"Your Highness, forgive this servant. I accidentally dropped something..."
The newcomer entered quickly as she spoke, none other than the maid who had been following Feng Yiyi earlier.
Yuping's heart tightened, and she immediately stepped aside to block the entrance.
"What did you drop?"
Why now, of all times!
She blocked the view with her body. From a distance, the maid could only vaguely see the hem of Feng Yinwan's clothes.
From the situation, it looked like she was dining with Song Qing'an.
As the second young lady predicted!
The maid's eyes flickered, and she immediately spoke with a smile.
"Sister Yuping, we were just coming from the kitchen. I was originally bringing a bowl of sweet tea for the second young lady, but I dropped it when I was passing the food box."
She glanced back and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, isn't it right there!"
Yuping followed her gaze. On the flower stand not far away, there was indeed a sandalwood tray and a green cup.
She immediately frowned.
The flower stand was not far from the stone table. Miss was still unconscious. If she let this maid retrieve it herself, it would definitely expose a flaw.
Therefore, she had no choice but to give an order.
"Miss dislikes being disturbed while dining. You wait here, and I will get it for you."
The maid was naturally unwilling, but fearing Feng Yin's temper, she did not dare to act rashly.
"Then I will trouble you, Sister Yuping."
Yuping glanced at her, turned, and quickly walked towards the flower stand. With this movement, Feng Yinwan and Song Qing'an behind them were immediately exposed to the maid's sight.
The two sat close together, their bodies not touching, but their robes subtly overlapping.
From the maid's perspective, Feng Yinwan was sitting with her back to her, so her expression was invisible. However, the food on the plates had clearly been touched!
She secretly clenched her sleeves. Before she could look further, Yuping had already returned with the tray.
"Here."
Her line of sight was suddenly blocked. The maid came back to her senses and quickly averted her eyes.
"Thank you, Sister Yuping."
She took the tray and turned to leave, her steps not pausing at all.
With a soft "creak," the courtyard door was gently closed. Yuping breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated.
"Young Master Song, how is Miss?"
In her haste earlier, they had only managed to help Feng Yinwan to a stone bench, with Song Qing'an supporting her from behind.
Never having been so close to a woman, especially Feng Yinwan, Song Qing'an's ear tips had already turned red.
"The... the Princess Consort's complexion has recovered much."
Not having time to dwell on his abnormality, Yuping stepped forward and took Feng Yinwan, noticing that the flush on Feng Yinwan's face had indeed receded considerably.
"That's great! Miss's forehead isn't as hot as before!"
Before she could finish speaking, the woman in her arms let out a muffled groan and slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing this, Yuping became excited. "Miss, you're awake!"
She had been so scared just now!
Her internal energy had not yet stabilized, and Feng Yinwan nodded, secretly adjusting her breathing.
The drug she had just taken was extremely potent, and its speed of action had even surprised her. Fortunately, she had sealed her acupoints with silver needles in time, dispersing the drug's effects completely. Otherwise...
"Blood and qi agitated, mind unclear, and fainting upon external interference."
"Young Master Song, don't you find the Princess Consort's symptoms just now to be very similar to the medicine you were previously afflicted with?"
The medicine Song Qing'an had taken when he first came to the General's mansion was the same as this one.
It was just that the drug's effects were more violent on him at the time, and he had even coughed up blood foam after the silver needles were removed.
Song Qing'an was also surprised by her words.
"As the Princess Consort said, I did indeed have such symptoms at that time."
At this point, it was very clear.
She had become like this after eating the food delivered by Feng Yiyi, so the problem could only be with the food.
"Miss, are you saying that the person who tampered with the White Jade Peony Cake earlier was the second young lady?!"
Yuping was shocked.
Feng Yiyi was usually a bit arrogant, but Miss was her elder sister, how could she...
Before Feng Yinwan could speak, Song Qing'an had already said, "Princess Consort, if that is the case, I also ate this food just now, why..."
Feng Yinwan let out a cold snort, her pretty face chilling slightly.
"Because this thing requires two medicinal components to interact. The other component is on me."
"On you?"
Yuping and Song Qing'an were astonished.
She then lowered her eyelids and lifted her sleeve.
"It's this thing."
She was wearing a moon-white dress today. Her clean sleeves were now stained with a few traces of almost imperceptible light-colored powder, which would be invisible if not examined closely.
"Miss, what is this?"
Yuping looked up in confusion, meeting the coldness in Feng Yinwan's eyes.
"It's Hailinxiang."
"Hailinxiang? What is that?"
Hailinxiang is an item from the Western Regions.
Feng Yinwan's beautiful eyes lowered without a ripple.
"Hailinxiang is warm in nature, but it has the effect of causing hallucinations. When placed alone, it has no effect. However, this food was added with a component called 'Xiangjianhuan'."
"'Xiangjianhuan' is colorless and tasteless. A small amount can make people feel happy and is harmless. But if the two collide..."
She paused slightly and then continued with a smile, "The medicinal power of Hailinxiang and Xiangjianhuan will be simultaneously stimulated, causing uncontrollable emotions and leading to an irrepressible state."
This was the reason Song Qing'an had eaten the food but had not shown any abnormalities.
Feng Yiyi's target, from the very beginning, had been her!
Both of them were startled. Yuping reacted and her little face turned pale.
"Miss, when did it..."
They had been together the entire time. If one had to say when, it could only be when Feng Yiyi came in and tugged her arm.
The scent and color of Hailinxiang itself were very faint, and Feng Yiyi's heavy powder scent stimulated the olfactory senses, preventing her from noticing it in time.
However, Hailinxiang is extremely precious and difficult to find. How could Feng Yiyi have it?
Feng Yinwan's thoughts flickered as she carefully wrapped the powder on her sleeve in a handkerchief.
Yuping still felt a chill and asked, "Miss, what should we do next? This matter is of great importance, should we tell..."
She wanted to say tell the master and the young master, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered that Old General Feng and Feng Jingyuan were not at home now.
Feng Yinwan put away the handkerchief and gave Yuping a reassuring look. "The fish is about to take the bait. Why wouldn't we cast the net?"
"What does Miss mean?"
A faint smile played on Feng Yinwan's lips. She turned and sat back down at the stone table.
The Embroidered Pavilion fell silent. Not long after, the courtyard door was opened, and Yuping came out with a basin of water, appearing as if she was going to wash clothes.
The maid eavesdropping at the corner of the wall saw this and her eyes flickered. Just as she was about to get closer to listen to the commotion in the courtyard, a crisp sound of breaking porcelain suddenly rang out.
The next moment, a seductive hum from a woman and the sound of fabric tearing simultaneously echoed.
The maid's eyes widened, and she immediately ran away quickly.
The silence lasted only for a moment.
"Bang—"
With a loud bang, the courtyard door of the Embroidered Pavilion was pushed open with great force.
Feng Yiyi rushed in excitedly. Her eyes fell upon the mess around the stone table, and her heart immediately filled with excitement.
"Your Highness, please come in quickly!"
Ye Tinglan followed her words and stepped in. After waiting in the front courtyard for a long time, his expression was indeed not very pleasant.
"Where is Feng Yinwan? Why isn't she coming out to greet me?"
Feng Yiyi lowered her head, her eyes flickering. "Elder Sister might have prepared a surprise for you. Please go in and see for yourself, Your Highness!"
Ye Tinglan's gaze swept over the closed doors and windows, and he frowned.
Just as he was about to step forward, an ambiguous sigh drifted from the crack of the door, and his handsome face immediately sank heavily.