Chapter 32 Song Zhao is Poisoned
During the days that Song Zhao was under house arrest, Xiao Jingheng never came to see her once.
She still had no appetite and starved herself to the point of losing weight.
On the sixth night of house arrest, before going to bed, Song Zhao heard a knock on the door.
"Who?"
"Master Song, it's a servant."
When Song Zhao heard Jiang Deshun's voice, he knew what was going on. "Why is Eunuch Jiang here? Please come in."
Jiang Deshun bowed and walked in, placing a food box on the table.
He originally had a smile on his face, but after seeing Song Zhao's weak and frail appearance, the smile froze immediately.
"My lady, why do you have to embarrass yourself like this? In just a few days, you have become much thinner due to hunger. If the emperor saw this, he would be heartbroken!"
Song Zhao said worriedly, "I am worried about Concubine Shu. I can't sleep or eat well when I think about what happened to her. How is Concubine Shu?"
Jiang Deshun said, "After the misfortune that happened to Concubine Shu, it will take at least three to five months for her to fully recover. Although the Emperor has been with Concubine Shu these past two days, he is still thinking about the young lady. He heard that the young lady didn't eat, so he specially asked the servants to bring some food."
He opened the food box, and Song Zhao saw that the dishes inside were very exquisite, with good color, aroma and taste, which were completely different from the white porridge and steamed buns that were delivered to her palace a few days ago.
Jiang Deshun took out the food plates one by one and said with a smile, "These are all the food that the young lady likes to eat. The emperor ordered the imperial kitchen to make them exquisite and delicious so that the young lady can have an appetite."
Looking at the table full of dishes, Song Zhao's eyes instantly turned red, and he looked like he was about to cry.
Jiang Deshun lowered his voice and continued, "Regarding the matter of Concubine Shu's miscarriage, the Emperor actually never doubted you the least bit from the beginning to the end. In order to restore your reputation as soon as possible, the Emperor asked the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate the matter of Concubine Shu's miscarriage, and now there is some clue. The person who poisoned her was indeed someone else, and you have been cleared of suspicion. But this matter still needs to be confirmed, so as not to alert the enemy, you have to bear with it for a few more days."
Song Zhao nodded silently when he heard this, but he felt it was ridiculous in his heart:
The emperor is used to speaking polite words.
Xiao Jingheng investigated this matter thoroughly, obviously to avenge the unjust death of the heir to the throne and to clear Shu Fei's name.
How did he have the nerve to ask Jiang Deshun to come and tell her in person that he did all this for her reputation?
Furthermore, if Xiao Jingheng really had never doubted her from the beginning to the end, he should have asked the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Imperial Kitchen to serve her well on the first day of her house arrest. Why did he have to wait until the so-called "truth came out" before acting so hypocritically?
But Song Zhao didn't take these things to heart.
Anyway, she didn't take Jamel Xiao seriously. If he was willing to act, she would just accompany him.
"I know the emperor will give me justice, and I believe in him. So I have never worried about my own situation. I just think that Concubine Shu and the little prince are so pitiful..."
Seeing that she was about to cry again, Jiang Deshun said hurriedly, "My lady is kind-hearted, no wonder the emperor loves you so much. From now on, the emperor will ask the imperial kitchen to prepare your food during the period of house arrest. My lady, please don't be so hard on yourself. You don't want to be released from house arrest and let the emperor see you so haggard, which would make the emperor feel distressed, right?"
Song Zhao pursed his lips and nodded, saying softly, "Thank you, eunuch. Please also take good care of the emperor. The little prince is dead. The emperor may not say it, but he must be sad in his heart."
"I understand. The young lady should rest early after dinner. I will take my leave now."
That night, Song Zhao only ate a few delicious dishes and did not eat too much.
She hadn't had a proper meal for several days, so of course she was very hungry.
But didn’t she starve herself to lose weight just to show it to Xiao Jingheng?
Two days later, the truth came out, proving that she was not the one who murdered Shu Fei. She had been confined to her house for such a long time because of this matter, and she had even lost a lot of weight due to hunger. Which man would not feel distressed when seeing this?
At noon the next day, Song Zhao was sitting on a warm seat reading a book when he suddenly heard Li Changzai yelling in the courtyard.
"She won't starve to death if she eats a few less bites! Why is she a sinner, so hypocritical?"
Song Zhao only heard this sentence. It was obvious that Li Changzai deliberately said this slapping remark to her.
The lunch sent to her today was also delivered half an hour late.
The palace servant who brought the meal apologized as soon as he entered the room.
"I'm sorry, Master Song. When I was delivering the meal to you just now, Li Changzai called me to her palace to help her move the table, which delayed me..."
Song Zhao did not embarrass him and said with a smile: "It's okay, Sister Li's matter is more important. But you... I was in a bad mood a few days ago, and I didn't appreciate it when you brought me food. I'm sorry to embarrass you."
"It is my duty as a servant to serve the young master. How can it be said that it is difficult for me?"
As he spoke, he placed the food neatly on the table and said respectfully, "My lord, please enjoy your meal."
Song Zhao glanced at the dish that was already a little cold, picked up the chopsticks calmly, and began to eat with relish.
*
Chaoyang Palace.
Xiao Jingheng, who was sitting on the dragon chair, leaned forward slightly, with anger on his face.
"Go on."
The man standing in the hall with his head bowed was the Dali Temple Minister. He said:
"I visited the pharmacies in Kyoto and found that only Jishitang had sold Agastache rugosa in the past two months. Following this clue, I took the portraits of the four young ladies who had just entered the palace and the servants they brought into the palace to the pharmacy's boss and clerk for identification. They had some impression of one of them."
After that, he handed a portrait to Jiang Deshun. After Jiang Deshun took a look, he presented it to Xiao Jingheng with both hands and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, this is the maidservant of Li Changzai of Yaohua Palace, her name is Fu'er."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's hand holding the portrait suddenly tightened into a fist.
"Li Changzai? She is so brave!"
He threw the paper ball to the ground with force. The emperor was so angry that all the servants in the palace knelt on the ground in fear, "Your Majesty, calm down!"
"Your Majesty! Something's happened, Your Majesty!"
A young eunuch rushed in rashly, which angered Xiao Jingheng.
"What are you making so much noise about!"
"Your Majesty! Concubine Song from the West Side Hall is with her...she's been poisoned!"
"What did you say!?" Xiao Jingheng was shocked and stunned. He stood up suddenly and asked, "Speak clearly!"
"I don't know the specific situation, but the imperial physician has already rushed over. Just now, a servant from Yaohua Palace reported that he seemed to have been poisoned by arsenic!"
The word 'arsenic' hit Jamel Xiao's chest heavily.
His heart suddenly trembled violently twice, and he hurried to Yaohua Palace...
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