Chapter 59: Releasing Rumors
“That’s called saffron. If you eat it, you won’t be able to have children anymore! Even if you’re already pregnant, it would cause a miscarriage. Niang niang, that’s not something you can mess with for fun. No matter what you can’t eat it, got it!?” Ting Yue’s expression was very exaggerated and she purposefully emphasized the word ‘saffron.’
“Then why would Second Older Sister keep that thing? I’ll go tell Second Older Sister about this!” Yao Mowan looked as if she had come to a sudden realization.
“Niang niang, don’t go. If Imperial Noble Consort found out that you’ve looked in the hidden drawer beneath her bed, she definitely wouldn’t let you off! You must not talk about this, not to anyone!” Ting Yue repeated exhorted.
“Fine, I got it! Ting Yue, let’s go to the pavilion and see if that bad woman is still there. If she still is, let’s help Second Older Sister push her into the water again. In any case, his Majesty wouldn’t scold Wan er for it!” Yao Mowan blinked her eyes charmingly as she started lightly jogging towards the pavilion.
“Niang niang, don’t run so fast, take care not to fall!” Ting Yue hastily followed after her.
Huai Caier, who was listening from a hidden part of the willow forest, creased her brows as her eyes turned cold.
“Niang niang, if what that imbecile said earlier was true… This servant doesn’t understand. Why would Yao Suluan prepare saffron? Right now she’s the only one in the palace who’s pregnant?” Zi Shuang thought about all the possibilities but couldn’t think of one that made sense.
“Could it be… Zi Shuang, say, do you think she would take the saffron herself, then frame ben gong with it?” An unreadable light flickered in Huan Caier’s eyes as she looked towards Zi Shuang worriedly.
“A tiger, though cruel, will not devour its cubs. Moreover, His Majesty currently has no children. If she gave birth to a son, she would be able to easily obtain the position of Empress. Why would she abandon her bright prospects just to make things difficult for niang niang? This doesn’t make sense?” Zi Shuang didn’t think that the idea was likely.
“That’s true. Perhaps she already had the saffron prepared for a long time. From the looks of it, she was definitely involved in the past incidents of miscarriage among the consorts.” Huan Ciaer gave a light sigh and was just about to leave when she saw a palace maid from Pure Flowers Palace rush across the bridge with Imperial Physician Zheng.
“Isn’t that maid from Pure Flowers Palace? It couldn’t be that something has really happened to Yao Suluan?” Zi Shuang looked in Imperial Physician Zheng’s direction with shock and a feeling of unease abruptly arose in her heart. Before Zi Shuang’s voice even faded, a group of imperial soldiers started running this way from Pure Flowers Palace.
“Yao Suluan truly is vicious! Zi Shuang, hurry up and hide, then think of a way to get out of the palace and let Father know what Yao Mowan said earlier. Hurry!” Huan Caier had already realized how pressing the situation was so she quickly gave Zi Shuang some stern and precise instructions. Zi Shuang didn’t dare to be slow and immediately hid inside the bushes to the side.
In the next instant, those imperial soldiers had already surrounded Huan Caier.
“His Majesty has given a decree asking Consort Chen to take a trip to Pure Flowers Palace!”
Zi Shuang was alarmed to see that her master had fallen into a dire situation and immediately headed towards the palace doors without pausing to think. Yao Mowan slowly walked out of the shadows of the willow forest and stared in the direction Zi Shuang had gone in with her midnight dark eyes as a trace of a smile appeared on her lips.
“Niang niang, Imperial Noble Consort will probably be out of luck this time!” remarked Ting Yue delightedly.
“Yao Suluan wouldn’t be the only one out of luck. Have you sent someone to notify Father yet?”
“Don’t worry, niang niang, Liu Xing has already arranged for someone to report this to Master.”
“En, let’s go. Come with ben gong to see the show!” Yao Mowan’s expression returned to its usual cold indifference. The depths of her eyes were filled hidden coldness.
Inside Pure Flowers Palace, Yao Suluan was covering her abdomen with both hands and sobbing heartbreakingly. The brocade quilt and satin mattress were dyed with dark red blood in a sight that was shocking to see. This was the tragic scene Huan Caier saw when she was escorted in.
“Consort Chen! My niang niang has always exercised forbearance towards you, yet unexpectedly you turned out to be this heartless and caused my master to lose her unborn child! Your Majesty, this servant begs you to get justice for Imperial Noble Consort ah! Niang niang had just suffered the pain of losing her mother, and now she has lost the dragon seed… how will niang niang be able to bear it!?” Cai Ying’s face was streaming with tears as she threw herself down in front of Ye Hongyi and kowtowed as if her life depended on it.
