An invisible pressure descended, weighing down on everyone’s heart.
The members of the Song family and the guests who had come to their senses instantly turned deathly pale. A swathe of them dropped to their knees, and the entire hall fell silent.
Song Yiqiu immediately knelt with the crowd, her posture humble as she feigned grievance.
“Your Highness, quell your anger! This subject deserves ten thousand deaths!”
“This subject was toasting you with the utmost sincerity and not a shred of disrespect. Who could have known that my younger sister would suddenly cry out? I was caught off guard, and my hand trembled, leading to this disaster.”
“For disturbing Your Highness’s sacred presence and soiling your robes, this subject’s crimes are unpardonable. I implore Your Highness for your magnanimity.”
She kowtowed heavily, her forehead touching the floor.
The onlookers, caught in a disaster not of their own making, all secretly raised their eyes and began to whisper.
“It’s over, it’s over… She spilled wine all over the Crown Prince…”
“And in front of so many people! This is contempt for imperial authority!”
“Song Yiqiu is a dead woman this time. Not even the gods can save her…”
“What’s wrong with Song Sangyu? Why would she scream for no reason?”
“Could it have been on purpose? These two sisters…”
Hearing Song Yiqiu shift the blame to her, Song Sangyu immediately looked up. Her eyes brimming with tears, she kowtowed repeatedly to the Crown Prince, her voice choked with sobs.
“Your Highness, quell your anger! It is all Sangyu’s fault. A thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes, they are all Sangyu’s fault. My sister did not do it on purpose. It was Sangyu… Just now, Sangyu saw a little bug, flown in from who knows where, land in the wine cup.”
“Sangyu feared that the filthy thing would defile Your Highness’s priceless body. In a moment of panic, I cried out, startling my sister and, more importantly, Your Highness.”
“Sangyu deserves ten thousand deaths! I will punish myself with a cup. I implore Your Highness, in your great magnanimity, to forgive my sister’s unintentional mistake and forgive Sangyu’s reckless crime!”
With that, before anyone could react, Song Sangyu snatched the wine pot from the table in front of her, swiftly poured herself a full cup, and tilted her head back to down it in one go.
The Crown Prince’s gaze drifted slowly between the two kneeling figures.
Song Yiqiu was demure and submissive, her posture humble yet her back ramrod straight.
Song Sangyu’s eyes were misty with tears, looking pitiful and lovely, yet with a cunning glint in her eyes.
After a long moment, just as the crowd thought a thunderous rage was about to descend, Xiao Yongjing let out a soft, inscrutable laugh and finally spoke.
“Let it be.”
Those two words, like a pardon, made everyone’s heart unclench as they broke out in a cold sweat.
“Since it was an unintentional mistake, and there was… hmm… a ‘bug’ involved, I am not so petty as to take a life over a set of robes and a cup of wine.”
He deliberately paused on the word “bug,” his gaze sweeping over Song Sangyu with a ghost of a smile.
Song Sangyu looked up, forcing a suitably sweet smile onto her face. “Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Highness. Your Highness is wise and brilliant.”
She scrambled to her feet and eagerly picked up the wine pot. “Sangyu will pour another cup for Your Highness as an apology. And may I ask Sister to drink this cup to calm her nerves, so she does not slip again.”
As she spoke, she gracefully filled the untouched empty cup in front of the Crown Prince.
Then, she refilled the cup she had just drained.
Finally, she turned to the still-kneeling Song Yiqiu. Her smile remained sweet, but her eyes held a vicious glint.
She picked up a new empty cup—the very one Song Yiqiu was originally meant to drink.
As she poured, her long fingernail quickly scraped the inside of the cup’s rim, and a fine powder once again fell into the wine.
This time, kneeling on the floor, Song Yiqiu had a crystal-clear view of Song Sangyu’s fluid motions as she drugged the drink a second time.
Her heart sank completely.
Fine. Just fine. Song Sangyu, you are truly determined to ruin me. To try the same trick again, right in front of the Crown Prince and under everyone’s watchful eyes! It seems I have no choice but to drink this cup, do I?
Xiao Yongjing had been watching Song Sangyu’s eager display with a cold eye. His gaze now fell upon Song Yiqiu, just in time to catch the flash of fury in her eyes.
A flicker of curiosity sparked within him.
Why was Song Yiqiu acting as if drinking a cup of wine was a death sentence?
He picked up the cup Song Sangyu had just filled, swirled it twice, and looked at Song Yiqiu, his tone teasing.
“General Song, the wine has been poured. What, are you planning to ‘spill’ it again this time? Hmm?”
The corner of Song Yiqiu’s mouth twitched imperceptibly as she cursed inwardly.
Is this Crown Prince going blind in his old age? Has his vision failed him? How can he not see such an obvious attempt at drugging? Or… is he simply watching a show? Waiting for me to make a fool of myself?
Song Sangyu immediately raised her own clean cup of wine towards the Crown Prince, her voice coquettish.
“Brother Crown Prince, Sangyu toasts you again to thank you for your magnanimity.”
With that, she downed it once more, showing him the clean, empty bottom of the cup.
After watching Song Sangyu finish, Xiao Yongjing’s gaze returned to Song Yiqiu.
He said nothing, merely draining his own cup in a slow, deliberate manner.
Then, he set the empty cup down and watched Song Yiqiu expectantly, his eyes seeming to say:
Your turn.
All eyes were now fixed on Song Yiqiu. The more forthright Song Sangyu appeared, the more Song Yiqiu seemed to be dragging her feet.
Several of her brothers urged her on impatiently.
“Song Yiqiu, what are you standing there for? His Highness and little sister Sangyu have both drunk. Are you trying to get the whole family killed? Drink it!”
“What are you dawdling for? It’s just a cup of wine. Weren’t you known as the ‘bottomless drinker’ on the frontier? Stop pretending to be so delicate and drink! Don’t keep His Highness waiting!”
“Oh, could our General sister have been frightened out of her wits by that bug just now? Or… is there something else in this wine that makes you afraid to drink it?”
What Song Yiqiu held in her hand was not wine; it was a hot potato.
Staring at the shimmering surface of the wine, Song Yiqiu knew that not drinking now would be a grave act of disrespect. Gritting her teeth, she downed it in one gulp.
“Your Highness, forgive my discourtesy.”
Xiao Yongjing had been observing her expression the entire time. Seeing her drink so decisively, a flicker of disappointment flashed across his eyes.
A pity the show wasn’t more exciting. He raised a slight eyebrow, his fingertip tapping lightly on the tabletop.
Seeing Song Yiqiu finally drink the wine, Song Sangyu’s eyes nearly overflowed with ecstatic joy. She frantically calculated the time it would take for the aphrodisiac to take effect, waiting only for the drug to kick in and for her sister to make a complete spectacle of herself.
She eagerly stepped forward, took the cup from Song Yiqiu’s hand, and passed it to her maid, Hongxiu, giving her a meaningful look.
The aphrodisiac took effect even faster than Song Yiqiu had imagined. An indescribable heat spread rapidly from her lower abdomen to her limbs, and the scene before her began to sway slightly.
While she still had her wits about her, Song Yiqiu casually picked up a small dish of cold-dressed celery from the table. She scooped up a large mouthful with her chopsticks, quickly shoving it into her mouth, chewing, and swallowing.
Celery. Her fatal allergen. The effect was immediate.
Almost the instant she swallowed, horrifying patches of red rashes appeared on Song Yiqiu’s fair neck and cheeks, spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
A sharp-eyed noblewoman pointed at Song Yiqiu’s face and shrieked.
“Ah! The Song family’s eldest daughter’s face… her neck! Heavens! What is that?”