Chapter 278 : Force (6)

The Old Lady called for Mama Luo and had her go to the Jing Wangfu herself. “Inform Wangfei of Yuxi’s poisoning. But since she is currently pregnant, be polite when you tell her and don’t scare her.”

Mama Luo was also frightened. “Old Lady, who do you think could have done this?” That culprit did it so blatantly and arrogantly that it was disturbing.

The Old Lady said, “This matter must be related to the Chen family.” The Han family did not have any deadly feud with anyone, and it was even more unlikely for Yuxi to also have one. So, in all probability, what happened to Yuxi involved the Chen family.

When Mama Luo arrived, it so happened that Jing Wang was also in residence.

Yuchen wasn’t good at telling Jing Wang to leave. Though she saw that Mama Luo’s expression did not look right, she still asked her, “Mama’s face doesn’t look pleasant. Is there something wrong with the State Residence that I should know of?”

Mama Luo looked at Yuchen, and when she saw her subtly nodding her head, she finally spoke, “Wangye, Wangfei, the Fourth Miss has been poisoned and is currently unconscious.”

Yuchen didn’t expect Song Guifei would even use despicable means such as poisoning to deal with Yuxi. That woman really wouldn’t stop at anything. “How is she now? Has she been rescued?” The good thing was that Momo Quan knew about medicine, so she should have saved Yuxi from this calamity.

Mama Luo shook her head as she answered, “We have given the Fourth Miss the antidote for the poison, but she still hasn’t woken up. The physician said that if Fourth Miss does not wake up by tonight, she won’t wake up anymore.”

Hearing this, Jing Wang asked, “Did you find out who poisoned her?”

Mama Luo shook her head as she responded, “We don’t know yet. The First Lady is still checking on it. But the Old Lady said that the person who poisoned Yuxi this time must be the same person who tried to murder the Fourth Miss in the wangfu. The Old Lady is worried that this person will also harm Wangfei, so she had asked this old servant to come here especially to caution Wangfei.”

Jing Wang’s face changed instantly. “What? Someone almost killed the Fourth Miss in my wangfu? How come I didn’t know about this?” He turned his head to look at Yuchen and saw that she just lowered her head, did not dare to look at him. He instantly knew that there was some inside story regarding this matter.

With a wave of his hand, he told everyone to withdraw. When there were only two of them left in the room, Jing Wang asked, “Chen-er, didn’t your natal family Si Mei almost have an accident in the wangfu? Why didn’t you let me know about such a big thing? What is going on?”

Yuchen replied softly, “Wangye, the one who harmed Yuxi was Momo Tian. She was someone given to us by Mu Fei. I was afraid that this matter would involve Mu Fei, so I have to dispose of her privately after the incident.” A daughter-in-law should never speak ill of her mother-in-law.

Jing Wang was silent. After a while, he finally spoke, “You should take a good rest. I’ll go out for a bit.” Jing Wang also grew up in the Imperial Palace. How could he not understand the situation after listening to Yuchen’s words? He was afraid that this matter was indeed related to his Mu Fei. Therefore, it had put Yuchen in a challenging position. The only thing was, he still didn’t know why his Mu Fei wanted to make life hard for the Fourth Miss Han.

As Yuchen touched her belly, she sighed quietly. Since Qinxin Gongzhu had fancied Chen Ran, she could directly ask the Emperor to sanction a marriage between them! Even if the Chen family was unwilling, could they resist it once the Imperial Decree was issued? Just because Song Guifei couldn’t deal with the Chen family directly, she only knew to take her anger out on Yuxi. That was really too much……

Mama Luo followed Momo Gui into the room and repeated what she had just said, “Wangfei, the Old Lady was worried that the mastermind behind this plot will make their move on Wangfei, and she also asked Wangfei to be careful in doing all things.”

Yuchen did not expect the Old Lady to not know the inside story. She guessed Yuxi didn’t tell anyone about the incident when she returned to the State Residence. “I have a sense of decency when handling this matter. Please tell Grandmother not to worry about it.”

After Mama Luo left, Momo Gui lifted the crystal curtain to enter the room and said to Yuchen, “Wangfei, we can’t let this matter go on.” If this continued, there was no telling what else Guifei Niangniang would do. If things got worse, Wangfei would not have anyone she could rely on, either inside or outside. After all, one side was her younger sister from her natal family, and the other was her mother-in-law. No matter which side Wangfei decided to help, it would always be a wrong decision. But if she wouldn’t help either one, she would appear fickle, and both sides would have dissatisfaction with her.

