The crowd was bewildered. They looked over at the source of the sound.
Several princes who were about to leave also stopped in their tracks.
Before Nangong Mo could speak, Gu Qianying said, "This palace maid is harming you."
"Your servant did not, your servant is wrongly accused," the palace maid exclaimed in shock, immediately kneeling on the ground and crying out her innocence.
Those present were also greatly surprised.
Bai Qi's expression changed drastically. He immediately checked Nangong Mo for any injuries.
However, Nangong Mo had no external wounds, and his complexion appeared to be fine.
"Miss Gu, is this some kind of misunderstanding?"
Not seeing any injury on his master, Bai Qi naturally did not believe Gu Qianying's words.
Not only Bai Qi, but also the others who were about to leave and had returned to watch the spectacle did not believe what Gu Qianying said.
There were many women present, and tongues began to wag: "Miss Gu, look at this slender palace maid, how could she possibly harm the Ninth Prince?"
"Yes, Miss Gu, are you mistaken?"
The crowd chimed in, one after another, no one believing Gu Qianying's words.
Gu Qianying was too lazy to explain further. She turned and instructed Lu Zhu, "Go, fetch a basin of clear water."
Lu Zhu was slightly taken aback, not understanding, but still complied, "Yes, Miss."
The crowd was somewhat confused. What could be done with a basin of clear water?
The First Madam, standing beside Gu Qianying, wanted to speak, but seeing Gu Qianying's calm and steady gaze, the words on her lips merely parted, unspoken.
A moment later.
Lu Zhu returned with the basin.
The crowd automatically parted a path.
Lu Zhu placed a small basin of water in front of Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying released the palace maid, letting Lu Zhu watch her. Then, she retrieved a silk handkerchief from the palace maid and dipped it into the clear water, swaying it back and forth. With the amplitude of the handkerchief's movement, the basin of clear water immediately changed color.
The handkerchief was light pink, but the clear water surprisingly showed a streak of green. As the color faded, it quickly merged with the clear water, becoming colorless and odorless.
Seeing this, the crowd was immensely shocked.
But what shocked them even more was that Gu Qianying bypassed the palace maid and gracefully approached Nangong Mo, saying to him, "Your Highness Ninth Prince, please remove your outer robe."
Nangong Mo was slightly stunned.
The crowd's mouths hung open.
Bai Qi blocked Nangong Mo, his face darkening, "Miss Gu, please conduct yourself with propriety!"
The First Madam grabbed Gu Qianying and whispered, "Qianying, what are you doing?"
"Is she out of her mind? How can she make such an unreasonable request? Does she want the Ninth Prince to kill her?"
"I think Gu Qianying is definitely crazy. To toy with the Ninth Prince like this, she truly doesn't want to live."
To openly ask the Ninth Prince to remove his outer robe, wasn't that toying with him?
Although the crowd feared the knife in Lu Zhu's hand, their whispers continued.
Just as the crowd expected the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo to become enraged, they saw Nangong Mo raise his eyes and lift his hands slightly, "Bai Qi!"
Bai Qi was startled and immediately knelt on one knee, pleading, "Master, absolutely not. The wind is strong, and you are frail. If you catch a chill..."
For a man to undress in front of everyone, although it wouldn't damage his reputation, his status was still there.
Removing his outer robe in public was beneath his dignity.
"It's alright, this Prince is willing to cooperate."
His voice was clear and cold, his tone indifferent, just as always, but Nangong Mo like this surprised everyone immensely.
In the eyes of the crowd, the Ninth Prince had never cared about others, nor had he bothered with anyone. Yet now, before them, he was so cooperative with Gu Qianying.
This inevitably made the crowd feel more jealous of Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying felt a bit more favorably towards Nangong Mo when she saw his willingness to cooperate, but... Nangong Mo then issued an interesting command.
"Bai Qi is clumsy. I'll trouble Miss Gu to personally remove this Prince's outer robe."
