It turns out that the lampshade was coated with a medicine called Bodhi Fruit. It had almost no effect during the day, but when the lamp was lit at night and the candlelight scorched it, the medicine on the lampshade would take effect.
At first, it doesn't cause much harm, only making people drowsy and lacking energy. But if it continues for more than three months, it will interfere with a person's consciousness, causing hallucinations, sleepwalking, and even self-harm, gradually turning them into a mentally ill person!
Upon hearing the imperial physician's words, Su Yushan trembled uncontrollably!
Fortunately, she was observant and noticed the abnormality. If she had taken the excessive sleepiness as normal and hadn't paid much attention to it, nor had she asked the imperial physician to investigate the cause, the lampshade would have remained in her room until the New Year when it might have been replaced.
If left untreated for that long, her condition may worsen, and she may gradually become mentally unstable, experiencing hallucinations and resembling a madwoman. At that point, even the imperial physicians will be helpless...
Su Yushan dared not imagine such a situation; just thinking about it sent chills down her spine!
Just then, Hongli returned to Jingren Palace and entered the West Warm Pavilion, where he saw Physician Zhao.
Normally, the imperial physician would take a patient's pulse in the morning, but it was already evening, yet the physician was here. Hongli immediately had a bad feeling and hurriedly asked Su Yushan…
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yu Shan was filled with indignation, her knuckles clenched so tightly she couldn't speak. Yun Fang recounted the whole story, and Hongli, upon hearing it, flew into a rage.
"In the deep, forbidden palace, with its heavy guard, someone still dared to tamper with things and plot against my imperial concubine! This is utterly lawless!"
Enraged, Hongli immediately issued an order to summon all the palace staff of Jingren Palace for a thorough interrogation!
Since we're going to investigate, we have to investigate thoroughly. Su Yushan pondered for a moment and said, "These palace lanterns all came from the Imperial Household Department. Perhaps someone there tampered with them."
Anyone who is suspicious must be investigated; Hongli will not let a single one go!
The Emperor was furious, and everyone was trembling with fear. Li Yu dared not delay for a moment. He had to go and deliver messages to the palace staff in Jingren Palace and the Imperial Household Department. They had to find out the results as soon as possible. If they failed to do so, they would all be punished!
During dinner, Su Yushan found it difficult to swallow, and she even wondered if there was something wrong with the food.
Hongli had already had the palace servants test the dishes and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with them. "These dishes are fine, so enjoy them without worry. I will investigate the lampshade matter!"
The food is fine, but what about the other things in her room? Apart from the lampshade, are there any problems with the other furniture and decorations?
Su Yushan dared not think too deeply about it, always feeling that she had become too sensitive, and that everything around her was unsafe.
"Who came up with the idea of tampering with lampshades? It's truly impossible to guard against! These people have nothing better to do than to be so cunning, determined to kill someone?"
Hongli clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and cursing, "Such a vicious trick must have been done by someone with a heart of stone. Once I catch this person, I will tear him apart with five horses to avenge you!"
Both she and Hongli wanted to catch the murderer, but the palace lantern had been handled by too many people, and no one could say for sure where things had gone wrong. It was still uncertain whether they could find the real culprit.
Hongli's idea was to replace everything in her room, but Su Yushan felt this was inappropriate.
"If we replace it with a new item, it will have to go through many palace servants, and there's no guarantee that someone won't add medicine to it. Let's not replace it for now, and have the imperial physician examine it in detail tomorrow."
After such an incident, Yu Shan was uneasy. The palace servants all needed to be interrogated one by one, and the atmosphere in Jingren Palace was unusually oppressive tonight. Hongli knew she was uneasy, so he decided to take Yu Shan to Yangxin Hall to spend the night. After the imperial physician finished his examination and confirmed that she was alright, she could return to the palace.
On the way to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Su Yushan rode in Hongli's imperial carriage. The two sat side by side, looking at the tall red walls on both sides. She felt that the red color was unusually oppressive!
She still remembers that when she was pregnant last time, she was tricked into taking a pregnancy-changing pill. This time, she was also ambushed. Every time she was pregnant, something bad happened. She was always so worried and could not truly feel at ease.
Feeling depressed, she unconsciously sighed. Seeing this, Hongli covered her hand with his palm, offering her silent comfort.
With palace servants present along the way, he couldn't speak freely until they returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, when he was washing up and going to bed, at which point he finally asked the question.
"But do you feel tired of being by my side? I always want to protect you, but I always end up causing you trouble and suffering. I'm sorry."
It was indeed exhausting. Even though she was usually very careful, it was still impossible to guard against everything. However, she never blamed Hongli.
"This was an accident. It was someone else who had malicious intentions. It wasn't your fault, so you don't need to blame yourself."
Although Yu Shan did not blame him, Hong Li still felt guilty towards her. "If I were an ordinary person, and we were married without other women, there would be no scheming and no one would have framed you. In the end, it was I who harmed you."
"But you also gave me things other women couldn't get: status, power, my family's future, and undivided love." Even though she was downcast, Su Yushan didn't want Hongli to hold a grudge because of this.
"No one's life is perfect. You gain some things and you lose others. I am content. Don't overthink it."
Her eyes were gentle and sincere, and Hongli appreciated her understanding, but there was still something he didn't quite understand.
"The imperial physician discovered the abnormality this morning, why didn't you inform me?"
"At that time, the imperial physicians were also unsure what was on the lampshade. Perhaps I was just being paranoid. I thought I would wait until I had a result before telling you, so that you wouldn't worry unnecessarily."
He squeezed her hand and sighed softly, "You always like to solve everything on your own. I feel like you don't need me at all."
"Who said that? I need you sometimes too!"
She had only said it casually, but Hongli took it seriously and pressed for details, "For example, when?"
Intertwining her index fingers, Su Yushan whispered, "For example, when I occasionally have these thoughts..."
"So, do you have any thoughts now? I can help you..." As he spoke, his voice lowered, and he leaned closer to her, his eyes becoming noticeably brighter, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Su Yushan had already realized what he was implying, and gently nudged his shoulder.
"I don't have any ideas lately, so don't make a fuss."
After a few jokes, her expression turned serious again. Hongli knew she was just trying to comfort him and was forcing a smile, so he stopped teasing her.
He couldn't help but start thinking about the lampshade incident. "Who do you think is playing dirty tricks in the shadows?"
This matter is of great importance, and she cannot speak carelessly. "We haven't found any clues yet, so I can't just suspect other people."
"Judging from your intuition, there are no outsiders here, it's just the two of us talking, so it's okay if you're wrong."
Since Hongli had asked her to guess, she no longer hesitated and revealed her thoughts.
"The excessive sleepiness only appeared after we returned to the palace. In May, before we left the palace, I was perfectly fine and did not have any symptoms of excessive sleepiness. Does that mean that the lampshade was tampered with after we went to the Summer Palace?"
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