shi Qingmei not only wanted to disgust her but also wanted to strike at Rong Sui.
If Rong Sui had just insulted Shi Aoxue, it would only be a matter of reputation if it got out. But if Rong Sui was cruel enough to rape and then kill her, it would not only be a matter of character but also make him seem like a cruel and vicious jackal.
Shi Qingmei probably didn't expect that Rong Sui would rather hurt himself than touch Shi Aoxue.
However, after this incident, someone would definitely come to check. Even if Rong Sui didn't touch Shi Aoxue, as long as someone deliberately led everyone here after a while...
Shi Ning'an clenched her fist tightly. The third prince had really set up a meticulous trap. To lead the royal princess here, it had to be someone who could speak with authority.
Concubine Liang was the aunt of the third prince's biological mother. She was not favored by the late emperor and didn't have any children. But she was a noble concubine, a concubine of the late emperor. After all these years, she had a high status, and her words still carried some weight.
Moreover, she had used Concubine Liang's name at the door of the villa in order to get in. Before long, Concubine Liang would come here with some people.