Ye Jingyu exchanged a glance with Ying Xiao.
Ying Xiao stepped forward and made a gesture of invitation. "Would the imperial physician please come this way to write the prescription?"
The imperial physician followed him out.
Inside the inner chamber, only Liang Fei remained besides the two of them.
Ye Jingyu frowned. "Where did you put the pastries from last time?"
Su Yunmo knew Liang Fei's usual hiding spots for pastries and turned the room upside down, searching everywhere.
The two of them inspected all the remaining pastries. The ones that hadn't been eaten were fine, only this one packet was poisoned.
"Your Highness? What's wrong?" Qin Mingyan's surprised and panicked voice came from outside the courtyard.
Ying Xiao's eyes flickered. He took out a silver ingot from his怀 and slipped it into the imperial physician's hand. "You are not to mention anything that happened here today to anyone outside."
The imperial physician repeatedly agreed. "Please rest assured, Your Highness Yu Wang. This old minister understands."
A concubine, deposed to the cold palace, being maliciously poisoned would shock the entire harem if word got out.
If Prince Yu was willing to let the matter rest, it was because of his kindness. However, if he chose to make a fuss, it would implicate more than just one person.
Such a significant matter was beyond his capacity to handle, so he naturally wouldn't speak carelessly after leaving.
"Thank you for your trouble today, imperial physician. Please see yourself out," Ying Xiao escorted him out.
As they passed the doorway, they brushed past Qin Mingyan.
Qin Mingyan entered the room. Before she could even see Liang Fei, her eyes welled up with tears. "Your Highness, how is the Consort?"
Ye Jingyu narrowed his eyes.
Meeting his cold, dark gaze, Qin Mingyan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly explained.
"I was summoned to the palace by the Empress today. I came to visit Consort Liang midway. When I entered the courtyard, I heard a little palace maid say that the Consort had been poisoned."
"She is fine now." Ye Jingyu gave her a cold glance and walked to the bedside to check on Liang Fei.
Qin Mingyan's gaze swept over the two people in the room, and she frowned.
The atmosphere felt a bit off.
At this point, His Highness should already know that Consort Liang was poisoned by eating pastries, and the pastries were brought by Su Yunmo.
Logically, His Highness should have apprehended Su Yunmo as the culprit and interrogated her rigorously.
Poisoning a concubine was no minor offense.
She stepped forward and asked casually, "Has Your Highness sent anyone to thoroughly investigate this matter? I wonder which wicked person dared to poison Consort Liang. Truly detestable!"
Su Yunmo was leaning on the table, sifting through the oil-paper packets, also puzzled.
In the palace, the only one who had a feud with Consort Liang was the Empress.
But no matter how foolish the Empress was, she wouldn't commit such an obvious act of murder. Moreover, she had just been pardoned by the Empress Dowager and would only restrain herself for a while, not causing trouble.
This incident was definitely not her doing.
But if not her, then who else?
Who had such a deep enmity with Consort Liang to poison her?
And what was the motive?
"Miss Su, why have you been rummaging through the pastries? Is there something wrong with them?" Qin Mingyan's voice rose slightly in surprise. "Could the poison have been placed in the pastries?"
Su Yunmo's hands paused as she sifted through the pastries. She looked up at Qin Mingyan, a faint glint flashing in her eyes.
Was this woman a bit too active today?
"Did I guess correctly? It really is like this! Consort Liang often only eats pastries. Placing poison in them is simply too wicked!" Qin Mingyan exclaimed indignantly.
Ye Jingyu lowered the bed curtain and turned to look at her, his gaze probing.
Sensing his gaze, Qin Mingyan became even more theatrical. "Miss Su will take a long time to find it alone, why don't I help you look?"
She stepped forward and began sifting through the oil-paper packets, saying, "We must catch such a heartless person."
Ying Xiao had already returned and frowned upon hearing Qin Mingyan's words.
He paused for a moment, then stepped forward and picked up the poisoned packet of pastries. "The poison is in here. Have you seen it before, Miss Qin?"
Qin Mingyan examined the oil-paper packet carefully, then patted her chest in fright and took a few steps back. "How is this possible? Isn't this the packet Miss Su gave to Consort Liang last time?"
The expressions of the other three people in the room changed.
Qin Mingyan, oblivious, pointed at Su Yunmo with disbelief. "You were trying to harm Consort! Why would you do this?"
Su Yunmo looked at her with cold eyes. "Are you sure you recognize this packet of pastries as one I brought?"
"Of course, I remember it very clearly. You brought a lot that time, and this packet was on top, almost falling. In the end, I had to call Consort Liang to help carry it," Qin Mingyan said confidently.
Ye Jingyu stood up from the bed and walked over.
Qin Mingyan, with a look of grief, said, "Miss Su, how could you treat Consort like this? Consort Liang has treated you well."
She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and turned to plead. "Your Highness Yu Wang, please do not blame Miss Su. Question her properly, perhaps there is a misunderstanding."
"Or perhaps she was momentarily confused about something and then..."
Qin Mingyan's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked at Ye Jingyu with terrified confusion. "Your Highness?"
Ye Jingyu's fingers slowly tightened, his voice like a piercing sound from the depths of hell, each word filled with murderous intent. "You are courting death!"
Qin Mingyan's breath was choked off. She felt all the blood in her body being blocked as it flowed towards her neck.
She let out a croaking sound like a duck and struggled desperately with her hands and feet, her eyes filled with incomprehension.
Su Yunmo also felt that Qin Mingyan deserved to die for poisoning Liang Fei just to create a rift between her and Ye Jingyu, but that didn't mean she could actually kill her.
Su Yunmo said, "Her dying here will cause trouble for your mother."
Consort Liang's current position in the palace was already awkward. It was only due to the Empress Dowager's special favor that he could visit her frequently.
Although this was the cold palace, it now had all the palace maids and servants, no different from the consorts in the harem.
However, these were still irregular. The Emperor could currently turn a blind eye to everything in the cold palace because of the Empress Dowager, and Ye Jingyu was also gaining influence in the court.
But if the daughter of a second-rank official were to be killed here in the cold palace by him, and the matter were to be exposed, the Empress would be the first to seize the opportunity to attack Consort Liang.
If there was evidence, it would be easier to handle. But with just a packet of pastries and a bit of poison, there was no evidence to suggest that Qin Mingyan was involved.
If they forcibly pinned the blame on her, she might not achieve anything before getting herself entangled.
Ye Jingyu's murderous intent intensified, but he did not loosen his grip.
Su Yunmo frowned and jumped off the ground, hugging his leg. "Ye Jingyu, that's enough!"
If this continued, he would really strangle her to death.
There were plenty of opportunities to deal with Qin Mingyan; killing her was not the only way.
Ye Jingyu looked down at the little dumpling hugging his leg. He loosened his grip, and Qin Mingyan fell to the ground.
She clutched her chest, coughing violently, her eyes filled with fear, but also with unyielding grievance. "Your Highness, what are you doing? It was Su Yunmo who tried to harm Consort Liang, why are you coming after me?"