However, Ninth Concubine seemed unable to hear what the Old Madam was saying, struggling free from the crowd like a madwoman—completely different from her usual self!

Li Xiaoran stood up and said sternly, “Ninth Concubine is feigning madness. What about the rest of you? If there’s even half a lie, none of you can escape!”

The maids beside Ninth Concubine were terrified, kowtowing repeatedly on the ground.

The Old Madam said coldly, “They must know something. Drag them all out and give each one hundred strikes of the rod. When they confess, then we’ll talk!”

The maids trembled all over. Guards from outside had already come in to seize them, and the room instantly filled with pleas for mercy! At this moment, a pale-faced, petite maid suddenly kowtowed loudly, begging for mercy, “This servant confesses! Old Madam, spare my life! Master, spare my life! Ninth Concubine ordered this servant to do this. I truly didn’t dare disobey. If I didn’t follow her instructions, she would certainly have driven me out!”

Li Xiaoran waved his hand. The guards loosened their grip, and the other maids looked at her in disbelief.

The Old Madam stared at her intently, “What did she make you do!”

The maid’s face was deathly pale, “Ninth Concubine… Ninth Concubine used the excuse of offering incense to take that gold collar to a gold shop outside. She had the gold melted and added some medicine inside. This servant doesn’t know what she added! I never imagined the mistress was trying to harm Fourth Young Master! At the time she only said the gold collar was so valuable that skimming off a little gold wouldn’t be discovered. She also said if I followed her instructions, she would promote me to a second-class maid!”

Hearing this, Tan Shi was so angry her whole body went rigid, her heart growing cold wave after wave, as if she had fallen into a bottomless black abyss. She had always thought Ninth Concubine only did wrong things because others instigated her. Who knew she had been determined all along to harm her son!

Jiang Yuelan showed an expression of disbelief, “Ninth Concubine, you knew Minzhi was being raised in my rooms. If something happened to him, I couldn’t possibly escape punishment, yet you still did this! You clearly—” As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Li Xiaoran.

Li Weiyang had been watching Ninth Concubine the entire time, her expression uncertain, not knowing what she was thinking.

Ninth Concubine continued struggling desperately, crying out loudly, “You’re harming me! You’re all harming me! You’re conspiring together to harm me!”

Apart from Ninth Concubine’s cries, no one else dared speak. The atmosphere in the room was almost suffocating. Li Xiaoran narrowed his eyes slightly—he truly couldn’t imagine that Ninth Concubine would do such a thing!

Fourth Concubine glanced at Li Xiaoran and sighed, “Master, this maid’s one-sided testimony isn’t credible. We must investigate thoroughly—don’t wrongly accuse Ninth Concubine!”

The Old Madam wished she could execute Ninth Concubine on the spot. Hearing this, she laughed coldly, “Weiyang, what do you say?!”

Li Weiyang had long felt this matter was a tangled mess. Moreover, she still had many things to investigate herself, so she only said, “This matter is entirely for the Old Madam and Father to decide. Weiyang doesn’t dare presume.”

The Old Madam nodded, “Both witness and evidence are present. Elder Son, you decide what should be done!”

It should be said that Li Xiaoran did have feelings for Ninth Concubine, but harming the Li family’s heir was absolutely unforgivable. He looked at Ninth Concubine, “I’ve always doted on you so. What more could you want? Yet you wouldn’t even spare a child as small as Minzhi!” His voice grew colder, “Since it’s come to this, I cannot show leniency, or it will corrupt the Li family’s rules! From today, lock Ninth Concubine away alone and never allow her out. As for this maid, confine her to the woodshed first. Once we find the gold shop keeper and have them confront each other, if it’s true, have her beaten to death!”

As the maid was dragged away crying, Li Weiyang watched this scene, increasingly convinced there was something suspicious about this matter.

Jiang Yuelan sighed, “I never imagined someone as gentle as Ninth Concubine would do such a thing! Fortunately it was discovered early. Otherwise, Minzhi’s life would truly have been endangered!” As she spoke, she knelt before Li Xiaoran, “Master, I didn’t care for Fourth Young Master properly. However you wish to punish me, I will have no complaints.”

Li Xiaoran glanced at the Old Madam, then helped her up. Jiang Yuelan’s eyes were brimming with tears, refusing to rise. The Old Madam said, “Forget it. This matter has nothing to do with you. Get up.”

Only then did Jiang Yuelan stand, saying tearfully, “Then I’ll take Minzhi back now to care for him properly.”

