As New Year's Eve was approaching, the inner palace was ablaze with colorful lights and the jade pillars were shining, showing a scene of peace and prosperity. However, the atmosphere in the empress dowager's bedroom was completely different at this time. The surroundings were filled with sobbing sounds, occasionally mixed with one or two sighs. The terrified palace maids knelt on the ground crying, and the imperial physician sat in the Zhubo with a heavy face to diagnose the pulse. Next to him stood Emperor Wen, who was always frowning. Everyone's eyes were focused on the person lying in the Zhubo, with a flushed face but unconscious.

The beautiful eyes that had just smiled at her were now tightly closed, and she didn't know when they would open again. Yuan Xi had no time to sigh or lament, as she was most worried about the safety of herself and the princess.

They entered the palace in the early morning, and they should be the only outsiders that the Queen Mother had seen before she fainted. At that time, only the princess was left in the palace. I am afraid that only the princess knows what happened when the Queen Mother fainted. If the Queen Mother can wake up, it's fine. If not... Yuan Xi's heart was pounding, and she didn't dare to think about it anymore.

The crying around her made her head hurt. She looked up and quietly found the princess in the crowd. She was pale and about to tear the handkerchief in her hand. What happened between the queen mother and the princess after she left? What happened to the slap? Why did the queen mother suddenly faint? All kinds of questions swirled in her mind. If she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't be able to come up with a plan in advance to deal with everything that might happen.

At this time, the imperial physician checked the empress dowager's pulse and carefully examined the rash on her wrist. He frowned and said, "The empress dowager's symptoms look like orchid poisoning again."

The emperor was stunned for a moment, then he shouted angrily, "Who is it! Who brought orchids in, knowing that my mother must not touch anything related to orchids!"

The palace maids kneeling on the ground stared at each other with tears in their eyes. At this time, a palace maid stepped forward and cried, "The tutor has repeatedly told us that the Queen Mother will become seriously ill if she touches orchids, so we have always been very careful and would never bring orchids in. But today, Princess Rui'an brought the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan into the palace. Because the princess is of noble status, we did not ask too many questions. It is our fault. We deserve to die."

The emperor was still furious, and turned his eyes to Yuan Xi and the princess. The princess came to her senses at this time, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "In the year of Xinyou, the empress dowager suddenly fell into a coma for several days. The imperial hospital searched through the books and used many methods to find out that it was because she smelled orchids in the house. From then on, orchids were never allowed to appear around the empress dowager. Although I am old, my memory is not bad. How could I wear ornaments with orchids to meet the emperor in Changle Palace?"

She spoke so eloquently, but Yuan Xi felt a little weak. She had never heard that the Queen Mother could not touch orchids. This morning, she had left all her clothes and makeup to Li Ma and An He. Her mind was so confused that she could not tell whether she had worn any orchid-related ornaments. But she clearly remembered that when the Queen Mother was questioning her, she touched her head to show her intimacy.

At this time, the emperor sighed heavily and turned to the imperial physician who was prescribing medicine and asked, "Is the mother's illness serious this time? When will she wake up?"

The doctor looked embarrassed and said, "The disease is not too serious, but I can't guarantee when he will wake up."

With a loud bang, the emperor dropped the inkstone on the table and glared at the trembling imperial physician, saying, "Asshole, as the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, you don't even know when the patient will wake up. What use do I have for you!" He glanced coldly at the people in the room who were already frightened out of their wits and called out, "Liu An, check for me who brought Lanhua into this room. I want to see who is so bold as to assassinate the empress dowager under my nose." After that, he lifted his robe and sat in the chair, glaring at the people in front of him with lingering anger, as if he was determined to get a result tonight.

Liu An was the chief eunuch who had been with the emperor for many years. He knew that although the emperor was gentle and kind on weekdays, he was the most filial. The Queen Mother's fall really touched the emperor's thorns. He secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead, bowed and stepped forward to receive the order, and called a few older maids in, ordering them to search every corner of the house and everyone carefully. Because it was the emperor who received the order, the princess and Yuan Xi were also included in the investigation.

After everyone was busy for a while, a maid came close to Yuan Xi and smelled her head for a long time. She showed hesitation on her face, but thinking that this matter was very serious, she turned around and knelt down in front of Zhao Yan, saying: "Your Majesty, it seems that the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan has applied hair oil made from orchids on her head..."

After hearing this, not only did Yuan Xi step back in shock, but even the Emperor frowned and fixed his suspicious eyes on her. The kneeling palace maids secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but the atmosphere in the room became more solemn. Finally, the Emperor withdrew his suspicious eyes and ordered the doctor: "Go check whether the wife of Xuanyuan Marquis really put orchid hair oil on her head. Is this the reason why the Queen Mother fell into a coma?"

The doctor wiped his sweat, stood up, walked to Yuan Xi and said softly: "Madam, please don't blame me. For the sake of the Queen Mother's health, I have no choice but to offend you. Please let me take a look at you."

Yuan Xi's mind was in a daze. She plucked a strand of hair and put it in the doctor's hand. The doctor sniffed it and wiped the Queen Mother's hand with a handkerchief. After comparing the two, he knelt down in front of the emperor again and said, "If I am not wrong, the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan did apply orchid hair oil on her head, and the Queen Mother's hand was stained with the smell of the wife's hair. It may be that she accidentally put it in her nose, which led to this poisoning."

