Chapter 52 The Crown Princess Has Been Poisoned!

Seeing that Shen Ruoli had been perfectly fine just moments before, but suddenly slid off the chair and fell unconscious, the stone in her hand crashed to the ground with a "clang" and shattered into several pieces.

Leap Month exclaimed in surprise, "Crown Princess!"

Xie Yuanhe hadn't expected her to suddenly have an accident, and immediately put down the medicinal meal he was holding. "Xiao Yuzi! Summon the imperial physician!"

Outside the door, Xiao Yuzi received the order and ran off.

Xie Yuanhe approached, about to check on Shen Ruoli's condition, when Wang Luhai warily stepped in front of him, "Your Majesty, this stuff is poisonous! Be careful!"

Xie Yuanhe paused.

He looked closely and saw that Shen Ruoli's lips had turned blackish-purple in an instant!

It's obvious they've been poisoned!

Leap Moon carefully walked around the stones, then, supporting Shen Ruoli, began to cry with worry, "Waaah, Crown Princess..."

"Your Majesty! You must do justice for my Crown Princess!"

What's going on?

Xie Yuanhe's face darkened.

Just now, Shen Ruoli said that there were clearly several pieces of fine mutton fat jade in this box, which were sent to the palace by the Princess of Chu last night.

Why are there several poisonous stones inside when you open it now?

Runyue hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, yesterday, Young Master Shen was ordered by Prince Zhou to go to Prince Chu's residence to retrieve the Ministry of Revenue's account books, but he was refused entry by the people of Prince Chu's residence. When my Crown Princess learned of this, she went to Prince Chu's residence."

"In the evening, Princess Chu instructed her personal maid, Liu Xin, to come to the Crown Prince's residence, saying that my Crown Princess liked jade, and she had specially selected several fine pieces of jade from the Prince's storeroom to give to my Crown Princess."

The statement about the leap month is entirely true, and even if Xie Yuanhe sent people to thoroughly investigate the matter, the truth would still be as stated.

She choked up, "Liu Xin gave the brocade box to His Highness the Crown Prince! His Highness then handed the brocade box over to my Crown Princess."

"But last night, His Highness the Crown Prince also sent the Crown Princess a jade bracelet and a hairpin, which pleased her greatly. She didn't bother to open the box sent by the Princess of Chu, thinking she would present it to the Emperor today. But who knew, who knew..."

Runyue cried until her eyes were red, "Your Majesty, if the Crown Princess had known that this stone was poisonous, she certainly wouldn't have brought it to Your Majesty!"

After hearing her words, Xie Yuanhe's face became even more gloomy and ugly!

He winked at Wang Luhai, who understood and turned to leave.

At this moment, Physician Chen also hurriedly entered the Imperial Study, carrying his medicine chest.

As expected, Shen Ruoli was poisoned!

"Your Majesty, this poison is fierce, fast-acting, and potent; it's called 'Red Beauty'! It originates from the Fuzhou area!"

Physician Chen immediately administered acupuncture, sealing several acupoints on Shen Ruoli. "The Crown Princess was poisoned too quickly, and the Imperial Hospital cannot prepare an antidote for the time being. I have no choice but to seal the Crown Princess's acupoints to prevent the poison from spreading."

"To ensure absolute certainty, your humble servant will immediately work with the imperial physicians to prepare the antidote. I urge Your Majesty to issue an order to send people to inquire about the antidote in the Fuzhou area!"

Fuzhou is not far from the capital.

If we were to inquire whether this "beauty" had an antidote, retrieving the antidote would likely be faster than them concocting it!

"Someone come here!"

Xie Yuanhe did not hesitate at all and immediately gave the order.

Seeing Shen Ruoli's face turn dark, Physician Chen sighed inwardly.

"Look, this poison comes from these stones?"

Xie Yuanhe gave the order in a deep voice.

Physician Chen quickly examined the stones on the ground, then nodded, "Your Majesty, the poison did indeed come from these stones! Moreover, these stones clearly showed that they had been soaked in the poison for many days, not just overnight!"

"The toxins have seeped into these stones; anyone who touches them..."

Physician Chen did not continue speaking, but Xie Yuanhe already understood!

