Emperor Jingxuan fell in a pool of blood, and the palace maids and eunuchs were in chaos.

Eunuch Fu was also panicked. He had served Emperor Jingxuan for many years and had never seen such a scene.

Emperor Jingxuan was in his prime and had always been in good health. How could he collapse and vomit blood so suddenly?

The imperial physician arrived quickly, and the Empress, Concubine Xian and other concubines also arrived.

Emperor Jingxuan was lying on the bamboo bed in the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Although it was called a bamboo bed, it was actually very soft and luxurious. After all, it was the place where the Empress Dowager received treatment.

As soon as Concubine Xian entered the room, she pulled her handkerchief and started crying: "Your Majesty——"

The Queen Mother frowned.

The other concubines also gathered around, took out their handkerchiefs and began to wipe their tears.

The only one who remained calm was the Queen.

The queen glanced around and said to the queen mother, "Mother, I'm sorry to have frightened you."

At this point, the gap between the queen and the concubines emerged.

When everyone was crying and worrying about Emperor Jingxuan, she was the only one who considered the overall situation and knew to care about the Empress Dowager's health first.

"I'm fine." The Queen Mother said wearily.

The queen looked at Su Xiaoxiao who was sitting in front of the bed and the imperial doctors in the bedroom and asked, "What happened?"

The imperial doctors looked at each other in bewilderment.

Doctor Li spoke up, "In reply to the Queen, we followed Your Majesty to check the Queen Mother's pulse. Your Majesty...took some ointment made by Doctor Su, and soon after, she vomited blood...and fell to the ground. Her symptoms...seemed like poisoning."

"Doctor Su?" The queen cast a suspicious look at Su Xiaoxiao's face.

Su Xiaoxiao spread her hands, looking innocent: "I don't know what happened either."

"Didn't you try the poison?" asked the Queen.

These words were obviously directed at the palace maids and eunuchs in Yongshou Palace.

The eunuch in charge said, "The silver needle didn't work. Xiao Hezi tried eating it, but... maybe he didn't eat enough, so it wasn't noticeable at the time, and he's a little dizzy now."

The queen pondered and said, "In that case, it is not a deadly poison."

If it was a highly poisonous substance, Xiao Hezi would have had a severe reaction on the spot, and the silver needle would have been able to detect it.

So the question is, if it is not highly toxic, how did Your Majesty make it like this?

"How much did your majesty eat?" asked the queen.

The eunuch in charge remained silent.

Eunuch Fu cleared his throat and said sheepishly, "I ate... a whole jar... I finished it."

The Queen asked, "How big is the jar?"

Eunuch Fu silently brought the empty can over.

The queen looked at the medicine jar that was almost as big as half her head, and her temples throbbed! The villain in her mind quickly fell down! It was fine that he usually snatched Jingning's snacks in Kunning Palace, but now he even didn't let go of the ointment?

The queen almost couldn't maintain her aura as the mother of the country.

She took a deep breath and said to Eunuch Fu, "Why don't you try to persuade him?"

Eunuch Fu cried out in his heart that he felt wronged.

He also wanted to persuade him, but who could have expected that His Majesty would finish a jar of ointment while he was just running errands to the imperial kitchen?

I never realized that Your Majesty likes taking medicine so much before!

The Queen naturally cannot blame the Queen Mother.

She looked at Su Xiaoxiao who was standing beside her: "Doctor Su is a doctor, didn't he tell Your Majesty the dosage of the ointment? If Your Majesty hadn't taken so much, perhaps the poisoning wouldn't be so serious."

The Queen Mother said in a deep voice, "She went to make medicine for me."

The Queen bowed and said politely, "Mother, I heard that there was another doctor coming with Doctor Su. I wonder where that doctor is now?"

The Queen Mother said calmly, "He's gone."

There were only two doctors in the first class. Doctor Fu went back immediately after giving acupuncture to the Empress Dowager.

The Queen Mother's words were mostly protective of the first class, so the Queen couldn't force it.

What's more, Su Xiaoxiao is also Princess Jingning's friend.

