Chapter 174: Youthful Friendship

Wan Tang held her daughter, listening to the heart‑rending cries, each one stabbing her heart like a needle.

Her gaze suddenly fixed on the clay figurine that her daughter still clutched tightly in her hand.

She carefully took the clay figurine from Minghui's small hand, her movements trembling slightly with anger.

She stopped looking at the wailing child, spun around abruptly, and handed the figurine straight to Xie Taiyi, who was about to take another pulse.

Her voice, pressed down by extreme fury, was chillingly low: "Xie Taiyi! Take another look at this!"

Xie Taiyi was startled by the terrifying sharpness in her eyes and instinctively took the figurine with both hands.

He first examined it, then leaned his nose close and gave it a gentle sniff.

He then carefully scraped a tiny speck of powder with his fingertip, placed it on his tongue to taste, and his complexion changed dramatically!

"What is this?!" he snapped his head up, his eyes filled with shocked anger and disbelief.

His tone shifted: "What a vile scheme! To use such a treacherous thing against a swaddled infant!"

He held the figurine aloft and urgently explained to Wan Tang: "Your Highness, this figurine has been soaked in a very special medicine."

"Its scent is extremely faint, hard for adults to detect, but it has a strong attraction for infants with keen noses."

"When smelled, it makes them excited and wail, as if addicted."

"If this substance is suddenly taken away, the baby will become listless, refuse milk, starve, and eventually… eventually die."

Wan Tang's body jolted when she heard "die," and darkness flashed before her eyes.

She nearly lost her footing and was about to fall, but a nearby palace maid steadied her in time.

She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms, barely keeping herself upright.

Her chest rose and fell violently with anger and lingering fear, her eyes filled with cold murderous intent.

Seeing this, Xie Taiyi hurriedly added, "Fortunately! Fortunately it was discovered early."

"The Princess has only inhaled the toxin for a short time, and it has not penetrated deep into her lungs."

"I will now prescribe a detoxifying, calming medicine, treat her carefully; within three days the little Princess will be out of danger and recover as before!"

Hearing that her daughter could be saved, Wan Tang's heart, which had nearly shattered, eased a little, but it was followed by an even more raging fire of anger and hatred.

She forced down the surging emotions and whispered hoarsely, "Please, Doctor, see to it that the Princess is cured."

She ordered Xiao Shunzi to personally escort Xie Taiyi out to fetch and brew the medicine, and issued a strict order to seal the news.

The hall fell silent again, leaving only Minghui's gradually fading sobs after taking the Calming Soup.

Wan Tang stood alone in the hall, clutching the sinful clay figurine tightly, her fingertips turning white from the strain.

She slowly lifted her gaze, her eyes passing through the hall's doors toward Kunning Palace, her stare icy and resolute like never before.

"Xiao Shunzi," her voice was frighteningly calm yet stormy, "prepare a sedan chair."

"Go to Kunning Palace."

Afternoon sunlight filtered through sparse clouds, spilling onto Kunning Palace's courtyard.

Xiao Mingshu was holding golden scissors, leisurely pruning the dead stems of a prized orchid in a pot, her demeanor relaxed and elegant.

At that moment, a noticeable commotion arose outside the palace gate.

Wan Tang's ceremonial escort marched in, palace staff clustered around, its grandeur surpassing that of previous occasions.

The sedan chair came to a steady stop in the courtyard.

Bai Wei, watching from the side, blushed and whispered, "Your Highness, look at her reckless manner!"

"She's just a consort, yet her display outshines even you, the principal Empress!"

Xiao Mingshu's scissors never paused, not even a flicker of her eyelids.

She said lightly, "Stop the nonsense. Virtuous Consort's favor is now strong, naturally she shines. As for me? What of it?"

Her tone was calm, embodying the magnanimous demeanor of a mother of the nation.

