Chapter 78 Mei Shu's Will
Wang Xiang arrived quickly and left just as quickly. He needed to hurry up and arrange for the arrest of that audacious female physician.
Xiao Qingze looked at Zhao Youchen and asked, "General Zhao, I would like to see Mei Shu. Is that appropriate?"
Zhao Youchen frowned, and after thinking it over, he tentatively asked, "Does Your Majesty feel that something is amiss?"
After he finished speaking, he felt that it was easy to be misunderstood, so he added, "I was referring to Mei Shu."
Xiao Qing nodded. "Before the Prime Minister arrived, I was thinking about Mei Shu's confession. The confession came too easily, that's one thing, the content of the confession is another, and the third is," she paused, "that female physician who could prove that Mei Shu was indeed passing messages with her, and perhaps even provided Mei Shu with the 'Po Suo Yin', why did she just happen to run away?"
Zhao Youchen thought for a moment, "Nanhua Palace is not like Yongxiao Palace. Its system is loose and its personnel are complex. From yesterday to today, the news must have leaked out of the palace. It is possible that the female physician ran away beforehand. However, I also think there are problems with her testimony."
Xiao Qing nodded. "Therefore, I wish to see Mei Shu."
Zhao Youchen eventually went to make the arrangements.
However, Mingxiu had some concerns about this.
"Your Majesty, the palace prison is gloomy and damp. Your Majesty's health is still recovering, and it is not suitable for you to stay in such a place for a long time." If you see any more unpleasant scenes and frighten the young emperor, he may collapse again.
"Why don't you accompany His Majesty, Mingxiu?" If anything happens, she can take care of the young emperor.
Xiao Qing waved his hand and said, "Don't go. I will take Ma Hong and Liu Yi with me."
She thought for a moment, "How is Xiaoxiao? Why don't you go see Yingying and check on her? The little one has suffered so much; she'll probably be listless for days."
Mingxiu was both annoyed and amused. "Your Majesty should worry about yourself. They say cats have nine lives, they're not that fragile. Besides, it was only mildly poisoned. It was mostly better after taking the antidote yesterday, and Yingying served it a delicious meal last night. This morning it jumped over the wall to play."
Xiao Qing smiled too. "It's good that you're alright." Comparing her to Mei Shu, she didn't know what to feel.
After Zhao Youchen made the arrangements, Xiao Qing led him, Ma Hong, and Liu Yi to the palace prison.
Huang Rui greeted the emperor at the entrance, then bowed and invited Xiao Qing and the others into the palace prison, which had been clearly cleaned and tidied up and was now brightly lit.
Even so, Xiao Qing still instinctively felt a sense of oppression after entering.
She walked straight ahead in the direction Huang Rui was leading, until she reached the very end and turned a corner, where she could vaguely see a woman sitting on a stone bed covered with straw, her back to them.
"This is the women's cell, which is much better than the men's cell. This cell even has a skylight, so it's not too dark."
Xiao Qing had felt a chill on her neck the whole way, but seeing the square pillar of sunlight streaming down from the high skylight made her feel a little warmer.
"Attendant Mei, His Majesty has come to see you." Huang Rui walked to the door and raised his voice slightly.
Xiao Qing glanced at him, her face tense, instinctively disliking his voice.
No, she didn't like him at all.
Mei Shu lowered her head, slowly knelt down, then turned her knees to face Xiao Qing, but still did not raise her head.
“This servant is guilty. Your Majesty’s health is too precious to visit this servant.”
Xiao heard that her voice was calm and gentle, and seeing that she was clean and her movements were calm, he felt a little relieved.
She felt extremely inept at handling such situations, so she remained silent for a moment before saying, "I have seen your confession. Since you have implicated the female physician, can you tell me who is behind her?"
An ordinary female physician would naturally not be interested in the whereabouts of the Grand Tutor, nor would she need to pass messages to people in the palace, much less regularly receive materials for making poisons.
