When Has This County Princess Ever Kept Her Word?
Feng Yu Heng saying “it’s him” nearly scared Mei Xiang to death. She clearly remembered that person saying that the reddest part of that jade was carved, and he had personally carved it. In this world, there was only one.
Could it be… that it was recognized?
“Just for Xuan Tian Ye? Was it worth it?” Once this name came out, Feng Yu Heng stared straight at Mei Xiang’s eyes. It was as though her eyes could see through things, as she managed to see through Mei Xiang’s thoughts.
She knew that she had guessed correctly!
Mei Xiang subconsciously shook her head, not daring to believe this; however, she also understood that she could not hide anything from the second young miss or his Highness the third prince.
But…
“My family is in his hands. If I say anything, they will all die.” Mei Xiang could no longer remain kneeling, so she just sat on the ground, “Second young miss, the spirit-altering drug was used by this servant. Just kill this servant!”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “Do you know what sort of effect spirit-altering drug has on people?”
Mei Xiang pondered a little then said: “Apparently, it will cause addiction, but it will not put anyone’s life at risk. They will just want to eat it every day. It will be fine as long as she eats it?”
Feng Yu Heng’s heart quivered with anger, as she suddenly left her seat and rushed forward. Stopping right in front of Mei Xiang, she pulled out her whip and whipped her twice!
Mei Xiang screamed and fell to the ground, as two wounds appeared on her body. The thick Winter coat became torn, as did the flesh beneath. It was obvious how much strength Feng Yu Heng had put into those strikes, as she nearly fainted from the pain.
“It will be fine as long as she eats it?” Feng Yu Heng kicked her a great distance then loudly said: “What if I told you that once one becomes addicted and stops taking the drug, they would become insane? What if I told you that once one becomes addicted and stops taking the drug, they will start hitting people and breaking things? What if I told you that once one becomes addicted and stops taking the drug, their blood vessels may erupt, causing them to die?”
Mei Xiang was stunned and subconsciously said: “No, impossible.”
Feng Yu Heng whipped her once more. This time, she wrapped the whip around Mei Xiang’s neck then dragged her over to the room. Mei Xiang was dragged on the ground. Like a nearly dead dog, she struggled endlessly.
But how could Feng Yu Heng let go of her. Dragging her all the way over to Yao shi’s bedside, Mei Xiang immediately saw Yao shi lying there. In just a few days time, she had become emaciated. Lying there, she was like a piece of paper, as she appeared completely deflated. She was covered in blankets, but the wounds on her neck and face were still very visible. As for the room, practically everything was covered with a soft cloth. There were no tables in the room, and not even a vase could be seen.
Wang Chuan followed them in and told her: “Second young miss used an anesthetic to have madam sleep, but as soon as she wakes up, she will immediately go crazy and begin to hurt herself.” While saying this, she took a few steps forward and lifted the blankets, revealing Yao shi’s hands. Mei Xiang looked and saw that they were wrapped in cloth. “Do you see this? If her hands were not wrapped up, madam could claw herself to death.”
Huang Quan rushed forward and grabbed Mei Xiang’s neck: “This is the result of that spirit-altering drug. This is the spirit-altering drug that you said just needs to be consumed for things to be fine. Mei Xiang, you deserve to die!”
Mei Xiang was being choked and could not breathe. Her eyes bulged, as she was on the verge of running out of air. Only then did Wang Chuan stop Huang Quan, “She cannot die. Young miss still has a use for her.”
Feng Yu Heng coldly snorted, “Just choking her to death is too simple.” After saying this, she dragged Mei Xiang by the neck back to the yard.
Mei Xiang felt as though her neck had been broken, and she had died. No matter how hard she tried, she could not breathe. It seemed as though her head was going to be squeezed off. It was both uncomfortable and painful.
Finally, the force constricting her neck was eased, as Feng Yu Heng pulled back her whip. Only then could she manage to gasp for air. But the doubt and horror that filled her heart became more and more profound!
That’s not right! The third prince said that spirit-altering drug would not harm anyone’s life. Moreover, she only put in a small bit each day. Why had Yao shi become like this? Could it be… that she had been lied to?
“Second young miss!” Finally able to speak, Mei Xiang quickly crawled a few steps forward, “Second young miss, this servant did not know that this would happen. He… he told me that it would not harm anyone’s life! This servant really did not know it would be like this!” Mei Xiang began to cry bitterly.
Feng Yu Heng, however, suddenly told her: “There is no rush to cry. Take a look at something first. After you’ve seen it, that is when you will truly need to cry.” After saying this, she clapped her hands, and a few guards brought in four stretchers, placing them all in front of Mei Xiang.
At first, Mei Xiang was startled. She then turned her eyes to the four stretchers.
There were four people on the stretchers. On these stretchers were one man, one woman and two boys around six or seven years of age. They had been dug up from the ground, and their bodies had already begun to decompose. Their clothes had not yet begun to rot, and their facial features could still be distinguished.
Upon seeing these four, Mei Xiang was shocked. Frozen in place, she stared wide-eyed at the scene as though she had seen the most horrific thing in the world. After a long while, she finally reacted. Diving towards the corpses, she began to cry.
This crying lasted for two sticks of incense in time, and it caused Huang Quan to feel a little annoyed. Suddenly, Mei Xiang raised her head from the corpses and glared at Feng Yu Heng. Gritting her teeth, she said: “Second young miss, how can you have such a vicious heart? My parents and younger brothers did not harm anyone. Why did you kill them?”
