northernbook Chapter 504
Chapter 504
When Dongfang Wan'er left, the rain had stopped. Li Yanran stood under the eaves, watching her figure disappear at the end of the winding corridor. The night wind swirled up fallen leaves, which landed on her skirt embroidered with twin lotus blossoms. In the distance, the watchman's clapper sounded, startling a flock of crows in the courtyard. This meticulously planned conspiracy, like an invisible net, was quietly unfolding within the deep courtyard of the mansion. And they were merely two pawns in the backyard of this deep mansion, pushed along by fate.
The cicadas' chirping echoed through the sycamore trees in the summer heat. Li Yanran leaned against a bamboo couch, her silver-nailed fingers slowly stirring the chilled plum juice. The mint leaves floating in the celadon bowl swirled, reflecting the calculating glint in her eyes. The treacherous plan she and Dongfang Wan'er had devised yesterday was now like a lurking viper, quietly awaiting its fatal strike.
"Miss!" Suqiu stumbled in, a silk flower in her hair hanging askew by her temple. "Dongfang Mingzhu sent someone to invite you, saying they're suffering from unbearable abdominal pain after drinking the medicine you gave them to prevent miscarriage!" She knocked over the copper basin, spilling water that meandered across the blue brick floor in dark brown streaks. Li Yanran's silver spoon clattered into the bowl, splashing plum juice that left dark red stains on her pale white dress, like dried blood.
She glanced down at the stains on her clothes, her heart pounding in her chest. This was happening much faster than expected—the original plan was to let the poison of the Jade-Shattering Grass take effect in three days, giving her enough time to fabricate evidence. But this unexpected turn of events felt like a bolt of lightning striking her head. The moment her fingertips dug into her palm, she suddenly remembered the meaningful smile Dongfang Wan'er had given her when she left yesterday, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.
As she walked through the winding corridor, the sun was suddenly obscured by clouds. Li Yanran stepped on the swaying shadows of the trees, watching her own shadow being stretched and distorted. Outside the courtyard of the Oriental Pearl Tower, servants with various expressions crowded around. Upon seeing her approach, their whispers abruptly ceased, like a flock of startled crows. The scent of sandalwood mixed with a strong medicinal smell wafted towards her. Just as she crossed the threshold, she heard the sound of porcelain shattering inside the house.
"Clang!" The blue-and-white porcelain bowl shattered on the blue bricks, and brown medicinal liquid meandered along the patterns, forming a small stream in front of the bed. Dongfang Mingzhu leaned against the scarlet brocade quilt, her pale face beaded with sweat, yet she gripped the pillowcase embroidered with twin lotus blossoms tightly, her knuckles turning bluish-white. When she saw Li Yanran, her once affectionate phoenix eyes widened abruptly, two sinister flames igniting within them: "Li Yanran, how cruel you are!"
Before she could finish speaking, the tinkling of jade pendants suddenly came from behind the screen. Li Yanran turned her head and saw Physician Zhang, dressed in a scarlet official robe, stroking his beard as he stepped across the threshold, the medicine pouch at his waist swaying gently with his movement. He bowed to the air and said in a booming voice, "The Marquis has ordered a thorough investigation into this matter. My examination has revealed that the 'Small Jade Grass' in this pregnancy-stabilizing medicine is enough to cause miscarriage."
These words struck Li Yanran like a hammer blow. She had personally controlled the dosage of the Jade-Splitting Grass; unless someone deliberately increased the dosage, it wouldn't have taken effect so quickly! She instinctively took a half-step back, knocking over the incense burner on the table, scattering incense shavings across her skirt. Just then, a familiar moon-white figure emerged from behind the screen—Dongfang Wan'er was leaning against a carved lattice fan, her fingertips twirling the jade nail guards she had given her yesterday.
"Does Sister really think I would join forces with you?" Dongfang Wan'er tilted her head and chuckled, the pearl tassels in her hair swaying gently with the movement. "In this entire Marquis's mansion, the person who hates Dongfang Mingzhu the most is clearly me. I'm just using you to make this play more convincing." She stepped forward slowly, and suddenly a roll of yellowed paper flicked out from her sleeve. It was the prescription that Li Yanran had personally written yesterday, and several more herbs that would increase the toxicity were clearly added to the ink.
