Chapter 273 Using Poison
Xiu'er's cry frightened Bingxin and Yuxin. Yuxin advised:
"Your Highness, you absolutely cannot do that. The Second Madam just made a scene, and all the servants know about you and the Second Master. They can't even hide from you, so how can we meet him in the street again?"
Bing Xin continued:
"Yes, my lady, you met the Second Master in public, and those gossiping people spread the news to the Prince and Princess Situ, and you will be severely punished. I beg you, this place is different from before. You are married now, and you can no longer have anything to do with the Second Master. Let's go quickly."
Bing Xin finished speaking and opened her mouth to tell the driver to continue on his way, but Xiu Er stopped her and said:
"Even if I have to pay a fine, I will let my cousin know the true face of that vixen. I can't let her get away with it..."
"My lady, the prince has many women. This is not our business. Besides, you just got punished. Your face..."
Seeing that the empress insisted, looking at her red and swollen face, Bing Xin tried to persuade her unwillingly. Halfway through her words, she met the empress's ruthless gaze and swallowed her words back in fear. Having followed her master since she was a child, she knew her master too well. She could only pray silently that the empress and the second master would not cause any trouble.
As to how Xiao Jun appeared in Jinyang, it turned out that day he and the prince discovered that the other party's purpose was to lure the prince back to the north and destroy the plan to go south, so they first suspected the King of Yan.
Based on the clues provided by Zhiqiu, Xiao Jun discovered that the scent left by Mengxi also went northward, but it was not towards Jingqiao County, but towards Jiangcheng County, which further confirmed his and the prince's guess. After discussing with the prince, it was decided that the prince would continue to travel south in a high-profile manner to disrupt the sight of King Yan, and Ouyang Di and him would call on the Qingzhu Gang to help track down and rescue Mengxi.
Following the scent of the flame flower, Xiao Jun tracked all the way to the border of Jinyang. He found Mengxi's scent sachet on the roadside, but lost the clue of tracking. So he divided his men into several groups and asked around. He was wandering around the border of Jinyang and Pingyang with a few people. At this moment, Xiao Jun was extremely worried. If he found Mengxi a moment later, she would be in more danger. He was walking aimlessly when Xiao Xia caught up with him on horseback and said:
"Second Master, look ahead, it looks like the carriage from Prince Yan's Palace."
When he heard about the carriage from Prince Yan's Mansion, Xiao Jun's eyes lit up. If the people from Prince Yan's Mansion were in Jinyang, then Xier was very likely in Jinyang!
Without saying a word, he rode his horse towards the carriage from Prince Yan's Palace. When he got closer, he was hesitating about how to start talking when he saw the carriage stop.
When Xiao Jun saw this, he also jumped off his horse, stood aside holding the reins, and looked at the carriage.
The door of the carriage was slowly opened, and Xiu'er helped Bingxin walk down.
As soon as he saw Xiu'er, veins popped up on Xiao Jun's forehead. His mother died in the hands of this woman. His fists were clenched so tightly that they made crackling sounds, and his joints were covered in a layer of bluish-white. Seeing that the Second Master looked strange, Xiao Xia hurriedly whispered to him:
"Second Master, the power of Prince Yan is rampant, and there are spies everywhere here. Second Madam is missing, so you must be patient and put the overall situation first!"
Thinking of Mengxi, Xiao Jun took a deep breath. For her and the Xiao family, he had to endure it. He slowly handed the reins to Xiao Xia, clasped his hands together and said coldly:
"I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Princess."
Facing those deep eyes like a black pool, Xiu'er felt a chill that penetrated her bones and shuddered unconsciously. He was no longer the cousin who always protected her in her childhood. She put away her grievances, calmed herself down and said:
"I actually met my cousin and his wife at the same time in one day. Is it a narrow road for enemies or fate?"
When Xiao Jun heard Xiu'er say that she had seen Mengxi , he was shocked. Just as he was about to ask, he met Xiu'er's mocking eyes and immediately calmed down. After a moment's hesitation, he asked:
"Why is the princess in Jinyang? Where is she going?"
"Of course I'm here to congratulate my cousin's wife and the Prince of Yan on their wedding."
Xiu'er pronounced the word "cousin-law" extra loudly and stared closely at her cousin's eyes, but there was no what she wanted to see most in them. Her cousin turned around and was about to mount his horse and leave, as if he had not heard her.
When Xiu'er saw this, she was filled with hatred. She gritted her teeth and said to her cousin's back:
"Cousin, you could never have imagined that the cousin-in-law you once protected with all your heart, the cousin-in-law you once swore not to take a concubine for her, has already thrown herself into the arms of the Prince of Yan and is now flirting with the prince Tomorrow is a good day for their wedding..."
Xiao Jun's body trembled, and the veins on his clenched fists bulged. He jumped onto the horse, sat firmly, and said to Xiu'er who was still standing there sneering:
"My princess, don't you know that I have divorced Mengxi a long time ago, and from now on, we have nothing to do with each other in marriage. Since my princess is here to attend the wedding, please congratulate her on my behalf. I have to hurry to the south to join hands with Master Shangguan to open a charity warehouse to provide relief to the victims, so I will not accompany you for long."
After Xiao Jun finished speaking, he ignored Xiu'er, whipped his horse, and rode away.
Xiu Er was left standing there dumbfounded...
On the eighth day of September, the Prince of Yan's villa was decorated with lights and looked festive. The servants all wore red collars around their waists and looked very happy. Mengxi was dug out of her warm bed by Xiangping Liuer early in the morning. After she washed up, the matchmaker put heavy makeup on her, helped her put on a pink peony palace satin wedding dress, put on a phoenix crown, and covered her head with a veil. She sat there dignifiedly waiting to become a bride.
