She was trailing at the very back. When they reached a turn in the path, a sudden loud bang sounded from above their heads, startling everyone. They all shivered and looked up at the sky in unison. Even the guards on duty up ahead immediately raised their weapons vigilantly, aiming them at the sky.
Bu Shulin reacted quickly, handing out the food box and swiftly taking the one that was passed to her. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
A cuju ball rolled down from a tree trunk, and they realized that someone outside was playing cuju and had accidentally kicked the ball in.
Sure enough, a child with round, innocent, and timid eyes was soon seen peering through the window. A guard took the ball outside to return it. Bu Shulin followed the group and continued forward. Just as they were about to go outside, she suddenly took a breath and let out a series of noises: "Pfft, pfft, pfft..."
A string of discordant, indecent sounds rang out. Everyone stopped along with the leading eunuch. The leading eunuch turned his head, and Bu Shulin immediately dropped to her knees with a thud, her voice pinched as she pleaded pitifully for mercy, "Mercy, Eunuch, mercy! This servant... pfft..."
The leading eunuch's eyes blazed with fury. He personally picked up the food box and kicked Bu Shulin. "Get lost, you filthy thing! I'll deal with you later."
Bu Shulin prostrated herself, trembling like a leaf in the wind as if terrified, and continued to pass gas, thoroughly disgusting the eunuch. He quickly led the other eunuchs away. She scrambled to her feet and ran toward the toilet.
Cui Jinbai was already waiting for her in the toilet. The young eunuch whose clothes she had stripped earlier was lying unconscious to the side. Bu Shulin quickly changed back into her own clothes while Cui Jinbai put the eunuch's clothes back on him. The two of them then departed without a sound.
Bu Shulin wanted to go watch the excitement, but Cui Jinbai grabbed her wrist. "The two of us need to have a private rendezvous so as not to arouse suspicion."
Bu Shulin was speechless.
Dragged away against her will, Bu Shulin watched resentfully as the lively scene outside grew more and more distant.
Meanwhile, a new plate of sweet dumplings was served. Xiao Huayong had already received a signal from his own people, and he nonchalantly cast his gaze toward the twelfth prince, Xiao Changgeng.
Xiao Changgeng had no choice but to resign himself to his fate. He stood up and addressed the other princes, "I, your twelfth brother, have never played the sweet dumpling shooting game with you, my elder brothers. I wonder if you would be willing to offer me some guidance today?"
The poison would be effective no matter who ate it, but the effect would be even better if a certain prince consumed it.
In front of His Majesty, for a younger brother to so humbly request guidance, none of the other princes—aside from the frail and delicate Crown Prince Xiao Huayong—could easily refuse. As the eldest brother, the second prince, Zhao Wang Xiao Changmin, was the first to respond, "It's rare for us brothers to gather like this. Why don't we all play together?"
Hearing that the princes were going to play, the others naturally had to make way.
With both Xiao Changmin and Xiao Changgeng having spoken, all the princes from the third to the ninth, with the exception of Xiao Huayong, made a show of participating.
They took up the small bows and arrows. Naturally, they went in order of seniority. Xiao Changmin took his shot seriously, but unfortunately, his arrow missed, and his expression stiffened. "Your elder brother is getting old. I can only watch as my younger brothers show off their skills."
Next was Prince Dai, Xiao Changtai. Xiao Changtai controlled his strength very well and hit a dumpling with one shot, winning a round of applause.
Although Xiao Changgeng didn't know why the Crown Prince had instructed him to invite his imperial brothers to shoot sweet dumplings, he had a feeling it was for no good reason. Looking at the soft, tender dumplings, he felt they were no different from a deadly poison. He was a little worried for Xiao Changtai but couldn't show it, so he could only lower his head.
The one who shoots it, eats it. That was the rule. Prince Dai popped the sweet dumpling he had shot into his mouth.
Next was Xiao Changqing. He used to be an expert at this game, but his late wife had disliked glutinous foods, so he had gradually lost his taste for them as well. He shot his arrow perfunctorily and missed completely.
At some point, Xiao Huayong had also walked over. Seeing this, he feigned great interest and also picked up a small bow and arrow. "I shall also give it a try."
Xiao Changgeng looked quizzically at Xiao Huayong, who had suddenly joined in. He watched as Xiao Huayong, with his clumsy and unskilled technique, tremblingly managed to hit one. He himself seemed very pleased. Using the arrowhead, he retrieved the sweet dumpling. Just as he was about to eat it, Prince Dai's expression suddenly changed, and he collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Li Yanyan, who had been bored out of her mind, shot to her feet at the sight. "Xiao Changtai—"
In her fiery red silk skirt, she looked like a burning butterfly as she flew over.
The scene instantly descended into chaos. Xiao Huayong looked at the sweet dumpling in his hand that he had almost eaten and gently placed it on the lacquer tray.
To avoid alarming the common people, Youning Emperor immediately gave an order to announce that Prince Dai had suffered from heatstroke and had him carried away.
Before the ministers could figure out what had happened, the matter was swiftly quelled by the decisive Youning Emperor. When they reached the resting quarters at the back, Shen Xihe also arrived with Sui Axi and Zhenzhu. Everyone knew she had people skilled in medicine by her side, so it would have been inappropriate for her not to come at such a time. When she arrived, the imperial physicians were taking Xiao Changtai's pulse.
The kitchen had already brought mung bean soup to relieve the heat. The Chief Imperial Physician examined the last sweet dumpling Prince Dai had eaten and confirmed that it contained poison.
"Your Majesty, this is a type of poisonous herb from the Tujue," the Chief Imperial Physician reported to Youning Emperor. "If an ordinary person consumes it, their life will not be in danger. Only..."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted subtly toward Xiao Huayong, implying that if Xiao Huayong had been the one to ingest it, it would have been fatal.
Shen Xihe's expression darkened upon hearing this. She had no idea that this was a drama self-directed and self-acted by Xiao Huayong; she only thought someone was trying to harm him. Her first suspect was the twelfth prince, Xiao Changgeng.
Meeting her gaze, Xiao Changgeng could only lower his head with a bitter smile.
If time could be turned back, he truly wished he had never met Shen Xihe in this life. Because he had developed a sliver of affection for her, a feeling of gratitude and admiration, he had been targeted by Xiao Huayong. Xiao Huayong had placed him right under his nose, making him clearly see the insurmountable chasm between himself and the Crown Prince. From then on, he had inexplicably become a pawn in Xiao Huayong's hands.
Shen Xihe was not the only one who suspected Xiao Changgeng; after all, it was he who had suggested the princes play the sweet dumpling shooting game. Youning Emperor was among the doubters.
It was soon discovered that it wasn't just this plate of sweet dumplings that had been poisoned; there were other poisoned dumplings in the kitchen. This was the handiwork of the private rendezvous duo, Cui Jinbai and Bu Shulin, who had seized the opportunity to act after news of Prince Dai being poisoned by a sweet dumpling reached the small kitchen.
This reduced the likelihood of Xiao Changgeng being the culprit. It was a wide-net approach, the goal being to gamble on the chance that the Crown Prince would participate.
If anyone else ate it, they would at most be like Prince Dai, Xiao Changtai—foaming at the mouth and fainting for a short while, recovering after drinking some detoxifying soup without even needing medicine. Only if Xiao Huayong consumed it would he die. This was clearly aimed at Xiao Huayong.
At this moment, Xiao Huayong adopted a perfectly timed expression of sorrow and dejection.
Shen Xihe was speechless.
Shen Xihe, who initially hadn't suspected any other foul play and was even a little angry, suddenly felt her mood become complicated the moment she saw his expression.
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