Looking up, she saw Li Youlan slowly walking into the room. The sharpness and ruthlessness in her eyes made her heart tremble. Her slender body trembled uncontrollably, and she suddenly knelt on the ground, saying in a deep voice, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Li Youlan stared coldly at Shen Yingxue with sharp eyes. Thinking of the agony she had just experienced, she was furious. She kicked Shen Yingxue hard in the chest and said fiercely, "You bitch, how dare you poison me? You're tired of living!"
Shen Yingxue collapsed to the ground in a disheveled state, her body trembling, too shocked to speak. Every time she poisoned someone in the kitchen, she did it very discreetly, without revealing the slightest flaw. How did Li Youlan know that she had poisoned her?
Unbeknownst to her, Li Youlan's trusted maid looked down on her. When she happened to encounter her in the kitchen, the maid would make sarcastic remarks and then tell Li Youlan about it as a joke. This happened once or twice in the afternoon, which might have been a coincidence. But when she encountered her three or four times, Li Youlan became addicted to poppies again, which meant it was intentional.
"Your Highness, I am innocent! Even if you gave me a hundred lives, I would never dare to harm Your Highness." After a brief moment of shock, Shen Yingxue came to her senses, knelt on the ground, and frantically tried to explain herself.
Unaware of the effects of the slow-acting poison given to her by Consort Li, she followed Consort Li's instructions and added a little bit to Li Youlan's bird's nest porridge every day. After Consort Li died, she considered stopping the poisoning, but her obsession with becoming a superior person prevailed. She continued to poison Li Youlan as usual, hoping that she would die quickly so that she could become the Princess Consort of Zhan. Little did she know that Li Youlan would discover the location of the poison.
She had witnessed Li Youlan's methods firsthand. If Li Youlan found out that she was the one who administered the drug, she would have no chance of survival.
Seeing Shen Yingxue's panicked gaze, Li Youlan curled her lips into a cold smile and kicked her hard again: "Still dare to argue? You vicious and wicked woman, you actually put poppies in my bird's nest porridge, are you tired of living?"
Shen Yingxue collapsed to the ground, her heart skipping a beat. Her eyes darted around, her expression growing increasingly panicked. Li Youlan had actually discovered the name of the poison, something she hadn't even known! Seeing Li Youlan's barely suppressed rage, she knew that poppy was a potent poison, and she couldn't possibly admit it: "Your Highness, please investigate thoroughly! I have always followed Your Highness's lead; how could I possibly harm Your Highness? Someone must be framing me..."
"Framed you? Then tell me, who framed you?" Li Youlan laughed mockingly, a hint of coldness appearing in her sharp eyes, and a murderous intent flickering in her gaze, sending chills down one's spine.
"Yes...yes..." Shen Yingxue's body trembled, her eyes darting around. Who could she shift the blame to? The maid? The guard? The servant? They were all Li Youlan's confidants, always putting her first. She wouldn't abandon them and choose to trust herself...
Looking at Shen Yingxue's increasingly pale face, Li Youlan felt a surge of vengeful pleasure. However, Shen Yingxue's abrupt shift in gaze made Li Youlan frown deeply. Her actions were full of flaws, yet she refused to admit her mistakes, feigning innocence—truly an eyesore. Since that was the case, she would show mercy and expose her ugly, hypocritical face.
“You are just a lowly concubine in the Zhan Prince’s mansion. No maid, servant, or guard will be close to you. You have a limited number of acquaintances. You should really think carefully about who to push to take the blame for you.”
"Your Highness, please investigate thoroughly. Everything I said is true." In her panic, Shen Yingxue suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and a bright face appeared before her eyes. Shen Lixue, how could she have forgotten her? She was the Princess Consort of Anjun of the Holy King's Mansion, of noble status and extraordinary position. She and Li Youlan were also enemies. If she said that she had poisoned Li Youlan, Li Youlan would definitely believe it.
"Your Highness, it was Shen Lixue. She must have been trying to harm you by framing me instead, so she could get away with it."
Shen Lixue was pregnant and received all the love and pampering. She held a very high position in the Holy King's Mansion. She did not want to be her enemy, but Li Youlan discovered the bad things she had done. In order to protect herself, she had no choice but to push Shen Lixue out as a shield.
Furthermore, if Shen Lixue and Li Youlan clash and one dies or is seriously injured, the other will certainly not fare well either. She might even be able to profit from the situation.
Shen Lixue?
Li Youlan's lips curled slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. If she hadn't encountered Shen Lixue in the silk shop, she too would have suspected that Shen Lixue had planted the poppies.
“Shen Yingxue, you can’t find anyone to take the blame, so you’ve pushed Shen Lixue out. That’s incredibly stupid. To tell you the truth, it was Shen Lixue who told me about my opium addiction.”
Shen Yingxue's small face instantly turned deathly pale. Shen Lixue was the first to discover the poison, so how could this have happened? Had she shot herself in the foot?
Li Youlan will definitely not believe her anymore, what should she do?
In her panic, before Shen Yingxue could think things through, she heard Li Youlan's cold command: "Guards, Shen Yingxue is lying. Cut off her hands and feet."
Shen Yingxue was shocked, her mind went blank. Li Youlan wanted to cut off her hands and feet, how could she? How could she?
