Chapter 54 Sudden Death

Yan Ruqing—
It was her! A few days ago, while staying at the General's Estate, she had contact with Yan Jingru and had seen the calligraphy on her paintings. The handwriting was an exact match to the one on that topographical map. This deeply shocked Yan Ziyu, who had not expected Yan Ruqing's reach to extend all the way into the Prince's Mansion.
What was she up to?
Yan Ziyu refused to believe that Yan Ruqing alone could manipulate Consort Qian. But if Yan Ruqing wasn't the mastermind, then who was?
Yan Ziyu furrowed her brows slightly, casting a deep, piercing look at the absent-minded Consort Qian!
Having originated from a pleasure house, Consort Qian had later been sent into the Prince's Mansion by a twist of fate, eventually becoming the current Consort Qian. Over the past few years, she had enjoyed considerable favor from the Prince. Now, pregnant with his child, her status had risen dramatically, lifting her to unprecedented heights. At such a crucial juncture, coupled with the intervention of Noble Consort Rou and ironclad human and physical evidence, even if she managed to survive this ordeal, she would never be able to make a comeback.
Truth be told, Yan Ziyu ought to thank Consort Qian and Yan Ruqing. Without them, where would she be today?
"What else do you have to say for yourself?" Noble Consort Rou swept her cold gaze across the scene. Seeing that Consort Qian showed no reaction whatsoever and sat paralyzed on the ground like a wooden statue, she narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone laced with chill. "To attempt the assassination of this Imperial Consort, you certainly have a lot of nerve! I will give you one last time to speak. Are you acting under someone else's instructions? Hmm—" She deliberately prolonged the final syllable, seemingly intending to hint at something.
Yan Ziyu's heart tightened. Why did Noble Consort Rou's words sound so unnatural? It felt as though she were deliberately guiding the narrative.
"I..." Consort Qian furrowed her brows, biting her lower lip as if hesitating and torn.
A moment later, she raised her head to look at Noble Consort Rou, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, and asked with a trembling voice, "If... if I betray the person behind the scenes, can Your Ladyship the Noble Consort promise to spare my life?" To survive, she decided to take a gamble!
"If you expose the mastermind behind this, this Consort promises to intercede on your behalf with the Prince and His Majesty. As for whether His Majesty and the Prince will spare your life, that is beyond my control. However, this Consort can promise you that should His Majesty ultimately decide not to spare you, I will ensure you are granted a swift and painless death. The choice is yours to make." Noble Consort Rou appeared non-coercive, yet every word cornered her tighter, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
Consort Qian lowered her head, her eyes filled with despair. Yet she also knew Noble Consort Rou's words were not empty. If she persisted in her silence, losing her life was the least of her worries—she would likely suffer a fate worse than death. Thinking of the brutal interrogation tortures, she trembled violently, shivering all over as her complexion grew even paler.
"Please remember the words Your Ladyship has spoken." Consort Qian stumbled to her feet, her lips parting. "The person who instigated me is none—uh—" Just as Consort Qian was about to name the mastermind, she was suddenly overcome by dizziness and stumbled, nearly falling.
"Be careful, Sister..."
Yan Ziyu wanted to avoid her, but it was impossible. Consort Qian collapsed directly against her. Yan Ziyu hastily reached out to steady her, but the moment her hand touched Consort Qian, the woman suddenly began to convulse violently, bleeding from her seven orifices before collapsing onto the ground, unresponsive.
"A doctor... Go quickly and summon a doctor—"
"What is happening? Why is she vomiting blood all of a sudden..."
"Look at her lips turning purple and bleeding from her orifices. Could she have been poisoned?"
"No one touched her, so how could she have been poisoned?"
"Who says no one touched her? Someone was touching her just now..."
...
The crowd began to chatter and murmur all at once. Yan Ziyu was completely stunned on the spot, her hand still suspended mid-air, having failed to withdraw it in time. The gazes of the onlookers scorched her face like blazing flames...
Poisoned!
Given her keen eye, she could tell at a glance that Consort Qian's symptoms were those of poisoning—and a particularly ruthless and overbearing poison at that. But... when was the poison administered?
Judging from the progression of her symptoms, this poison must have been of the variety that took effect upon contact with blood. The poison must have been administered just now!
Without batting an eye, she surveyed her surroundings, carefully observing the expression and demeanor of each person. Inadvertently, her peripheral vision caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure darting swiftly behind the gauze curtains of the hall. When she looked directly toward it, the figure had already vanished.
"Reporting to Your Ladyship, this is the venom of the Soul-斷魂草 (Soul-Severing Grass). The poison is extremely aggressive, proving fatal upon contact with blood!" Within moments, Noble Consort Rou's personal guard stepped forward to examine Consort Qian's condition, confirming that she had been poisoned.
Noble Consort Rou furrowed her brows and stated coldly, "Is there an antidote?"
"There is no cure. This poison enters the body through the skin. To neutralize it, the victim must ingest another of the world's most lethal poisons within the span of a single tea ceremony to fight poison with poison. Afterward, a practitioner with profound internal energy must channel their qi to force all remaining toxins out of the body. Both conditions are indispensable." The guard's few words were tantamount to a death sentence for Consort Qian.
"You... cough, cough... You are so vicious..."
Consort Qian clutched her chest, coughing incessantly. Her hands gripped the hem of Yan Ziyu's skirt tightly, her eyes fixed entirely upon her with a gaze full of resentment and hatred, until she took her final breath...
