Chapter 32 Xian'er, We're Having a Child
"Narcissus is pregnant!"
When Emperor Zhaoheng heard the imperial physician confirm his suspicions, he was trembling violently and overjoyed!
He had almost thought he would never have an heir, but to his surprise, Narcissus was actually pregnant!
Emperor Zhaoheng subconsciously looked at Shuixian's still flat abdomen, then at her pale face, his heart filled with a mixture of joy and pity for her!
However, the judge's next words made his heart sink to the bottom.
"But Your Majesty... Consort Shuixian... has also been poisoned!"
"Poisoned?!" Emperor Zhaoheng suddenly stood up, and the chilling killing intent emanating from him caused all the imperial physicians to kneel down again.
The emperor's wrath instantly shattered the joy in the warm pavilion. Emperor Zhaoheng coldly questioned, "What did you say?!"
The court judge pressed his forehead to the ground: "Your Majesty, please calm down! The poison that the noble lady was poisoned with... is insidious, but fortunately the dosage was extremely weak, and the poisoning should not have occurred for long! Fortunately, it was discovered in time, the foundation of the imperial heir has not been damaged, and the imperial fetus is still safe!"
He quickly said what was important and took a deep breath.
The court official was afraid that the emperor's sudden outburst of anger would implicate those of them who were close to him.
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me!" Zhao Heng's voice was icy cold; at this moment, he was as terrifying as a demon.
"Feng Shunxiang! Seal off Meilin! Arrest everyone who handled the narcissus food utensils, leaving no one out! Imperial Hospital, conduct poison tests!"
No one dared to disobey Emperor Zhaoheng's imperial edict.
The warm pavilion was instantly surrounded by imperial guards.
The imperial physicians were extremely cautious and quickly retrieved silver needles and other items, focusing their examination on the teacups and fruit plates that Shui Xian had used.
The results came out quickly.
"Your Majesty!" The head imperial physician, holding the teacup used by the narcissus, said in a strained voice, "The tea residue in this cup... indeed contains poison! It matches the poison in the noble lady's body!"
Emperor Zhaoheng's gaze instantly locked onto Granny Yan, who was standing at the back of the crowd, her face already deathly pale!
He remembered clearly that she had personally placed this cup of tea in front of Narcissus!
"It's you!" Emperor Zhaoheng's voice wasn't loud, but it sent shivers down one's spine!
"Injustice! Your Majesty! This old servant is innocent!"
Granny Yan was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground: "Even if I had ten thousand lives, I wouldn't dare to harm a noble person! I certainly wouldn't dare to harm the imperial heir! I'm innocent! Someone must have framed me! Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly!"
She cried out, but her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Yi Guichun not far away.
Emperor Zhaoheng immediately noticed Granny Yan's gaze, and his eyes darkened.
"Search!" Emperor Zhaoheng ordered sternly, "Search this wicked servant's residence for me!"
The imperial guards received the order and left.
At this very moment, Emperor Zhaoheng suddenly launched an attack on Yi Guichun.
The emperor's gaze was icy, making Yi Guichun feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Emperor Zhaoheng coldly questioned, "Granny Yan, you were the one who sent her to serve in Chengming Palace, weren't you?"
Yi Guichun's heart leaped into his throat, but he forced himself to remain calm, stepped forward, and gracefully knelt down.
"Your Majesty! Although Granny Yan is an old servant of mine in the palace, she was sent to Chengming Palace to take care of Sister Shuixian's daily life. She had absolutely no intention of harming her!"
"Your Majesty, I have treated Narcissus like my own sister. How could I... how could I have done such a beastly thing! Please, Your Majesty, see the truth!"
Her words were earnest, her eyes filled with tears, and the sincerity in her tone softened Emperor Zhaoheng's expression.
Just then, Yinzhu, who had been kneeling beside the narcissus couch, suddenly raised her head.
She rushed out of the warm pavilion, knelt at Emperor Zhaoheng's feet, and kowtowed deeply.
"Your Majesty! We beg Your Majesty to do justice for the young lady! This Granny Yan is more than just taking care of her; she is clearly acting on the orders of Consort Qi to tyrannize and torment the young lady in Chengming Palace!"
Yinzhu spoke clearly, as if she were weeping blood: "She frequently insulted Xiao Dong, and even more so Xiao Chuanzi... she almost beat him to death!"
"Your Highness has been enduring this in silence because she was a gift from the Empress, and has not dared to utter a single complaint! But this old hag dared to poison Your Highness and the imperial heir!"
