Zheng Fangyu gripped her handkerchief tightly, looked at the white ball standing above, and suddenly laughed: "I don't believe it!"

Ning Nanxiao glanced at Zheng Fangyu lightly.

"Your Highness, didn't you also distrust her? She's a liar!" Zheng Fangyu seemed to have thought of something, grabbed Ning Nanxiao's arm, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, she just called you a jinx, aren't you angry?"

Ning Nanxiao laughed: "So?"

"Your Highness, if only you would help me..."

“Alright,” Ning Nanxiao said calmly. “I can spare your life, but you must reveal the true culprit behind the murder of the two princesses.”

Ning Nanxiao's words startled Zheng Fangyu. The real culprit? How would she know who it was?

Just as Zheng Fangyu was about to ask a question, she heard Ning Nanxiao's voice: "You know."

Zheng Fangyu's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Tong Runing, but saw that she was calm and composed. She knew the answer in her heart.

"What exactly happened?!" Xiao Guangyuan appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Zheng Fangyu's arm. "Did you poison her?"

"My lord! How could I have poisoned the Empress Dowager! I didn't!" Tears streamed down Zheng Fangyu's face. "I really didn't!"

Xiao Ruyan also ran over, her voice trembling with sobs: "Waaah, my mother didn't poison me! It was all Bai Tuantuan's doing! Bai Tuantuan is a slut!"

"Smack!"

The sound of slapping attracted a lot of attention.

Xiao Ruyan covered her face, glaring angrily at Ning Nanxiao.

Ning Nanxiao shook his hand and snorted, "Never learns a lesson!"

Seeing that Xiao Ruyan was about to get angry, Xiao Guangyuan quickly covered her mouth.

Fortunately, at this moment, the white-haired Imperial Physician Huang arrived. After bowing, he quickly examined the Empress Dowager and was immediately shocked: "Seven-turn lingering flower?"

"What is that?" the Empress Dowager asked in confusion.

"A chronic poison with a ten-year incubation period, extremely obvious. Why didn't Physician Li notice it?" Physician Huang wondered, "Physician Li's medical skills are not low..."

"Guards! Bring Li Taihong to me!"

Bai Tuantuan looked at Tong Runing and saw that she was still the same as usual. She raised her eyebrows. Could it not be her?

"Zheng Fangyu!" The Emperor glared angrily at Zheng Fangyu. "Bring out the antidote!"

Zheng Fangyu knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, I did not poison you! I really did not!"

"Your Majesty, how could my daughter poison the Empress Dowager? It would do her no good!"

"Your Majesty, please investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Looking at the Zheng family members kneeling on the ground, the Emperor frowned and remained silent for a long time.

The other ministers standing nearby dared not utter a sound.

The atmosphere became extremely tense for a moment.

"The incense on Second Madam is a blend of flowers, while the incense on the Empress Dowager is a blend of orchids," Bai Tuantuan said slowly. "Neither of these scents will cause poisoning, but..."

Bai Tuantuan looked at the Empress Dowager: "Does the Empress Dowager soak her clothes in bergamot every time?"

“Yes!” Granny Fang interjected, “They’ve been soaking it in bergamot seeds for eight years now. Doctor Li said it’s good for the body…”

At this point, Granny Fang's face turned deathly pale: "Could it be...could it be that Physician Li is deceiving the Empress Dowager?"

Physician Huang continued, "Yes, the problem lies with the incense seeds. The combination of Qilan incense and Baihua incense will produce Ningxiang, and the combination of Ningxiang and the fragrance of incense seeds will cause people to be poisoned by the Seven-Turn Flowing Flower. Fortunately, it is only soaking, and if it is dispersed..."

"If one is poisoned by the Seven-Turn Flowing Flower and there is no antidote, one will die from the poison within a year at the earliest, or ten years at the latest. Judging from the Empress Dowager's pulse... she probably only has one or two years left."

"Empress Dowager!" everyone exclaimed. The Empress hurriedly said, "Imperial Physician Huang, now that the poison has been identified, please prepare the antidote immediately!"

Physician Huang stroked his beard and sighed, "I do know the antidote, but the key ingredient is hard to find!"

"The most important ingredient is purple Ganoderma lucidum, which must be over a hundred years old. At least one hundred pieces are needed. The Ganoderma lucidum must be ground into powder and added to the medicine to detoxify."

