The virtuous concubine was so frightened that her face turned pale. Although she tried to remain calm, the panic in her eyes was hard to hide.

"As the eldest daughter of the Hua family, you must provide evidence when speaking." Concubine Xian tried to calm herself down, staring at Hua Yuanzhao, fearing that she would frame her.

Hua Yuanzhao lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Before, in the imperial study, a palace maid who served as a witness was killed by a long needle. After that, the palace conducted a thorough investigation. But under such circumstances, a palace maid was still killed."

It was because of this incident that Gu Ci, who was under house arrest, was temporarily cleared of suspicion.

After hearing her talk about this, the Queen had some impression.

"I remember that it was a maidservant beside Concubine Xian who died after being pierced through the heart by a long needle. For this reason, the number of imperial troops patrolling the palace was increased by 20%." The queen said to the emperor thoughtfully. Because this incident happened in the harem, the emperor reprimanded her at the time.

When the emperor heard her say this, he remembered this matter and immediately understood.

The people present were not stupid and usually would not pay attention to these little things, but when they heard Hua Yuanzhao mention it, they naturally knew what was going on.

"Yes." Hua Yuanzhao said, "Most of the palace maids who died before were killed after being poisoned by hallucinogenic drugs. Only this palace maid died in a different way."

Although she suspected that this was a deliberate act by Gu Ci to escape punishment at the time, there was no evidence after all, so she could only suppress her suspicion temporarily.

But considering what happened today, the death of that palace maid was too strange.

"I dare to guess that the maid was silenced because she discovered something." Hua Yuanzhao said carefully, "That's why I checked the things in the palace of the Concubine Xian first."

The Queen looked at Concubine Xian with a bit of regret and said slowly, "In that case, the eldest daughter of the Hua family, please check Concubine Xian's pulse to see if she has been poisoned."

She tilted her head and glanced at Banxia beside her. Banxia nodded respectfully and walked out again.

In this case, maybe we can ask the palace servants who were on good terms with the deceased for some clues.

After Hua Yuanzhao responded, he did not rush to check Concubine Xian's pulse. He only said, "Don't worry, your majesty. The poison found in Concubine Xian's palace is only a part of the mixed poison. When exposed alone, the damage to the human body is minimal."

The queen was so shocked by her words that she clenched her fists and asked nervously, "Only a part? Where is the rest of the poison?"

How many portions did the poison come in? Could it be that her Kunning Palace also had it?

Hua Yuanzhao was about to speak, but changed his tone when the words came to his lips: "I need to investigate further."

If she remembered correctly, the remaining poison should be the main ingredient in the tranquilizing incense.

But if she said that, wouldn't it implicate the imperial physician who treated the emperor?

Having experienced being thrown into jail for saving someone before, Hua Yuanzhao did not dare to bet on the kindness of the Emperor and Empress, so he simply chose to keep it secret for a while and wait for the result from Concubine Xian.

Not getting an accurate answer, the Queen became even more frightened. The palace maids serving in the room all lowered their heads and dared not speak. Even Eunuch Fu couldn't help but look at Hua Yuanzhao.

The meaning of further investigation... Doesn't it mean that the entire harem may have been poisoned?

But why did he feel that Miss Hua was not unaware of the situation, but was deliberately hiding something?

"This..." The queen looked at the emperor hesitantly. Now the situation was becoming clearer, and it seemed that everything had returned to the starting point, pointing to the assassin from Nanzhao.

The emperor looked at Hua Yuanzhao meaningfully, staring at her for a long time before saying in a muffled voice, "Check Concubine Xian's pulse first."

"Your Majesty..." Concubine Xian was so moved that her eyes were filled with tears. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Emperor did not doubt her, otherwise why would he care about her life or death?

Hua Yuanzhao, adhering to the principle of delaying as long as possible, checked the virtuous concubine carefully.

Just when Concubine Xian thought she was in a difficult situation, Hua Yuanzhao said slowly: "Concubine Xian was not poisoned."

Concubine Xian's heart had been in her throat, but she finally let it go and looked at Hua Yuanzhao with displeasure.

If there was nothing wrong, why did he delay for so long? Wasn't he deliberately torturing her?

Fortunately, Banxia came back in time and interrupted the strange silence in the room.

Following behind Banxia was a second-class palace maid Liuying. Liuying knelt on the ground nervously and saluted, shaking with fear.

"Your Majesty, this man has always been good friends with the deceased palace maid Xu'er, and he has some clues to report." Banxia said, her eyes sweeping across Liuying.

The emperor had long lost his patience. He looked at Liuying unhappily, his expression mixed with anger: "You have a clue, why didn't you tell me before!"

The queen also frowned. When the maid of Jiaxi Palace was killed, everyone in the harem was in danger. The imperial army conducted a thorough investigation several times, and the maids of Jiaxi Palace were interrogated one by one.

Since you had clues, why didn't you say it then? Why did you have to wait until this moment to come forward?

Liuying was so frightened that she trembled. She glanced at Concubine Xian secretly and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I dare not say anything..."

The Queen glanced at Concubine Xian with an ambiguous expression and said earnestly, "If you have anything to say, just say it. The Emperor and I will make the decision for you."

The virtuous concubine's face changed slightly, as if she suddenly thought of something. She looked at Liuying seriously with a warning in her eyes.

Liuying avoided Concubine Xian's gaze, lowered her head even lower, and her body almost touched the ground.

"Xu'er, she..." Liuying said with a cruel heart: "She was once married to the father-in-law in the imperial study!"

It was not uncommon for palace maids and eunuchs to become lovers because they could not stand the loneliness. As long as it was not exposed, their masters would usually turn a blind eye.

If you meet an open-minded master, he might even give something as a gift to the newlyweds.

But Concubine Xian is a favorite concubine after all, and her son has already participated in the fight for the throne. The Imperial Study is an important place, and the Emperor's words and deeds cannot be leaked.

The maidservant under Concubine Xian had an affair with the eunuch in the Imperial Study. This is a bit intriguing. To put it bluntly, who knows if the deceased maidservant was instructed by Concubine Xian to deliberately seduce the eunuch in the Imperial Study to obtain information?

The Queen looked unhappy. No wonder this little maid didn't dare to come forward to explain when the palace servants of Jiaxi Palace were interrogated before. It turned out that there was such a thing going on.

"Who is she married to?" the queen asked meaningfully.

No matter who it is, it must be dealt with cleanly.

Liuying plucked up her courage and pointed a trembling finger at the young eunuch beside Eunuch Fu.

The young eunuch suddenly snapped his fingers, a silver light flashed between his fingers, and the long needle pointed directly at the firefly.

Rong Xiu was quick-witted and quick-handed. He pulled off the jade pendant from his waist and smashed it. The jade pendant collided with the long needle with a crisp sound, and both of them fell to the ground. Only then did everyone realize what had happened.

——Someone actually dared to commit murder and silence someone in public!

When the young eunuch saw that he was completely exposed, he suddenly changed his usual quiet behavior, and with his hands as ferocious as eagle claws, he grabbed at the emperor without caring about his life.