Fuzhou.

venom……

Xie Xuansong has been staying in Fuzhou for almost a month.

This poison also originated from Fuzhou.

It seems that his eldest son can't wait to make a move!

"Is this confirmed?"

Xie Yuanhe still found it hard to believe.

Physician Chen nodded solemnly, “Your Majesty, I am not actually familiar with this poison. I only happened to see it in an ancient medical book a couple of days ago, and I remembered it because of its fierce and rapid toxicity.”

I never expected to see him today!

"Moreover, I remember that ancient books record that if ordinary stones are soaked in this venom for many days, their color can be reversed, making them white and lustrous, just like jade."

"oh?"

Xie Yuanhe narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning dangerous.

These words do connect with what Shen Ruoli just said!

"In my humble opinion, the reason why this stone has not changed color is probably because it has not been soaked for long enough."

Physician Chen carefully collected the stones. “This is the first time I have come into contact with such a rare and potent poison. I hope Your Majesty will allow me to take it back for careful study.”

Go!

Xie Yuanhe agreed, "Prepare the antidote as soon as possible! If anything happens to the Crown Princess, I will spare no one!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Doctor Chen was so frightened that he trembled and hurriedly left with the box.

Wang Luhai moved swiftly. "Your Majesty, the order has been given. Should the Crown Princess be sent back to the Crown Prince's residence?"

"As Physician Chen just said, this girl should not be moved for the time being, lest the toxins break through the acupoints and continue to spread."

Xie Yuanhe sighed.

He had experienced the cruelty of the struggle for the throne and knew how terrible it was for brothers to kill each other.

Over the years, Xie Xuansong and his brothers have been engaged in open and covert struggles. As long as no one has died, Xie Yuanhe has always turned a blind eye and refused to get involved.

Because he was an emperor, and also a father!

He didn't want to favor anyone, but he had no choice but to select the most outstanding son to take over the Xie family's empire in the future!

In his mind now, the most suitable person for the position of crown prince, besides Xie Xuanyin, is Xie Xuansong.

One was the eldest son born out of wedlock, and the other was the fourth son born out of wedlock.

Although both were exceptionally capable, Xie Xuanyin was of higher status and should rightfully be the crown prince.

Yet he felt guilty towards Xie Xuansong and his mother!

To make amends to Xie Xuansong and his mother, Xie Yuanhe pretended not to know about his usual behavior.

Unexpectedly, Xie Xuansong has become increasingly audacious, daring to make a move openly right under his nose!

If Chen Ruoli was poisoned in the Crown Prince's residence, as long as her life wasn't in danger, Xie Yuanhe could still gloss over it.

But she got into trouble right in front of him!

If Xie Yuanhe doesn't thoroughly investigate this matter and give Shen Ruoli justice...

Not to mention that he doesn't know how to face Shen Ruoli and Xie Xuanyin, he also doesn't know how to appease Empress Dowager Shen and the Shen family!

"First, settle this girl in the warm pavilion."

Xie Yuanhe had a headache. "Let's not let this matter reach the ears of the Empress Dowager and the Shen family for now. We'll talk about it after the antidote is prepared and the girl is safe and sound."

Such a big thing has happened, it's impossible to keep it from Empress Dowager Shen.

However, Empress Dowager Shen is currently unwell, and Xie Yuanhe does not want her to worry.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

How could Wang Luhai not understand his master's predicament?

Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh.

Although on the surface it appears that it was Princess Consort of Chu who did it, how could she have dared to poison the Crown Princess without the permission of the King of Chu?

The person who was poisoned was the daughter of the Shen family, the niece of the Empress Dowager, and the Crown Princess of the current dynasty!

The Emperor could not explain this to the Empress Dowager and the Shen family, much less to the Crown Prince!

"Your Majesty, what about the Princess Consort of Chu..."

Wang Luhai hesitated.

"Is the Crown Prince aware of this matter?"

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has not yet finished the morning court session and should not yet be aware of the situation."

"Um."

Xie Yuanhe walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, having made up his mind, before turning back to look at Wang Luhai, his tone gloomy, "Go to the Chu Prince's residence in person and summon the Chu Princess to the palace immediately!"