Chapter 216 Poisoning
As soon as the imperial physician finished speaking, the entire palace fell into deathly silence.
Emperor Xuanyuan's expression was terribly gloomy, with a sharp light in his eyes, as if he was looking for the source of the poison and the mastermind behind it.
The Queen Mother held the Buddhist beads tightly in her hand, her brows filled with worry and anger.
"This palace is becoming increasingly unstable."
The queen hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"It is my fault that I failed to discipline you properly. I beg your Majesty to punish me."
Concubine De was standing by with red eyes wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, if I hadn't come here to deliver something to Sister Yao today, I'm afraid Sister Yao would..."
"This is Yonghe Palace. Even if Sister Yao has been demoted, she is still the biological mother of Prince Rong. How could someone dare to do such a cruel thing to Sister Yao?"
The Queen Mother glanced at the Queen.
"There have been a series of incidents in the palace, including poisoning. Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated and must not be tolerated!"
The Queen had a solemn expression on her face and looked at Concubine De with a dark gaze. The Emperor favored Concubine Yao, and Prince Rong was there, but she did not take action against Concubine Yao. Who could it be?
Emperor Xuanyuan still had a gloomy expression on his face.
"What the Queen Mother said is indeed time to investigate."
"Come here, bring the person who will deliver food to Yonghe Palace."
At this moment, an anxious voice came from outside the door.
“Mother, Mother…”
Prince Rong rushed in hurriedly.
Seeing Xuanyuan here, he first bowed respectfully.
"Meet the Emperor, Father."
He spoke again anxiously.
"Father, how is Mother?"
Seeing his anxious look, the emperor spoke.
"The doctor has saved him, but he hasn't woken up yet."
Upon hearing this, Prince Rong spoke hurriedly.
"I will go and see my mother first."
After confirming that Yao Zhaoyi's life was indeed safe, Prince Rong came out and knelt in front of the emperor.
"Father, please have mercy on me. My mother has been confined to her house, but someone still wants to harm her. I beg you to give her justice."
At this time, Su Ping brought people from the imperial kitchen.
"Your Majesty, this is the eunuch who is responsible for delivering food to Yonghe Palace."
The young eunuch knelt down hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, I am delivering food as usual. I did not poison it."
Concubine De looked at the servant and spoke sternly.
"Tell me, did you alone touch this dish, or did someone else touch it?"
The young eunuch was frightened by Defei's harsh tone and trembled all over. He kowtowed rapidly and answered in a crying voice.
"Empress Defei, it was indeed my responsibility to deliver this dish from the Imperial Kitchen to Yonghe Palace. But I truly did not poison it!"
Then he seemed to suddenly remember something.
"I remember now. On the way to deliver the food, I left for a short while because... because I had to go to the bathroom urgently. I ran into Xiao Guizi from Concubine Li's palace, and I asked her to help carry the food. I really don't know how this happened!"
Lipin, who was standing by, had a bad feeling in her heart.
Defei spoke again.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Yao was poisoned with arsenic. We should search the palace. The incident happened so recently that the murderer certainly didn't have time to deal with the remaining arsenic. Also, bring here anyone who came into contact with the food."
Emperor Xuanyuan of the Rong Dynasty kowtowed.
"Father, please give Mother justice."
"Father, I know that Mother has angered you in the past, but Mother has been devoted to you for so many years. She has always taught me that you are busy with state affairs, and I must be filial to you and not anger you. I must study hard and share your worries."
"Even for today's sake, Father, please spare Mother's life!"
Emperor Xuanyuan pondered for a moment, scanning everyone present with a sharp gaze, and finally nodded, his voice firm and cold.
"Come here, search the palace immediately and bring Xiao Guizi here."
Following the order, the Imperial Guards acted quickly and conducted a thorough search of the entire Yonghe Palace.
The palace maids were all terrified, fearing they would be mistaken for the murderer. Soon, the imperial guards came forward with a medicine bag, and at the same time, they brought in a young eunuch.
"Your Majesty, arsenic was found in the drawer of Concubine Li's dresser."
Lipin was startled and quickly stood up and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged! I have no idea how this thing ended up on my dressing table."
Emperor Xuanyuan looked at Lipin coldly and did not respond immediately.
The atmosphere in the entire palace became tense again, and everyone's eyes were focused on Concubine Li, as if waiting for the emperor's decision.
Could it be Lipin? I'm afraid not. The Queen frowned and looked at Lipin with a serious tone.
"Lipin, if you are truly innocent, please explain the origin of this arsenic."
Lipin was crying.
"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, and Empress Dowager, I truly do not understand what is going on. If I truly wanted to harm Concubine Yao Zhaoyi, why would I have kept the arsenic? Wouldn't that give them something to hold against me?"
Defei also spoke anxiously at this time.
"It might be that you don't have time to deal with it!"
"Last time in Fengyi Palace, after Sister Yao was demoted, you slapped Concubine Yao in public. You hold a grudge against your miscarriage, so it's no surprise that you poisoned Sister Yao today."
Concubine Li was so anxious that tears came to her eyes, and she knelt in front of Emperor Xuanyuan.
"Your Majesty, when I was in Fengyi Palace, I learned that it was Yao Zhaoyi who killed the child. I was indeed furious and fought with Yao Zhaoyi, but the Empress also reprimanded me. Since Yao Zhaoyi was confined, I have had no contact with her. I never had the opportunity to enter Yonghe Palace, so how could I have poisoned her?"
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