Chapter 681 A Break In The Chain
Lady Xian kept sitting straight and said nothing.
Xia Huanyu cast a cold nce at her and said, "Someone, take the craftsman here. Then send
someone to search the craftsman''s house and the pharmacist''s.
Lady Xian still kept silent.
The empress kept frowning, seeming incredulous. After a while, she looked at Lady Xian and said, "I
never thought it was you."
"If you are out to condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge." As soon as the empress
finished speaking, Lady Xian smiled coldly with a hint of despair in her eyes. "Lady Rui has prepared all
the evidences, what else can I say? My father was just an ordinary businessman and could be at Lady
Rui''s disposal. Lady Rui could say whatever she likes. I have nothing to say."
She paused for a moment, and continued with a smile, "What reason do I have to murder Lady Hui
who is junior to me? Because of my background, I didn''t get a high position in the imperial household
and has never the emperor''s favorite. I was not lucky enough to give birth to children for his majesty,
but his majesty visited me at least twice a month. Not much, but much better than manydies in the
imperial household. I have always been contented. You might say that I was jealous of Lady Hui for she
was having a baby, but there are a lot of princes and princesses in the imperial pce. Why should I
envy the one with an unborn baby?"
In Yun Shang''s opinion,dy Sharon was only ady who liked dressing and beautiful jewelry. She was
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the same as many concubines in the deep pce who didn''t fight with each other for anything. She
was scheming, but not that sophisticated. However, Yun Shang seemed to have apletely new
appraisal of Lady Xian. She looked like a desperate person who was telling herst words, but she
tried her best to defend herself.
Yun Shang smiled with appreciation. "I have asked myself the same question Lady Xian asked when I
found that the apprentice pharmacist called Mingcai works for the Wangs'' mansion."
Yun Shang took a quick nce at Lady Xian. She was in a light purple imperial dress and wore two
blue gemstone hairpins on her bun. She was wearing an exquisite makeup. Although she was in her
thirties, her skin was as white as jade, and her lips were bright red.
"I was thinking about this question before I went out, but when I got out, I suddenly understood. I''m
afraid Lady Xian couldn''t stay calm when ites to his majesty''s favor. And I think it''s most likely the
reason she has done such a thing. It hasn''t been long since I came to the State of Xia, so I have just
met Lady Xian for several times. But I found that Lady Xian loves to walk around in the pces of the
concubines who are being favored by his majesty. When Lady Xiang was being favored, I could always
see Lady Xian when I visited Xiang Zhu Pce asionally. And it was the same after Lady Hui got
favored."
Yun Shang fixed her eyes on Lady Xian, carefully observing every subtle expression on her face.
"Besides, I noticed that Lady Xian always dressed herself up carefully every time she walked around in
the pces of the concubines. She might have thought that she could see his majesty often if she
stayed with his favorite concubines. I asionally saw Lady Xian at other ces, she wasn''t dressed
as meticulously as she was in the Xiang Zhu Pce. Andst time when his majesty got ill, the
empress issued an order that all thedies should not disturb his majesty. The next day, I came into the
imperial pce because of Prince Rui''s missing. When I went out of the Taiji hall, I saw Lady Xian who
seemed to havee specially to visit his majesty. "
Yun Shang looked at Lady Xian who had been sitting quietly, with calmness in her eyes.
"Maybe Lady Xian admired the emperor so much that she became jealous when she saw that a young
as Lady Xian said that she hasn''t done anything to other concubines. It''s just what she is able to do is
very limited. This time, Lady Hui happened to move into the Xiang Zhu Pce and needed some
furniture, So Lady Xian caught the chance."
Yun Shang talked for a long time, but Lady Xian didn''t say a word. When Yun Shang stopped, Lady
Xian smiled again. "All I want to say is that if you are out to condemn someone, you can always trump
up a charge. After saying that, Lady Xian turned her head to Yun Shang. With a weird look in her eyes,
she smiled more brightly. "Lady Rui, do you think you can stop others just by blocking A Nian? Given
Prince Rui''s status, it''s impossible that he won''t marry other women. When Prince Rui marrys many
concubines. You will understand my suffering."
"Really?" Luo Qingyan, who had been sitting next to Yun Shang, gave a brittleugh.
Yun Shang turned around to nce at Luo Qingyan. Then she smiled and looked at Lady Xian again.