Because Mengxi was kidnapped and had no family, the wedding was not grand. Although the groom was a prince, it was a far cry from Mengxi's first wedding. This reminded Mengxi of the mistresses that rich men keep outside in modern times, who were threatened by the woman and forced to hold a shameful wedding secretly...
It was all held in the other courtyard. When the auspicious time arrived, she was carried from her place of confinement to the wedding hall in a four-person sedan chair. There were no elders from either side attending, so there were no complicated rituals like those seen in her wedding with Xiao Jun, which made Mengxi feel a lot more relaxed.
Although the veil covered the room and she couldn't see outside, the desertedness in the wedding hall made Mengxi guess that the Prince of Yan, who would do anything to achieve his goals, had finally deceived her. He didn't announce the news of the wedding at all, and didn't invite any outside guests. This destroyed Mengxi's last hope.
After the wedding ceremony wedding dress again. Although it was not bright red, she was finally marrying someone else. She achieved the goal she had set since she married into the Xiao family:
Leave home and get married!
But my heart is empty.
Some things we only know how to cherish after we lose them, and the same is true for Mengxi at this moment.
After losing him completely, at the moment of putting on her wedding dress, Mengxi realized that he was already in her heart and there was no room for anyone else. His anger, his favor, his indulgence, and his appearance were all deeply engraved in her heart. Her whole body was filled with his scent. She was trapped by him in this life and there was no escape.
I remember the year when I went to Jingyun Temple with Xiao Jun to fulfill my vow, and the lot I drew was:
"The stone hides priceless jade and treasures, but strangers from other places look for them. It is like holding a lamp and looking for fire. It is better to stop wasting your time."
Master Jingyun said when he interpreted the fortune that she was holding a lamp to look for fire, and asked her to just wait patiently, and she would have unexpected gains. She scolded Master Jingyun at that time, but now it seems like a lifetime ago. She was blinded by the obsession of leaving the mansion, and she not only lost the beautiful jade around her, lost the bright lamp in her hand, but also lost her heart in the end.
She touched the poison in her sleeve. Although she was a medicine god, she had never poisoned anyone. But today, she wanted to poison the King of Yan herself for him and the prince. One loved her deeply, and the other loved her deeply. If she could poison the King of Yan and restore the Xiao family's reputation as a noble family, it would be a reward for them. But she felt sorry for Zhiqiu for not finding a good husband for her. Thinking of the strange emotions in Ouyang Di's eyes when he looked at Zhiqiu, she felt relieved. Ouyang Di and Li Du would take good care of her.
She left letters to the crown prince and Li Du respectively, asking them to petition for the emperor's throne in the name of the crown prince and Yichuntang respectively after the plague was under control, in exchange for the title of the Xiao family's noble family for their merits in controlling the plague. The letter and the last modified secret recipe were hidden in the interlayer of the clothes, and Zhiqiu was sure to find it.
The Prince of Yan is suspicious by nature. She has not been able to find an opportunity in the past three days. Now the only chance is to drink the wedding wine. No matter how smart the Prince of Yan is, he cannot escape it. But she cannot escape it either. It is time for the Prince of Yan to be content with her dying together with him.
She was not an ancient person, and she did not have such a strong concept of chastity, nor did she have the idea that a virtuous woman would not marry two husbands and would be faithful to one man until the end. She could have first devoted herself to the King of Yan and then found an opportunity to poison him to get away, but now she understood her own heart and did not want to do that. She was willing to be like an ancient person for him and be faithful to one man until the end!
In this life, if possible, she will only be his woman.
Touching the Liuyun Baifu jade pendant given by Xiao Jun, the lonely, cold and unruly figure appeared in front of him. She left the fragrance of fire and flowers along the way, but did not attract him. Did he hate her?
She really wanted to see him again. The only unfulfilled wish in this life was to tell him in person that she loved him, too. She discovered it too late, when she had completely lost him. If she had discovered it earlier, she would not have left him struggling alone. She would have fought shoulder to shoulder with him, enduring repeated punishments and making a place for herself in the Xiao Mansion.
Hearing the silence in the bridal chamber, Mengxi reached out and pulled down the veil. She had to figure out her situation before King Yan came back and smear the poison on the wine glass.
"My queen, you can't just lift the veil. Put it on quickly. It's unlucky. The prince has to lift it himself. Only then can you be content with what you want in your life."
After pulling off the veil, Mengxi was about to take a closer look at the situation in the room when the matchmaker standing beside her suddenly spoke. Mengxi was startled and realized that Xiangping, Liu'er and the two matchmakers were still standing on the ground. One of the matchmakers walked to the bedside while talking and was about to put the veil back on her.
Ignoring Xi Niang, Mengxi looked around the room carefully and saw a table on the floor with wine and food on it. Mengxi's eyes lit up and he stood up, walked to the table and sat down on a chair.
"Your Highness, please stop moving and sit back on the bed. The prince will be back soon."
"It's only noon now, the prince won't be back until the evening..."
As Mengxi spoke, he picked up the wine glass on the table and curiously turned it over in his hands. When the bridesmaid saw this, she frowned and patiently advised:
"Your Highness, there are few guests today. Who knows if the prince will be happy and come back early. Oh, your Highness, please don't move. Sit back on the bed. This set of white jade cups is the prince's favorite. It is made of the finest mutton-fat jade. There are only two of them. Today is a happy day, and the prince specially ordered them to be found. Your Highness, put them down quickly. If they are broken, it will be unlucky..."
After playing with the two cups for a long time, Mengxi looked at them inside and out before putting them down. He turned and looked at Xi Niang coldly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the maid outside the door shouting:
"The prince is back, the prince is well!"
