Chapter 216 A Deadly Scheme
"Thank you for your concern, elder sister. I will never forget your kindness!" Consort Rou quickly expressed her gratitude.
"We're all sisters, it's only right that we look after each other," Consort Xian said with a smile, but her heart was full of calculations.
The pills in this incense burner were indeed calming, but Consort Xian secretly added a few drops of colorless and odorless abortifacient. The drug was mixed with the fragrance, making it extremely difficult to detect. With prolonged use by Consort Rou, the fetus would gradually lose its vitality, eventually resulting in a natural miscarriage, leaving no trace.
Consort Rou was unaware of the conspiracy and burned the incense burner on time every day.
Not long after, Consort Rou began experiencing abdominal pain and a pale complexion. She assumed it was a normal reaction to pregnancy and didn't pay much attention. However, the abdominal pain became more and more frequent, and she started bleeding. Consort Rou finally became frightened and hurriedly sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to summon the imperial physician.
The imperial physician rushed over to examine Consort Rou's pulse: "Your Majesty, the fetus is unstable, but we can't see the cause for the time being." He then prescribed some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy and told her to take good care of herself.
But Consort Rou's condition did not improve; her abdominal pain and bleeding symptoms became increasingly severe.
Just then, news arrived that Consort Xian was coming to visit. Consort Rou was both happy and afraid—she and Consort Xian had not been close before, and she feared that the other might take the opportunity to harm her.
A short while later, Consort Xian arrived. Consort Rou hurriedly went out to greet her, but Consort Xian feigned concern and said, "Sister, what happened to you? Is someone trying to harm you? Let your elder sister take a look!"
While Consort Rou wasn't looking, she placed a small paper packet containing residue from an abortion pill under her pillow, then hurriedly ran to see the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Consort Rou is suffering from severe abdominal pain and shows signs of miscarriage. I even found this under her pillow!" Consort Xian handed the small paper packet to the Emperor, crying, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Consort Rou is probably jealous of my favor or doesn't want to have a child, so she is trying to harm her own unborn child and frame me! I beg Your Majesty to do justice for me!"
The Emperor looked at the remnants of abortion pills in the paper packet, then at Consort Rou rolling and crying on the ground, and gradually began to believe Consort Xian's words. He ordered Consort Rou to be confined to the palace, forbidding anyone from visiting her, and ordered the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital to re-examine her to determine if she was suffering from a chronic illness.
Ye Wanning learned of Consort Rou's pregnancy as soon as she entered the palace, and then received an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager ordering her to go and treat Consort Rou.
She knew in her heart that Consort Rou was weak and cowardly and would never harm her unborn child. Someone must be trying to harm her—no one but Consort Xian had such a motive or ability.
Ye Wanning took the initiative to request the Empress Dowager to thoroughly investigate the matter. The Empress Dowager also felt that the matter was suspicious, so she agreed.
Upon entering the palace of Consort Rou, a faint fragrance of incense was mixed with a subtle medicinal scent.
Consort Rou lay on the couch, her face deathly pale, barely breathing. Upon seeing Ye Wanning enter, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably: "Madam Ye, save my child! I can't live without him!"
"Don't worry, Consort Rou, I will do everything in my power to protect the child." Ye Wanning patted her shoulder and comforted her with a smile, "Come, sit with me by the bed, I'll take your pulse."
After carefully examining Roupin's wrist, Ye Wanning said, "The fetus's breath is weak, its pulse is disordered, and there are still toxins from the abortion drug in its body."
"I see." Ye Wanning nodded—no wonder the fetus had been unstable; someone had secretly used drugs to harm her.
She walked around the palace, her gaze finally landing on Consort Rou's incense burner. Ye Wanning picked up the incense burner, brought it to her nose, and took a deep breath: "This smells like abortifacient medicine, just like the strange fragrance I smelled in Consort Xian's palace before."
