Chapter 213 The Poisonous Plot Exposed
Consort Chen also sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Jin'er, how dare you poison me?!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare me! I didn't!" Jin'er knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face. "Someone framed me! Someone must have pinned this on me!"
"Framed?" Ye Wanning sneered. "In this palace, besides you, no one else can have access to the Empress's tonics every day and add poison without being discovered."
Ye Wanning walked up to Jin'er and said, "Stretch out your hand."
Jin'er clenched her fists tightly, refusing to open them. Xiao Lian stepped forward, pressed down on her wrist, and forcibly pried it open. Ye Wanning gently ran a silver needle along the crevices of her fingernails, and the needle turned black again.
"The evidence is conclusive, and you still want to argue?!" Ye Wanning's tone was icy.
Jin'er lay on the ground, unable to utter another word in defense.
Consort Chen trembled with rage, pointing at her and demanding, "Speak! Who ordered you to do this? Why are you trying to harm me?"
"It's...it's Consort Wan!" Jin'er cried. "She was demoted to a palace maid and forced to do hard labor in the Cold Palace, yet she still dared to cause trouble! She said that as long as she poisoned me, she could win the Emperor's favor. She even threatened me, saying that if I didn't do as she said, she would kill my family!"
"You?" Ye Wanning's heart tightened—she hadn't expected that Consort Wan would still dare to cause trouble after being demoted.
"Bring Consort Wan up here!" Consort Chen roared.
Before long, Consort Wan was brought into the palace. She was dressed in coarse cloth palace maid's clothes, her hair was disheveled, but she had a sinister smile on her face.
"Jin'er has confessed! You ordered her to poison me!" Consort Chen roared.
"So what?" Consort Wan sneered. "Consort Chen, do you think you're safe just because you gave birth to the eldest prince? You're nothing but a servant from an ordinary family. Your entry into the palace was all by luck. The Emperor's favor towards you is fake! Only I am worthy of the Emperor!"
She glared at Ye Wanning with hatred: "And you, Ye Wanning! If it weren't for your meddling, I would have succeeded long ago! You ruined everything I have, and I will never let you go!"
"Insolence!" Pei Zhi's voice came from outside the palace gate. He walked in quickly, his cold eyes looking at Consort Wan. "You, a criminal slave, dare to plot against the Imperial Concubine and the imperial heir, and even dare to threaten Madam Ye. You are truly audacious!"
Upon seeing Pei Zhi, a flicker of fear crossed Consort Wan's eyes, but she remained defiant: "Pei Zhi, do you really think you can be so smug for long? Everything I've done is for the Pei family! Ye Wanning is ruthless and will drag the Pei family into ruin sooner or later!"
"Shut up!" Pei Zhi shouted. "I know Wan Ning better than anyone else what kind of person she is! You yourself have ulterior motives and are jealous of others, yet you dare to argue!"
At this moment, the Emperor arrived at the palace. Upon his appearance, he was furious: "Consort Wan, you, a former slave, have shown no remorse and plotted to harm the Imperial Consort and the imperial heir. You deserve to die!"
"Your Majesty, I'm innocent!" Consort Wan cried and begged for mercy, lying on the ground. "It was Ye Wanning and the Imperial Concubine who framed me! Your Majesty, you must believe me!"
"The evidence is conclusive, yet you still dare to argue!" The Emperor sneered. "Jin'er has already confessed, and the silver needle test has confirmed everything. How could I possibly believe your nonsense?"
He shouted, "Guards, drag Consort Wan out, give her a cup of poisoned wine, and execute her immediately! Jin'er aided and abetted the wicked; she shall be flogged fifty times and exiled three thousand li!"
Wanpin's cries were drowned out by the footsteps of the guards dragging her away, and then her screams disappeared outside the palace gates. Jin'er was also dragged away to be tortured, and finally the palace became quiet.
