Chapter 33: Doctor Wen is gone!

"You mean to say that Consort Wan was poisoned?" The Empress straightened up, supporting herself with a square pillow, and asked seriously.

Everyone looked at Zhen Huan with surprise and doubt. You know, Zhen Huan fell ill and had her green headband removed on the third day after entering the palace. Who would want to harm a concubine who had only entered the palace three days ago and had not yet served the emperor?

Zhen Huan herself covered her mouth, her surprise and fear clearly written on her face, but the fleeting panic in the depths of her eyes was still caught by those who were paying attention.

One was Lü Yingfeng, who had always been paying attention to her, and the other was Cao Qinmo, who was extremely meticulous.

Cao Qinmo sat closest to her and, seeing the superficial shock on her face, silently lowered her head, understanding dawning on her.

Zhang Mi recalled the pulse he had just felt and found it quite strange. "Your Majesty, it is not necessarily poison, but rather a drug that causes abnormalities in the body. I believe that the person administering the drug was extremely careful in determining the dosage, and it will not cause any harm to Your Majesty."

"Ah!" Consort Cao looked around and feigned surprise, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "Who is so vicious as to let such a beautiful girl like my sister waste so long in the harem!"

"But who would use such an ineffective medicine to harm people?" Consort Fucha asked with a frown, somewhat disbelieving.

Seeing that everyone was getting closer to the truth, Zhen Huan dared not let them speculate any further. She took two deep breaths, as if she were drowning and craving oxygen. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, and she clutched her handkerchief to her mouth as she cried silently.

"Your Majesty! I have never made an enemy of anyone since I first came to the palace. I do not know why I have suffered such a calamity." She slowly slid off the stool and knelt on the ground, her voice choked with sobs. Anyone who saw her pitiful appearance would say that she was in a terrible state.

“However,” she changed the subject, “although this person intended to harm me, he did not actually damage my body. It seems he misunderstood for a moment and still had good intentions. I do not wish to pursue the matter further and ask Your Majesty to give this person another chance.”

The Empress's usually compassionate expression turned somber, and she did not comply with her words—"You have just entered the palace and are still young. You do not understand the importance of these matters. This is a serious matter. Go and investigate for me. Such filth is not allowed in the harem!"

With the Empress Dowager's final decision, the investigation was officially launched, and the morning and evening greetings were hastily concluded.

"Huan'er!"

Outside Jingren Palace, Chen Meizhuang waited in place after coming out, hoping to exchange a few words with Zhen Huan and ask what had happened.

But as soon as she spoke, Zhen Huan, who was right next to her, seemed not to have heard her. She walked past her expressionlessly, holding Huan Bi's hand. Even Huan Bi noticed that something was wrong, but what was even more wrong now was her mistress's mood. Helpless, she could only nod apologetically to her mistress, Mei Zhuang.

"What's wrong with Huan'er? I called her when we were so close, but she didn't respond." Shen Meizhuang stood there, watching the backs of the mistress and servant supporting each other as they walked away, her face full of confusion.

When An Lingrong came out, this was the scene she saw. Following Mei Zhuang's gaze, she saw a figure who had just gained favor but now looked rather lonely and desolate. She turned back to Shen Mei Zhuang and said, "Sister Mei, are you looking at Sister Wan? Sister Wan must have been frightened today, which is why she seems a bit unusual."

Meizhuang looked at the delicate and beautiful Lingrong beside her and silently nodded in agreement with her statement: "Never mind, I'll talk to her again when she's calmed down a bit."

“Yes!” Ling Rong nodded in agreement, “I’ll go with my sister then.”

Thinking of Lü Yingfeng's protectiveness in the palace, Shen Meizhuang's brows relaxed a bit. She stepped forward, took An Lingrong's arm, and said affectionately, "I'm going to Yongshou Palace with you today. Consort Xin has spoken up for me several times, so I must thank her in person."

When Consort Xin was mentioned, An Lingrong's smile brightened considerably, and she nodded happily.

——

Hongzhao never expected that his butterfly wings would cause such a big change.

I heard that this matter caused quite a stir this morning. As soon as the Emperor finished court, he went straight to Suiyuxuan. Naturally, Su Peisheng took over the investigation.

It must be said that the chief eunuch by the emperor's side was incredibly capable. For an entire day, even the fur of a dog passing by Suiyu Pavilion had to be parted to receive an inspection. Under such immense pressure, the results were obtained by evening before the night was over.

"Aunt Xuexin, are you saying that Imperial Physician Wen poisoned Huan'er?"

Shen Meizhuang exclaimed in disbelief, then covered her mouth in embarrassment, realizing she had overreacted.

It was quite a coincidence that Consort Jing, Consort An, and Noble Lady Shen all gathered in the main hall of Yongshou Palace today. The four of them, along with their three children, had a rare and enjoyable chat.

Xuexin nodded seriously, "That's right. I'm also puzzled. How could a royal physician dare to give Your Highness medicine? That's really too audacious."

Shen Meizhuang's expression was somewhat unpleasant. Others might not know about Huan'er's relationship with the Wen family, but Shen Meizhuang did. She didn't believe that Wen Shichu would use such methods against the daughter of his benefactor, and besides... there was no reason for him to do so.

Lingrong pondered for a moment, then asked the question she had been wanting to ask: "I've met Lord Wen a few times before, and he seems like a mild-mannered person. How could he dare to commit such a serious crime? Why did he want to harm Sister Wan?"

Everyone was curious, and all eyes turned to Xue Xin.

Lu Yingfeng intended for her two children to hear about these things as well. Born into the royal family, they were naturally exposed to these struggles and intrigues, and it was better for them to take the initiative than to grow up passively enduring them.

Xue Xin didn't keep them in suspense. In a captivating tone like a storyteller, she calmly said, "I heard that when we followed the clues to find that Imperial Physician Wen, he confessed to his crime without much trouble. He said that he was bewitched and had been interested in Consort Wan ever since he caught a glimpse of her at a Buddhist temple before she entered the palace."

Seeing everyone listening intently, Xue Xin became even more interested—"Imperial Physician Wen said that he had given Consort Wan medicine without permission only in the hope of seeing her more often, and had no intention of harming her."

Xuexin said, “But the Emperor wouldn’t listen to any of this. He coveted the concubines and harmed them. This is a serious crime. He was immediately sentenced to dismissal and beheading, and his whole family was exiled to Ningguta. Consort Wan tried to stop him and persuade him not to punish him so severely, but it was to no avail.”

"Oh dear, Consort Wan must be terrified." Consort Jing was somewhat worried about this young girl who had just entered the palace and was only seventeen years old.

Xue Xin nodded in agreement, feeling the same way. "That's right. Consort Wan has been crying nonstop since she learned about this and refuses to see anyone. Even the Emperor didn't leave because of this and stayed with her at Suiyu Pavilion all day."

Hong Zhao remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was frantically calling for the system.

"Brother Tong! It's over! Doctor Wen is gone!"

"Beep—" The system turned on in response, flashed randomly in Hongzhao's mind for a moment, and several equations popped up on the screen, it was unclear what they were calculating.

Being an advanced civilization, they quickly provided a result: "It's alright. You have a lot of options in this world. You can make up for it by doing more missions."

Seemingly to verify the authority of his words, the task interface that Hongzhao was most familiar with popped up immediately afterward.

"Sixth task—Please help Shen Meizhuang successfully navigate the false pregnancy incident."

"Mission completion reward: Fertility Pill (male or female selectable)"