69. Eliminate Qi Xunyuan

Soon, the head chef of the imperial kitchen was brought in, trembling like a leaf: "Your Majesty, please be wise! All the dishes have been tested with a silver needle..."

"Where's the wine?" Qu Zijin interrupted coldly. "Has the wine been tested?"

The eunuch hurriedly brought out all the wine jugs in the room, and the imperial physician tested them one by one with silver needles, but there was no reaction.

The needle tip turned black instantly when it came to the imperial wine that Wei Xiuming had bestowed upon Xie Wenling.

"This..." Upon realizing there was truly a problem with the food, the steward instantly collapsed to the ground.

But after seeing the appearance of the wine pot, they quickly got up: "This wine was bestowed by His Majesty himself, and we servants dare not handle it..."

Wei Xiuming's pupils contracted sharply—this pot of Western Region tribute wine was originally meant for him.

"Fine, very well." Wei Xiuming laughed in extreme anger, "This is regicide!"

"Your Majesty! Chun Tao has been brought in!" A guard escorted in a Chun Tao.

Na Chuntao's face was ashen, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"Chuntao." Wei Xiuming walked slowly to her. "Do you know your crime?"

"This servant is innocent!" Chun Tao kowtowed heavily. "This servant has been in Consort Qi's palace all day and has never seen Princess Fukang!"

"Liar!" the second brother suddenly rushed forward. "My sister never lies!"

"Your Highness is wise..." Chun Tao ignored him.

Wei Xiuming ignored her as well: "Speak! Who ordered you to murder Princess Fukang? And who poisoned my wine?"

Chun Tao trembled all over, but gritted her teeth: "This servant really doesn't know anything... uh..."

"This servant...this servant..." She suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, her eyes widened, a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, and she convulsed and collapsed.

The imperial physician rushed to examine her and exclaimed, "She committed suicide by poisoning herself!"

The incident happened too suddenly, and Chun Tao had clearly taken a large dose of poison.

The imperial physician rushed over to check on her, only to find that she had already died.

"What a brilliant move—to leave no evidence against them." Wei Xiuming laughed angrily. "Where is Qi Xunyuan?"

"Your Majesty, Consort Qi Xunyuan has been staying in the palace all day..." the eunuch replied tremblingly.

"I don't care whether she's in the palace or not, summon her to me!"

[Task Completed]

You successfully killed Chun Tao, eliminating Qi Xun Yuan's right-hand woman.

[Reward Obtained: Advanced Animal Affinity]

The little dumpling stayed by Xie Wenling's side. She heard the system aunt tell her that the mission was completed, but she couldn't be happy at all.

[Task triggered]

Chun Tao is dead.

[What's even more intriguing is that you discover Chun Tao's death has also inadvertently dragged Qi Xun Yuan into the mix.]

You can't help but feel excited.

If you can use this to get rid of Qi Xunyuan, it will be a major victory on your path to revenge!

[Mission: Eliminate Qi Xunyuan.]

[Reward: Body Strengthening Pill]

The system kept issuing tasks. The little dumpling was stunned for a moment, but Xie Wenling in front of him could no longer hold on and closed his eyes.

In front of the screen, Wei Xiuming was still directing the palace servants to investigate the matter when he suddenly heard the little dumpling crying from behind the screen: "Brother Xie! Brother Xie, wake up!"

Everyone rushed over and saw Xie Wenling lying on the couch, his face pale and blood constantly flowing from his lips.

The imperial physician was administering acupuncture, but his hands were trembling violently.

"How is it?" Wei Xiuming asked anxiously.

The imperial physician knelt down: "The poison has entered the heart meridian, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

"Useless! You can't even cure a poison, what use are you to me!"

The imperial physician knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I may be able to save Lord Xie's life, but the poison cannot be completely expelled, and I'm afraid... I'm afraid he will suffer from incurable aftereffects in the future..."

Hearing the imperial physician's words, Jin Lanyue's once rosy face was now deathly pale, her face streaked with tears: "No...no...save Brother Xie..."

Wei Xiuming turned to look at Xie Wenling on the couch.

The young official's face had turned from pale to ashen, and dark red blood was constantly seeping from his lips.

The little dumpling beside her was crying her heart out, her tiny body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"Brother Xie... Brother Xie, don't die..." She clung tightly to Xie Wenling's sleeve, large tears falling onto the bloodstains, "It's all Yue'er's fault..."

The second brother, his eyes red-rimmed, tried to pull his sister away, saying, "Be good, little sister, let the imperial physician treat Brother Xie's illness..."

"No!" the little dumpling screamed, her tiny hands gripping the edge of the bed tightly. "I don't want to leave Brother Xie!"

Before she could finish speaking, her body went limp, and she fainted from crying.

"Little sister!" the second brother exclaimed.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, accompanied by a maid's panicked pleas: "Madam! You can't go in..."

"Get out of the way!" a woman's voice, trembling with tears, shouted.

The next second, the palace door was suddenly pushed open, and Jiang Xiyue stumbled in.

Her hair was disheveled, and she even wore her outer garment inside out, clearly indicating that she had arrived in a great hurry.

"My child!" She picked up her daughter and her trembling fingers stroked the child's pale face.

"Your Majesty!" She turned and knelt before Wei Xiuming, holding her child, her voice hoarse. "Your Majesty, I beg you to severely punish the murderer! My daughter is only three years old..."

Wei Xiuming's face was grim: "Madam, rest assured, I will definitely give you a satisfactory result."

A high-pitched eunuch announced from outside the hall: "Consort Qi has arrived—"

All eyes turned to the doorway.

Qi Xunyuan, dressed in plain clothes with only a silver hairpin in her hair, said, "Your Majesty..."

She was about to bow when Wei Xiuming interrupted her sharply.

"Qi Xunyuan!" Wei Xiuming grabbed the poisoned wine pot from the table and smashed it at her feet. "How dare you! You actually ordered Chun Tao to murder Princess Fukang and even poisoned my wine!"

The sound of the porcelain pot shattering startled Qi Xunyuan, making her tremble all over.

She knelt down with a thud, her forehead hitting the ground heavily: "Your Majesty, please see the truth! I am innocent! Although Chun Tao is from my palace, I knew nothing about this matter..."

She wept bitterly, her face streaked with tears: "Your Majesty, I truly knew nothing... It must have been that lowly maidservant acting under orders to frame me!"

She suddenly crawled a few steps on her knees and grabbed the hem of Wei Xiuming's dragon robe: "I have followed you for so many years, and Jiayou is already five years old. Don't you believe me?"

"Mother..." the young prince suddenly spoke, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

His small body swayed, his face even paler than the unconscious little dumpling: "Why did you do this?"

Qi Xunyuan turned her head sharply, the tears in her eyes freezing instantly: "Jiayou! Even you doubt your mother?"

"Your Majesty, I simply do not understand..." The young prince took two steps back in alarm, "You sent people to kill Little Moon, and even tried to poison Father... Your Majesty, I do not understand..."

"Insolence!" Qi Xunyuan shouted angrily, her voice sharp and piercing. "Your mother raised you with great difficulty, and this is how you repay her?"