The palace maid's casual words struck Consort Li like a wake-up call. Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly realized the truth. Yes, she knew best what she had made, she had the antidote for the poison she had concocted, and only she could remove the scars she had left behind!
It wasn't Shen Lixue who poisoned her and left her with scars all over her body, but Li Youlan!
Haha, no wonder the imperial physicians were helpless with the scars, but Li Youlan solved them with ease. It turns out that she was the one who poisoned herself.
Before she was poisoned, Li Youlan went to the palace every day to curry favor with the Empress Dowager and the concubines. The Empress Dowager treated her indifferently, and the concubines were lukewarm towards her. The concubines accepted the small gifts she sent, but no one agreed to cooperate with her.
Unable to find a way out, she turned her attention to herself. First, she poisoned herself, leaving herself covered in scars and heartbroken to the point of wishing she were dead. Then, posing as a kind person, she brought herself medicine to remove the scars.
He thought that since he had survived a desperate situation and his skin had recovered, he would be extremely grateful to her and feel that he owed her a great favor. He would then agree to cooperate with her. What a despicable and shameless scheme!
Li Youlan is renowned in Qingyan Capital for her superb poison skills. Concocting poisons that even the imperial physicians cannot cure and creating scars that cannot be removed are child's play for her. I was so foolish to have been completely deceived by her!
The miracle doctor who saved her was the culprit who harmed her. She had mistaken the jackal for her benefactor and was extremely grateful to her. Shen Lixue must have realized this, which is why she showed that strange smile. She was mocking her for being blind and unable to distinguish right from wrong.
Wait a minute, Li Youlan knows martial arts and her lightness skill is also very good. Could it be that the person who secretly saw me and His Highness having an affair outside Yonghua Palace that day was her? Did she secretly drug me and accidentally witness my intimate moment with His Highness?
After that day, her life remained peaceful. Apart from Li Youlan, no one contacted her or threatened her with that incident. It was clear that no one else knew about it, and the only suspect was Li Youlan.
She is the Princess Consort of Zhan, and she needs my help. She didn't expose me earlier, but what if one day she no longer needs me and only needs to expose the intimate affairs of her prince, and I'm finished? How do I deal with her?
Fifty meters away, in a relatively secluded corner, Qiuhe placed two large silver ingots into the hands of two palace maids in green.
The palace maid in green looked at the gleaming silver and beamed with joy, repeatedly expressing her gratitude: "Thank you, Princess Consort An! Thank you, Princess Consort An!" She had only said a few words and yet received such a large ingot of silver; she had truly struck gold.
Shen Lixue waved her hand, and the two palace maids understood, thanking her profusely, and quickly left the corner.
Qiuhe stepped forward, her eyes filled with doubt and confusion: "Princess Consort, can those few words they said really have any effect?" They were just a few insignificant words, not involving any people or matters.
Shen Lixue smiled sweetly, like a hundred flowers blooming, her clear and cold eyes looking in the direction of Consort Li: "Consort Li has lived in the harem for a long time and is very suspicious. The appearance of that divine physician is too timely. We have given her a warning. She will definitely become suspicious and there will definitely be infighting again. Next, let's just have a cup of hot tea and wait to watch the show."
Shen Lixue didn't know who was helping Consort Li, but that person was Consort Li's enemy. If the two of them joined forces, Shen Lixue might be at a disadvantage. So, Shen Lixue changed to a divisive tactic, stirring up trouble between them and letting them fight each other to the death, while she sat back and reaped the benefits.
Qiu He didn't have Shen Lixue's meticulous mind. She couldn't understand the coded language Shen Lixue used. However, she did understand when Shen Lixue mentioned that Consort Li was fighting among herself. It was really clever to spend some money to hire someone to say a few words and stir up trouble among enemies. She couldn't wait to see that dramatic scene.
She blinked her big eyes and looked through the void towards the direction where Consort Li was, wondering when Consort Li would start fighting among herself.
On the bluestone path, Consort Li's face flushed red and then turned pale, sometimes angry, sometimes joyful, and sometimes panicked, leaving Shen Yingxue completely bewildered. What was wrong with her? How could she be both happy and sad in such a short time?
Shen Yingxue parted a holly bush, wanting to get a better look, but she grabbed it too tightly, and the holly branch snapped with a crack. The slight sound startled Consort Li, whose sharp gaze shot over like a sword: "Who goes there?"
Oh no, I've been found out!
Shen Yingxue was startled and turned to run away, but unexpectedly, the palace maids swarmed from the front, surrounded her, tied her arms behind her back, and twisted her in front of Consort Li.
"Your Highness, she's eavesdropping!" A strong palace maid kicked Shen Yingxue hard in the knee.
