Miss Lawrence Has Been Poisoned

"Mother, don't be so pessimistic!" Edward Lawrence said. "Who knows, things might move faster than we expect!"

Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu nodded, sighing, "I never imagined... that in the end, this would fall on Grace. I was so harsh with her before. Thinking about it now... I really feel uneasy."

"Please don't say that!" Edward Lawrence replied. "She's a sensible and kind girl. She won't take it to heart."

Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu smiled and nodded, "I don't know why, but now when I look at her, everything seems wonderful. How come I didn't see it before..."

"It's all my fault," Edward Lawrence said. "Your bias against Grace was always because of Lena. Now... Lena's health is much better. For the sake of the gifted daughter she gave our family, can't you treat her a little kinder?"

Mentioning Lena made Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu's expression complicated again, but in the end she said, "You're already this old—what else can I do?"

Edward Lawrence was overjoyed, "Thank you, Mother!"

"But... as for the Empress... we really owe her. You need to pay more attention to Aunt Crystal and Kenneth Lawrence too."

"Of course. Kenneth is my only son. Naturally, I'll do everything I can for his future..."

Just as they were speaking, Aunt Autumn rushed in, panicked and shouting, "Dowager Lady! Prime Minister! Something's wrong!"

"What happened?" Aunt Autumn rarely lost her composure like this, and Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu felt a jolt of alarm.

"Miss Lawrence has been poisoned—she's dying!" Aunt Autumn's words made both mother and son turn pale with shock.

"Who did you say was poisoned? Grace? How could this happen out of nowhere?" Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu asked urgently, her voice trembling.

"Miss Lawrence! Xun'er just came to tell me!" Aunt Autumn replied.

"Quick! Let's go!" Both mother and son sprang to their feet and dashed toward Serenity Pavilion.

Inside Serenity Pavilion, chaos reigned. Grace lay stiff and straight on the bed, her face and lips dark as ink. On the floor was a dead poison mink.

"Has anyone called for the doctor?" Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu asked anxiously.

"In response, Dowager Lady, I just went to Lady Blue Moon for the household token to call the doctor. But the guards said Lady Blue Moon is already asleep—any matter must wait until tomorrow!" Wang Dong answered, his face tight with worry.

"Steward! Go fetch the Spiritual Alchemist—now!" Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu barked, pulling a gourd-shaped porcelain vial from her sleeve. She tipped out a pill and popped it into Grace's mouth.

It was a life-saving antidote pill she’d brought from the palace when she married out—capable of neutralizing deadly poisons.

She had three pills in total—this was the last one.

After Grace swallowed the pill, the color of her lips returned slightly, but the poison wasn’t completely gone.

"How did this happen? How could this happen?" Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu fumed. "How did she get bitten by a poison mink? Where did that thing come from?"

"I have no idea! We've never seen such a thing before," Huan'er replied.

"We just heard Miss Lawrence scream and rushed in. She killed the poison mink, but soon after, she collapsed and lost consciousness," Xun'er added.

"Go investigate! Who in this household keeps venomous rats?" Edward Lawrence commanded.

"Yes, sir!" The head of the Prime Minister's Estate guards hurried off to investigate.

The Spiritual Alchemist arrived quickly, checked Grace’s pulse, administered acupuncture, and asked, "Dowager Lady, did you already give her an antidote?"

"Yes!" Dowager Lady Evelyn Zhu replied. "How is Grace? Is she out of danger yet?"