Consort Chen watched all this, her face deathly pale, her whole body trembling. Ye Wanning stepped forward and said softly, "Your Highness, it's alright now. The person who harmed you has been punished. You should take good care of yourself and the prince."
Consort Chen nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Madam Ye, thank you. I was foolish before, believing Consort Wan's words and trying to harm you. I never expected that you would be the one to save me in the end."
"Your Majesty need not blame yourself," Ye Wanning said. "There is intrigue and backstabbing in the harem, and it is inevitable that some people will take advantage of you. In the future, just be discerning about who is trustworthy and protect yourself and the prince well."
The Emperor looked at Ye Wanning, his eyes full of admiration: "Ye Wanning, you are not only highly skilled in medicine, but also meticulous in your thinking, resolving several crises in the harem. You protected the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Concubine, and the Eldest Prince. I reward you with one hundred taels of gold and one thousand bolts of silk. In addition, you are permitted to open a court medical department in the Inheritance Hall, specifically to train female physicians for the harem. The court will allocate funds to support you, and you can apply directly to the court for any necessary equipment and supplies for your research."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Ye Wanning quickly expressed her gratitude.
As they left the palace, the sun was already setting, casting a golden glow on the palace walls. Pei Zhi walked beside Ye Wanning, his eyes full of tenderness: "Thanks to you, Wanpin's conspiracy was exposed today."
"Thanks to your timely arrival," Ye Wanning said with a smile.
“I was worried about you, so I waited outside the palace gates,” Pei Zhi said. “When I saw the guards rushing to take Consort Wan away, I knew something had happened, so I rushed in.”
Ye Wanning felt a warmth in her heart and turned to look at him: "You don't need to worry anymore, I can protect myself."
“I know you can, but I still worry.” Pei Zhi held her hand. “We are husband and wife, your safety is my safety. No matter where you go in the future, I will follow you.”
Ye Wanning didn't speak, but simply gripped his hand tightly in return. The two stood side by side in the sunset, their long, intimate shadows trailing behind them.
Afterwards, the harem remained peaceful for a long time. Consort Chen matured after this incident, ceasing her ambitious pursuit of power and focusing solely on caring for the princes, deliberately distancing herself from the other concubines. Consort Shu's health also gradually improved; she occasionally exchanged medical knowledge with Ye Wanning, and the two became good friends.
Ye Wanning devoted herself wholeheartedly to managing the Imperial Medical Academy's medical department, recruiting twenty palace maids and ten women from the common people. Pei Zhi also did his best to help, securing more funding from the imperial court to build a new teaching building and a free clinic for the academy. Their relationship gradually warmed up in the ordinary days, the intense misunderstandings and conflicts of the past gone, replaced by mutual understanding and support.
Ye Wanning knew, however, that the peace in the harem and the tranquility in the court were only temporary. Consort Wan was dead, but the remnants of the previous dynasty had not yet been eliminated, and they were certainly still plotting something in secret.
That day, Ye Wanning was attending a class at the Heritage Hall when Xiaolian quietly ran in: "Miss, something terrible has happened! I found out in the inner palace that several suspicious men have infiltrated the palace. They seem to be remnants of the previous dynasty!"
"What?" Ye Wanning's heart tightened. "You really saw it? What were they planning to do by sneaking into the palace?"
“I saw them! They were holding maps, looking around, and they even mentioned going to the Imperial Study to find the secret edict!” Xiaolian said confidently.
The Imperial Study? A secret edict? Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat—the remnants of the previous dynasty had infiltrated the palace, firstly to find the secret edict left by the late emperor, and secondly to assassinate the emperor and then launch a rebellion from within!
"Go and tell Pei Zhi to come over as soon as possible! I'll go into the palace first to assess the situation and try to delay them!" Ye Wanning said.
"Miss, you can't go, it's too dangerous!" Xiaolian said anxiously.
"There's no time!" Ye Wanning picked up her medicine box. "I'll disguise myself as a royal physician treating the emperor; no one will suspect anything! Go tell Pei Zhi to come as soon as possible!"
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