Chapter 44 The Emperor’s True Heart

"Hanhuan, you don't have to be afraid. I'm here. I want to see who is so bold as to harm you right under my nose."

Zhen Huan could see that the emperor's worry in his words was quite genuine, but she didn't know if this little bit of sincerity would still remain if he knew who the real murderer was.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is here."

Su Peisheng came in from outside and reported to the emperor.

"Let her in."

The queen looked at the expressions of everyone in the room at the door, without much fluctuation on her face, and walked in with Jianqiu.

"May the Emperor be blessed with good health."

"Get up."

Today the Queen had planned to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager in her palace, but unexpectedly, Jinxi from Suiyuxuan came with a message saying that someone had poisoned Zhen Huan's soup.

"Lady Wan, as soon as I heard something happened to you, I rushed over to take a look. How is it going? What does the imperial physician say now?"

The Queen asked Zhen Huan with seeming concern.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. I was not feeling well and could not get up to greet you. Please forgive me."

When Zhen Huan was about to stand up and salute, the emperor gently stopped her with his hand. This small action made Yixiu even more resentful.

How come these bitches are so lucky and can escape every time, just like that annoying Concubine Hua.

Shen Meizhuang was easily rescued back then, and now the same is true for Zhen Huan.

That's right, when the Queen first heard that Zhen Huan was poisoned, she thought of who was responsible. What she didn't expect was that the other party would be so impatient to take action. But now it seems that the result is not as expected.

"Did they catch anyone?"

This is what the Queen cares about most.

"Reporting to the Queen, the Imperial Physician just examined my young lady's food and discovered that it was caused by poisoned plum soup. On the way to the Imperial Kitchen to get the plums, I bumped into a palace maid. After the young lady's accident, I thought of the previous incident and found it strange, so I had the palace maid brought here. She is now waiting outside the door, but this person..."

After looking at Zhen Huan, Huanbi described to everyone everything that had happened before.

"Bring the people in."

At the Queen's command, Xiao Yunzi came in with the palace maid that Huanbi mentioned.

The emperor also raised his head to see who dared to be so bold, but what he didn't expect was that the person in front of him looked familiar.

"This person is a maid in Noble Lady Fucha's palace. We dare not interrogate her arbitrarily, we are just keeping her under guard."

Huanbi explained what she had not finished saying just now.

"You bold slave! Why don't you tell the truth? Who ordered you to do this?"

Nian Shilan did not miss the strange look that flashed across the emperor's face when he saw this person. Not surprisingly, she silently mocked him in her heart.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me. No one ordered me to do this. I was just jealous that Lady Wan was so favored by Your Majesty, and I felt sorry for my young mistress."

The palace maid was trembling, her face full of fear, but she answered Nian Shilan's questions very clearly.

"Go and bring Noble Lady Fucha here."

The emperor did not say whether he believed the palace maid's words or not, but calmly asked Su Peisheng to bring Fu Cha over.

Zhen Huan also saw the emperor's reaction. It was impossible for her not to be disappointed. He was still talking about seeking justice for herself a second ago, but now with such an attitude, it was obvious that he was not prepared to investigate further.

While everyone was waiting, no one spoke in the room, and everyone had their own plans.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Empress, and to Consort Hua."

After a while, Fu Cha came over led by Su Peisheng.

"Get up."

The confused look on her face did not seem fake, and she became even more confused after seeing the palace maid beside her appear in Suiyuxuan.

"Ping'er, why are you here?"

"Noble Lady Fucha, are you aware that the maidservant beside you poisoned Noble Lady Wan's food?"

The queen looked at Fucha sternly.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged. Ever since I became pregnant, apart from paying my respects to my parents, I have spent almost all my time taking care of my unborn child. Moreover, I have no grudge against Concubine Wan, so how could someone do such a vicious thing?"

Fucha was so frightened that she quickly knelt before the emperor. Her aggrieved and tearful look was completely different from her usual arrogant demeanor.

The emperor stared at her for a long time without saying a word. No one knew what was going on beneath his calm appearance.

"Palace maid Ping'er attempted to harm a concubine in the palace and shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane. As for Fucha's improper management of her servants, she shall be fined three months' salary. As for the people in Suiyuxuan who failed to protect their master, they should all be punished together. However, considering their past loyalty, I will forgive them this time. If they do this again, the punishment will be doubled."

The emperor concluded the whole matter in a few words and seemed not to be prepared to investigate further.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."

Among all the people, Fucha was probably the happiest. She originally thought that she could not escape this time, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. It seemed that Zhen Huan was not as favored by the emperor as rumored.

This was a good opportunity for this traitorous dog slave. She remembered very clearly that although she had always been jealous of Zhen Huan, she had never let anyone poison her. It seemed that someone wanted to use her to deal with Zeng Huan.

"Su Peisheng, go get the high-quality ginseng that was recently presented as tribute and use it to nourish Lady Wan."

"yes."

Su Peisheng took the order and left, and at the same time gave a wink, asking the person waiting at the door to come in and take Ping'er away.

"My lord, please save this slave, my lord, my lord."

Ping'er's cries were quickly silenced.

Things here are temporarily over, and the queen doesn't want to stay here any longer.

"Your Majesty, it's almost time for dinner. I have prepared some of your favorite dishes in my palace. Would you like to..."

"No need, you all go down first."

Before the queen could finish her words, she was rejected by the emperor.

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

The queen smiled virtuously, bowed respectfully to the emperor, and left, followed by everyone else.

As soon as they walked out of the door of Suiyuxuan, Nian Shilan and Shen Meizhuang looked at each other with telepathy. Shen Meizhuang whispered something in Caiyue's ear and left with Nian Shilan.

"Hanhuan, will you blame me?"

After everyone left, the emperor held Zhen Huan's hand and asked worriedly.

"How could that be? Huanhuan knows that Silang must have his own intentions in doing this. Huanhuan believes you."

The word "Silang" reminded the emperor of when he was with Zhen Huan. She always called him this lovingly in private. In her words, this is how ordinary people treat their husbands.

He felt relieved in his heart: "Huanhuan, you still understand me the best."

He touched Zhen Huan's still pale face and said, "Huan Huan, you know that for so many years, I have had few children. The ministers of the previous dynasty have repeatedly warned me, both openly and covertly. There are even rumors that this is God's punishment for me because of the previous dispute over the throne. I don't believe it. I am the Son of Heaven. How could God treat me like this? Now that Fu Cha is pregnant, this is the best proof to dispel these rumors."

There were many pregnant women in the palace before, but few of them could grow up safely. Now that Fucha is pregnant, how can the emperor not take it seriously?

In comparison, the promise made to Zhen Huan that he would "never hurt her at any time" seemed less important.

Zhen Huan always had an understanding smile on her face: "Huan Huan understands the reasoning behind this and will definitely not make things difficult for Si Lang."

No way!

Zhen Huan had already planned to cut Fu Cha and the people behind her into pieces in her heart, but she was not in a hurry. She could always wait for the right opportunity to come.

"Hanhuan, you should have a good rest. There are many things to do in the court these days. I will come to see you later."

The emperor patted her arm and gave her some careful instructions again before leaving.