Empress Dowager Xu did not remember how she returned from the Censorate. She only knew that her limbs were weak, and she was nervous and uneasy. A palace maid brought her a cup of tea.
She wanted to take a sip of the tea, but she couldn't hold onto it.
Snap!
The tea leaves fell to the ground.
Tea stains and fragments were scattered all over the floor.
"This servant deserves to die." The palace maid knelt down and kowtowed to admit her mistake.
Empress Dowager Xu glanced at the palace maid and said tremblingly, "Get up."
The moment she closed her eyes, she saw the image of the Northern Chu Emperor leading his troops into the palace, his resolute young face stained with blood, a sword in his hand, gleaming coldly, exuding murderous intent.
Too many people have died since he came to power.
Only after Princess Jia Hua returned did he calm down and act like a wise ruler.
Empress Dowager Xu also suddenly realized that the Northern Chu Emperor's temper had never changed, and what she couldn't imagine was what would happen if Princess Jiahua died.
Emperor of Northern Chu...
"He will surely make everyone pay with their lives," Empress Dowager Xu said, trembling.
The palace maid asked with some confusion, "The Empress Dowager?"
"His Majesty will surely make all those involved pay with their lives." Empress Dowager Xu clasped her hands together, praying that Princess Jiahua would not die.
"Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. Without any evidence, how could the Emperor kill everyone?"
Empress Dowager Xu said, "That woman is dead, and he doesn't even want to live anymore. As for evidence, in his eyes, it's all bullshit!"
Suspicion is sufficient; evidence is not required.
The palace maid was speechless for a moment, and her expression turned frightened.
For the next two days, all the officials in the court prayed for Princess Jiahua's well-being. People were in a state of panic, and no one dared to mention the matter of ancestor worship during the morning court session.
More than a hundred officials stood there, completely silent, as if they were all mannequins.
The Emperor of Northern Chu rubbed his temples and glanced around.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have something to report." The minister knelt down with a thud and reported something else. The Emperor of Northern Chu gave a curt "Granted!"
The morning court session ended very quickly.
Suddenly, before the court session ended, the Northern Chu Emperor looked at Zhao Zhiyan and asked, "How is the Eighth Princess Consort?"
Zhao Zhiyan paused, then said, "The same as always."
"The same as always?" The Emperor of Northern Chu stared intently at Zhao Zhiyan for a long time before turning to Eunuch Li and saying, "Have some imperial physicians examine the Eighth Princess."
“Your Majesty, there’s no need,” Zhao Zhiyan refused. “The Princess Consort has received the medicine and has been cured of the poison. She is no longer in danger of death and is resting in bed. There’s no need for Your Majesty to send the imperial physicians.”
"Detoxified?" The Northern Chu Emperor smiled enigmatically. "A person who was poisoned and on the verge of death has suddenly been detoxified? Eighth Prince, where did you get the antidote?"
Zhao Zhiyan replied without hesitation, "It was my brother who bribed a palace maid in Ning'an Palace to steal the antidote from there."
This statement surprised everyone.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. For the sake of the Princess, I had no choice but to do this." Zhao Zhiyan knelt down.
The sharpness in the Northern Chu Emperor's eyes had lessened considerably. He didn't blame Zhao Zhiyan for stealing the medicine, and asked, "Is the antidote really from Ning'an Palace?"
"yes!"
"Could it be a mistake? Was the poison really administered by the Empress Dowager?" some people whispered among themselves.
The Emperor of Northern Chu was not concerned about the Empress Dowager poisoning Xu Lingqing, but rather how the Empress Dowager obtained the rare poison, the Western Regions' Illusionary Beauty.
A-Yue said that her cousin's poison was called "Heartbreak Powder," and only one person in the world knew how to make it, making it extremely rare.
Could this matter be related to the Empress Dowager?
"Understood, you may leave." The Emperor of Northern Chu waved his hand, not asking another question, and said to Eunuch Li, "Prepare the carriage for Ning'an Palace."
Eunuch Li's eyelids twitched; it seemed they were about to go and settle accounts with the Empress Dowager.
...
Eighth Prince's Mansion
After being cured of the poison, Xu Lingqing leaned against the chaise lounge and looked out the window. Huamei brought her medicine, which Xu Lingqing drank in one gulp without saying a word.
Huamei then presented the candied fruit.
Xu Lingqing picked up a pill and put it in her mouth. The bitterness was quickly masked by the sweetness. She looked up at the window and asked, "Why hasn't the prince returned yet?"
The court should be over by now.
Zhao Zhiyan would come to keep her company every day.
The thrush said, "Perhaps there was a delay on the way."
Xu Lingqing nodded, clutching her chest. After surviving a brush with death, there was nothing she couldn't see clearly. She looked up and asked, "Is there any news about Princess Jiahua?"
"No." Hua Mei said somewhat nervously, "Now everyone in and around the capital is on edge, afraid of being involved in this matter, and we don't know how the person is doing now."
Xu Lingqing pursed her lips. She suddenly felt that Princess Jiahua and Song Yue had changed a lot, as had Zhao Yunke, who should have died but was still alive.
She felt that perhaps those two people, like herself, had experienced something incredible.
"How is the Dowager Consort?"
Just then, a woman entered through the door. She was about forty years old. Unlike when she had just returned, she was dressed in a drab gray outfit. Now she was wearing a light pink dress, and the gold hairpin in her hair was quite substantial.
"Mother." Xu Lingqing struggled to get up.
Consort Rou pressed her down: "You've just recovered, don't rush to get up."
Xu Lingqing smiled slightly and lay back down: "Thank you for your understanding, Mother."
"All of you, step back. I have a few words I'd like to say to the Princess alone."
After dismissing the crowd, the smile on Consort Rou's face vanished. She asked, "Do you have the antidote?"
This question left Xu Lingqing completely bewildered: "What antidote?"
"Naturally, it's Princess Jia Hua's antidote!"
Xu Lingqing was surprised.
"Stop pretending. You even sent someone to infiltrate the imperial mausoleum to deliver medicine to me. We're in the same boat. For Yan'er's sake, I won't hold it against you. Tell me quickly where the antidote is. The Emperor is investigating strictly now. If you don't clean up your tracks, it will implicate Yan'er."
Consort Rou sent people to inquire about the news every day. These past few days, she has been restless and anxious. Unable to contain herself, she came to find Xu Lingqing.
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