Chapter 13: She Won't Sit and Wait for Death
"What kind of logic is that?" Yao Mowan expressed that she couldn't understand.
"Who exactly are you? Why are you here? If you're here to threaten this consort, then you've made this trip in vain!" said Xie Siyin coldly.
"There's a proverb that says it well: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You and I have the same motive, so there's no reason for me to threaten you! Look at this, do you recognize it?" As Yao Mowan spoke, she pulled out half a jade pendant from her sleeve and handed it to Xie Siyin.
"This is… This is Jian Chen's jade pendant! Why would it be in your hands?" Xie Siyin immediately recognized the jade pendant.
"Of course he was the one who handed it to me. Jian Chen is not dead." Yao Mowan told her the truth. Hatred tended to make people lose their rationality, but right now, she needed Xie Siyin to be rational.
"That's not possible… this consort saw that blade pierce through his chest, and Ye Hongyi has already gotten rid of his corpse! Now you're telling me that Jian Chen isn't dead? How can this consort believe!?" Xie Siyin gripped the jade pendant as tears fell from her eyes like a broken string of pearls. Although she didn't believe, Yao Mowan saw the hope in her eyes.
"You probably recognize his writing." Yao Mowan had already predicted that Xie Siyin wouldn't believe her, so she then passed over the prepared letter.
'Siyin, I'm safe and well. Jian Chen.'
When Xie Siyin saw the seven petal plum flower above the letter, her grip on the letter tightened and she covered her mouth as more tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Even if I can copy his writing style, I wouldn't know what that plum flower symbolizes. You can look for someone to check the ink marks in order to figure out when this letter was written. This is all the proof I have. If you still don't believe me, then there is no need for us to continue talking." For a moment, Yao Mowan felt envious of Xie Siyin. Although she had to go through heartbreaking pain, it was just a bad nightmare and she hadn't actually lost her only love. However, Zhong er will never be able to come back to life.
"I want to see Jian Chen!" Xie Siyin wiped at her tears, then abruptly ran towards Yao Mowan, but Yin Xue suddenly appeared and stopped her.
"If I could allow you to see him, would I have needed to waste so many words?" Yao Mowan sighed. It wasn't that she was cruel but that it truly wasn't the right time.
"What do you want? I'll agree to all of your conditions!" The moment Xie Siyin became certain that Jian Chen was still alive, she felt her heart burst with joy. Nothing else mattered as long as he was still alive.
"Back then, Ye Hongyi had married you in order to obtain the Benevolent Prince's trust. You probably know now that he really didn't deserve anyone's trust, least of all the trust from those older princes!" Yao Mowan's voice was cold and her eyes were as dark and deep as an ancient well.
"You want this consort to pull off his hypocritical mask? Why? Who are you?" Xie Siyin looked towards Yao Mowan in confusion.
"Could it be that you don't want to? The fact that Jian Chen didn't die can only be attributed to the fact that he was lucky. It doesn't change the reality of Ye Hongyi's merciless cruelty. This pill is called the nine revivals pill. It can bring a person back to life, I believe you'll find it useful. As for who I am… All you need to remember is that I'm called Jing Xin." Yao Mowan pressed the nine revivals pill into Xie Siyin's hand, then looked towards Yin Xue.
Before Xie Siyin had a chance to think about what this meant, Yao Mowan had already left Ordinance Palace. In the span of a second, everything fell calm again. If not for the nine revivals pill in her hand, she would have thought that everything was a dream.
"Jing Xin… you're right. Just because Jian Chen didn't die doesn't mean that Ye Hongyi is innocent… Don't worry, this consort won't waste this nine revivals pill of yours…" Xie Siyin slowly closed her fist around the pill as she smiled coldly.
Right at this moment, Yue Chan ran in from outside.
"Your Highness, this servant saw that Ting Yue from Guan Osprey Palace threw the pastries away. It's good that we had been extra careful. Even if they look into it, they won't be able to find that we were the ones behind it! However, if we want to make another move, we'll have to wait awhile for another chance!" reported Yue Chan.
"There's no need. Yao Mowan isn't the one guilty, there's no reason for her to die. Yue Chan, call Imperial Physician Zheng to this consort's place tomorrow. He has taken such good care of Jian Chan, this consort should thank him properly!" Xie Siyin sat down by the table with icy calmness.
