Chapter 498: Who Was The Real Mastermind
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“He said that when such a major incident happened at the Aquarius River’s new dam the emperor was bound to be furious. Since Father is the person in charge of this matter, sooner or later, he will be held accountable. At that point, our entire family might be executed, but if Father was seriously ill or died of illness, the Emperor might let the rest of the Su family off in consideration of his own reputation.
Su Yuyan didn’t want to die, and with Xiao Shihang’s various flattering promises, she decided to kill her own father after struggling internally for a while.
Su Ying knew very well that a person was capable of anything to protect himself.
However, Su Yuyan had grown up under Su Yulun’s protection and doting love. For the sake of her own life, she did not hesitate to kill him, her biological father. She didn’t know whether to blame Su Yuyan for being ruthless or blame Su Yulun for his failure as a father.
“Write out everything that he told you to feed Su Yulun.
Zhou Qing brought over a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Su Yuyan picked up the brush and wrote down the recipes that Xiao Shihang
had told her one by one.
After she finished writing, Su Ying picked up the paper to read. “Huh?” There was no problem with any of the food items in this recipe if each item was eaten singly. For example, this ginkgo and aged duck soup was perfectly fine when eaten alone, but if it was paired with a steamed fish, the two would produce toxins when mixed together.
As the amount of food consumed was not a lot, people would not notice any abnormalities when the person first started eating. However, as time passed, the toxins would accumulate. In addition, Su Yulun’s physical fitness was already not so good at that time. It was easier for him to fall ill when his immune system was weak.
The caretaker said that Su Yulun was not unconscious like he was now when he first showed signs of sickness. He was in a daze until a few days ago when he lapsed into unconsciousness completely.
Old Mistress Su genuinely didn’t wish for anything to happen to Su Yulun. When she sensed that Su Yulun was on the verge of death, she sent someone to the imperial Palace to pass on a message to Su Ying, asking her to take a look at Su Yulun.
“So he promised that as long as Su Yulun died, he would come and marry you in
a grand wedding procession after the matter was over?”
Su Yuyan pursed her lips tightly, her face filled with embarrassment. “Yes.’
“Stupid. Lock her up first.”
Su Yuyan yelled angrily, ‘Tve already confessed! You said you’d let me off!”
Su Ying’s eyelids twitched. “Did I say that?”
“Su Ying, don’t be too smug. None of these men are good. Do you think that just because the Emperor dotes on you now, you can be so overbearing? You will suffer your comeuppance eventually!”
The Imperial Guards immediately gagged Su Yuyan’s mouth and dragged her away.
Behind the screen on the other side of the main hall, Su Yulun was pushed out in a wheelchair by the Imperial Guards with an extremely unpleasant expression on his face.
It never once occurred to him that Su Yuyan was the one who caused him to end up like this!
“Su Yulun, look at how much of a failure you are. Even Su Yuyan doesn’t take you seriously.”
Su Yulun’s expression turned even more unsightly. He stared at Su Ying with an icy gaze. “Why? Don’t you want me dead too? Why did you save me?
“You deserve to die, but the Emperor is merciful and intends to spare your life.” Su Yulun did not think that Xiao Jin was merciful! He believed His Majesty kept him because he was still useful.
“Prime Minister Su, aren’t you curious to know who wants your life?” Su Yulun frowned. Looking at the current situation in the Imperial Court, Duke Jingguo’s faction would benefit the most if he died. However, this was something that anyone could think of. Would Duke Jingguo’s faction be so stupid that they did not realize this?
At that point, when Duke Jingguo’s faction dominated the whole Imperial Court, wouldn’t they be worried that the Emperor would get nervous?
Duke Jingguo’s Residence had been able to stand tall in the Chu State for many years because they knew how to avoid the sharp arrows of the Imperial wrath and had never tried to stand out from the crowd.