The Old Madam frowned, watching as Jiang Yuelan walked over and picked up Minzhi under Tan Shi’s hesitant gaze. After just two steps, Minzhi suddenly opened his eyes and burst into crying.

“Look at this, look at this! What else can you do! You can’t even care for one child!” The Old Madam said angrily.

Jiang Yuelan truly felt wronged. How could she know this child would wake so easily!

Tan Shi quickly took the child. Minzhi immediately stopped crying, snuggling close to his birth mother. His eyes sparkled with energy—that earlier crying appearance seemed never to have existed. His little hands waved and grasped, clearly excited.

After all, the birth mother had methods. The Old Madam felt reassured but said with sympathy, “Not even ten days at Furui Courtyard, and look at this child—all his spirit is gone. How can this continue!”

Li Weiyang glanced at her little brother. Apart from the red spots on his arms, he was still raised white and plump, his crying voice full of vigor. She couldn’t see any signs of damaged spirits.

Jiang Yuelan didn’t want to give up Minzhi so easily. She immediately said, “Let me try again! Perhaps I held him too firmly just now. I’ll be gentler!” With that, she took Minzhi from Tan Shi’s hands. But as soon as he was in her arms, Minzhi’s tears flowed like a broken faucet, returning to his previous state of wailing to the heavens.

This time, everyone in the room cast suspicious looks at Jiang Yuelan. Li Xiaoran frowned, “Why does the child cry ceaselessly whenever he touches you?”

Jiang Yuelan thought the Old Madam had been equally helpless, but she didn’t dare say this publicly. She could only smile bitterly, “After all, he’s closest to Seventh Concubine!” Her expression of utter heartbreak made Li Xiaoran feel his tone had been too harsh.

“Seventh Concubine, you hold him.” Li Xiaoran said slowly.

Strangely, as soon as Tan Shi took Minzhi, he immediately went from wailing to hiccuping sobs. After a moment, even the hiccuping stopped. He lay beaming in Tan Shi’s arms, sniffing all around her body. When Tan Shi touched Minzhi’s little face with her finger, Minzhi immediately broke into a smile through his tears, actually reaching out to grasp and lick Tan Shi’s finger.

“Mother, Fourth Brother is young and doesn’t understand. Children always have to cry and fuss for a while. Once he gets used to it, he’ll be fine!” Li Changle, covering her just-medicated face, said gently.

The Old Madam frowned, seemingly thinking about something.

Hearing Li Changle’s words, Jiang Yuelan immediately said, “Yes, let me take him back first. If it really doesn’t work, have Seventh Concubine stay at my place for two days until Minzhi gets used to it.” As she spoke, she glanced at the wet nurse who had followed. The wet nurse immediately understood and moved to take Minzhi.

Li Weiyang watched coldly, a cold smile crossing her lips.

But before the wet nurse even touched Minzhi, the little fellow burst into loud crying, absolutely refusing to leave Tan Shi’s embrace. He cried and fussed, dodging the wet nurse’s hands. His pair of black eyes were crystal clear like glass balls, reflecting flawless light, blocking out worldly filth. Usually he always smiled, but now with tears brimming in both eyes, he struggled desperately toward Tan Shi, looking reluctant to part. The Old Madam’s heart ached terribly.

“Yuelan, you see… this child only wants to stay with his birth mother. Either way, you’ll have your own children in the future. I think it’s better to let Seventh Concubine take him back.” The Old Madam was somewhat indecisive.

Li Xiaoran nodded, ultimately feeling sorry for his son, “Yes, Yuelan, you’re too young and still don’t know how to care for children. Let Minzhi stay by Seventh Concubine’s side.”

Li Weiyang looked at Jiang Yuelan, her smile carrying a trace of mockery.

Jiang Yuelan’s smile was somewhat stiff, but she quickly recovered, a hint of tears in her eyes as she looked at Minzhi.

Li Changle couldn’t help clenching her fists, saying with a smile, “The Old Madam is truly kind-hearted. With you caring for him so much, Fourth Brother has the greatest fortune. But Mother put in so much effort—if she gives up just like this, wouldn’t it be a pity? Please, Father and Old Madam, give her another chance! Children always have an adjustment period. In a few more days it will be fine!”

Li Xiaoran frowned, unable to bear seeing his beloved wife’s sorrowful appearance, “How about we try again?”

