Chapter 236: Chapter 237 - The Poison Was Administered by the Dowager Consort?

It was two days later when Song Yixiao woke up. As she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar ceiling of the bed net and her husband who was sleeping by the bed, holding her hand. The morning sunlight in the early summer, cast through the window, appeared like the cold moonlight through the pale pinkish purple bed net, which shone on his slightly pale face. As a result, his face seemed even more radiant.

His appearance was stunning with a sense of alienation from the worldly hubbub.

Staring at the man in front of her, Song Yixiao couldn’t help stroking his face. When she just reached out her hand and had yet to touch his skin, Jian Xubai had noticed her movement and opened his eyes. He was clearly delighted to see her wake up and then hastened to order the maids outside. Then he held his arms around her shoulders and helped her sit up slowly, asking with concern, “Are you still dizzy? Are you feeling okay?”

As she wanted to speak and yet, failed to make a sound, Jian Xubai took a tumble and rose to get a bowl of ginseng tea at the fastest speed for her, “Drink this and soothe your throat!”

With his help, Song Yixiao drank up the ginseng tea bit by bit and then tried to make a sound. Finally, she got to speak and then asked in confusion, “Why am I back? I remembered I was congratulating the Dowager Consort in the prince’s mansion?”

Then she took a glance out of the window and suddenly realized one thing, “It is in the morning now? Is it the sixth day of the lunar month now?”

“Take your time!” Jian Xubai stroked her scattered hair comfortingly, “The birthday of Dowager Consort of Hengshan was two days ago. These two days a lot of things happened. I will tell you one by one. The poison has just been cleared off your body. Now you are still weak. Let Aunt Yun give you a body check first and then you have some porridge, okay?”

Song Yixiao was astounded to hear that the poison had been just cleared off her body, “Poison?”

“Chill! Chill!” As she got emotional, she felt dizzy again and then fell into her husband’s arms. Jian Xubai hugged her in a hurry and talked to her softly, “Your mother woke up yesterday and no need to worry about her. Just rest assured. You’ve got my back!”

His briefing made Song Yixiao so confused. She wanted to ask further when Aunt Yun came inside with the medicine bag. This female doctor still pulled a cold face as always. Even if Jian Xubai was nearby, she didn’t look soft anyway. She just nodded her head slightly and then sat by the bed silently, gesturing for Song Yixiao to show her wrist.

After a moment, she released Song Yixiao’s wrist and then said drily, “The remaining poison has been cleared but you still have to be nourished for a few days.”

Jian Xubai slightly frowned and said, “Is it because the medicine applied before is too strong?”

“The poison blended in the incense is extremely potent, which can’t be dispelled without the strong cure,” Aunt Yun stood up and said in a composed voice, “She will be fine after being nourished for a few days.”

After saying that, she noticed that the couple had nothing to say to her so she just left with a nod.

Jinxun waiting at the entrance hastened to fetch water and come inside to help Jian Xubai and his wife freshen up.

After that, they brought the hamper inside to serve the dishes to them.

Downhearted, Song Yixiao had half a bowl of porridge and then put down the chopsticks. After a while, as Jian Xubai also stopped eating, she ordered the maids to take away the dishes and then asked, “You aren’t going to court today?”

Jian Xubai told her that he had applied for one day’s leave, she put on a serious look and asked in a deep voice, “Aunt Yun said that the incense was adulterated with poison. As I remembered, when I went into the warm chamber, the incense was burning inside?”

“There was something wrong with the incense.” Jian Xubai walked to her, lifted his rope, sat down and put his arms around her shoulders, saying, “Dowager Consort of Hengshan and Fourth Commandery Princess are both gone. Without Aunt Yun, you might not be able to survive!”

Although she had a guess in her mind, Song Yixiao couldn’t help getting a shock, “Dowager Consort of Hengshan is gone? So is Fourth Commandery Princess?”

At the thought of the competition for the position of the heir in the prince’s mansion, she gave a gasp of astonishment, “Who did it?”

