Upon seeing this, the young palace maid's face turned deathly pale. She knelt down with a thud and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, I did nothing! I know nothing!"
The Empress Dowager was so frightened that she couldn't speak for a long time.
Jian Yang placed the bowl of medicine on the table and asked sternly, "Did you brew this medicine?"
The young palace maid nodded tremblingly: "It was brewed by this servant, but this servant truly does not know when the medicine was poisoned."
Jian Yang looked at her coldly, "Why did you feed the Empress Dowager medicine without my permission? Tell me, who instructed you to do this?"
The young palace maid burst into tears, sobbing, "Your Majesty, please understand! I saw you were asleep and was afraid of disturbing you, so I thought I would feed the Empress Dowager to curry favor with you. But who knew things would turn out like this!"
"How much herbal medicine did the Empress Dowager drink?"
"You woke up before I could feed you."
Jian Yang scrutinized her for a moment, then scanned the room with his gaze before asking with a somber expression, "Where is Granny Qin?!"
Qin Mama was the Empress Dowager's personal maid. Over the years, unless ordered by the Empress Dowager, she would never leave the Empress Dowager's side.
But Jian Yang did not see her in the meditation room.
"Your Majesty," the Empress Dowager said weakly, "Granny Qin was feeling unwell this morning, so I sent her to rest."
Jian Yang frowned.
What a coincidence! The timing of Granny Qin's illness is just too coincidental.
Unfortunately, just as she fell ill, the Empress Dowager was poisoned.
Anyone would overthink this.
Jian Yang immediately ordered the imperial physician to treat Granny Qin and locked up the young palace maid in front of her.
Jian Yang sat down beside the Empress Dowager's bed and said gently, "Mother, if this matter was done by Granny Qin, it would be easy to handle. But if Granny Qin was unaware of it, I have an idea that I need to discuss with you."
The Empress Dowager asked weakly, "What are your thoughts?"
Jian Yang said, "Your subject always feels that there is something strange about this matter, and your subject suspects that you are not ill, but poisoned."
The Empress Dowager's face turned even paler with fright.
Jian Yang reassured her, "Don't be afraid. If you trust your son, take this detoxifying pill. It will neutralize any poison and nourish your health if it doesn't. I wonder if you trust your son?"
As she spoke, she took out a porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured out a pill, and held it to the Empress Dowager's lips.
She made these pills out of boredom while she was lazing around in the palace.
Except for extremely dangerous poisons, most other minor poisons can be neutralized.
Because the people in this world love poisoning so much, she always carries this pill with her in case of emergency.
The Empress Dowager trusted Jian Yang completely and obediently opened her mouth to swallow the pill.
A moment later, the imperial physician reported that Granny Qin was indeed ill, and her symptoms were very similar to those of the Empress Dowager.
Jian Yang also personally went to her place to deliver an antidote pill.
Although her return date was set for tomorrow, ever since she discovered that someone had poisoned the Empress Dowager's medicine, she had checked everything she ate over and over again, fearing that there might be any more mistakes.
After the Empress Dowager and Granny Qin took her detoxification pills, they both recovered by the afternoon.
While Jian Yang was relieved, she was also more worried.
Who is hiding in the shadows plotting against the Empress Dowager?
What is its purpose?
She quickly lost interest in thinking about these issues.
As evening approached, Zhou Kun was also poisoned.
Jian Yang felt both heartache and self-blame. She had only been concerned about the Empress Dowager and had forgotten to take care of Zhou Kun.
Seeing that tiny, pale-faced little bundle lying on the bed, Jian Yang's heart almost broke.
She quickly took out the detoxifying pills, dissolved them in a bowl of water, and fed them to him spoonful by spoonful.
When the Empress Dowager saw that her eldest grandson had also been plotted against, she immediately wrote a letter and ordered it to be sent to the palace by fast horse.
At the same time, she and Jian Yang agreed that they could no longer stay in the temple.
They are now in the open, while those who want to harm them are in the shadows; no matter how careful they are, they cannot escape.
So the Empress Dowager bid farewell to the abbot and prepared to return to the palace that very night.
Before they could finish packing, a guard came to report that three monks in the temple had been murdered.
Jian Yang and the Empress Dowager were shocked upon hearing this.
The abbot of Huguo Temple also followed closely behind.
"Amitabha, the Empress Dowager and Empress have been frightened."
The old monk put his palms together and said, "The villain used such a deadly move in the temple, presumably to force you two to leave quickly. In my opinion, you two must not leave rashly."
Jian Yang also deeply agreed.
The other party pulled this stunt just as they were about to leave, presumably to frighten them into leaving the temple overnight.
If we really leave, who knows what kind of ambush we might encounter on the way.
Ultimately, Jianyang and the Empress Dowager agreed to the abbot's suggestion and decided to stay overnight at the temple, waiting for the emperor to receive the news the next day and come to pick them up to return to the palace.
This is the safest approach at the moment.
That night, Jian Yang asked Zhou Kun to sleep with her.
Just to be on the safe side, she also installed a small contraption by the bed.
But she remained on edge, feeling that something was going to happen tonight.
When the moon was high in the sky, the door to the meditation room was gently pushed open.
Alarm bells immediately went off in Jian Yang's head.
But she dared not move, lest she alert the enemy.
Immediately afterwards, she clearly heard light footsteps approaching her bed.
Jian Yang gripped the quilt tightly, trying to regulate her breathing.
Although she was terrified, she was very confident in the mechanisms she had created.
Sure enough, just as the footsteps were about to reach her bedside, a bell rang.
The visitor had stepped on a trap she had set.
Before the assassin could react, powder rained down from the sky, covering him completely.
Even though he covered his mouth and nose with a black cloth, the medicine powder would still take effect as long as it came into contact with his skin and mucous membranes; he couldn't cover his entire body and eyes.
The assassin's steps became noticeably unsteady the next moment.
Jian Yang knew that this was because her medicine powder was working.
Then she shouted, "Someone come here!"
Zhou Kun was fast asleep, and the loud shout did not wake him.
At Jian Yang's command, guards immediately rushed into her meditation room.
He was already rolling on the ground, trying to get up, but he was too weak to move.
Jian Yang tucked the blanket around Zhou Kun, got up, put on an outer robe, and got out of bed.
Looking at the thugs who had been subdued by the guards, Jian Yang asked in a deep voice, "Who sent you to assassinate me?"
The assassin remained silent, only smiled at Jian Yang, then gritted his teeth and died instantly.
The guards quickly pried open his mouth to check.
"Your Majesty, the assassin bit through the poison sac in his mouth and committed suicide."
He was actually a suicide squad member.
"Drag it down."
Jian Yang waved her hand wearily.
She was exhausted after the night and only hoped that the emperor would send someone to pick them up early the next day.
She was unaware that the messenger sent out by the Empress Dowager at dusk to deliver the message outside the capital had already been found dead in the wilderness.
The following day, inside the palace.
"Yongfu, send someone to Yonghua Gate to see if the Empress Dowager and the others have arrived."
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