She set down the scissors, took the damp cloth handed by a palace maid to wipe her hands, and said without hint of joy or anger, "Please let Virtuous Consort enter."

Wan Tang entered the courtyard, having applied little makeup today, dressed in lake‑blue palace robes that made her complexion even colder.

She brushed aside those on either side, walked straight to Xiao Mingshu, skipping even the most basic courtesies, her face as if covered with a layer of frost.

Xiao Mingshu was about to speak to preserve outward harmony when Wan Tang suddenly hurled an object at her feet.

It was the clay figurine!

"How audacious!" Bai Wei shrieked immediately, "How dare you disrespect the Empress!"

Wan Tang ignored her, her gaze like an ice blade piercing Xiao Mingshu.

Getting straight to the point, her voice was chillingly cold: "Empress, using such base methods on a swaddled infant—don't you think it's excessively crude and vile?"

Xiao Mingshu's flawless smile twitched slightly, then turned into an innocent surprise.

She slowly bent, personally picked up the clay figurine, and examined it in her hand.

She even let out a light laugh, "Huh? Isn't this the little trinket I gave the Emperor the other day? How did it end up in Virtuous Consort's hands?"

She lifted her eyes, her gaze tinged with a hint of mockery and curiosity.

She deliberately elongated her tone, "Could it be… Virtuous Consort can't stand that the Emperor holds something I gave, and thus seized it?"

"Or perhaps…"

She leaned in a step, lowered her voice, her smile becoming meaningfully deep: "Inside this clay figurine… there must be some secret that Virtuous Consort cannot tolerate, driving you to such frantic desperation, losing composure to this point?"

Facing her double‑edged accusation and covert probing, Wan Tang's chill deepened further on her face.

Her voice carried unmistakable resolve and warning: "Empress, whether there is a secret inside, I do not know. All I know is that anyone who dares to touch even a single hair of Minghui, even at the cost of their own life, I will make them pay a thousand‑fold price!"

Xiao Mingshu seemed to have heard some cosmic joke, her face breaking into an unabashed, victorious sneer; she shook her head lightly, as if lamenting Wan Tang's overreach: "Price? Ha… Virtuous Consort, Virtuous Consort, in this inner palace, who makes whom pay the price isn't even certain."

Her tone suddenly shifted, becoming sharp and cutting like a venomous snake's hiss: "If I were you, I would never have given birth to this child! You've left such a huge leverage for others… don't you agree?"

Wan Tang's eyes suddenly darkened, the storm within her gathering before she let out a cold snort: "Empress, you'd better… take care of yourself."

She turned and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Xiao Mingshu, behind her, leisurely tossed out a line: "Virtuous Consort, do you know White Pear?"

Wan Tang's steps halted almost imperceptibly, her silhouette stiffening for a moment.

She slowly turned half her face, the corner of her mouth forming a faint, indifferent curve, her voice calm and unruffled:

"Not interested."

Having said that, she lingered no more, straightened her back, and, amid a chilling atmosphere, walked straight out of Kunning Palace.

【"Oh dear, the Empress is bringing up White Pear again, how despicable!"】

【"What's so special about it, isn't it just a court lady? White Pear is merely the Emperor's white moonlight."】

【"Back then, when the Late Emperor was gravely ill, nine princes began vying for the throne. Chu Yunzheng's mother had an inauspicious birth, was directly suppressed by several senior officials and confined to Cuivei Palace. White Pear was the younger daughter of a British duke, often strolling in the palace, and mistakenly entered Cuivei Palace."】

【"At that time, White Wei was Chu Yunzheng's guiding light, always accompanying and encouraging him."】

【"Later, Yan Wang rose to power, soon taking the Crown Prince's seat. The Empress Dowager's own child died in the succession struggle. Chu Yunzheng is also a ruthless figure, even acknowledging her as his mother and abandoning his low‑born mother."】

【"The most extreme was that Xiao Mingshu fell at first sight for Chu Yunzheng and never forgot him; the Xiao Family proposed that if Chu Yunzheng married Xiao Mingshu, the Xiao Family would be his backing."】

【"The day Chu Yunzheng married Xiao Mingshu, Yan Wang married White Pear. Later, when Yan Wang went to Fengdu, he became a permanent thorn in Chu Yunzheng's heart."】

After reading the barrage, Wan Tang practically ate a huge melon.