“The chief trusted maid of the Dowager Consort, Lanhui, confessed that she was assigned by your mother to put the poison into the Qingji Incense which the Dowager Consort favored recently,” Jian Xubai slightly sneered, “The incense burned in the hill censer was Qingji Incense. Lanhui worked for the Dowager Consort before. The reason why she worked for your mother, according to her statement, was that the Dowager Consort had agreed to let her be the concubine of Lu Guanlun. However, after Xuepei’s sister married Lu Guanlun, the Dowager Consort was afraid that her granddaughter was too innocent to suppress Lanhui, which would lead to the harem unrest of Lu Guanlun, so she changed her mind!”

“However, your mother promised Lanhui that she would become Lu Guanlun’s concubine if she completed the task!”

“But back then, apart from the Dowager Consort and Fourth Commandery Princess, Mother and I were also there. Moreover, all of us didn’t cover our mouths or noses. Otherwise, how could the Dowager Consort and Fourth Commandery Princess not be alert?” Song Yixiao bit her lip heavily and forced herself to calm down, asking in a deep voice, “We all smelt the poison from the incense. Why could my mother and I survive?”

Jian Xubai gave her a comforting look, which obviously indicated that what he was going to say next wouldn’t be so easy to accept, “The main reason why you survived is that you were the last one to step into the warm chamber, thus making you take in the least poison among all. Moreover, when Aunt Yun rushed there, of course she treated you first!”

When it came to Wei Mengying, his eyes glittered and then he finally spoke, “Your mother… Aunt Yun and the imperial doctor both found that she had taken the antidote prior to being poisoned.”

Feeling as if falling into an icehouse, Song Yixiao was dazed for a while before asking, “Then how is she now?”

“Your mother woke up before noon yesterday. After knowing about the matter, she insisted that she didn’t know about the poison in the Qingji Incense or the so-called antidote.” Jian Xubai held her hands and comforted her, “Prince of Hengshan is sad about the losses of the Dowager Consort and the Commandery Princess but he still trusts your mother. Hence, under the pressure from the family, he ordered a complete investigation. In my eyes, this matter is highly doubtful. Maybe it was not done by your mother!”

If his mother-in-law were an ordinary woman, Jian Xubai would surely assert that it couldn’t be done by his mother-in-law. However, regarding Wei Mengying, even Song Yixiao, her birth daughter, couldn’t dare to ensure that the ringleader of this matter was not her, let alone her son-in-law.

Hence, Jian Xubai didn’t dare to be too certain and only said, “No matter what, you must take care of yourself first.”

Song Yixiao was in no mood for that. She kept pushing him, “Go and help inquire about how my mother is doing now. Any result from the Prince’s side?”

Yet, although she was still worried, she was too weak right after the poison was dispelled. Before the servant sent to the prince’s mansion to inquire about the result of the investigation came back, she had fallen asleep again.

She slept for a day and a night. When she woke up again, the tragedy in Prince of Hengshan’s mansion had come to a conclusion.

Song Yixiao could hardly believe her ears, “So fast?!”

“Prince of Hengshan found that Lanhui was the ringleader. The reason why your mother turned out to have taken the antidote before was that Lanhui put the antidote into her tea secretly after she went into the warm chamber so as to scapegoat her.” Jian Xubai hedged and frowned, “This is the statement Prince of Hengshan made to the public. As to the authenticity, according to your mother, she asked us to believe it first. When you both get well, she will explain the matter by herself.”

Puckering her lips, Song Yixiao thought, “The excuse… is too reluctant!”

Lanhui had served Dowager Consort of Hengshan for years as her right-hand maid, who was regarded as the birth granddaughter of the Dowager Consort. Even if she was a born ungrateful soul, what good did it do to her that she schemed against the Dowager Consort? She would lose her backing instead!

She wanted to vent her anger just because she failed to be the concubine?

However, it had been shorter than half a month since Yuan Xue’e got married. According to the tacit rules, unless the seniors wanted to disgrace the newly-wedded wife, they wouldn’t mention taking concubines within a year after the wedding.

The Dowager Consort felt that she shouldn’t take a concubine for her grandson just because her granddaughter was innocent but perhaps, Lanhui who was in a favored position might be able to gain the Dowager Consort’s approval in a year. Even if the Dowager Consort kept disapproving, she would find a good man for Lanhui.

Yet, would Wei Mengying consider more for her than the Dowager Consort who watched her grow up?

