Mi Shan's eyes darkened, and a hint of coldness crept onto her calm face.

Qin Miaomiao is something else!

They saved her life, and she's ungrateful.

They actually turned around and bit us!

For a moment, even Xun'er and Achan behind her showed expressions of deep disgust.

"My lady would never do such a thing!"

"There must be some misunderstanding!"

“Consort Mi, you just admitted in front of everyone that you made these pastries. Consort Qin also said that you knew she was allergic to mung beans.”

Empress Rouci's expression turned grave as she took a deep breath. "This is a premeditated attempt to harm the imperial heir! Your Majesty!"

Li Shengyuan exuded a terrifying and chilling aura as he turned to look at Mi Shan.

But she just stood there quietly, calm and composed.

He didn't offer any explanation for himself.

"Shan'er, did you really do this?"

"If I say no, will Your Majesty believe me?"

"Then tell me what really happened! As long as you give me a reasonable explanation... I will believe you!"

Li Shengyuan released Qin Guiren from his embrace and questioned Mi Shan's shoulders as he tightened his grip.

This scene startled both the Empress and Li Changyu for a moment.

This was the first time they had ever seen His Majesty so out of control with a woman.

"Ah, Your Majesty...it hurts, it hurts so much! It's all her fault, she tried to harm my child!"

Upon seeing this, Consort Qin immediately continued to cry out in pain.

Murong Wan, standing beside her, supported her with a pained expression: "Miaomiao, bear with it, the imperial physician is preparing the medicine!"

Lim Chao-yuan didn't forget to add fuel to the fire.

"Now that Consort Qin is so powerful and pregnant with the Emperor's child, it's natural that some people are busy trying to harm her. But Consort Mi, you're so foolish! The Emperor loves you so much, you'll be pregnant sooner or later, so why can't you tolerate a little sister Qin?"

"...The way you're saying it makes it sound like you've already confirmed my guilt."

Just as everyone was worried about her, Xia Ranxue and Prince Rui wanted to speak up for her.

Mi Shan suddenly smiled faintly and coldly brushed away the emperor's hands that were tightly gripping her shoulders.

She lowered her eyes and gave Qin Miaomiao a cold glance.

"Your Majesty, you should hurry and check on Sister Qin. Otherwise, if you miss this moment, you may never be able to appreciate her superb acting skills again."

Acting skills?

Everyone was shocked.

Qin Miaomiao herself was also taken aback.

"Am I wrong, Consort Qin? Stop pretending."

Mi Shan calmly stepped forward, squatted down, and pinched her slender wrist to examine it.

Put it down coldly.

"The rash on your arm might really be an allergy, but I can assure you, your stomach pain is definitely fake."

"No matter how much you want to get rid of me, you won't be willing to harm the dragon child in your belly."

After all, that's Qin Miaomiao's biggest asset right now.

Qin Miaomiao's expression changed drastically.

He looked up at her in shock.

The Empress was taken aback, a flicker of disbelief crossing her eyes. As if afraid she would continue, she hurriedly shouted:

"You audacious Consort! What nonsense are you spouting! Kneel down at once!"

"I did nothing wrong, why should I kneel?"

Mi Shan stood up quietly, sleeves tucked together, with a cold voice.

"First of all, I didn't put any mung beans in my pastries at all."

"Secondly, she must have hidden mung bean powder on herself. She must have applied it to her arm beforehand when no one was looking, which created the illusion of an allergic reaction."

"Your Majesty may send men to search her body."

After Mi Shan finished speaking, Qin Miaomiao immediately shook her head, braced herself on the ground, and backed away to avoid him.

"No, no, I didn't!"

Li Shengyuan stared coldly at him and gave him a meaningful look.

"search!"

Several palace maids stepped forward and, sure enough, quickly found a purse on her waist.

The purse contained mung bean powder.

Several court chefs were also invited to evaluate the pastries.

The chefs carefully took the food, tasted each piece, and then shook their heads.

After confirming that no mung bean powder was added.

Qin Miaomiao's face turned deathly pale instantly!

Empress Rouci swayed slightly and took two steps back, almost imperceptibly.

Empress Ru cast a surprised look at Mi Shan.

Behind her, Consort Feng's face turned pale and then green, her fists clenching tightly.

Just how many more skills does Mi Shan possess that she hasn't yet witnessed?

This seemingly frail woman possesses an unexpected amount of energy within her!

No wonder she has maintained a leading position among the newcomers since entering the palace!

Even as the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion, she had no choice but to be subordinate to her!

"Surprised? Actually, when I received the meal list last night, it included mung bean cake. But I didn't follow the recipe on that list. Instead, I had my servants secretly inquire about the dietary restrictions of the various palace mistresses."

"It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Sure enough, when I learned that Sister Qin was allergic to mung beans, I replaced her mung bean cake with Longjing tea cake. They looked pretty much the same."

“But if Sister Qin really eats them, she will naturally be able to tell the difference in taste between the two.”

"But Sister Qin..."

Mi Shan gave a bitter, cold laugh, a laugh filled with sorrow.

Seven-tenths of it was an act.

But there's also a genuine sense of disheartening disillusionment.

In fact, she had a doubt when the Empress summoned her for questioning yesterday.

Was it Qin Miaomiao or Murong Wan who secretly betrayed her? Or was the Empress deliberately saying those words to deceive her?

Regardless of the possibility, we must not let our guard down.

Sure enough, I saw mung bean cake on the menu.

Xiao Mingzi secretly found out that Qin Miaomiao's dietary restrictions included mung beans.

Mi Shan had already guessed most of it.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!