MCSCPM -Chapter 341 Drugging

Here, the atmosphere was all tender affection and whispered intimacy; meanwhile, elsewhere, danger lurked at every turn.

That very night, Shangguan Jiaoran tucked the prepared medicine into her clothes. Taking advantage of the late hour, she changed into plain clothes and was about to head out—only to run into Yun’er.

“Miss? What are you doing?” Yun’er looked her up and down, finding her outfit extremely strange.

Shangguan Jiaoran cautiously glanced outside the door. Seeing no one there, she hurriedly shut it and whispered to Yun’er, “Listen carefully. I need to go out right now. You are to stay in this room and not go anywhere. No matter who comes, you are not to open the door. Even if my father comes, you must not open it.”

“Miss, what on earth are you going to do? Please don’t scare Yun’er!”

“Just remember what I told you.” With that, Shangguan Jiaoran prepared to leave. To be safe, she even brought along her whip.

Yun’er was timid by nature. If anything happened to her mistress, she—being only a maid—would surely be torn to pieces. She hurried forward and blocked the door with her whole body, looking worried and pitiful. “Miss, it’s already so late. You’ve been acting mysteriously these past few days and even had me fetch medicine for you. Did something happen?”

Shangguan Jiaoran was already anxious, and Yun’er blocking her way only made her angrier. She brandished her whip and warned, “Yun’er, if you keep blocking me, do you believe I’ll let you taste this whip?”

“But—”

“But what? Move aside, now.”

“But Yun’er is worried something might happen to you, Miss.”

“Are you deliberately trying to curse me?” Shangguan Jiaoran’s face instantly turned livid. In truth, she knew very well that even if she were caught by people from Prince Yi’s residence, no one would dare take her life—after all, in name, she was soon to be Princess Yi.

Knowing her mistress’s temper, Yun’er realized that if she kept blocking her, she would surely be whipped. Trembling, her eyes full of hesitation, she faltered.

The next moment, Shangguan Jiaoran stepped forward and shoved her aside. “Yun’er, remember this well. No matter who comes, you are not to open the door. If my father really wants to come in, just say I’ve already gone to sleep. But if you dare say anything else, you’ll regret it.”

“I… yes. Yun’er understands.” Yun’er lowered her head and moved aside, afraid the whip might truly fall on her.

Soon, Shangguan Jiaoran slipped out of the residence, moving with great caution.

When she arrived at Prince Yi’s residence, she found many guards stationed outside. After the last incident when Yin Qingyue had broken in, Chu Yifeng had evidently strengthened the security.

But none of this posed much of a challenge to Shangguan Jiaoran. Agile and swift, she leapt over the wall by a side gate and jumped into the residence. Fortunately, it was nighttime, and there were fewer guards patrolling the courtyards.

However, there was one abnormality she failed to notice. With increased patrols, there should have been more guards—especially at night—but today, there were fewer than expected.

In fact, it would have been impossible for Shangguan Jiaoran alone to break in. Before she arrived, guards from Prince Jing’s residence had already knocked out several of Prince Yi’s guards and cleared the area outside Prince Yi’s room, allowing her to enter.

Yet Shangguan Jiaoran had no idea that she herself had already fallen into a massive trap.

Sneaking to the kitchen, she peered inside and saw two young maids brewing medicine—the very medicine meant for Prince Yi.

One maid said, “Do you think His Highness’s illness can really be cured? It’s been so long.”

The other replied, “Probably not. Even the imperial physicians from the palace have examined him, and it didn’t help. If even the best royal physicians of Beihou can’t cure him, who else could?”

“That’s not necessarily true. Don’t you know about the divine female physician Prince Jing brought back? She once cured a plague. I also heard that His Highness has already sent people to look for her, hoping she’ll come treat him. If there weren’t hope, he wouldn’t go to such lengths.”

The maid nodded in agreement. “She is indeed impressive, but where is she now? Who knows? I even secretly asked around before. Apparently, that divine physician was almost executed by the Emperor.”

“Executed? What do you mean? Are you saying she’s dead?”

“I don’t know. I heard she escaped later, but no one knows where she went. Who knows whether she truly escaped or died.”

“You mustn’t say things like that! If His Highness hears this, we’ll really be dead.”

The two maids hurriedly looked around, only then feeling relieved.

But Shangguan Jiaoran outside heard everything clearly. Again with that divine female physician—she was so angry her teeth itched. She truly hoped the woman was dead, saving her the trouble of acting.

But with those two maids still inside, how was she to add the poison? She waited outside for a while, planning to go in and knock them out—but unexpectedly, the two maids seemed to remember something and suddenly walked out.

One said, “Oh right, the head steward told us to fetch the medicinal herbs from the West Courtyard. How did we forget?”

“Exactly. Good thing he didn’t notice. Let’s hurry.”

The two maids quickly ran off.

