"Second Madam, you're protecting Feng Yuqin."
"Where's the antidote? We want the antidote. Once we have it, then we'll deal with Feng Yuqin."
"No." The moment the crowd talked about going after Feng Yuqin again, the Second Madam’s face went pale. If they kept stirring trouble, did she—or her daughter—still stand a chance of getting the cure?
"What do you mean, 'no'? She poisoned us. She must be punished."
Feng Yao, standing to one side, felt the blood drain from her face. Doubt crept into her heart. Those people had been vicious moments ago; they were unpredictable now. If they ever guessed the toxins hadn't come solely from Feng Yuqin but from the two of them—Feng Yuqin and Feng Chi—the thought was too ugly to entertain.
Feng Chi was outwardly steadier than Feng Yao, but his hands trembled inside his sleeves.
"She didn't do it," the Second Madam insisted, desperation sharpening her voice. She was staking everything on getting them the antidote.
Meng Xingyu and his friends watched with disdain and laughter. "A few days ago you were trying to ruin her without mercy," Meng Xingyu scoffed. "Now you're singing her praises. Whatever's going on in the Chancellor's mansion, I have to admit—seeing the Second Madam suffer lifts my spirits."
"Right. If the Second Madam is defending her, then Feng Yuqin must have some trick up her sleeve," Yan Xiao said.
"Those fools don't even know the Midnight Pavilion belongs to Feng Yuqin," Nightingale added with a grin. "If they did, they wouldn't just be framing her—they'd be steaming with rage that she made a profit selling antidotes."
The others agreed; admiration and bafflement mixed. The idea that Feng Yuqin had already turned this into a money-making scheme made them regard her with a new sort of grudging respect.
"She didn't do it. Where did we get poisoned then?" The crowd accused the Second Madam of shielding Feng Yuqin. They respected that she wasn't Feng Yuqin's birth mother yet still defended her, but it didn't matter—people had been poisoned. They were dying. They wanted someone to blame.
"The antidote is available at the Midnight Pavilion. You can buy it there," the Second Madam said. Her words exploded among them.
Meng Xingyu and the others were stunned. "What kind of move is this? You're telling them to go buy the antidote themselves?"
"Probably no silver," Yan Xiao muttered. He remembered how much of her dowry the Second Madam had burned through already. Getting so many people to do her bidding had to have cost a fortune.
"Feng Yuqin poisoned us, and now you're telling us to go buy the antidote? What's your game?" someone snarled.
"Don't worry. We'll handle the antidote," Feng Chi cut in, stepping forward when the crowd began to fray at the edges.
The Second Madam looked at him in disbelief. "Chi'er, where are we supposed to find that much silver?" Her hands were nearly empty of coin. If she had to fund everyone's antidote, she'd be a penniless matron overnight. A chancellor's wife without money—how could she keep the household together?
"Daughter, who else should pay?" Feng Chi's blunt question shut her up. She gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride; there were more pressing fires to put out.
"You may go to the Midnight Pavilion and buy the antidotes. I'll have the silver sent shortly," the Second Madam told the crowd.
"Impossible. We won't leave until we get the antidote in hand." A voice shouted from within the throng. Those close enough to recognize the tone knew it belonged to someone from the Midnight Pavilion—an obvious signal that Feng Yuqin had orchestrated this.
One person called out, and the rest followed without thinking. The Second Madam felt strangled by indignation. Thirty years of life had never felt as humiliating as this. In her natal home she had been clever and well-regarded; at the Chancellor's mansion she'd done the prudent thing—never fight, win hearts, keep things smooth. And yet now she had been undone by someone much younger. The sting burned.
If only she knew that in another life Feng Yuqin had been about her age too—what would that do to her pride? She forced herself away from speculation. The people lingering at the gates would not be left to make a scene. Orders were sent for the antidote to be fetched.
Fortunately the Midnight Pavilion was not far. Yun Jie arrived quickly with the medicine. The Second Madam and Feng Chi both feared that if the poisoned blamed the household for their plight they might act rashly. They were here to resolve the matter—not to have the household torn apart.
By the time Yun Jie came with the silver, the Ji family representatives—summoned by the Second Madam—had also arrived. They had little choice; all were in the same political boat. Ji Wen'an grudgingly handed over the funds in person. Yun Jie took the money and handed the antidotes to Ji Wen'an.
With the Chancellor's guards deployed and the Ji family present, the distribution went smoothly. Within the space of a short incense, the antidotes were registered and handed out to the poisoned; those absent had theirs given to relatives.
Even after taking the medicine, none of the victims planned to leave. How could they forget being framed like this? The Second Madam knew time was short. She had to act fast.
"Actually," she announced, raising her voice to reach them all, "Feng Yuqin did not poison anyone."
"She didn't?" The crowd erupted.
No one believed her. They thought she was making excuses, protecting a protégé, preserving face. Relief flickered across Feng Yao's expression; she assumed Feng Yuqin's character was poor and that people distrusted the Second Madam for her own benefit.
"Second Madam, you've done well as household matron, but don't let protecting your reputation blind you into covering for Feng Yuqin. We won't accept that," someone shouted.
"She needs to pay for what she did," another added. "We took the antidote, yes, but that doesn't absolve her."
Voices rose, all disbelieving. The Second Madam had hoped that once she spoke, reason would follow. Instead she found herself flummoxed.
"No—it's true. This poison wasn't Feng Yuqin's doing. I arranged it myself." The confession fell out of her mouth, flat and heavy. It earned her nothing but scorn.
Meng Xingyu was almost amused by the spectacle. He'd seen revenge plotted a thousand ways, but never watched somebody work so hard to convince everyone that she was the culprit. He swallowed a laugh at the absurdity. Not that there was no retribution—merely that the right time hadn't come.