Jiang Yuelan nodded eagerly, immediately going over to take Minzhi, “I will certainly do my utmost.”

Li Weiyang watched coldly without speaking. Seventh Concubine was reluctant but, remembering her daughter’s instructions, had no choice but to release Minzhi and stand to the side.

However, Jiang Yuelan’s final attempt ultimately failed. Two days later, she personally carried the child to Seventh Concubine’s place, sighing, “Blood ties are truly best. At my place, he cried from morning to night. It was truly heartbreaking to watch.”

Li Weiyang looked at Jiang Yuelan’s darkened under-eyes and pale face with a calm expression. She thought to herself: it’s not that you feel sorry for Minzhi—it’s that Father was willing to go rest at Fourth Concubine’s place rather than Furui Courtyard because of the child’s noise. Not only did it cut off your favor, but people outside were spreading vicious rumors that the new Madam didn’t go to check on Fourth Young Master at night—she secretly pricked Fourth Young Master’s little feet with needles, which was why the child cried harder when he saw the new Madam. Once such malicious rumors spread, all of Jiang Yuelan’s previous efforts turned to nothing. Li Xiaoran repeatedly hinted that she should be more generous to the concubine’s son. Jiang Yuelan couldn’t voice her grievances. After thinking it over repeatedly, she had no choice but to send the child back. This confirmed exactly what Li Weiyang had said—within ten days, Li Minzhi would return to his birth mother’s side.

As Jiang Yuelan left, watching the smiling Minzhi, her heart was filled with confusion, doubt, and twelve parts unwillingness. But matters had reached this point—she truly had no other recourse. As soon as she left, everyone relaxed.

Minzhi’s bright black eyes fixed on Tan Shi. Then he extended one pudgy little hand like a lotus root, opened his toothless little mouth, and smiled. Tan Shi’s face was covered in tears. Unable to hold back any longer, she rushed over, snatching the child from the maid’s hands and holding him tightly in her embrace. Like a madwoman, she kissed the child’s little face, little hands, neck, and hair, alternating between crying and laughing.

Li Weiyang felt this scene was indescribably warm. She asked softly, “Has all of Fourth Young Master’s poison been cleared?”

Bai Zhi said quietly, “The imperial physician prescribed medicine. The small rash on Fourth Young Master’s body has disappeared.”

Li Weiyang nodded, her gaze moving again to the smiling Minzhi.

Previously, Tan Shi had been afraid of adding to her daughter’s burdens, desperately suppressing her reluctance to part with the child. Now that her treasure had returned to her side, she involuntarily pressed close to his tender little face, feeling those little hands touching her, hearing his tender babbling voice. Her heart trembled wave after wave with happiness and sweetness. Finally, large tears rolled down, falling on Minzhi’s little face. When she came to her senses and saw everyone in the room watching her, she realized she had lost composure. Reluctantly placing Minzhi in his cradle, she smiled, “Weiyang, you were absolutely right. But how did you do it?”

Li Weiyang smiled, “Everyone else go out.”

Hearing this, the maids quietly withdrew.

Li Weiyang walked to the cradle’s edge, amusing Minzhi with a rattle drum. Minzhi happily tried to bite it. Li Weiyang gently moved the rattle drum away, saying slowly, “Minzhi has loved malt candy since he was small, but he’s too young to eat it. So each time I’ve had the maids put a little on the spoon, or the wet nurse put some on her body, letting him lick it to satisfy his craving. Over time, every day he looked forward to people bringing malt candy for him to lick and play with—even more enthusiastically than drinking milk.” As she spoke, Minzhi shook his head and laughed again. Li Weiyang pinched his chubby face and continued, “Later when Jiang Yuelan insisted on taking the child away, naturally this benefit disappeared. This little glutton looks for malt candy every two hours. Not getting it, naturally he cried ceaselessly.”

Tan Shi couldn’t believe it, “It’s that simple?”

Li Weiyang smiled ruefully, “How complicated could it be?” Well, she indeed hadn’t told the whole story. Minzhi, lacking his malt candy, loved to cry and fuss—no one could get him to stop crying when holding him. That day, following Li Weiyang’s instructions, Tan Shi had put malt candy on her hands, so as soon as Minzhi smelled it, he immediately became all smiles. Of course, just doing this wasn’t enough. Minzhi was a bit slow—he smiled at everyone he saw, even when Jiang Yuelan held him. So from the first day Jiang Yuelan married in, Li Weiyang had begun preparing, guarding against this day.

