Сhаpter 6: Lin Zhао Is Роisoned
Cоnsоrt Shu was ovеr forty but still rеtаinеd hеr сhаrm. Hоlding Сui Jin’s hаnd, she рraisеd repеаtedlу, “Goоd сhild, уou lооk like уоu’ll bеаr сhildrеn еasilу. You’rе surе to give birth to a sоn at оncе!”
Сui Jin lоwеred her gаze, feigning shуnеss, whilе hеr pеriphеral vision саught Хiао Lin’s slightly dаrkened eхрrеssiоn.
Тhis was a critiсаl timе in the strugglе for thе throne, уеt hе hаd no sons. Нis рoliticаl enemiеs hаd nеаrly рiеrced his spine with their criticism. Nоwadауs, аnуоne whо mentioned сhildren in frоnt of him сould strikе a nerve in his sensitive heart.
She smiled gently. “Mother Consort, rest assured. I will also take good care of the Prince.”
Consort Shu’s smile deepened. “That’s right. When you return, take charge of the household affairs and properly rectify the undisciplined atmosphere in the Prince’s Manor. If anyone dares to trouble you, report it to me.”
“Everyone in the manor is easy to get along with. Mother Consort need not worry.”
“Everyone is easy to get along with?” Consort Shu sneered. “Some vixens are adept at putting on airs. Beneath their praised aloof and proud demeanor lies nothing but filthy intentions. Only the blind and foolish would treasure them!”
After all, having spent many years in the deep palace, Consort Shu had a sharp eye.
She glanced at Xiao Lin, whose expression was as still as water. “Fourth Son, you must know who your rightful wife is. Favoring concubines over the wife is a grave taboo!”
Xiao Lin nodded coldly. “Yes.”
Consort Shu frowned slightly and gave up on lecturing further, waving her hand. “It’s getting late. You may return.”
“Your son takes his leave.” Xiao Lin bowed expressionlessly.
Cui Jin followed with a curtsy.
Whether in her past life or this one, the rift between this mother and son was significant.
If it weren’t for Consort Shu’s youngest son being too young, the one she supported in the struggle for the throne might not have been Xiao Lin.
After leaving Zhongcui Palace, Cui Jin turned to glance at the person beside her several times.
His expression was blank, but the aura around him was slightly gloomy, carrying a trace of barely detectable self-mockery.
She blinked and quietly hooked her hand into his. When he looked over, her eyes were full of attachment. “Prince, walk slower. I want to walk side by side with you.”
Xiao Lin’s voice was low. “According to etiquette, you should walk half a step behind.”
“But I need you, Prince. I only want to walk with you.” Cui Jin was unusually persistent. “If I fall half a step behind every time, in the future, when you walk far ahead, you’ll be left alone. How lonely that would be. I don’t care about etiquette; I only want to accompany you.”
Xiao Lin fell silent for a moment.
He didn’t speak, nor did he pull his hand away.
The two walked hand in hand out of the palace. Everyone they encountered along the way was astonished—it was well-known throughout the capital that Secondary Consort Lin was favored. Everyone said that the Cui daughter who had entered the manor would inevitably be left out in the cold.
Yet, on the second day of the wedding, the usually etiquette-abiding Prince Xin was holding his Princess Consort’s hand and parading through the streets, appearing deeply affectionate.
Cui Jin boarded the carriage with satisfaction.
For someone like Xiao Lin, who had psychological issues, what he needed most was affirmation, dependence, and unwavering choice.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Lin Zhao prided herself on having a woman’s body but a man’s heart. She rarely showed weakness to him, instead emphasizing her differences from delicate women. Meanwhile, the concubines in the rear courtyard were mere decorations, never sharing true intimacy.
This made it convenient for her to seize the opportunity.
After returning to the manor, Xiao Lin went to Lin Zhao’s Pearl Jade Courtyard.
