Seeing the Fifth Princess's erratic behavior and the palace maid's terrified state, the old emperor frowned and asked, "What exactly is going on?"

However, no one answered. The palace maid kept pressing down on the Fifth Princess, hoping she could calm down, but it was all in vain, because the drunken Fifth Princess had already started taking off her clothes.

Seeing that the situation was escalating, the palace maid knelt down and cried out, "Your Majesty, this Madam Lu is plotting to harm the princess in public! Please, Your Majesty, do justice for the Fifth Princess!"

Her words brought everyone to their senses. Yes, it was He Jiuniang who forced the princess to drink that cup of wine. Even if something went wrong, it was this woman who did it!

"We beg Your Majesty to do justice for the Fifth Princess!"

Someone stepped forward to uphold justice, and Consort Hui disregarded everything else, stepping forward to hold the unconscious Fifth Princess tightly in her arms to prevent her from doing anything excessive.

"Hmph, now that things have come to this, you might as well tell the truth!"

Lu Baichuan looked at the palace maid on the ground with eyes as cold as ice. He could tell there was something wrong with the wine, let alone his wife.

Everyone was immediately puzzled. This was just a lowly palace maid; what could she possibly say?

It was clearly He Jiuniang who did the bad thing, so why is it being blamed on a little palace maid?

The young palace maid knelt on the ground, trembling. She never expected things to develop to this point. She gritted her teeth and begged the emperor to make a decision for the fifth princess.

As long as the blame is shifted onto He Jiuniang, she can escape unscathed.

At this moment, He Jiuniang chuckled and said to the little palace maid on the ground, "If you still don't tell the truth, it won't just be a matter of losing face when your princess's body is poisoned. If the poison doesn't dissipate within three days, she will explode and die. Let me guess, you probably haven't bought the antidote, have you?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

The young palace maid was already frightened, but when she heard He Jiuniang say that, she was instantly provoked.

The old emperor stared intently at the young palace maid on the ground, already guessing what had happened.

Lu Baichuan stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, judging people is something I am good at, and I am willing to share Your Majesty's burdens."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and reached out to grab the little palace maid by the back of her collar.

The old emperor remained silent, which was a clear indication of his acquiescence.

If she dares to play tricks under his nose, this little palace maid's life is only so long.

Consort Hui also realized the seriousness of the matter. Without regard for anything else, she knelt down in the main hall and cried out, "Your Majesty, Qingyu has suffered such a great humiliation. I beg Your Majesty to make the decision and kill this couple!"

He Jiuniang raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled, "Why are you in such a hurry? Isn't this an investigation? What do you mean by deliberately interrupting the Emperor's investigation?"

Consort Hui was shocked that He Jiuniang would speak to her like that. She stared at her with wide eyes, wishing she could kill her with her gaze.

Just as Lu Baichuan was about to make his move, He Jiuniang said again, "Forget it, a proper banquet shouldn't involve bloodshed. Let's use this instead."

As he spoke, he tossed a small bottle to Lu Baichuan and explained, "Using this stuff will make you wish you were dead, and you'll confess very quickly."

Lu Baichuan then forced the little palace maid to pour the liquid from the bottle into her mouth.

The palace maid didn't want to swallow it, but she had no choice; in that instant, her body froze.

I felt pain all over my body, so much so that I was sweating profusely, my veins were bulging, and I was rolling my eyes back as if I was about to faint.

But I just couldn't faint. My mind was clearer than anything else, but the pain was so intense that I couldn't even shed a tear.

Everyone watching this scene couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. Regardless of the woman's medical skills, she still possessed some real abilities.

After a short while, the palace maid spoke with difficulty: "I...I'll talk..."

He Jiuniang took out a silver needle and pricked her, releasing a few drops of black blood. The pain disappeared instantly.

The young palace maid looked as if she had just been pulled from the river; she was soaked in sweat and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Hurry up, if you delay any longer, your princess will be in serious trouble."

He Jiuniang urged impatiently. At this time, the Fifth Princess had already been knocked unconscious, but even so, she was still restless. Her face was dark red, yes, dark red, as if she could smoke.

Consort Hui was starting to get anxious. If things continued like this, wouldn't her daughter become an idiot?

The young palace maid glanced at the Fifth Princess and resignedly said, "The drug in Madam Lu's wine was put there by this servant... She... she humiliated the princess, and this servant wanted to avenge the princess... but... I didn't expect..."

The little palace maid couldn't continue speaking. She thought she had done everything perfectly. She believed that as long as He Jiuniang drank the wine, she would go crazy and lose all face, and then explode and die three days later, thus avenging the princess.

That's why she didn't buy the antidote at all, because she wanted He Jiuniang dead from the very beginning.

Everyone was shocked. That meant that the Fifth Princess wanted to harm He Jiu Niang, but He Jiu Niang saw through her plan and instead forced the Fifth Princess to drink the wine.

When...when did He Jiuniang discover that there was something wrong with the wine?

When did they find out it was done by the Fifth Princess's people?

Many things are terrifying when you think about them closely; this woman is far more formidable than they imagined.

"Did everyone hear that clearly? The Fifth Princess has a deadly poison in her body, and there is currently no antidote. If I don't take action, she will surely explode and die in three days. But since I promised to demonstrate my medical skills, I will naturally do so. Please watch carefully."

As He Jiuniang spoke, she walked up to Consort Hui and the Fifth Princess, pushed Consort Hui aside, and then pressed a palm on the Fifth Princess's acupoint on her abdomen. Immediately afterwards, a silver needle was inserted into the top of her head.

The fifth princess, who had been unconscious, soon woke up. Just as she was feeling a headache, her sleeve was pulled up and a string of needles were inserted into it. Her finger was also pricked by a thick silver needle, and a small pool of black blood was squeezed out.

The Fifth Princess screamed in pain, but He Jiuniang held her down tightly, and Lu Baichuan stopped others who wanted to come forward, so no one could help her.

In just a moment, the blood turned red, and He Jiuniang stood up and said, "It's done."

She smiled at Consort Hui and said, "The consultation fee is five hundred taels of gold. Oh, right, there's also a request Your Highness just made. I won't make things difficult for you; just apologize and thank me in public."

"you……"

Consort Hui couldn't help but point at her, but before she could speak, He Jiu Niang interrupted her: "What do you mean, 'you'? You've ruined a perfectly good banquet like this, and you still think you're right? I was just sitting in my seat eating, did that offend you? And you're making up stories about my relationship with the Emperor. What, is my man just for show or are you? The Emperor is old enough to be my father. Did you even think before you said those things? I don't want a perfectly good young and handsome man, I want someone old enough to be my father. Do you think everyone is like you, out of their mind? If you don't apologize to me tonight, this isn't over!"

The main hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop!

Everyone stared at He Jiuniang in disbelief, wondering if this woman had gone mad.

How dare you speak to the Emperor like that? Don't you want your head?

Many people present were subtly implied, after all, there were plenty of young concubines in the harem, and those court officials who forced their daughters who had just reached marriageable age to enter the palace as concubines all turned green with rage.

Of course, the old emperor was also in a bad mood, as he was thus belittled to the point of being worthless.

He's the emperor! The supreme ruler!