It was more than just shock.

She had thought that White Pear might already be dead.

She even imagined that between White Pear and Chu Yunzheng there had once been a fiery, heart‑moving love.

But at this moment, Wan Tang still felt something odd.

So, Chu Yunzheng's obsession is love for the girl that he cannot obtain, perhaps even guilt?

She thinks that because he married Xiao Mingshu, he lost White Pear?

That White Pear, angry, married Yan Wang?

In almost an instant, Wan Tang's sweat soaked through the garment on her back.

She finally understood why the Emperor bears such resentment toward Yan Wang, and why Chu Yunzheng's possessiveness becomes so intense before Yan Wang.

Returning from Kunning Palace, Wan Tang's mind was unsettled, that feeling deliberately provoked by the Empress.

The doubts about White Pear tangled around her heart like vines.

She urgently needed to verify some past events of the old capital Fengdu, and the first person she thought of was Li Ping'er, who grew up in Fengdu from childhood.

"Xiao Shunzi," Wan Tang called her trusted eunuch, her tone urgent, "Where is Ping'er? Go fetch her to see me quickly."

Xiao Shunzi, upon hearing, instantly turned an uneasy shade, his gaze flickering.

"Where is she?" Wan Tang raised her voice.

Xiao Shunzi fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling: "Master, calm your anger!"

"Nubi was about to report, Ping'er has been missing for two days."

"Nubi sent people to quietly search every place in the Imperial Palace she often visited, but found nothing…"

Wan Tang's heart sank sharply, a foreboding premonition spreading rapidly.

She sprang up, her voice rising in shock and anger: "Two days already?! Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Xiao Shunzi kowtowed like crushing garlic, urgently saying: "Master, forgive me, I deserve death!"

"These past few days, Princess has been ill, crying and wailing nonstop; you have worried day and night, and have become gaunt."

"Nubi truly cannot bear to disturb you with other matters, thinking perhaps Sister Ping'er had an urgent errand outside the palace, or is hiding somewhere to slack off…"

"Nubi originally intended to keep searching, and once there is concrete news, then…"

"Fool!" Wan Tang, her fingertips chilled with anger, cut him off, "A living person has vanished from the palace out of thin air, two days with no word; how dare you conceal it!"

The more she thought, the more alarmed she became; Li Ping'er knows too many secrets, her disappearance is certainly no accident.

Wan Tang forced herself to stay calm, and immediately barked, "Now is not the time to discuss this."

"Xiao Shunzi, you immediately take all trustworthy, swift‑handed people and go find her for me."

【Li Ping'er didn't go to find Yan Wang?】

【Yan Wang went and returned, it seems something big is about to happen.】

【Li Ping'er was originally a pawn that Yan Wang placed beside the Emperor, so meeting Yan Wang at such a time is normal.】

【Unfortunately, the worst is the mantis catching the cicada while the oriole waits behind; Li Defu and the Empress are determined to see Wan Tang die. How could they spare the people around Wan Tang?】

【At this moment, Li Ping'er is probably already in Li Defu's hands.】

Wan Tang's heart quivered.

She could never forget just how vile Li Defu's methods are.

What would happen to a proper young lady of the inner chambers when she falls into his hands?

At the same time, Wan Tang also discovered a characteristic of the barrage.

As long as she cares about something, she will see the related barrage.

Because of the clay figure matter, Wan Tang and the barrage's attention were on the clay figure, thus ignoring Li Ping'er.

Li Ping'er has been missing for two days; is it still in time?