Wish You All the Best - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

The beauty was crushed, like soft jade and shattered flowers. Two or three lingering, star-like tears clung to the corners of her eyes, and she remained limp and powerless in Pei You’an’s arms, not daring to move.

"Did I hurt you just now?"

Pei You’an asked in a low voice.

Jiafu kept her eyes tightly shut, letting out a sob of grievance, but then she shook her head.

Pei You’an kissed her sweat-dampened forehead with a hint of remorse and pulled her closer.

A moment later, Jiafu slowly opened her eyes. The flush on her face had yet to fade, but she burrowed her head a little further into his chest, clutching his arm as she whispered softly, "Eldest Cousin, what are you thinking about?"

"Why did the Crown Princess suddenly go mad? Tell me the sequence of events—everything you saw, in detail. Don’t leave out a single shred of information."

Jiafu looked up slightly. Seeing him watching her, she bit her lip and said quietly, "I was at the same table as her. At first, she was perfectly fine. She had two cups of wine, and then she suddenly went mad. First, she cursed the opera actors for talking nonsense, then she started rambling incoherently... no one could stop her..."

Pei You’an frowned slightly. "How did you end up at the same table as her?"

"She insisted that I sit with her. I tried to decline, but..."

"Why? What exactly was said at the time?"

Jiafu felt a bit guilty and lowered her eyes.

Pei You’an used one hand to lift her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Do not keep things from me."

"Eldest Cousin, if I did something bad, will you be angry and scold me like before?" Jiafu finally asked.

Pei You’an was startled. Perhaps reminded of the past, he smiled, his brows relaxing.

"I will not be angry, and I certainly won’t scold you again. If it truly was wrong, I will teach you, and you simply won’t do it next time."

Jiafu finally felt slightly at ease and said, "Then I will tell you, but you must keep your word. The Crown Princess went mad... because she drank medicated wine..."

She looked at his expression, and seeing his surprise, she hurriedly added, "She put the medicine in the wine herself! It has nothing to do with me!"

Pei You’an sat up from the pillow.

"What exactly happened?"

His expression became exceptionally solemn.

Since she had already said this much, Jiafu dared not hide anything else. She sat up as well and recounted the events exactly as they happened, though she slightly altered the part about the palace attendant pouring her wine.

"...That palace attendant was pouring wine into my cup, and I inadvertently noticed the strange way she held the pot. Her thumb pressed down on a part of the handle that moved—it sank down slightly. I thought of how I had offended the Crown Princess back in Wuding. Why then, would she be so insistent and inviting about having me sit with her? I kept my guard up and quietly poured out that cup of wine. She must have seen that I was fine and wanted to force me to drink more, but I managed to decline. Later, taking advantage of the moment the Emperor’s edict arrived, I... I..."

Jiafu stammered.

"You switched the wine and gave it to her?"

Pei You’an raised his eyebrows in extreme astonishment.

"Eldest Cousin, you promised not to be angry—she pushed me too far, insisting on making me lose face in front of everyone. If I lose face, doesn't that mean you lose face, Eldest Cousin? I was so angry in the moment that when no one was looking, I just swapped them..."

Jiafu was a bit panicked. As she spoke, she threw caution to the wind, hugged him tightly, and rubbed her head vigorously against his chest.

Pei You’an’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He held her shoulders and waist, preventing her from burrowing any deeper.

"I am not angry. Stop moving around and talk properly."

Only then did Jiafu heave a small sigh of relief and let go of him.

"She didn't know I swapped the wine. She drank it, and then... she went mad and started spouting nonsense..."

"Eldest Cousin, I really regret it now. If I had known she would say those things, I would have just swallowed my pride and endured it no matter how aggrieved I felt. Now that I have brought shame upon you, I feel very sad..."

Jiafu hung her head and remained motionless.

For a long while, he said nothing.

Jiafu began to feel increasingly upset and wanted to cry, but she forced herself to hold it back.

"Come here."

Suddenly, she heard him speak, his voice gentle.

Jiafu raised her eyes and saw him opening his arms to her, as if to embrace her. She finally relaxed completely.

He really wasn't blaming her.

"Eldest Cousin!"

She immediately lunged toward him. Pei You’an was caught off guard and was pushed backward onto the pillow, with Jiafu sprawled across his chest.

"Eldest Cousin, you are so good." Jiafu kissed him, her eyes sparkling, her voice soft and sweet.

In that moment, Pei You’an’s heart completely softened.

From the moment she had run toward him without regard for anything else at the Wuding post station and held onto his waist, refusing to let go, he had felt her complete and utter trust. It was as if he were her entire world.

Pei You’an actually didn’t know why she trusted him so implicitly. At that time, their interactions were limited to a handful of meetings in childhood and an unpleasant encounter at their grandmother’s birthday last year.

Yet, she had followed him, and he could neither drive her away nor let her go.

He had gone to pick her up tonight, but unexpectedly learned of what happened in the birthday hall. At the time, he had truly been furious. After taking her home, the words Madame Xin spoke to him only added another layer of ire.

But his anger was not for himself at all—it was for her.

He had always known of the Crown Prince’s covetousness toward her; she had emphasized this to him more than once in the past to seek his protection. Yet, he had been negligent, allowing her to be shamed today due to the jealousy of another woman.

The world would only brand her a femme fatale, but no one would know that she was merely a victim of "possessing jade that invites trouble."

This girl relied on him completely, believing that by marrying him, she would be free from all worries. But tonight, had she not been alert enough to escape this disaster, he could not imagine what kind of harm she would have suffered had she mistakenly drunk that medicated wine!

