Wen Yan was completely stunned when she heard the word “poison.” Her sobbing stopped abruptly, and she didn’t even catch what Huaishan said next.
Poison?
She… was going to poison… the concubine mother?
Wen Yan immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum, her hands waving in denial.
“Concubine Mother, no—
“There’s no poison…
“It’s not poison…
“That… it’s just something that… makes people lose their energy…”
Sheng Mingshu’s eyes flickered, and he stood up sharply, barking.
“You still dare to lie?
“My concubine mother has been poisoned by Withered Grass. This poison can cause frail people—especially those with weak lungs—to suddenly die in their sleep—
“And afterward, no one can tell anything was wrong!
“You deliberately plotted to kill my concubine mother—I will have your entire family executed!”
Wen Yan’s heart was filled with terror and despair to the extreme. Her limbs went weak, and her teeth chattered…
How could this be?
That person had clearly told her it was just something to make the concubine mother lose energy.
It wouldn’t kill her…
That was why she’d clung to a sliver of hope.
She thought: if this ever came to light, as long as the concubine mother was unharmed, she could pay with her own worthless life and that would be enough.
She’d also been waiting for the poison in her own body to take effect the whole time. She figured that as long as she died, her husband and son would be safe…
But she never expected that what that person gave her was actually poison!
She’d been deceived—
The Fourth Young Master was so furious, there was no way he’d spare her husband and child.
Wen Yan felt like she’d fallen into an abyss, with no path of escape in sight…
She had no idea what to do now, and could only mutter under her breath.
“It wasn’t me… it wasn’t me…”
“Then who was it? If you tell me the truth, I’ll let you live—and your husband and son too!”
Sheng Mingshu seized the moment to press her.
In the end, Wen Yan confessed everything.
Sheng Minmin had no appetite that night. The dishes from the small kitchen went untouched, nearly all of them ending up in Qingchi’s stomach.
Suddenly, a servant reported that the Fourth Young Master had received some expensive fabric, felt grateful, and had come to express his thanks—and that Concubine Ruan had come along as well.
Sheng Minmin’s heart gave a jolt, though her expression remained calm as she said flatly,
“Let them in.”
Before long, Concubine Ruan, Sheng Mingshu, and a maidservant who was supporting Concubine Ruan with her head lowered, entered.
Qingdai shot a meaningful glance, and all the servants in the room filed out.
But Concubine Ruan didn’t send her own attendant away. Sheng Minmin’s heart stirred at that.
Noticing that both Sheng Mingshu and Concubine Ruan had odd expressions on their faces, she cut straight to the chase.
“You’ve found something?”
This made their expressions grow even more complicated.
Concubine Ruan finally bowed and said, “Thank you, Madam, for saving my life. Yes, we’ve found the truth.”
At that, Wen Yan—the attendant beside Concubine Ruan—immediately stepped forward and knelt in the middle of the room.
Sheng Minmin looked at Sheng Mingshu and Concubine Ruan with puzzlement.
Concubine Ruan then recounted everything that had just happened.
Her son, upon learning she’d been poisoned, had used powdered croton seeds as a fake poison to bluff a confession out of Wen Yan.
At first, Wen Yan had been willing to be “poisoned to death” rather than implicate anyone else, taking all the blame upon herself.
But later, when Wen Yan learned that the concubine mother really had been poisoned, they threatened her with her husband and son—and only then did she name the person behind it all.
Wen Yan said that person had given her a soup spoon and told her to use it when the concubine mother took her medicine…
That person said the spoon would only make people drowsy and wouldn’t cost anyone their life.
After Concubine Ruan finished, Sheng Mingshu immediately pulled out a cloth-wrapped item from his sleeve.
He unwrapped it—and inside was a white porcelain spoon.
Very ordinary—the kind commonly found throughout the household.
Qingdai picked it up and sniffed it, then brought over a ceramic bowl and placed the spoon inside.
She rinsed it with boiling water, studied the water in the bowl, and frowned.
“This thing was soaked in a concentrated decoction of Withered Grass. Based on the current toxicity, it’s probably been soaking for three years—though with proper temperature control, the same effect could be achieved in one year…”
That meant whoever was behind this had been preparing for at least a year.
“Who is it?”
Sheng Minmin could see that none of them had named the culprit after all this time, and a bad feeling began to creep up on her.
She didn’t like to scare herself unnecessarily, so she asked directly.
Wen Yan finally looked up, revealing a face drained of all color.
“To answer Madam… it’s Qingxiang…”
At the mention of Qingxiang’s name, Sheng Minmin’s mind went blank for a split second.
When she regained her composure, she understood—someone was trying to set her up!
That person was trying to drive a wedge between her and Concubine Ruan and Sheng Mingshu.
No, “drive a wedge” was too mild.
If Concubine Ruan had actually died, and Sheng Mingshu had eventually traced it back to Qingxiang, he would have ended up hating her to the core!
And that would have been an irreconcilable, life-or-death situation.
“It wasn’t me.”
Sheng Minmin fixed her gaze on Concubine Ruan and Sheng Mingshu, and explained.
“Madam, we believe you.” Concubine Ruan’s eyes were sincere and unwavering.
“Mother, I also believe it couldn’t possibly have been you.” Sheng Mingshu said with equal certainty.
Sheng Minmin felt a flicker of warmth in her heart. She took a breath, then turned back to Wen Yan and asked,
“What did Qingxiang tell you exactly?”
“She said it wasn’t anything harmful… just something that would make the concubine mother lose some energy…
“The Fourth Young Master and the concubine mother are very close. If the concubine mother’s health declined, it would inevitably distract him from his studies…
“Qingxiang said we couldn’t let the Fourth Young Master stand in the way of the Eldest Young Master’s path…
“She said if the Fourth Young Master weren’t affected, Madam could take the opportunity to show favor to the concubine mother and the Fourth Young Master—so that in the future, he’d be more obedient and easier to control…
“She said… it was all Madam’s idea…”
After Xian Jie’s personal maid, Dujuan, and Concubine Ruan’s maid, Dousha, were both married off, not long passed before Sheng Minmin found an excuse to send Qingxiang off to one of the estates.
According to Wen Yan, Qingxiang had approached her almost immediately after she’d arrived at Concubine Ruan’s side.
Why would Qingxiang do this? Why would Qingxiang frame her?
Could it have something to do with Gaoshan’s death?
But Gaoshan’s death couldn’t be pinned on her—it was Sheng Mingjian’s own foolishness that enraged Huang Yaning, and that’s why Gaoshan died.
Besides, she’d had people watching, and Qingxiang had never actually gotten involved with Gaoshan.
Over the years, Qingxiang had amassed a considerable sum of tip money while serving her—after going to the estate, she could have easily found a decent husband and settled down.
So why would Qingxiang throw her future away?
And Qingxiang was sent to her estate—what good would it do to offend her?
No matter how she looked at it, there was no reason for Qingxiang to do something like this.
Could she have been coerced…
Who could it be?
Sheng Minmin felt her thoughts were getting jumbled.
She turned to Qingdai and ordered, “Send someone to quietly bring her back—tied up if necessary. We’ll question her ourselves!”
But Sheng Minmin didn’t know—Qingxiang was already dead.
