After settling Wuya Xinyue in, Niohuru instructed a palace maid to investigate at the Imperial Household Department, and continued to ask, "Imperial Physician Li, is there anything else you want to say? If not, go and examine that sachet to see if there is anything wrong with it."
Having said all that needed to be said, Physician Li said nothing more, rose and took the sachet from the palace maid, examining it carefully.
He examined the sachet again and again, finding nothing wrong. Doctor Li opened the sachet, pinched a little spice in his hand, and carefully smelled it. He knew what was going on.
"Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this sachet. I have carefully examined it and found that the fragrance contains purple chrysanthemum, which is not included in the rations for imperial concubines."
"Purple Ying Flower?" None of the people present had ever heard of this flower, and they all asked in confusion.
Knowing that few people had heard of this name, Physician Li explained, "The Purple Ying Flower comes from the Western Regions. Its fragrance is fresh and elegant, and it has the effect of promoting blood circulation. Women who eat or smell it will suffer miscarriage. However, very few people in the Qing Dynasty know about this flower, which is why it can be hidden in a sachet without being discovered."
After discussing the purple jasmine flower, Physician Li explained Wu Yaxin's condition: "Consort Wu had previously consumed chicken soup containing safflower, but the dosage was small and not easily detected. It wasn't discovered when he checked her pulse; it was simply assumed that Consort Wu was weak and her pregnancy was not going well. However, the intense stimulation from the fragrance of the flower, combined with the toxicity of the safflower, caused the young lady's symptoms to suddenly become apparent..."
After hearing what Physician Li said, the steward of the Imperial Household Department arrived. He went forward to examine the sachet and confirmed that Wanliuhashi was not lying; the sachet was indeed issued by the Imperial Household Department.
Wanliuhashi breathed a sigh of relief and, at the Empress's prompting, returned to her seat. Wuyaxin Yue smiled reassuringly at her, expressing her belief. Wanliuhashi felt a warmth in her heart, deeply moved.
After listening to Physician Li's words, Niohuru understood. This incident was likely orchestrated by two parties. One side added safflower to the chicken soup, but in a very small dose, requiring a long period to be effective. The poisoning had been going on for some time, but the toxicity had not yet manifested.
The other party tampered with the sachet, using Wanliuha's frequent visits to Wuya to let Wuya smell the fragrance of the purple jasmine flower, thus causing her to miscarry.
However, the fight between the two sides triggered the toxins in Uya's body, causing them to activate prematurely, which allowed her to escape unscathed.
After analyzing the situation, Niohuru became even angrier. She hadn't expected that despite her strict precautions, they had still managed to succeed. This was practically a provocation, an insult to her, calling her incompetent.
To maintain her dignity as Empress, she had to find the real culprit; otherwise, the Emperor would surely think she was unworthy of the position. Considering the serious consequences, Empress Niohuru felt she couldn't be too merciful today; she had to let them know that the palace rules were strict and not to be underestimated.
She gestured to her personal maid, Xia He, to summon the head of the imperial kitchen. She wanted to see who had done it.
Before long, Zhang Gege, the head steward of the imperial kitchen, and a group of stewards, including Meizhi, were brought in. Since the problem was with the chicken soup, Hongxiu, who was in charge of watching over it, was also brought in and questioned.
None of the stewards in the imperial kitchen knew what had happened. When they learned that the chicken soup sent to Consort Wuya contained safflower, they all knelt down and begged for forgiveness, shouting that they were innocent.
Bang! The teacup was smashed heavily. Niohuru said angrily, "Injustice? If you were really injustice, how could this have happened today? It's all because of your incompetence that such a big thing has happened. If the imperial heir is really in danger, you will all be punished. I have been too lenient with you all in the past."
As if she had been too excited, Niohuru coughed violently after saying these words. Her previously rosy complexion had turned quite pale.
Chunlan was extremely worried and hurriedly poured a cup of tea for Niohuru, saying, "Your Highness, you are still ill! Please don't get agitated. It's not worth getting upset over these servants. Drink some tea and rest. Don't get angry."
"It's alright, I'm fine." Niohuru drank the tea that Chunlan handed her and calmed down considerably.
Seeing the Empress's appearance, Yunyi had a vague feeling that something was wrong. The Empress's health seemed to be really not good. Ever since her coronation ceremony in June, she had been slightly ill, and now, more than half a year later, not only had she not recovered, but it seemed to have gotten worse.
A clue flashed through her mind, and Yunyi thought carefully about her memories of the Empress, but she only vaguely remembered that the historical Empress Xiaozhaoren seemed to have passed away in the 10th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
She couldn't remember exactly how many years that was. This year was February of the seventeenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, so by that calculation, she probably didn't have many years left to live.
Yunyi's heart skipped a beat; she was startled. Empress Niohuru was actually quite good; she didn't treat everyone too harshly and was kind. Although they had only known each other for a few months, Yunyi liked her quite a bit.
Suddenly realizing that she was about to die, Yunyi felt uneasy. Although this was not the real world, but a parallel world derived from a novel, the people in it were all living, breathing real people with flesh and blood. They had their own personalities, some good and some bad, and each one was very real.
Another point is that if Empress Niohuru had passed away, according to the course of history, Tong Yunyi would have become an Imperial Noble Consort and managed the harem. Not becoming Empress was actually a great regret for Tong Yunyi.
Yunyi herself has no feelings about being an empress, and since she is not a pure ancient person, she is not good at managing the harem, and she may end up in a very embarrassing situation.
Empress Niohuru usually strongly opposed the use of torture on palace servants, but in order to make an example of them and deter others, she had no choice but to make this decision.
"Since you both claim to be innocent, and we can't find the real culprit, then let's all be punished together!"
Empress Niohuru angrily rebuked, "Guards, convey my imperial decree: the Imperial Kitchen has failed in its duties, resulting in the loss of the imperial heir. All personnel in the Imperial Kitchen involved in this matter shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and a year's salary deduction as a warning to others. Furthermore, have the head maid bring all the other palace servants over to see this, so they know what the consequences are for making mistakes!"
The concubines' faces stiffened. They hadn't expected the usually gentle Empress, who never punished palace servants, to be so angry today. They all fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.
The palace servants stepped forward, preparing to take the entire group from the imperial kitchen away. Upon seeing this, Meizhi subtly signaled to the palace maid Lüyin beside her with her eyes.
Upon receiving the message, Lüyin immediately understood and stepped forward, kneeling and shouting, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report. This servant, Lüyin, a second-class palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen, has something to report to Your Majesty."
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