Chapter 79 Poisonous Pastries
In Jinxiu Pavilion, Liu Yuetang leaned lazily on the couch, her hand supporting her chin, and she casually fiddled with the chess pieces on the board.
"Where is Concubine Liu?"
The sparse voices of the child fell into Liu Yuetang's ears. She looked out the window and saw Xiao Cheng'an jumping and skipping towards the inner hall.
Liu Yuetang frowned imperceptibly.
She really doesn't like children because they are very noisy.
Especially the child of Concubine Yu.
She had to be on guard against this noble prince, not offend him, and pretend to be smiling.
Xiao Chengan ran up to her and raised his rosy little face.
"Mother Liu, why are you playing chess alone?"
Liu Yuetang slowly put away the chess pieces on the board and said with a smile, "Because Mother Liu is very bored, only one person plays chess."
Xiao Cheng'an picked up his robe and sat next to Liu Yuetang.
"Then when I learn how to play chess, I will play with Mother Liu."
"Okay." Liu Yuetang responded.
"Would you like some snacks today?"
Xiao Chengan shook his head: "I brought some snacks for Concubine Liu today."
"Oh?" Liu Yuetang raised her eyelids, and there was a hint of dark solemnity in her eyes.
He took out a bag of snacks from his arms, and as the oil paper was opened, three soft, sweet and delicious red bean glutinous rice cakes came into view.
Xiao Cheng'an picked up one of the large glutinous rice cakes and held it out to Liu Yuetang. "Mother Liu, this is made in the imperial kitchen. I think it's delicious, so I specially saved three pieces for you."
As she said that, she was about to feed it into Liu Yuetang's mouth.
Liu Yuetang quickly reached out to catch it, "Mother Liu doesn't like sweets."
As she spoke, she quickly glanced at the nanny who was taking care of Xiao Chengan.
Seeing her frown slightly.
Then she added, "However, I will definitely finish this cake that the eldest prince fed me with his own hands."
She clearly saw from the corner of her eye that the nanny's brows gradually relaxed as she uttered these words.
Xiao Cheng'an also looked at him with joy.
Liu Yuetang put the cake into her mouth, covered her face with her sleeve, and swallowed it slowly.
Seeing that there was no cake left in Liu Yuetang's hand, the nanny finally breathed a sigh of relief.
While chewing the cake, Liu Yuetang said, "You eat too, my prince."
"Okay." Xiao Cheng'an picked up the water chestnut cake and started eating it with relish.
Seeing the nanny's calm expression, Liu Yuetang became even more certain that there was something wrong with the cake she had just eaten.
As for the remaining two pieces, there should be no problem.
"Mother Liu, I'm going to see you today." Xiao Cheng'an blinked his big eyes.
"Mother has already admitted her mistake. Mother Liu, can you please come with me to ask the Emperor to release Mother?"
"I promise, Mother knows her mistake and will never hurt you again."
As he spoke, he imitated an adult and raised three fingers to the top of his head.
Liu Yuetang smiled amiably: "Look at you, you're so young, and you're still imitating adults to swear."
"When the time is right, I will plead for your mother in front of your father, okay?"
Xiao Chengan opened his eyes wide, overjoyed: "Really?"
Liu Yuetang nodded, the corners of her mouth raised quietly and gently: "Prince, your mother will be released soon, and she will never have to go back to house arrest again after she is released."
By then, she will be completely free.
The smile on Liu Yuetang's lips gradually deepened.
After the eldest prince left, Wan Qiu stepped forward anxiously: "My lady, are you okay? I will go get the imperial physician right away."
"It would be too conspicuous to invite the imperial physician at this time. Let's wait a little longer and summon Imperial Physician Shen."
"But..." Wanqiu was full of worry.
Liu Yuetang smiled and picked up the cake behind her, saying, "Don't worry, I didn't eat this water chestnut cake at all."
Wan Qiu covered her chest and took a breath. "Fortunately, from the angle I was standing at just now, I really thought you had eaten it, my lady."
"If I don't do it secretly, how can I deceive that nanny?" Liu Yuetang put the water chestnut cake on the plate.
Just now, she wanted to take advantage of the nanny's inattention, take a bite of the cake herself, and then switch the cake in her hand to the eldest prince.
But then he thought, if deadly poison was added to the pastry and the eldest prince died of poisoning, it would be a disaster for him.
And the person behind the scenes must have taken the eldest prince into account.
If the eldest prince died of poisoning, she would undoubtedly be the biggest winner.
So, in the end, we still followed the original plan.
As night falls, the orange and red clouds are gradually eroded by gray.
When Doctor Shen arrived, he quickly took out the silver needle and inserted it into the snack.
When it was taken out again, the silver needle tip had turned black.
This was expected, but I was surprised when I saw the result.
Liu Zheng's heart tightened: "This... My lady, this cake is indeed poisonous."
Doctor Shen placed the silver needle under his nose and sniffed carefully, a familiar medicinal scent hitting his nose.
He closed his eyes and thought.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and said, "This is wild grass!"
"Wild grass? But is it highly poisonous?" Liu Yuetang asked.
Doctor Shen spoke solemnly, "Mangosteen is a herb that dispels wind, relieves pain, reduces swelling, and resolves lumps, but it can be highly toxic if used improperly. The husk is particularly toxic, and it resembles the spice star anise, so people often mistakenly eat it."
"Is this poison fatal?" Liu Zheng asked hurriedly.
Doctor Shen said, "If the poison is too strong, the patient will die in just two days. If it is too mild, the onset will be gradual, with only nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in the early stages. It will usually take several to seven days for convulsions, coma, or respiratory failure to develop. Judging from the amount of water chestnut cake used, the mangcao poison is not too strong."
Liu Yuetang sneered, "It's really hard for Concubine Yu to come up with this kind of chronic poison."
If she had not been on guard and eaten this pastry, she would have only felt nauseous and vomited in the first few days, and would not have thought of being poisoned at all.
By the time he realized something was wrong, the poison had already spread to his internal organs. Even if he survived, his body would be ruined.
It is precisely this kind of chronic poison that is the most difficult to find the source of.
After all, the food and things we used had already been disposed of.
This Concubine Yu was truly a good mother, and she had used her own children to commit many evil deeds.
Even the kindest and most well-behaved child will be raised by her to become a demon who kills without blinking an eye.
After Doctor Shen checked the remaining cakes, he found that everything else was non-toxic, just as Liu Yuetang had thought.
If she really ate the poisonous pastry, the remaining pieces would be non-toxic no matter how you tested them.
There's no way to find where the poison comes from.
Liu Yuetang pondered for a long time: "Doctor Shen, if I take a small sip and then detoxify it late at night, will it be a serious problem?"
When Doctor Shen heard this, he knew what Liu Yuetang was planning.
"My dear, would you like to tell the Emperor about this? After all, medicine is three parts poison."
Liu Yuetang shook her head calmly.
To her, Xiao Heng was just a king and a subject.
If she hadn't tested the poison on herself, and had asked a royal physician to take her pulse, he would have definitely found out that there was no poison in her body.
Only when he was poisoned would Xiao Heng feel like a victim.
That's why he thought his son and his beloved Concubine Yu were murderers.
You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child, so why should she be afraid of a little poison?
Seeing Liu Yuetang's firm and resolute attitude, Doctor Shen used a silver hairpin to separate a small piece of the water chestnut cake.
"Then you only need to take this small piece. It will detoxify you in time and won't affect your body."
Liu Yuetang picked up the snack and put it into her mouth without hesitation.
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