A very faint trace. Shen Xihe slightly turned her head, her gaze following Miss Yu’s figure for a moment before confirming she hadn’t misjudged the scent.
Sacrificing herself to save her grandmother—such filial piety moves heaven itself.
Yet who could have imagined this was merely a play orchestrated by the very same person?
Even the assailant was likely already dead from poisoning by now, leaving no trace to investigate.
The white sap inside the Alocasia stem and the droplets from its leaf veins are toxic, capable of causing death in excessive amounts—a fact little known to most.
The man earlier had clearly ingested Alocasia, and in no small quantity. He must have been the one to push the elderly lady into the pond, yet he surely never realized that the very person he risked his life to assist had long coaxed him into drinking poison.
But what did any of this have to do with her?
Shen Xihe remained expressionless, leaving Jianfu Temple with Ziyu and Biyu in tow.
Having accepted the task of preparing the Jute Hibiscus incense for Huguo Temple, Shen Xihe devoted her attention to it. The reason this batch of Jute Hibiscus incense was so exceptionally rich in texture was that Shen Xihe had added a hint of Fairy Ribbon to it.
She couldn’t bear to part with the Fairy Ribbon and give it to Huguo Temple.
"I wonder if this substance can be cultivated," Shen Xihe mused, wanting to grow Fairy Ribbon herself but having no idea where to begin.
"I’ve found out—the elderly lady who fell into the pond at Jianfu Temple yesterday was the Dowager of Pingyao Marquis Manor. The young lady who rescued her is named Yu Sangning."
Ziyu’s voice drifted through the open window. Though not particularly clever, Ziyu was an inquisitive soul. Since arriving in the capital, she had spent her days gathering news about the latest happenings outside. The affairs of Pingyao Marquis Manor were currently the talk of the town.
The reason lay in the still-celebrated tale of how the Pingyao Marquis had once pursued the Pingyao Marchioness. At their wedding banquet, he had even vowed never to father any children outside their marriage—a promise he had kept all these years, earning the envy of many.
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, the Pingyao Marquis Manor had quietly brought home an illegitimate daughter from outside a few days ago—Yu Sangning.
A beautiful story had turned into a hollow lie. How could those who once admired the Pingyao Marchioness resist the chance to make snide remarks now?
Shen Xihe estimated the amount needed for blending the Buddhist incense, cutting a piece the size of a jade thumb ring. Her heart ached at the loss.
After cutting the Fairy Ribbon, the incision would develop a dried layer, though it wouldn’t affect the whole.
Now, with insufficient fragrant spices, she would have to wait for her people to purchase more from outside.
"Your Highness, Guard Cao from the Eastern Palace is here again. He brought a food box." Just as Shen Xihe had safely stored the Fairy Ribbon, Hongyu’s voice sounded from outside.
Ziyu had already rushed toward Cao Tianyuan. The mention of a food box made her unable to contain herself.
She still hadn’t fully mastered the pastries from last time, and now she was almost more attentive to the Eastern Palace’s delicacies than to her own mistress.
This time, however, Ziyu was disappointed. What Xiao Huayong had sent wasn’t prepared food but a food box filled to the brim with grapes.
"Your Highness, His Highness wishes to thank you for visiting him yesterday. These are grapes he cultivated himself in the Eastern Palace—the first batch to ripen, exceptionally fresh and sweet. They are not a lavish gift, and he hopes you will not disdain them." Tianyuan presented the grapes.
Shen Xihe loved delicious food, especially fresh, juicy fruits. She adored all kinds of fruit.
The grapes, purple as amethyst and plump to the point of bursting, exuded a captivating grape fragrance.
Under Ziyu’s longing gaze, Shen Xihe nodded and accepted them. "Please convey my thanks to the Crown Prince."
The gift was offered as a token of gratitude for her visit—a perfectly ordinary reason. Besides, she herself wanted to eat them. Why refuse?
Tianyuan left beaming.
"Your Highness, is this truly appropriate…" Biyu remained concerned."What's wrong with it?" Shen Xihe had Ziyu go wash a bunch of grapes.
