Imperial Husband Chapter 116

Chapter 116

"Your Highness, according to the drawing you provided, your subordinate has found this. Please examine it." Having said this, Zhou Yunting took out the dried medicinal herb suspected to be belladonna and handed it to Li Jin.

Li Jin took the herb, examined it for quite a while, and then said, "This is it. Yunting, you have done well."

Zhou Yunting replied, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."

Li Jin returned the belladonna to Zhou Yunting and then said unhurriedly, "Yunting, from now on, keep a close watch on Zhou Xiaoru and Li Yanchen for me. Report to me immediately if they take any suspicious action, no matter how small. Also, store this item carefully; it may prove useful later."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhou Yunting carefully stored the belladonna away once more and then withdrew.

Li Jin gazed at the tightly shut door and murmured to himself, "The appearance of this belladonna is somewhat early. And to have it used on Li Yanshen... I wonder if the one who acted was Zhou Xiaoru, or Li Yanchen, or perhaps they collaborated."

Having been poisoned by this very means in his previous life, Li Jin immediately recognized the symptoms of Li Yanshen’s illness when described by Ping’an and linked them to belladonna.

Sure enough, Li Jin's conjecture was correct.

…

The Rear Courtyard.

Zhou Xiaoru stifled a cough as she pressed anxiously, “Then… you’re certain what you heard is true? That old witch and that venomous Wei Shiwan truly plan to put my son in the Heir’s position?”

Cailian replied in a low voice, "Yes, Concubine Zhou. This is what this servant heard with her own ears; it cannot be false. However, later the Secondary Consort and the Dowager Lady spoke some whispers that this servant could not hear."

Cailian was the chief maid specially assigned to serve Wei Shiwan after Xiaotao, and thus was thoroughly familiar with Wei Shiwan's every move.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoru gave a cold laugh. "What else could it be? They were discussing how to eliminate me."

After all, since ancient times, no one understands you better than your enemy.

Zhou Xiaoru had contended with Wei Shiwan for most of her life. If she lacked cunning, she would have long ago perished like the other deceased concubines, falling victim to Wei Shiwan's deliberate schemes.

Cailian looked at Zhou Xiaoru with profound meaning. "Then what are Concubine Zhou's plans?"

"If she wants to kill me, I will kill her son. Let's see what mood she has left to deal with me then." Zhou Xiaoru curled her lips in a mocking smile. "By the way, since that sickly one has also returned from Zhuzhou, I might as well frame him for Li Yanshen's death. This way, there will be no obstacle for my son to assume the Heir position."

If there was one person Zhou Xiaoru most wanted to eliminate first, it was none other than Wei Shiwan.

But given the current circumstances, it was still not possible; at least, before Li Yanchen ascended to the Heir position, Zhou Xiaoru could not act rashly.

After all, her background was merely that of a maid, utterly incomparable to Wei Shiwan, who came from a noble family. It could be said that without Wei Shiwan promoting Li Yanchen, even if Li Jin and Li Yanshen were gone, the Heir position would not fall to Li Yanchen.

Hearing this, Cailian then smiled. "Concubine Zhou considers things most thoroughly."

"Cailian, whether this matter succeeds still depends on you." Zhou Xiaoru took Cailian's hand and said gently, "Just rest assured. In the future, when Chen'er becomes the Heir, I will have him marry you. Your wealth and honor, and your mother's, are still to come."

"Yes."

Cailian's eyebrows danced with joy as she bowed to Zhou Xiaoru.

Secondary Consort, don't blame me for disloyalty. Blame yourself for being too ruthless. I have no desire to end up like Xiaotao, who served you before, dying mysteriously by your hand.

…

The next day.

The old momo beside Wei Rong came to Li Jin's courtyard early in the morning to pass on a message, saying that the old lady wanted Li Jin to go have breakfast with her.

Ping'an said worriedly, "Your Highness, the Dowager Lady suddenly sending for you to join the morning meal is surely with ill intent. Perhaps... perhaps we should still find an excuse to tactfully avoid it?"

Li Jin shook his head with an amused smile, and instead of answering, asked in return, "Ping'an, you can dodge the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth. Do I seem like such an easy target in your eyes?"

[躲得过初一，躲不过十五 (duǒ de guò chū yī, duǒ bù guò shí wǔ): lit. You can dodge the first day [of the lunar month], but you cannot dodge the fifteenth; fig. You can avoid something temporarily, but not forever.]

"Impossible!" Ping'an declared, raising his head. "Your Highness is brilliant and mighty, how could you possibly be an easy target? If anyone dared say that, I, Ping'an, would be the first to disagree."

"Alright, go get ready."

"Uh... okay..."

Seeing that Li Jin was determined to go, Ping'an didn't want to drag things out, so he quickly helped Li Jin get dressed.

Not long after, when Li Jin arrived at the place for the morning meal as requested by Wei Rong, Wei Rong was already seated early. Besides Wei Rong, Wei Shiwan, Li Yanchen, and even Li Ruoyan, who had long been married off, were all present. It was evident that Wei Rong’s invitation was clearly a Hongmen banquet.

[鸿门宴 (hóng mén yàn): lit. Hongmen banquet; fig. A trap or a meeting set with malicious intent, often where one walks into danger. Originates from a historical feast where a host plotted to kill a guest.]

Li Jin first bowed to Wei Rong. "Your grandson pays his respects to Grandmother."

