"You want me gone, just say so. As if I'd cling to this place," Wu Caiwei said, flicking her sleeve in a huff.
Zhou Hanxiao's head ached with exasperation. Watching her storm away, she quickly instructed the maid beside her to escort her, to speak with her kindly and appease her anger. Any disturbance in the rear court could be exaggerated, and she feared this matter reaching the Third Prince's ears. Su Dan Novel Network.
Lying in bed that night, lost in thought, she couldn't sleep. Before she knew it, dawn had broken. She moved her weary body, dark circles under her eyes, and her mind buzzing, to pay respects to the Third Prince's Consort.
The Third Prince's Consort responded perfunctorily and dismissed them, leaving them somewhat bewildered, as this was unlike her.
Later, they learned that the Third Prince had fallen ill and couldn't get up that morning. Imperial physicians were summoned, but they couldn't identify the cause.
The women of the rear court rushed to the Third Prince's courtyard to express their concern, and she was no exception. The sun was particularly harsh, and after a while in the sun, she felt her vision darken. If not for the maid supporting her, she would have fainted.
The Third Prince's Consort, feeling agitated by the women fluttering in the courtyard, sent someone to send them back.
With the estate in turmoil, she could only send a maid to secretly procure some calming medicine.
Whether the maid deliberately deceived her with fake medicine, or if it was a case of a vengeful spirit claiming a life, the fact remained: she still couldn't sleep.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she remembered the maids and servants who had died because of her when she was in the Zhou manor. At the same time, she worried about the Third Prince; if something happened to him, what would her fate be? She was consumed by worry day after day.
At this moment, the Third Prince was in extreme discomfort, as if a thousand needles were piercing him, yet these incompetent doctors could discern nothing.
The matter even alarmed the Emperor. Although the Third Prince was not favored by him and was constantly forming factions and making a nuisance of himself, he was, after all, his son.
Upon learning from the imperial physicians that his illness was unheard of, the Emperor hurried over with the First Prince and Second Prince to visit.
While the Third Prince was not their biggest competitor, he was essentially finished without them lifting a finger. It felt like a windfall, and they inwardly rejoiced, while outwardly feigning concern and quickly comforting the Emperor.
As soon as they entered their son's courtyard, they saw it filled with various doctors – imperial physicians and physicians from different apothecaries – but without exception, none could offer an explanation.
Seeing the Third Prince lying in bed, pale-faced, drenched in cold sweat from pain, unable to speak, the Emperor's heart ached.
He immediately posted an imperial decree throughout the capital: whoever could cure the Third Prince's illness would be appointed an imperial physician and rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver.
Some, seeking fortune through risk, accepted the decree. Without exception, they arrived full of confidence and left in dejection.
The Third Prince grew weaker day by day, and finally, with immense regret, departed from this world.
When Zhou Hanxiao heard the news, she was beside herself. Although she hadn't slept these past few days and had been tormented, her spirit was on the verge of collapse, but at least there was still hope in life.
With the Third Prince dead, who would dare marry them, who had once been his concubines? They could only be confined to the manor and live out the rest of their lives in solitude.
From a side door of the most secluded courtyard in the Prime Minister's manor, an old woman stealthily departed.
Liu Niangzi looked at the steaming hot dishes. If her own people hadn't luckily discovered that the Prime Minister's wife had tampered with the food, she would have eaten it as usual, and even if she had died from poison, she believed that given their affection, the matter would surely have been covered up.
Even if her two sons were dissatisfied, they were still young and dependent on the Prime Minister's manor, so they would have no choice but to obey.
Of course, she wasn't one to be easily bullied. It hadn't been easy for her to reach her current position, and it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious.
In the afternoon, news arrived of the eldest son's death from poisoning. It was said that after eating his lunch, the eldest son felt unwell, and the servants quickly called for a doctor. However, by the time the doctor arrived, it was too late. He had bled from all seven orifices, the poison had spread to his internal organs, and there was no cure.
The Prime Minister's wife cried inconsolably, and even the Prime Minister was grief-stricken. He never imagined he would have to mourn a son a second time.
He immediately ordered an investigation to find out who had administered the poison, but after much searching, the blame fell upon his wife.
The Prime Minister's wife had no choice but to confess what she had done. She felt that Liu Niangzi was ultimately a threat in the manor and wanted to get rid of her. She had directly ordered someone to put a potent poison in Liu Niangzi's soup. Coincidentally, that day, the eldest son had also requested the same soup. The Prime Minister's wife had repeatedly emphasized to be careful not to make a mistake, yet the poisoned soup somehow ended up at the eldest son's courtyard, while Liu Yiniang remained unharmed.
Xia He, the maid who delivered the food, had already collapsed on the ground. When the Prime Minister questioned her, she quickly confessed all that had happened before and after the poisoning.
Fearing she had mixed up the soups, after adding the medicine, she directly carried the basin of poisoned soup towards Liu Yiniang's courtyard. However, as she was walking, she suddenly experienced stomach pain and placed the soup on a table not far from the privy. At the time, there was no one around. She soon emerged from the privy, picked up the soup, and continued towards Liu Yiniang's. As a result, things turned out this way.
As Liu Yiniang's residence was rather remote, with very few servants passing by, after repeated interrogations, no suspicious details were found. In the end, Xia He was beaten to death with clubs.
Although the matter was left unresolved, the Prime Minister's wife always felt that this incident was inseparable from Liu Yiniang. Even if Liu Yiniang was not directly involved, her arrival in the manor had led to her son's premature death.
The Prime Minister's wife seemed to have turned white overnight. A few days later, while Lin Sichen was out visiting friends for scholarly exchange, his horse suddenly went mad, flipping the carriage and the rider down a cliff.
When the Prime Minister received this news, he fainted. This was the person he had placed so much hope in, and now he was likely dead.
Liu Yiniang cried heartbrokenly. Without even thinking, she was certain that the wife had acted, seeking revenge for her son.
The Prime Minister personally led a group to search the bottom of the cliff, to find the living or at least the dead.
Unfortunately, at the bottom of the cliff, they found a smashed horse and a dismembered carriage on a large rock. Not far away lay a bloodied person, who had already lost all signs of life.
Seeing his son's tragic state with his own eyes, he couldn't help but weep. The successive blows had caused him to stoop significantly.
At first, he had deceived himself, believing his eldest son's death was an accident. But where were there so many accidents in the world? They had lived peacefully under the same roof for so many years, yet accidents kept happening one after another.
To ensure the safety of the remaining children, he decided to send Liu Niangzi to Xinghua Hutong, as he had in the past.
On the day Liu Niangzi left, it rained heavily, like her tears. Clutching her son's clothes, she secretly vowed that even if she left, she would avenge him.