The Cold King Demands Love and Pleasure

The scene of Yingling delivering the medicine was deliberately arranged by Xia Tongsheng in advance. He wanted to deduce the poisoner by observing their expressions when they saw him drinking the medicine.

Xia Tongsheng observed the expressions on the two people's faces. Although Li Fuqi did not show any major expression, the joy that inadvertently revealed in her eyes could not be faked.

Looking at Gu Xue again, although she concealed it well and showed no surprise on her face, the more she did so, the more suspicious Xia Tongsheng became.

Gu Xue was too clever for her own good, which led to her being too clever for her own good. She thought that the slow-acting poison, Mansha, was undetectable by ordinary doctors, but by sheer coincidence, it was detected.

When that doctor was traveling around, he had been to Miao territory and had seen this kind of poison, so he discovered it as soon as he felt Xia Tongsheng's pulse.

"Alas, I don't know what's wrong with me, but my health has deteriorated recently. I'm too weak to manage this huge palace anymore, so I should hand over the affairs of the palace to you two to help me share the burden!"

Gu Xue chimed in, her eyes revealing genuine innocence and kindness, "Your Highness, there's no need for such formality. We're all family, it's only right!"

Xia Tongsheng sneered inwardly, thinking, "My own sisters, my own sisters, and you're planning to kill your own sister! How can these people lie so shamelessly!"

"Alright, then today I'll assign these two ledgers in the manor, one for the flowers and the other for the furniture, to you two! One of you will be in charge of the flowers and the other for the furniture!"

"What!" Li Fuqi slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "Your Highness, you're going to hand over all those broken flowers, plants, tables, chairs, and benches to me?"

"Consort Fu, what do you mean by this? I am the Princess Consort of the manor. When did I say that I would hand over power to you? Since you are unwilling, then forget it. Anyway, it's the same to give these things to Yingling and Buyao! I originally thought that since they are maids, wouldn't it be a slap in your face to give them these things? Now it's all over. I'm the one who put in the effort but got no thanks. Since that's the case, then forget it!"

Seeing Xia Tongsheng's appearance, Yingling thought to herself, "Miss is starting to act spoiled again. Normally, in ancient times, the affairs of the inner quarters were handled by the head maids around her."

"Sister, please calm down. Sister Fu meant well!" Gu Xue lived up to expectations and acted as a peacemaker.

"Forget it, I'm not feeling well right now, so I can't get angry. If you want this part of the power, then keep it. I'll have Yingling bring you the account books. If you don't want it, that's fine too. At most, I'll have to take a little more care. It's not a big deal!"

How could Li Fuqi possibly swallow this insult? She flicked her sleeves and left with Mozhu, while Gu Xue stayed with Xia Tongsheng. "Your Highness, I'll help you!"

Xia Tongsheng's lips curled into a smile unintentionally. "Yes, Yingling, go and take the furniture ledger to Consort Xue!"

"Yes!"

Yingling took out an account book from a box in the room and handed it to Gu Xue. "Your Highness, this is the account book, and this is the key to the storeroom. I will have the furniture manager visit you later."

"Okay, then sister, get some rest. I'll head down now!"

"Yes!" Xia Tongsheng nodded.

After she left, Yingling couldn't help but ask, "Miss, why did you give her the furniture room?"

Xia Tongsheng smiled maliciously, "Give it to her? I'll make sure she suffers!"

Yingling shuddered, "What kind of dirty tricks have you played behind my back this time?"

Xia Tongsheng quickly cleared her name, "I didn't do that this time. I just handed over the furniture room that was previously in short supply to her!"

"The furniture room is in deficit? I've seen the ledgers, how could that be? They're perfectly balanced!" Yingling exclaimed, puzzled.

Xia Tongsheng tapped her on the head, "Little sister, by the time you saw it, I had already prepared the fake accounts. Not even the prince could tell the difference, let alone you!"

Xia Tongsheng ate the candied fruit and said with a smile that she had discovered the deficit when she took over the business. However, the furniture manager had left long ago and she couldn't find him. She was also afraid that Min Youan would cause her trouble, so she made up false accounts. After all, she was a business administration student, so this little thing was no problem for her!

However, the fake account was only made to deal with Min Yoo-an, but it unexpectedly came in handy today.

Yingling looked at Xia Tongsheng with adoration, her eyes shining, "Miss, I feel like you can do everything!"

"Of course, your young lady is an all-rounder. If Gu Xue dares to drug me, she must be tired of living!"

Yingling immediately stood in front of her and asked, "Miss, how can you be sure it's her?"

“When I took the medicine, I wasn’t sure from her expression! But later, when Li Fuqi left, she didn’t go with her, which made me certain. Think about it, I’ve always been at odds with her, would she stay and help me? Gu Xue is so shrewd, would she do something so thankless? The furniture room matter could easily cause a lot of trouble if not handled properly. Since she took it, she probably wants to build her own influence in the Prince’s mansion!”

"What do you mean, miss?"

"To put it simply, she knows that your young lady is about to pass away, so she plans to make preparations in advance! She wants to get to know more people in charge of the Prince's Mansion and win their hearts, so that once I die, she can use the excuse of having managed the Prince's Mansion before to get the Prince to hand over the power of the Prince's Mansion to her!" Now Xia Tongsheng feels that Gu Xue is someone who really needs to be guarded against.

It turns out that Xia Tongsheng simply disliked Gu Xue, thinking that this woman was too scheming. Now it seems that she is not only scheming, but also vicious!

When Yingling heard Xia Tongsheng say that Xiang Yu had passed away, she asked with some worry, "Miss, you won't die, will you?"

"Are you kidding? With my incredible vitality, how could I possibly die? Even if I do die, I'll take someone I don't like with me!" Xia Tongsheng thought. If she really couldn't be saved by medicine, she would definitely take Gu Xue with her! She had to avenge her great grudge no matter what!

"Miss, why don't you tell the Prince about this? He will definitely stand up for you!"

Mentioning Min You'an, Xia Tongsheng couldn't help but sneer, "The prince? I can count on him? The prince is probably just waiting for me to die!"

"Miss, don't think too badly of him! I think the Prince treats you quite well!" This time, Yingling actually sided with Min Youan.

Having been an orphan in my previous life, I understand all too well the ways of the world. "I call this self-protection! You have to rely on yourself for everything!"

"Rely on yourself? So, Miss, you're going to brew the medicine yourself?" Yingling said with a mischievous smile.

Xia Tongsheng immediately clutched her forehead and pretended to faint, "Ouch, why am I so dizzy? Yingling, quickly help me inside to lie down for a while!"

"Stop pretending! You were fine just now, how did things suddenly turn out like this!"

Xia Tongsheng wasn't angry when Yingling exposed her, but just smiled shyly and said to Yingling in a coquettish tone, "Good Yingling, I can't do such delicate work as brewing medicine. Only the meticulous Yingling, whom I trust the most, can do it!"

Yingling smiled helplessly, "Alright, you go and rest now, I'll go brew the medicine!"