Prince Shao's expensive silk garments were taken from their chests one by one and soaked in water in a silver basin for testing.
At first, there was almost no visible change. After three or four garments had been soaked in the same basin, however, a clear dividing line appeared between the silver below the water and that above it. The poison was present in minute quantities, enough to kill a sparrow, but for a strong young man who could gallop across a polo field, it needed to accumulate through daily contact with his skin.
Looking back to the onset of Prince Shao's illness, he had felt only a little tired and headachy. As the poison accumulated, his condition had gradually worsened. He could barely swallow his food or sleep at night, suffering every torment until his illness became terminal.
Everyone turned livid at the change in the silver basin, but because the matter implicated the Western Courtyard, they remained silent, waiting for their lord to speak. Yuan Shaobo's deputy, Song Yinghui, had personally stationed himself in the Western Courtyard to oversee the excavation of the seepage well. Before they could retrieve any conclusive evidence, news arrived: Lady Xu, the Princess Consort's wet nurse, had attempted suicide.
After being forcibly rescued, Lady Xu prostrated herself and confessed, admitting that she had poisoned Prince Shao. She claimed to have acted alone, without anyone else's involvement. The truth was all but ready to emerge.
Terrified, Madam Li ordered every piece of bedding Prince Shao might touch removed and temporarily replaced with her own. After washing his entire body, Li Yuanying sat on the couch wrapped in a brocade quilt, expressionlessly waiting for events to unfold.
Huo Qilang stood beside him, keeping him company and privately rejoicing that her instincts had been correct. Otherwise,