Chapter 3: Chapter 29

"'Lotus in the heart, autumn blooms of West Lake; clear skies and bright nights, as one first enters the realm.' Sister should know what this first line of poetry describes, shouldn't she?" A faint voice spoke in a casual tone, the corners of her lips carrying a slight, subtle smile.

Whenever she was like this, she would give people an illusion, causing them to unconsciously let down all their guard.

Having lived in the modern era for nearly thirty years, her psychological analysis of people was extremely profound.

Meng Ruxue was slightly stunned; seeing her like this, she was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

And at this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed upon her. If she failed to answer...

After a moment of slight deliberation, she slowly said, "Lotus, West Lake, the night sky..."

The poem clearly described these scenes...

"Hehe..." Meng Fuying suddenly let out a light laugh, a clear trace of mockery mixed within the smile at the corners of her lips. "So, it turns out that Sister and I being so in sync is actually like this?"

The voice remained faint, yet it gained a few degrees of coldness.

Meng Ruxue's expression changed slightly as she realized she might have been set up by Meng Fuying again.

"The answer lies in the lines following the poem; it refers to four types of medicinal herbs: Heart-Piercing Lotus, Hangzhou Chrysanthemum, Baby's Breath, and Swertia. Sister wouldn't have memorized the poem but failed to even look at what it describes, would she? Otherwise, given Sister's intelligence, if you had merely cast a casual glance, you certainly wouldn't have given the answer you just did." The mockery at the corners of Meng Fuying's lips became even more obvious.

Although Meng Ruxue was clever, she was completely ignorant regarding medicinal herbs, so she naturally could not guess the meaning behind it. However, if she had truly looked, it would have been absolutely impossible to give such an answer.

After a brief pause in her speech, Meng Fuying spoke again, "Furthermore, this poem originally had four lines. Fuying only wrote the first and the last lines. Why did Sister also only write the first and the last lines?"

Meng Fuying added another line with her usual calm and effortless manner, but it struck directly at Meng Ruxue's weakness. No matter how much they were "in sync," it couldn't possibly be this much of a coincidence, could it?

At this moment, the truth of the matter was clearly laid out before everyone's eyes.

She wanted to see how the Empress would continue to cover for Meng Ruxue. She wanted to see how Meng Ruxue could possibly explain this.

Meng Ruxue's expression shifted several times in an instant, and the Empress's face also turned dark and unsightly. She had absolutely not expected that Meng Ruxue would be unable to explain the meaning of those poetic lines.

At this moment, even the experienced Empress was speechless; she merely looked toward Meng Ruxue, her eyes flashing with a hint of reproach and disappointment.

Xuan Yuanye's slender fingers picked up the teacup in front of him, and he began to sip slowly.

The Emperor glanced once more at the contents of the book. His eyes darkened slightly, and when he looked toward Meng Ruxue, there was an added touch of severity. "Meng Ruxue, how do you explain this?"

"Your Majesty, it is common knowledge that Xue'er is exceptionally bright. Writing a poem would be an easy task for her; would she have any need to copy someone else's? At every previous banquet, which of her improvised poems has not been more outstanding than this one?" Before Meng Ruxue could speak, the woman sitting to the Emperor's left suddenly spoke. Her voice was very light and soft, sounding very pleasant to the ear. After a slight pause, she continued, "Regarding this selection of concubines, Ye'er should have already made his choice in his heart. Ye'er's intentions cannot be changed by any matter."

Her final sentence was clearly aimed at Meng Fuying.

The implication was that Meng Fuying was using schemes in order to become Xuan Yuanye's princess, while Meng Ruxue had instead become the victim.

Meng Fuying slightly raised her eyes to look at her. She was beautiful—truly beautiful, beautiful enough to make one dazed and intoxicated. At a glance, Meng Fuying actually couldn't guess her age. However, remembering that she had just called Xuan Yuanye "Ye'er," and seeing that her features bore some resemblance to Xuan Yuanye's, she realized that she was indeed Xuan Yuanye's biological mother—Consort Rou.

