Chapter 5
Hidden Enemy
The Imperial Family of Tianxia had its own Imperial Mausoleum. Princes who lived outside of the imperial palace had to set up ancestral halls in their private residences to worship their ancestors. As such, the Prince Regent’s Residence also had an ancestral hall. The importance of the memorial tablets in the ancestral hall was no less than those in the Imperial Mausoleum.
For this reason, upon hearing those words, Consort Dowager Ning looked as though she had lost her soul. She shouted angrily, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and put out the fire!”
At the same time, Lin De frowned as he wondered inwardly, ‘Why did the ancestral hall in the Prince Regent’s Residence suddenly catch fire?’
On the contrary, Yu Yunxi sighed in relief. She thought to herself, ‘Fortunately, Aunt Qing is quick-witted and did not mess things up!’
After a moment, Yu Yunxi took a step forward and kneeled in front of Consort Dowager Ning. She said with an earnest expression on her face, “Mother, could it be that the ancestors are angry?”
Since everyone believed in superstition, Yu Yunxi decided to go with this.
“What do you mean?” Consort Dowager Ning asked as she looked at Yu Yunxi darkly. It was as though if Yu Yunxi’s answer was not satisfactory, she would definitely kill Yu Yunxi.
Yu Yunxi lowered her gaze and said in an extremely docile manner, “Mother, I know you hope His Royal Highness will wake up as soon as possible. However, if a living person is placed in a coffin, it’ll only bring bad luck. The ancestors naturally care about the juniors. Seeing that a junior is going to be placed in a coffin alive, how can they not be angry? Perhaps, the fire is a reminder from the ancestors…”
Before Consort Dowager Ning could speak, Lin De scolded loudly, “Princess Consort, you’re deceiving the public with your lies!”
Despite addressing Yu Yunxi as ‘Princess Consort’, Lin De clearly did not treat her as the Princess Consort at all.
Yu Yunxi did not pay attention to Lin De and his attitude. Instead, she continued to say sadly, “Mother, you carried His Royal Highness for months for giving birth to him. He’s also a great hero. Can you really bear placing him in that small coffin? After nailing the coffin shut, it’ll be extremely dark in there. Even the ancestors will be angered by this…”
Upon hearing these words, Consort Dowager Ning hesitated again. She glanced at Feng Yili, and her eyes reddened again. She murmured, “He’s my son… Obviously, I don’t want him to stay in that small coffin…”
Seeing that Consort Dowager Ning was about to change her mind, Lin De said, feeling a little anxious, “Consort Dowager Ning, the Imperial Preceptor…”
Yu Yunxi hurriedly interjected, “Mother, the Imperial Preceptor said that the Cold Jade Coffin will be beneficial to His Royal Highness. Perhaps, we can let His Royal Highness rest in the coffin without nailing it shut. In any case, it’s the Cold Jade Coffin that has the miraculous effect, not the nails or the lid.”
Yu Yunxi knew that Consort Dowager Ning had high regard for the Imperial Preceptor. It would be counterproductive to stop it completely. It was best for her to compromise and come up with a relatively favorable solution.
Consort Dowager Ning pressed her temples and said tiredly, “Your words make sense. We’ll place Yili in the coffin since it has a miraculous effect. However, there’s no need to nail it shut. This way, the ancestor won’t be angry.”
Lin De was going to speak again but when he saw the impatient expression on Consort Dowager Ning’s face, he could only swallow his words and said softly, “This is also feasible.”
Subsequently, Feng Yili was carried into the coffin.
“Nanny Liu, I want to have a look at the ancestral hall. I want to apologize to the ancestors as well,” Consort Dowager Ning said with an exhausted expression on her face. Before she left, she glanced at Yu Yunxi and said icily, “Princess Consort, stay in the room and take good care of His Royal Highness. Don’t even think of playing tricks. This courtyard is filled with guards.”
Before leaving with his men, Lin De also looked at Yu Yunxi and said mockingly, “The Prince Regent really married a good wife. Prime Minister Yu also raised a good daughter.”
After everyone left, Yu Yunxi fell weakly to the side of the coffin. It was as though her strength had been sapped. Her back was drenched in sweat. Fear still lingered in her heart as she muttered, “Feng Yili, you almost… you almost died in this coffin…”
Yu Yunxi did not rest for long. She gritted her teeth and rose to her feet. As long as Feng Yili did not wake up, her life would continue to be in danger. She took off his clothes to have a look and saw a huge wound on his chest. Although the wound looked serious, she thought it should not be fatal.
Yu Yunxi then held his wrist and forced herself to calm down before she carefully checked his pulse. After a few moments, she muttered to herself in a daze, “Springwood Separation? He was actually poisoned with Springwood Separation? Moreover, this poison should have been in his body for more than twenty years…”
Springwood Separation was an extraordinary poison. This poison could stay dormant for a long time and was incredibly difficult to detect. When the poison was activated, it would cause one to fall into a coma before eventually dying.
Yu Yunxi had heard her mother mention this poison when she was young. It was said that the poison had been extinct for many years. Moreover, there were not many people who were aware of this poison. Even those imperial physicians, who were supposed to be the cream of the crop, might not have heard of it.
The poison had lay dormant in Feng Yili’s body for more than twenty years. In other words, Feng Yili did not fall into a coma because he was poisoned on the battlefield; he had been poisoned since he was young.
‘Who could be so heartless and ruthless to a child?’
At this moment, Yu Yunxi suddenly remembered the medicinal dregs from Feng Yili’s medicine that she had hidden earlier. She brought her handkerchief out and unfolded it before she sniffed the medicinal dregs. In just a moment, her heart skipped a beat, and a frown appeared on her face.
‘Why does the medicine smell like Heavenly Fairy?’
Although the name ‘Heavenly Fairy’, sounded nice, it was pungent and bitter. Most importantly, although it was not a poison, if taken for a long time, it would cause the throat to burn; the skin to turn red; and the vision to turn blurry. In the end, it would cause convulsions and a coma that would eventually lead to death. Most importantly, Heavenly Fairy was used as an external medicine to treat external injuries. If ingested, it would only exacerbate the Springwood Separation poison.
‘That’s right! I didn’t think of it earlier! The Springwood Separation had lay dormant in Feng Yili’s body for so many years. Why did it suddenly activate? It seems that Heavenly Fairy was used to activate the poison…’
Yu Yunxi also recalled Nanny Liu’s words from earlier. It was said that the imperial physician had carefully prescribed the medicine and that Feng Yili would take it every time he was injured.
‘Is this a coincidence, or is this a scheme?’
Yu Yunxi felt her head ache, but her mind grew clearer and clearer.
‘The hidden Springwood Separation poison, Eunuch Lin’s earlier reactions… Perhaps, someone around Feng Yili wants him dead…’
“Feng Yili, how many hidden enemies do you have?” Yu Yunxi wondered out loud.
Perhaps, others could not comprehend the Springwood Separation poison, but Yu Yunxi thought that she could give it a try. Since someone wanted Feng Yili’s life, she had to save him at all costs since their lives were tied together now.
After making up her mind, Yu Yunxi brought the silver needles that she always carried with her out and began to perform acupuncture on Feng Yili.
After working for four hours, Yu Yunxi finally managed to drain a lot of dark blood from Feng Yili’s body. She sighed in relief. She was so exhausted that she climbed into bed without removing her shoes and fell asleep. She did not notice that after she fell asleep, the person in the coffin coughed lightly.