Shangguan Jiaoran secretly rejoiced, but didn’t dare waste time. She hurried into the kitchen and added several packets of powder into Prince Yi’s medicine. Watching the powder slowly sink and leave no trace of tampering, she finally felt at ease. She then slipped out and quickly left Prince Yi’s residence.

“Prince Yi, if you want to marry me, you’d better see whether you’re worthy,” Shangguan Jiaoran said, then burst into laughter as she returned to the Shangguan residence.

Nothing went wrong—she didn’t even need to use her whip.

Yun’er had been guarding the room the whole time, the door tightly shut, trembling with fear that someone might come in.

At that moment, Shangguan Jiaoran knocked on the door, nearly scaring Yun’er out of her wits. She didn’t dare make a sound.

“Yun’er, it’s me.”

Hearing her mistress’s voice, Yun’er rushed over to open the door. As soon as Shangguan Jiaoran entered, she sat down at the table and drank water, drenched in sweat. Going to Prince Yi’s residence had truly been exhausting—but fortunately, it was successful.

“Miss, you’re finally back. I was worried sick.”

After drinking and catching her breath, Shangguan Jiaoran shot Yun’er a glare. “Why are you so jumpy? I ask you to do one small thing and you act like the world is ending.”

“No… it’s just that I was worried about you, Miss.”

“Alright, alright. You can go now. There’s nothing for you to do.”

Yun’er said nothing, lowered her head, and left dejectedly. She had no idea where her mistress had gone—and even if she asked, the answer wouldn’t come. Better to keep her mouth shut and avoid getting beaten.

After changing clothes, Shangguan Jiaoran felt delighted and couldn’t help laughing. This was perfect—her marriage to Prince Yi would surely be called off.

Feeling carefree, she lay down on the bed and slept comfortably, waiting for the imperial decree that would cancel the engagement.

She had no idea that she herself had already been calculated against by Yin Qingyue.

---

The next day.

News that Chu Jingcheng had brought Yin Qingyue back quickly spread throughout the capital, naturally reaching the Emperor’s ears.

Chu Helian frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected his son to truly bring Yin Qingyue back. If he were to send people to kill her now, his son would be the first to object—perhaps even giving up his title as Prince Jing to protect her.

Seeing the Emperor silent for a long time, Eunuch Sun softly asked, “Your Majesty, now that the divine female physician has returned, what do you think should be done?”

“This matter…” Chu Helian hesitated, his gaze darkening. “You go and summon the divine female physician to the palace. I have something to say to her.”

“To summon her into the palace now may be inappropriate. Prince Jing won’t allow it.”

“What? I am the Son of Heaven. Must I obtain Prince Jing’s consent to summon someone into the palace?” Clearly, Chu Helian was displeased.

Realizing his words were improper, Eunuch Sun hurriedly said, “That’s not what this servant meant. It’s just that Prince Jing finally found the divine physician, and knowing that Your Majesty once wanted her dead, he fears that Prince Jing would rather bear the crime of defying an imperial order than let her enter the palace.”

Chu Helian gave a cold smile, as if everything were already within his grasp. “I think she will definitely enter the palace.”

“Why are you so certain, Your Majesty?”

“That is none of your concern. Pass on my edict—summon the divine female physician to the palace.”

“Yes.”

Soon, the Emperor’s verbal decree arrived at the private residence outside the capital.

When the guards outside saw people from the palace, they immediately went in to report.

“Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived,” the guard said.

Chu Jingcheng frowned. “What must come will come.”

Yin Qingyue, standing to the side, showed no sign of worry. Glancing toward the doorway, she said, “It shouldn’t be the Imperial Guards from before. Your father wouldn’t do something so foolish.”

“What you mean is that you know I’ll protect you, so you believe my father won’t risk losing me as his son just to kill you.”

“Prince Jing is so clever—since you already know, why ask?” Yin Qingyue lowered her head and smiled.

Seeing the ease in her expression, Chu Jingcheng grew more concerned. “At a time like this, you can still smile. It seems my worry for you is unnecessary.”

“It’s not that I’m not worried. I just believe the Emperor won’t take such a risky move,” Yin Qingyue said.

“That’s true.” Chu Jingcheng nodded, then instructed the guard, “Let the people from the palace come in.”

The guard obeyed and led the palace envoys inside.

The palace guard read out the imperial decree: “By order of His Majesty, the divine female physician is to enter the palace immediately. No delay is permitted.”

Chu Jingcheng was startled. His father hadn’t sent people to kill Yin Qingyue—instead, he wanted her to enter the palace. That was absolutely unacceptable. If his father planned to act inside the palace, then no matter how capable he was, he might not be able to save her.

“You can’t go,” Chu Jingcheng said solemnly to Yin Qingyue. “My father suddenly summoning you to the palace is definitely not simple. I won’t let you go. Even if you must go, I will take you there myself.”