Xie Yanci came with the imperial teacher.
Seeing this grand spectacle, the people of Shoukang Palace couldn't help but feel terrified: Yu Huai's poison was terrifying. Who else would have to suffer in order to uncover the truth?
"Mother, are you okay?"
"Fortunately, thanks to the gods and Buddhas, they haven't come into contact with those poisonous creatures." The Queen Mother pointed at the two people kneeling in the center. "They are both in trouble. I can't find out the reason, so I am waiting for the Emperor to come and be an honest official."
"Everyone, get up." Xie Yanci gestured for the two to return to their seats. "Grand Master, go and see what this unusual poison in the fish soup is. I'll take a look at this crab stuffed with orange!"
Dean Jiang walked forward and repeated the process, firmly believing that the orange peel was the key.
In other words, it is poisoned in advance and is heated in the steamer before being mixed with the food.
"Mr. Yi, did you make this by yourself? Or did you have help from others?"
"In reply to your Majesty, crab stuffed with oranges is a famous dish from Zhang Ying's hometown. I haven't tried it, and I needed her help throughout the entire process to create it. Today in the Shoukang Palace kitchen, she was there helping pass the ingredients around; I wasn't the only one involved."
"Where is she?"
The empress dowager coughed lightly, and Aunt Zijin brought the punished Zhang Da Ying from the side hall.
Surprisingly, even after suffering such torture, she still insisted: "I know nothing... I am just doing my duty to help my noble sister... Even if I am beaten to death, it will remain the same..."
"Let her go." Xie Yanci waved his hand and asked sternly, "Zhang promised, you accompanied Concubine Yi throughout the preparation of this dish today. Was there anything unusual during the process?"
"Yes." "You tell me!"
Zhang Da Ying looked up at Wei Shuyi and replied apologetically, "To save time, your Highness brought some orange peels from Sang Yu Xuan. I tried to stop her, but Consort Xin and the others overruled me. They said that since no one saw it, as long as no one told anyone, it wouldn't be considered a violation of fairness."
"In other words, what Noble Lady Yi brought here specifically is this poisonous orange peel?"
"I dare not speak nonsense. I can only tell you what I saw and heard. As for whether poison was used, I don't know."
At this time, Zhang Da Ying responded with clear logic and measured advances and retreats, completely unlike the hysterical state he was in last time after being punished by the imperial concubine.
The more this was the case, the more it showed that she had someone behind her who was guiding her. Even the punishment itself had been perfectly planned.
Seeing this, Wei Shuyi suppressed Concubine Xin, who was about to stand up to explain, and took the initiative to plead, "Since that's the case, I, your concubine, will also tell you what I think is wrong! I believe that Zhang Yingying may have poisoned the food. After all, every dish passed through her hands, including this piece of orange peel. Since the inside of the orange peel had been processed by me beforehand and could not be washed in hot water, she was able to take advantage of it. This also explains why the ingredients in the upper layer are not poisonous, and it's only the orange peel that is the problem."
Zhang Da Ying's face turned pale in an instant, and the right hand that was pointing at her was shaking uncontrollably!
"You, how could you frame me?! I even gave you my best recipe to help you win! I also worked tirelessly with you the entire time to develop and improve it. Why did you end up being the one to blame?"
"This is just my concubine's guess, and it's equally reasonable." Wei Shuyi ignored her and continued looking at the main seat. "If the Empress Dowager and the Emperor have any questions, they can send someone to the cupboard in the east wing of Sangyuxuan and retrieve the orange peels."
Xie Yanci felt relieved after hearing this: "Why? Did Lady Yi prepare more than one in advance?"
"Exactly."
Wei Shuyi kowtowed to the Empress Dowager again. "I was worried about unexpected situations that would leave me speechless. Therefore, I prepared ten identical orange peels in advance, with different patterns engraved on the bottom for identification. I also covered the inside with a layer of jade ointment given by Imperial Physician Lu, and placed them in the courtyard to dry before storing them. When we find them later, we can easily determine whether they were made at the same time based on the state of the patterns. I'm not making this up."
"Wait, what is Jade Ointment?"
"When I was pregnant, Doctor Lu gave me this thing, fearing someone might tamper with my food again. It dissolves in poisonous substances and turns green, making it easy to identify them."
At this point, she emphasized, "If I had poisoned it before it was dried, it would have been completely green inside when I took it out today, which would have been eye-catching. Zhang promised to be so fair and upright, so he would have brought it up just now. Clearly, this is not true."
"Yeah...indeed."
"If I had deliberately smeared a layer of poison on the dried orange peel, that would be even more impossible. The orange peels are stored in a slightly special place. To ensure their freshness, the bottom layer is constantly roasted with a small amount of charcoal. Therefore, the inner layer is damp, which will quickly reveal a dark green color and make it difficult to remove."
Zhang Da Ying heard this and realized that the situation was not right. He quickly retorted: "Then you can just pick out the poisonous one and deal with the others..."
"But that won't work!" Wei Shuyi laughed and retorted, "I just said that I used this method to store the orange peel to ensure its pure color. According to what you said, this piece of orange peel is destined to be a different color from those in Sang Yuxuan."
“This, this…”
Xie Yanci had already ordered people to go and collect evidence, and now the time is just right.
Nine other orange peels were placed on the table. Judging from their appearance, their colors were almost the same. The patterns on the bottom also proved that they were made in the same period.
Zhang Da Ying found it difficult to find any more points to question, and quickly looked at Noble Lady Wen: "Noble Lady Sister, you...you can..."
"Strange, what are you looking at me for?" Concubine Wen snorted coldly, then looked at Wei Shuyi with worry in her eyes, "You forcibly framed my sister, and you expect me to plead for you?!"
"But……"
"I'm in poor health, and I've been neglecting to discipline you while in the Yanxi Palace, which is why you've become so lawless! Last time the Imperial Concubine came, you made a mess in the small kitchen and were punished. Just because your sister didn't plead for you, are you going to use such a vicious method to frame her?!"
Zhang Da Ying was dumbfounded: This is different from what we agreed upon!
Before she could continue crying, Lady Wen's personal maid, Mu Tao, walked in from outside.
"I finally caught up! I found something and I'd like to ask the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to investigate!"
"Show it up."
Yang Mingrui took it carefully and placed the small package on the main table.
After opening it, I found a letter and an unknown powder.
Concubine Wen asked in confusion, "Mu Tao, I sent you to search the West Side Hall. What is this?"
"This is evidence that Zhang promised to frame Concubine Yi! Concubine Yi, she was wrongly accused!"
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