His heart, which had softened, instantly hardened.

"You are a bit mischievous. But that woman was too vicious. You swapped it, so you swapped it—as long as you are safe, that is what matters. And this may not be a bad thing; perhaps it is the beginning of a turn for the better."

Pei You’an said.

Jiafu opened her eyes wide.

"You mean the Crown Prince murdering people and the Crown Princess acting delirious in public—are they about to fall into great misfortune?"

"Great misfortune is not necessarily guaranteed, and they will not sit idly by. But it is certain that they will show some restraint in the future. That wine pot—was it recovered?"

"When the Crown Princess went mad, she swept some dishes and utensils off the table, and the wine pot shattered."

Pei You’an pondered.

Jiafu suddenly remembered.

"Oh, that’s right! That first cup of wine the palace attendant poured for me—I spilled it into my sleeve. I was worried I’d caused trouble and you’d scold me, so after I bathed and changed at night, I kept the clothes aside and didn't let Tanxiang wash them. I thought maybe they could serve as evidence."

Pei You’an seemed pleasantly surprised. He raised an eyebrow and reached out to pinch her cheek. "You little sly fox! Why haven't you shown it to me yet?"

...

Eastern Palace.

With a splash, a bucket of water mixed with half-melted ice was poured directly over Zhang Fengtong’s head.

Zhang Fengtong shivered. Her consciousness gradually cleared, and she finally managed to open her eyes. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, only feeling drenched to the bone, suffering from a splitting headache, and in extreme pain.

Her memory was still stuck at the birthday banquet tonight.

She vaguely remembered that the Zhen woman had drunk the medicated wine, but aside from being dizzy and tipsy, she hadn't shown any of the reactions she had expected.

Once she made up her mind, she would never give up easily. Ever since she was a child, it was this extraordinary strength of character that pushed her, step by step, to the position she held today.

If not for that, when her sisters were playing with flowers and swinging on swings, laughing and frolicking, how else could she have endured the hardships of studying by the window to accomplish things she wasn't interested in, just to win herself a reputation?

She had no beauty, and she was unwilling to disappear into the crowd. By being ruthless to herself, she had finally reached this point.

Before deciding to act, she had hesitated again and again. But Lady Cao’s death served as a warning bell.

She had always felt that she could ignore Xiao Yintang’s favor for other women.

In the eyes of men, women in this world are divided into two types of utility.

The first type serves the ancestral temple above and continues the lineage below—this is the legal wife.

The remaining second type is merely for serving men and satisfying their desires; that is all.

She would be the former for Xiao Yintang, while that Zhen woman was merely a physical attraction. She figured that once Xiao Yintang possessed her, over time, his interest would naturally fade.

But now, she was starting to lose her composure.

Xiao Yintang’s level of concern for the Zhen woman far exceeded what she had initially imagined.

Lady Cao had followed Xiao Yintang for many years and was considered someone he favored, yet just because she heard a single remark related to the Zhen woman, he had strangled her to death. Afterward, Xiao Yintang showed not a hint of regret or pity.

This made Zhang Fengtong feel a touch of fear.

People are mostly the same: the things they cannot obtain are the things they miss the most.

She had crossed paths with the Zhen woman several times. In their verbal clashes, she had never gained any advantage, which showed that the woman was by no means as weak as she appeared on the surface.

More suspiciously, as far as she knew, this Zhen woman had once been entangled with Pei Xiuzhi, and with such a family background, she had managed to have Pei You’an—the most favored person before the Emperor—marry her in such a short time.

As for what kind of person Pei You’an was, Zhang Fengtong had known very clearly back in Wuding.

Zhang Fengtong believed that without extraordinary methods, this was absolutely impossible to achieve.

She felt a profound sense of crisis.

Once Xiao Yintang could do as he pleased in the future, who could guarantee he wouldn't try every possible way to promote this scheming woman to replace her just to please her?

Promoting the wife of a minister to the position of Empress might seem absurd, but as long as the Emperor wanted to, he would always find a way.

Rather than waiting for an uncontrollable situation to arise and sitting still to die, it was better to strike in secret while Xiao Yintang was still being held in check, and destroy the Zhen woman.

The secret medicine she put in the wine came from a Tantric sect in Ü-Tsang; its nature was strange and fierce. After consuming it, one's mind would become confused, as if drunk, with effects varying from person to person.

Those with a naturally violent disposition would immediately kill.

Those with a naturally seductive disposition would be promiscuous in public.

Zhang Fengtong was convinced that this Zhen woman was cunning and seductive. As long as she drank the wine, she would lose all decorum in front of everyone, ruining her reputation completely. Not only would Pei You’an be shamed, but she didn't believe Xiao Yintang would remain so enamored with her. Afterward, as long as she destroyed the evidence, who could suspect her? People would only think the Zhen woman got drunk, lacked virtue, and lost all sense of propriety.

But later, things seemed to go wrong...

She remembered gradually feeling her whole body heat up, followed by a dizzy brain, and feeling a hatred for the noisy actors on the stage.

What exactly had she done?

Zhang Fengtong’s head was splitting with pain. She struggled to climb up from the wet floor. With a moan, she felt a sharp pain in her face. With a slap, a heavy blow struck her, sending her sprawling back to the floor. Her face felt as if it were dripping blood, burning with pain.

"You bitch! How dare you slander me in public like that! Are you tired of living?"

A cold voice rang in her ears.

She finally woke up completely. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see Xiao Yintang staring at her with a furious face, his gaze filled with hatred, as if he wanted to kill her.