Nan Shiying felt she had done right by Zou ChengYi.
She released Zou YunEr’s hand, cast a glance at the palace maid who had just gotten up from the ground and was running towards Zou YunEr, and deliberately said to Zou YunEr, "Your Majesty, after leaving today, you must be careful with your food and drink, lest wicked people take advantage, poison you, and then blame it on me."
"But then again, one life is a burden, and two lives are also a burden, so adding Your Majesty’s third life isn't that much more."
"This commoner is truly a scapegoat in the truest sense of the word."
Zou YunEr looked at Nan Shiying, her expression unsightly but no longer driven solely by hatred. Cai Wei rushed to Zou YunEr’s side, shielding her.
"Your Majesty, hurry and go," she urged Zou YunEr to leave first, while blocking Nan Shiying as if facing death, and shouting angrily, "With me here, I will not let you harm Your Majesty one bit."
Nan Shiying lowered her head and looked at her. She had a unique scent that Nan Shiying had only smelled on one other person.
The Gu master from the Lan family.
It was truly a case of searching everywhere for something only to find it easily.
Nan Shiying smiled.
"I remember you."
Cai Wei trembled all over, an inexplicable sense of crisis suddenly overwhelming her. The eyes of the person before her were so bright and deep, as if they could peer directly into one's heart, digging out the deepest secrets hidden within and exposing them to the sunlight.
"Feng Luan, if one day I discover that you are the culprit behind my father's death, I will surely cut you into a thousand pieces!" Zou YunEr no longer lingered, leaving behind a harsh threat and then grabbing Cai Wei’s arm as she left the prison.
Nan Shiying watched her retreating figure. Thinking of Zou ChengYi, she felt that while he was good at his official duties, he was a rather failed father.
Zou YunEr was arrogant and brainless, while Zou YunMing was dissolute and impulsive.
He had now faked his death, and the entire Zou household was unaware. With Zou YunEr in this state, she didn't know how Zou YunMing was faring or if he could stabilize the Zou family.
...
A night passed, and the child was not found.
"Ming Ge'er, is this really alright?" Mother Yuan cradled the infant, who had been found from who knows where, her heart filled with unease.
This infant, at first glance, was clearly a child from a poor family, sallow and thin, nowhere near as lively as a young master. Furthermore, the young master had big double eyelids, while this child had single eyelids.
Could this possibly deceive them?
"Why not?"
Zou YunMing’s eyes were filled with coldness. He hadn't slept all night, his eyes were dark, and the corners of his eyes were bloodshot. His haggard face could not hide his sinister gaze, which made Mother Yuan tremble with fear.
He sneered, "After all, the Qin family only saw the baby on the day of its birth. Babies, naturally, change every day. As long as no one in our Zou household betrays us, the Qin family will absolutely not discover that this child is not the one born to Qin XiaoRong."
"But what about the wet nurse…" Others were easy to handle, but the wet nurse was not a servant of their Zou family, and her mouth was hard to seal.
"At this time of year, it's freezing cold, the ground is all ice. If the wet nurse slipped while fetching water and fell into the well and drowned, it would be a reasonable occurrence. It’s just a pity that such a good person is gone. Alas, life is truly unpredictable. Let’s give her family some extra money, as a gesture of our condolences."
Zou YunMing lightly decided the wet nurse's fate. He intended to kill her to silence her, yet he phrased it in such a way. Mother Yuan had watched Zou YunMing grow up since childhood, but now she felt as if she had never truly known him.
However, her own son, though cruel now, was only pushed to this extent by external circumstances. If he didn’t act this way, how could he take over the Zou family, how could he lead the Zou family out of its current predicament?
Mother Yuan felt nothing but apprehension and heartache.
The wet nurse was carried out of the Zou residence. The Zou family made no effort to hide it, as it was an 'accidental' death. After the Zou family paid compensation, the main family did not pursue the matter further.
After the wet nurse’s death, the Zou family hired a new wet nurse.
This wet nurse had previously been the personal maid of the niece of Madam Zou’s family. She later married the son of the steward of the estate. A year after giving birth, her milk was still abundant, so Madam Zou requested her. Although she had left her indenture, her entire family’s livelihood was in the hands of Madam of the estate. Even if she noticed something amiss with the infant, she would never dare to say a word.
The matter of the lost infant was thoroughly concealed.
...
The nights in the cold palace were so cold that they sent chills from the heart outwards.
Noble Lady Xin, wrapped in a thin quilt, felt the cold wind gushing into the room from the dilapidated doors and windows. The cold palace did have a quota of charcoal, but forty percent was embezzled by the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department, and another twenty percent was taken by the eunuchs guarding the cold palace. The amount of charcoal that fell into her hands was pitifully small, and she only dared to use some of it when it snowed.
The rice for this month was almost gone. She had only drunk some thin porridge at night, and she wondered if it was because her body had no stored provisions that she felt it was particularly cold tonight.
Noble Lady Xin was too cold to sleep. She got up, put on her clothes, and wrapped herself in a relatively warm outer garment before walking out of the room towards the adjacent dilapidated room where sundries were piled.
Before she reached the dilapidated room, Noble Lady Xin faintly heard voices talking.
She hesitated for a moment but then walked towards the source of the sound. The window paper in the cold palace had long been riddled with holes by insects. Noble Lady Xin peeked out, looking into the room through a hole.
A slender figure faced the window. Opposite her stood an old wet nurse, who looked somewhat familiar, but Noble Lady Xin couldn't immediately recall who she was.
The old wet nurse took out a bottle of medicine from her懷, handed it to the person before her, and carefully instructed, "Miss Cai Wei, please relay to Her Majesty that this medicine cannot be added excessively. If too much is added, it will become a deadly poison. Be extremely careful."
"Please don't worry, madam. Your servant understands. However, Her Majesty hopes that madam will keep this matter buried, even if threatened with a sword, and not reveal a single word." Cai Wei took the bottle and tucked it into her怀, then added a reminder. The old wet nurse bowed her head repeatedly, agreeing.
Cai Wei nodded, took out a purse, and handed it to the wet nurse.
The wet nurse raised her hand to take it.
Cai Wei, however, grabbed the wet nurse's hand, pulled her forward forcefully, and as the old wet nurse lost her balance, she slipped behind her, grabbed the drawstring of the purse, tied it around the wet nurse's neck, and then pulled with both hands.
The purse got stuck in the wet nurse's throat, and as the rope tightened, she slowly suffocated.
The scene before her made Noble Lady Xin's hands and feet go cold. She instinctively wanted to scream, but the next moment, she covered her mouth with her hand to survive.
The silhouette of a sleeve brushed past the insect-ridden hole in the window. Cai Wei's eyes were tinged with ferocity. While strangling the old wet nurse, she dragged her towards the door.
When she reached the door, the old wet nurse had completely stopped breathing.
Cai Wei released the rope and suddenly pushed the door open.