Chapter 9 - More like poison

Bang!

The doors to the Cold Palace was slammed open by Hongguo. She and her mistress, Noble Consort Jinghua, strolled inside while throwing their weight around.

They had already achieved their aim; Yunqing had been reduced to nothing, so why were they still looking for her. What more did they want?

Yunqing, who was lying on the cold and bȧrė bed of the Cold Palace, just gave them a quick glance before turning away. Not even bothering to give them face. This got Noble Consort Jinghua angry, but she did well not to show it; after all, she would soon be the empress.

"Sister Yunqing~" Noble Consort Jinghua called out in a shrill voice. She sounded riotous, but it only sounded like an ear-splitting tone to Yunqing to the extent that she felt repulsed by it.

'What does she want now? Could she not just leave me alone? My life has already been ruined by her,' Yunqing thought.

Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Noble Consort Jinghua sneered and said, "Sister Yunqing, I brought you some food. Don't you want to know what it is?"

'Food, Ptui! More like poison,' Yunqing scoffed, thinking to herself.

And she was right to believe so, as Noble Consort Jinghua had indeed brought poison for her. The container that a maid who followed behind Hongguo and Noble Consort Jinghua brought in did hold food, but it also had a bowl of soup that contained refined poison. The food they carried was just a cover to not be suspected of anything when it happens. The bowl of soup was just hidden amongst the rest of the food.

Although there was really no need for Jinghua to be there since she could just have the food delivered by a maid and then either take care of the maid or pin the blame on someone else. She decided to be there just because her evil mind wanted to directly see Yunqing as she struggled for her last breath. The poison she chose was a fast-acting poison. It could kill a person within a short period depending on the amount of poison taken. Though it would sip slowly in the body, attacking each of the organs until it gets to the heart. She wanted to see Yunqing suffer and at all cost at that.

"Tsk! Tsk! Since you will not cooperate, then don't blame me for being ruthless," Noble Consort Jinghua said with a contemptuous and scornful look as her upper lip curled. Then she signalled for Hongguo and the other maid, who brought in the food earlier, to proceed with their arrangement.

Immediately, they began using a forceful method. The maid went ahead and held the empress up. She didn't expend so much energy to even force Yunqing's mouth open as Yunqing was already weak and feeble.

As soon as the maid held Yunqing up, Hongguo, who had retrieved the soup bowl, went forward and forcefully fed the bowl to her. Yunqing clenched her teeth and tried to close her mouth to prevent being force-fed the soup. She could smell the distinct odour of the particular poison Noble Consort Jinghua used as the poison was in very high concentration. Apart from being from the generals' household, she was also from a family of physicians from her mothers' side. Though, not properly trained, that is why she was not able to detect the poison from the precious poisoning incident while she was pregnant as it was in very little concentration. Noble Consort Jinghua actually did not intend to kill her or her baby by that time. She just wanted to use that incident to deal with a certain someone who crossed her.

Yunqing was bȧrėly given food daily since she was sent to the Cold Palace and, as such, did not have enough energy to resist them. Bit by bit, the bowl of soup was fed to her with some spilling on her face and clothes. Yunqing immediately felt the searing rush of a foreign substance in her body.

Hongguo proceeded to clean up her face and body to remove all evidence while the other maid quickly left, disappearing with the empty bowl when they were done with their deed.

When Hongguo was done clearing up all other evidence and setting up the stage (i.e., she put the powder of the poison under her head bed and arranged the empress properly on the bed).

Noble Consort Jinghua, who had been watching while sniggering all along, finally stepped up when Hongguo was done. She leaned forward, reaching towards the ears of Yunqing.

"Guess what s.i.s.t.e.r Y.u.n.q.i.n.g~," Noble Consort Jinghua said tauntingly, emphasizing on how she called her. "Your little bug will never be able to find out what happened to Jiaying because I k-i-l-l-e-d her and your… bug as well," Noble Consort Jinghua said with ridicule in her tone.

Yunqing's eyes widened at the confession as she stared at Noble Consort Jinghua with blank amazement and dread. The little bug she was referring to was Mo Lan, whom Yunqing had sent to inquire into the activities of Noble Consort Jinghua.

'So she actually did kill her own sister,' Yunqing thought soberly as the poison gradually churned with the blood in her veins, slowly numbing her sense with pain.

Scornfully, Noble Consort Jinghua continued, "She was always prancing around like a princess on her high horse just because she was the born from the legal wife of my father. I might not be able to use the same method as I did for the crown prince, but now her son will not even be recognized as a prince of BeiMing State. I am the only one who can be the empress of BeiMing State." She laughed sardonically after saying her piece.

Noble Consort Jinghua just stood there laughing in a sardonic manner while she watched Yunqing struggling. She clicked her tongue while shaking her head before finally saying after a while, "Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! No one would come here until they hear me shout for help, so you better save your strength for the afterlife. I always get what I want…" She trailed on and on about all her schemes like she was in a confession room.

Noble Consort Jinghua's voice slowly became distant, gradually reducing her rambunctious chattering confessions to Yunqing as the life drained out of her eyes, leaving them bȧrė and blank. Her eyes slowly dropping to a close. The poison had reached its final stop (her heart), and it kicked in successfully.

Ahhhhhh! At this point, an ear-deafening scream of Noble Consort Jinghua could be heard distinctly. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she was now ready to alert an audience. She then smiled smugly as she gazed at Yunqing's lifeless form.

After a little while, the emperor arrived, and Noble Consort Jinghua started another round of acting, "Boohoo! Your majesty, Sister Yunqing... Sister Yunqing is dead. Sh…she drank poison. She killed herself."

She threw herself into the emperor's embrace as if seeking solace for the demise of a dear friend. Her demeanour was now that of someone who was kind-hearted and harmless…. Like the typical white lotus that she was.. Huff! What a two-faced b***h.