"You don't really realize your mistake."
"You're just scared."
"I didn't!"
Pei Ying suddenly widened her eyes.
"Just three qian of that poison can make a living person break out in red rashes all over and itch unbearably. Five qian will be enough to take a life!"
Pei Zhaolin tried his best to control his emotions, but the more he suppressed them, the more out of control they became, just like a dam with a crack.
He was almost crazy with anger. "She was just one step away from losing her life!"
"No... it's not like that!"
Pei Ying suddenly let out a shrill scream.
Big tears dropped from her pale face.
She shook her head frantically. "I was just too angry, so I wanted to teach her a lesson. I never thought about taking her life!"
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Pei Ying's mind as she remembered that Cui Jintang had drunk the wine from her cup.
"She drank my cup of wine on her own initiative, which is why things turned out like this! The original amount would only have made her suffer a bit..."
"Shut up!" Old Lady Pei's face turned deathly pale. She raised her hand and slapped Pei Ying across the face!
Old Lady Pei was full of disappointment. "How many times do I have to tell you? I promised Tang'er to take the Xuncangcao for me!"
Looking at Pei Ying crying non - stop but still stubbornly refusing to admit her wrongdoings, Old Lady Pei simply slumped onto the stool.
Old Lady Pei couldn't stop shaking her head and slapped her own leg hard. "This child... How could she become like this..."
Pei Zhaolin shook her off and looked down at her from above. His eyes were as cold as the frost in the twelfth lunar month.
"Who taught you these things? And where did you get the poison?"
"I... I came up with it on my own..."
Pei Ying was gasping for breath between sobs. "I accidentally learned about the poison when I was flipping through a medical book out of boredom."
Pei Ying's emotions finally collapsed at this moment.
She knelt in front of Pei Zhaolin and tightly grabbed the back of his hand with both hands. "Brother, I didn't mean it. I really didn't mean it!"
"I'm your own sister. Please forgive me this time! I just wanted to get even with Sister Jin. I was really scared the day when Grandma was seriously ill. I just wanted to... get even."
Pei Ying was shaken off. As she got to the end of her passionate speech, under Pei Zhaolin's cold gaze, she became extremely timid.
She slowly lowered her head, and tears dropped one by one onto the ground. "I was wrong. I really know I was wrong."
Suddenly, the watchman's drum sounded in the distance. It was the third watch.
Pei Zhaolin took a step back. His voice was calm, but it carried a chill that seeped into one's bones.
He said, "You don't really realize your mistake."
"You're just scared."
At this moment, Qi Xutao burst in with the imperial guards. She had heard their entire conversation while standing at the door.
She warned Pei Zhaolin, "Miss Pei is your younger sister, Lord Pei. Are you going to show favoritism?"
"Take her to see the Emperor."
After a long while, Pei Zhaolin stepped aside and took two steps back, standing to one side.
Old Lady Pei closed her eyes and said nothing. She turned her head away, not wanting to hear Pei Ying's pleas any longer.
Pei Ying fiercely resisted, which irritated Qi Xutao greatly.
She pointed a red - tasseled spear at Pei Ying's throat and said with annoyance on her face, "If it weren't for all the rules in the palace, I would have had someone pour the whole pot of poisoned wine down your throat. Let's see how you can still make a fuss!"
Pei Ying slumped to the ground dejectedly.
---
In the Imperial Study.
When the Emperor put down his vermilion brush, the ink spread on the memorial, leaving a stain.
He disgustedly threw the memorial to the ground, which woke up Luo Xiang, who was dozing off.
Luo Xiang straightened her back and lowered her head even more, softly calling out, "Your Majesty?"
The Emperor finally looked up.
He looked at Luo Xiang with annoyance in his eyes. "Luo Xiang, you are truly extremely stupid to instigate Miss Pei to commit murder in the palace!"
Luo Xiang trembled all over and pleaded for mercy with a shaking body. "Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
"Spare your life?" The Emperor repeated, with a sarcastic smile on his lips. "Prime Minister Luo was wise all his life. How could he have such a stupid daughter like you?"
"I gave you the secret medicine to make Pei Zhaolin lose his memory. You had a full three months before returning to the capital, but you still couldn't make Pei Zhaolin work for you?"
"After returning to the capital, you've been making one embarrassing mistake after another! If I hadn't sent people to clean up your mess in secret, you would have been hung on the city wall by Cui Jintang for public humiliation!"
The more the Emperor thought about it, the angrier he got. He picked up a memorial at hand and threw it hard at Luo Xiang's hair bun.
The hair bun came loose, and she suddenly looked like a crazy woman with disheveled hair.
Luo Xiang hurriedly pushed aside the loose hair to maintain her dignity.
She opened her mouth with a sob in her voice. "Your servant... Your servant is incompetent."
"Indeed incompetent!"
The Emperor was furious. "I should have kept your half - sister back then when the Luo family was raided and Prime Minister Luo offered silver to me. She would have been a hundred times better than you, this stupid girl!"
Luo Xiang quickly kowtowed.
The blue - brick floor was bone - chillingly cold, seeping through her clothes into her bones.
But Luo Xiang's heart was even colder at this moment.
She pressed her forehead against the blue - brick floor, and the fear in her heart gradually turned into resentment.
"Please give your servant another chance, Your Majesty! Your servant will surely make Pei Zhaolin willingly marry your servant and completely cut off his connection with Cui Jintang!"
The Emperor looked at her and suddenly laughed.
The smile faded before reaching his eyes. "Luo Xiang, don't disappoint me again."
"Yes!"
The Emperor was tired and waved his hand.
When Luo Xiang got up with her head down, a sharp pain shot through her knees.
She limped out of the Imperial Study.
It started to drizzle outside, wetting Luo Xiang's clothes.
Luo Xiang didn't even have time to feel sad when suddenly there was a rush of footsteps in the corridor.
She immediately hid behind a pillar and watched as Pei Ying, looking dejected, was thrown in by Qi Xutao.
Qi Xutao shouted loudly, "Brother Emperor!"
Without waiting for the chief eunuch to invite her, she directly rushed in.
That night, no one knew how Qi Xutao and the Emperor negotiated.
Pei Ying was given thirty strokes of the cane, with Qi Xutao wielding the cane.
— As long as Pei Ying took the blame, this matter would no longer be counted on her.
Luo Xiang heaved a sigh of relief.
---
When the moonlight shone through the window, Pei Zhaolin was sitting on the soft couch beside Cui Jintang's bed.
She was still in a coma. The red rashes on her wrist had faded a bit, but her lips were still pale.
Pei Zhaolin gently tucked the corner of the quilt for her. His Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, he couldn't help but lean down and place a very gentle kiss on her forehead.
It was a very tender kiss.
The trees outside the window rustled in the wind.
Pei Zhaolin held her cold hand. The hostility in his eyes slowly faded away, leaving only a deep and unwavering determination.
Fu Li came at this moment.
He was still holding a bowl of medicine in his hand.
Fu Li stood outside the screen and said carefully, "Sir, you haven't drunk tonight's medicine yet."
Only then did Pei Zhaolin come back to his senses. He got up and walked out from behind the screen.
He took the medicine with one hand and drank it all in one gulp.
The strong bitterness made him frown slightly.
Fu Li held the bowl and whispered, "Sir, Miss Pei has been given thirty strokes of the cane."
Pei Zhaolin remained unmoved. "Then go and invite the imperial physician. Why are you coming to me?"