“My… my throat…”
“My voice…”
Wei Lian clutched her throat in terror, coughing desperately as she tried to expel that damned earthworm. Her long nails dug into her mouth and the flesh of her neck, drawing blood, yet she dared not stop. She felt as though the earthworm was still alive, swimming in her throat! Wriggling back and forth, making her throat unbearably itchy!
“Master, save me…”
“I don’t want to be mute…”
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Watching Wei Lian in this state, Xie Yuantang’s dark eyes, lowered slightly, flashed with a cold gleam. Back then, the frail original host had begged her just like this, yet she had mercilessly forced the poison down her throat. Now, she could finally understand the helplessness and despair of being mute!
As Xie Yuantang observed Wei Lian’s miserable state, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile. Indeed, nothing brought more joy than watching one’s enemies suffer!
Xie Yumo, clutching her face in a daze, happened to glance up and caught sight of that faint smile on Xie Yuantang’s lips. Her eyes lit up as she pointed at her and shouted, “It’s you! Father, it’s Xie Yuantang! She must have poisoned us!”
Wei Lian seemed to remember something too, pointing at Xie Yuantang while making incoherent sounds.
Xie Yuantang blinked innocently with her large eyes. “What did I do?”
“It was you! I saw you smiling!” Xie Yumo snarled viciously.
Xie Yuantang rolled her eyes. “Xie Da Hai, the name truly suits you. I said your brain was soaked in seawater, and you still refuse to admit it. You claim I poisoned you, but I’ve been standing here the whole time without moving! And why would I have any reason to do such a thing?”
“Of course, it’s because you want revenge on us!”
Xie Yuantang wasn’t the least bit angry. Instead, she smiled brightly at Xie Yumo. “Why would I want revenge on you?”
Beside them, Xie Zhaoqing frowned deeply, his eyes flickering with unease. He hurriedly interjected, “Yumo, shut your mouth! Don’t say another word—”
But his warning came half a step too late. Xie Yumo blurted out, “Because we were the ones who injured your face and poisoned you into muteness!”
Everyone fell silent.
“Oh~”
Xie Yuantang feigned sudden understanding. “So you admit it yourself. Father-in-law, you heard what she said, didn’t you?”
Qu Pei’s expression darkened as he cast a meaningful glance at Xie Zhaoqing and his family. “Naturally, this servant heard everything clearly.”
Xie Zhaoqing’s face stiffened. The Emperor already had reservations about him regarding the Chong Xi (Luck Ritual). If today’s incident were to spread, his position as Prime Minister would likely be in jeopardy.
At this thought, Xie Zhaoqing’s lips tightened. He turned and slapped Xie Yumo across the face. “You wretched fool! What nonsense are you spouting? What poisoning into muteness? I’m rarely at home, yet I had no idea you’ve been hiding such vile deeds from me!”
“Father…Xie Yumo stared at Xie Zhaoqing in shock, bursting into tears of grievance. “Why hit me? The one who deserves to die is that bitch Xie Yuantang! Why aren’t you hitting her instead?”
“Outrageous! Shut your mouth this instant!”
Xie Zhaoqing barked coldly, “Guards, take the Second Young Miss away!”
Several servants hurried forward and pulled Wei Lian and Xie Yumo to their feet.
Xie Yumo stared blankly at Xie Zhaoqing, unable to comprehend why her father wasn’t summoning a physician for her and her mother immediately, given their condition, but instead was striking her.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuantang inwardly sneered with cold contempt.
“What a heartless man, already sacrificing pawns to save the king so quickly?”
No matter. She’d deal with Wei Lian and Xie Yumo first this time, and handle Xie Zhaoqing later.
Having made up her mind, Xie Yuantang looked up at Xie Zhaoqing and asked with feigned innocence, “Father, how do you plan to punish Wei Lian and Xie Yumo?”
“Punish?”
Xie Zhaoqing’s face turned ashen. “Haven’t they suffered enough already? Must you make this known to everyone?”
“Of course it’s not enough!”
Seeing him scold Xie Yuantang, Si Tu Yan immediately stepped in front of her, glaring at Xie Zhaoqing. “They’re the ones who did wrong. Why blame my wife instead of punishing them?”
“Her injuries were caused by them, while theirs weren’t her fault. How can you favor them like this?”
His words were straightforward yet struck right at the heart of the matter, leaving Xie Zhaoqing speechless multiple times.
Qu Pei, standing behind them, watched Si Tu Yan’s bold defense with approval in his eyes and spoke up, “His Highness is right. Prime Minister Xie, don’t forget your promise to give us an account of today’s events. Handling it so lightly… I’m afraid I won’t be able to report this satisfactorily to His Majesty.”
Xie Zhaoqing’s breath hitched, displeased. “Are you threatening me, Eunuch?”
“I wouldn’t dare, but…” Qu Pei glanced coldly at Wei Lian and Xie Yumo. “This concerns the Imperial Consort’s safety. If the Prime Minister cannot investigate this thoroughly, I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to report it to the Capital Prefect.”
Xie Zhaoqing’s expression darkened further.
If this reached the authorities, the Xie family’s reputation would be ruined.
“Oh no!”
Amid the stalemate, Xie Yuantang’s clear voice suddenly rang out.
Hearing her, Xie Zhaoqing’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively turned to her warily. “What is it now?”
Xie Yuantang pointed at the shattered Wu pottery jar on the ground and tugged Si Tu Yan’s hand. “Husband, wasn’t that the gift you meant to give to your sister? Why is it broken?”
“Yes.” Si Tu Yan nodded and sighed. “What a pity. She ended up eating the gift.”
Wei Lian: “…”
Who gives earthworms as a gift?!
And she hadn’t wanted to eat them either!
Just as she was fuming, Si Tu Yan added, “That Wu pottery jar was a gift from Father Emperor.”
Xie Zhaoqing: “?”
Qu Pei: “!”
“So, Wei Lian actually dared to break an imperial gift?” Xie Yuantang looked from Wei Lian to Xie Zhaoqing, blinked, and gave him a thumbs-up. “Father, your concubine is truly something else!”
Xie Zhaoqing: “…”
Xie Zhaoqing’s face was beyond ashen—it was pitch-black like coal, and the look he gave Xie Yuantang was sharp enough to kill.
But Xie Yuantang paid no mind. She merely tilted her head curiously and asked Qu Pei innocently, “Eunuch, what’s the punishment for breaking an imperial gift?”
Qu Pei’s smile was deceptively gentle. “Those who show grave disrespect to His Majesty face execution of their entire clan!”
Hearing this, Wei Lian gasped sharply and fainted with a “gah”—though, being mute, she couldn’t even utter the sound.
Xie Yumo, finally snapping out of her daze, trembled as she clung to Xie Zhaoqing’s leg. “Father, what execution of the clan? Father, you can’t abandon us!”
“Father, my face hurts so much. Please call a physician for me…”
She didn’t want to be disfigured. She didn’t want to die!
Amid Xie Yumo’s desperate pleas, Xie Zhaoqing’s cold, merciless voice finally cut through.
“Guards, drag the Second Young Miss and Wei Lian away!”
“The Second Young Miss has bullied her elder sister, showing neither respect nor reverence. She shall receive fifty cane strikes and be confined to the ancestral hall for three months!”
“Wei Lian has disgraced the imperial favor bestowed upon her. She shall receive two hundred cane strikes, be confined to the rear courtyard, forbidden from leaving without permission for six months, and must copy scriptures five hundred times. No one shall plead on her behalf or write in her stead!”