MCSCPM -Chapter 112 A Change

“I only hope that they can live without contention, though that is probably impossible.” The Second Princess looked dejected, as if she had completely let down her guard against Yin Qingyue.

These reactions were vastly different from before. Perhaps because they had talked too much about the palace’s taboos, there was nothing left that could make them doubt one another.

Yin Qingyue had never expected such an answer. This was not within the three possibilities she had considered. Could it be that the Second Princess, Nangong Mei, truly had no desire to compete, and that everything before had been the result of someone else framing her?

Thinking it over, that did seem possible. The Second Princess understood medicine, but she did not personally decoct medicines or perform routine diagnoses. She should not have had the opportunity to poison anyone. Moreover, in the Weiyang Palace, Yin Qingyue had not noticed anything unusual about Nangong Mei—unless her methods were so sophisticated that even Yin Qingyue could not detect them.

Once the imperial physician was dead, there would be no evidence left. When that happened, all the blame would fall on the Second Princess. Even if Nangong Mei did not die, she would certainly be deposed and reduced to a cripple. And once the Second Princess was deposed, Nangong Wan would lose a powerful rival.

If Prince Jing became the Third Princess’s consort, the Third Prince would gain another ally. Even if Prince Jing did not actively support him, out of consideration for the Third Princess he would be unable to support the Crown Prince. When the struggle for the throne reached that point, there would be no doubt that the victor would be the Third Prince. Unfortunately, Nangong Wan was already a discarded chess piece—so who would be the next one?

The plan was indeed carefully calculated, but would Prince Jing really act according to their wishes?

It was still too early to celebrate. If things went wrong, people could die. Besides, all of this was nothing more than Yin Qingyue’s own speculation. Though her reasoning seemed sound, the final conclusion still needed time to prove it.

“Let’s forget about all this. These are all forbidden topics in the palace. The Third Princess has her heart set on Prince Jing—so who, I wonder, could win the Second Princess’s affection?” Yin Qingyue asked with a smile, covering her mouth. The question was simple, yet it could serve to finally rule out Nangong Mei’s suspicion.

“Th-this…” Nangong Mei nearly sprayed out the sip of tea she had just taken. She never imagined that Yin Qingyue would suddenly change the topic so abruptly. Completely caught off guard, her delicate face flushed pink, making her look especially alluring. If any male guards had been present, they would surely have thought a celestial maiden had descended to earth.

“Could it be that the Second Princess is also fond of Prince Jing?” Yin Qingyue asked with a look of surprise—of course, this was an act.

If the Second Princess also harbored feelings for Prince Jing, then her next move might be to frame Consort De. Although Yin Qingyue had lowered her guard to the minimum, this was still a hidden factor that could not be ignored. The assumptions she had just made were not for nothing.

“No.” She said no, but the expression on Nangong Mei’s face changed.

Yin Qingyue took a sip of tea. It seemed that these layers of doubt would require further investigation.

This was simply the kind of person Yin Qingyue was. Though she was not a politician, she applied medical reasoning to similar fields. In dealing with people and matters alike, she tested them as if diagnosing illnesses. Later, she found that while this method could not guarantee perfection, it achieved an accuracy of over ninety-seven percent.

She did not press the issue further. Since Nangong Mei was unwilling to speak, Yin Qingyue would not force her—pressuring others was not her style. After chatting a bit more about medical matters, she took her leave. From the moment she sat down to talk with Nangong Mei, barely the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed.

On the way back to the Weiyang Palace, Yin Qingyue thought about many things. Eventually, her head began to ache, and she decided to stop thinking about it altogether.

Inside the Rose Pavilion.

Nangong Mei seemed to have been greatly stimulated. She drained the cup of tea in one gulp. Could Yin Qingyue have been sent to test her?

As she thought about it, the outline of a man appeared in her mind. Could it have been him who sent her? Were all those earlier words just a smokescreen—to make her cautious and on guard, then suddenly drop her from extreme tension into a state of complete ease?

Before long, however, she calmed herself. All of her assumptions were possible. The heart of a physician was difficult to fathom. Then she thought of her mother consort, and of the words the man in black had said to her that day—only to leave halfway through, never revealing the rest.

“What exactly was the rest?” Nangong Mei paced around the room, murmuring to herself. She had already almost forgotten Yin Qingyue’s visit.

In truth, Yin Qingyue had only chatted with her for the time it took to drink a cup of tea—not very long. The questions she had asked, though taboo in the palace, were things most people already knew. Yin Qingyue was simply new and unfamiliar with the deeper intricacies.

But now Nangong Mei was walking on the edge of blades. One misstep would mean death. The poisoning of Empress He had yet to be resolved, and the situation was extremely sensitive and dangerous.

Suddenly, there came the sound of leaves rustling—unlike the usual sound of wind through the trees.

Nangong Mei frowned. Taking advantage of the moment when the maids of the Rose Pavilion were not paying attention, she followed the source of the sound forward.

She did not know how long she walked until a bamboo grove appeared before her. She was surprised—it was the very place she had once visited with Yin Qingyue.

A black shadow within the bamboo grove quickly caught her attention. It was that familiar figure from before.

“Who exactly are you?” Nangong Mei frowned deeply. The man in black before her gave her an indescribable feeling. In her heart, she sensed that he might be the key to unraveling everything.

The man in black stood before her in silence. Through the air came the sound of steady breathing.

“Do you really want to know who I am that badly?” He turned around, staring straight at Nangong Mei, as if trying to see through her heart.

“Yes,” Nangong Mei said firmly. Ever since the death of Consort Sun, Nangong Mei seemed to have become a completely different person. Her manner of speaking had changed greatly, though her everyday tone was still much the same.

She tried her utmost to hide the emotions in her heart, but whenever she thought of her mother, the grievance and hatred within her surged like a tide, leaving her feeling suffocated.

“Haha.” A cold laugh echoed through the air. The man in black walked up beside Nangong Mei and spoke softly by her ear.

“Your temperament is very much like your mother’s.” After saying this, the smile on his face gradually faded.

“Mother…” Nangong Mei called softly. It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned her mother in front of her.

“Who are you exactly? How do you know so much?” She quickly stepped back several paces. A flash of panic crossed her face, though it vanished just as quickly.

The man in black had told her one thing after another—it was impossible not to suspect him.

“If I told you my identity, what benefit would that bring me?” The man in black spoke unhurriedly, smiling as he looked at Nangong Mei.