"Sir, you ask about this... could it be that my lady isn't ill but poisoned?" the maidservant couldn't help but think. If it was an illness, how could it be so sudden and severe? Even experienced physicians couldn't diagnose it.
Before Nan Shiying could answer, the maidservant continued, "That's right. The people from the purchasing department are the most opportunistic. Why would they send something to my lady just because there's new preserved fruit? Someone must have malicious intentions and wants to take my lady's life!"
As she spoke, she turned and knelt before Ji Jinmo, pleading earnestly, "I beg Your Highness to give my lady justice!"
Well, that was quite the self-conclusion!
Ji Jinmo looked at Nan Shiying, not even sparing a glance for the maidservant's earnest plea. Nan Shiying tilted her head, pointed at the maidservant, then turned to look at Wei Rulan.
Seeing that Ji Jinmo remained silent, she coughed and said, "I never said my lady was poisoned?"
The maidservant's face froze with visible speed. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, and she raised her head unnaturally, "It's this servant's eagerness and misunderstanding of sir's meaning. I beg sir not to blame me, and I beg Your Highness to forgive this servant's transgression!"
Ji Jinmo lowered his eyes, finally turning his gaze to her. His scrutinizing look was fleeting. Twirling his prayer beads, he asked Nan Shiying in a cool tone, "How is it?"
"Easy to treat!"
Nan Shiying spoke cryptically, "A few doses of medicine later will be enough!"
Upon hearing this, Ji Jinmo simply grunted and rose to leave without delay, not forgetting to beckon Nan Shiying, "Together!"
Nan Shiying followed.
...
After leaving Wei Rulan's room, the restlessness within Ji Jinmo gradually subsided. He kept his eyes lowered, his emotions unreadable. Nan Shiying followed behind, lost in thought. Ji Jinmo suddenly stopped. Nan Shiying, unable to evade, collided with his back.
Nan Shiying felt as if she had hit a wall, stars exploding before her eyes. Annoyed, she raised her head, intending to have a word with the man who had suddenly stopped.
Ji Jinmo turned around, placing his hand on Nan Shiying's forehead, gently rubbing her small head.
"What are you thinking about?"
A smiling voice came from above. Nan Shiying's wide eyes were filled with disbelief. Before she could speak, he was already crying foul? What was she thinking about?
Nan Shiying's eyebrows shot up in anger. Instead of answering, she retorted, "Why did you stop?"
Ji Jinmo ruffled Nan Shiying's hair again, messing up her neatly combed hair. He gazed at the courtyard not far away and said, "Actually, it doesn't need to be this troublesome!"
"Hmm?"
"Just kill them all!"
He spoke these chilling words slowly. Nan Shiying felt a wave of malicious black mist surge from within him, attempting to engulf her. However, Nan Shiying was no ordinary woman. She felt no fear or unease towards Ji Jinmo's cold cruelty, only stating, "Too much of a disturbance!"
She was seriously considering the feasibility of this.
"It will easily alert the enemy!"
Nan Shiying didn't believe that the true higher-ups of the Miao Jiang remnants would dare to lurk in the princely manor. If the Miao Jiang remnants within the manor suddenly died, it would undoubtedly alert the Miao Jiang people, making it not worth the effort.
However, Ji Jinmo of the past wouldn't have been like this.
"My lord, are you not feeling well?" Nan Shiying pushed his hand away and asked.
Ji Jinmo looked listless, a weariness from heart to soul. "It's just that the蛊 worm acted up just now."
"Is there something in that room?" Nan Shiying said, turning to go back. Ji Jinmo grabbed her wrist. Seeing the malevolent energy surrounding her, even the corners of her eyes tinged with red, he couldn't help but smile. He didn't mention his previous murderous words and instead reassured her, "It's all fine now!"
Nan Shiying turned her head. The redness in her eyes had not yet faded. Seeing that Ji Jinmo's complexion was still ruddy, her suddenly surging killing intent gradually subsided.
"My lord, don't you think someone is treating us like fools?"
After dispelling her killing aura, Nan Shiying felt that this trip had gone too smoothly. After Xiao Ju died, Wei Rulan immediately fell ill, with symptoms that strongly resembled the backlash of a蛊 worm. The maidservant attending her deliberately revealed a flaw, intending for them to believe Wei Rulan was poisoned, and to create the illusion that 'Wei Rulan suffered a backlash but ordered her maidservant to feign poisoning to cover her tracks.'
Furthermore, to frame Wei Rulan for everything, they had placed something in her room that would trigger the蛊 worm within Ji Jinmo.
One step at a time, turning Wei Rulan into a scapegoat.
Nan Shiying glanced at Ji Jinmo.
Ji Jinmo nodded in understanding, "Thirteen, escort everyone in Wei Rulan's courtyard to the dungeon."
"Including Wei Rulan!"
...
"What are you doing? You..."
Thirteen led the team, apprehending everyone. Disregarding Wei Rulan's critically ill state, they dragged her into the dungeon as well.
Bai Xinxin's room remained tightly shut. The maidservants and wet nurses showed no sign of activity, each hiding in their own rooms. Hearing the cries outside, they couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.
...
The prison was filled with so many young ladies for the first time. The scent of powder mixed with the stench of blood and decay, making the air even more foul.
Cries filled the air, making it noisy!
Nan Shiying found it somewhat bothersome, but she instructed, "Go and add a cushion for Wei Rulan, don't let her actually die!"
"Yes!"
Jia Huan received the order.
"You are indeed very kind-hearted!" Ji Jinmo's tone held a hint of sarcasm. Nan Shiying looked up at him, wondering what he was displeased about. She was concerned about her husband's concubine's life!
Xuan Thirteen thought that perhaps His Highness felt that the Princess Consort didn't care about him, as no wife who cared about her husband would wish for their husband's concubines to die.
If any of these maidservants had issues, they would be revealed with torture.
Ordinary maidservants couldn't withstand torture.
Only one, the maidservant who revealed the flaw and intended them to believe Wei Rulan was poisoned, gritted her teeth and endured the torture. This indirectly proved that Wei Rulan was certainly not a weak link hidden in the princely manor.
...
Two days later.
A shadowy figure slipped into Wei Rulan's room, searching for something.
She searched the entire room but still couldn't find what she was looking for, becoming somewhat annoyed. Just then, she suddenly thought of something, walked to the bedside, and ripped open the bedding. As expected, she found a hidden compartment under the mattress.
Upon opening the hidden compartment, what she was looking for was placed inside.
Tucking the small porcelain bottle into her embrace, the person carefully replaced the bedding, restored everything in the room, and then tiptoed out.
Nan Shiying was squatting on a tree branch. The cold wind blew past, and she couldn't help but sneeze.
"Achoo!"