After a short silence, Yuchen commented, “The most appropriate way is to withdraw from the marriage. But, will Grandmother and Da Tangge do it?”

Momo Gui said, “Don’t worry about this. The Fourth Miss is not a submissive person. Since this is a life-threatening event for her, she will certainly convince the First Lady to withdraw from the marriage if she wants to save her life. If the First Lady agrees, then the Lord Duke’s side should not be a problem.” As for the Old Lady, she was selectively ignored by Momo Gui. As long as the Lord Duke agreed, it was useless for the Old Lady to be otherwise.

Yuchen stated after a moment of silence, “We have to let Guifei know that even if Yuxi dies, the Chen family will still not allow Chen Ran to marry the princess. They will make Chen Ran mourn Yuxi’s death for three years instead. If she truly wants Qinxin to marry Chen Ran, the most appropriate method is to force the Han family to break off the engagement.”

Momo Gui shook her head and said, “It’s not quite right, and that will be too obvious. I think it would be better to let Gongzhu know about this.” Momo Gui was afraid that if they executed Yuchen’s plan, they would somehow reveal themselves and be noticed by Song Guifei. This situation would lead the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to become natural enemies. Thus, it was better to be careful and avoid confronting Song Guifei head-on. It should not be a problem if they used Qinxin Gongzhu instead. T

/N

Yuchen nodded her head. “Okay, then you do it!”

When Jing Wang soon learned the truth, he was shocked and angry. He immediately went to the Imperial Palace to seek out Song Guifei and questioned her. “Mu Fei, Just because Qinxin has a crush on Chen Ran, you’re going to strike at Fourth Miss Han?” Such a domineering way of doing things was unacceptable even to Jing Wang.

Hearing his accusation, the smile on Song Guifei’s face disappeared at once as she asked, “Was it Han Shi who told you that I did something to Han Yuxi?”

No matter how stupid Jing Wang was, he would not say that this had anything to do with Yuchen. “This has nothing to do with her. I learned about it unintentionally today. Mu Fei, the one who disagrees with Chen Ran marrying Qinxin, is the Chen family. So what is the use of killing Han Yuxi?”

Song Guifei replied, “Without Han Yuxi, your Fu Huang could have issued the Imperial Decree to sanction the marriage between Qinxin and Chen Ran.” If the Emperor had not been unwilling to do so, why would she have gone to such great lengths?

Jing Wang had another shock and became much angrier, but he also knew Song Guifei’s temperament. If you went hard against her, it would only backfire. “Mu Fei, Qinxin is a Gongzhu. What kind of husband can’t she find? Mu Fei, why must you insist on choosing Chen Ran as the fuma?”

Song Guifei glanced at her son and quietly said, “It is not that Mu Fei must choose Chen Ran as the fuma. It is your Meimei who has lost her appetite for food and drinks ever since she first laid her eyes on Chen Ran. It’s like she has become a different person.” A mother naturally wanted her daughter to get the best in the world, and seeing her daughter acting like this, how could she bear it? Hence, she instinctively wanted to fulfil her daughter’s greatest wish.

Jing Wang advised, “Mu Fei, you can’t obey Qinxin in everything. Qinxin is still young and does not understand anything yet. However, Mu Fei should know that a forcibly picked melon is not sweet. Chen Ran is unwilling to marry Qinxin. Even if he is forced to do so, will he be good to Qinxin? Can Mu Fei feel comfortable marrying Qinxin to him in such a case? Mu Fei, there are more excellent people in this world than Chen Ran. Moreover, Meimei has been staying in the palace for her whole life, and she has only seen a few people. When she suddenly saw Chen Ran, of course, she would feel that he was the unique one in the world.”

Song Guifei also felt the helplessness of the situation. “I have told Qinxin many times, but she said she can’t help herself. What else could Mu Fei do?”

Jing Wang offered, “Shall I try to talk to Qinxin?”

Song Guifei nodded her head and said, “Then, you can try!” But it wouldn’t work much. Ever since Qinxin saw Chen Ran, it seemed like he had stolen her soul away where her eyes and heart could only see Chen Ran. Song Guifei had also advised her a few times, but unfortunately, it was no avail.

Jing Wang and Qinxin talk couldn’t reach an agreement, and finally, under the attack of Qinxin’s tears, Jing Wang returned in defeat.

