Chapter 81 Poisoning
Doctor Shen leaned forward, trembling with fear and trepidation, and said, "Lady Liu...Lady Liu was poisoned by the wild grass and took a large amount of safflower, which caused her to bleed profusely."
Xiao Heng's face suddenly changed color, and his temples began to throb violently.
"Poisoned? How could it be poisoned?"
He suppressed the fear in his heart: "How is Lady Liu? Is her life in danger?"
Doctor Shen said quickly, "Fortunately, Lady Liu didn't eat much, and the poison was discovered early, so it hasn't spread yet. She'll be fine once the poison is removed. But..."
Doctor Shen hesitated slightly.
Xiao Heng shouted anxiously: "But what?"
Imperial Physician Shen lowered his head and said, "But Lady Liu took a large amount of safflower, which harmed her health. I'm afraid she has no hope of having children in the future."
Xiao Heng was almost stunned, his face suddenly frozen as if by frost.
Just a few days ago, they were still fantasizing together whether their future child would be a princess or a prince.
They were all full of expectations and longings for this unborn child, but now they have been dealt such a heavy and cruel blow.
Xiao Heng closed his eyes and stared blankly for a long time, then took a heavy breath.
But fortunately... no one was hurt.
He clenched his hands tightly, veins popping out, and said coldly, "Investigate!"
"Check everything Lady Liu consumed today!"
Just as Doctor Shen was examining each patient one by one, the Queen and the concubines arrived.
The Queen, Concubine Ming, and Su Nanqing peeked through the screen at the unconscious Liu Yuetang.
When Mingpin saw this scene, she couldn't help but think of herself when she had a miscarriage.
She frowned sadly and said, "Who on earth could be so cruel?"
The Queen sighed deeply, shook her head and said, "It's a pity that Lady Liu is still so young."
Due to his status, Su Nanqing could only stand behind the queen and watch silently.
When she saw Liu Yuetang's pale face, her eyes suddenly turned red and she swallowed it, suppressing the bitterness in her throat.
The Queen slowly walked up to Xiao Heng and said softly, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician is still examining everyone. Please sit down and wait for the news."
Xiao Heng did not answer the queen's words, but sat on the chair.
His gaze was deep, and it seemed as if a storm was gathering in his gloomy eyes. None of the concubines present dared to speak.
Lady Rong frowned tightly, and only then did she realize that her cleverness had backfired.
Lady Liu was not pregnant at all!
I don't know if she was pretending to be a trap.
Or...I'm just too sensitive and suspicious.
But she did drink that bowl of safflower medicine and could no longer get pregnant.
What is going on?
While she was deep in thought, she felt a sharp and cold gaze above her head.
Lady Rong looked up and saw Concubine Yu staring at her with her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, her eyes full of calm sharpness.
A moment later, Doctor Shen and Doctor Xiao presented the medicine residue.
Doctor Xiao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this medicinal residue contains a large amount of safflower oil. This oil is made by compressing a large amount of safflower, and its efficacy is doubled. If consumed by an infertile woman, it will damage the uterus and cause continuous bleeding."
Concubine Yu was startled and stroked the jade bracelet on her hand and said, "This red flower is not cheap. I guess the person behind it must have spent a lot of money on it."
Xiao Heng waved to Zhou Defu behind him and said, "Ask He Yunzheng to find out who handled this medicine jar."
He continued to say to the imperial physician, "Keep investigating where the poison in Lady Liu came from."
So, the palace maids found out everything Liu Yuetang had eaten and used today and placed them on a small table for the imperial physician to examine one by one.
Doctor Xiao picked up Liu Yuetang's teacup today, sniffed it carefully, and put it down again.
After Doctor Shen checked the meals, he picked up a small piece of red bean and water chestnut cake and brought it close to his nose, his expression suddenly becoming serious.
He quickly handed the water chestnut cake to Doctor Xiao.
After taking it, Doctor Xiao also smelled the aroma of the pastry, then crushed it with his fingertips. When he saw some brown particles in the pastry, his expression changed drastically.
"Your Majesty! The poison is hidden in this cake. The red bean and water chestnut cake is sweet and fragrant, which can just cover up the smell of the wild grass."
