A Magic Steeped in Poison

Ning drops her tea tray, spilling the tea leaves, and when the Marquis yells at her, she suspects that he knowingly gave her the wrong tea. The tea maid brings her a new container, and this time, it is the correct tea: Silver Needle. Ning brews the Silver Needle for the tea maid, and a mist forms around them. The tea maid then prepares and serves Ning five different cups of tea. Ning touches the tea maid’s hand, and without needing to speak, she senses the poison in each cup. She chooses the safe cup and drinks.

With the test complete, the eight remaining competitors face the marquis. The next test will occur in three days; they will receive further instructions tomorrow. That afternoon, Ning confronts Yang, wondering if Yang helped the marquis to sabotage her. Yang is shocked.

Yang explains that she received the tea directly from the royal physicians and prepared the trays herself. This means that one of the servants is working for the marquis. She laments that Ning’s mother escaped the machinations of the palace only for Ning to become entangled in them. Then Yang tells the story of Ning’s mother.