A sharp pain in her arm snapped her back to reality. Two maids were grabbing her arms tightly on either side and dragging her away forcefully. Her face was filled with terror as she looked through the wide-open door and saw the guard in the center of the courtyard. He carried a large sword on his back, the blade reflecting a chilling glint in the sunlight, sending shivers down one's spine.
Shen Yingxue struggled desperately, but couldn't stop herself from being dragged out of the room. As she got closer and closer to the sword-wielding guard, she could feel the chilling aura emanating from the blade. Her eyes widened in horror, and she cried out anxiously, "I'll talk, I'll talk... It was Consort Li, it was Consort Li who poisoned the Princess..."
Li Youlan's gaze sharpened, a chilling glint flashing in her eyes: "Is this true?"
Seeing that there was hope for a pardon, Shen Yingxue nodded vigorously, "It's absolutely true. I swear to heaven that if I'm lying, may I die a horrible death."
"Did Consort Li tell you about the antidote for poppies?" Qingyan didn't have poppies, and the description of poppies in the book was also vague. Li Youlan didn't know that there was no antidote for poppies, and thought that it was like other slow-acting poisons, which had an antidote.
Shen Yingxue shook her head blankly: "No!" Consort Li only gave her that packet of medicine to administer, and said nothing else. She didn't even know the name of the medicine, let alone the antidote.
Li Youlan's heart sank instantly. No wonder Consort Li smiled so strangely before she died, and kept saying that she would regret killing her. It turned out that she had already poisoned her with a slow poison. She was dead and she would not get the antidote. Soon she would go to the underworld to accompany her. Ha, what a brilliant plan!
Suddenly raising her eyelids, her gaze was like a sharp blade, coldly shooting at Shen Yingxue. Consort Li was a concubine and could not leave the palace. She should only be responsible for providing poison. The one who poisoned her must be Shen Yingxue. She was poisoned and could die at any moment. How could the murderer who harmed her be alive and well?
"Take her away."
His voice was as cold as a knife, as sinister as a ghost, sending chills down Shen Yingxue's spine. Her heart trembled, and she cried out, begging for mercy, "Your Highness, please spare me! I will serve you like a slave to repay your great kindness..."
Li Youlan ignored her completely, her gaze as cold as ice, a sinister smile playing on her lips. Shen Yingxue trembled all over, her heart pounding with anxiety. Tears streamed down her face, making her look pitiful. Her sorrowful sobs trembled violently. The two maids ignored her completely, dragging her forward like a dead dog.
After a short while, Shen Yingxue was led to Li Youlan's courtyard, or more precisely, to the underground chamber of her courtyard. Outside, the sun shone brightly, but inside it was dark and damp, with no light penetrating. A ring of torches illuminated the dark chamber walls, and a stench of fish wafted out, making one want to vomit.
Where is this place? As soon as Shen Yingxue stepped into this place, she was surrounded by a strong sense of fear, and a chill ran down her spine. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Are you satisfied with this place?" Li Youlan's voice rang out in the darkness, chilling and eerie, like a sharp blast of cold air seeping into the skin through every pore, making one feel cold to the bone.
Shen Yingxue hugged her trembling body tightly. Satisfied? This place only filled her with fear.
"Are you wondering what this place is? Heh... This place was only recently built, it's normal that you don't know." Li Youlan raised an eyebrow, her smile full of coldness: "Do you know why I built it?"
Shen Yingxue bit her lip and frowned. The secret room was gloomy and eerie, and it was filled with a fishy and musty smell. It was obvious that it was not built for good.
Li Youlan didn't expect Shen Yingxue to guess correctly, so she revealed the answer herself: "I like to study poisons, make poisons, and build secret rooms, of course, to store poisons."
Shen Yingxue's heart skipped a beat, a chill ran from her back to her limbs, and she trembled all over. Building a secret room to store poisonous things, probably only Li Youlan in the entire Qingyan could do that, and the secret room was even built under her own room. She was really bold.
Wait a minute, she brought me to this poisonous chamber, does she want to poison me to death?
A cold wind blew by, sounding like the wailing of a vengeful ghost. Shen Yingxue screamed in fright, her body went limp, and she fell to the ground in a sorry state. This only made Li Youlan burst into laughter. Her crazy laughter echoed throughout the dark room, lingering there.
"Shen Yingxue, are you very scared?" Li Youlan looked down at Shen Yingxue, her sharp eyes flashing with cold light, her beautiful face slightly distorted, revealing an indescribable ferocity under the torchlight.
Fear? Shen Yingxue was terrified. Her blank stare gradually brightened. Yes, yes, she was afraid, terribly afraid. Would Li Youlan take her fear into consideration and punish her leniently?
The thought popped into her mind and then vanished without a trace. Li Youlan hated her to the bone, so why would she punish her leniently?
She was only fifteen years old, still very young, with a bright future ahead of her. She was unwilling to die in this dark, cold, and sunless secret room. However, Li Youlan was the Princess Consort of Zhan, skilled in martial arts and poison, and the maids and guards who came with her were all her confidants. Shen Yingxue was all alone, isolated and helpless, weak and powerless. How could she escape from the secret room?
Under the bright firelight, Shen Yingxue's face changed color constantly, like a trapped beast struggling on the verge of death, filled with pain and helplessness. Li Youlan was in a good mood and loudly ordered, "Someone, open the door and let Miss Shen see her final resting place."