Chapter 268 Poison Plum Soup
After a brief silence in the hall, someone whispered,
"He looks innocent, but I didn't expect he has the dirtiest mind."
The voice was weak, but sharp like a sharp thorn, piercing deeply into Huibin's ears.
Her pupils trembled violently, and the bewilderment on her face turned into fear in an instant.
"Could it be that my sisters are suspicious of me?"
Huipin's eyes widened and she couldn't stop shaking her head.
"No, I didn't hurt anyone! If there was something wrong with the lunch, the doctor would definitely find traces of that powder on my body..."
"Oh, Huipin is really full of childishness." Concubine Chen glanced at her with the corner of her eye, stroked her temples and smiled softly, "Why would the person who poisoned hurt himself?"
"I didn't!" Huipin argued loudly, staring at Xiao Jingheng with tearful eyes, pursing her lips and shaking her head aggrievedly, "Your Majesty... I really didn't do it."
Ying Fei said: "If Hui Fei really did such a thing, wouldn't that be too brainless? Who would harm others so blatantly and put themselves in danger?"
Concubine Chen scolded her, "What did she get involved in? Even Tong Changzai didn't know she was pregnant. How could Concubine Hui know that today's incident would become so serious?"
Then he asked Judge Guo, "Doctor Guo, if Concubine Tong is infertile, what will happen if she takes the Nine Yin Powder?"
Judge Guo said respectfully, "Reporting to the Imperial Concubine, if you are not pregnant and take this, it is no different from ordinary contraceptive medicine. Just like the Imperial Concubine Yao now, she does not feel any discomfort in her body."
The queen, who had been silent for a long time, added a sentence at the right moment.
"Jiang Deshun, who has the emperor invited to sleep with him these past two days?"
Jiang Deshun said, "The day before yesterday it was Concubine Yao, yesterday it was Concubine Yi, and this morning Tong Changzai was summoned to serve the writing."
Hearing this, the Queen's eyebrows knitted tightly together, and after a moment's hesitation, she said:
"It seems that someone didn't want the concubine to get pregnant with the emperor's heir, and this backfired."
At this point, although there was no direct evidence that Huibin had tampered with the food, she was indeed the most suspicious.
Song Zhao watched from the side. This was the first time she saw Xiao Jingheng looking at Huipin for a long time with such a suspicious and scrutinizing gaze.
Huipin was obviously frightened by this scene.
She sobbed, wiped away the tears that were like beads falling off a string, and explained to everyone while holding back her tears:
"It's not me... Sisters, believe me, I really didn't do it..."
However, in this palace, who can easily trust anyone?
After arriving in Jiangnan, everyone saw the wealth of the Wei family, and some of them felt jealous.
Now that it concerns the royal heir, no one dares to speak up for Huipin.
Xiao Jingheng stared at Huipin for a long time without saying anything, as if he had his own considerations.
During this tense moment, Song Zhao kept watching Xiao Jingheng's movements.
When he was thinking about something, he would subconsciously rub the black jade ring on his thumb.
Once he figured out the problem, he stopped moving his hands, and it was time for him to speak.
Song Zhao kept waiting until his hands stopped moving.
Without waiting for Xiao Jingheng to speak, she stepped out of the crowd, bowed to him, and said:
"Your Majesty, I think this matter is really strange, and we must not hastily determine who is at fault."
Jamel Xiao raised his eyebrows and looked at her, "Oh? What do you mean?"
Song Zhao said, "Today's meal was prepared by Huipin for her to share with Yaopin and Tong Changzai. Not to mention that we have been with Huipin for a long time, we all know that she is a child at heart and doesn't have so many dirty thoughts. Even if she did, she would not have taken action earlier or later in her house, but chose to do it at such a time that would easily arouse suspicion. Isn't this a cover-up?"
Concubine Yao was standing next to Song Zhao at this moment. When she encountered this incident of being poisoned, she cried non-stop out of grievance.
Song Zhao took her hand and wiped her tears with a smile, "Sister, please don't cry. Concubine Hui loves to enjoy delicious food. Think carefully, is there any dish she didn't eat today that only you and Concubine Tong ate?"
Yaopin's eyes moved rapidly, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head and said:
"Huipin... ate with great relish, and seemed to have eaten every dish."
"It's really not me! I used to live with Sister Tong, and I knew she liked Suzhou cuisine, so I came here specially to share it with her."
Huipin tried her best to refute her innocence. While speaking, she trotted behind Song Zhao, grabbed her sleeve and hid in fear.
"I ate every dish, and I don't know why I didn't see any signs of taking the medicine. Sister Song, I really didn't..."
Song Zhao turned around and patted Huipin on the shoulder, and said softly, "It's okay, we don't suspect you of anything. Besides, the emperor and the queen are here, they will make the decision for you, don't be afraid."
Song Zhao cleared Huipin of most of the suspicion with just a few words.
Concubine Yao originally suspected that Concubine Hui had tampered with the food, but now she felt that this was not plausible and couldn't help but recall carefully what else was wrong today.
After a while, she suddenly thought of something, covered her chest and murmured in horror:
"Could it be..."
"What is it?" Xiao Jingheng asked solemnly.
Yaopin then said, "Your Majesty, I remember that at lunch today, there was indeed something that only I and Tong Chang had used, and Huipin had not touched. It was plum soup."
"Plum soup?" Concubine Ying asked curiously, "It's getting hotter now, and the Empress ordered people to make plum soup and distribute it everywhere. Is the plum soup you're talking about given to you by Concubine Hui or by the Empress? Please explain clearly."
Yaopin timidly lowered her eyes, not daring to meet the empress's gloomy gaze.
"Yes...it is the plum soup given by the Queen. Because Huipin and Tong Changzai are both coming to my palace for dinner today, I took out the plum soup to entertain them. But Huipin never likes sour food, so she didn't drink it..."
"presumptuous!"
The queen suddenly became angry and shouted at Concubine Yao so hard that she trembled with fear.
She pointed at Concubine Yao and said in a sonorous voice, "Are you doubting me? I gave everyone the plum soup. The Queen Mother said that it is easy to suffer from the heat in summer, so she asked me to prepare it. I have good intentions, how can you falsely accuse me?"
Concubine Yao said in fear: "I dare not! But...but now this is the only thing that Concubine Tong and I have used together today..."
"You! I..."
"Empress." Xiao Jingheng called the queen in a low voice, and said to her in a friendly manner: "Sit down first. There is no need to get angry over these unfounded things."
The Queen then put on a serious expression, sat down and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with me, I have never done it."
Xiao Jingheng nodded in response, and then said: "Since the plum soup has been sent to all places, let Doctor Guo check the pulses of the concubines. This way, the queen's innocence can be confirmed."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com