Because Jiang Yuelan liked to use agarwood incense—a fragrance that was long-lasting and elegant—every time the wet nurse fed Minzhi, halfway through the feeding, Li Weiyang would have Bai Zhi burn agarwood incense and walk to Minzhi’s side, then instruct the wet nurse to stop feeding. Over time, Minzhi began to mistakenly believe that whenever someone carrying this scent appeared, his milk would stop—a false perception. Once habits formed, they were hard to change. As an infant, just like a puppy guarding its food, he naturally developed a strong aversion to people carrying the agarwood scent. No matter how attentive Jiang Yuelan was, she couldn’t change the habit Li Weiyang had cultivated in the child over time. So on the second day after the wedding when Jiang Yuelan held Minzhi, he still smiled happily, but when she touched him later, he wailed loudly.

Li Weiyang naturally wouldn’t tell Tan Shi this secret, because as a mother, she would certainly feel heartbroken. But to Li Weiyang, Minzhi this little infant needed to learn a small lesson—otherwise, treating everyone as his mother, being so foolishly docile was absolutely unacceptable. Moreover, whatever methods were needed had to be used to get the child back to his birth mother’s side.

Minzhi’s bright black eyes looked at his scheming sister, completely unaware he’d been sold out, still smiling happily to himself.

“But Minzhi escaped this time—what about the future? We can’t still use crying and fussing as a method when he’s three or four years old, can we?” Tan Shi was somewhat worried.

Li Weiyang smiled faintly, “The future? Jiang Yuelan will soon have her own child. Even if she doesn’t, I’ll make sure she has no mood to scheme over Minzhi.”

What needed consideration now wasn’t the future but what had happened two days ago. Thinking that someone had actually used Minzhi to strike at their enemies made Li Weiyang’s anger flare. As she stared at Minzhi’s now perfectly healthy chubby arm, she pondered what to do next.

Looking at the truth of a matter often wasn’t about the surface—one had to see who actually benefited. With Ninth Concubine’s misfortune, naturally Jiang Yuelan benefited most. However, Jiang Yuelan wasn’t so short-sighted—she wouldn’t do such a thing. Then the suspicious person was either Fourth Concubine or Li Changle. Unfortunately, after the incident, Li Weiyang had arranged for people to investigate the shop where the Old Madam had originally commissioned the gold collar. The shop had long since changed managers, and the shopkeeper at the gold shop where Ninth Concubine supposedly melted the gold had mysteriously died of illness. This matter was becoming increasingly confusing. If it was done by an inner household woman, could she really manipulate the shopkeeper of such a luxurious gold shop? Clearly it wasn’t that simple.

Thinking this, Li Weiyang turned around, “I still have matters to attend to. I’ll return first.”

Tan Shi looked at her daughter in surprise, not knowing what matters she had now. But she understood she couldn’t dissuade her, so she smiled, “It’s cold outside. I’ll prepare a hand warmer for you.”

Li Weiyang shook her head, “No need.” With that, she quickly walked out. As soon as she left, a cold wind blew. She involuntarily shivered. Bai Zhi, waiting at the door, quickly helped her put on her large fur coat, “Miss, are we returning?”

Li Weiyang shook her head, saying quietly, “Come, let’s go see Ninth Concubine.”

Both Bai Zhi and Zhao Yue started. Bai Zhi said quietly, “Miss, Ninth Concubine is confined to her own courtyard. The Master said—”

“Father didn’t say I couldn’t question her either.” Li Weiyang said leisurely.

Bai Zhi said, “But the weather is so cold.”

Li Weiyang didn’t care much, “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Zhao Yue had been silent throughout. Hearing this, she nodded, “Yes.”

Along the way they saw almost no one—probably in such snowy weather, no one wanted to go out. Li Weiyang unconsciously pulled at her fur coat. Walking into Ninth Concubine’s courtyard, she saw no guards. Suddenly in the distance on the snowy ground, she saw a strange human form moving.

Li Weiyang suddenly stopped in her tracks.

That person’s hair was extremely disheveled. Her legs seemed very inconvenient, her knees very stiff. Her walking posture was tilted and unsteady—looking strange however you viewed it. She drew closer and closer to Li Weiyang. Faintly, one could see she was wearing only a thin garment… In such weather, how could there be someone dressed so lightly here! The next moment, Li Weiyang saw clearly. The person before her was none other than Ninth Concubine! What she wore wasn’t summer clothing but the undergarment worn for sleeping, which was why it was white.

