Dao Cheng turned his head and stared at the woman's face, his expression somewhat agitated.

“Didn’t you say she definitely wouldn’t last a day? I’ve already replaced the bed with the firmest one, and the vegetarian meals I’ve sent over are the blandest and most tasteless, but she’s made it through.”

The woman waved her hands, "What's the rush? If it's just for show, of course it has to be convincing, otherwise someone will definitely have something to use against us. How many days can His Majesty and His Majesty, who are so precious and noble, endure such harsh conditions?"

"Neither of them is a good person. One is so infatuated with beauty that he neglects state affairs, and the other is using beauty to bewitch the emperor. This pretentious prayer can only last for two or three more days. If it doesn't rain from heaven, they'll give up."

Daocheng listened and nodded, agreeing that the woman's words made sense.

"I think so too. But my senior brother thinks that His Majesty and the Empress are dedicated to serving the people, and he keeps ordering me around. Humph, he shouldn't have been made abbot at all."

"You can rest assured about that. As long as His Majesty and the Empress can't bear the suffering and give up praying for blessings, you will be able to prove that you are right."

“It’s your senior brother who’s old and can’t judge people properly. In time, he might feel ashamed and stop using his position as abbot to order you around.”

Dao Cheng thought for a moment and nodded in satisfaction.

He hoped that the emperor and empress would soon be unable to bear the suffering any longer and leave Xiling Mountain, rather than the rain.

The woman gave a sinister smile, her eyes concealing a terrifying conspiracy.

————

The next morning, Gu Jiangli was greeted with another breakfast.

She knew that people in temples didn't eat meat, so when she saw that breakfast was a bowl of vegetarian porridge with pickled vegetables, she thought it was quite normal.

The emperor did not express any dissatisfaction, and the two picked up their spoons and prepared to eat.

Just as Gu Jiangli placed the spoon to her lips, a startling reminder rang in her mind.

【warn!!!】

Gu Jiangli immediately stopped moving and grabbed the emperor's hand as well.

Since she arrived here, the system has never issued such a loud warning before!

This level of urgency is far more serious than the time with the sleeping powder.

The fact that the system is in such a hurry suggests that this matter must be of great importance.

She hurriedly asked the system in her mind, "What's wrong? Can't I drink the porridge?"

【Honey, I don't recommend eating this bowl of porridge.】

That means there's something wrong with the porridge.

She knew she had taken a pregnancy-preserving pill, and no matter what, the baby would be fine. In other words, if she ate this bowl of porridge, she would be the one in trouble.

I never imagined that someone would dare to commit such a heinous act of poisoning in the remote Xiling Mountains.

Gu Jiangli's expression was solemn, and he still held the emperor's hand tightly.

The emperor's spoon froze in mid-air, and he asked blankly:

"What's wrong, my dear consort? Is the porridge not to your liking? Don't you want to eat this? I'll have someone go and get you a different one."

Gu Jiangli looked at him intently.

The emperor probably never imagined that there would be poison in the porridge.

After all, besides the guards they brought from the palace, the only other people in this temple were monks who were devoted to Buddhism.

She herself couldn't imagine who would do such a thing.

Should we tell the emperor?

Will this alert the culprit and prevent us from catching the real killer?

After much deliberation, Gu Jiangli decided not to hide the truth and said, "Your Majesty, this porridge is not safe to eat."

The emperor put down his spoon, paused, and asked, "Does my beloved concubine think this porridge... is poisoned?"

"Your Majesty, the temple has stopped receiving tourists who come to offer incense for the past two days. Only some monks in the temple are there. They are devoted to Buddhism, so we trust the food they provide."

"However, if someone has been plotting against His Majesty from the beginning and is hiding in the temple, then now is the best time to strike."

"So we can't be careless. Even in a temple bathed in Buddhist light, we still have to be careful, right?"

The emperor let out a heavy sigh. "My beloved consort is right. I was careless and didn't think of these things."

He pushed the porridge and bowls to the side of the table, preparing to call for help, but Gu Jiangli stopped him.

"Your Majesty, let me do it."

"Lotus," she called out, and Lotus immediately appeared in front of the door.

"Go to Physician Sun's residence and tell him that I am feeling unwell and need him to come and treat me."

Lotus turned pale with fright upon hearing this, thinking that something really had gone wrong.

She carefully observed her master's expression and saw no sign of discomfort. On the other hand, His Majesty looked solemn and cautious. She then realized that the Empress and His Majesty must have some scheme in mind when they ordered her to do this.

"Yes, this servant will go right away."

She looked extremely anxious and hurriedly ran to the imperial physician's room.

Gu Jiangli smiled. Although Hehua could be a bit silly at times, she was absolutely brilliant when it mattered.

A short while later, Physician Sun arrived carrying his medicine box.

He broke out in a cold sweat, thinking something had happened, but when he arrived, he saw the emperor and empress sitting comfortably on the bed, showing no signs of discomfort.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish his greetings, panting, Gu Jiangli interrupted him.

"Physician Sun, there's no need for such formalities. I'm fine. Go and check the two bowls of porridge on the table. See if there's anything unusual about them."

When Physician Sun saw that the Empress was alright, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned around, picked up a bowl of porridge, sniffed it, and probed it with a silver needle. After going through all the procedures, he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down on the ground.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this porridge contains poison!"

Gu Jiangli narrowed his eyes.

It was such a potent poison.

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