Yinzhu's words instantly awakened Emperor Zhaoheng's memories.
He remembered that a month ago, Narcissus had subtly mentioned to him the mistreatment by Granny Yan!
And he chose to ignore it!
Fortunately, it was discovered in time today; otherwise, his child with Narcissus wouldn't have survived to be born!
Yi Guichun looked panicked and hurriedly tried to defend herself: "You lowly servant! Why are you making false accusations? What does that old hag's evil deeds have to do with me!"
Yinzhu recited the words that her mistress had instructed her to say, which she had prepared early in the morning:
"Your Majesty! If you don't believe me, go and look in the dressing case of the young mistress of Chengming Palace. There's a brocade box inside! Inside is... a porcelain shard that Consort Qi personally sent to threaten the young mistress with her family!"
Yi Guichun's eyes widened suddenly. "Nonsense! This lowly servant should not make baseless accusations. What evidence do you have? Your Majesty, please be the judge!"
Yinzhu kowtowed heavily to Emperor Zhaoheng, her blood staining the bluestone.
"That porcelain shard... was a bottle bestowed upon the Yi family by the Emperor! It has patterns unique to the imperial kiln!"
"Consort Qi used this to force Your Highness to plead for her release before the Emperor's birthday, otherwise she would kill Your Highness's parents outside the palace! Your Majesty!"
When Yi Guichun heard Yinzhu's explanation, his mind went blank!
She suddenly remembered the bottle that her mother had smashed and used to threaten Narcissus!
She...she actually neglected to leave the evidence in Narcissus's hands. A chill instantly ran from the soles of my feet throughout my body!
"Nonsense! What brocade box and porcelain shards! I have never sent them!" Yi Guichun's expression changed drastically, and she retorted sharply.
"Yinzhu! You vile servant, how dare you slander me! You must be in cahoots with Shuixian..."
"Enough!" Emperor Zhaoheng shouted coldly, interrupting Yi Guichun's sophistry.
His gaze was icy as he stared at Yi Guichun. "Whether it's slander or not, a quick search will tell! Men, go to Chengming Hall immediately and retrieve that brocade box!"
Just then, the head guard who had gone to search Granny Yan's residence strode in, carrying a rough oil paper package in both hands:
"Your Majesty! This item was found hidden in the cracks between the bricks under Granny Yan's bed! The imperial physician's preliminary examination confirms it is the poison added to the Noble Lady's Tea!"
The evidence is irrefutable!
"No...no...this isn't mine..."
Granny Yan collapsed to the ground, incoherent, and looked at Yi Guichun in despair.
Yi Guichun's last glimmer of hope was shattered. She suddenly threw herself at Emperor Zhaoheng's feet, grabbed the hem of his dragon robe, and burst into tears:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, have mercy! I...I have been wronged! It was this old servant who harbored evil intentions! It has nothing to do with me! Your Majesty! For the sake of my Yi family's generations of loyalty, for the sake of my father's service to the court..."
Emperor Zhaoheng abruptly pulled back his dragon robe, looking down at her with undisguised disgust in his eyes:
"Yi Guichun, do you really think I'm a fool? Do you think I've forgotten all those memorials from a few days ago accusing your Yi family of forging rare stones and deceiving the emperor?!"
Yi Guichun trembled violently and looked up at him in disbelief.
What memorial?!
The series of setbacks stunned her, and her hand, which was tugging at the dragon robe, froze.
Emperor Zhaoheng seemed to be speaking a language she couldn't understand:
"I spared the Yi family's past merits and ordered an investigation, intending to investigate thoroughly before taking action! But what about you? You dared to instruct your wicked servants to poison a concubine who was pregnant with the emperor's child right under my nose! You even dared to use imperial gifts to threaten the concubine with the lives of your family members!"
Emperor Zhaoheng looked at her with a pained expression, as if he were meeting her for the first time:
"Yi Guichun, how vicious you are! Your actions have nothing to do with even a trace of Consort Qi's virtue!"
His gaze swept over the various concubines and palace maids inside and outside the pavilion, finally settling on Yi Guichun's pale and desperate face, where he pronounced her fate:
"By imperial decree: Consort Qi, Yi Guichun, is wicked and malicious, harming imperial heirs, coercing palace concubines, and overstepping her bounds. Her conduct is despicable and she is unfit to be a consort!"
