In the West Chamber of the Great Peace Hall, a stench like that of an outhouse or pigsty permeated the air, forcing the palace maids serving inside to wrinkle their noses and hold their breath. Consort Yin De pinched her nose with one hand while constantly fanning the air with the other:

“Where is this stench coming from?”

Wei Shubin stood up and walked to a spot on the carpet stained with yellowish-brown powder. She crouched down to examine it, and the intense odor hit her nostrils and brain like a hammer, nearly making her vomit on the spot.

“This… here…” Wei Shubin pinched her nose while covering her mouth, pointing at the ground with her left hand, “Stinking… medicine powder…”

Earlier that evening, Consort Yin De had taken a blue porcelain medicine bottle from the medical box she had seized from Chai Yinglu, casually poured the powder onto the carpet, and then planted the poisoned pill. These discarded medicine powders showed no strange signs at first, but after all this time, they were emitting an increasingly potent stench.

Consort Yin De seemed to remember what these powders were about and frowned while gesturing for servants to come to clean it up. Wei Shubin backed away to her side, shaking her head:

“It’s useless. True Master once told me about this kind of stinking medicine powder. She said she was attempting to refine pills according to the ‘Nine Transformations Miraculous Fragrance Pill’ formula, using expensive ingredients like ambergris and musk deer bones, but when she opened the crucible, the medicine hadn’t solidified properly and the scent was wrong. After a while, it became increasingly foul, making people want to drown themselves or hang themselves! Moreover, if a room is contaminated with even a tiny bit of the powder, the stench takes at least a day to dissipate, no matter how you try to clean or deodorize it… I truly had no idea she had put this stinking powder in that bottle.”

“This proves that Chai tramp truly harbored ill intentions, determined to poison the Emperor Emeritus,” Consort Yin De snorted.

Wei Shubin paused, thought carefully, and spoke in a more serious tone:

“If not for your reminder, I almost forgot—True Mas… Chai Yinglu also said that prolonged exposure to this stench is extremely harmful to one’s health, especially causing coughing and phlegm! My lady, the Emperor Emeritus cannot stay in this room!”

“Oh my, why didn’t you say so earlier!” Consort Yin De first pulled out a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, hesitated for a moment, then called loudly for people to come in and ordered them to prepare thick bedding, felt covers, and a sedan chair, preparing to move the Emperor Emeritus to another room.

The Emperor Emeritus had been bedridden for a long time and was physically weak, unable to withstand wind and cold. It was already night, and quite cold outside, so moving him required special care. Wei Shubin helped the servants meticulously wrap the sedan chair to keep out drafts and laid several layers of thick felt padding. Three serving maids and Consort Yin De worked together to lift the Emperor Emeritus, wrapped in blankets, from the bed and place him as steadily as possible into the sedan chair.

By now the stench in the room had become so overwhelming that it made everyone dizzy, with coughing and dry heaving sounds coming from all directions. Consort Yin De couldn’t bear it anymore and rushed out to the corridor in a few quick steps to take deep breaths of fresh air. Wei Shubin followed her out, leaning against a pillar as she coughed for a while before saying hoarsely, “Lady Chai’s medicine… is too cruel…”

“That tramp… hmph…” Consort Yin De couldn’t hold back and suddenly vomited into the plants outside the corridor.

Wei Shubin moved over to pat her back and help her catch her breath, saying hatefully: “This stench… who knows if it will dissipate by dawn… It’s all over our bodies, how can we face anyone? I wish Chai Yinglu could taste this herself!”

Her words gave Consort Yin De an idea. After finishing vomiting, she straightened up and watched several serving maids carry the Emperor Emeritus out of the West Chamber onto the corridor. She then ordered a palace maid standing nearby:

“Go tell them to bring Chai Yinglu here and push her into the West Chamber! Remember to check again if she’s properly bound and her mouth is securely gagged! After pushing her in, close the door and guard outside. If you let her escape, you’ll pay with your skin!”

The palace maid acknowledged and went to relay the message. Consort Yin De turned to Wei Shubin with a cold smile: “Before tomorrow’s confrontation at Lizheng Hall, let’s let that Chai tramp get a taste of her own medicine! This little tramp thinks she’s so noble, always looking down on everyone else. Let’s have her stink for ten li, so everyone avoids her!”

“Consort Yin De is brilliant!” Wei Shubin smiled and praised.

The place Consort Yin De designated for the Emperor Emeritus’s relocation was a side hall not far from the West Chamber, just a short walk north along the corridor. She explained it was formerly the residence of the Seventeenth Princess. Though the room was small and simply decorated, serving maids had already brought in large braziers, so it wasn’t too cold. The servants carefully lifted the Emperor Emeritus from the sedan chair and placed him on the bed. Consort Yin De personally arranged the bedding, with Wei Shubin helping at her side.

During the moving process, the Emperor Emeritus made some unconscious groans but never woke up. Wei Shubin felt somewhat guilty, after all, this septuagenarian was truly seriously ill, and this move had put him at risk and caused him suffering. However, who told him to be so good at raising “good sons”…

After the sedan chair used to carry the Emperor Emeritus was removed from the room, servants brought in a small couch and placed it next to the brazier by the bed – this would be Consort Yin De’s bed for the night. Once everything was arranged, Consort Yin De said to Wei Shubin:

“It’s the middle of the night, we should all get some sleep. We have important matters tomorrow at dawn. Lady Wei, I’m sorry but you’ll have to squeeze in with the maids in the outer room for half a night.”

Wei Shubin naturally agreed without hesitation and withdrew with two or three palace maids after paying their respects.

The outer room of this side hall, originally meant for servants attending the Seventeenth Princess, had a large kang bed along the wall that could sleep four or five people side by side. Everyone was exhausted. They laid out bedding, removed their shoes, climbed onto the kang, and settled down. No one said anything as they blew out the lights and went to sleep.

Wei Shubin hadn’t expected to fall asleep. Lying in the darkness with her eyes closed, she silently went over the planned events in her mind repeatedly. Just as she was starting to feel drowsy, she heard the anticipated sounds—shouts of killing, terrified screams, cries of “Assassins!” and the clash of weapons from outside the hall.

Some of the more alert women sharing her bed had already pushed aside their blankets and sat up, asking anxiously “What’s happening?” Wei Shubin put on her outer clothes and got out of bed, finding her shoes while responding “I’ll go check.”

She didn’t need to look to know what was happening. She ran directly from the outer room into the small chamber where the Emperor Emeritus was staying. Sure enough, Consort Yin De and the attending maids were all awake, with Consort Yin De putting on her outer robe and the room’s lamps already lit. As soon as she entered, Consort Yin De immediately asked: “What’s happening outside?”

“I heard the guards shouting that assassins have entered and are heading toward the main hall and West Chamber, seemingly trying to assassinate the Emperor Emeritus!” Wei Shubin exclaimed, “Consort Yin, what should we do?”

“What should we do? The Emperor Emeritus isn’t in the main hall or West Chamber anymore.” Consort Yin De glanced at the bed, “Heaven truly protects us, thank the heavens!”

“But this place isn’t far from the West Chamber. If the assassins catch a palace maid or eunuch and force them to talk, it won’t be hard to find out that Emperor Emeritus is here!” Wei Shubin reminded her.

These words made Consort Yin De frown in indecision: “Yes, what should we do? Should we… move the Emperor Emeritus further back to a more remote location?”