"Not to mention that I will never suffer this. Even if I will, I won''t be so disgraced like you. I will never
lose my own character and demeanor."
Xia Huanyu said in a cold voice, "Is that enough?"
Lady Xian''s body trembled all of a sudden. She smiled bitterly and closed her mouth and eyes.
No one spoke for a long time in the hall. After a long while, the servant sent by Xia Huanyu came
hastily to report, "Your majesty, the craftsman has poisoned himself."
Hearing that, Xia Huanyu stood up all of a sudden. With an expression of fury on his face, he asked,
"What happened? Didn''t I tell you to keep an eye on him? How could hemit suicide?"
The servant was shocked too. He knelt down in a hurry and reported, "We have been keeping an eye
on him. But your majesty said we should not kill him in case of alerting the enemy. The servants from
the Imperial Household Department said that the craftsman worked as usual today. But he crouched in
a corner after he came here in the morning, head down, dozing off. As he always did before, no one
noticed that he had no breathing until just now."
Xia Huanyu frowned and nced at Lady Xian. Then he pped on the armrest of the chair, waved his
hand and said, "You can leave."
As the craftsman died, the clue was cut off. We could only wait and see what we could get from his
families.
After a while, the servant sent by Ning Qian came back. When she saw Ning Qian and Yun Shang
were both in the outer hall, she was stunned. Then Yun Shang hurriedly said to Xia Huanyu, "Your
majesty, when I found that there is musk in the anesthetic and other medicine, I sent someone to take
the pharmacist down."
"How is it going?" Hearing that, Xia Huanyu understood suddenly and looked at the servant in waiting.
The servant quickly knelt down and said "Your majesty, when I went there, the pharmacist was not in
the pharmacy of the the Imperial Hospital. We searched the whole hospital and found him in the
bathroom, being dead.
All of a sudden, they lost two important clues. Thus, all this could only be regarded as Yun Shang''s
guess.
Yun Shang looked at Lady Xian as well and frowned slightly. She underestimated her. She is by no
means simple as she could be able to protect herself in the imperial household and ensure that Xia
Huanyues to her pce one or two times every month.
Lady Xian should have anticipated the result. No wonder she calmed down very soon and insisted that
Yun Shang was the one who had framed her.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly changed. Lady Xian still sat quietly, as if what had happened just
now had nothing to do with her. The others also kept silent. The empress nced around the hall
indifferently and stood up. "Your majesty, Worried about Lady Hui, I have been sitting here for more
than two hours and drunk too much tea. I have to go out for a walk."
Xia Huanyu frowned and nodded slightly. The empress smiled, bowed to Xia Huanyu, put her hand on
the maid''s arm, and went out of the hall.
As time passed, a maid came out of the bedroom and whispered something in Yun Shang''s ear. Yun
Shang stood up and said to Xia Huanyu, "Lady Hui is awake. I''ll go to have a look."
Xia Huanyu also nodded. Yun Shang turned around and entered the inner hall.
After Yun Shang entered the inner hall, Qin Yi took out a blue sachet from her sleeve and handed it to
her. "His highness gave it to me secretly just now. I didn''t find a good time to ask you toe into the
inner hall."
Yun Shang was surprised. She picked up the blue sachet, and recognized it was the one that Luo
Qingyan often wore.
"When did it happen?" Yun Shang reached out to untie the knot on the top of the sachet and asked in a
soft voice.
"When you were curtsying to his majesty after going out, his highness gave this to me without being
noticed." Qin Yi replied softly.
Yun Shang had already opened it, and there was a piece of paper inside. She unfolded the paper, and
stared at the words on it. After a while, she slowly smiled.
"Did his highness find any evidence?" Qin Yi asked softly.
Yun Shang shook her head, "No, it''s not the evidence." Then she walked to the bed.
Qin Yi was stunned. Since it was not the evidence, why did his highness give it to her highness?
Lin Youran was sitting on the bed and smiled at Yun Shang when she saw her, "Your highness."
"What''s wrong?" Yun Shang sat on the edge of the bed and asked in a soft voice.
After thinking for a while, Lin Youran said softly, "I heard what you said just now, and I never thought it
would be Lady Xian. But it suddenly urred to me that before the banquet for New Year, she had sent
me a box of rouge."