When the concubines heard this, they immediately looked at the water chestnut cake.
Wan Qiu was horrified and speechless: "This...how could it be this pastry?"
Seeing this, the Queen quickly asked, "Did someone in your palace make this cake?"
Wan Qiu's body softened and she knelt down: "Reply... Reply to Her Majesty, these pastries were brought by the eldest prince today."
Everyone was shocked, and Xiao Heng said coldly: "The eldest prince?"
Wan Qiu nodded gently: "Yes, the eldest prince fed the young lady with his own hands today. Since the young lady doesn't like sweets, she only ate half of it."
"But... the eldest prince also ate this snack."
Xiao Heng immediately became anxious: "Go and see if there is anything wrong with the eldest prince's body. If there is nothing wrong, bring him here."
At this time, Doctor Shen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Only the piece used by Concubine Liu is poisonous. I have carefully checked it, and the rest of the cakes are also non-toxic."
Mingpin was confused: "This is very strange, why is only one piece of cake poisonous?"
She suddenly remembered something and realized it. She looked at Wanqiu and said, "You just said that it was the eldest prince who fed Concubine Liu himself?"
Wan Qiu nodded: "Exactly."
"Then why did the eldest prince feed the poisoned piece to Concubine Liu... No way... Could it be that he knew the cake was poisonous?"
Concubine Yu rolled her eyes in disdain. "Is Mingpin just realizing this? I can tell at a glance that the eldest prince is deliberately trying to harm Concubine Liu."
The Queen said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense! We haven't made a final decision yet. We don't know if the eldest prince is okay or not. Don't make any rash assumptions."
Concubine Yu curled her lips, her face full of dissatisfaction.
This is an ironclad fact. Why should the Queen always act like a good person by pretending to be a queen?
Su Nanqing, who was sitting at the end of the hall, saw this and stood up, walked into the hall, and knelt down again to plead, "Since entering the palace, Concubine Liu has always been respectful and kind to others. Now she has suffered such a tragic fate. I beg the Emperor and the Empress to intervene on Concubine Liu's behalf and severely punish the murderer."
After saying this, she kowtowed deeply.
The queen did not speak, but just looked at Xiao Heng.
After a moment, he spoke: "Get up now. Even if it's not for Lady Liu, I will punish her severely to prevent her from causing chaos in the harem and harming innocent people again."
Su Nanqing felt relieved and stood up and sat aside.
At this time, He Yunzheng came with Liu Zheng and Dan Ju.
He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, after some questioning, the murderer who drugged me has been apprehended."
After saying that, he stepped aside.
Danju was so frightened that her face turned pale and she fell to her knees: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. Your Majesty, please spare my life. I was also forced to do this."
The Queen said in a cold tone, "Tell me in detail what happened."
The palace maid was trembling all over and stammering as she described the situation.
He Yunzheng saw this and bowed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I understand what happened just now. Let me repeat it."
With Xiao Heng's tacit approval, He Yunzheng slowly said, "Initially, it was this palace maid named Liu Zheng who was brewing the medicine."
He pointed at Liu Zheng and continued, "Later, this palace maid named Liu Zheng left due to abdominal pain. She took the opportunity to pour all the safflower oil into Young Master Liu's medicine jar."
"According to her, a certain lady came to her and threatened her family's lives. If she succeeded, not only would her family be safe, but she would also receive a reward."
So he presented the bottle of safflower oil and the silver to Xiao Heng.
"This is what I found in this palace maid's room."
Xiao Heng glanced coldly at the stolen goods on the table.
"Who handed it over to you? Tell the truth."
Danju, having recovered, trembled as she spoke, "That person was wearing a veil, so I couldn't see who he was. But he said something behind the scenes. After our master is released from his confinement, he will definitely reward you."
"Lift the ban?" Mingpin asked back.
"Isn't Concubine Yu the only one under house arrest?"
A hint of joy flashed across Yu Fei's eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up quietly.
Seeing that all the accusations were directed at Concubine Yu, the Queen turned sideways and looked at Xiao Heng, whose face was stiff. "Your Majesty, what do you think of this matter?"
Xiao Heng said coldly: "Let's talk about it after An'er comes."
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