Ulanara had Zeng Kang stand guard at the door, while she led Yanruo inside.
After a few steps, Li Shi, who had heard the sound, turned her head to look over. However, she seemed a little dazed, just staring blankly at Ulanara Shi without saying a word.
"What? You're not going to kneel before me?" Ulanara asked, raising her chin.
Li's eyes flashed slightly, but a moment later she pounced forward and grabbed Ulanara's neck: "Die! Die! All of you die!"
"Li! Are you insane!" Ulanara was shocked, but Li seemed to have really gone mad. The force with which she was choking her neck was enormous. She wanted to shout angrily, but she could only stammer and couldn't utter a complete sentence. She felt as if her neck was about to be broken.
Ulanara was truly terrified. Fortunately, Yanruo and Zeng Kang, who were at the door, rushed forward one after the other and desperately pulled Li away and threw her to the ground.
Ulanara rubbed her neck, took a deep breath, and then coughed violently. She bent over coughing, but couldn't help glancing at Li, who was sitting on the ground.
The madness and hatred in Li's eyes were clearly visible, while Ulanara coughed and then suddenly laughed.
Okay, okay, that's exactly the kind of person she needs right now!
It seems there's no need to leave her any poison, which will save her from having her source traced. All she has to do is tamper with things, let Li Shi out, and then lure her to Qian Shengyan. Given Li Shi's current madness, she could strangle Qian Shengyan to death!
But after finally managing to eliminate the problem completely...
Ulanara finally recovered. She stood up, walked up to Li, looked down at her, and seeing Li's unwilling expression, she suddenly laughed.
She said, "What's the use of strangling me? I'm not the one who harmed you or Hongshi."
“I tried every means to get Hongshi into that position, so that he could call me Empress Mother. After all, I don’t have a son of my own. Is it wrong for me to like my eldest son?” Ulanara said, squatting down to look into Li’s eyes, and slowly said, word by word, “The one who really harmed your son was that woman in Yongshou Palace.”
Li's breathing became heavy.
“You know, Hongshi has a soft heart. How could he possibly assassinate the Emperor? He's just a child who doesn't know any better. He was just brandishing a dagger around to get his father's attention. But Qian insisted on going up to him and getting hurt, thus solidifying the charge that Hongshi was trying to assassinate him.”
As Ulanara spoke slowly, she observed Li's reaction. Seeing that Li's eyes were indeed bulging and she was gritting her teeth as if she wanted to devour someone, Ulanara laughed.
She laughed as she spoke, “I did raise Hongshi for a while, and I even heard him call me Mother. Such a good child, and he was harmed like this. It breaks my heart.” She then sighed, “Unfortunately, I am powerless. Now that Lady Qian is a Noble Consort who has given birth to the eldest son of the Emperor, I really dare not confront her head-on.”
Ulanara deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of "eldest son of the emperor," and sure enough, Li gritted her teeth, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. She was so angry that she even shattered her gums.
Feeling reassured, she pulled Li Shi aside and said to her, "If you want to avenge Hong, I will help you."
Li was panting heavily when she met Ulanara's slightly smug gaze. She paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth and nodded.
Ulanara did leave behind the packet of poison, but she also left a message: "If you betray me, I will send you to commit suicide."
For a concubine to commit suicide is a grave crime, not only implicating her family but also condemning her descendants to slavery. Li Shi was well aware of this; otherwise, she would have died long ago after being imprisoned in the Cold Palace following Hongshi's incident.
But now that there's a chance to kill the enemy first, Li is certainly willing.
She watched Ulanara leave with hatred, and then let out a "heh heh" laugh—she had the chance, was she stupid? Killing one was no loss, killing two was a bonus, anyway, it was just one death, what was she afraid of?
As for family...
Li closed her eyes in despair.
Although the charge of Hongshi's assassination attempt was not made public, who among us is truly merciful these days? The last message she received from home was a plea for help; she wondered how things were now…
Outside, Yanruo was also saying, "It's a serious crime for a concubine to commit suicide, but Consort Qi's family members are already in prison and will be exiled after the New Year. Why would she be afraid?"
“She might not even know.” Ulanara said, touching her neck. Although there were no marks, she still felt uncomfortable. She thought for a moment, “Go to the Imperial Hospital and ask Physician Wang to come over. Tell him that my headache has flared up again.”
"Yes, this servant will go right away!" Yanruo didn't even go inside when she arrived at the entrance of Changchun Palace. Instead, she turned around and headed towards the Imperial Hospital.
Although it was already time for the imperial physicians to finish their shifts, Physician Wang was the Empress's confidant and was specially recruited for her by the Ulanara family. When she went to invite him, Physician Wang would come back even if he had gone home.
The recent replacement of Coptis chinensis with Scutellaria baicalensis was thanks to Physician Wang. Fortunately, Physician Wang was experienced and shrewd, and managed to absolve himself of all responsibility.
And the medicine Her Majesty the Empress gave to Consort Qi today was also prepared by Imperial Physician Wang...
When Yanruo arrived at the Imperial Hospital, she was surprised to find that even though it was already time to go off duty, there were still many people coming and going, as if something had happened and they were talking loudly.
She overheard something about fish dying, scoffed, and went to find Physician Wang without asking any further questions.
Before Qian Shengyan could understand how Hongshan had messed up the side hall, she saw Imperial Physician Liu rushing over, and the young apprentice carrying the medicine box almost couldn't keep up with him.
Everyone wondered what had happened at the Imperial Hospital, but then they saw Imperial Physician Liu run over with a beaming smile, saying, "Your Highness, the experiment has yielded results! The goldfish in the basin that were fed with a sufficient amount of cinnabar all died today!"
"Pah, pah, pah! What are you saying, shouting like that in front of the Imperial Noble Consort!" Su Peisheng immediately spat.
Imperial Physician Liu was overjoyed. This cinnabar was poisonous, and His Majesty, being of high health, certainly couldn't use it. This meant they would have to rely even more on the Imperial Hospital in the future! But after Su Peisheng's words, he immediately became dignified: "Thank you for the reminder, Chief Eunuch Su." He then bowed to Qian Shengyan, "As per His Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort's instructions, I have kept three bowls of goldfish, fed three cages of rats, and three roosters..."
Qian Shengyan listened to his story and was not surprised by the result. She simply nodded and said, "Very good. When His Majesty has some free time, I will report this matter to His Majesty. Imperial Physician Liu should also go back and write a memorial, explaining the matter in detail."
Imperial Physician Liu happily agreed, and after checking the pulses of the Imperial Noble Consort and the Fourth Prince, he left. Qian Shengyan turned to Su Peisheng: "Continue, that day Hongshan had someone play hide-and-seek with him, hid in Yongshou Palace, and then what?"
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