Chapter 4: Poison Dusk
The emperor was already ill and had fainted today. After hearing such devastating news, he became even more stunned.
First there was shock, then disbelief, anger, and finally silence...
After a while, he turned to look at Li Yueyao and said:
"There's nothing unusual going on in the court lately, and there's nothing unusual in the harem either..."
Li Yueyao almost fainted after hearing this. I've been waiting for such a long time and this is all you say?
I couldn't help but clench my fists.
But then he thought that his silly nephew was already His Majesty and could not be beaten.
Besides, he was poisoned and injured...
Forget it, let him go.
So he said angrily, "Nothing's wrong? I just came back for a while and I see a bunch of problems. You really don't know?"
The emperor was surprised and asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Yueyao was so angry at her stupid nephew that she almost vomited blood.
"When I entered the palace, the guard at Xuanwu Gate stopped me outside according to the Queen's order. I was holding the Canglong Order, but the guard didn't even look at it. Is that okay?
Zhaoqing stopped me from saving you. Is she okay?
The prince is the foundation of a country and the future crown prince. He has to act according to the queen's mood in everything he does. Is there anything wrong with him?
"There's nothing unusual about it. Why are you so severely poisoned, yet the Imperial Hospital says you're fine, it's just a relapse of an old illness?"
As Li Yueyao was talking, she wanted to reach out and hit the emperor twice to vent her anger.
The emperor saw that Li Yueyao was a little angry, so he reached out and pulled Li Yueyao's sleeve:
"Aunt, I'm feeling dizzy right now and can't think too much. What do you think?"
"Forget it, let's treat your illness first. Detoxification is the most important thing. But I don't know who poisoned you. Was it the Queen?"
The emperor shook his head after hearing this and said: "It shouldn't be the queen."
"should?"
Li Yueyao's voice rose involuntarily.
The emperor tugged at Li Yueyao's sleeve and whispered:
"Aunt, listen to me. The Queen has average abilities, but she's very ambitious and wants to be the regent.
If something happens to me now, even if the country falls into the hands of her Xie family, the Queen and the Crown Prince will only become puppets, which is not the result she wants."
"What about the King of Qin and the King of Jin?" Li Yueyao asked.
The emperor was stunned and said, "It was clear before, but it's not clear now."
Li Yueyao said, "Forget it. For now, let's first cure your poison and then proceed slowly."
The emperor nodded.
Li Yueyao continued, "I don't have any staff in the palace. Are all the people from the East Palace still here?"
"Sun Fu is reliable." The emperor said weakly.
Li Yueyao sneered: "Sun Fu? He was the first one I suspected. He's reliable."
"Why do you doubt him?"
"He was your personal eunuch. How could it be possible that he had no idea you were deeply poisoned?"
"What do you think, aunt?"
"First, I'll use the old people from the East Palace and those left behind by your father, the emperor, and your mother. I'll see if there are any available.
"By the way, where is the white jade and white flower order that was passed down from our family? Did you give it to the Queen?"
"No, I'll ask Sun Fu to get it for you later," said the emperor.
"You have some brains."
"When my mother passed away, she told me that the Queen's family was powerful and we should be wary of foreign relatives interfering in government affairs. That's why I haven't given this token to her yet. You can use it now."
Li Yueyao nodded and said, "Let's put it this way first."
The emperor felt dizzy and could no longer bear it. He closed his eyes and said, "Okay."
Li Yueyao said, "Don't sleep yet. Wait until the Queen comes and gives you instructions before you go to sleep."
As he spoke, he gave the emperor a needle, then turned and said, "Sun Fu, come in."
Sun Fu came in from outside in response.
The emperor said weakly, "Go and fetch that white jade and white flower token for the Grand Princess of Jinyang."
Sun Fu said softly, "Yes."
After a while, Sun Fu came over with a sandalwood box. Li Yueyao opened it and saw that it was indeed the token passed down from her Li family's ancestors. She put it in her arms and kept it safe.
Li Yueyao then ordered, "Go and invite the Queen and the Crown Prince over."
After a while, the prince and the queen came into the emperor's bedroom together.
Li Yueyao stared at the approaching queen without blinking, and said bluntly: "Your Majesty has been poisoned."
