Chapter 17

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Prince Consort took the lead, ordering a thorough investigation. Many were involved in delivering, warming, and handling the wine, including me.

Eventually, it was my turn to be questioned.

“Ugh…”

I suddenly propped myself up, spitting a mouthful of fresh blood precisely onto the brocade quilt, startling the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

My symptoms were the most severe among the poisoned.

Weakly, I clutched the bed curtain, my fingertips trembling:

“I… I was just pouring wine as the Princess instructed… The Prince Consort was right beside me, I did nothing wrong.”

I timely coughed up another mouthful of blood, and the Prince Consort frowned, “Yes, I was sitting next to the Princess, Miss Yuan Qiao did nothing amiss.”

After saying that, I fainted.

Three days later, while everyone else’s condition gradually improved, the Princess’s condition took a sharp turn for the worse, leaving the imperial physicians helpless.

She wouldn’t recover.

My mastery of sleight of hand was unparalleled.

The Princess’s poison wasn’t in the wine, but on her maid’s clothes.

She loved having her maids massage her, and during the massage, the poison seeped through her skin into her organs, mixing with the poison in the wine to form a new toxin, which misled the imperial physicians into thinking the Princess’s poison was the same as everyone else’s.

This delayed her treatment.

I owe this to the old rogue master’s teachings; he knew all these harmful tricks, turning those children into something neither human nor ghost.

The Princess lay in a coma, and the imperial physicians shook their heads repeatedly.

I returned from a feigned visit with a group of noblewomen, and as I was brushing my hair in front of the bronze mirror, Shen Yunian’s livid face appeared without warning.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “You deceived me again, what did you do? Can you ever tell the truth?”

I dropped my smile and stopped pretending with him:

“Eldest Young Master, during the Shen Mansion raid, although it was all an act, the Princess intended real harm.”

“I was hiding nearby and heard her confidant say that only with enough deaths would it seem real. I counted the number of people who died in the mansion.”

Shen Yunian’s face darkened.

“Yushu was by the well at that time, clueless about everything, looking for her parents, her big brother…”

“If I hadn’t pulled her away in time, do you think the Princess would have spared a fool? Perhaps only death would convince others?”

“What about next time?”

Yushu was the Shen Family’s beloved, and if Shen Yunian had been there, he might have already drawn his sword to kill.

I spoke words that tugged at the heart.

The Shen Family risked everything to help the Princess for a future, only to be played like fools by her.

Shen Yunian’s hand gripped the sword hilt, his knuckles white.

To say Shen Yunian held no grudge against the Princess was impossible; given the chance, he would seek a new master.

He just needed an opportunity.

He was honorable and disdained using dirty tricks, but I was different, having grown up in the mire, my heart was already tainted.

These tasks were meant for me!

Like a ghost, I whispered, “Eldest Young Master, as long as the Princess is around, neither you nor the Prince Consort will rise.”

“Opportunities can’t be given by others.”

I’ve known since I was young that if you want something, you fight for it.

I always dared to gamble, pulling a porcelain bottle from my sleeve and pushing it towards him: “This is the antidote, Eldest Young Master, you could find a chance to give it to the Princess, and she’ll be cured.”

“Whether to be the fish or the knife, it’s up to you, Eldest Young Master.”

Shen Yunian lowered his eyes.

After a moment of contemplation, he pushed it back.

I smiled, his reaction was just like Qi Yu’s.

In this world, everyone is driven by self-interest; there are no good people here.