Li Weiyang frowned. How could Ninth Concubine be running outside the house alone?! Hadn’t the Old Madam ordered additional personnel to keep strict watch over her… How could she be running wildly outside with no one to care? And in this weather, what was she running out for?!

Zhao Yue’s hand involuntarily touched the soft sword at her waist, watching Ninth Concubine guardedly.

Ninth Concubine had already discovered them. She suddenly stared at Li Weiyang, clapping her hands and laughing loudly.

Li Weiyang heard her voice and tone were greatly different from a normal person’s. Her heart turned cold. She involuntarily looked at her face and saw her eyes were utterly empty—just like Li Changxi before!

“Hahaha, it’s you!” Ninth Concubine extended her snow-white fingers, frozen blue-green. Her hands had always been beautiful, never having touched even a speck of dust, but now they were covered in mud, filth, and blood.

“I know you! You’re that incredible Third Miss! Ah no! You’re Li Weiyang! That jinx!”

Li Weiyang raised an eyebrow. With Ninth Concubine looking like this, could she truly have gone mad?

Zhao Yue moved to block Ninth Concubine’s approach, but Li Weiyang shook her head. Zhao Yue stepped back. Ninth Concubine laughed eerily as she approached Li Weiyang, the strange light in her eyes growing brighter. Using the tone children use to share secrets, she said to her, “Hey, aren’t you very capable?! Save me, save me! I truly didn’t harm anyone! I harmed no one! They’re harming me! They’ve joined forces to harm me! I just thought that thing was beautiful and borrowed it to make one for Jing’er. I truly didn’t harm anyone!”

Bai Zhi saw Ninth Concubine’s crazed state and couldn’t help trembling all over, “Miss, let’s go back. Ninth Concubine has gone mad!”

A madwoman’s words weren’t necessarily credible, but Li Weiyang’s instinct told her Ninth Concubine was telling the truth.

She frowned and suddenly called out, “Where are the people in this courtyard? Where have you all died off to!”

This voice wasn’t loud in the wind and snow, but suddenly seven or eight people emerged from the courtyard—four matrons and several maids, each with alarm on their faces.

Li Weiyang said sternly, “You were told to watch Ninth Concubine. What were you all doing?!”

The four matrons quickly knelt to beg forgiveness. Seeing the cold weather, they hadn’t guarded at the door but had secretly slipped inside to drink and play cards. Just now, discovering Li Weiyang had come, they didn’t dare come out, fearing punishment. Who knew they still couldn’t escape.

One matron said quietly, “County Princess, please forgive us. The weather was truly too cold. Our servants’ hands were frozen blue. We thought Ninth Concubine was mad and wouldn’t run out, so—”

Li Weiyang looked at them coldly, “Quickly help the mistress inside!”

Eh, hadn’t Ninth Concubine harmed Fourth Young Master? Fourth Young Master was the County Princess’s own younger brother—why was she still so good to Ninth Concubine? The four matrons exchanged glances but didn’t dare disobey. They quickly directed people to seize Ninth Concubine. But a madwoman’s strength was greater than normal people’s. Ninth Concubine laughed loudly again, her voice shrill, breaking free from everyone and stumbling toward the distance. Everyone quickly pounced to grab her. With great difficulty they pressed her down in the snow. Ninth Concubine was barefoot, her whole body violently convulsing as if ill.

Li Weiyang watched from afar, a sense of foreboding in her heart. She said quietly, “Tell your elder brother to watch over Ninth Concubine.”

“Yes.” Zhao Yue said quietly.

Li Weiyang’s premonition proved correct. A day later, Ninth Concubine was found dead in her room.

“The physician said Ninth Concubine committed suicide by swallowing gold.” Li Weiyang said slowly.

Zhao Nan shook his head, “That’s not right. I was guarding outside the whole time. If she swallowed gold to commit suicide, I would have seen it.”

Li Weiyang sighed, “Of course she didn’t commit suicide. She was murdered.”

“Miss, when the maid brought food that evening, Ninth Concubine was still fine. I tested the food with a silver needle—there was no poison. But less than three hours after eating, Ninth Concubine was dead. At first I suspected she was poisoned, so I checked all the furnishings in the room but couldn’t find where poison had been administered. Later I examined Ninth Concubine’s corpse again and found she seemed to be dreaming—her expression showed no pain.”

