114. Forced (2)

Hongxiu, I will repay today’s humiliation one day. I told myself this silently.

“Hongxiu.” Yunqing suddenly called out and walked over.

Hongxiu immediately clamped her legs together.

“Little Xiao? What are you doing on the floor?”

I glanced back at Yunqing, rose to my feet, and said, “I dropped something, but I’ve already picked it up.”

“Very well. Hongxiu, take extra care with lunch today and prepare something delicious for Her Ladyship. If you need help, I’ll send Little Yun over.”

“Hongxiu understands. I can manage alone; there’s no need for Little Yun to help. Let Little Xiao stay instead. He’s quick-witted and can be useful.”

Yunqing looked at me and said, “Very well. Hurry, both of you. Don’t keep Her Ladyship waiting.”

“Yes!”

The moment Yunqing left, Hongxiu came over and rapped the spatula against the pot.

“Once lunch is finished, we’ll continue where we left off.”

I could not allow Hongxiu to keep treating me this way. My patience with her had reached its limit. If I continued indulging her, she would only grow bolder. Besides, I had never liked the feeling of having someone else hold leverage over me.

“Elder Sister Hongxiu, I need to make a trip to the latrine. I’ll come back and help you right away.”

“Don’t try anything clever.”

“I wouldn’t dare. I certainly don’t dare offend you now. If I don’t go, I won’t be able to help you either.”

Hongxiu said impatiently, “Go, then.”

“Thank you, Elder Sister Hongxiu.”

I walked out, casting a glance at Hongxiu from the corner of my eye to make sure she suspected nothing. Then I immediately entered my own room.

Thanks to the poison Long Zhan had given me, a tiny amount still remained after I used some on Little Lu the last time. But I could not use much this time, and I did not know exactly how potent it was. Still, I remembered Long Zhan saying that in a very small dose, the poison would not be fatal.

I took only a little and hid it beneath my fingernails before hurrying back to the small kitchen.

By then, Hongxiu had finished preparing a fish and was about to put it into the pot for steaming. It was Zhang Bitong’s favorite dish: steamed sea bass.

“Elder Sister Hongxiu, let me help.”

I stepped forward and took the fish from her hands. As I placed it into the pot, I secretly sprinkled the poison beneath my fingernails onto it.

That was all I could do. I had to leave at once.

After covering the pot, I suddenly exclaimed, “Oh dear! Aunt Yunqing told me earlier to collect the newly arrived bolts of cloth from the Imperial Household Department, and I completely forgot. If I fail to carry out the task and displease Her Ladyship, I’ll be in serious trouble. Elder Sister Hongxiu, I’ll go collect them now and come back to help you afterward.”

“Little Xiao?” Hongxiu looked at me suspiciously. “What are you plotting now? Are you thinking of reporting me to Lord Long?”

“How could I dare? If you ever discover that I went to Lord Long, tell the Emperor about my affairs at once.”

“Good that you understand. Hurry up and go.”

I seized the opportunity to leave the side compound. After informing Yunqing, I went out of the palace and made a trip to the Imperial Household Department. Whether I managed to obtain the cloth was unimportant. What mattered was that I could not be present at that particular moment.

Because Zhang Bitong had been demoted, the people in the Imperial Household Department naturally showed me no courtesy. Not only did I return empty-handed, I was also mocked and ridiculed.

By the time I returned to Cuiwei Palace, lunch had already been set on the table. Zhang Bitong was seated beside it, while Yunqing brought over the bowls and chopsticks and handed a pair of chopsticks to Zhang Bitong.

I walked in and said, “This servant is useless. I couldn’t bring anything back from the Imperial Household Department.”

“Forget it. Those servants are nothing but snobs who look down on anyone fallen from favor. Now that I’m down on my luck, why would they leave anything good for me? Who knows whether there will even be another meal after this one?”

Yunqing served Zhang Bitong some food and said, “My lady, please set your mind at ease. Your hardships will surely come to an end. For now, eat more and take care of your health. That is what matters most.”

“Mm.”

Having accepted Yunqing’s persuasion, Zhang Bitong placed a piece of fish into her mouth. I watched her do it.

The poison did not take effect immediately. By the time Zhang Bitong had finished lunch amid her self-pity, Yunqing ordered Lan Yan and me to clear the table while she supported Zhang Bitong to a couch.

Yunqing poured Zhang Bitong some water to rinse her mouth, then brought her a cup of tea.

Just as Zhang Bitong raised the cup to her lips, her expression suddenly froze. Her features twisted, the teacup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, and she clutched her chest in agony.

“My lady!” Yunqing cried in alarm. “My lady, what’s wrong? My lady!”

“It hurts. It hurts so much.”

“Quickly! Little Xiao, Little Yun, go summon the imperial physician!”

“Yes!”

Little Yun and I hurried off to find a physician. By the time Imperial Physician Gu arrived, Zhang Bitong was already lying on the bed, her face deathly pale.

Imperial Physician Gu immediately examined her. A moment later, he exclaimed, “Her Ladyship has been poisoned!”

“Poisoned? How could she have been poisoned? Imperial Physician Gu, can you cure her?” Yunqing asked anxiously.

Imperial Physician Gu nodded. “Fortunately, the poisoning is not severe. I’ll write a prescription at once. Once she takes the medicine, the poison will be neutralized.”

Only then did Yunqing relax. She hurriedly said to Lan Yan, “Go and get the medicine. Not a moment can be wasted.”

“Yes.”

After Imperial Physician Gu finished writing the prescription and handed it to Lan Yan, Yunqing asked, “Her Ladyship hasn’t eaten anything unusual today. How could she have been poisoned?”

“What did Her Ladyship eat today? More precisely, what did she eat at noon? If she had been poisoned in the morning, the symptoms would not have appeared only now.”

