"Mm, alright."
Mu Xing nodded and quickly jumped off the couch, preparing to leave Guangyang Palace. Concubine Zhang felt an unbearable urgency, her palms covered in sweat.
Was her scheme going to be in vain? And if she wanted His Highness the Crown Prince to visit again, it would be difficult. So, she stepped forward and spoke gracefully.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, regarding my previous visit to the Empress, my words may have been inappropriate, so I wish to ask for your forgiveness."
Mu Xing looked at the woman before him. Tears seemed on the verge of falling from her gentle eyes.
Looking at him with a pitiable gaze, a wry smile touched her lips. Although Mu Xing was proud and stubborn, he possessed a sliver of kindness. Seeing Zhang Xiuyi in such a state, he sat down again at the last moment, turning his head to look at Cui'er behind him.
"Aunt Cui, let's stay for tea before we go."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful," Zhang Xiuyi said, overwhelmed with gratitude.
Cui'er anxiously gestured to Mu Xing with her eyebrows, but Mu Xing ignored her.
At this moment, the palace maid Ye Nu of Guangyang Palace led a line of palace maids in, setting up refreshments and tea, then retreated to the side.
Zhang Xiuyi, with a smile, took the hands of the two children on either side and walked to the table to sit down, beckoning the children to enjoy the snacks.
When Cui'er saw Mu Xing accept the pastries laid out by Zhang Xiuyi, she could no longer contain her anxiety and cried out, "Mu Xing, no."
Mu Xing was startled, and the pastry dropped to the ground. Zhang Xiuyi looked up at Cui'er, confused. "This palace maid is too audacious! His Highness the Crown Prince is from the Eastern Palace. Isn't it too bold for a mere maid to startle the Crown Prince?"
"It's nothing. She's Aunt Cui who raised me. We're usually informal,"
Mu Xing smiled and shook his head, not minding Cui'er's attitude at all. Zhang Xiuyi's eyes dimmed. To see how a mere maid was treated with such affection, while the person she genuinely cared for treated her as just a chess piece.
As she thought about it, anger welled up, but for now, she only wished for her father and brother's safety. Looking at Mu Xing's cute, tender, and rosy little face, a bitterness arose in Zhang Xiuyi's heart. She secretly murmured, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, I have no choice. I don't want to harm you either."
"Oh," Zhang Xiuyi replied, beckoning to Ye Nu, who was standing not far away, to clear the pastries from the ground. She then laid out another pastry for Mu Xing.
This time, Mu Xing, being clever, did not eat the pastry. Since Aunt Cui was worried, he wouldn't eat it. With a slight frown just moments ago, he had seen her pale face and the panic in her dark eyes.
"Does the Crown Prince have no appetite? Then have some tea. I specifically picked these plums, dried them, and brewed them into tea. Children love it the most."
Zhang Xiuyi personally brewed the plum tea. The fragrance of the plums wafted out, sour and sweet. Prince Yulou eagerly picked up the cup and began to drink.
Seeing that Yulou was fine after drinking it, Mu Xing also picked up his cup to drink. Cui'er had wanted to stop him, but seeing that Prince Yulou was unharmed after drinking it, she restrained herself from speaking.
Mu Xing inhaled the fragrance of the plums, which was sour and sweet, as if it melted into his heart. However, amidst this sweetness, there was a faint hint of bitterness. How could plums have a bitter taste?
Although Mu Xing was only five years old, he had grown up among the sharp and shrewd people on Xiaoyao Island, and his personality was also quick-witted and astute. Without making a sound, he raised his head to look at Zhang Xiuyi beside him. She was looking at him with anticipation.
Mu Xing smiled brilliantly, picked up the plum tea, and took a big sip, nodding repeatedly as if he greatly enjoyed the plum tea. But as the woman relaxed, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spat all the tea into his sleeve.
Cui'er, seeing that although the pastry wasn't eaten, the tea had been drunk, felt there was no need to stay any longer. Who knew what this woman was planning? She quickly walked to Mu Xing's side, bowed, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, we should be going back."
"Yes," Mu Xing jumped off the high chair, not glancing at the person named Yulou at all from beginning to end.
Sunlight streamed in from outside the great hall, illuminating Zhang Xiuyi's face. For a moment, her face became terrifyingly distorted, a cold sneer curling her lips. She stared at the Crown Prince and his personal maid as they quickly walked away.
She believed that His Highness the Crown Prince would soon die from poisoning, and she herself would be unharmed. This was because Yulou had drunk the plum tea at the same time. How many people in this hall could testify for her?
As Zhang Xiuyi was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a cry from the entrance of the hall: "Ah, Aunt Cui, my stomach hurts so much."
Cui'er's face immediately turned pale. She quickly scooped up Mu Xing's body, turned back, and re-entered the great hall of Guangyang Palace. She found a soft couch and laid Mu Xing down, asking with panic in her voice.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you alright? Are you alright? Don't scare me." Her voice was choked, on the verge of tears.
Zhang Xiuyi was dumbfounded. What was going on? She estimated that the poison would take at least half a day to take effect, so why was it so fast? Before he had even left the palace, he was affected. She couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Where exactly did things go wrong? Her expression flickered, and she turned to rush to His Highness the Crown Prince's side, saying in a flustered tone.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you alright? How could this happen?"
Cui'er, hearing her hypocritical questioning, was already looking at Zhang Xiuyi with anger and shouting, "You must have tampered with it! Tell me clearly, what did you do to the Crown Prince? Hand over the antidote quickly."
Zhang Xiuyi raised her eyes and looked at Cui'er coldly. Her voice was low as she said, "Audacious slave, what do you think you are? How dare I poison His Highness the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince only had a cup of tea here. Yulou also ate that plum pastry. What nonsense are you spouting?"
Mu Xing lay on the couch, groaning incessantly, his small body tossing and turning. Cui'er had already rushed over with heartache, tightly holding his little hand, tears falling down like raindrops. "Prince, are you alright? Prince, are you alright?"
Just as Cui'er was crying until she was almost gasping, a loud announcement came from outside the hall door: "Her Majesty the Empress is arriving."
Zhang Xiuyi sighed. She arrived so quickly. Was she going to confront this woman directly?
She had heard that he was ruthless and didn't blink an eye when killing. In front of all the civil and military officials, he dared to kill a second-rank official. So, was her status as a mere concubine even worth her notice?
Therefore, the priority was not to leave any trace. Zhang Xiuyi turned her head to look at the table not far away. The tea on the table was now seven-tenths full.
It seemed Ye Nu had replaced it during the recent chaos. Zhang Xiuyi breathed a sigh of relief and calmly looked at the woman who walked into the hall.
She was wearing a simple and elegant blue gown. The wide water-cloud sleeves were embroidered with a few floating clouds, ethereal and distant, exuding a faint fragrance. With a chill emanating from her, she walked gracefully to their side and spoke sternly.
"What is happening here?"
As soon as Cui'er saw her lady arrive, she felt as if she had found a lifeline and cried out, "Your Majesty, Mu Xing's stomach hurts. Did this woman poison Mu Xing?"