From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 168: The Crane’s Red Crown

When it came to the poisons of this world, Yan Zheyun didn’t know what to think. The memorable experience that he’d suffered at the hands of aphrodisiacs in the past was a warning that he shouldn’t rely strictly on his knowledge from his previous life as not everything operated by the rules of the universe that he was familiar with.

That being said, there were aspects that he could rely on, such as the way addiction worked, that were indicative of certain similarities that were as good a starting point as any.

"Have you ever heard of He Ding Hong?" he asked casually as he waited for Yun En to prepare the silver needles used by the eunuchs to test the food that their masters were about to consume.

The Crane’s Red Crown. Anyone who ever watched a period drama featuring palace politics would have heard about this infamous poison, so overused as a plot device that it could become the dictionary definition of a cliché. But with someone’s life on the line, he found that he was no longer able to dismiss its danger as just exaggerated show business.

"Test it," he commanded, his eyes trained on the maid’s face, waiting to catch any minute changes in facial expression. She was already pale and trembling and her lips had tightened when he’d begun talking about this most deadly of poisons with the same tone one might chat about the weather, which led him to believe that he was on the right track.

"In certain dynasties, court officials or inner palace concubines who had committed crimes were often presented with a flask of He Ding Hong as a dignified execution," he continued, whilst the eunuchs busied themselves with splitting the pastry open and inserting the silver needle deep into the red bean filling within. By his side, Liu An watched on with wide eyes, unease on his little face as his fingers tightened in the hem of Yan Zheyun’s sleeves. "Do you know where it earned its name from?"

In truth, Yan Zheyun hadn’t known either until he’d seen a flask of it in Liu Yao’s study, placed high upon a shelf out of the way of curious chubby hands belonging to a beloved younger brother. It had looked out of place amidst all the precious ornaments, a simple white flask that was wholly unremarkable. He had asked Liu Yao about it, earning himself a complicated look that he still hadn’t managed to dissect until now. Liu Yao had taken the flask down though—it had been placed so far up that Yan Zheyun couldn’t reach it without tiptoeing—and revealed its contents to be an odourless liquid with a pale reddish tinge that reminded him ominously of blood mixed with water.

This was where its poetic name stemmed from. The vibrant red crowns upon a crane’s head was like the crimson tint of the poison.

Yan Zheyun only remembered in passing that He Ding Hong was arsenic, which he’d always assumed was either a white powder or a colourless and odourless liquid. His chemistry teacher had mentioned before in class ages ago, perhaps in a desperate bid to try and keep the lesson interesting, that the silver needles used to detect arsenic in period dramas would not work on modern-day arsenic because modern technology was capable of separating arsenic from its natural compound so thoroughly that the silver wouldn’t oxidise upon coming into contact with it.

But in ancient times, that was not the case since those impurities, namely sulphur, remained behind to tarnish the silver upon contact and was also what gave it colour...unless science worked differently here too. However, since Yun En, Head Eunuch Cao, and Xiao De all routinely tested the food with silver needles like that was the solution to all their poisoning problems, Yan Zheyun was willing to hedge his bets on this.

The eunuchs involved in the testing scrutinised the needles thoroughly before handing them over to Yun En. She did the same before turning over to Yan Zheyun and shaking her head solemnly.

"Reporting to Yue Langjun, the needles did not blacken." The anger radiating off her when she shot a glare at the kneeling maid was palpable. Yan Zheyun could remember the softness of Mingyue back when she had taken him under her wing in the Wu Household. That vibe that would have made her the ideal girlfriend in the 21st century, the kindly older sister next door, had been tempered by the unfairness that had befallen her and now, as Yun En, she carried herself with a mettle that she hadn’t had before. "This servant humbly asks for Yue Langjun to allow me to investigate this matter and will accept punishment for any mistakes that had arisen as a result of negligence on my part."

Yan Zheyun’s gaze trailed over to Captain Cui, who was regarding Yun En with a steady frown.

"Reporting to Noble Consort Yue Langjun," Captain Cui said. "This subject observed Yun En Gugu’s dedication to her duties; she does not let His Highness out of her sight unless she is tending to his meals. This lapse in her watchfulness is inevitable." His tone was perfunctory as always, as though he was just reciting his observations from before, but Yan Zheyun didn’t miss the way his gaze strayed towards Yun En, never so audaciously that it would have been disrespectful but still more than was normal between simple colleagues.

Yan Zheyun smiled at him. "And you have done very well to cover that lapse, Captain Cui," he replied before turning to address Yun En. "Don’t worry, this consort is aware of the situation. If anyone has made a mistake in this situation, it is me." He would have to apologise to Liu Yao later for not preempting trouble more thoroughly. After the fiasco last time at Tang Yan Palace, Liu Yao replaced most of Liu An’s servants with new ones trained from the departments and selected personally by Head Eunuch Cao. All of them had had a thorough background check, handled not just by Liu Yao’s eyes and ears outside of the palace but further processed by the brocade guard. Yan Zheyun had read through all of them before permitting the new batch to serve Liu An. He knew that they were young but didn’t have a family depending on them outside the palace, had no debts to clear, didn’t have a history of alignment with anyone else in the inner palace or the old noble clans.

But he had forgotten to factor in the simplest issue of all; human greed knew no bounds.

