Chapter 41 Poisoning
As the carriage reached the alley entrance, Ye Wanning suddenly saw a familiar figure. The person was dressed in coarse cloth, carrying a medicine box, and walking towards the Li family's house.
"Stop the car!" she shouted to the driver. "Who is that person?"
Pei Zhi peeked out and exclaimed, "It's Physician Liu from the Imperial Hospital. Why is Physician Liu at the Li family's house at this hour?"
The two followed behind, watching as Physician Liu entered the Li family mansion through a side gate. Ye Wanning's heart sank: "Could it be that Empress Dowager Li is ill?"
Pei Zhi shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. Physician Liu is Consort Li's man; he's probably here to deliver messages."
They waited outside the wall for half an hour before Physician Liu emerged, his medicine chest noticeably heavier. Pei Zhi left to follow Physician Liu, while Ye Wanning devised a plan to infiltrate the Li family.
She circled around to the back of the Li family's house, climbed over the wall, and entered. The courtyard was quiet, except for a light still on in the west wing. Ye Wanning approached and heard Empress Dowager Li's voice coming from inside: "...The Third Prince must know that he has obtained the other half of the military tally. Tell him to wait patiently..."
The other half of the military tally? Ye Wanning's heart pounded wildly. Could it be that her mother had hidden not only a rubbing but also the real military tally back then?
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw a maid carrying a lantern. Her eyes widened in terror, and she cried out, "Thief!"
Ye Wanning knew something was wrong and turned to run. The guards of the Li family quickly caught up with her. Relying on her familiarity with the area, she made her way through several turns to the back gate, only to be blocked by two guards.
At the critical moment, a dark figure descended from the sky, kicked the guards to the ground, and dragged Ye Wanning away.
Once she reached safety, Ye Wanning realized that it was the people from Yingge who had saved her.
"Lord Pei sent us to meet you." The man in black's Adam's apple bobbed. "Imperial Physician Liu went to the Imperial Clan Court and gave that item to the Third Prince."
"What is that?" Ye Wanning's heart tightened.
"The man placed the item at the very bottom of the medicine chest. It seems the Third Prince and Empress Dowager Li are indeed still secretly in contact."
Ye Wanning clenched her fist: No, we must find the other half of the military seal as soon as possible, and we must not let them get their way.
The next morning, Ye Wanning went to Ci'an Hall. The old manager was serving porridge to the children. As soon as she arrived, the old manager hurriedly came out to greet her: "Second Miss, what brings you here?"
"Uncle Zhang, I want to ask about my mother's past," Ye Wanning said, dismissing her servants. "Do you know if she ever hid anything important?"
The old shopkeeper thought for a moment: "Madam did often store valuable goods here, but she took them all before she passed away... Oh, right, there was a sandalwood box she never took; she said she was leaving it for you."
Ye Wanning's eyes lit up. The old shopkeeper led her to the storeroom and carried out a dusty box from the corner. The box was locked, but the keyhole was rusty. Ye Wanning used her hairpin to pry open the box. Inside, lined with red velvet, were half a tiger tally and a letter. The tiger tally looked exactly like Xue Lin'an's half, and together they formed a complete set.
The letter was written by her mother. Before her death, she received this half of the tiger tally from the General of Zhenbei, who instructed her to hand it over to a trustworthy person in case the general got into trouble, so that the general could be exonerated.
"So that's how it is..." Ye Wanning cried. Her mother, even on her deathbed, was still concerned about the injustice done to General Zhenbei.
She took the tiger tally and the letter, and was about to leave when she suddenly saw someone walk past Ci'an Hall. It was Physician Liu! What was he doing here?
Ye Wanning quietly followed him and saw him enter a pharmacy across the street. Ye Wanning turned to the side and looked through the window, where she saw Physician Liu talking to a man who looked like the shopkeeper, holding a cloth bag in his hand.
After a while, Physician Liu came out. Ye Wanning hurriedly went in and showed the token Pei Zhi had given her: "What did that person buy just now?"
The shopkeeper was startled, his face turning pale: "N-nothing...it's just some medicine..."
"Speak!" Ye Wanning emphasized, "Did he buy arsenic?"
"No...no..." The shopkeeper knelt down with a thud, sobbing, "It was...it was him who asked me to prepare it for him, saying he wanted poisoned rats..."
Ye Wanning's heart tightened. Why was Imperial Physician Liu buying arsenic? Did he intend to poison the Emperor? She quickly sent someone to report to Pei Zhi, while she continued to follow Imperial Physician Liu. She saw that he did not return to the Imperial Hospital, but instead headed towards the Imperial Clan Court.
Ye Wanning's heart sank to the bottom. The Third Prince was under strict guard in the Imperial Clan Court, and it was impossible for Imperial Physician Liu to get in, unless... She suddenly remembered that the head steward of the Imperial Clan Court was a cousin of Duke Li!
It seemed the Third Prince intended for Imperial Physician Liu to poison the Emperor under the guise of examining his pulse, then frame the Crown Prince and seize power. Ye Wanning dared not delay and hurried towards the palace.
Just as they arrived at the palace gate, they saw Pei Zhi rushing out.
"You've come at the right time." Pei Zhi pulled her along. "The Emperor suddenly fainted, and the imperial physician says he's been poisoned!"
Ye Wanning's head buzzed: "Is it arsenic?"
Pei Zhi looked at her in surprise: "How did you know? The imperial physician just found out."
"Physician Liu bought arsenic and even went in the direction of the Imperial Clan Court!" Ye Wanning said. "It must be the Third Prince colluding with him to poison the Emperor!"
The two rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Emperor lay on his dragon bed, his face already purple, his breathing very weak. The Crown Prince stood guard by the bedside, sweating profusely with anxiety.
"Lord Pei, Miss Ye, you've finally arrived!" The Crown Prince looked at them as if they were his saviors. "The imperial physician said Father has been poisoned with arsenic and is on the verge of death..."
"His Majesty wasn't poisoned with arsenic!" Ye Wanning stepped forward and saw white powder under the Emperor's fingernails, which smelled faintly of almonds. "Lord Pei, His Majesty was poisoned with a drug called 'Qianji Yin,' the same poison my mother was poisoned with!" she said with certainty.
"Quickly send someone to investigate who has recently fed the Emperor!" Pei Zhi immediately ordered.
After much investigation, all the clues pointed to one person—a palace maid who served the Emperor bird's nest yesterday.
"It must be Empress Dowager Li!" the Crown Prince roared. "I'm going to settle accounts with her!"
"Wait a minute," Ye Wanning stopped him. "Empress Dowager Li rarely leaves her home; why would she suddenly send the Emperor bird's nest? There must be something fishy going on."
She recalled everything she had just seen, and suddenly remembered that the shopkeeper of Liu Tai Pharmacy had a plum blossom-shaped birthmark on his hand. She had also seen that birthmark on the hand of the chief steward of the Imperial Clan Court!
"I understand!" Ye Wanning said, "It was the head steward of the Imperial Clan Court who colluded with Imperial Physician Liu to poison the Emperor in the name of Empress Dowager Li, intending to frame the Li family and allow the Third Prince to escape!"
Pei Zhi ordered the arrest of the Chief Steward of the Imperial Clan Court and Physician Liu. Sure enough, the remaining "Tracing Machine" and his secret letter to the Third Prince were found in the Chief Steward's residence. Caught red-handed, the Third Prince had no chance of escape this time.
The emperor gradually woke up under the care of the imperial physicians. Although he was still very weak, his life was no longer in danger.
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