When Zhen'er heard that the words that appeared at Lü Liangdi's place were different from what she had originally designed, she knew that something must have gone wrong somewhere.
I've mentally calculated where she might go wrong, but I just can't figure it out.
Her actions were always secretive; even the amount of powder in the purse she gave to Baili was carefully calculated so that it could only be used up at once.
The situation has now completely deviated from her original plan. She doesn't know what will happen next, nor is she sure if she will be implicated. The fear of being discovered at any moment keeps her in a state of constant anxiety.
"Where exactly did things go wrong? Did Consort Baili not follow the plan? But why?"
Shrinking on the couch, Zhen'er was full of questions. She grabbed Ji'er's shoulder and muttered to herself.
Logically speaking, since Lady Baili had allied herself with the Empress and was helping them at the Empress's suggestion, she shouldn't have turned against them easily. Who could offer her more benefits than the Empress?
Moreover, Baili Shi has always been timid, so there's no reason for him to change his nature and switch to another plan at the last minute.
Besides, if Baili changed the name, what would she gain by doing that?
Zhen'er really couldn't guess what benefit Baili Shi could gain from those words becoming "Qiao Zi Dang Li".
She didn't know what those four words meant, but instinctively felt that they must be involved in another scheme. Her movements were being monitored, and the other party was subtly changing her methods—how terrifying was that?
Now, Zhen'er's biggest worry is that she might become a scapegoat for someone who orchestrated this scheme.
Because Zhen'er's plan was not kept from Jill, Jill, although not involved, knew every step of the process.
"Don't worry, let's wait and see what happens?"
Hearing Jill's advice, Zhen'er smiled bitterly. The only thing to do now was to wait.
"Man proposes, God disposes. We only had a 30% chance of success with this plan; whether we live or die is now up to fate."
After saying this, Zhen'er suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded Ji'er.
"Now that this has happened, you should quickly get rid of all the remaining medicine."
"I don't have much left. You should also hurry up and get rid of the rest. It's best to have Runhe bury it under the tree late at night when everyone is quiet. Those things can't be scattered around."
When Jill saw that Zhen'er nodded, she knew that Zhen'er should know what was going on, so she wasn't too worried.
After returning to her east wing, she examined the remaining powder, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately couldn't bear to part with it.
It wasn't easy to get these things into the palace to avoid inspection in the first place; she had to go to great lengths to hide them. After giving them to Zhen'er, she was afraid that the little bit of stock she had left might come in handy in the future.
Jill couldn't bear to part with it, so she secretly hid it again and put it back in the specially made partition at the bottom of the dressing case.
On the other hand, things were not going as the Queen had expected.
"What did Granny Bai say about this?"
The Queen was instantly enraged when she heard those words.
She knew that Consort Lin's given name contained the character "Qiao," and the phrase "Qiao Zi Dang Li" meant that her son would replace the Crown Prince.
The Empress might yield to the Emperor's favor, but the position of Crown Prince was a taboo subject in her heart.
She said there was nothing wrong!
Upon hearing the news, Granny Zhou immediately sent someone to secretly contact Granny Bai.
Liu Heng did not participate in the imperial concubine selection, and the Empress wanted to find someone to share the Emperor's favor with Consort Lin. The only ones who could be of use were Zhen'er and Ji'er.
Previously, in order to distance herself from Zhen'er and Ji'er, the Empress did not deliberately send anyone to contact them. Instead, she secretly sent Granny Bai to Baili's side so that she could find out about Baili, Zhen'er, and Ji'er's movements.
The Empress was probably aware of Zhen'er's plan, so she didn't show much concern for Lü Liangdi's sudden worsening condition, and just waited to see the outcome.
Unexpectedly, they ended up getting involved with Consort Lin. The Empress was furious and suspected that someone knew about their plan and had also sabotaged it.
"Could it be that the Lin family can't hold on any longer?"
Consort Lin's son is not even a year old yet and can't even speak. It's too early to talk about him vying for the position of Crown Prince.
Besides, her son is getting married next year.
"Your Majesty, why don't you have someone interrogate all the people who serve Consort Lü? Whoever did this will always leave clues. The appearance of those words is too suspicious. Consort Lin has always been knowledgeable about these unorthodox methods, so it's probably her doing."
Reminded by Granny Zhou, the Empress also recalled the will-o'-the-wisp incident from her time as a prince. At that time, it was the first time she had ever heard of phosphorus powder.
The current ant-spelling incident is far too bizarre. Who knows, perhaps the Lin family is using some kind of mystical trick again.
But just as the Empress decided to have all the palace maids and eunuchs who served Lü Liangdi imprisoned and interrogated, she heard a report the next day that Tian'er, the first person to discover the ants spelling out the words, had thrown herself into a well.
The ant prophecy that appeared out of nowhere was already strange, and everyone in the harem was watching closely to see what would happen next. At this sensitive time, a murder occurred, making the situation even more complicated.
The Empress's head began to ache. As the person in charge of the harem, she had to find out the truth as soon as possible, stabilize the minds of everyone in the harem, and prevent rumors from spreading unchecked.
After everyone paid their respects in the morning, the Empress told those who already knew the news about the situation in Consort Lü's palace, and asked Lin Yuqiao and Consort Ning to help her find out what had happened.
