Chapter 547 This behavior is just to make the drama come true!
Inside the Imperial Study
When Concubine Li was escorted into the palace by the guards, she was so frightened when she saw the scene in the palace that her face turned pale and her legs went weak and she fell to her knees.
"Your Majesty! I am innocent!" The pearl hairpin on her head shook as her body trembled, making a crackling sound.
Cuihuan was being held aside, but at this moment she seemed to have given up everything and pointed at Lipin.
"It's you! Lady Li, do you dare to do it but not take responsibility for it?"
"You promised me that you would recommend my family members after the mission was accomplished. It was because you were jealous of the Empress that you came up with this vicious plan to kill two birds with one stone!"
"You are slandering me!" Concubine Li screamed in horror and kowtowed desperately to Zhao Yunci. "Your Majesty, please understand! I have no contact with Cuihuan, so how could I have ordered her to do such a treasonous thing!"
"It's her! She's the one who wants to frame me!"
Concubine Hui stood aside, tears already streaming down her face. She held the hand of a palace maid, her body shaky, her face full of grief.
"Cuihuan, you are so confused!" She choked and looked at Zhao Yunci.
"Your Majesty, I... I was truly blind. I didn't realize I had such an evil servant colluding with outsiders. I was almost deceived by her and made a huge mistake!"
Zhao Yunci's eyes swept back and forth between the three women's faces, and the frown between his brows became deeper and deeper.
In this chaos, Chu Ruohan took a step forward.
"Your Majesty, I dare to raise a few questions."
Zhao Yunci looked at her and motioned her to continue.
"Ms. Cuihuan is Empress Huifei's confidant and is deeply trusted. Why would she betray her former master, risking the execution of her entire clan, just for the few benefits promised by Empress Lipin?"
Chu Ruohan's gaze fell on Cuihuan without a trace of warmth.
"Furthermore, although Concubine Li has a desire to win favor, she has always acted flamboyantly. Does she have the ability, and what motive, to plan such a meticulous, interconnected, and sinister scheme?"
Her words were neither hurried nor slow, but like a sharp blade, they precisely cut through the core of the mess.
The anger in Zhao Yunci's eyes subsided slightly, replaced by scrutiny and suspicion.
At this moment, a eunuch crawled into the hall, with joy in his voice.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The Empress has awakened!"
Chu Ruohan looked at Zhao Yunci's back as she walked away. Is this scene coming to an end?
The Emperor stayed in the Queen's palace every night. He knew best whether the Queen was alright or not...
This behavior is just to make the most of the show!
Inside Kunning Palace, the scent of soothing incense lingered.
Su Wanban leaned against the head of the bed, his face pale and looking very weak.
"Your Majesty." When she saw Zhao Yunci, she struggled to get up.
"Don't move!" Zhao Yunci quickly stepped forward and held her shoulders. "How do you feel? Where's the imperial physician?"
"Your Majesty, I am fine."
Su Wan shook her head slightly, her eyes swept over Concubine Hui, Chu Ruohan and others who followed in, and finally fell on Zhao Yunci's face, with a hint of confusion and hard memories in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Did you remember something?" Zhao Yunci asked.
Su Wan frowned, as if thinking hard, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty seems to remember something. The day before Sister Huifei brought the cakes, Your Majesty passed by the rockery in the Imperial Garden, and it seemed..."
"I seem to have overheard Concubine Hui and Cui Huan talking."
Concubine Hui's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly gripped her.
"They... seemed to have mentioned something about 'cinnabar' and... 'one corpse, two lives'."
Su Wan's eyes were filled with confusion. "At that time, I thought they were discussing some story they heard outside the palace, saying something about 'country girls don't understand pharmacology' and being easily tricked, so I didn't take it seriously."
These words, like a thunderclap, exploded in the ears of everyone in the hall!
Concubine Hui's face suddenly turned pale and bloodless.
Su Wan seemed oblivious to her reaction and continued to speak to Zhao Yunci, "Your Majesty, I come from a humble background. Since I was young, I have followed my father in the mountains, collecting herbs for a living."
She raised her eyes, her gaze clear and bright, looking directly at the emperor. "So, I know the toxicity of cinnabar very well. That day, when I smelled the cakes, I knew there was something wrong."
"I dared not speak out, fearing to alert the enemy. I had no choice but to play along and pretend to be poisoned. I just wanted to see who was so cruel as to kill me and my unborn child!"
Zhao Yunci was not surprised. She held her hand and turned to look at Concubine Hui.
"You!" Concubine Hui pointed at Su Wan, her lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
She never imagined that the plan she was so proud of had fallen into the other party's trap from the very beginning!
Su Wan actually knows pharmacology! She's been acting all along!
"Your Majesty, I am..." Concubine Hui tried to defend herself.
"Come here!" Zhao Yunci said, "Reexamine Cuihuan! Search the palace for me! Thoroughly investigate Huifei's Xianfu Palace, and don't let a single hair go undetected!"
The guards took the order and left.
Under torture, Cuihuan no longer dared to accuse Lipin and soon confessed everything.
At the same time, the guards found a porcelain bottle containing a small amount of cinnabar powder and several letters of secret communication with the outside world in a very secret compartment in the wall of Concubine Hui's bedroom.
Both the witnesses and the physical evidence are here!
When those things were placed in front of Concubine Hui, her last bit of sanity completely collapsed.
"Su Wan!" She no longer pretended to be weak, but instead screamed at the top of her lungs, acting like a madman.
"It's you! It's all because of you, bitch! Why did you show up? Why did you take away everything from me?!"
Her eyes were red as she stared at Su Wan, her face full of twisted hatred.
"It's me! I was the one who poisoned you! I want you to die! I lost my child, and you won't be able to have an easy life either!"
"If I'm not doing well, none of you will be doing well!"
Zhao Yunci looked at Concubine Hui's crazy appearance, and there was no more pity in her eyes, only cold disgust.
"Drag her away! Banish her to the cold palace and never let her out without my order!" His voice was cold, as if he was dealing with an insignificant object.
Concubine Hui's cries and curses gradually faded away, and the Kunning Palace returned to dead silence.
Zhao Yunci turned around and patted the back of Su Wan's hand. "Rest well. I will take care of the rest."
Su Wan nodded gently: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
A thunderstorm swept from Kunning Palace to the entire harem.
Zhao Yunci launched a massive investigation into the six palaces on the pretext that the queen was poisoned and the dragon fetus was in danger.
Any concubine, palace maid, or eunuch who had too close contact with Concubine Hui or showed any disrespect to the Kunning Palace would suffer a bad end.
For a moment, everyone in the palace felt in danger, and the sounds of crying and begging for mercy were endless.
There were two high-ranking concubines with prominent family backgrounds who were usually close to Concubine Hui. The guards also found some shameful things in their homes when they were searched in the palace.
Zhao Yunci was furious, but considering that his father and brother had made great contributions to the previous dynasty, he did not kill them all.
He only issued an order to demote them to commoners, expel them from the palace, and send them back to their mother's home for strict supervision.
In just a few days, the once bustling harem became deserted.
Apart from Queen Su Wan, there were only four concubines left who were of low rank and were usually cautious.
They stayed in their respective palaces, trembling with fear, and stayed indoors...
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