The queen's delicate and proud face was instantly filled with shock when she heard this: "Poisoned?"
Li Yueyao looked carefully at the Queen's expression and saw that her shock did not seem to be fake.
"The Imperial Hospital all said that it was a relapse of His Majesty's old illness. How did Aunt diagnose that His Majesty was poisoned? What kind of poison was it?"
The queen was shocked and asked questions continuously.
"My ancestors repeatedly appeared in my dreams to warn me that Your Majesty was poisoned and asked me to come back to save him.
Yesterday, I spent the whole night reading the "Poison Classic" written by Chen Jin, a great Chinese physician of the previous dynasty.
I came back today to check your Majesty's pulse and discovered that you may have been poisoned by something called 'Decease'."
Those who are poisoned by this poison will have pulse and symptoms similar to those of a common cold.
However, this medicine will gradually erode people's meridians, causing their qi and blood to gradually decline, and eventually leading to the complete loss of vitality.
Even a general in his prime would suddenly become old if he took it for six months, and his eight extraordinary meridians would become weak like an old man."
The emperor, lying on the couch, listened with a very ugly expression.
"And those who are poisoned by this medicine will have a small red dot on their chest."
As Li Yueyao spoke, she tore off the emperor's clothes, and sure enough, there was a small red dot in the middle of his Tanzhong acupoint.
When the Queen and the Crown Prince saw this, their faces turned tense. The Crown Prince asked anxiously, "Grandma, is there a cure for this poison?"
Li Yueyao smiled and looked at the Crown Prince. "Don't worry, Your Majesty has been poisoned for over two months. The poison is still mild and can be cured."
The emperor felt relieved after hearing this.
"The poison can be cured, but first we need to find out where it was poisoned and who poisoned it."
The Queen listened with a calm expression. She stepped forward slowly and said, "I'll leave this matter to you, Aunt. If there's anything you need from me, please let me know."
Li Yueyao said respectfully, "Your Majesty, you are too polite. I will do my best to treat Your Majesty."
Then he added, "Then I'll trouble the Queen to look after Your Majesty while I go get the medicine."
After that, he turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I'd like to borrow Sun Fu for a while."
The emperor nodded weakly.
Li Yueyao bowed to the emperor and took her leave.
Sun Fu hurriedly followed Li Yueyao out.
Coming out of the Emperor's bedroom, Li Yueyao, with a cold face and the pressure of a superior, asked Sun Fu:
"Do you have any idea how His Majesty was poisoned?"
When Sun Fu heard Li Yueyao's question, sweat began to seep out of his forehead and his brain was spinning.
He was afraid that he would say something wrong, offend this ancestor, and lose his life.
"I just heard from you, Your Highness, that His Majesty has been poisoned for over two months. I have already sent someone to fetch His Majesty's three-month diet plan. Please review it."
Li Yueyao said as she walked, "Report here the names of all the people who worked at Taiji Palace in the past three months."
"Yes."
"Your Majesty, have your daily routines changed in the past three months?"
"In the past three months, Your Majesty has often visited the Imperial Concubine, and sometimes he rests quite late."
"Oh? Send me the records of your Majesty's stays in the harem over the past three months so I can take a look."
"Yes."
As they were talking, they came to the west side hall of Taiji Palace.
After Li Yueyao sat down, she didn't look at Sun Fu and didn't speak.
The beads of sweat on Sun Fu's head flowed down his cheeks, slid across his chin, and finally sank into the thick carpet, but he didn't dare to reach out and wipe them.
After standing there in silence for a quarter of an hour, Li Yueyao picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Do you admit your guilt?"
When Sun Fu heard this, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he fell to his knees.
"I am guilty, Your Highness, please punish me?"
"What crime have you committed?" Li Yueyao said lightly.
Sun Fu bowed his head to the ground and replied respectfully, "I failed to serve Your Majesty well, causing Your Majesty to be poisoned. I deserve to die."
"You are just a lowly maidservant sweeping the Imperial Garden. After entering the palace, you were bullied. Your Majesty and I passed by the Imperial Garden and saved you.
Over the years, with the grace of Your Majesty, I have gradually become the most important eunuch in the palace.
What? Have you forgotten your way here so quickly?
Or do you want to go back to the Imperial Garden to sweep and clean?"
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