How impulsive and foolish it was of her to lay murderous hands on the Dowager Consort!

“But no matter how much Prince of Hengshan loved Mother, the Dowager Consort and Fourth Commandery Princess are gone. If the ringleader is really my mother, I suppose Prince of Hengshan can’t conceal it for her. In this way, it was not done by her? Or she is just so scheming that she even deceives Prince of Hengshan?” Song Yixiao felt quite confused, “Madam Jin has been dead. If it was not done by my mother, in the whole prince’s mansion, who else has the motive and capability to strike such a vicious blow?”

She couldn’t think it through anyway. With patience, she spent a few days resting in recuperation. When she finally could get off bed, she couldn’t wait to pay a visit and offer her condolences to Prince of Hengshan’s mansion.

Now the mourning hall of the Dowager Consort hadn’t been removed, but Jian Xubai had come and offered his condolences. In order to look after his wife, he took a few days off. Now the Crown Prince adopted the policy of steadiness—simply put, dispelling ill intention against others and holding vigilance against evil-doers. It sounded as if taking no action was better than taking any, but in fact, it was rather hard to put the policy into practice. After all, even if they didn’t stir up trouble, Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao still kept causing trouble to them.

It was apparently difficult to ward off blows without attacking proactively and defending excessively!

Therefore, as Jian Xubai asked for a few days off, he had to deal with stacks of documents when he was back to work. Probably, he would be extremely busy for the following several days.

Under the circumstance, Song Yixiao didn’t ask him to accompany her.

Maybe because the mourning ritual had been set for several days, there were not many guests today.

After Song Yixiao curtsied and burnt the incense, Prince of Hengshan behind the curtain suddenly asked her about her health, “How come you are out today? Are you feeling better?”

“Thank you for asking. I’ve been able to get off bed.” Song Yixiao was slightly surprised. Prince of Hengshan had just suffered the pain of losing his mother and daughter. Now he was in the mood to care about an outsider?

Even if the death of the Dowager Consort and the Fourth Commandery Prince had nothing to do with her, but among the four people poisoned by the added substance in the Qingji Incense, his birth mother and birth daughter were gone while his step-wife and stepdaughter survived. Wei Mengying was his beloved step-wife but Song Yixiao was never close to him!

Under the circumstance, even if Prince of Hengshan was open-minded, it would be already nice enough of him not to envy and vent anger on Song Yixiao. How could he have the heart to show great concern for her?

However, after a while, when she saw her birth mother, Wei Mengying, who was lying in bed, she realized why Prince of Hengshan was nice to her now, “The poison was administered by the Dowager Consort? Why?”

Although Wei Mengying had taken the antidote beforehand, she was still lying against the cushion weakly with a pale face, who didn’t look well, possibly because Aunt Yun’s medical skills were too extraordinary or she arrived in the warm chamber earlier than Song Yixiao and took in more poison. No wonder Wei Mengying didn’t hold vigils beside the coffin at the mourning hall.

Then she sneered and stroked her hair, saying in a weak and weary way, “Why? Think about it. I am the only one among the four persons in the warm chamber who took the antidote. Of course it was to get us killed!”

The struggle for the position of the heir of Prince of Hengshan was never a secret. On the birthday of the Dowager Consort, Wei Mengying spread the rumor that Lu Guanlun supported by the Dowager Consort would become the heir. Under the circumstance, when the four persons were poisoned in the warm chamber and Wei Mengying had taken the antidote with her daughter poisoned most lightly and saved, how could anyone not suspect that Wei Mengying wanted to turn the situation around by murdering her mother-in-law?

“Labelled with the violation of ethics, how can I rise?” Wei Mengying kept sneering, “By then, not only you but also Guanyun and my other kids can never have a promising future. After all, you’ve grown up and you have Jian Xubai as your backing. On the contrary, as to Guanyun and my other kids, who knows what consequence they will face? It is even a problem whether they can grow up!”

Song Yixiao was really dumbstruck. She didn’t respond until a moment later, “The Prince has planned to submit the application of making Lu Guanlun his heir, but the Dowager Consort was still so restless. However, Mother, since the Dowager Consort schemed against you with her own life and Fourth Commandery Princess’s. How did you prove your innocence?”