“Prime Minister Su, think about it carefully. As for your beloved daughter, I won’t dirty my hands to punish her. I will leave it to you to deal with her.” Su Ying turned around and left the main hall. She took Zhou Qing with her and dismissed all the Imperial Guards from the Prime Minister’s Residence as well. After the horse carriage started moving off gradually, Zhou Qing asked with a puzzled look, “Your Imperial Highness, does His Majesty really intend to let Prime Minister Su off so easily?” It was a huge act of negligence on his part that such a major accident occurred at Aquarius River’s dam.
Su Ying pulled open a small drawer in the carriage, took out a bag of snacks, and opened it. Inside was the chestnut cake that Ji had given to Bai Shuang before he went for his classes. He said that it was for his mother to eat when she was feeling peckish.
The chestnut cake was particularly fragrant and soft. It had a strong chestnut aroma and was sweet but not greasy. Ji really understood her preference.
“Let him off? As long as the Emperor did not hold him accountable, this matter was like a blade suspended over Su Yulun’s neck. As for when this blade will drop, it is still up to His Majesty to decide.”
How could a person who had committed such a gross act of negligence be forgiven so easily?
“Your imperial Highness is right. But I never thought that this matter would involve Prince Jiangning’s Residence.”
Xiao Shihang had given Su Yuyan a recipe to harm Su Yulun, but he had been extremely careful not to leave any evidence behind, so it would be difficult for them to arrest him and accuse him. Even if he had given Su Yuyan some small gimmicks, it would be too easy to explain away the origin of those things. Right now, Su Ying didn’t want to touch him. He was the bait on the fishing line she had cast out. She wanted to catch the big fish that was the mastermind behind Xiao Shihang.
Xiao Shihang’s face clouded over after leaving the Prime Minister’s Residence, but his heart that was in his mouth could not settle down for a long time.
He hadn’t expected Su Ying to be able to track him down so quickly. Fortunately, he hadn’t left any incriminating traces behind.
When Xiao Shihang returned to Prince Jiangning’s Residence, he crossed paths with Prince Jiangning, who was about to leave the residence.
Prince Jiangning looked at Xiao Shihang, who walked past him without saying a word. The fatty flesh on his face wobbled, and he called out to his son with a stern face, “Hang’er.”
Xiao Shihang’s heart skipped a beat as he stopped abruptly. Then he turned around to look at Prince Jiangning. “Father? Where are you going, Father?” Prince Jiangning frowned. “What are you thinking about? Why didn’t you say anything when you saw me?”
Xiao Shihang collected himself before saying, “I was thinking about some business matters just now, so I didn’t notice you, Father.
Prince Jiangning gave a snort. “All you care about is business. You don’t even care about the matters in the residence. Enough. Your father’s finances are a little tight again. Quickly hand over a thousand taels first. If it’s not enough, I’ll look for you to get more later.”
Xiao Shihang looked at Prince Jiangning’s flippant behavior and let out a breath of exasperation. He took out a few silver notes from his robe and said, “Father, here you go.”
Prince Jiangning accepted the silver notes with satisfaction. “Just wait. Once this sum of one thousand taels goes out, your father will earn ten thousand taels back for you!” Before he had even finished speaking, he left happily.
The smile on Xiao Shihang’s face gradually faded, and his eyes slowly darkened as he watched Prince Jiangning’s back profile. Xiao Shihang could have been standing at a lofty high social position, yet he was being trampled all over by people!
Prince Jiangning’s Consort had died of illness at an early age, and Prince Jiangning had never remarried. However, this did not mean that he had deep feelings for the Princess Consort. After all, his back courtyard was practically bursting with concubines.
Currently, Madam Yang, the Eldest Mistress, was in charge of the food and household needs in Prince Jiangning’s Residence.
When Madam Yang learned that Xiao Shihang had returned, she brought her maidservants out to welcome him.
“Eldest Young Master, you are back.”
Madam Yang was the legitimate daughter of an aristocratic family. Her every word and action carried the unique upbringing of a young noble lady. However, such words and deeds were old-fashioned and stagnant in Xiao Shihang’s eyes, and he was not interested in such women at all.
He took the tea from her hand and took a sip without a smile on his face. Madam Yang could clearly feel that something was not right with his mood, so she asked cautiously, “Did Eldest Young Master encounter some trouble?”
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