“Consort Chen, how do you plan to explain this?” Ye Hongyi’s expression was stern and his gaze was cold as ice.
“Imperial Noble Consort’s miscarriage has nothing to do with this consort so this consort has no need to explain.” Unconcealable disgust and contempt was apparent in her clear voice. Zi Shuang had put it well, a tiger, though vicious, still wouldn’t eat its child. It was unexpected that Yao Suluan was actually this heartless, she really couldn’t even compare to an animal.
“You still refuse to admit even with this undeniable evidence?” Ye Hongyi’s eyes were like that of roaming wild wolves, filled with chilling cold light.
“Wonder where is the evidence Your Majesty mentioned?” Huan Caier couldn’t really say that she loved or hated Ye Hongyi. She only entered the palace for the sake of strengthening the position the Huan family held in the Imperial Court. Her life was determined to be such; she neither enjoyed nor disliked it.
However, Ye Hongyi’s sudden change of attitude towards her surprised her quite a little. Yesterday night this man was still being extremely gentle towards her on her bed, yet now he had become so distant.
“Imperial Physician Zheng discovered traces of saffron in the ginseng soup you brought over earlier. Do you still dare to say that this matter is unrelated to you?” Ye Hongyi took Yao Suluan into his arms as he fiercely questioned Huan Caier.
“Isn’t it a little too far-fetched to conclude that this consort plotted to kill the dragon fetus within Imperial Noble Consort’s stomach just based on this one fact? Who dares to guarantee that it wasn’t Imperial Noble Consort that added in the saffron herself in order to use it to frame this consort?” Huan Caier believed what Yao Mowan said, which was why she was waiting. Once Father entered the palace, she would naturally make Yao Suluan suffer the consequences. This was practically a god-send opportunity to turn the tables on Yao Suluan. However, she had to admit that this was thanks to Yao Suluan’s imbecile sister.
“Consort Chen, you’re making venomous slander! Ben gong only wished for the Inner Palace to be peaceful and filled with happiness, and hence had always endured everything and backed down in our conflicts. Unexpectedly, you were actually this vicious and repaid me by harming my imperial son! Now you’re not only refusing to admit your wrong, you’re even trying to invert root and branch and frame ben gong!? Your Majesty, you must help this consort get justice; you must get revenge for our son!” Yao Suluan hadn’t expected for Huan Caier to be so unperturbed. She became a little worried since she couldn’t afford to have any problems occur in this plan.
“Consort Chen, before this matter is fully investigated, zhen can only ask you to endure a bit of grievance for now. Someone come, take Consort Chen to the Cold Palace!” Ye Hongyi’s goal was very simple. Once he threw Huan Caier into the Cold Palace, Huan Heng would definitely take the initiative to hand over his military power in order to save his daughter.
“Your Majesty! This consort has been wrongly accused! This consort…” Huan Caier knew that if she left Pure Flowers Palace right now, she would forever lose the chance to clear some things up. Just as she was about to bring up Yao Mowan, a shocked voice appeared in the room.
“Second Older Sister? Second Older Sister, what happened to you? Why is there so much blood?” Yao Mowan’s sudden appearance bought Huan Caier some time. Everyone’s eyes immediately focused on Yao Mowan, especially Ye Hongyi’s.
“Wan er, why are you here?” When Ye Hongyi saw Yao Mowan’s pale little face, he felt unbearable heartache. He immediately released Yao Suluan and walked up to pull Yao Mowan into his arms.
“Wan er heard that something has happened to Second Older Sister and so came here to see. Your Majesty, what happened to Second Older Sister?” Yao Mowan looked towards Ye Hongyi with tears whirling in her eyes. Her long eyelashes were moistened with dew-like drops of sparkling tears that, in the next instant, slid off and fell to the ground. They splashed like countless pieces of broken glass on Ye Hongyi’s heart.
“Wan er… Second Older Sister’s child is gone… It was Consort Chen! She was jealous of the fact that Second Older Sister was pregnant and was angry with you for pushing her into the water… so she poisoned and killed Second Older Sister’s child!” Yao Suluan had to force down her anger when she saw that Ye Hongyi had forgotten about the main business at hand and rushed to Yao Mowan’s side. Then she shouted with sorrow and rage as she pointed at Huan Caier, her hand trembling.
She felt that though Yao Mowan was dumb beyond salvation, it wasn’t completely without any good points. At the very least, Yao Suluan felt, this fool’s heart still contained her, this Second Older Sister.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira’s Corner]
Enjoy~
