However, Hailanzhu could only feast her eyes on the view; she couldn't take it back with her.
Huang Taiji smiled deeply and immediately helped her up, saying, "Lan'er, why are you being so polite? Seeing you happy makes me happy too."
He then pointed to the jade and said, "This jade is now yours. If you want it made into a bracelet or something else, just tell the Imperial Household Department to make it."
“Yes…” Hailanzhu complied.
"Alright, I have other important matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company any longer," Huang Taiji said gently, straightening up.
Hailanzhu did not try to stop him, but simply watched him leave.
After Huang Taiji left, Hailanzhu instructed Qingluan to put away the large jade stone.
She longed to have a jade bracelet made for herself, but she understood that it was a gift from Huang Taiji to the original owner of the body, and had nothing to do with her. Therefore, she couldn't possibly have the mindset of possessing it.
The comfortable days only lasted a few days before another unpleasant thing happened.
The following day at noon, the white mouse became even more listless after eating. Seeing its near-death state, she realized that today's lunch contained not only poisonous honey but also other poisonous substances. Thinking of this, she felt that she should confront Zhe Zhe head-on.
"Qingluan, please invite the Emperor over. Remember, it must be done quietly," Hailanzhu instructed solemnly.
"Yes." Qingluan bowed and retreated hastily, not daring to delay even for a moment.
After Qingluan left, Hailanzhu sat in a chair, her gaze calm and serene.
Huang Taiji rushed over anxiously, and seeing that she was safe and sound, he slowed his pace and walked steadily into the hall.
"Lan'er, why did you summon me here so urgently? Is there something you need?" Huang Taiji asked.
At this moment, Hailanzhu's eyes were already brimming with tears, which would roll down at any moment. She lifted the cloth covering the rat cage and choked out, "Someone wants to harm me."
When Huang Taiji saw the dying white rat, his face turned ashen.
"Who is it?" he said through gritted teeth.
“It must be Zhang Liang from the Imperial Kitchen,” Hailanzhu said, sobbing. She then told Huang Taiji everything about the lunch that had been laced with poisoned honey.
Huang Taiji was furious upon hearing this, "You dog slave, you actually want to harm Lan'er! Do you want to exterminate his entire family?"
Seeing that Huang Taiji coughed violently several times because of this, Hailanzhu felt a little embarrassed and quickly comforted him, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I'm perfectly fine."
But Huang Taiji was still furious. "If you hadn't been so clever and noticed something was wrong beforehand, he probably would have succeeded."
"Perhaps Heaven does not wish for my demise!" Hailanzhu said calmly.
Seeing this, Huang Taiji felt even more heartache, saying, "Why must you bear all the suffering?"
It's all because of your love. If you treated her the same as all the other concubines, why would she have to suffer so much?
These were Hailanzhu's innermost thoughts; she wanted to say them, but she never dared to.
So she changed the subject, saying, "I have no grudge against him, so someone must have been behind it."
Huang Taiji pondered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Who could it be?"
Hailanzhu shook her head, pretending she didn't know either: "Now we can only summon Zhang Liang and see if we can pry some clues out of him."
"Alright." Huang Taiji nodded, and was about to order the guards to bring Zhang Liang up, but Hailanzhu stopped him.
“Lan’er…” Huang Taiji looked at Hailanzhu with a puzzled expression.
Hailanzhu looked around and said softly, "The Emperor's large-scale mobilization might alert the enemy."
Huang Taiji thought for a moment, "Lan'er is right."
After speaking, he summoned two of his trusted guards and quietly went to the imperial kitchen to bring the person up.
In fact, Hailanzhu had considered that Zhang Liang had already escaped, and with Zhe Zhe's help, it wouldn't be difficult for him to escape the palace.
The reason why Huang Taiji was sent to search again was to hold onto a sliver of hope, in case Zhang Liang didn't have time to escape.
However, the news brought by the guard was completely unexpected: Zhang Liang had died of poisoning.
Completely stumped, Huang Taiji's face grew even more grim. He paced back and forth in the hall, pondering how to find the mastermind behind it all.
At this moment, one of the guards said, "However, I found something under his fingernails."
After saying this, he took out the crumbs wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket and handed them to Huang Taiji.
Huang Taiji immediately recognized it as cheese from Khorchin.
"Could it be Yu'er?" Huang Taiji said without thinking, "It's Da Yu'er."
Hailanzhu replied unhappily, "Is Yu'er the only one in Khorchin?"
Huang Taiji turned to Hailanzhu and said, "Zhe Zhe shouldn't be that kind of person."
This cheese was brought by Wu Keshan last time; it's only available in the palaces of Hailanzhu, Dayuer, and Zhe Zhe.
Now that this thing has been found under Zhang Liang's fingernails, the only suspects are them.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Hailanzhu stopped hiding it and directly told him about the mark left by the poisonous bee sting that Brother Zhen had suffered last time.
"Could Lan'er have made a mistake?" Huang Taiji said in a deep voice. If it were anyone else, he would naturally believe it, but Zhe Zhe was always gentle and generous, so he couldn't help but have doubts.
But these were the words of the woman he loved, and he couldn't help but believe her.
Hailanzhu saw Huang Taiji's dilemma, so she stepped back and chimed in, "I was just guessing. Why don't we test him?"
"How does Lan'er intend to test me?" Huang Taiji countered.
Seeing that Huang Taiji agreed, she immediately leaned close to his ear and told him what was to come.
After listening, Huang Taiji nodded, "This method is feasible, let's do as you say."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will send someone to invite Aunt over right now," Hailanzhu said with a slight smile.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Huang Taiji also left the main hall, but he did not actually leave; instead, he hid in a secluded place.
The dishes on the table were non-poisonous, but they tasted and smelled exactly like the poisonous ones. Hailanzhu sat at the table, calmly chewing her food.
As the eunuch announced her arrival, she knew that Zhe Zhe was about to arrive, so she pretended to be weak and listless, as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind, and got up to bow.
"Aunt, you've arrived." These five simple words were accompanied by a few coughs.
Behind Zhe Zhe was Zhen Ge. Seeing Hai Lan Zhu's appearance, she was secretly pleased, but she kept a straight face and silently followed behind Zhe Zhe.
In fact, Zhe Zhe was very dissatisfied. As the Empress, she should be the one being greeted by everyone, but instead, she was being ordered around by Hailanzhu.
She was unwilling to come, but because she had to be a magnanimous empress, she had no choice but to endure the humiliation and come to Guanju Palace.
"No need for formalities, you called me..." Zhe Zhe wanted to get straight to the point, but seeing how haggard Hailanzhu looked, she swallowed her words.
"How did you become like this after just a few days?" Zhe Zhe looked very shocked.
Hailanzhu did not answer her question, but said, "I suppose Aunt hasn't had lunch yet. Why don't you have lunch with Lan'er and try the cooking of the chef from Guanju Palace?"
After speaking, she stared straight at Zhe Zhe's face, trying to see panic in her expression.
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