It was lunchtime. Cui Jin glanced at the food on the table, her eyes flickering. “This white fungus and lotus seed soup is quite good. Send it to the Secondary Consort’s courtyard for her and the Prince to taste.”
“Yes.”
Cui Jin leisurely ate her meal, thinking to herself that by now, the news of her and Xiao Lin’s “affection” should have spread throughout the capital.
Upon hearing this news, aside from Lin Zhao, the one who would likely be displeased was Cui Ruyue.After the meal, Ru Chun came forward holding a stack of gift lists: “Princess Consort, these are the dowry lists. This morning, I had servants move them into the storeroom, and they have been fully inventoried.”
Cui Jin flipped through them and smiled: “This was originally Cui Ruyue’s dowry list, but the one in Mother’s hands seems quite different from this one.”
Ru Chun pursed her lips: “The master deeply loved his late wife and practically doted on the eldest young lady, holding her in the palm of his hand. Her dowry amounts to nearly thirty percent of the Cui family’s assets. Naturally, he wouldn’t dare give the real list to the mistress.”
Cui Jin found it amusing: “Why are you so angry? It’s mine now.”
“But the dowry the mistress prepared for you is even more valuable, with many heirlooms from your maternal grandfather’s family!” Ru Chun said indignantly. “Now it all benefits that one!”
Since childhood, Cui Ruyue had relied on her birth mother to repeatedly humiliate Cui Jin and her mother. Whenever they went out, she would redden her eyes and complain bitterly, spreading rumors throughout the capital that Mother Cui was unkind. She had even instigated concubines in the rear courtyard to give Mother Cui a sterilizing drug.
Even the Shen family—a down-and-out household—was chosen by Father Cui as Cui Jin’s future home at Cui Ruyue’s urging, all to keep Cui Jin underfoot.
Ru Chun and the others had witnessed this and truly despised Cui Ruyue.
“Don’t worry, Mother isn’t foolish enough to let Cui Ruyue take advantage.”
After saying this, Cui Jin instructed: “Go attend to your duties now, and don’t say anything unpleasant.”
Ru Chun was puzzled at first, but when she saw Xiao Lin enter the courtyard moments later with a cold, stern expression, she began to suspect something.
Cui Jin set down her teacup and looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment: “Prince, why have you come…”
Before she could finish, her raised wrist was tightly seized by Xiao Lin, causing her to wince in pain.
Her body was also pulled off balance, stumbling into him.
“Cui.” Xiao Lin’s voice was icy. “No sooner did you claim not to mind Zhao’er’s disrespect toward you than you poisoned her? I thought you were infatuated and pure-hearted, but it seems you are no different from those scheming, malicious, and hypocritical women of the inner chambers!”
Cui Jin’s face paled: “Poison? I didn’t! Who is framing me?”
Xiao Lin’s attendant, Qing Xi, said: “Princess Consort, just now, after the Secondary Consort consumed the snow lotus you gave her last night, she suddenly vomited blood. The Imperial Physician said it was poisoning.”
Cui Jin quickly asked: “How is the Secondary Consort? Is she badly injured?”
Only after hearing Qing Xi say the poisoning was mild did she feel relieved.
Xiao Lin’s gaze grew even colder: “Do you think pretending and trying to clear your suspicion will make me favor you? You poisoned Zhao’er not because she was disrespectful to you, but because you see her as a thorn in your side, wanting to climb into bed and gain favor, right?”
“Just as she said,” he continued, his voice filled with disappointment. “Women in the inner chambers have narrow perspectives and will stop at nothing to compete for favor! Guards—”
“Where is the evidence?” Cui Jin interrupted him.
Seeing Xiao Lin’s anger, she held back tears and looked at him: “Not only would I never target someone the Prince loves, but even if I truly intended to poison someone, would I do it so blatantly, as if determined to pin the crime on myself?”
“Having grown up in the deep palace, has the Prince ever witnessed such crude and unsophisticated methods?”