After taking a sip of tea to calm her nerves and regain her composure, Consort An was finally able to listen to what Lady Niohuru had to say.
"Since no one admits it, then I will begin my investigation," Niohuru said coldly, glancing around at everyone present.
Seeing this, the head maidservant called out to Yu Yin, Hong Yi, Xiao Huizi, and others who served Wu Yaxin Yue, and they came in to ask questions.
Yu Yin's face displayed just the right amount of worry, anger, and fear, and she walked with remarkable composure and discipline. Behind her, the two in red and Xiao Huizi were both low-ranking palace maids and eunuchs who usually did menial tasks and had rarely seen their masters.
With such a grand occasion and so many concubines present, the two women walked into the hall under their watchful eyes, trembling with fear and not daring to speak.
"Your servants, Yu Yin, Hong Yi, and Xiao Hui greet the ladies and concubines." After bowing respectfully, the three knelt on the ground, waiting for the Empress to speak.
Looking at Yu Yin standing at the front, and realizing that she was Wu Ya Xin Yue's head palace maid, Niohuru asked Yu Yin to recount in detail what had just happened.
"Your Majesty, before this morning, Consort Wanliuha was perfectly fine and had no discomfort. In the afternoon, Consort Wanliuha came to chat with Consort, and at first, everything was normal, until I brought Consort a bowl of chicken soup that she drinks every day. After drinking the chicken soup, Consort said that her stomach was in severe pain. Consort felt that there was something wrong with the chicken soup, that someone had put medicine in the chicken soup, which caused her abdominal pain. So she instructed us to report to Your Majesty the Empress and the Noble Consort, and also asked Xiao Huizi to call the imperial physician to come and treat her."
At this point, Yu Yin was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. She banged her head against the ground repeatedly, pleading, "Your Majesty, you must do justice for the young lady! Physician Li said that the chicken soup contained safflower, which can cause miscarriage in women. The young lady was in trouble because she drank that chicken soup. Someone must have deliberately tried to harm the young lady."
Niohuru did not believe her one-sided story and asked Hongyi and Xiaohuizi in turn, and received the same answer.
After questioning the palace servants who served Wuya Xinyue, he remembered that Wanliuhashi was also present at the time, so he summoned Wanliuhashi for questioning as well.
Upon hearing Xuan step forward to question her, Wanliuha became extremely nervous. Although she knew that this matter had nothing to do with her, she happened to be there, and with such strong suspicion, she was afraid that she would also be framed and become the scapegoat.
“Your Majesty, since Consort Wuya became pregnant, I have often visited her. Today, it just so happened that the sun was shining brightly, so I came to find Consort Wuya to embroider patterns together. I had no idea that this would happen. I know nothing about it, and this matter has nothing to do with me. Please, Your Majesty, investigate this matter thoroughly.”
Wanliuha held a handkerchief, sincerely defending herself, trying her best to clear herself of suspicion and tell everyone that it had nothing to do with her.
After listening to everyone's words, Niohuru still had no clue what to do, so she summoned Physician Li over.
After taking Wu Yaxin's pulse, she was pulled aside to inspect various items in the room, confirming that only the chicken soup was the problem.
Physician Li went to wait outside the palace. When Xiao Huizi came to the Imperial Hospital to find him, saying that Consort Wuya, who was pregnant, had something to do concerning the imperial heir, he knew that things would not end well today.
Fortunately, after taking his pulse just now, Wuya Changzai was not seriously injured; otherwise, he might not have been able to return to the Imperial Hospital safely today.
Upon hearing the Empress's summons, he remained relatively calm.
Upon entering the main hall, Imperial Physician Li bowed respectfully and reported his findings to the Empress: "Your Majesty, I have examined all the items in Consort Wuya's room and found that the bowl of chicken soup contained a small amount of safflower powder. After examining Consort Wuya's pulse, it was confirmed that her pulse symptoms were consistent with those of someone who had taken safflower powder."
Imperial Physician Li carefully observed the Empress's expression. Niohuru, who was seated at the head of the table, remained silent, signaling Imperial Physician Li to continue. "The safflower content in that bowl of chicken soup is extremely low. To have any effect, it needs to be taken for a long time. The pulse of Consort Chang indicates that she has been taking safflower for some time now."
After glancing subtly at Lady Wanliuha, Physician Li continued, "Furthermore, when I entered the room, I smelled a faint floral fragrance. When I examined Consort Chang's pulse, I discovered that the fragrance came from..."
At this point, Physician Li paused, "It emanated from the sachet worn by the concubine at her waist."
Just now, when Dr. Li glanced at her for no apparent reason, Wan Liuha's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly had a bad feeling. After hearing Dr. Li's words, she was terrified. Could she really be going to become a scapegoat?
Suddenly kneeling on the ground, Wanliuhashi took the sachet from her waist and presented it to the Empress, trying to prove her innocence. "Your Majesty, please understand. This sachet was distributed to me by the Imperial Household Department according to custom. It was just a coincidence that I wore it today. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send someone to the Imperial Household Department to check. This sachet was indeed issued by the Imperial Household Department and has nothing to do with me. I have absolutely no intention of harming the imperial heir. Please investigate, Your Majesty."
Wanliuha cried with tears streaming down her face, tearfully proclaiming her innocence.
Seeing her like that, Consort An felt resentful and said sarcastically, "Ha! Wanliuha, if it really had nothing to do with you, why would Imperial Physician Li have specifically mentioned you? It's clear you're not clean, and this matter is definitely related to you. I advise you to confess your guilt as soon as possible, so you can suffer less punishment."
Consort Wanliuha was extremely anxious after hearing Consort An's words, and kept crying out that she was wronged.
Consort An was about to say something when she was interrupted.
“Your Highness, I believe in Jingyi (Wanliuhashi’s given name). This matter has absolutely nothing to do with her. The mastermind behind it is someone else.”
Wu Yaxinyue was helped in by a young palace maid. It was early spring, and she wore a peach-pink palace dress with only a few silk flowers simply pinned to her hair. Although she was pregnant, she looked delicate and charming, as tender as a young girl of sixteen or seventeen.
She was four months pregnant, her belly gradually becoming visible. She was pale, having eaten very little since the onset of her pregnancy, and looked thin and frail. It was she who had interrupted Consort An earlier.
When Niohuru saw Wuya Xinyue enter, she was very surprised. She arranged for the palace servants to help Wuya sit down, and said with a hint of disapproval in her tone, "Wuya, since you are not feeling well, you should go back to bed and rest. How could you come here?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Yaxin's eyes reddened, and she stubbornly said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, I was almost harmed. Although the imperial heir is safe, I still want to come and see who tried to harm me and my child."
Looking at the Empress with wet eyes, Wu Yaxinyue's vision was blurred with tears. Although she was physically weak, her tone was firm and strong.
Empress Niohuru had no choice but to allow her to watch from inside the palace. The early spring weather was still quite cold, and fearing that she would catch a cold, she ordered the palace servants to put a cloak on her and wrap her up tightly before she felt at ease.
Consort An was interrupted, and a surge of anger rose in her heart. Looking outside the palace, she saw that it was Wu Yaxin Yue who had done it, and she was furious. But then she remembered that Wu Yaxin Yue had only had abdominal pain for a short while and had not miscarried, and her anger and hatred were overflowing.
How could that vile woman, Wuya, be so lucky? She tried to harm her time and time again, but she always managed to escape danger and remain safe and sound.
Clutching her handkerchief tightly, Consort An cursed Wu Yaxin Yue in her heart for a long time.
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