Yuan Xi finally regained some clarity of mind at this moment. She immediately clenched her trembling hands, knelt down and said, "I didn't know the Queen Mother's taboo, and I accidentally applied orchid hair oil. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

The princess was also terrified at this time, and she knelt down and begged, "I am also wrong. I did not fulfill my duty of warning. If your majesty wants to punish, then punish me as well!"

Zhao Yan looked at the two of them, his expression was unclear, and after a long while he said coldly: "Although it was an unintentional mistake, it is related to the safety of the queen mother's body, and I can't let you go casually. So please ask Aunt and Madam to stay in the palace for the time being, and wait until the queen mother wakes up before making arrangements."

Yuan Xi raised her head suddenly and felt a buzzing in her ears. She never thought that she would encounter such a change when she entered the palace this time. In this way, she and the princess were equivalent to being under house arrest in the palace. What will happen in the future, I am afraid no one can predict.

Outside the window, night fell. The lanterns under the eaves of the mansion swayed in the wind. A man dressed as a eunuch was hurriedly led through the gate, past several gardens, and into the brightly lit flower hall.

Inside the flower hall, Xiao Du stood up after hearing the message and asked in shock, "What? You said the princess and her wife will stay in the palace for a few more days. Why? What happened in the palace?"

The eunuch smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty only asked me to bring a message to the Marquis. I don't know anything else."

Xiao Du was so anxious that his eyes were blazing with anger. He could not help but take a step forward. The eunuch was frightened by his aura and remembered the many rumors about this man. He was immediately frightened and pale. He retreated while trembling and said, "I am just a messenger. I really don't know anything. Please don't embarrass me, my Lord!"

Seeing how frightened he was, Xiao Du still refused to say a word. He knew that it was useless to ask any more questions, so he could only sit down angrily, waved his hands irritably, and shouted, "Get lost!"

The eunuch was as if he had been pardoned. He quickly bowed and ran out, fearing that he would be eaten alive by the man in front of him if he stayed any longer. Xiao Du sat alone in the hall for a long time, dozens of thoughts running through his mind, but his heart was still in a mess. Finally, he called a secret guard in and said in a low voice: "Go to Hanlin Luo's house and invite him to the old place for a gathering."

The secret guard followed the order and left. Xiao Du looked up at the sky which had already darkened like ink. He clenched his fists tightly and said silently in his heart: "Mother, Xi'er, nothing must happen to you!"

Across the inky black night sky, under the glazed tiles of the imperial palace, Yuan Xi and the princess were being led into the Fuye Pavilion in the Yikun Palace to rest.

Yuan Xi was numbly led into the inner room by the palace maids. She looked up and saw glittering pearls and bright lights everywhere. However, her gaze remained on the guards standing at the door. The door gradually closed. Yuan Xi lowered her head, feeling cold in her heart.

The emperor specially arranged her to stay with the princess, probably to facilitate guarding. Yuan Xi secretly stuffed some silver into the room and sent away the maids who were serving in the room. Just as she was about to ask the princess about the situation in the palace, the princess glared at her angrily and said, "You know that entering the palace requires carefulness and cannot allow any mistakes. Why don't you come and ask me?"

Yuan Xi opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she just lowered her head and said nothing. In this situation, it was useless to try to tell who was right and who was wrong. She had to find a way to get them out of the palace as soon as possible.

She waited until the princess's anger subsided before she whispered, "Mother-in-law, can you tell me what happened in the palace after I left?"

The princess's face froze, and she suddenly glared at her and said, "Why are you asking these questions? Are you doubting me?"

Yuan Xi shook her head and said, "I just think the Queen Mother's illness is a little strange. Now we are all in trouble. Life and death all depend on your majesty's thoughts. I just want to know all the details of this matter. If there are other changes, we need to prepare in advance."

The princess stared at her for a long time before slowly turning her head away and saying, "After you left, the Queen Mother and I had some private conversations, which I couldn't tell you too much about. Later, she got excited and covered her mouth with a handkerchief while laughing for a while, and then she suddenly fainted."

She did not mention the slap in her words. Although Yuan Xi knew that the princess would not tell her everything, she was still a little disappointed. If what the princess said was true, the queen mother was probably poisoned because she accidentally touched the orchid hair oil on her head and inhaled it into her nose. She could not escape the charge of harming the queen mother.

The bright palace lights kept swaying around, making Yuan Xi feel a little dizzy. She pinched her nails to keep herself awake, but she finally began to feel panic and helplessness. When she came to her senses, the princess had already asked the palace maids outside to come in and make up the bed, turn off the lights and prepare to go to bed.

Yuan Xi stared blankly for a moment, and finally sighed and went back to her room. But when it was dark all around, she clearly felt that she was trapped in this palace. Perhaps, she would never see Xiao Du again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself fall asleep. She just listened to the sound of the night watch in the room, trying to hide the sadness in her heart.

Just as she was dazed and tossing and turning, she suddenly found a figure standing in front of the dim curtain. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not dreaming. When she was about to scream, the figure suddenly reached out and grabbed her throat fiercely...