Chapter 75: Unexpected (3)
There were several rooms in the Fourth Court in a row.
Separated from each other with designed nooks and crooks of the corridors.
There were several pathways that also separate them.
So if one don't want to see the person residing the next room can just simply change the pathway.
It was designed much like a riddle.
Henan woke up in the middle of the night.
She was familiar about the positions of the Palace Guards.
She had given permission to her maid that she could go and meet her family.
She covered herself well that if one wanted to guess her identity, no one would be able to do it.
Her dress was male outfit.
Her steps and movements were sneaky.
It was risky but she had to take risk in order to find the whereabouts of Prince Wan Hu Shang.
In the mean time, a woman was sitting in her room grinding something under the light of lamp, she was careful in order to not make voice.
The bracelet which she secretly disbanded from the wrist of Henan was laying in front of her.
She was grinding some very dangerous herbs along with some white stone.
At the end of grinding she added some water in it.
As soon as she added some water, smoke rose up which brought relax expressions on her face.
That means her grinding was successful.
Not only she was going to take revenge from Yin Ya but would implicate that young girl who dared to offend her two times.
There was smile, an evil one on her face.
She stood up to find way to do the next step of her plan.
By chance she saw the most trusted maid of Yin Ya running toward the formal kitchen.
The same time, Yin Ya was laying on her large bed.
After great dinner she did not walk and went straight on her bed which caused her stomach ache in the middle of the time.
She was curving on her bed with the pain.
She called her most trustable maid.
"Concubine Yin Ya, what happened? Are you alright?" she saw painful expressions on her face and asked with concern.
"I am suffering stomach ache, go and bring some medicine," she folded on the bed with sudden increased pain.
Her maid ran to prepare some medicine.
Most of the senior maids were taught how to prepare some typical care medicines in the Palace.
She reached the formal kitchen and tried to find out what was that maid doing here at this hour.
From the herbs she gathered that she was preparing medicine for stomach ache.
She ran back to her room.
The paste she prepared just now poured in a satchel and wrote on it, "The most effective medicine for stomach ache," and came back in the kitchen.
The maid was preparing medicine lazily, she was half dozing too.
She entered in the kitchen.
Put the lamp on the sill along with the satchel.
The maid noticed that someone entered in the kitchen, by instincts she looked at the lamp and then the satchel.
She suddenly have some energy and wakefulness.
She asked the woman, "May I have some medicine from this satchel, I need it urgent," the woman did not speak instead nodded her head and extend her hand to take the lamp she brought with her, but her wrist bracelet fell on the floor.
She left the kitchen in hurry and disappeared in the riddle of corridors.
The maid wanted to shout out to tell her that her bracelet fell there but she can't shout at this hour of the night.
She held up the bracelet and medicine and thought to give back it in the morning.
The maid came back holding a empty cup and some warm water.
She opened the satchel in front of Yin Ya and poured some water in the cup then mixed and gave to the most beautiful concubine.
She was suffering immense pain.
She hurriedly took the cup and gulped the liquid in one breathe.
But next instant, she felt her throat and intestines were tearing apart
She looked at her maid and screamed out loud, 'murderer'.
Her screams were hysterical.
Soon many guards and maids came rushing.
There was commotion.
Whoever saw Yin Ya, gasped in horror.
She was dying.
Palace physicians came but they shook their heads to see her condition, she was given some kind of acid.
They can't save her.
Soon the news reached to the ears of Crown Prince.
He also came to see the most beautiful concubine, how did she end up in such condition.
The maids who can't see this horrible scene went out of the room.
Yin Ya breathed out fume and lost her last breathe with this.
Her maid screamed in horror and fell on the floor.
She only gave a medicine for stomach ache, how come it became an acid? Did she gave acid to the dotted concubine?
Prince ordered the most experienced physician to check the last pulse of the concubine.
After looking with his own eyes, he still could not believe that Yin Ya was dead.
He himself sat on the chair.
He gestured and someone came rushing.
After some struggle, the maid came conscious.
"Did you give acid to Yin Ya?" he asked her impassively.
All others were surprised to see his controlled anger.
Usually if someone was found guilty, one would never be given a chance to clear oneself, only death awaits.
Yet today, despite the severity of the crime, he was asking questions?
Did their ears heard rightly or their eyes were playing tricks??
"I dare not my Prince," the maid fell on the floor shivering.
She frantically stood up and went toward the table where the satchel was laying.
"This was the medicine which I gave, and I did not prepare it, instead someone else," she lowered her head accepting her failure to tend his concubine well.
"You were responsible to take care Yin Ya yet she gave a medicine which you did prepare by yourself," his eyes were showering flames now.
Everyone in the room dared not to move from standing place.
-- Gift
received