Chapter 647: The Deposed Princess Strikes Back at the Female General 94
Wen Guiren's maid Huixiang knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, "Your Majesty, spare me! I have been serving Wen Guiren wholeheartedly, and I dare not neglect her in the slightest. Wen Guiren was fine when she got up this morning, but she had a poor appetite and only drank a bowl of lotus seed and lily soup."
"I am very careful with everything I eat. I drank the soup and didn't feel any discomfort. I really don't know why you had a miscarriage."
Three imperial physicians were waiting in the room, and even the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau had come. Imperial Physician Dong suggested testing the soup.
Huixiang immediately went to the tea room next door and brought over the lotus seed and lily soup that had not been finished.
"Lady Wen only drank a small bowl, and the rest was given to me as a reward. I put it in the side room next door. No one else has ever entered except me."
Doctor Dong carefully examined it and was horrified. "Your Majesty, this contains powdered arisaema. Arisaema has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It is not a big deal for ordinary people to take it, and it is even a very important medicinal ingredient. However, if a pregnant woman takes it, there is a risk of miscarriage."
"The powder of Tiannan flower is light milky white and has a faint sweet taste. You can't taste it at all when you put it in the lotus seed and lily soup, but if you look closely under the sun, you can still see some traces."
"I felt something was wrong when I took her pulse just now, but I dare not speak without evidence. I am sure that Concubine Wen must have eaten Tiannan flowers by mistake, which led to her miscarriage."
Huixiang knelt down in fear. "It's none of my business. I really don't know anything! I brought this soup from the imperial kitchen. It didn't touch anyone else's hands along the way. It's just..."
Concubine Xiao said sternly, "Just what? You'd better tell the truth and don't miss any details. If you can't find out the truth today, you will be sent to the Ministry of Punishment for not serving Concubine Wen well!"
Huixiang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She stammered, "It's just that after I returned to Lanyue Palace, I met Aunt Shaoyao, who is the head aunt of Lanyue Palace. She pulled me aside to talk and said that I had worked hard to serve Concubine Wen, and Concubine Jiang specially rewarded me with a jade bracelet."
"Aunt Shaoyao urged me to try it. I had never seen such a good thing before, so I couldn't help but put it on. I swear, the food box was only handed to Aunt Shaoyao for a short while, and I was staring at it without missing a beat."
"Aunt Shaoyao has always been kind, and Concubine Jiang has also taken good care of us. It definitely wasn't done by Aunt Shaoyao. There are so many people coming and going in the imperial kitchen. Maybe the soup had already been drugged when I brought it out."
Concubine Xiao kicked Huixiang down and sneered, "You are defending that bitch! Concubine Wen is young and beautiful, and is favored by His Majesty. Now she is pregnant with the heir, and His Majesty comes to visit her from time to time. Concubine Jiang is the main seat of Lanyue Palace, but she sits on the bench every day. I'm afraid she has been holding a grudge for a long time."
"On normal days, Shaoyao always serves Jiangpin. But today, on such a big day as the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, Shaoyao stayed in Lanyue Palace. It's obvious that she has bad intentions! Jiangpin, are you still not admitting your guilt?"
Concubine Jiang had already knelt down. She wanted to cry but didn't dare to cry loudly. Her timid look made her look easy to bully.
"I...I really didn't harm Concubine Wen! With Concubine Wen moving in, Lanyue Palace has become much more lively. I am so happy that I can't wait to do anything. How could I harm her?"
"She...she said she was ill and couldn't get up from the cough, so I left her in Lanyue Palace to recuperate. I don't know what Tiannan Flower is. If your majesty doesn't believe me, go ahead and search. I am innocent!"
The emperor's face was gloomy. He slammed the table and roared, "Search for me! Arrest Shaoyao and interrogate her strictly!"
The Imperial Guards turned the Lanyue Palace upside down and soon dug out a wooden box under a big tree. After inspection by Imperial Physician Dong, it was found to be filled with araceae powder.
"Your Majesty, the maid Shaoyao has hanged herself, and the evidence was dug out from under the big tree at the door of her house."
The emperor was furious and had already determined that it was Concubine Jiang who did it. He shouted sternly: "Come here! Imprison Concubine Jiang in the Ministry of Punishment and interrogate her carefully!"
"The Queen Mother has arrived~"
The Queen Mother's phoenix sedan stopped in the Lanyue Palace, and the Queen helped the Queen Mother into the house.
The emperor could only stand up and pay his respects to his mother. He glanced at the queen with some dissatisfaction, "It's just a small matter, why did you bother your mother to come here in person? Is the queen guilty, so she asked your mother to support you?"
"I will investigate today's incident thoroughly. The harem is full of chaos, and you, the queen, are also responsible for failing to supervise!"
The emperor had listened too much to Concubine Xiao's whispers. Ever since the death of Concubine Lan many years ago, he no longer trusted the empress. Concubine Xiao was nominally assisting in the management of the six palaces, but gradually she no longer asked for the empress's opinion, and instead often went to the emperor for consultation.
The Queen had been sidelined, and Concubine Xiao became the head of the six palaces.
The Queen Mother sat down and waved her hand for everyone to stand up. "I came here on my own initiative. The royal heir is gone, so naturally I came to see him."
"The emperor can investigate cases, but he cannot force people to confess and wrongly accuse good people."
The emperor was confident, "There are witnesses and evidences. It was Concubine Jiang who ordered her personal maid to drug Concubine Wen. But where did the drug come from? We need to interrogate her carefully. Once she is sent to the Ministry of Punishment, she will naturally confess the person behind it."
The emperor's words were suggestive, and he was clearly suspicious of the queen, which was exactly what Concubine Xiao wanted to achieve.
Killing Concubine Jiang was nothing, today she was going to banish the Queen to the cold palace together!
The only variable is that the Queen Mother has also come, but it is useless even if she comes. As long as the evidence is conclusive, even the Queen Mother cannot protect the Queen.
Concubine Xiao immediately praised, "Your Majesty is wise! Many years ago, Concubine Lan was also harmed by the arisaema. I don't know who was so vicious that he sprinkled the arisaema powder on the plum blossoms, causing Concubine Lan to have a miscarriage while admiring the flowers. In the end, two lives were lost. It's really pitiful."
"Jiang Concubine entered the palace after Lan Concubine had a miscarriage, so this incident was definitely not caused by Jiang Concubine. As long as we know where the Tiannan flower came from, we can find the culprit back then!"
The Queen said, "Shaoyao is already dead, and the stolen goods may have been buried by someone else. There is no evidence, so Your Majesty is being too hasty to put Concubine Jiang in the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation."
"If it was really done by Concubine Jiang, she would have destroyed the Tiannan flowers long ago. Why would she leave them there waiting for the Imperial Guards to investigate? I think this must have been framed by someone."
"Ah!" Concubine Wen on the bed suddenly covered her stomach, sweating coldly from the pain, and more blood gushed out from under her body.
Concubine Wen's sobbing turned into crying loudly, "This concubine is in so much pain, please Your Majesty, please help me..."
Concubine Xiao wiped the non-existent tears from her eyes and sighed, "Seeing Concubine Wen in such pain, I feel heartbroken. In my humble opinion, not destroying the stolen goods is to harm people in the future. Tiannan flowers are not easy to bring into the palace."
"Shaoyao has hanged herself, and there is no evidence. The only way now is to torture Concubine Jiang to find out the truth and vent Concubine Wen's anger. The Queen is trying to stop us. Doesn't she want to find the murderer?"
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