"Your Highness…" Yue Chan walked over worriedly when she sensed Xie Siyin's abnormality.
"Does it still hurt? I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose." When Xie Siyin lowered her eyes, she saw the two deep rows of teeth marks on Yue Chan's wrist and her eyes filled with remorse before turning cold again. Raised up by Xiao He, then cast down by Xiao He! (Proverb about Xiao He who had made Han Xi great general, but then also played a role in his downfall.) Ye Hongyi, back then, you used Siyin to gain the trust of all the previous generation princes. Now, Siyin will take them back away from you…
Imperial Physician Zheng died very tragically. He was only discovered two days after his death. Based on Ting Yue's report, by the time Imperial Physician Zheng had been hauled out of the well, his body was completely rotten and his face was unrecognizable. If it weren't for the medicinal box by his side, no one would've been able to figure out who he was. Ye Hongyi had been very concerned by this incident and ordered for it to be investigated. Yao Mowan was happy to know that Xie Siyin had already started making her move.
"Master, Ye Hongyi has already gotten definite evidence that Xie Siyin poisoned Imperial Physician Zheng. If he brings it to court, he'd be able to shift things to his favor!" reported Yin Xue.
"This consort is certain that Xie Siyin wouldn't sit and wait for death. Let's wait a little longer!" Yao Mowan slowly stopped stroking Fluffy.
Right at this moment, Ting Yue ran in.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened in Ordinance Palace! Her Highness Consort De has hung herself!" reported Ting Yue. When Yao Mowan heard this, she froze for a moment. Yin Xue was also stunned.
"It's good. Yin Xue, withdraw. Ting Yue, accompany this consort to Ordinance Palace." Yao Mowan happily placed Fluffy down and strode out of Guan Osprey Palace.
When Ye Hongyi got this information right after getting out of court, he was stunned for a very long time.
"How could she have committed suicide?" Ye Hongyi furrowed his brows tightly as his eyes filled with cold murderous intent. Ever since An Bingshan figured out Imperial Physician Zheng's cause of death, Ye Hongyi knew that Xie Siyin had found out about everything. She was taking revenge! But if she wanted to take revenge, how could she have stopped at just killing Imperial Physician Zheng!? She should be aware of who the puppet master was!
"Replying Your Majesty, this is news that the eunuch of Ordinance Palace brought, it can't be wrong. Since we don't have your decree, no one dares to touch Her Highness Consort De's corpse, so she's still hanging from the roofbeams," reported An Bingshan as he bowed.
"Idiots! Hurry up and have someone get her down! Forget it, we will head there ourselves! Hurry and block the palace entrance. Delay the Benevolent Prince as much as possible!" No matter how Xie Siyin died, it was fine as long as it wasn't by suicide! Ye Hongyi's eyes turned dark and his Adam's apple bobbed with his hard swallow as he rushed towards Ordinance Palace.
Although An Bingshan knew what His Majesty meant, the Benevolent Prince, with his fiery temper, wasn't someone he could really stop. If he was successful, that would be good, but if he made the wrong move, he might even lose his life. Thus he just assigned a random eunuch to guard the palace doors as he quickened his steps to catch up with Ye Hongyi.
When Yao Mowan arrived, a bunch of enunches and palace maids had gathered around Ordinance Palace. Everyone was curious about this event, so Yao Mowan just found a quiet corner from which to calmly watch the spectacle.
"Scram!" shouted Ye Hongyi. The palace maids immediately fled, leaving only a few maids and enunches that were in charge of the rough work around Ordinance Palace. They knelt there while trembling, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
"Your Highness! Why did you commit suicide? Even if you suffered a great grievance, the prince would help you get justice! Why couldn't you think things through!?" Yue Chan was kneeling in front of Xie Siyin, sobbing and wailing.
"Hurry up! Lift Consort De's corpse down from there!" The moment Ye Hongyi walked in, he saw that Xie Siyin was hanging in the middle of the main hall by a white cloth that was tied to a roofbeam. Her face was reddish purple and her limbs dangled lifelessly. She had long stopped breathing.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
When Xie Siyin repeated that Yao Mowan was innocent, it was tbh kind of creepy, like she had been hypnotized.