His voice echoed in the Imperial Garden, carrying a chill:
"Strip her of her title and reduce her to a commoner! Throw her into the Cold Palace! She will not be released until she dies! Granny Yan, you aided and abetted the wicked and plotted to harm the imperial heir; your crimes are unforgivable! Drag her out and beat her to death! Execute her immediately!"
"No!!!"
Yi Guichun let out a desperate scream, his whole body feeling as if all his bones had been removed, and he collapsed to the ground completely.
Just a moment ago, she was still the high and mighty Consort Qi, assisting in the management of the six palaces, dreaming of becoming a Noble Consort or even Empress.
The next moment, she was reduced to a lowly commoner in the cold palace, even lower than the lowest-ranking palace maid! This enormous change caused her to collapse instantly!
She couldn't even hear Granny Yan pleading for help.
"Why...why..."
Consort Yi's eyes were unfocused, and she muttered to herself in a daze.
She couldn't understand how Shui Xian could become pregnant after taking harmful medicine for so long!
Suddenly, she abruptly raised her head, staring intently at the direction of the warm pavilion, her eyes blazing with boundless resentment!
"It was you! You wretched wretch! You're the one who ruined me!!"
She screamed like a madwoman and suddenly sprang up from the ground!
Without her noticing, she somehow found a sharp silver knife on the small table where she had been cutting meat!
"Narcissus! I want you dead!!!"
With disheveled hair and a crazed appearance, Yi Guichun lunged at the narcissus on the soft couch without a care in the world!
The speed was so fast that even the guards next to them didn't react in time!
"Insolence!" Emperor Zhaoheng roared, reacting with extreme speed.
He strode forward, and just as Yi Guichun was about to rush into the warm pavilion, Emperor Zhaoheng's large hand gripped her wrist like an iron clamp!
"Ah!" Yi Guichun let out a shrill scream, and the kitchen knife clattered to the ground.
Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes held no pity, only cold disgust.
He raised his other hand.
"Smack!"
A resounding slap landed hard on Yi Guichun's face!
The slap was so powerful that it sent Yi Guichun staggering to the ground, her hair completely disheveled, and her hairpins and hair ornaments clattering and rolling all over the floor.
Half of her face instantly swelled up and turned red, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she curled up on the ground like a dying worm. Where was the noble appearance of the former Consort Qi?
All that's left is a complete madwoman.
"Drag her away! Gag her! Throw her into the Cold Palace!" Emperor Zhaoheng shook his hand in disgust, as if he had touched something filthy.
The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the numb and desperate Yi Guichun away without any mercy.
Inside and outside the plum grove, there was a deathly silence.
Consort Rong and the others were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, trembling like leaves, not daring to even breathe.
All the palace servants prostrated themselves on the ground, wishing they could bury their heads in the earth.
In the Imperial Garden, the winter snow has been quietly melting, and the damp earthy scent mixed with the cool fragrance of newly blooming plum blossoms heralds the arrival of spring.
However, at this moment, the springtime atmosphere is shrouded in a tremendous sense of desolation.
Consort Qi was deposed and banished to the Cold Palace!
Consort Shuixian became pregnant with the emperor's child and was showered with boundless favor!
Countless eyes looked toward Chengming Hall with surprise and uncertainty, and everyone clearly realized one thing.
The world inside this deep palace has completely changed!
——
The narcissus slowly awakens amidst a familiar scent of ambergris.
She opened her eyes and saw a bright yellow canopy with brocade dragon patterns.
Is this... the dragon bed in the Qianqing Palace?
The sound of Narcissus waking up immediately attracted Emperor Zhaoheng, who was waiting nearby.
He appeared by the bedside the next moment, his tall figure conveying urgency.
Seeing Narcissus open her eyes, he instinctively reached out to pull her into a tight embrace, but stopped abruptly just as his arms were about to close. His movements became incredibly gentle, as if he were touching a rare and fragile treasure.
"Xian'er...you're awake?" His voice was deep. "How are you feeling? Still in pain? Is anything bothering you?"
A series of questions revealed his unprecedented tension.
Narcissus blinked, a look of bewilderment appearing on her face. She said weakly, "Your Majesty... what's wrong? My head is so dizzy..."
She struggled to sit up, but Emperor Zhaoheng gently pressed her shoulders down.
"Don't move, lie down, lie still."
Emperor Zhaoheng quickly said, sitting on the edge of the bed, his large hand carefully covering her still flat abdomen, his movements incredibly gentle.
He looked at Narcissus's confused and beautiful face, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he solemnly told her:
"Xian'er, we have a child. You... are carrying my imperial heir."
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