The maid—Ling Xia, nineteen, an orphan that had sold herself into the palace to pay for the burial of her last relative—had collapsed into a heap after the eunuchs had reported that there was nothing wrong with the needles. Her pale pink robes, soaked with sweat, clung to her skin, and in the chill of the autumn breeze, she was reduced to hugging herself and shivering, a sight that would have garnered sympathy from any onlooker, Yan Zheyun included, except she still hadn’t erased his suspicions.

"Wait," he called out before the eunuchs could withdraw. "Give that to me."

Yun En stepped forward. "Yue Langjun’s hands are precious, please allow this servant—"

"Yun En," Yan Zheyun interjected gently, "this consort is not fragile." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

This brought her up short. Yan Zheyun knew that because of the way Liu Yao had engineered Mingyue’s rescue, she saw him as her benefactor. But in addition to that, she was also unable to shake off the hardship that she had seen him suffering back in the Wu Household. Now that she was capable of doting on him again, she was unable to stop herself from being overly careful with him, like he was a priceless Ming vase just waiting to be shattered if she so much as stopped wrapping him up with silk. But this was a dangerous way to think. If she kept it up for much longer, ugly rumours might start to abound, not to mention people might pry into her real identity and draw some connections between the both of them that would not serve Liu Yao well.

Yan Zheyun’s quiet interruption reminded her of their boundaries and she stepped back with her head kept low.

Xiao De, who had stayed silent by Yan Zheyun’s side this entire time, moved forward to take the pastry from the eunuch that held the needle. He blinked in faux innocence before turning back to Yan Zheyun and saying, "Are the red bean pastries from the imperial buttery that delicious, Little Master? Even the servants are reluctant to relinquish their hold on it."

Yan Zheyun raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Let’s see what it is that makes them so special then." With an elegant flick of his wrists, he moved his sleeves out of the way before crushing the pastry in his other hand and sliding the needle liberally over the filling, layer by layer, ensuring that it came into contact with all parts of the pastry. His rationale was simple; the servants working in Tang Yan Palace knew that Liu Yao and he were on high alert for any harm that might befall the little prince. They would also know that if caught, the pastry would be tested for the poison that was the most well-known and had the highest success rates.

"You’re all familiar with the testing methods," he said, pulling out the needle to observe it before sticking it back in again and swivelling it around, turning the pastry into an unappealing, inedible mess. "It all looks very formal, of course, a proper plate and a needle presented upon a red cloth, the pastry kept intact as much as possible to remain palatable after. You’ve all conveniently forgotten that no one is eating this after."

It was a bit tedious but it didn’t take too long before Yan Zheyun finally found what he was looking for. He hadn’t been completely confident that it would work—chemistry class was so long ago and he wasn’t a big fan of silver jewellery but he wasn’t sure whether the sulphur in the unrefined arsenic compound would tarnish the silver black on the spot—but he figured that whatever impurities were in the arsenic in this era, they ought to work pretty quickly on the standard of silver available. Otherwise what even was the point of having the needles for testing? There had to be some basis to it, right?

Sure enough, bit by bit, the tip of the silver needle started to turn black, so vividly that the eunuch who had stood his ground earlier against Xiao De finally caved into his fear and fell onto his knees.

"Imperial Noble Consort Yue, please pardon this servant’s crime! This servant had no choice but to do it, Ling Xia who put me up to it!"

Ling Xia collapsed into hysterics. "What nonsense!" she cried. "This servant has been framed! Imperial Noble Consort Yue, this servant did not know that there was anything wrong with the pastry, this servant has been maligned!"

Yan Zheyun placed the needle down on a tray that Xiao De held out to him and wrapped an arm firmly around Liu An. He could see that his adorable face was pale as he stared at the servants begging to be spared but he didn’t cover Liu An’s eyes.

Liu An wasn’t the same as Lixin or Liheng. He was born into a harsh world and Yan Zheyun understood now that trying to keep him sheltered from everything, so much so that he’d hesitated when presented with a threat earlier on, was going to be detrimental to him at a later stage.

"Arrest them."

Captain Cui and his men sprang to action. Having worked in the Department of Careful Punishment, Captain Cui knew where they were bound and Yan Zheyun could trust that they would be well watched over during their stay there. Still, he called Captain Cui aside before they left.

"Ensure that no sudden ’accidents’ occur," he said lowly. "This consort anticipates one very soon."

Captain Cui’s eyes narrowed. "This subject understands. Would Imperial Noble Consort Yue like a confession of their deeds as well?"

Yan Zheyun shrugged. "That is a bonus but not a necessity," he replied. He had a good idea who was behind it; there were many perverse individuals in this novel but few so terrible that they would murder a child. Either the mother or the son was responsible for it, if not both, but with the news of the baby on the way, it was becoming apparent that they were getting impatient, no longer even bothering with a mask of geniality anymore.

Whether Ling Xia or the eunuchs died of mysterious deaths wasn’t even that big a matter to Yan Zheyun but he wanted those behind it to fret and worry about getting caught, to spend sleepless nights wondering whether they had been exposed, to scheme endlessly about extricating themselves out of a sticky situation with no obvious end in sight.

Liu Yao’s birthday was coming up soon and certain unnamed individuals had made it a very unpleasant experience for him. Since they didn’t want Liu Yao to have a good life, Yan Zheyun had no qualms about letting them all wallow in misery together.