As soon as the line ‘the meal didn’t taste right’ was heard, Xu momo immediately thought of the previous line of ‘illness always happens to chance upon the times when Imperial grandmother visits the w.a.n.g* mansion’, immediately made her thoughts turn several times. She even secretly swept her gaze across everyone inside the hall one more time in an inconspicuous angle.
*Prince to w.a.n.g: to avoid confusion from the current emperor’s son kind of prince
The things she’s able to recall, was naturally something the Empress Dowager had also been able to recall. The severity of poisoning an heir was a hundred times more serious than bullying and slighting. The Empress Dowager immediately decided to set aside Guan Qing and Shun Sheng’s matter first, and ordered Xu momo, in addition to two imperial guards head to the small courtyard Yuwen Yin resides in, in order to find the food buried in the flower pot, and hand it over to be tested by imperial physician Song.
The Empress Dowager constantly suffers from headache and insomnia, so she usually brings an imperial physician along whenever she goes out the palace. The imperial physician following the Empress Dowager today was imperial physician Song.
Qi w.a.n.gfei* was instantly alarmed the moment she heard Yuwen Yin mention those food, and couldn’t help but clench her hands, which was hidden under her sleeves, into fists. However, she quickly regained her composure. Only a fierce viciousness and hatred flashed through her eyes, as she secretly plotted how to make wild charges against Yuwen Yin.
*wife of w.a.n.gye|w.a.n.g
Because she believed that the matter about the poisoning was foolproof. The drug was procured from her natal family. It was the family’s secret drug of the Jiang clan. No matter how advanced imperial physician’s Song medical skills were, he would still be unable to detect anything. What’s more, the only people who knew about this were her and her close servant Lan Xiang. The two servants Guan Qing and Shun Sheng were only responsible for the food delivery and supervision, and didn’t know the fact of the matter.
The Empress Dowager took the opportunity while the imperial guards were still away to ask Qi w.a.n.g again: “Does w.a.n.gye really no want Ershizi anymore?”
Qi w.a.n.g wasn’t young anymore. He has just pa.s.sed his 30th birthday at the beginning of this year, and has already entered the middle-age period. Truth be told, the Empress Dowager wasn’t really willing to have any conflicts with her son over the family affairs in the w.a.n.g’s mansion. Human nature was inherently sinister. Everyone will do whatever it takes to have an advantage, If she couldn’t see through these schemes after living for so many years, then the Empress Dowager would have truly wasted her life. Moreover, it was precisely because she had seen through this things that she chose to maintain Yuwen Yin and tried to make Qi w.a.n.g clear-headed.
It’s a pity that Qi w.a.n.g could not see through this, nor could he see the great effort of the Empress Dowager. Yuwen Yin knew exactly what the question of the Empress Dowager meant, so he inwardly let out a sneer, then turned around to look at Qi w.a.n.g with a slight nervousness in response to the implied expectation of the Empress Dowager’s words on his face.
He didn’t turn around too much, but was still able to very perfectly embody the image of a pure and filial young boy who still admires and yearns for his father’s love deep inside even if he wasn’t favored.
The Empress Dowager couldn’t help showing a bit of satisfaction upon seeing Yuwen Yin’s expression. But failed to see the contempt and coldness that reflected in Yuwen Yin’s eyes the moment his gaze met Qi w.a.n.g.
Although it was only lasted for a very brief moment, but it was still very clear. –Because Yuwen Yin wanted to clearly let Qi w.a.n.g see it.
“This king doesn’t want this kind of unfilial son!” Qi w.a.n.g really fell in a thundering rage, with a tone that didn’t leave a bit of room for change: “From this day on, this unfilial son will no longer have any connections with Qi w.a.n.g’s mansion!!”
The Empress Dowager swiftly become totally infuriated as well, that she hit the armrest with her hand and angrily said: “Very, very good!”
Yuwen Yin slightly lowered his head, to conceal his calculating gaze. But in the perspective of others, the youth seemed somewhat sad, but also looked a little more at ease, just like having completely let go of something, and no longer shouldered even a trace of burden. His back was still exceptionally straight as before, like a pine tree facing the wind. The light shining through the window that cast rays upon his shoulders from behind, which vaguely looked like a pair of wings, and was just like a young eagle flying to the distant blue skies.
The Empress Dowager silently took this in view, then also looked at Qi w.a.n.g, who had lost all trace of manners due to intense anger, and suddenly felt an unprecedented disappointment in giving birth to this son. Although the Dayu dynasty didn’t emphasize on filial piety, but in accordance to the so-called benevolent father, filial son. How could an unkind father receive filial piety from his son?
As the saying goes, to feed without teaching is the father’s fault; to mistreat or abandon young children is the older generation’s blunder. In the ancestral teaching in the Yuwen family, the first verse is close relatives, distant relatives, old and young – all should respect these rules and words; when human relationshipsare distorted destruction instantly follows; in order to live a clear life, then sons must be taught with an appropriate method ①.
To tell the truth, even though Qi w.a.n.g didn’t like Yuwen Yin, he still wouldn’t have lost his reason like today, and even kick him out in the presence of the Empress Dowager. The reason he was so extreme was completely inseparable from the nightmare he had the whole night.
The dreaming skill the little quilt had used on him during dinner time, will make people dream of the matter they either fear or detest the most deep inside. Qi w.a.n.g was inherently stupid and incompetent, but also had an incomparably conceited character, and had never had anything to fear of until now. But there was an especially detestable past event that originated from Yuwen Yin’s biological mother.
Yuwen Yin’s biological mother, Ning Shi, was born from family with a literary reputation. She was a natural-born beauty, in addition to having a gentle and refined personality. Qi w.a.n.g could be said to have fallen at first sight during that time, and even wanted to take her in as a concubine. He had just recently taken Qi w.a.n.gfei as his wife at that time, and his l.u.s.tful nature wasn’t something that suddenly happened. Not to mention, that Ning Shi already had a childhood sweetheart, and was naturally unwilling. Qi w.a.n.g eventually used many means. He displaced Ning Shi’s childhood sweetheart from being a gatekeeper to the precarious Northern border, and also transferred the Ning Shi’s father to be a provincial governor to a remote Southern region. Thus, Ning Shi had never smiled at Qi w.a.n.g ever since marrying into the w.a.n.g’s mansion, and always looked at him with an ice-cold gaze full of disgust. Qi w.a.n.g still had the patience to coax her at first, but became increasingly disgusted because of suffering blow on his self-esteem as days went by.
People were most likely to bear hatred due to love, and because Yuwen Yin was also prematurely born, so Qi w.a.n.g had even been suspected whether or not Yuwen Yin was really his child. Fortunately, although Yuwen Yin didn’t look like Qi w.a.n.g as he grew up, but he also didn’t look like Ning Shi’s childhood sweetheart at all, but unexpectedly resembled the late Emperor.