Unable to control herself, Shen Yingxue knelt down in front of Consort Li with a thud. A huge sense of humiliation filled her heart. She glared fiercely at the palace maid, gritting her teeth. Once she gained power, she would definitely teach this blind wretch a lesson.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through her chin, forcing Shen Yingxue to raise her slightly lowered head. Her furious eyes met Li Fei's dark pupils: "You are... Shen Yingxue."
When Shen Yingxue was the daughter of the Prime Minister, she often attended banquets in the palace. Consort Li had seen her many times. In addition, she was the most beautiful woman in Qingyan and was always in the limelight. Even after not seeing her for many days, Consort Li could still recognize her.
"Yes...yes..." Looking into Consort Li's unfathomable eyes, Shen Yingxue's anger instantly subsided, replaced by fear and unease.
"Are you spying on me?" Consort Li's beautiful eyes narrowed, her expression turning icy cold.
"No, no... I did not spy on Your Highness..." Shen Yingxue panicked and hurriedly explained, "I heard that Consort Li obtained a mysterious ointment that can remove scars without leaving a trace. I wanted to inquire about the whereabouts of that divine doctor and ask for some ointment to remove the calluses on my palms."
Fearing that Consort Li would not believe her, she spread out her two small hands and waved them back and forth in front of Consort Li.
Seeking a miracle doctor and a medicinal ointment!
Consort Li smiled mockingly, looking at Shen Yingxue with interest. Her face was beautiful and her skin was delicate, which was indeed incongruous with her rough hands. It was understandable that she asked for a hand ointment. Unfortunately, the doctor she knew could concoct poisons and make antidotes to deceive people, but he could not poison people's hands to the point of calluses. He probably couldn't concoct an ointment to remove calluses either.
"Shen Yingxue, I've heard that you are one of Prince Zhan's concubines?"
Shen Yingxue paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Yes!"
"A concubine's status is very lowly." Consort Li raised an eyebrow at Shen Yingxue, a faint smile on her face, her beautiful eyes filled with sarcasm.
Shen Yingxue lowered her head and remained silent, her slender hands clenching tightly. She knew all too well that the position of a concubine was as low as dust, and she had always been ashamed of this status, unable to hold her head high in front of others. She vowed that one day, she would completely shed this lowly status and once again become a person of high status, respected by all.
"Do you want to be Princess Consort Zhan?" Consort Li suddenly moved closer to Shen Yingxue, deliberately lowering her voice. Her soft, gentle voice was soothing and seductive.
Shen Yingxue was instantly stunned. She hadn't revealed her desire to become the principal wife, so how did Consort Li know? Looking at Consort Li's ambiguous smile, she blinked nervously, guessing that Consort Li was probably guessing. She absolutely couldn't reveal any flaws, otherwise, if the matter reached Li Youlan's ears, she would be doomed.
Thinking of this, Shen Yingxue put on what she thought was a proper smile: "Your Majesty is too kind. Yingxue is the daughter of a disgraced official and dares not aspire to the position of Empress."
Consort Li looked at Shen Yingxue and laughed mockingly: "Stop pretending to be high and mighty. If you really didn't want to be the principal wife, you would have blurted it out just now. Why would you have thought about it for so long before giving such a contrary answer?"
"Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. I truly have no improper thoughts." Shen Yingxue lowered her head, emphasizing her wishes, but her confidence was very weak. Her mind was in turmoil. Her purpose had been exposed by Consort Li. Should she admit it?
"Shen Yingxue, let's be frank. Are you willing to cooperate with me?" In the instant their eyes met, Consort Li saw through Shen Yingxue. She was a vain woman who yearned for wealth and glory, and such a person was easy to control.
Shen Yingxue was taken aback. Cooperation? Consort Li wanted to cooperate with her? She couldn't have heard wrong, could she? "This concubine does not understand Your Highness's meaning."
"It's very simple." Consort Li took a small paper packet from the maid and handed it to Shen Yingxue. Her eerie smile sent chills down one's spine. "Put some of the contents of this packet into Li Youlan's soup every day. At the latest, within six months, I will make you the Princess Consort of Zhan."
She and Li Youlan are allies. Li Youlan has leverage over her and won't attack her for the time being, but it's hard to say that one day Li Youlan might suddenly change his mind and catch her off guard.
In order to protect herself, she had to strike first and teach Li Youlan a lesson so that Li Youlan would have to be careful and wouldn't dare to expose her.
Shen Yingxue's face turned deathly pale instantly, and she hurriedly shook her head: "Your Majesty... I can't... I really can't..."
Li Youlan's poison skills were superb; she could smell any trace of poison. Poisoning her soup was tantamount to courting death, and she didn't want to perish so soon.
Consort Li frowned deeply, looking at the trembling Shen Yingxue with mockery in her beautiful eyes. What a useless coward, so afraid of something as simple as adding something: "Don't worry, this is not a slow poison, but a very special substance that Li Youlan cannot detect."