Chapter 665: Risking Life to Set Up a Plan
Nanny Ran's expression changed drastically.
The others also recognized him. Wasn't the person captured by Xiao Yan the Imperial Physician Wu who had cured the empress dowager's old illness and had been enjoying great popularity in the palace recently?
But he was in a rather miserable state at this moment, his clothes were all covered in blood, and he did not get up when he was thrown to the ground, just lying there paralyzed.
Gu Helian sneered: "Tell me, what did our Queen Mother tell you?"
Imperial Physician Wu collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling as he spoke, "The Empress Dowager has been bedridden for a long time, and since the beginning of winter, she's been unable to get up. Everyone in the Imperial Medical Office has been unable to help, and they only thought that if she rested, she might survive. But then, the Empress Dowager sent someone to find me."
"My ancestors have a secret recipe that can stimulate the human body's potential. Even the most serious illness can be cured with the help of the medicine. However, in reality, it hollows out the body's foundation, sacrificing lifespan in exchange for the appearance of well-being."
"The Queen Mother ordered me to bring medicine, saying that Prince Pingshan had rebelled and the court was unstable. She was afraid that my condition would worsen and cause unrest in the court, causing His Majesty to worry. I believed the Queen Mother and brought her several doses of the medicine. I had originally thought that after the Queen Mother took it, her health would improve and His Majesty would be at ease, and I would then use the medicine to recuperate her. However, the medicine was not used on His Majesty at all. Instead, it was used on the wives and princesses who came to the palace to tend to the illness."
Madam Cao, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up, "No wonder... That day, when His Majesty ordered us to attend to the Empress Dowager, he said she was seriously ill. But after we entered the palace, the Empress Dowager's condition suddenly improved. In just a few days, she seemed to have fully recovered."
Madam Cui said coldly, "The Empress Dowager's health has improved. She said it was due to the astrological conflict and even specially invited us to a banquet as a reward. But now it seems that she took medicine. So today's banquet..."
"Oh!"
She sneered, and everyone in the hall looked solemn.
Since the Empress Dowager's recovery was fake, there shouldn't be a banquet to thank her. But the Empress Dowager held a banquet with such fanfare, which was clearly unreasonable.
Doctor Wu continued, "This decoction is inherently harmful. The more you take, the greater the harm. It can also eat away at your internal organs and potentially kill you."
"I didn't dare let the Queen Mother take the medicine for too long, fearing that harming her life would implicate the entire family. His Majesty would never forgive me if he found out, so I wanted to stop giving her the medicine. But the Queen Mother refused. She threatened me with my wife, daughter, and young son to force me to continue giving her the medicine. She also wanted me to cover up for her and tell everyone that she was fully recovered..."
"Doctor Wu!!"
Nanny Ran shouted loudly, trying to stop Doctor Wu from speaking, but unfortunately Doctor Wu was not afraid of her at all.
Doctor Wu looked at him with resentment, "I originally didn't know why the Queen Mother was so cruel, playing with her own life. It wasn't until today that I realized she was clearly trying to use her own life to frame Princess Xiangning and make her bear the crime of murdering the Queen Mother..."
"Shut up!"
As soon as Nanny Ran shouted, Qian Qiyue, who could no longer bear it, whipped her.
"I think you should shut up!!"
Qian Qiyue's body was covered with wounds. Yue Jian had no idea what kind of pill she had stuffed into her just now. She had recovered now. After the weakness in her body faded away, although the wounds on her body were still very painful, she was still as fierce as before when she swung the whip.
She looked at Ran Mama, whose face was disfigured by the whip, and pointed at her and said angrily:
"I was wondering why you had to let so many people into the palace, and then why you were so reluctant to let Tang Ning and me go to tend to the sick, and even tried to make Tang Ning the eldest princess. It seems like all this was for today."
"Why, isn't it enough to frame me for the Crown Prince's death? You also want Tang Ning to be blamed for the Queen Mother's death as well?"
"Princess?" Concubine Xian was stunned.
Concubine Zhao frowned: "What princess?"
"Then you'll have to ask the Queen Mother!"
Qian Qiyue held the whip and looked at the empress dowager with sarcasm.
Tang Ning stood beside Xiao Yan and whispered, "I've been in the palace for a few days, but the Queen Mother never summoned me until yesterday when she suddenly asked me to come to Shoukang Palace to tend to her illness."
"I originally thought the Queen Mother wanted me to serve her medicine, but she actually suggested that I acknowledge His Majesty as my adoptive father and enter the royal family as Princess Yongning."
Everyone in the hall looked shocked.
Tang Ning's voice was not loud, but everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.
"Everyone is well aware of the grudges between the Duke Dingguo Mansion and the palace. After what happened at the palace banquet, His Majesty has always been suspicious of my brother, and he even harbored a grudge against me because of the Crown Prince. How could I easily agree to the Queen Mother's proposal? Furthermore, the title of Princess can only be bestowed upon one person. If I agree, Princess Leyang's title will be stripped, and the royal family will definitely not agree."
"I was afraid of trouble and was also afraid that the Queen Mother had other intentions, so I refused. I thought the Queen Mother would be angry, but unexpectedly she said nothing. She just said that she would hold a banquet for everyone today and let us leave the palace."
"I originally thought that the Queen Mother might have just been in a spur of the moment, but I didn't expect..."
Tang Ning glanced at the empress dowager, whose face was as pale as snow.
"So the Empress Dowager had been planning to use your life against me long before we entered the palace. How could Tang Ning be so worthy as to use the Empress Dowager's life in exchange for my being charged with murdering the royal family?"
Doctor Wu mocked: "The princess is certainly not suitable, but what about the Duke of Dingguo?"
“Wu Liran!!”
Nanny Ran wished she could tear Doctor Wu's mouth apart.
Imperial Physician Wu, however, was filled with resentment. "Last night, the Empress Dowager asked me for a strong medicine. It will keep her safe for half a day, but once the effects wear off, her internal organs will fail, her heart vessels will be damaged, and she will vomit blood and die."
"I knew something terrible might happen in the palace today, so I fled the palace overnight just to save my life. I never thought of betraying the Queen Mother, but who would have thought that the Queen Mother would kill me and have people hunt me down..."
He suddenly pulled open his sleeves, and everyone was shocked to find that Doctor Wu was missing a hand.
The waist of the man who had been lying on the ground was wrapped in a thick white cloth, from which a lot of blood was seeping.
Imperial Physician Wu hissed, "My wife and youngest son were killed by the thieves, and my eldest daughter almost lost her life. If Duke Dingguo hadn't brought people to rescue us in time, my entire Wu family would have been slaughtered by the Queen Mother's men."
He was forced to work for the Queen Mother just to protect his family. Even if the Queen Mother asked him to keep the secret at the cost of his life, he would not say anything. However, the people in Shoukang Palace were cruel and wanted to wipe out the whole family. They killed so many people in the Wu family and made his wife and children die with regret.
Imperial Physician Wu looked at the empress dowager, who was gasping for breath and on the verge of death, with resentment in his eyes.
"The Queen Mother was already doomed to die after taking the medicine, which forcibly drained all her life force. Yet, she feigned an argument with Princess Xiangning. If she had died at this point, others examining her body would have simply assumed she had suffered from a chronic illness, internal organs, and heart failure."
"Everyone will think that the Queen Mother could have survived, but was angered to death by Princess Xiangning's defiance. By then, even if the princess had ten mouths, she wouldn't be able to explain that the Queen Mother used her life to plot against Princess Xiangning!"
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