True to her name, she was indeed as gentle as water and the moon.

When Meng Fuying met her gaze, she did not detect any malice, only a slight dissatisfaction and a desire to protect Meng Ruxue. Moreover, in those beautiful eyes, there was a sense of pure spiritual energy, and even a kind of simplicity that a woman in the deep palace should not possess.

For a woman like this to be able to live peacefully and untouched in the deep palace until now, she was either hiding too deeply or enjoyed the Emperor's profound favor.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, the severity on the Emperor's face vanished instantly, and his eyes held a rare tenderness when he looked at her.

If the Emperor was steel, then Consort Rou was the silk that wrapped around it.

The Emperor was the highest authority here, yet Consort Rou's words could easily influence him.

And it was quite obvious that Consort Rou was usually deceived by Meng Ruxue's outward appearance; emotionally, she leaned toward Meng Ruxue.

"Very well, let us drop this matter. The selection of concubines is important; let us not waste any more time." When the Emperor looked at Meng Fuying again, a trace of apology flashed in his eyes, but his tone was also unquestionable.

"Xue'er thanks Consort Rou Niangniang." Meng Ruxue bowed gratefully. At this moment, she indeed ought to thank Consort Rou properly.

When Consort Rou looked at her, a kind smile was on her face.

"Sister, don't be angry. Just consider it that I was in the wrong. Have a cup of tea; consider it my apology to you," Meng Ruxue said to Meng Fuying with a face full of kindness.

Those two instances of "consider it" were clever ways to cover for herself, while also performing her magnanimity in front of Consort Rou.

As she spoke, she picked up a cup from the table with one hand and slowly filled it with tea. However, while pouring the tea, a small object hidden in her sleeve quickly slid into the teacup.

It then instantly dissolved into the tea.

Colorless, tasteless, soundless, and traceless.

The sleeves of ancient clothing were naturally quite wide, so it was extremely difficult for anyone to notice the movement beneath Meng Ruxue's sleeve.

However, Meng Fuying was a master thief; her hands were fast, but her eyes were even faster. How could such a small trick bypass her "fiery eyes"?

Meng Fuying's eyes narrowed slightly. Meng Ruxue actually dared to drug her?

To drug her in such a setting?

And under these circumstances, she couldn't refuse at all. To refuse Meng Ruxue would be to disrespect Consort Rou and fail to give face to the Emperor.

Meng Ruxue was indeed ruthless enough.

*Hmph,* Meng Fuying sneered inwardly. She had originally thought it would be a pity to let Meng Ruxue off just like that, but she hadn't expected Meng Ruxue to deliver herself to her once again.

Fine, today she would let Meng Ruxue reap what she sowed and taste the very poison she had prepared.

A faint smile bloomed at the corners of Meng Fuying's lips. Acting as if she knew nothing, she took the tea from Meng Ruxue's hand and said with a soft laugh, "Fuying toasts Sister."

With the same faint smile and a face full of kindness—if it came to acting, could she, a modern woman, lose to an ancient person?

Meng Ruxue froze for a moment, then quickly picked up another cup and filled it with tea, a hint of triumph flashing deep within her eyes.

"Please, Sister." As the teacup was slightly raised, the smile on Meng Ruxue's face became even more brilliant.

"Please, Sister." Meng Fuying also raised her cup with a light laugh. Her cup lightly bumped against the other's, and in the instant the two cups touched, her fingers moved slightly, and the two cups had already rapidly swapped positions.

The highest realm of a master thief is to take something from someone's hand right in front of them without the other party noticing.

Meng Fuying took a sip of the tea she had just swapped from Meng Ruxue's hand.

Meanwhile, the secretly triumphant Meng Ruxue had absolutely no idea that she had just drunk the poisoned tea.