"This was given to me by Consort Xian. She said that this kind of incense can calm the nerves and nourish the fetus, and that I should fumigate it several times a day," Consort Rou replied truthfully.
Ye Wanning became increasingly certain that it was Consort Xian who had committed the poisoning. She then found the small paper packet under Consort Rou's pillow—it contained remnants of an abortifacient, and its toxicity was exactly the same as the poison in the incense burner.
"Your Majesty, I already know who harmed you," Ye Wanning said softly. "But there is no direct evidence to prove that it was Consort Xian who did it. I cannot frame her without evidence. I will first prepare medicine for you to detoxify and stabilize your pregnancy, and then slowly collect evidence to clear your name."
Consort Rou nodded vigorously, but her tears flowed even more fiercely: "Thank you, Madam Ye. As long as the child is safe, I am willing to do anything."
Ye Wanning prescribed medicine for Consort Rou and instructed her: "Don't use this incense burner anymore, and don't trust anything anyone offers, especially Consort Xian. Entrust your eating, drinking, and toileting to the palace maid you trust most, so that no one will dare to poison you easily."
"I understand," Consort Rou replied, her voice choked with emotion.
After leaving Consort Rou's palace, Ye Wanning quickly sent someone to investigate the procurement channels for incense and supplies in Consort Xian's palace, and then told Pei Zhi about it.
Pei Zhi was furious upon hearing this: "That virtuous concubine, what a vicious heart she has! How dare she use such methods to poison the imperial heir!"
“Yes,” Ye Wanning said, “but we don’t have concrete evidence to bring her down. The Wei family has a lot of power in the court, and the emperor won’t punish her severely easily. We should protect Consort Rou’s child first, then slowly gather evidence and take action when the time is right.”
"I understand," Pei Zhi replied. "I will keep an eye on the Wei family's movements in court, and at the same time, I will send people to keep an eye on Consort Xian and help you gather evidence."
Ye Wanning looked at him, a warmth spreading through her heart. Although they had a misunderstanding because of the Wei family's affairs, Pei Zhi had always stood firmly by her side, protecting and helping her in this crucial moment.
“Thank you, Pei Zhi,” she said.
Pei Zhi smiled and reached out to take her hand: "We're husband and wife, no need for such formalities. No matter what happens in the future, we'll be together and never be separated again."
"Mm." Ye Wanning nodded and tightly grasped the hand he extended.
She knew that with Pei Zhi by her side, she could bravely face whatever methods the Wei family and Consort Xian used.
Days passed, and Ye Wanning entered the palace every day to prepare pills for Consort Rou. While helping her recover, she also secretly gathered evidence against Consort Xian—she believed that one day she would be able to present the truth to the Emperor.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity came so quickly!
Under Ye Wanning's meticulous care, Consort Rou's health gradually improved. She knew Ye Wanning had saved her and her child's lives, and her heart was filled with gratitude. At the same time, she gradually noticed that Consort Xian's attitude towards her was becoming increasingly strange—on the surface, she still showed concern and warmth, but her eyes concealed undisguised jealousy and malice. Since she stopped using the incense burner, Consort Xian's coldness towards her had become much more apparent.
Consort Rou was terrified; she knew Consort Xian wouldn't let her off so easily. She didn't want to sit idly by and wait for her fate; she wanted to fight for her and her child's chance to live.
That day, Consort Xian sent someone to deliver the pregnancy-stabilizing soup again. Consort Rou looked at the bowl of soup, her heart tightening—she absolutely could not allow anything to happen to her child again!
She didn't drink it. Instead, when the palace servants weren't looking, she poured some soup into a small bottle and hid it. Then she pretended to drink the soup. A little while later, she deliberately started crying and screaming, attracting the palace guards and eunuchs to come running.
Soon, Consort Xian received the news and rushed over, feigning concern: "Sister, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"
"It was you! You poisoned the soup!" Consort Rou cried out. "I know you're jealous that I have a child and wanted to kill him! The incense burner you sent was poisoned, and this soup is poisoned too!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com