The Queen asked sternly, "Doctor Su, did you make the ointment yourself?"

Su Xiaoxiao said truthfully: "I asked my master to make it."

The queen was slightly startled: "Your master?"

Eunuch Fu hurriedly said, "It's the doctor Fu who just left."

The Queen asked again, "What disease does the ointment treat?"

Su Xiaoxiao said: "Dispel evil spirits and dissipate heat, dispel wind and relieve symptoms."

Queen: "To the Queen Mother?"

Su Xiaoxiao: "Yes."

Doctor Li suddenly pointed at Su Xiaoxiao and complained, "I understand. You must have wanted to murder the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother didn't use it. Instead, Your Majesty was poisoned by mistake!"

Su Xiaoxiao glanced at him strangely: "Why would my master and I want to murder the Queen Mother? What good would it do us? Personally, we have no grudges against the Queen Mother; publicly, curing the Queen Mother would be like putting up a living sign for the First Hall. I am looking forward to the Queen Mother's recovery, so how could I harm her?"

These words successfully shut up Doctor Li.

Doctor Wan said, "Then you want to murder His Majesty!"

Doctor Li suddenly realized: "That's right! You resented His Majesty for favoring Qin Jiang's family again and again, and you were angry, so you thought of a way to take revenge on His Majesty!"

Su Xiaoxiao said slowly, "This bottle of ointment is for the Queen Mother. I didn't hold His Majesty's neck and force him to eat the ointment."

The Queen Mother spoke in a deep voice: "I gave it to the Emperor. Are you trying to say that I murdered my own son?"

Su Xiaoxiao boiled a large pot and divided it into two small pots, one of which she heated up.

The empress dowager had just finished breakfast and couldn't eat. Seeing that Emperor Jingxuan had been feeling a little irritated recently, she let him eat first.

The Queen Mother did not expect Emperor Jingxuan to eat so much.

How dare the imperial doctors question the empress dowager?

The Queen said to Su Xiaoxiao: "No matter what, this bottle of medicine was brewed by you in the first class. Anyone who has come into contact with it, or has the opportunity to come into contact with it, must be taken to the Dali Temple for questioning!"

"Mother!"

"Father!"

Princess Jingning and Princess Hui'an are here.

The one who called her mother was Princess Jingning, and the one who called her father was Princess Hui'an.

When they suddenly heard that Emperor Jingxuan was poisoned during class, the two of them skipped class immediately.

The two of them heard the queen's last words.

Princess Jingning said sternly, "Mother, please forgive me for speaking frankly. It is not appropriate to make public the fact that my father was poisoned. It may cause panic among the people. It is better to send someone to investigate."

Princess Hui'an pointed at Su Xiaoxiao angrily and said, "She poisoned my father, and you're still speaking for her!"

Princess Jingning said seriously, "Don't talk nonsense without any evidence! It's true that the medicine was brewed in the first class, but it's not like no one else has touched the ointment since entering Yongshou Palace."

Princess Hui'an widened her eyes and asked, "Are you suspecting that someone from Yongshou Palace poisoned my father?"

Princess Jingning looked away: "I didn't suspect anyone, I just raised all the possibilities."

Princess Hui'an was furious: "You——"

"Huian!" Empress Xian scolded her daughter.

"Okay, stop arguing!" the Queen Mother said solemnly, "The Emperor's health concerns the country, so just follow Jingning's advice and have someone come to question him. Don't just throw him in jail for no reason!"

The Queen immediately said, "Mother, what you said is absolutely right."

The Queen Mother asked again, "Has the Third Master been investigating a case at the Dali Temple recently?"

When Empress Xian heard her son being named, she quickly stood up and replied, "Yes, Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Then let the Third Master and the Dali Temple investigate."

Concubine Xian was delighted: "The Third Prince will not let you down and will get to the bottom of this matter!"

The eldest prince is under house arrest, the second prince is not in the capital, the fourth and fifth princes are useless... Now the only one she can rely on is her son!

(End of this chapter)