"What time is it already, that you are only arriving now? Li Jin, since becoming the Heir, you have become more and more unreasonable." Wei Rong seized the initiative, directly placing a false accusation upon Li Jin.

Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly and replied calmly, "Grandmother, your grandson came at the exact hour specified by the momo. Moreover, to avoid keeping you waiting, I arrived an hour early. Could it be... that the momo who delivered the message intended to sow discord?"

The old momo standing beside Wei Rong immediately fell to her knees in fear, trembling as she said, "Dowager Lady, this servant is wronged! Having served you for so long, how would I dare commit such a treacherous act?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Rong's anger flared.

Fuming with rage, she pointed at Li Jin. "Li Jin... you must not..." falsely accuse someone by my side.

"Grandmother, look at the tone in which this woman speaks; it clearly reveals her guilty conscience," Li Jin interrupted Wei Rong's unfinished words. "Guards, seize this woman and interrogate her thoroughly until she explains the reason for sowing discord."

The old momo had always relied on Wei Rong's authority to bully others, and Li Jin's words immediately frightened her so much that her legs went weak.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The mansion guards immediately stepped forward and seized the old momo.

Some of the guards stationed in the mansion were formerly under the Dingbei Army. Only because they were injured and could no longer remain in the army did Li Shiyun assign them to serve as guards in the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion. Therefore, these guards would only take orders from Li Shiyun and his heir, Li Jin.

"Release her at once!" Wei Rong was furious. "Li Jin, you stop this right now!"

Wei Rong had not expected Li Jin to order an arrest so directly and promptly rebuked him in anger.

"Grandmother, this woman harbors treachery and cannot be kept." Li Jin showed no intention of compromising. Instead, he elevated the matter of dealing with the old momo to the level of the mansion's security. "Today, she dares to sow discord between you and me. Then tomorrow, she might even dare to betray you, and betray the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion itself. Perhaps this woman is a spy with ulterior motives. Does Grandmother truly intend to protect her regardless of the mansion's safety, regardless of Da Xia's security?"

Wei Rong was left speechless by Li Jin's words.

She could only watch helplessly as the guards took the old momo away.

To have a confidante who had served her for years taken away on what seemed like Li Jin's unfounded charges—Wei Rong loathed him with a burning intensity. Yet, frustratingly, there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Li Ruoyan sneered, "Your Highness certainly puts on a great show of authority. Having just returned, you immediately try to intimidate Grandmother, and you don't even know to bow to me, your elder sister. Truly impressive."

Since losing her child and subsequently incurring Ying Ziheng's disgust, Li Ruoyan's days had taken a turn for the worse. However, thanks to Wei Rong's pity, she had not yet been completely crushed.

Recalling her experiences in the Prince An's mansion, Li Ruoyan could not help but look at Wei Shiwan, her eyes filled with resentment.

Li Ruoyan never reflected on why she had ended up in such a state. Instead, she harbored hatred for Wei Shiwan's heartlessness, even believing that everything was Wei Shiwan's fault. She even believed it was all Wei Shiwan's fault—if not for her, her own life would not be so miserable, nor would she be trampled by the younger Shuang'er brother she had always despised.

Yet, because she had previously offended Wei Shiwan severely, Li Ruoyan dared not show any of this openly.

Li Yanchen pretended to be reasonable. "Brother Jin, Sister Ruoyan, this isn't such a major matter. It's rare for us all to have breakfast together; it's better to value harmony."

Li Ruoyan said disdainfully, "Then what does Eldest Brother suggest we do?"

"How about having Brother Jin bow to you now?" Li Yanchen put on an expression of considering Li Jin's interests and advised, "Brother Jin, what Sister Ruoyan says is correct. You really should bow to her."

Upon hearing this, Li Jin looked coldly at Li Ruoyan and Li Yanchen. "Li Ruoyan, Li Yanchen, is this the proper etiquette you should display?"

"Li Jin, what do you mean by that?" Li Ruoyan was furious. She slammed the table heavily and stood up abruptly, shouting in anger, "I should be the one saying that! I was actually thinking of letting it go as Eldest Brother suggested, but now don't you dare think I'll forgive you easily. Also, I am your elder sister, yet you disregard everything and call me by my name. What kind of behavior is that?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Ruoyan deeply regretted her impulsiveness.

It was no wonder she acted this way. After all, it had been three years since she last saw Li Jin; she had long since cast him from her mind. Moreover, having been frustrated and discontent in the Prince An's mansion, she had subconsciously forgotten how fearsome Li Jin could be.

"Yan'er is right. What sort of upbringing is this—showing no deference to either elders or juniors?" Wei Rong, thinking she had caught Li Jin's mistake, immediately shouted, "Guards, seize him at once! This time, I will definitely 'discipline' him properly."

When Wei Rong said the word "discipline," she intentionally emphasized it, clearly intending to exact revenge for what had just happened.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and seize him! This time, I will definitely apply the family discipline to him." Wei Rong, waiting for the guards to act, soon realized they were not moving at all and anxiously roared, "All of you, quickly seize him! Have you rebelled?"

Facing Wei Rong's repeated orders, the guards remained where they were, showing no intention of obeying.

Li Jin shifted his gaze to one of the guards and asked, already knowing the answer, "What is the family discipline of the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion?"

The guard questioned by Li Jin immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, the family discipline of the Prince of Dingbei refers to binding the offender with rope, taking them under the sun, and administering 10 to 100 lashes depending on the severity. Afterward, they are confined to the ancestral hall for reflection until they admit their wrongdoing."