Yunqing quickly pointed to the uneaten dishes still on the table.

“These are the dishes Her Ladyship had for lunch. Please examine them, Imperial Physician.”

Imperial Physician Gu went over and tested each dish with a silver needle. At last, the needle revealed poison in the sea bass.

“Aunt Yunqing, the poison entered Her Ladyship’s body through this fish.”

“What?”

Yunqing’s expression turned stern.

“Little Yun, bring Hongxiu to me.”

Then she turned to Imperial Physician Gu and said, “Thank you for your help today, Imperial Physician Gu. Once Her Ladyship has recovered, she will certainly come to offer you her thanks.”

“You flatter me, Auntie. I was only doing my duty. I shall take my leave.”

“Please take care, Imperial Physician Gu.”

Little Yun dragged Hongxiu over. Yunqing immediately ordered, “Hongxiu, kneel.”

Hongxiu dropped to her knees. Yunqing said harshly, “You are truly vicious. You actually meant to put Her Ladyship to death. Fortunately, she did not eat much at lunch. Had she eaten more, would she not already be dead? Hongxiu, do you admit your guilt?”

“This servant has been wronged. I know nothing of this matter. I beg Aunt Yunqing to investigate carefully.” Hongxiu remained calm, not yet flustered.

“You were caught with the evidence before you. What else do you have to say? Every dish on this table was prepared by you. No one helped you, so who else could have poisoned the food? You must still bear a grudge over what happened to Little Lu. Her Ladyship had kept you confined to the small kitchen, and you nursed resentment in your heart. Taking advantage of Her Ladyship’s punishment, you struck with murderous intent. Hongxiu, how could you be so cruel?”

“Auntie, if I did not do it, then I did not do it. Why would I poison Her Ladyship? Someone must have framed me.”

As she spoke, Hongxiu suddenly looked at me.

“It must have been Little Xiao. He framed me!”

Yunqing said, “Are you trying to slander Little Xiao as you did last time? Do you think I didn’t see what happened just now? You actually made Little Xiao kneel before you. Hongxiu, I always thought you were quiet and mild-mannered. I never imagined you could be so vicious—and so unwilling to repent. How can you shift the blame onto Little Xiao? Little Xiao went to the Imperial Household Department. You prepared the entire lunch yourself. How could he have poisoned it?”

Hongxiu was equally baffled. Since no one had said which dish contained the poison, she had no way of knowing how it had entered the food. She had handled every dish herself, yet for the moment she could not imagine how I had done it.

After thinking for a moment, Hongxiu said, “Auntie, I truly have been wronged. It is true that I have had some dealings with Little Xiao, but that was because she—”

Knowing that Hongxiu would reveal everything about me in her desperation, I stepped forward at once and slapped her across the face, cutting off her words.

“Little Xiao, how dare you hit me?”

I said coldly, “That slap was on Her Ladyship’s behalf. She has been poisoned and is suffering unbearable pain. Don’t you deserve that slap? Aunt Yunqing, the truth is already clear, and this matter should not be spread beyond these walls. If word gets out that another traitor has appeared in the palace, the other ladies will only mock Her Ladyship. That would add yet another humiliation to what she has already endured.”

Yunqing nodded. “You’re right. I’ll ask Her Ladyship how she wishes to deal with this wretched servant.”

Yunqing went inside. Not long afterward, she came back out and said to Hongxiu, “Her Ladyship has ordered that you be granted a strip of white silk. Little Xiao, Little Yun, carry this out. Be clean about it and leave no trace.”

“Yes!” Little Yun and I answered together.

Hongxiu collapsed onto the floor and cried, “My lady, this servant has truly been wronged! I never meant to harm you! I have been framed—my lady, please spare me! It was Little Xiao. She—she actually is—”

Before I could step forward to stop her, Little Yun kicked her. Hongxiu’s face struck the floor, and blood immediately spilled from her mouth.

“Her Ladyship’s poison has not yet been cured, and you still dare disturb her peace?”

Hongxiu was in too much pain to speak. Tears streamed down her face.

Little Yun glanced at me, and together we dragged Hongxiu into her room.

Little Yun hung the white silk in place. Hongxiu continued to struggle, so he picked up a wooden stick and struck her on the back of the head. Dazed and unsteady, Hongxiu could barely stand.

So Little Yun was ruthless as well.

Together, he and I lifted Hongxiu onto a chair and slipped the white silk around her neck. All that remained was to kick the chair away; within moments, Hongxiu’s life would be over.

“Little Yun, go outside for now. Elder Sister Hongxiu and I have known each other for some time. I have a few words to say to her before she goes.”

Little Yun nodded. “Then be quick. I’ll be waiting for you to return and report to Aunt Yunqing.”

“Mm.”

After Little Yun left, I looked at Hongxiu and said, “Hongxiu, don’t blame me for this. I have endured you for a very long time. Ever since what happened to Little Lu, I swore that if anyone hurt me again, I would repay them in kind. Yet I let you off time and again, and still you refused to leave me alone. What happens to you today is entirely your own doing.”

“Little Xiao, it really was you. You were the one who did this to me.”

Now that Hongxiu knew the truth, it was already too late. She could neither resist nor alter the fate awaiting her.

“And did you never harm me? You were too cruel, so do not blame me for answering cruelty with cruelty. Still, I will see to your burial and make sure you are laid to rest properly. In your next life, do not be reborn as a palace maid.”

With that, I slowly closed my eyes and kicked the chair away.

Hongxiu hung suspended, her legs kicking several times before she finally became still.

When I looked up, her eyes were wide open, fixed on me with a terrifying stare.

By this point, if I still feared ghosts and the wrath of the heavens, I would never have dared do any of this.