"The Emperor is ordained by Heaven, and the Crown Prince is truly deserving of the title. The writings in Consort Lü's palace are nothing but heresy and deception, and her intentions are despicable. Once the truth is uncovered, we will not let this go unpunished."
The empress's words were forceful and aggressive, sounding less like a declaration of resolve and more like a threat to those present.
Lin Yuqiao raised her head and met the Empress's gaze, nodding, "Yes, it also involves Consort Lü's illness and the cause of death of the palace maid Tian'er. Once such a treacherous person is found, he must be severely punished."
Lin Yuqiao rubbed her forehead, sensing the Empress's suspicious gaze, and sighed inwardly. She was the ultimate victim; who was this malicious person who framed her?
Although the Empress did not believe that Lin Yuqiao was acting so hastily, she still found her suspicious and was eager to find evidence to prove to Liu Heng that she had ulterior motives, so as to suppress her.
Several maids who lived with Tian'er and were also personal maids of Consort Lü were brought in. The Empress and others sat in the hall listening to Liu Hong, a eunuch from the Imperial Prison, recount the confessions after being tortured.
"Did no one notice when Tian'er was gone last night? Who was the first to find her?"
After listening to Liu Hong's introduction, the Empress began to ask questions.
"Xiang'er, Xian'er, and Xue'er, who share a room with Tian'er, didn't notice it. It was Huangmen Xiaoshunzi, who was sweeping in the morning, who discovered that there was someone in the well."
Lin Yuqiao clasped her hands together and exchanged a glance with Ning Fei, who was sitting opposite her.
"Are there any suspicious traces in Lü Liangdi's room?"
Liu Hong knew what the Empress wanted to ask, so he gave a detailed reply: "There were no traces in Consort Lü's room. According to Xiang'er, after the words were found by ants the day before yesterday, no one dared to touch them. When we looked again at night, we could not see anything. Moreover, we have searched all the residences of the palace maids and eunuchs in Consort Lü's palace, but we have not found any suspicious items."
Such a pointless interrogation wouldn't uncover anything. The Empress frowned, unsure how to report this matter to Liu Heng that evening.
“Use torture on these people and keep asking questions. Don’t miss any details.”
After questioning the palace maids and eunuchs who were serving her, the Empress ordered someone to bring in Consort Lü.
Lin Yuqiao was somewhat surprised to see who had entered. Before Lü Liangdi fell ill, she had come to pay her respects to the Empress every day, so she knew Lü Liangdi.
At that time, I only thought that Lü Liangdi had a sallow complexion and a thin figure. I never expected that she would look so thin now, with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a lifeless gaze.
"Consort Lü, have you noticed anything strange happening in your palace?"
Upon hearing the question, Lü Liangdi raised her head, but only chuckled softly to herself, saying nothing.
The Empress asked again, but she remained the same, only smiling strangely and not saying a word.
Unable to get any information from her, the Empress summoned the imperial physician.
The people who came this time included both the young imperial physician who had previously diagnosed Consort Lü and the most senior head of the Imperial Medical Academy.
“Lu Liangdi’s internal energy was stagnant, and evil wind arose from her weakness. She had both lung and visceral problems, as well as internal and external stagnation in the triple burner. Her abdomen was full and her two slits were closed. The evil wind had entered her heart, which led to the epilepsy caused by the wind in her heart.”
After listening to the doctor's explanation of the medical reasons in a daze, Lin Yuqiao finally understood that Lu Liangdi was not only suffering from a cough, but also mentally unstable.
What caused this?
She couldn't help but wonder and asked the judge.
"Previously, Consort Liang had been coughing up blood repeatedly. The Imperial Physician diagnosed it as tuberculosis in women. I have examined her pulse record, prescription, and even the dregs of the medicine, and there is indeed no problem. According to the pulse record, it does resemble tuberculosis in women. As for the sudden improvement, judging from Consort Liang's sallow complexion and her frequent feelings of sadness and resentment, it is unlikely that she was suffering from a deficiency of the heart and was attacked by wind-evil, which spread from the lungs to the internal organs. There is no other explanation for this."
According to the court's verdict, Lü Liangdi's condition was caused by a mental illness. Lin Yuqiao watched as Lü Liangdi covered her mouth and laughed while staring at the empty space beside her, and felt a chill run down her spine.
Judging from Lü Liangdi's behavior, she seems to be suffering from schizophrenia.
The imperial physicians found nothing wrong with Consort Lü; her condition could be explained normally through etiological analysis.
After questioning her all morning, the Empress still hadn't gotten any useful clues. Everyone was exhausted, and seeing that the interrogation was fruitless, the Empress had no choice but to let everyone go home.
After everyone left, the Empress couldn't help but ask Granny Zhou to inform Lady Baili to return to Kunning Palace.
"Tell me everything you and Lady Jeong have been plotting!"
"That fool Baili," the Empress cursed inwardly. She wanted Baili to offer advice to Zhen'er and Ji'er, creating opportunities for them to gain the Emperor's favor. This matter was to be handled by Baili, so that it would have nothing to do with her as Empress, lest the Emperor misinterpret her feelings for him.
Now this has happened, and not only is she involved with the Lin family, but she can't find any evidence of their involvement. If the investigation traces back to them, she will have to cover up for Baili Shi and Zhen'er's affairs.
Suppressing her anger, the Empress made Baili Shi reveal Zhen'er's plan and everything she had done.
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