Xin Guiren had no time to react until the dilapidated door made a violent sound under strong pushing. She only snapped back to reality when her eyes met the figure carrying her on his back. Xin Guiren turned and ran.
However, she was merely a frail woman in the cold palace, constantly underfed and shivering, how could she outrun Cai Wei?
Cai Wei gave chase, grabbed Xin Guiren’s hair, and yanked it backward with force. Xin Guiren let out a pained scream, her shrill cry piercing the night sky and startling a flock of crows roosting on the treetops. But the sound was swallowed by the desolate wind of the cold palace, not a whisper escaping.
Xin Guiren was yanked and fell to the ground. She struggled to get up, only to be kicked down again.
Cai Wei lifted her foot and stepped on Xin Guiren’s back, then knelt down, her knee pressing into Xin Guiren’s spine. She tightened the strings on both ends of the sachet with her hands, quickly wrapping them around Xin Guiren’s neck and pulling hard.
The suffocating sensation on her neck made Xin Guiren’s eyes roll back. Her hands clutched the sachet, pulling the strings with all her might, letting out ragged gasps.
Her struggles changed nothing. Her exhaustion left her with no strength to resist.
Before long, Xin Guiren breathed her last.
Cai Wei, uneasy, released her grip after a long moment. The rope had left marks on her fingers. She shook her hand and, as if venting her anger, kicked Xin Guiren several more times.
After throwing the wet nurse and Xin Guiren into the well, Cai Wei tidied her clothes and quickly left the cold palace.
Ji Hong, upon hearing that Zou Yun’er was ill, came to Lilan Palace to see her. Learning that she knew of Zou Cheng Yi’s death, he couldn’t help but frown. The Zou family was quite something; they dared to send news of something he had kept hidden. However, thinking of Zou Cheng Yi, Ji Hong did not pursue the matter.
“Alas, have the imperial physicians seen her? What did they say?”
Ji Hong tucked the corner of the quilt around Zou Yun’er, brushed the hair scattered on her forehead behind her ear, took her hand, and his voice was so gentle it seemed to ripple.
Wrapped in Ji Hong’s hand and feeling the warmth emanating from his palm, Zou Yun’er’s nose prickled, and she almost cried again. She sniffled and replied, “Your concubine is fine. The imperial physicians came, but it is because the weather has been too cold lately that I caught a chill. A few doses of medicine will cure it.”
Ji Hong sighed and gently patted her hand.
“How can I not know why you are ill?”
She was suffering from excessive grief, and her body couldn’t take it. But the fact that Zou Cheng Yi had faked his death could not be known to anyone, so she could only mourn like this.
However, Ji Hong did favor Zou Yun’er. Otherwise, there would not have been so few consorts in the harem over the years, nor would he have doted on her so exclusively. Seeing Zou Yun’er so heartbroken, Ji Hong’s heart ached with hers.
“Please set your mind at ease. I will give you an explanation for this matter!”
Zou Yun’er nodded, wanting to get up to thank him, but Ji Hong pressed her back down. “You should rest well. I am returning to the imperial study.”
Ji Hong did not stay overnight in Lilan Palace. After comforting Zou Yun’er a few words, he returned to the imperial study. Cai Wei, walking to the entrance of Lilan Palace, bumped into Ji Hong as he emerged.
“Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!”
Cai Wei quickly knelt to pay her respects.
Ji Hong’s gaze swept over Cai Wei, then extended behind her, all the way to the end of the darkness. He looked for a moment before retracting his gaze. He walked past Cai Wei and ascended his sedan chair.
Only after Ji Hong’s figure disappeared at the end of the road did Cai Wei rise and enter Lilan Palace, hurrying into the sleeping quarters.
“Your Highness, I have obtained the item.”
Seeing Cai Wei return, Zou Yun’er dismissed all the palace maids. Cai Wei shivered off the chill from her body and took off her outer garment, placing it on the rack. She then walked to Zou Yun’er’s bedside and took out the medicine bottle from her embrace, handing it to her.
“That wet nurse said this medicine cannot be put in too much, otherwise it will become a deadly poison. Your Highness, be sure to use only a little,” Cai Wei cautioned with concern.
Zou Yun’er took the medicine bottle and nodded vigorously. She then asked with a hint of unease, “Cai Wei, did that wet nurse say anything else? She, she took the money and promised to keep my secret, right?”
Cai Wei sneered inwardly. Secret? Only the dead could keep secrets!
However, Cai Wei had no intention of revealing to Zou Yun’er that she had killed the wet nurse and Xin Guiren. If she hadn’t been driven to a corner and needed to seek refuge with Yin Si Lan, why would she have dirtied her own hands?
But as things stood, there was no point in saying more.
Cai Wei nodded, appeasing Zou Yun’er’s worries. “Your Highness, please rest assured. Your humble servant has handled everything properly. Aside from Your Highness, your humble servant, and that wet nurse, no fourth person will know of this.”
As Cai Wei spoke, she couldn’t help but think that indeed, there would be no fourth person. But there would be a fifth, a sixth, and even more.
If she didn’t seize Zou Yun’er’s weakness, how could Yin Si Lan use Zou Yun’er to achieve her own goals? It was a pity for this fool who, just after her father died, was now falling into someone else’s trap.