When Han Jianming heard that Yuxi had been poisoned, he hurriedly returned to the residence. When he entered Taoran House, he immediately asked Qiu Shi, who was at Yuxi’s bedside, “Mother, how is Yuxi?”

When Momo Quan saw Han Jianming entering the room, she told Zijin to guard the entrance and not let anyone in, leaving only her and Mama Li, the only servants inside the room.

Qiu Shi didn’t hide anything from Han Jianming and told him the truth. “Jianming, you should go to the Chen family now and withdraw from the marriage.”

Han Jianming’s heart was shocked. “Mother……”

Qiu Shi pointed at Yuxi on the bed and said, “Don’t talk to me about anything. Just look. Look at what Yuxi has become!”

Han Jianming looked at the still sleeping Yuxi, with his belly full of words that he could not say.

Qiu Shi stated calmly, “Jianming, although Yuxi is not my own, over the years she has done more for you brothers and me than a biological daughter should do. Jianming, people should not be without conscience. Now that she is suffering so much, if we don’t stand by her side, she will have no other way to live.”

Han Jianming’s voice was dry as he responded, “Mother, the Chen family will not agree to break off the engagement.” If they forcibly withdrew from the marriage, they would formally feud with the Chen family.

Qiu Shi coldly replied, “If they insist on not agreeing to break the engagement, then we should just scratch each other’s face. They consider Chen Ran’s life is a life, but they don’t think Yuxi’s life is not a life?” After saying that, seeing that Han Jianming still didn’t say anything, Qiu Shi shouted angrily, “If you don’t go, then I will go myself.”

Han Jianming said, “Mother, I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I’m just thinking of the best way to withdraw from the marriage without hurting the good relationship between us.” At this juncture, it was delusional for him to think that withdrawing from the marriage wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. As long as the Han family broke off the engagement, the enmity with the Chen family would genuinely be forged.

No one knew a child like a child’s mother. How could Qiu Shi still not understand what Han Jianming was thinking? “Jianming, I know you do not want to have a feud with the Chen family, and so do I. But we can’t just stand by and watch Yuxi die because we’re afraid of being enemies with them.”

Momo Quan interjected at this time, “I know that the Lord Duke has always wanted to revitalise the State Residence. But has the Lord Duke ever thought about what would happen if Fourth Miss really had an accident and the Second Master knew the truth? The Lord Duke, one log can’t prop up a tottering building. You can’t revive your family on your own,” Han Jianye was sent away on official duty a month ago. At that time, Han Jianye thought he could come back for Yuxi’s wedding after finishing his official task. Therefore, he didn’t delay anything, nor did he shirk from doing his duty.

There was a saying, he who stayed near vermilion would get stained red, and he who stayed near ink would get stained black. The Old Lady brought up Han Jianming, and she had instilled in him this idea of revitalising the family would be on his shoulder. As a result, over the years, Han Jianming developed the nature of putting the family’s interests above all else. Meanwhile, Han Jianye was raised by Qiu Shi. To Han Jianye, love and righteousness were the most important. Therefore, if Han Jianye knew that Han Jianming sacrificed Yuxi for the sake of the family’s interests, even if the two brothers would not turn against each other, it would be an impossibility for Han Jianming to ask Han Jianye to assist him.

Qiu Shi listened to Momo Quan and added, “Your Waizufu often said, There are some things you can do and some things you can’t do in life. Sacrificing your loved ones for the sake of profit is not an option.”

Han Jianming nodded as he finally agreed. “Okay, I will go to the Chen family tomorrow to withdraw from the marriage.” If he didn’t withdraw from the marriage and end up with a mother-son disagreement, brothers against each other, that would be a significant loss to the family.

Qiu Shi was not satisfied. “Why don’t you go now?” She hated that she could not let Yuxi disassociate herself from the Chen family right away so that Song Guifei would not have to poison Yuxi again.

Han Jianming had a headache because of Qiu Shi’s nature of saying it would rain when she heard the wind. It was a good thing that Momo Quan came forward to help out at this time. “My Lady, withdrawing from the marriage is not a trivial matter. It is always necessary to let the Lord Duke prepare for it first.”

Only then did Qiu Shi nod her head and say, “All right! Then you hurriedly prepare yourself and go to the Chen family tomorrow to withdraw the marriage. I’m still here as your support, so you don’t have to worry about anything else.”