“So the person who killed her must have used poison you couldn’t detect, or struck from somewhere we couldn’t think of.”

Li Weiyang had lived in the palace and knew many poisons were undetectable. Those that could be detected mostly contained arsenic, so it wasn’t strange that Zhao Nan couldn’t find the cause of Ninth Concubine’s death.

“This way, our leads are cut off.” Zhao Nan couldn’t help frowning. In his view, the twists and turns of this great household gave him such a headache. Perfectly fine people could disappear right under your nose. He truly couldn’t understand. He’d rather go fight on the battlefield than live in fear not knowing where a hidden arrow might come from.

“Don’t you think Ninth Concubine’s madness was very strange?” Li Weiyang said this.

Zhao Yue nodded, “Originally she was fine, but after leaving Hexiang Courtyard, it was as if she didn’t recognize anyone.”

Li Weiyang nodded, “Li Changxi was frightened mad by me. So how did Ninth Concubine go mad?”

“Perhaps… because her crime was great, she feared punishment—” Bai Zhi ventured tentatively.

Li Weiyang shook her head, “Those who dare to act dare to take responsibility. It’s not so easy to go mad.”

Bai Zhi fell silent. She also felt Ninth Concubine’s sudden madness was very problematic—someone must have tampered with her.

Only Mo Zhu sighed, “Poor Sixth Miss—not long after birth, she’s lost her birth mother.”

Li Weiyang smiled slightly, “For her, this is actually a good thing. Though Ninth Concubine was beautiful and clever, she didn’t grow up in such a great household and was easily instigated by others. Having such a mother, Sixth Sister would likely be implicated more. Now that she’s dead, Jiang Yuelan will want to establish the reputation of a virtuous mistress before everyone—of course she’ll treat her well.”

Bai Zhi nodded, “Miss is right.”

Mo Zhu disagreed, “Who knows what the new Madam’s heart is like? What if she also strikes at Sixth Miss?”

Li Weiyang smiled, “Silly girl, why would she strike at Sixth Sister? Sixth Sister is just a concubine-born daughter. At most she’ll give her some dowry in the future and can even use her to gain benefits for the family. Of course she should raise her well to earn Jiang Yuelan a good reputation. But Minzhi is different…”

Suppressing concubine-born sons served two purposes. First, to preserve the family wealth for legitimate sons. After all, if the family divided in the future, concubine-born sons would get a share. If they didn’t divide, the common household still had to pay to support the concubine-born sons’ families. Once encountering a narrow-minded, calculating, unfavored legitimate wife, naturally she’d guard wealth like her own flesh, wishing the concubine-born son didn’t exist at all. Second, to protect the legitimate son’s position in the family. In the Great Li Dynasty, there were many officials where concubine-born sons surpassed legitimate sons. Once a concubine-born son succeeded and prospered, not only would he divide the legitimate son’s favor, but the concubine who gained status through her son could also cause trouble for the legitimate mother. Like the current Cangzhou Governor Liu Fang—he was of concubine birth, raised under legitimate mother Lady Liu’s name. After returning from his external posting, seeing his birth mother Lady Li was gray-haired yet still had to follow rules before the legitimate mother, his heart couldn’t bear it. He specially requested an imperial edict to take his birth mother to Cangzhou to enjoy her later years. The Emperor, considering Liu Fang’s years of toil, approved. But once the news spread, legitimate mother Lady Liu felt her son was extremely improper and became so angry that she ordered Lady Li strangled to death. So legitimate mothers, while raising concubine-born sons, harbored wariness—this too was human nature. It should be said this was the fundamental reason Li Weiyang didn’t want Minzhi to remain with Jiang Yuelan. If she remained childless her whole life, she might treat Minzhi well. But what if she had her own son? That would create many problems.

Thinking this, Li Weiyang’s gaze turned toward the tree branches outside the window, swaying erratically in the wind, “This is the last snow of the year.”

Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu looked at each other, not knowing why Li Weiyang suddenly brought this up.

Someone who shared Li Weiyang’s thoughts was Li Xiaoran. He felt Ninth Concubine’s madness was too strange—suspected someone had poisoned her. Thinking this way, her sudden death might also be murder. At first he indeed wanted to investigate thoroughly. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper had died, the human witness was gone, and the only lead lay with the maid beside Ninth Concubine—she became the only breakthrough. However, no matter how they questioned her, this maid said the same thing over and over—that Ninth Concubine had poisoned Fourth Young Master. Everything else she knew nothing about. Li Xiaoran privately had people use harsh torture, but this maid still didn’t change her story.