Looking down at the now-deceased Consort Qian, a flash of cold light crossed Yan Ziyu's eyes!
Consort Qian's final words before her death had thoroughly set Yan Ziyu up, trapping her in an inescapable predicament!
Never had she imagined that Consort Qian would utter such words with her dying breath. Now, with dead men telling no tales, no matter how much she argued, no one would believe her. This scapegoat was hers to bear...
"Reporting to Your Ladyship, this person has stopped breathing." The guard said after checking Consort Qian's pulse.
"Stopped breathing..." Noble Consort Rou murmured softly to herself, then suddenly raised her head, a cold glint in her eyes as she stared directly at Yan Ziyu. "Would the Princess Consort care to explain to this Consort what Consort Qian meant by her final words?"
"Reporting to Your Ladyship the Noble Consort, this concubine has no idea what Your Ladyship is referring to. Please enlighten me!" To this moment, Yan Ziyu could not fathom why Consort Qian would frame her with her dying breath.
"Some things lose their meaning once spoken aloud. The Princess Consort of Xiao is a clever person; why feign ignorance when you know very well?" Noble Consort Rou glanced at Yan Ziyu and said indifferently.
"Your Ladyship, this subordinate has something to say, though I am unsure whether I should speak." The guard who had just examined the cause of Consort Qian's death spoke with some hesitation.
"Speak." Noble Consort Rou nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"Soul-Severing Grass is the deadliest poison in the world. Not only is it fiercely lethal upon contact with blood, but it also leaves a trace on the person who administers it. Anyone who has come into contact with Soul-Severing Grass will develop a faint red scar on their wrist, which only fades after seven days. Furthermore, the time elapsed from administration to outbreak is extremely brief. Your Ladyship, in this subordinate's humble opinion, the poisoner must not have left yet..."
After listening to the guard's explanation, Noble Consort Rou immediately ordered the doors to be guarded, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.
"It was you! You killed her! You were afraid she would expose you as the mastermind, so you poisoned and killed her. Among us, you were the only one who had physical contact with her. You had the motive and the opportunity to administer the poison. If not you, then who else could it be?" Su Qing let out a cold snort, stepped forward, and pointed accusingly at Yan Ziyu.
Yan Ziyu cast a casual, cold glance at Su Qing, her voice laced with frost as she spoke, "Where is the evidence? According to the laws of Dayun, slandering members of the imperial family is a capital offense. Sister, do you have any unfulfilled wishes left?"
"Thank you for your concern, Princess Consort, but you would be wise to worry about yourself instead. Murder... is a debt paid with one's life." Su Qing spoke with absolute certainty, as though she had known all along that Yan Ziyu was the culprit.
"Sister seems entirely certain that this Princess Consort is the murderer. I wonder what evidence Sister possesses? Or perhaps... Sister knew this would happen and arranged everything beforehand? That is certainly worth investigating." The corners of Yan Ziyu's lips lifted, a detached and mocking smile settling upon her delicate face as she spoke with meaningful intent.
"You're talking nonsense! Don't try to frame me—" Stung by Yan Ziyu's articulate words, Su Qing grew furious and barked a low retort.
"If you bully Xiao Yu again, I'll beat you!" Seeing Su Qing dare to yell at Yan Ziyu, Ali immediately grew displeased. Like a brooding hen, she shielded Yan Ziyu behind her, raised her fist at Su Qing, and threatened her fiercely.
Su Qing glared coldly at the menacing Ali, let out a disdainful snort, and mocked derisively, "Beat me? Heh... Just you? Just an idiot like you... Hahaha... Beat me, do you dare? Look at what state you're in. You don't even have the qualifications to lay a finger on me..."
Enduring grievances from Yan Ziyu was a matter of necessity, but now even an idiot was giving her grief. Unable to restrain her temper any longer, Su Qing decided to vent all her inner rage upon Ali.
Ali pouting, a sharp glint flashed across her eyes before she shrunk back timidly behind Yan Ziyu, grabbing the hem of Yan Ziyu's robe and staring at Su Qing with a frightened expression, as though looking at some venomous snake or fierce beast.
At this sight, Yan Ziyu furrowed her brows and cast a cold, indifferent glance at the somewhat unhinged Su Qing. Catching her entirely off guard, Yan Ziyu raised her hand and delivered a fierce backhand slap—
"Crack—!"
Suddenly, a crisp, resounding slap echoed through the air.
"She doesn't dare, but I do!" Glancing coldly at the stunned Su Qing, before the other woman could utter a word, Yan Ziyu swung her hand back for another fierce blow—"Crack—!" This sound was even louder than the first...
The onlookers were dumbfounded—
Su Qing was utterly dazed by these two sudden slaps. Clutching her face, her eyes burning red with fury, she roared at Yan Ziyu, "Yan—Zi—yu—!"
"My name sounds pleasant enough; you don't need to advertise it for me. Instead of wasting time on that, you'd do better to watch your own tongue, lest I find an opportunity to tear it out!" Yan Ziyu's eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty chill, and her cold glare made Su Qing shiver to her core.
To be framed, to be bullied—she could endure all of that for the sake of Ru'er!
Yet she could never tolerate anyone humiliating the people she cared about. She was fiercely protective of her own, extraordinarily so. Anyone who dared to challenge her inverse scale had better be prepared to bear her wrath. These slaps today were merely a small warning, meant to kill the chicken to frighten the monkeys.
"Yan Ziyu, you go too far—!" Su Qing clutched her face and shrieked hysterically.