“No, a child’s skin is the most delicate. If it’s not treated properly in time, it will only leave unsightly scars.” Hailanzhu could not agree with Dayuer on this matter.
"Sister..." Seeing Hailanzhu's stubbornness, Dayuer finally had no choice but to agree.
Upon seeing this, Qingluan immediately rushed towards the Imperial Hospital.
"That's making a mountain out of a molehill," Da Yu'er muttered softly.
“I’d love to!” Hailanzhu replied defiantly.
The two looked at each other and then laughed.
At that moment, Atu noticed something strange beside his feet, picked it up, and asked, "What is this?"
Hearing the sound, Hailanzhu looked over and saw an unidentified object wrapped in a black handkerchief placed in Atu's small palm. She couldn't help but wonder, "How could there be such a thing? Aren't flowerpots just filled with soil?"
She suddenly remembered a scene from the TV series "Empresses in the Palace" where Zhen Huan had found a large amount of musk under an osmanthus tree when she first entered Suiyuxuan.
Thinking of this, she felt a chill run down her spine, and quickly snatched the thing from Atu's hand and threw it far away.
Seeing Hailanzhu's actions, Dayuer guessed what was going on and took her hand, saying, "Sister, are you suspicious?"
Hailanzhu nodded vigorously, "It's definitely not a good thing!" She had already guessed some of it.
Atu was completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened.
Before long, Qingluan arrived in a hurry with the imperial physician.
Hailanzhu was not in a hurry. Instead, she asked the imperial physician to examine Atu first. Only after Atu's wound was bandaged did she pick up a handkerchief and wrap up the wad of stuff that she had just thrown away.
"I would be grateful if the imperial physician could help me identify it." Hailanzhu handed it to the imperial physician.
The imperial physician took it and examined it carefully, his expression growing increasingly grave. When he learned what it was, he quickly told Hailanzhu and the others to leave the area.
Upon hearing this, Hailanzhu immediately led Dayuer and Atu to the main hall.
The imperial physician placed the mass into a sealed wooden box, cleaned himself of the dirt, and only then dared to report back to the main hall.
"What is it?" Hailanzhu asked seriously, her eyes revealing an unprecedented seriousness.
The imperial physician bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, this medicine contains poisonous substances such as nux vomica, strychnine, and raw pinellia. Those who come into frequent contact with it will probably not live more than three years."
This statement aligns with the historical account of Hailanzhu's death, which occurred three years later.
"If the person she is in frequent contact with is pregnant at this moment, will she give birth to the child?" Hailanzhu continued to ask.
The imperial physician nodded. "This is a slow-acting poison. It may last until the child is born, but the child will not live for more than six months, because the toxins will corrode his body. Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he would not be able to pull him back from the brink of death."
"I see," Hailanzhu murmured to herself, then looked up and asked, "Are you sure?"
The imperial physician nodded. "This old minister is willing to stake his life on it. If it is not as this old minister said, then Your Majesty may decide what to do with me."
"I believe you," Hailanzhu said firmly. Then she instructed the imperial physician, "You may leave now. Leave the things here for now. I will let the Emperor decide."
"Yes!" The imperial physician bowed with his hands clasped.
Just as he was about to leave, Hailanzhu called out again, "Wait."
"Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?" the imperial physician asked, turning his head to reply.
Hailanzhu slowly walked up to the imperial physician. "This matter must not be revealed. Otherwise, if the mastermind behind it finds out, your life will be in danger."
"Your Majesty, I understand!" the imperial physician replied solemnly.
Hailanzhu nodded. "You may step down."
The imperial physician bowed respectfully once more before leaving Guanju Palace.
After the imperial physician left, Hailanzhu turned to look at Dayuer and said, "Thanks to you and your daughter, otherwise I wouldn't even know how I died."
The greatest credit goes to Atu. If she hadn't accidentally tripped over the flowerpot containing the poison, how could Hailanzhu have fulfilled the original owner's wish? In the end, wouldn't the result have been the same?
"It was by accident that I ended up saving you, sister." Da Yu'er's initial panic and fear turned into relief.
"Who could possibly have such deep intentions?" Hailanzhu stared coldly at the wooden box containing the poison.
Da Yu'er pondered for a moment, "Could it be Namuzhong?"
“Namuzhong?” Hailanzhu frowned. “She may have had malicious intentions towards me, but she doesn’t have that kind of wisdom. There must be someone with a very deep mind hiding in this harem. She could be a concubine, or she could be a eunuch or a palace maid.”
"We are in the open, while the enemy is in the dark. What should we do?" Da Yu'er paced anxiously back and forth in the room.
Hailanzhu shook her head. "For the time being, I can't think of any other way. I can only continue to hide it and not let the mastermind know. Otherwise, he will definitely think of other ways to harm us, and we will be unable to guard against it."
“Sister is right. The best thing for us to do now is to wait and see,” Da Yu’er said after a moment of contemplation.
"That's the only way," Hailanzhu agreed.
At this moment, the sky began to darken, and the palace lanterns gradually lit up.
Upon hearing the eunuch announce that Huang Taiji was about to arrive, Dayuer hurriedly picked up Atu and left, like a mouse seeing a cat.
"Yu'er, after you return to the palace, you must also be careful about anything in the palace," Hailanzhu reminded her.
Actually, she didn't have to say these words. After all, Da Yu'er lived to be seventy-five years old in history, and she was confident that Da Yu'er could overcome all hardships. She said these words now only to promote the relationship between the two of them so that the original owner's son could be protected in the future.
"Yes, Yu'er knows. Sister, you must be careful too. If you need any help, just let me know," Da Yu'er replied, turning her head.
"good!"
Upon hearing Hailanzhu's agreement, Dayuer didn't linger for another second and quickly pulled Atu away.
The moment Da Yu'er left, Huang Taiji stepped through the door.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were only two meals a day, and the food eaten after 5 pm was called "late snack".
As soon as he walked up to Hailanzhu, several eunuchs came over, each carrying a plate of snacks.
The dishes included osmanthus cake, lotus seed soup, hibiscus pastry, four cold dishes, and a bowl of rice porridge.
"You may all leave!" Huang Taiji ordered, as he preferred to be alone with Hailanzhu.
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs and palace maids quickly bowed and took their leave, leaving only him and Hailanzhu in the room.
“These are all your favorite foods.” Huang Taiji picked up a piece of hibiscus pastry and placed it next to Hailanzhu’s mouth.
But Hailanzhu was still upset about what had just happened and was not in a good mood, so she kept turning her head away.
"What's wrong? Who made you angry?" Huang Taiji asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing, I'm just angry with myself," Hailanzhu said, lowering her eyes.
"Why would you get angry at yourself for no reason?" Huang Taiji almost laughed out loud. It was the first time he had ever heard of someone getting angry at themselves.
"I'm angry at my own stupidity for ruining such beautiful flowers." Hailanzhu glanced at Huang Taiji with resentment, then lowered her head again.
She wanted to tell Huang Taiji the whole story, but she was afraid that he would act impulsively and hurt innocent people, so she decided to observe secretly and inform Huang Taiji when she confirmed who it was.
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