The virtuous concubine choked up immediately, her eyes bulged out of anger, and her whole body trembled.
This Duke Zhenguo Mansion is really abominable. They actually want to accuse her Su'er of treason!
"Well, Concubine Xian was just worried about the Emperor, that's why she lost her temper." The Queen stepped forward to smooth things over and secretly pulled Concubine Xian out to criticize her.
The emperor glanced at Concubine Xian with displeasure. Concubine Xian should not have been present for today's event. It was just that when they arrived, Concubine Xian was fulfilling her filial duties beside the Empress Dowager, so she stayed.
If I had known that she was so naive, I would have rather not kept her!
"The eldest daughter of the Hua family, come and see if there is anything wrong with the incense ash." The queen continued, signaling the palace maid to bring the incense ash on the table to Hua Yuanzhao.
Hua Yuanzhao responded solemnly, carefully observed the incense ashes in the tray, took out the medicine he had prepared from the medicine box and tried it, then nodded.
"Your Majesty, this incense does contain toxic ingredients." Hua Yuanzhao said, and the faces of the people in the room changed visibly.
"The eldest daughter of the Hua family." The queen leaned forward, stared into Hua Yuanzhao's eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"
"I am willing to use my medical skills as a guarantee." Hua Yuanzhao said calmly.
Everyone looked at each other, and the emperor's expression became particularly ugly.
The queen slowly sat up straight, calmly ordered the Cining Palace to be sealed off, and ordered people to gather all the servants in the palace for a thorough investigation.
Hua Yuanzhao looked at the queen in confusion. What on earth had happened all of a sudden? Could it be that the poisonous incense ash was found from the queen mother?
"Your Majesty, since the eldest daughter of the Hua family is here, for the sake of safety, why not let her check the Queen Mother's pulse first?" The Queen carefully suggested. After her eyes swept across Rong Xiu's face, she added, "It has been a long time since Prince Rong paid his respects to the Queen Mother. Why not go together?"
The emperor listened tiredly and nodded casually in agreement.
The queen looked to the side and saw the senior palace maid Banxia beside her lowering her eyes respectfully and stepped forward to help up Hua Yuanzhao, who had difficulty walking.
"Master Rong, Miss Hua, please follow me." Banxia said, leading the two towards the empress dowager's bedroom.
She deliberately slowed down her pace and waited until there was no one around before she lowered her voice and said, "Prince, Miss, do you know where the incense ash just now came from?"
The two looked at each other, and Rong Xiu crossed his arms and asked, "Could it be that they searched the Cining Palace?"
Banxia smiled bitterly: "It was indeed found in the Cining Palace. After Madam Rong reported the poison in the incense to the emperor, the emperor attached great importance to it and immediately ordered people to investigate."
"Then we shouldn't search the Queen Mother here, right?" Rong Xiu was slightly surprised. What kind of place is the Cining Palace? Even if they wanted to search the palace, who would have the courage to search the Cining Palace right away?
Unexpectedly, Banxia nodded and said, "Because Madam mentioned the sandalwood in Jingsi Temple, the Emperor specially ordered people to check the Empress Dowager's small Buddhist temple, and found poison in the incense offered in the small Buddhist temple."
The look of anticipation on Rong Xiu's face gradually faded, his brows furrowed into a knot, and he lowered his eyes to look at Hua Yuanzhao.
Hua Yuanzhao frowned. According to this statement, wouldn't the Queen Mother be the one who plotted to murder the Emperor?
"The Empress Dowager... is old. If the poison is really placed in the small Buddhist temple, the person most likely to be harmed would be the Empress Dowager." Hua Yuanzhao said carefully.
Banxia sighed. The imperial physician said the same thing, but that’s where the problem lies!
"There was a rumor about ghosts in the palace before, and the empress dowager was frightened. She has been bedridden for a long time and has not been to the small Buddhist temple in person for a long time." Banxia said: "The emperor is kind and filial. He goes to the Cining Palace to pay respects to the empress dowager every day after court."
Banxia glanced around and lowered her voice: "And follow the Queen Mother's wishes and burn a stick of incense in the small Buddhist temple every day."