Feng Yu Heng was so angry that she laughed. Shaking her head, she said: “You do not even have the most basic amount of common sense. You don’t know the effects of spirit-altering drug, and you can’t even tell how long someone has been dead. Based on this level of intellect, you wanted to harm others? It serves you right that your entire family was killed.”
Wang Chuan coldly told her: “Look carefully. They were dug up from the ground by our people. Why they were dug out, they were simply wrapped up in a shoddy tarp. There wasn’t even a casket. They have already begun to decompose in such a cold Winter. It’s quite clear that they have already been dead for more than a month. One month earlier, our young miss didn’t even know that madam was poisoned. Why would she kill your family?”
Mei Xiang was dazed from hearing this. She seemed to feel that Wang Chuan was right. Looking at the appearance of their corpses, they indeed did not appear to have just died.
But she could not understand. If it was not Feng Yu Heng then who… She was suddenly given a shock. That name and that person’s appearance suddenly filled her mind. From the moment they met to later on, all of them flashed before her eyes.
Mei Xiang’s breathing became more and more ragged. She could scarcely believe this truth, but a hidden guard suddenly appeared at Feng Yu Heng’s side. That hidden guard told her: “We found the corpses when following one of the Xiang Palace’s people.”
Mei Xiang completely collapsed!
Feng Yu Heng waved her hand and had people carry the corpses away. She then said to Mei Xiang: “I can afford four caskets. As long as you provide the evidence, I will bury them for you. As for yourself, you can make amends for your misdeeds, and I will allow you to live.”
Just as Mei Xiang was despairing, she suddenly heard this. For a while, she could not believe it. Staring blankly at Feng Yu Heng, she could not say a single word.
Huang Quan became angry and scolded her: “Have you become stupid? Second young miss said that she can help you bury your family, and she will pardon you as long as you clearly explain the situation! What is it. You not wanting to live is a small matter, but you also want your parents to be thrown into a mass grave?”
Mei Xiang trembled and immediately managed to react. Quickly shaking her head, she desperately kowtowed to Feng Yu Heng.
“Alright, enough. Stop kowtowing!” Huang Quan really felt that they were letting this girl off too easily. Madam was harmed. How large of a matter was that. Second young miss actually pardoning her was truly too gracious of the young miss.
Mei Xiang had already begun to hate the person that she had worked for. Simply gritting her teeth, she explained the situation.
She said: “The third prince is the one that told me to do everything. Every month, I would take the money that I had earned out of the capital to send to my family. Roughly four months ago, when I left my family’s home, I was hit by a carriage then saved by the third prince. But at that time, I did not know that he was the third prince! After that, he would frequently send people to secretly send me things. Every time I left the manor, I could run into him, and he would express his concern for me. Only after I began to feel something for him did he reveal his identity. After that, for some reason, he inquired about the pastries that concubine mother An made and sent to Tong Sheng pavilion for Lady Yao to eat. He then wanted me to secretly sneak some spirit-altering drug into the pastries. In the beginning, I did not agree; however, he promised that after I completed this matter, I could leave the Feng family, and he would take me in. Even if that was the case, I did not agree, but he gave my father a courtyard and some servants then invited a tutor for my brothers. My parents thought that he was a good person and told me to treat him well. When I thought of this, it seemed as though he had control over my family’s life; however, I still held onto hope that he was treating my family well because he liked me… Second young miss, this servant recognizes her mistakes. Everything was a grand hoax, and I am an idiot. Not to mention harming Lady Yao, I even caused my own family’s death. On the day the manor ran out of fruit, the pastries could not be made. I heard that Lady Yao screamed about wanting to eat pastries from the night before until morning, thus I knew that the spirit-altering drug had definitely taken effect. I only ran away because I was afraid. He said that he would send people to receive me, but I never thought that he would actually send people to kill me…”
Mei Xiang’s story finally came to an end, and the truth behind Yao shi’s poisoning was revealed. Nobody could have imagined that the spirit-altering drug had been used for so long. For a while, everyone was extremely vexed.
Feng Yu Heng was especially vexed. She was a doctor, and she had carefully observed every movement in the manor; however, she never thought that she had let someone do something like this under her nose.
She closed her eyes slightly, as an anger surged up inside her. She was thinking. If she killed Xuan Tian Ye, what sort of outcome could there be? The son of the Emperor could be disliked by the Emperor, but if anyone else touched him, even if it was her, it would probably be a death sentence, right?
But if she did not kill him… how could she be at peace?
Mei Xiang was still kneeling in the middle of the yard, looking at Feng Yu Heng with eyes filled with expectation. In the beginning, her face was filled with a look of dread, but now it showed some hope.
“Second young miss…” Seeing Feng Yu Heng not speak for a long time, she tried calling out; however, she saw Feng Yu Heng suddenly open her closed eyes.
Feng Yu Heng stood up and walked towards Mei Xiang, only stopping when she arrived directly in front of her. She then looked down with cold eyes. After a while, she said: “Tie her up. We are going to the Feng manor. A servant of the Feng manor, even if she is to die, she cannot die in our yard.”
Mei Xiang was extremely shocked. With a face filled with disbelief, she looked at Feng Yu Heng and asked in horror: “Didn’t second young miss say… that you would allow this servant to live?”
“Allow?” She sneered. Leaning over slightly, she stared into Mei Xiang’s eyes and spoke one word at a time: “When has this county princess ever kept her word?”