The cicadas outside the window had stopped chirping sometime earlier, leaving only the wind chimes on the eaves whistling softly in the wind. Li Yanran looked at the evidence on the ground and suddenly recalled the image of Dongfang Wan'er copying a prescription by candlelight last night—the girl with lowered eyelashes, as docile as a harmless white rabbit, yet as Li Yanran turned away, she added half a handful of crushed jade herbs to the medicine pot. It turned out that from the very beginning, she had been the most deadly bait in this conspiracy.
Dusk slanted through the carved window lattices, casting long shadows on the blue brick floor of the Imperial Hospital, slicing the two opposing figures into fragments of light and shadow. Li Yanran clutched a blood-stained silk handkerchief, her nails digging deep into her palms until her knuckles turned bluish-white. Dongfang Wan'er's pearl hairpin swayed gently with her breath, her outward composure unable to conceal the fleeting panic in her eyes.
“What a clever scheme to use someone else to do your dirty work,” Li Yanran suddenly chuckled, her laughter like a dagger chilled to the bone, tracing a jarring arc in the silence. “But do you think you can succeed like this?” She stepped forward slowly, her skirt, embroidered with gold-threaded lotus blossoms, brushing the ground with a soft rustling sound. Dongfang Wan’er instinctively took a half-step back, her back bumping against the medicine cabinet, the bottles and jars clattering softly.
Just then, Li Yanran suddenly bent down, her slender white fingertips brushing across the scattered prescription on the blue bricks. The ink-stained Xuan paper trembled gently in her palm, as if still telling the story of the struggle when it was altered. "Although you've added two potent herbs to this prescription," she said, her gaze fixed on the prescription, her eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows beneath her eyes, "I've studied medicine with my grandfather since childhood, and the dosage of each herb is ingrained in my very being." Before she finished speaking, she abruptly looked up, her gaze piercing like a sword against Physician Zhang, who was cowering beside the medicine cabinet. "Physician Zhang, do you dare to examine these dregs with me again?"
The medicine scales in Physician Zhang's hands clattered to the ground, creating a crisp sound in the silence. He stared at the cold flame burning in Li Yanran's eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. This usually gentle and refined young lady of the Li family now exuded a chilling aura, as if she had become a completely different person.
Dongfang Wan'er forced a smile, but her fingertips unconsciously tightened around the embroidery thread on her sleeve: "You've come to this point, and you still want to argue? It's nothing but a death throes." She deliberately raised her voice, trying to use arrogance to cover up her inner unease.
Li Yanran ignored her and turned to face the imperial physicians and palace maids surrounding her. She unfolded the prescription, the still-wet ink gleaming coldly in the twilight: "Gentlemen, look, this *shattered jade herb* should be three qian (approximately 15 grams). If the dosage in the dregs exceeds even a fraction..." She paused, her voice suddenly becoming clear, "then someone has deliberately framed me!"
Everyone involuntarily moved forward, even their breathing became shallow. The air seemed to be stretched taut by invisible threads, making each second feel incredibly long. Just then, hurried footsteps approached from afar, and a young maid stumbled in, her hair disheveled and her face covered in bits of grass. She whispered a few words in Dongfang Wan'er's ear, and the color drained from Dongfang Wan'er's face instantly. She staggered and had to lean on the medicine cabinet to steady herself.
It turned out that Li Yanran had long anticipated that Dongfang Wan'er would resort to desperate measures. Her trusted confidants, whom she had secretly arranged to guard the medicine storehouse, witnessed Dongfang Wan'er altering the prescription under the cover of night, adding two incompatible herbs to the medicinal soup. With witnesses and physical evidence, the truth, like the blazing sun breaking through the clouds, illuminated every detail of the conspiracy.
Dongfang Wan'er's scream, mingled with the sound of shattering porcelain, echoed throughout the Imperial Hospital. Li Yanran stood at the edge of light and shadow, carefully folding the prescription and tucking it into her sleeve. Gazing at the setting sun outside the window, a relieved smile finally appeared on her lips—this meticulously planned conspiracy had ultimately failed.