Ye Qingxue: "..."

They even had a motive for her to poison him.

The emperor's face was ashen, as if a storm was brewing. He said in a deep voice, "You're not convinced? What else do you want to say about me?"

Ye Qingxue did not dodge or evade: "If Your Majesty punishes me without distinguishing right from wrong, I will certainly not accept it, and it will also make Your Majesty appear to be a foolish and unkind ruler. Your Majesty has misunderstood me and Prince Jing many times, yet you never reflect on your own actions and will repeat the same mistakes next time!"

hiss!

Everyone gasped, realizing that even if Ye Qingxue hadn't been executed for poisoning the Ninth Prince, she would have been executed for offending the Emperor.

How dare she!

Ye Qingxue naturally had her own considerations. The emperor had misunderstood her and Yun Zhuo and wanted to punish them more than once or twice.

After so many incidents, if the emperor punishes her without waiting for the truth to come out, it will only make him appear incompetent, foolish, and easily angered.

Even the emperor's reputation as a benevolent ruler, cultivated over many years, will be ruined in an instant.

Ye Qingxue was gambling on how much the emperor valued her reputation.

Many people want her and Yun Zhuo dead. The person administering the punishment might be bribed, and thirty strokes of the cane might just kill her or leave her paralyzed.

Everyone was waiting for the emperor to be enraged and drag Ye Qingxue away to be executed. Although the future Princess Consort of Jing was of noble status, that was relative to ordinary people.

If you anger the emperor, your fate will be no different from anyone else's.

The emperor's chest heaved violently, and veins were bulging on his forehead, but all the crowd waited for was to hear:

"Fine, I'll kill you after this is all over! Tell me, what's the story behind the Ninth Prince's poison?"

Consort Xian opened her mouth, wondering why the Emperor would give Ye Qingxue such a rebellious chance.

Although the Ninth Prince was distressed, he remained rational and was genuinely shocked!

But it doesn't matter, he doesn't believe Ye Qingxue has the ability to turn the situation around!

He is the most valued prince of the Emperor. He was poisoned, and he even prepared the poison himself. As long as he doesn't admit it and Ye Qingxue can't produce any evidence, he will only face death!

Just then, Ye Qingxue suddenly came to his side and grabbed his wrist: "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince's pulse is rapid, his fingertips are bluish-purple, and judging from his rapid breathing and the red rash on his body, it should be lacquer tree poisoning!"

Ninth Prince: "..."

That's nonsense! He didn't use lacquer tree poison at all!

But the imperial physician arrived, and after the emperor had him examine the prince, the physician said, "As Miss Ye said, the Ninth Prince's condition does indeed show signs of poisoning from lacquer tree sap. Quickly prepare licorice and mung bean soup!"

Ninth Prince: "..."

That's impossible!

The physician hurried out to prepare licorice and mung bean soup.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager was also helped out of the inner chamber and sat weakly on the couch.

"There's no need to bow to me. Let's investigate the matter first." Although the Empress Dowager was weak, her authority remained undiminished, so everyone stopped bowing.

Ye Qingxue suddenly pointed to the Ninth Prince's belt, "There seems to be something on the inside of the Ninth Prince's belt, but it wasn't spilled with tea!"

Consort Xian reached out to check, but Ye Qingxue grabbed her wrist: "Your Highness, please don't move. It might contain poison powder. You might get poisoned too!"

Consort Xian was stunned for a moment, then her eyebrows shot up in anger: "What nonsense are you spouting? How could my son's belt possibly be contaminated with poison?"

Ye Qingxue smiled and said, "Your Highness, I have no poison on me, but the Ninth Prince's belt may very well be poison. Why don't you have the imperial physician examine it?"

The Ninth Prince tried to struggle violently, but Ye Qingxue held his hands and pressed down on his thighs, making him unable to move.

"Ninth Prince, please calm down. Be careful that the poison on your belt doesn't get on other parts of your body, or you'll feel even worse," Ye Qingxue said.

The imperial physician took out a clean handkerchief to protect his hand, and collected the powder from the Ninth Prince's belt. He then rubbed it on his fingertips, and soon red rashes appeared on his fingertips.

The imperial physician knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this powder is clearly made from the sap of the lacquer tree, which was collected, dried, and then ground into powder."

Consort Xian's face was pale. She had just said that she would find the poison on Ye Qingxue, but the poison was found on her son!

She glanced at the Emperor, then at the Empress Dowager, her lips moving slightly, unsure how to explain herself.

The Ninth Prince was still breathing heavily.

This is impossible, this is impossible!

His eyes widened in fury, and he strained with all his might, gritting his teeth: "It wasn't lacquer tree poisoning, you, you're lying!"