The Emperor fell silent. He did indeed possess a considerable quantity of Ganoderma lucidum in the national treasury, but those over a hundred years old were extremely rare, and he needed a hundred more…

"Your Majesty! Imperial Physician Li has committed suicide by poisoning!"

Everyone gasped and looked at the emperor, whose face was pale.

Tong Runing glanced at Lan'er, and seeing her nod, she said, "Your Majesty, this matter is so meticulous, it certainly couldn't have been done by my cousin."

Zheng Fangyu quickly nodded, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is right. This humble woman is ignorant of pharmacology and has no connection with Physician Li, so how could I have poisoned him!"

The Emperor raised his hand and said, "Lord Zheng, please rise."

Upon hearing this, Lord Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Zheng Fangyu had escaped a calamity.

"Your Majesty," Bai Tuantuan turned to look at the Emperor and said slowly, "Don't worry, if others don't have that Ganoderma lucidum, my uncle definitely does."

As she spoke, Bai Tuantuan gave the Emperor a sly smile.

The Emperor instantly realized, "Yes, Chen Xiaoran from the Chen family, he's from the Valley of Divine Physicians!"

"Quickly, Lao Cai, take Physician Huang to the Chen family!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager comforted him, saying, "My son, there's no need to worry. I know my own health well. Besides, we've already found the antidote, so you don't need to worry anymore."

"Mother..."

"Alright, leave this matter to Physician Huang. I think Madam Xiao has been framed."

"Yes! Who framed her?" Ning Nanxiao's lazy voice came over as he stared at Zheng Fangyu and said, "You know, Madam Xiao has gained a lot of benefits by virtue of being born on the same day and month as the Empress Dowager. She wouldn't be stupid enough to poison herself."

Zheng Fangyu thought that since she had been cleared of suspicion, she would never be threatened by Ning Nanxiao.

Tong Runing is her backer, and she wouldn't be foolish enough to expose her backer!

“However, it’s hard to say.” Ning Nanxiao changed the subject. “Compared to the Empress Dowager, the Consort is her backer. The Consort is only one step away from becoming Empress. You, my uncle, have always favored the Consort. If the Empress Dowager hadn’t forbidden you from deposing the Empress, you probably would have made the Consort Empress long ago.”

"Nonsense!" The Emperor blushed and glared at Ning Nanxiao.

Ning Nanxiao shrugged indifferently.

Ning Chengzhu, standing to the side, spoke up in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, who doesn't know what's going on in your harem? I've heard quite a bit about it. My son is right, so please stop trying to cover it up."

emperor:……

Is it too late to drag these two away now?

"I was young and didn't think things through. So many years have passed. The Empress has devoted herself to the harem. How could I be so heartless?" Helpless, the Emperor could only try to justify himself.

"However, Your Highness the Imperial Concubine may not know that you have changed your mind. Perhaps you think that if the Empress Dowager dies, she can become the Empress. So it is not impossible that you conspired with Madam Xiao to kill the Empress Dowager, is it, Madam Xiao?"

Zheng Fangyu's face turned deathly pale: "This humble woman did not, how could this humble woman dare!"

Looking at Ning Nanxiao's ambiguous smile, Zheng Fangyu immediately understood that if she didn't do as he said, she might lose her life here today...

With a "thump," Zheng Fangyu, ignoring the pain in her knees, knelt on the ground, her whole body trembling.

Tong Runing roared, "Ning Nanxiao! Don't think you can frame me just because you're the prince! I didn't do it!"

"Tong Runing!" A cold voice rang out, and her whip lashed out at Tong Runing. "I'll take your life!"

"ah!"

Tong Runing's scream rang out.

Everything's in chaos!

The Emperor was so angry he was practically fuming. He ordered someone to stop Leng Zhizhi and roared, "What are you doing?"

"It was she who had my son locked up in the cold palace!" Leng Zhizhi's eyes were filled with tears. "Shui Shui and Bing Bing are so young. If we hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid, I'm afraid we would never have seen them again!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor quickly looked at Tong Runing.

Tong Runing glared at Leng Zhizhi: "You're talking nonsense! Do you have any evidence?"

“Madam Xiao…” Ning Nanxiao called softly.

Zheng Fangyu's heart trembled violently, and she closed her eyes: "Your Highness, how could you be so foolish! How could you harm a child!"

The noisy hall suddenly fell silent.

Bai Tuantuan glanced at Ning Nanxiao and curled her lips into a smile.

It was a pleasure working together.