“Using both soft and hard approaches yielded no results. Either this maid is telling the truth, or she believes what she’s saying is the truth.” Li Weiyang said this to Zhao Yue.

Zhao Yue didn’t understand, “Is there a difference?”

Li Weiyang smiled, “The difference is—one is that she indeed saw Ninth Concubine administer poison. The other is that someone made her mistakenly believe Ninth Concubine administered poison.”

Zhao Yue immediately understood, “This way, is there still a way to investigate?”

Li Weiyang said coldly, “Since there was a first time, inevitably there will be a second. As long as we temporarily pretend to know nothing, the other party will continue to act.”

Zhao Yue nodded, “This servant will certainly watch Fourth Young Master carefully.”

Just then, Zhao Nan hurried in and knelt, “Miss, following your instructions, I’ve found all of Ninth Concubine’s recent meals.” With that, he handed over a stack of papers.

Li Weiyang looked for a long time but couldn’t discern anything. She said quietly, “There are no incompatible foods here either. What exactly is going on?” After a long while, she frowned, “Go find another physician.”

Zhao Nan responded and quickly disappeared. Li Weiyang watched his retreating figure, falling into prolonged silence.

An hour later, Zhao Nan brought an elderly physician with white hair and beard. Li Weiyang glanced at him. He immediately said, “I told the gatekeeper that a maid in Miss’s courtyard was ill, so I didn’t request the Li family physician.”

Li Weiyang nodded, “Please help look—are there any problems with this diet? Or, would eating too much cause harm?”

The old physician trembled, clearly not yet knowing what had happened. But seeing this room full of luxurious furnishings and Li Weiyang’s dress and appearance, he understood in his heart. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Weiyang, only taking the stack of papers and flipping through them one by one.

These papers recorded Ninth Concubine’s three daily meals over a month.

The old physician looked repeatedly, pointing to one dish present at every meal, “This steamed cassava cake—”

Li Weiyang said, “Cassava is a specialty of Ninth Concubine’s hometown. She loves it extremely. Father has always doted on her, so he specially had it rushed here by fast horse from her hometown. Apart from during pregnancy when she didn’t touch it, she’s been eating it for more than a day or two. What—is there a problem with this?”

The old physician’s expression was somewhat hesitant, “Cassava’s roots, stems, and leaves all contain toxins, and fresh roots have the strongest toxicity. If one eats it raw or undercooked, or even drinks a mouthful of the soup, poisoning can occur. In large quantities, it can cause death. So ordinary people don’t like eating this thing.”

Li Weiyang frowned, then relaxed, “That wouldn’t be the case. The kitchen wouldn’t fail even at this.”

The old physician didn’t dare say more. He pointed to another dish, “This golden needle vegetable with wood ear mushroom… well… golden needle vegetable contains something called colchicine. If people accidentally eat too much, another toxin can easily develop that poisons the intestines and stomach. However, ordinary people who eat it can digest it themselves. But weak people must eat less…”

Weak? Ninth Concubine had given birth only months ago—her body naturally couldn’t be called strong. But golden needle vegetable was commonly used as a side dish. Li Weiyang had never heard of it being poisonous, so her face naturally showed disbelief.

The old physician explained, “This old one has personally seen a patient with original gastrointestinal bleeding who, after consuming this, couldn’t have normal bowel movements for seven days and nights and was ultimately constipated to death…”

Bai Zhi’s face showed disgust. This old physician—speaking of being constipated to death before Miss—how utterly improper!

Li Weiyang shook her head. These things couldn’t explain Ninth Concubine’s death. They couldn’t say she died from cassava or golden needle vegetable poisoning—that would be too absurd. Everyone ate these things; no one had actually died. What the old physician mentioned were special cases that could only occur under certain conditions. No, wait—what if someone deliberately didn’t cook the cassava thoroughly, or deliberately had Ninth Concubine consume large quantities of golden needle vegetable while her spleen and stomach were weak?

