Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 393: Let Her Wish She Were Dead

Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Let Her Wish She Were Dead

They had caught the person, so the interrogation was quite straightforward.

Everyone in the Prince Mansion knew of the methods of the Prince Mansion Guards; the stable boy had already broken a leg and dared not resist, spilling everything.

In Safety Alley, there was a Wang Mazi who had approached him recently, inviting him out for drinks, and even to the Flower Tower, and had heard his mother was sick, giving him ten taels of silver.

It was just to inquire about some little things concerning the young master of the Prince Mansion, what the young master liked to do or eat. After the inquiry, he gave him one hundred taels of silver, which he, of course, happily accepted.

He heard that the flowers in the garden were being changed frequently, so he invited Ah Fu for a drink and, taking advantage of him being drunk, asked about it. Ah Fu, unguarded, spilled everything.

When he realized this matter had to do with the young master, he quickly reported it to Wang Mazi.

The next day, Wang Mazi gave him one hundred taels of silver and asked him to do a favor.

He was to mix a packet of powder into the flower soil when nobody was watching.

That’s how Murong Jiu ended up smashing the flower pot and finding the poison.

Ah Fu, the servant boy in the flower room, sobbed, "Princess Consort, I truly didn’t know, and I didn’t drink during the day. Today, Niu Er came to me, saying I had left something at his place, and I let him into the flower room!"

"Allowing outsiders into the flower room was your biggest mistake! How foolish!"

Steward Lin scolded.

Ah Fu’s parents also came, kneeling on the ground, not daring to plead for him.

Because they all knew that if the Princess Consort hadn’t discovered it in time, even if Ah Fu hadn’t intended it, having endangered the young master, he would deserve to die.

Fortunately, the young master was alright, otherwise they, as a couple, wouldn’t have the face to meet the Prince and Princess Consort.

Ah Fu knelt on the ground and admitted his mistake.

Punishment was necessary, otherwise the servants, like him, would lack vigilance and sooner or later there would be more problems.

However, Murong Jiu didn’t speak, but gestured for people to take both Ah Fu and Niu Er away.

It wasn’t long before the guard brought Wang Mazi over.

Murong Jiu didn’t interrogate him herself. She just sat inside the interrogation room, quietly watching.

Wang Mazi was just a rogue from the streets; no matter how tough he acted, he couldn’t withstand the methods of the Prince Mansion.

Soon, he confessed everything.

"It was someone from the Princess’s Mansion who contacted me! I am just a commoner who was paid to do the work!"

Murong Jiu slowly rose, ignoring the screams of suffering behind her, and walked out of the room with a cold expression.

"I did not expect the Fifth Princess to be so malicious; I thought she had already restrained herself, yet still..."

Hong Yi was indeed frightened.

And so was Murong Jiu.

If the poison provided by the Fifth Princess wasn’t harmful to the flowers, it would be the stable boy who didn’t hide the poison in the soil, but would have slipped it into the watering can in the flower room instead.

The flower room required watering and pruning every morning and evening, and had the petals been covered in poison, both Zhijin and Zhiyu would have been poisoned immediately.

It was only because the Fifth Princess’s poison was somewhat ineffective that the consequences were not catastrophic.

Had she not come today, or had the people from the flower room delivered earlier, it could have led to unpredictable consequences.

Her face was expressionless, but those familiar with her knew she was very angry.

What Hong Yi said was not wrong; no one expected the Fifth Princess to make a move at this time.

Because the Empress had just died not long ago, and Her Royal Highness the Fifth Princess was confined, both the Second Prince and she must be preoccupied with their own circumstances. Prince Mansion on this side and Princess’s Mansion on the other had both lowered their guard, thus allowing them to seize the opportunity.

The incident with the Empress was a trap that had been laid, but in the eyes of the Second Prince and Fifth Princess, they would probably never consider their own faults and would instead blame everything on others.

So, it was natural for them to resent both themselves and Jun Yuyan.

At such a critical moment, this incident was to catch Prince Mansion unawares.

Murong Jiu said to Hong Yi, "Go call Zhou Li here. I have something to instruct him."

When Zhou Li arrived, she whispered a few words to him and then summoned Yang Shan and Steward Lin, instructing them to tighten up the guard team and domestic servants.

The entire Prince Mansion had to become sealed tight as a drum, with no loopholes to exploit.

That evening, Jun Yuyan also returned to Prince Mansion, and Zhou Li came to report.

"Princess Consort, since attacking the Princess’s Mansion failed, they have strengthened their vigilance. However, at Prince Consort Ruan Hongwen’s place, my subordinates have found some leverage," he reported.

Ruan Hongwen, who had secretly pledged allegiance to the Third Prince, was known by Prince Ling’s Mansion. After the incident with the Empress, he didn’t dare return to the Princess’s Mansion for several days, fearing involvement. Seeing that Fifth Princess suffered no harm, he then went back.

He was also cunning, pretending to be deeply loyal and willing to share misfortune, thus gaining even more of Fifth Princess’s favor. He even obtained significant power over the Princess’s Mansion, gaining command over its guards and servants.

The Third Prince, not quite trusting him, sent a beauty named Hongxiu Tianxiang to monitor him, ostensibly.

This beauty was tall and had learned martial arts. She posed as a servant boy, staying close by Ruan Hongwen.

By day, she was his servant boy, and by night, his bed-warmer.

At the Prince Consort’s place, since there was such a woman disguised as a man, he did not dare to let the Princess’s Mansion guards protect him and did not have many servants in the courtyard either.

"If we want to kill the Fifth Princess, we can start from the Prince Consort’s side."

The Prince Consort would be meeting the Fifth Princess. By then, blending in with the servants on the Prince Consort’s side, we could make our move and kill her.

Murong Jiu shook her head, "I don’t need her dead; I want her to live a life worse than death."

Jun Yuyan shared the same sentiment; anyone who wished to harm their child had to pay a heavy price.

He coldly said to Zhou Li, "Tonight, expose the woman by the Prince Consort’s side to the Fifth Princess, let her catch them in the act, and in the chaos, slash her face, sever her tendons, and frame it on the Third Prince."

Let them fight amongst themselves first.

Murong Jiu went inside, retrieved a pipe of mesmerizing smoke for Zhou Li, and instructed him how to use it, to which Zhou Li repeatedly nodded and immediately went to carry out the task.

This mesmerizing smoke was to befuddle the Prince Consort and the female servant, making it easier for the Fifth Princess to catch them in the act.

The female servant knew martial arts and was adept at qinggong; she could likely escape quickly upon hearing any disturbance.

Murong Jiu had thought it all through.

Zhou Li was excellent at qinggong and thus well-suited for this task.

Initially, Zhou Li was worried that the Prince Consort had already gone to the Fifth Princess, but upon reaching the Princess’s Mansion, he found the Prince Consort pretending to read in his study while in fact frolicking with the female servant behind the bookshelf.

To ensure nothing went awry, he blew the mesmerizing smoke in, saw it take effect, and then headed straight for Herz Royal Highness’s Palace.

"Prince Consort’s study is making strange noises, as if there’s a woman inside, should we tell Her Royal Highness the Princess?" he said, disguised as one of the Princess’s Mansion guards, to a maid at the front of the palace.

As soon as the maid heard this, without even scrutinizing his face, she immediately turned and ran into the palace.

Zhou Li quietly left and hid in a tall tree outside the Prince Consort’s study.

The speed at which the Fifth Princess arrived was faster than he had anticipated; she came in a fury, her face grim, followed by many elderly maids and guards.

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