Resplendent – Chapter 487

Chapter 487: A Slip?

Yin Mei gritted his teeth and said, “Th-then… How could Miss ask me to drug you and the Fourth Prince’s drinks? The one for you is lethal!”

Ling Juechen frowned, sensing that something was amiss. Even if the little girl were angry with him, there was no way she would want him dead! He thought for a moment and asked, “Repeat the lady’s exact words to me, without leaving anything out.”

Yin Mei repeated the girl’s instructions word for word. 

Ling Juechen felt a weight lift from his heart and chuckled. “So it was meant for ‘Prince Ning’! Prince Ning has never even met her. How did he offend her so badly? As for the Fourth Prince… Did he do something foolish?”

Ling Juechen paced a few steps in the room, then said to him, “Leave these two bottles of medicine here and report back.”

Seeing that his master had made up his mind, Yin Mei stayed no longer. He leapt out the window, transforming into a streak of black light, disappearing into the heavy night.

The next day, Gu Ye specially had someone keep an eye on the news from the Yan Kingdom inn. 

Before her informant returned, her Second Brother, who wasn’t supposed to be on duty, was summoned by the Imperial City Guards. 

They said the Fourth Prince of Yan Kingdom had been poisoned and required cooperation between the Imperial City Guards and the Wardens’ Office of the Five Wards to investigate.

“What about Prince Ning? Any news about him?” Gu Ye couldn’t help but run to the front courtyard, pull her Second Brother aside, and whisper.

Chu Mufeng felt puzzled. Why was his sister suddenly concerned about Prince Ning? Could it be that the scoundrel had some secret dealings with her? 

Everyone said his sister was flirtatious; just thinking of Prince Ning’s face that was more delicate than a woman’s made him uneasy.

“Prince Ning? He should be fine. He’s even arranging for a doctor for the Fourth Prince! Sister, do you know Prince Ning?” Chu Mufeng couldn’t resist asking.

Gu Ye furrowed her brows, her face full of disgust. “How could I possibly know him?! Are you sure he’s alright?”

After receiving a confirmation from him, Gu Ye was puzzled. Strange… had her potion failed? Or had Yin Mei made a mistake?

She summoned Yin Mei again. Yin Mei insisted that he had already put the potion in Prince Ning’s tea. “Perhaps… Prince Ning never drank the water from the teapot?”

“Lucky for him!” Gu Ye ground her teeth and said through clenched teeth. 

Yin Mei felt as if twenty-five cats were clawing at his heart—tormented from every direction. 

What exactly had the master done to make the lady want him dead? 

Judging by her demeanor, this wasn’t some idle prank; it looked like a vendetta spanning lifetimes. Strange people, both of them!

By evening, Chu Mufeng returned, dragging his exhausted body home. Gu Ye, who had been waiting near the second gate, grabbed him and asked, “So? What happened? What exactly occurred at the Yan Kingdom inn?”

Chu Mufeng ruffled his sister’s hair and smiled. “It’s fine now! Last night, the Fourth Prince was poisoned, but fortunately Prince Ning brought two antidote pills. They worked wonders. After taking just one, the Fourth Prince’s poison was completely neutralized.”

What kind of antidote pills were so effective? Could it be the ones she had given to Brother Chen? 

That brat! 

Why would he take the medicine she gave him and pass it on to someone else? Impossible! She had to write him a scolding letter.

Fuming, Gu Ye returned to the small study in Mingzhu Pavilion. She crumpled the sweet, affectionate letter she had received last night into a ball, intending to throw it away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She smoothed the paper again and read it carefully once more. The sweetness made her heart stir. But then, thinking about how he had used the medicine she gave him and ruined her plan, a wave of infinite grievance welled up inside her.

She took a sheet of paper and, with her fountain pen, scrawled a furious tirade against the Fourth Prince and Prince Ning, berating them to no end. She also expressed her protest and displeasure at him for giving the antidote pills to someone else.

 Finally, she drew an angry, chibi-style version of herself in ancient clothing, letting Brother Chen know that she was furious—so mad that no coaxing could calm her down!

After enjoying a lavish dinner, Xiao Bai carried his mistress’s wrath and flew toward the inn not far away. 

Ling Juechen heard the flutter of wings outside the window and opened it, letting the white falcon fly in.

He opened the note tied to its leg. The unique handwriting was filled with intense displeasure and anger, practically leaping off the page. As he read it carefully, he felt both wronged and amused. So it was the Fourth Prince who had stirred up a hornet’s nest! 

But what did this have to do with Prince Ning? 

He was completely unaware—just lying there and getting caught in the crossfire!

Holding the letter, he went to confront the Fourth Prince: “You went ahead and discussed the marriage proposal with the Dongling Emperor on my behalf? Why didn’t you consult me first?”

The Fourth Prince was teasing a thrush in a cage under the eaves with a blade of grass. When he heard this, he replied in a tone seeking praise, “No need to thank me! It’s rare for a young lady to catch your eye, Cousin. Of course I have to think of ways to help you win her! You’re so reserved. I was afraid you’d be too embarrassed to act. Don’t worry, just leave this matter to me!”

“You… do you have any idea that you nearly lost your life last night?” Ling Juechen took out the two bottles of medicine and placed them on the nanmu table beside the bed.

The Fourth Prince tossed away the blade of grass, picked up the blue bottle, and sniffed it. There was a faint fruity fragrance! He asked curiously, “What is this?”

“Poison. A lethal one at that!!!” Ling Juechen’s words were as cold as shards of ice.

The Fourth Prince’s hand trembled, and he almost threw the bottle. “Good heavens! Poison comes with a sweet scent now? I thought it was some kind of fruit juice! Cousin, where did you get these two bottles? What exactly happened last night?”

“Do you not know that most pharmacists are also exceptional poison masters?” Seeing the Fourth Prince shake his head cluelessly, he sighed. “You wanted to help me marry that little girl through a political marriage between our two nations. But did you ever stop to think about who she is?”

“You mean… these two bottles were prepared for me by that little girl?” The Fourth Prince’s face twisted in horror. 

He placed the bottles on the farthest corner of the table and vigorously wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

Ling Juechen said coldly, “More precisely, they were prepared for the both of us. If my people hadn’t intercepted it, this morning I would be a corpse, and you… you’d spend the rest of your life bedridden.”

“Wow! The heart of that little lady from the Duke of Zhen’s household is really poisonous!” the Fourth Prince exclaimed. “Cousin, you’d better find someone else to like, or one day you might fall victim to her tricks!”

Ling Juechen glared at him sharply and said with a hint of schadenfreude, “You should worry about yourself first! That little lady never forgets a grudge. This time she didn’t succeed, but there will definitely be a next time. She has all sorts of strange and exotic medicines in her hands—enough to make life worse than death!”

The Fourth Prince didn’t look worried at all. Grinning, he nudged Ling Juechen with his elbow. “Oh! You know her well, don’t you? Do you really fancy her? Aunt and Elder General Ling must be very pleased. Finally, the only heir of three generations of the Ling family has stirred some human feelings!”