"His Highness the Crown Prince keeps sending gifts..." Biyu couldn't quite articulate her concern either. After all, it was always just food containers with some snacks - nothing that could be considered improper exchange of private tokens.
Yet the Eastern Palace guards delivered food containers to the Shen residence daily. While the containers themselves weren't valuable, they carried a sense of ordinary intimacy.
"What others think is none of my concern." Shen Xihe never constrained herself because of others' opinions.
"But His Highness might misunderstand." Biyu said urgently.
"Misunderstand what?" Shen Xihe chuckled lightly. "The Crown Prince isn't naive enough to think that my accepting food containers means I regard him differently. I know he wants to marry me, and I'm also willing to marry him, so we're just interacting normally."
She never played hard to get, nor did she string Xiao Huayong along while hoping for someone better.
During their first meeting, Xiao Huayong had subtly revealed the true nature of his relationship with the Youning Emperor - a crown prince in name only.
In the eyes of the world, he appeared to be the greatly favored crown prince.
This was Xiao Huayong's show of sincerity. If the day came when she felt Xiao Huayong wasn't suitable as a husband, she would make it clear. As for whether he would become angry out of humiliation, she would deal with whatever came.
Seeing that her mistress understood everything perfectly, Biyu stopped pressing the matter and served Shen Xihe the grapes.
"These grapes are refreshingly sweet and juicy - you should all try some." Shen Xihe had to admit that Xiao Huayong's Eastern Palace was truly blessed with excellent feng shui. The grapes grown there were even slightly better than the tribute grapes from the Western Regions she had tasted before.
Unfortunately, her digestive system was weak. After eating five grapes, she didn't dare have more and distributed the rest among Ziyu and the others.
Early the next morning, Xie Yunhuai came for a visit. He was there to follow up on Shen Xihe's condition. Noticing that while her health hadn't improved, it also hadn't deteriorated further, he felt the current treatment was effective.
Watching Shen Xihe take her medicine and endure the pain until her face turned pale and her body convulsed, Xie Yunhuai's brows furrowed deeply.
Returning to his residence in the outskirts of the capital, he found someone standing with his back to him as he entered, a black chess piece rotating between fingers behind his back.
"How is her condition?" Xiao Huayong asked without turning.
Xie Yunhuai certainly recognized the Crown Prince. "The Bone Shedding Pill is indeed remarkably effective. If the princess continues taking it until the course is complete, her internal organs should be regulated and become as healthy as an ordinary person's."
"Are there any harmful effects?" Xiao Huayong asked further.
"The pill contains extreme yang fire. Given the princess's cold and weak constitution, each dose subjects her to excruciating pain akin to having bones scraped and flesh cut." Xie Yunhuai reported truthfully.
Xiao Huayong's rotating fingers stilled. He slowly turned around, his extraordinarily handsome face emerging from the shadows like dawn breaking through night to illuminate one's vision. "How long does it last?"
"About half an hour."
A profound light gleamed in Xiao Huayong's eyes, his gaze turning slightly cold. "Can it be prevented?"
After some thought, Xie Yunhuai responded, "Recently I've drafted a medicinal bath formula. If successful, the princess could take the medicine while immersed in the bath and be spared the pain."
"Are there obstacles?"
"One required ingredient is the extremely cold Tianshan Snow Lotus. After testing several formulas, I found ordinary snow lotus varieties won't work." Xie Yunhuai produced the formula and handed it to Xiao Huayong. "We need the finest Tianshan Snow Lotus, which only blooms atop snow-capped peaks. I've already posted rewards for people to retrieve it."
With Shen Xihe requiring his pulse diagnosis every three days and unable to leave her side - he worried the Bone Shedding Pill might cause unexpected effects - he needed to wait until Shen Xihe's maid Zhenzhu returned before he could personally make the trip.Seemingly seeing through Xie Yunhuai's intention, Xiao Huayong stared at him with his dark pupils shimmering silver: "She is mine."
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