The old physician continued, “Miss, you’re young, so naturally you haven’t seen such things. When this old one was young, I served as a coroner for the court. I’ve personally seen people use all sorts of strange and bizarre methods to kill! Take this potato braised pork—the sprouts, flowers, leaves, and outer skin of potato roots contain rather high toxins. Especially the tender sprout parts—the toxin is dozens to hundreds of times higher than the meat. Unripe green potatoes or those with black spots from improper storage all contain extremely high poison. As long as it’s used well, causing someone’s death is very simple. Of course, to control it properly isn’t something that can be done overnight—it requires repeated experimentation and the ability to access the deceased’s food…”

Li Weiyang understood everything now. She waved her hand. Bai Zhi immediately tucked a silver pouch into the old physician’s hand. The old physician was startled, “This… I didn’t even see a patient—I don’t need so much money…”

Li Weiyang smiled, “This is to thank you for answering my questions.”

The old physician was overwhelmed by this favor. He was about to say more when Zhao Nan escorted him out.

Bai Zhi said quietly, “That old man is too alarmist. We eat these things all the time—no one’s died!”

Li Weiyang shook her head, “Yes. To use these properly, one would need to know Ninth Concubine’s physical condition intimately, taking the opportunity to use these things to cause her death. This isn’t something an ordinary person could do. I’m afraid an expert in using poison has come to this household.”

“Miss, you mean—” Zhao Yue was surprised.

A cold glint flashed in Li Weiyang’s eyes, “Causing death imperceptibly—I truly want to know how such a person came to the Li family!”

**A Villa in the Capital**

Zhou Tianshou entered the door trembling with trepidation, bowing to a richly-dressed young man standing in the great hall. The young man turned around, his face full of smiles, “Daoist Master, no need for such courtesy?”

Zhou Tianshou had originally lived in seclusion in the mountains. A month ago, he was inexplicably invited here and met this richly-dressed young man who arranged this residence for him. Zhou Tianshou had always cultivated ascetically and had never received such treatment. Unable to resist, he looked around the courtyard—purple sandalwood tables, chairs, and bed frames, gold-painted four-panel screens, palace-embroidered tasseled curtains, Hangzhou silk-faced brocade quilts. Everything needed for household use was complete. Even the chamber pot was lacquered gold. At mealtimes, the table was filled with shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, cooked chestnuts, ginkgo nuts, cauliflower—these seemingly simple vegetarian dishes. But he understood that in this season, obtaining large fish and meat wasn’t difficult, but getting these fresh vegetables was harder than getting abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and tripe. It completely dazzled him—he couldn’t believe he’d have such good fortune. However, he had always been anxious, not knowing what the other party wanted him to do.

And now, this young man appeared for the second time. Zhou Tianshou knew—he was about to be given his assignment.

“I’ve invited Daoist Master here because I want to ask him to leave this place.” The young man said with a smile.

Zhou Tianshou was startled. How could he bear to leave this good life? His face immediately showed reluctance. But before he could speak, the young man had already said, “Daoist Master, don’t misunderstand. I mean no harm. It’s that someone will soon come to invite Daoist Master to enter the palace.”

“Enter the palace?!” Zhou Tianshou was even more shocked, “Invite me?”

The young man smiled, “Precisely so.”

Zhou Tianshou felt very strange. Unable to resist, he examined the young man’s appearance again carefully—his features were extraordinarily handsome, brows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn waters, from nose to lips all flawless. But most importantly, he actually had the appearance of… Zhou Tianshou secretly speculated about this young man’s identity. Though he was skilled in the art of reading faces, many things… could be seen but not spoken.

“Daoist Master should return to his original residence. Within three days, the Seventh Prince will come to invite you into the palace.” The young man said this.

Zhou Tianshou was extremely alarmed, “The palace… my master…” His master had said the palace had complex interpersonal relationships and told him not to wade into troubled waters. But he knew—his master was actually afraid he’d steal his livelihood.

The young man’s smile grew even more amiable, “After Daoist Master enters the palace, everything will naturally be arranged for you. However, to surpass your master in His Majesty’s heart, you’ll need to give His Majesty a suitable gift.”

Zhou Tianshou looked at the young man strangely, “I’m just a poor Daoist. What gift could I possibly afford?”

The young man only smiled, “As for the gift, I’ve already prepared it for you.”

Zhou Tianshou followed the young man’s gaze out the window. He immediately froze, his eyes immediately riveted on that young lady. Though he normally never approached women and maintained his integrity, at this moment his eyes went straight. The beauty before him truly had hands like soft rushes, skin like congealed fat, a cicada-like head and moth-like brows, an enchanting smile—her appearance was captivating to the extreme. Being a Daoist cultivator, he immediately came to his senses, “This is—”

The young man smiled, “His Majesty’s side lacks a beauty to his liking, does it not?”