Three days later, on a fine noon,
Consort Chen had just finished her lunch and was about to rest,
when Ying Xiang rushed in to report, "Esteemed Consort, Xi Ying is here."
Consort Chen lightly responded "Mm," and signaled for Ying Xiang to bring her in.
Whenever Xi Ying came to see Consort Chen in the past, she would be timid and shrinking,
but today, as soon as she entered, one could see the unconcealable delight on her face.
She bowed deeply to Consort Chen and exclaimed gleefully:
"Congratulations, Esteemed Consort! My felicitations, Esteemed Consort!"
"What nonsense are you spewing from your mouth?" Before she could finish speaking, Ying Xiang angrily interrupted her. "His Majesty hasn't come to Esteemed Consort for three days already, yet you've come to offer congratulations?"
Bang!
No sooner had Ying Xiang finished speaking when a dull thud sounded from behind her.
She hurriedly turned her head to see that Consort Chen had smashed the teacup on the table, spilling tea all over it. At this moment, Consort Chen was glaring at her fiercely.
Only then did Ying Xiang realize she had spoken wrongly. She lowered her head silently and started cleaning up the spilled tea on the table.
Consort Chen then shifted her gaze to Xi Ying and asked, "Go on, tell Us what you have come to congratulate this Palace for?"
Xi Ying said, "Song Zhao has offended Esteemed Consort, but I fear she has also offended others! Someone has poisoned her!"
"Oh?" This matter piqued Consort Chen's interest. She said coldly with a mocking smile, "Then is she dead?"
"This..." Xi Ying shook her head with some regret. "Song Zhao has great fortune. Xiao Fuzi, who attends to her, knows a little medicine and noticed something amiss."
Ying Xiang also asked, "What poison did someone use on her?"
Xi Ying replied, "Over the past couple of days, Song Zhao has been feeling weary and dispirited. She has been breaking out in night sweats and suffering from insomnia. Sensing something wrong, she thoroughly searched her residence, and Xiao Fuzi discovered that the fresh flowers that are changed daily in her room had been tampered with."
"I overheard Xiao Fuzi say that it seemed like Soul Scattering Powder was mixed into the flower stamens..."
Consort Chen, who had only been casually listening for amusement up to this point, immediately became alert upon hearing "Soul Scattering Powder."
Even Ying Xiang's expression darkened in an instant. The teacup she had just picked up nearly spilled again.
Exchanging a look with her mistress, Ying Xiang then said to Xi Ying,
"Esteemed Consort has heard about this matter. Return to keep a lookout and see if Song Zhao has any other movements."
After dismissing Xi Ying with a few words, Ying Xiang let the palace maids leave to attend to other duties. She then carefully shut the doors and windows before lowering her voice to say to Consort Chen,
"Esteemed Consort, how could someone feed Song Zhao Soul Scattering Powder for no reason? That substance was what we used on Noble Consort Yang previously. How could it..."
Ying Xiang was not the only one with this question—Consort Chen also found it very strange.
Back then, Noble Consort Yang had relied on favoritism and acted arrogantly because Xiao Jingheng doted on her a little. She had dared to openly confront Consort Chen.
Consort Chen could not swallow this insult. Thus, she secretly mixed Soul Scattering Powder from Miao Territory into Noble Consort Yang's food and drinks, causing her to unknowingly go insane.
Soul Scattering Powder is a poison produced in Miao Territory. It is colorless and odorless, and once its effects set in, even famed doctors would not be able to ascertain the cause upon examination.
So when Noble Consort Yang died, no one ever knew how she had gone crazy.
Consort Chen used this method to eliminate Noble Consort Yang, but she could never use the same trick in the palace again,
otherwise people could easily link the two incidents if investigated thoroughly, which would implicate her.
She had not expected that today, someone would actually try to plot against Song Zhao using the exact same approach!
Consort Chen said, "It is obvious someone is trying to secretly learn from this Palace's methods to harm Song Zhao, while also plotting against Us! If not for Song Zhao's great fortune in detecting this early, once she really went insane, His Majesty's first suspicion would surely land on this Palace's head!"
In this palace, it had always been Consort Chen scheming against others, yet who would have thought there would be someone daring enough to scheme against her?
At this moment, Consort Chen's face was livid with rage.
Ying Xiang also sucked in a breath of cold air as suspicion quickly arose in her heart. "Could it be Consort Shu?"
"If not her, then who else?" Consort Chen slammed the table furiously as she spat out viciously, "Among the consorts currently at the Hot Spring Mountain Villa, there is only Us, Song Zhao, Noble Consort Xiao, and Consort Shu! When Noble Consort Yang died back then, Song Zhao and Noble Consort Xiao had not entered the palace yet, only Consort Shu knew about this matter!"
Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly and her clenched fist rested on the table. "To think I looked down on her for always being dispirited. I have underestimated her!"
"What does Esteemed Consort plan to do now?"
"Fool! Quickly bring people to bring Song Zhao over to Us! A few days ago, because of her, His Majesty reprimanded Us and We did not go easy on her. If she were to run to His Majesty now and report this matter to him rashly, His Majesty would surely be prejudiced into thinking that We harbored jealousy and hatred. When the time comes, We would have no defense!"
Ying Xiang responded repeatedly and hurried off to bring people to capture Song Zhao.
But before she exited the inner chambers, she heard a palace maid say from outside,
"Esteemed Consort, Song Zhao is asking for an audience."
"Quick, let her in!"
When Song Zhao entered, she held a bunch of gorgeously blossomed flowers in her hands. Compared to the rich purple and red hues, her complexion was extremely unsightly.
Consort Chen pretended to be composed as she asked, "What brings you here?"
Song Zhao performed a curtsy and said in a low voice, "The flowers in this slave's hands were picked from the flower gardens by palace maids. New ones are changed daily in this slave's palace. I thought the fragrant flowers could calm my heart, but ever since I kept these flowers in my inner halls, this slave has not been sleeping peacefully at night."
"Afterwards, Xiao Fuzi attending to this slave happened to discover the cause of this slave's insomnia and nightmares. It turned out to originate from these fresh flowers!"
Song Zhao moved the bouquet closer to Consort Chen. Consort Chen reacted strongly as if facing a formidable foe, immediately covering her nose tightly with her silk handkerchief. "What are you doing? Move those away!"
Song Zhao withdrew the flowers slightly and continued, "These fresh flowers were tampered with. Soul Scattering Powder was added to the stamens. Keeping these toxic flowers indoors, once they have fully blossomed, their pollen will float in the wind. Those who smell it will feel palpitations and melancholy. If afflicted by this poison daily, I'm afraid one would become a deranged lunatic in less than 10-15 days!"
After speaking, she again lifted the flower bouquet near Consort Chen's face. "Esteemed Consort can get someone to examine and verify this!"
Consort Chen knew the potency of Soul Scattering Powder. Moreover, Xi Ying had given her advance notice earlier, so she was predisposed to believing that Soul Scattering Powder had indeed been slipped into the flowers. Hence, she did not even have the patience to test it. She hurriedly signaled Ying Xiang with her eyes.
Blocking her nose, Ying Xiang snatched the bouquet from Song Zhao's hands. She then ordered the palace maids to take it outside, trample it into mush, and discard it as far away as possible.
Only after this was done could Consort Chen finally relax slightly. She rolled her eyes at Song Zhao and said coldly with a sinister smile, "So? Are you accusing Us of wanting to harm you?"