Gu Qianying: "..."
Gu Qianying felt a headache coming on. She actually wanted to say that it wasn't necessary to remove it; a small piece could be cut from the outer robe.
But now, finding herself in a difficult position, she had no choice but to approach Nangong Mo.
The unreasonable request was made by her. If she backed out now, wouldn't it mean she was toying with him?
Nangong Mo's outer robe was made of fine golden silk, smooth and delicate to the touch. It could be easily pulled down with a gentle tug, but Gu Qianying, in her carelessness, accidentally pulled off the jade pendant worn on Nangong Mo's inner garment.
Gu Qianying's teeth ached.
With the jade pendant in her hand, she wanted to return it, but then she heard Nangong Mo say indifferently, "If Miss Gu likes this jade pendant, this Prince will give it to you."
Gu Qianying: "..."
"Your Highness?"
Bai Qi was dumbfounded.
That was something the late Princess Consort had given to his master when she was alive, saying it was to be passed down to the future Princess Consort. How could his master give it away so casually?
Gu Qianying did not know the origin of the jade pendant, but she could not accept such a valuable item for no reason. The jade pendant in her hand belonged to Nangong Mo, how could she accept it so readily?
"Ninth Prince, this humble girl cannot accept such a precious item."
"It's alright, this Prince likes to give gifts. You just accept it."
...
Because she had important matters to attend to, Gu Qianying no longer refused. After tucking the jade pendant into her sleeve, she had Lu Zhu pick up Nangong Mo's outer robe and unfold it.
Immediately after, Gu Qianying poured all the remaining clear water from the wooden basin onto Nangong Mo's outer robe.
In the blink of an eye, a few drops of the same color as that from the handkerchief appeared on the white outer robe.
"This is Yi Shui Han, a colorless and odorless poison that changes when soaked in water and disappears when air-dried. When soaked in water, it does not immediately change color, but it can quickly integrate with the item it is soaking.
This poison is a fatal chronic toxin. It does not cause the poisoned person to react immediately, but as time slowly passes, it will gradually make the poisoned person feel weak all over, drowsy all day, and like a useless person, eventually falling into a deep sleep and dying in bed. Once this poison takes effect, if combined with normal food and drink, it is difficult to detect as poisoning."
With that, Gu Qianying looked at the palace maid, who was being held tightly by Lu Zhu, and said, "Although this poison is a slow-acting one, once contracted, it is not easily cured. However, as long as one applies fragrant flower oil while poisoned, it can temporarily alleviate the toxicity and minimize the poisoning rate. You have applied fragrant flower oil to yourself to slow down the effects of Yi Shui Han. You used the excuse of accidentally spilling tea to smear Yi Shui Han onto the Ninth Prince's outer robe.
If a small palace maid like you did it accidentally, the Ninth Prince would surely not hold it against you, and it would be natural for him to let you go. After the banquet ends and everyone leaves, you could then quietly disappear into the crowd.
"Your servant did not poison anyone, Miss Gu, you are framing your servant. Ninth Prince, your servant is wrongly accused."
The palace maid tried to break free from Lu Zhu but was helpless. She was stubborn and, even when exposed, refused to admit it and continued to cry out her innocence.
Gu Qianying slowly walked towards her and suddenly grabbed her right wrist: "Yi Shui Han, such a small amount of this poison is enough to cause poisoning. For your convenience, you must have hidden the poison powder in your fingernails. If you want to prove whether I have wronged you or not, all you need to do is soak your hands in clear water."
With that, Gu Qianying grabbed the palace maid's hand and forcefully pushed it into the basin.
The palace maid's face turned ashen. Knowing she could no longer escape, her eyes darted around. Suddenly, she violently shoved Lu Zhu away, twisted around, and held Gu Qianying under her elbow. At that moment, she pulled a short dagger from her sleeve and held it to Gu Qianying's neck.
"Don't move! Or I'll kill her!"