Empress Song was drinking tea in the octagonal pavilion. Sitting there, she could see the nannies teaching Shen Ying and the others the palace rules, but it didn't prevent her from handling the trivial matters of the inner palace.

Shen Wan stepped into the pavilion, curtsied to Empress Song, and asked, "I wonder why Your Majesty summoned me to the palace...?"

As Shen Wan bowed, Shen Ying, Fu Shu, and Princess Shouchun approached.

They were also curious about why Empress Song wanted to bring Shen Wan into the palace.

The thought that they had failed to control Shen Wan and instead shot themselves in the foot, forced to come to Fengyi Palace every day to learn palace rules and etiquette, becoming a laughing stock in the harem, made them grit their teeth in anger.

Empress Song looked at Shen Wan and said, "I heard that Prince Ling has been feeling unwell lately, which alarmed the Emperor, who even had Imperial Physician Zhao examine him?"

It turned out that she was contacted because of Xie Jingyan's illness. Why did Empress Song, who was so curious about Xie Jingyan's illness, need to contact her? Why didn't she just ask Chief Physician Zhao directly?

Shen Wan really didn't want to tell Empress Song much about Xie Jingyan's condition, but since Empress Song asked, she had no choice but to answer. Shen Wan said, "I don't know what's wrong with the prince. First, his alcohol tolerance decreased, and he would get drunk after drinking only two jars of wine. Then, he would feel nauseous in the morning and have a poor appetite. In the past two days, it has become so bad that he vomits everything he eats. But we have consulted Physician Xu, Physician Zheng, and doctors from outside the palace. Even Chief Physician Zhao took the prince's pulse and said that the prince's pulse was steady and there was nothing wrong with him."

Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite—how can there be no problem at all?

Empress Song didn't believe it. "Don't you know what caused Prince Ling to be like this?"

Shen Wan said, "Imperial Physician Xu previously speculated that the prince might have suffered from aftereffects after receiving treatment for his leg ailment."

It's normal to have aftereffects from treatment.

Prince Ling is truly plagued by misfortune. He finally recovered from his broken leg, but was left with the aftereffect of vomiting everything he ate. It's rare to see a prince so unlucky.

Empress Song picked up her teacup, about to take a sip, when Shen Ying suddenly spoke up, "Why do you look so pale?"

She was saying this to Fu Shu.

One sentence immediately drew everyone's attention.

Fu Shu's expression was indeed very unpleasant.

Empress Song asked, "What's wrong with Shu'er?"

Fu Shu looked frightened and didn't speak. The maid standing behind her said, "The princess has been feeling nauseous these past few mornings, and she hasn't been able to eat much these past couple of days..."

Before the maid could finish speaking, Fu Shu felt nauseous, covered her mouth, and ran to the side to vomit.

These symptoms are similar to Xie Jingyan's.

Shen Wan remembered that both Fu Shu and Xie Jingyan had been poisoned by aphrodisiacs. Could this be a side effect of the aphrodisiacs?

Empress Song didn't think of anything else, and just like Shen Wan, she immediately said, "Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

The palace maid hurried off to deliver the message.

As the palace maids withdrew, a young eunuch approached and bowed to Empress Song, saying, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has summoned Princess Ling."

The Emperor summoned her at this particular time, not earlier or later, because he wanted to see if Fu Shu's condition was the same as Xie Jingyan's. If she was physically healthy like him, then it must be a side effect of the aphrodisiac.

It would take some time for the imperial physician to arrive, and Shen Wan dared not keep the emperor waiting. Even if she dared, Empress Song would not.

Shen Wan could only curtsy and take her leave, then followed the eunuch to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor.

The Imperial Study.

The Emperor is reviewing memorials.

The young eunuch stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, Princess Ling has arrived."

The Emperor closed the memorial in his hand and said, "Let her in."

When the young eunuch came out, Shen Wan happened to be outside the Imperial Study. Without waiting outside, she went straight in.

Shen Wan stepped forward, but before she could curtsy, the Emperor asked, "What's wrong with Yan'er? How can she be nauseous and even vomiting frequently when she's not sick or poisoned?"

Shen Wan shook her head, "Wan'er doesn't know either. The Prince got drunk after drinking just two jars of wine at the Prince Jin's residence that day. Chen Feng felt something was wrong and invited Imperial Physician Xu for him. Since that day, the Prince has been vomiting frequently, and his condition has worsened in the last two days. He's reached the point where he can't eat anything and vomits it all. But whether we consult the Imperial Physician or the doctors outside the palace, they all say that the Prince's pulse is steady and that he's not sick..."

After a pause, Shen Wan said, "However, just now at the Empress's place, Princess Fu of Jin also had symptoms of nausea and loss of appetite upon waking up. The Empress has already summoned the imperial physician for her. She and the Prince have both been exposed to aphrodisiacs before, so I wonder if it's related to the aphrodisiacs."

Shen Wan increasingly felt that it was due to the aphrodisiac, since Xie Jingyan had also been treated for a leg ailment in his previous life, but had never been affected by the aphrodisiac.

If it really was caused by the aphrodisiac, she would skin Shen Ying alive.

The Emperor frowned. "When did Yan'er ever take an aphrodisiac?"

This matter has not spread, so the emperor is unaware of it.

Empress Song had asked Shen Wan before, but Shen Wan denied it. Now that Xie Jingyan's illness was at stake, Shen Wan no longer hid it and told the Emperor the truth: "On the day of Prince Jin's birthday, not only Fu Shu was poisoned by the aphrodisiac, but the prince was also poisoned. Fortunately, the prince's leg ailment had mostly healed, so he was not tricked and left Prince Jin's residence in time."

Speaking of this, Eunuch Yuan recalled how a certain prince had been so dissolute during the day that Shen Wan had sent him to stay in her study for several days. Eunuch Yuan was surprised that Prince Ling shouldn't be like that, but it turned out that he had been drugged with aphrodisiacs.

As Eunuch Yuan pondered this matter, the Emperor glanced over, and Eunuch Yuan immediately understood, quickly instructing the young eunuch, "Go and see the Empress."

The father-in-law withdrew.

Seeing Shen Wan's worried expression, Eunuch Yuan comforted her, "Your Highness is a lucky person, and nothing will happen to you."

These words were meant to comfort Shen Wan, and even more so to comfort the Emperor.

Although Shen Wan was very worried, she believed that Xie Jingyan would definitely be alright. If it weren't for her dragging him down in his previous life, he could have lived a long time. In this life, with her joining forces, he would die young in the end. Then she would truly be a scourge.

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