Mei Shu did not hesitate. "This servant does not know if she has anyone backing her. She has been kind to me, and I wanted to repay her kindness. That's why I went astray. But I had no intention of poisoning Your Majesty. Please, Your Majesty, see the truth."
Xiao Qing thought for a while, and seeing that she kept her head down, she said, "Raise your head."
Mei Shu, however, was unwilling.
"This servant is guilty and dares not face His Majesty again."
Xiao Qing remained silent.
Huang Rui, who had been standing slightly bowed to the side, quickly said, "Attendant Mei, His Majesty tells you to raise your head, so do you? Do you intend to disobey the imperial decree?"
Mei Shu actually raised her head, revealing a calm and fair face.
There were no wounds, no forced actions, only the stillness of an ancient well.
Xiao Qing found it increasingly difficult to understand.
"Why didn't you speak when General Zhao asked you, but only after you were sent to the palace prison did you finally talk?"
Mei Shu remained silent for a moment. “I didn’t say anything before because I was afraid His Majesty would blame me, and I was hoping to escape punishment. But deceiving His Majesty is also a capital offense. If General Zhao asks a third time, I will definitely tell you.”
But there was no third time. After Xiao Qing fainted, Zhao Youchen sent her directly to the palace prison.
Xiao Qing asked again, "The female physician you mentioned has already run away. According to the investigation, 'Po Suo Yin' is very likely the poison she concocted."
Mei Shu seemed completely unsurprised. "This servant absolutely did not touch 'Po Suo Yin'. The gray cloth strip I hid in the rockery that day was really just a reminder to avoid Attendant Ma and Attendant Ying."
Huang Rui nodded and quickly presented a damp gray cloth strip with a line of small characters vaguely visible on it. It was made with light-colored oil-based watercolor paint, which only showed a slightly darker color than the background when it came into contact with water.
Xiao Qing asked a few more questions, but Mei Shu was able to answer each one well and confessed his guilt very sincerely.
All the evidence and testimonies corresponded perfectly, making it seem flawless.
After staying there for a while, Xiao Qing began to feel tired and cold again, and unconsciously shivered her neck.
Ma Hong noticed her movements and quickly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, it's getting late."
Xiao Qing asked finally, "Did you think things through before you did these things?"
Mei Shu did not speak.
"Chief Steward Huang, according to palace regulations, how should Attendant Mei be dealt with?"
"Your Majesty, he should be beaten to death and his body disposed of in a grave."
Mei Shu lowered her head again, surprisingly offering no objection whatsoever.
Xiao Qing suddenly remembered the small note that Zhao Youchen had found during his search.
A lone white rabbit.
A person with strong emotions and unforgettable memories of deceased loved ones will not easily choose to die.
To neither argue nor resist, but to silently accept the fate of death—this should not be Mei Shu's attitude.
Could there be some hidden story behind this?
Xiao Qing said, "Even so, Attendant Mei is someone left to me by the Grand Tutor. Any punishment of Attendant Mei must be approved by the Grand Tutor. Now that Xiao Min has returned south, the Grand Tutor will also be back soon. I don't want bloodlust to interfere with this joyous occasion during this period. Chief Eunuch Huang should understand, right?"
Huang Rui quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured. Since Consort Mei has confessed, according to palace rules, the prison will naturally not make things difficult for her. They should wait for the Grand Tutor to return and deal with her."
Xiao Qing nodded again, "I will send someone to keep an eye on Attendant Mei."
After Xiao Qing and his group left, Huang Rui straightened his back, a mocking smile on his lips, and walked into the cell. He then squatted down in front of Mei Shu, pinched her chin with two fingers, and lifted it up.
"Attendant Mei, His Majesty has treated you very well. Do you regret it now?"
Mei Shu sneered, "Don't try to provoke me. I'm willing to cooperate with your conditions, so don't forget that."
Huang Rui chuckled and stood up. "Don't worry, we're all dogs raised by the same master. I didn't know before, so I was naturally harsher on you, but now I'll naturally do as you please."
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