The palace maiden looked panicked and retorted sharply, "Nonsense! I just saw that this medicine has been sitting around for ages and has been eaten by insects and is no longer usable, so I wanted to destroy it. If you don't believe me, open it and take a look."
As she spoke, Fang Cui pointed to the bag of medicinal herbs that was taken back by a young eunuch under Song Qu.
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch hurriedly opened the package of herbs and examined them. Sure enough, he found traces of insect bites on some of the herbs. He then said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, these herbs do have traces of insect bites."
The emperor thought for a moment and said to the imperial physician, "Doctor Zhang, go and see if there is anything unusual with the medicinal herbs."
After receiving the emperor's order, Doctor Zhang hurriedly took the medicinal materials from the young eunuch and examined them carefully.
Seeing this scene, Fang Cui, who was already a little panicked, felt her heart in her throat and her body trembled slightly.
Doctor Zhang first carefully looked at the traces of insect bites on the medicinal material, then took it to the tip of his nose and sniffed it carefully. He thought for a moment, then took out a silver needle from the medicine box on the table and inserted it into the rhizome of the medicinal material.
After about four or five breaths, he took it out and saw that the tip of the silver needle slowly turned blue-black.
Seeing this scene, even people who didn't understand these things changed their expressions. They all knew that silver products could detect poisons and would turn black once they came into contact with poisonous substances.
And now that the silver needle has turned blue-black, it is the best proof that poisonous substances have been mixed into those medicinal herbs!
Sure enough, Doctor Zhang said, "Your Majesty, these herbs are poisonous, and it's not just any poison. I need to study the specific poison carefully, but I can confirm that it can kill people!"
"Also, I have checked and found that the insect bite marks on these herbs are not natural. The herbs in the imperial pharmacy are well-preserved and are basically free of insect bites.
Only if they've been sitting around for three to five years will there be some. These herbs were obviously recently prepared, so it's impossible for them to be infested with insects. It's obvious someone deliberately allowed them to be infested with insects."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes fell on Fang Cui, and Song Qu immediately scolded her, "Fang Cui, why don't you tell the truth!"
Under the gaze of everyone, Fang Cui, who was already feeling guilty, almost collapsed. After being scolded by Song Qu, she collapsed to the ground, with tears and snot covering her face uncontrollably.
She stammered, "Slave...slave...slave..."
She was still thinking about how to cover it up, but Song Qu was experienced and saw through her intentions before she could even speak. He said coldly:
"Think it over before you answer. The imperial physician has already found poison in those herbs. You can't deny your involvement no matter what. Moreover, if you dare to lie to the emperor, you will be guilty of deceiving him. Do you want to tell the truth and get a lighter sentence, or lie and be punished more severely? You decide for yourself!"
Fang Cui gradually calmed down after being told this by Song Qu. While trying to calm her own broken emotions, she secretly glanced at the Queen from the corner of her eye, with a look of pleading that she would rather die than return home. After a while, she said intermittently:
"I...I want to ask Your Majesty to show mercy to me. I have poisoned this...this medicinal herb. After Noble Lady Xin was demoted to a noble lady, she was depressed and often took her anger out on us servants.
If I make even the smallest mistake while doing my job, I will be beaten with a stick. A while ago, I accidentally broke a teacup and was beaten with 20 sticks by Lady Xin. This made me think evil and poisoned Lady Xin's medicinal herbs..."
"After the task was completed, I deliberately made the herbs look like they were infested with insects so that I could take them out and destroy them. However, I was caught off guard by Xiao Shunzi, and that's when..."
Fang Cui kowtowed heavily as she spoke: "This servant deserves to die. It was because of my greed that I had the evil intention to poison Concubine Xin. Even if I die a thousand times, it will not be enough. This servant does not ask for my death to be spared, but only asks that the emperor forgive my family..."
After hearing Fang Cui's words, Gu Qilan frowned. With a glance, Song Qu understood and went to verify Fang Cui's words.
A quarter of an hour later, Song Qu returned to report to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, what Fang Cui said is true. Half a month ago, Concubine Xin did give Fang Cui twenty lashes for breaking a teacup. I also found a packet of poison in Fang Cui's room. I would like to trouble Imperial Physician Zhang to see if it is the poison in the herbs."
As he spoke, Song Qu handed a small packet of powder to Doctor Zhang who was standing beside him. Doctor Zhang took the powder and examined it carefully before saying, "Your Majesty, this powder is the same poison as the ones in these herbs!"
Once these words were spoken, it was equivalent to convicting Fang Cui that she was the murderer who poisoned Concubine Xin.
At this moment, a cry of alarm came from the bedroom: "Noble Lady Xin... Noble Lady Xin is in trouble!"
After he finished speaking, Doctor Zhang and other imperial doctors rushed in to check, and the emperor, empress and Ning Yuxi also walked towards the bedroom.
But it was of no avail in the end. The poison was strong and was discovered too late, so Concubine Xin could not be saved.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall was depressed.
Just then, there was a commotion outside the palace, and a young eunuch hurried in to report: "Your Majesty, the Second Prince has arrived. He learned that Concubine Xin is seriously ill and is clamoring to see Concubine Xin."
The emperor had issued an order forbidding Concubine Xin and her son, the Second Prince, to meet each other, so the servants stopped him from coming in.
But it was different now. Concubine Xin was gone. No matter how many faults she had committed in the past, they became a thing of the past after her death. Gu Qilan asked the guards to let the second prince in.
The Second Prince ran into the bedroom, choking with sobs. He hurriedly greeted the Emperor and ran to the bedside. When he saw the person with the face covered on the bed, he could no longer hold back his tears.
"Mother, wuwu... Mother, what's wrong with you? Wake up quickly. Look at Chenghui. Don't you want Chenghui anymore? Wuwu..."
No matter how naughty the second prince was, he could tell who was good to him and who was not. From childhood to adulthood, he was not favored by his father because of his elder brother. Only his mother was obedient to him and took care of him. Now that his mother was gone, he became an orphan with no one to love him.
Thinking of this, the Second Prince could no longer accept it and cried even harder, with tears and snot streaming down his face. He knelt on the ground like a madman on the street, with no image at all. He struggled to pull away the white cloth covering his mother's face.
Upon seeing this, the Emperor immediately ordered his men to pull the Second Prince away and said in a deep voice, "Chenghui, your mother is gone. I have already found out the culprit and I will not let her go. I know you are sad, but from now on you must learn to be strong, because no one will treat you well unconditionally!"
Chenghui had just lost his mother, so he shouldn't have said it so heartlessly, but Chenghui was really taught a bad way by Concubine Xin. Look at him now, he doesn't look like a royal heir at all.
Moreover, Concubine Xin is gone, and it is not easy for a child without a mother to live in the palace. He was brought up to be very naive and innocent. The royal family is no different from other families, and the competition is very cruel. It is even more difficult for him to survive in the palace.
He could only make him wake up earlier and see the situation clearly so that he could live well.
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