Yuan Yao looked outside in surprise.
Then, Consort Li, dressed in white and with tears streaming down her face, walked up to the Emperor and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, I beg you to seek justice for my child!"
Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was almost hoarse from shouting. She looked very pitiful.
The emperor lowered his eyes, his gaze, devoid of any expression, falling on Consort Li's face, without saying a word.
Li Deshan, who was beside him, understood immediately. He straightened up, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Consort Li, do you remember what the little prince has eaten and drunk from yesterday to today?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Li cried and said, "Chen'er is young and in poor health, so he can't eat much. Yesterday, besides drinking some rice porridge, he only ate the things that Qianhua Palace brought!"
Yesterday afternoon, Princess Yuanyao invited Lan Yue to Qianhua Palace and brought back six or seven kinds of tea and snacks. Chen'er liked them and ate more than he wanted. Soon after, he started vomiting, and by evening, he was seriously ill.
From afternoon to evening, that's several hours.
Moreover, while Consort Li's words sounded like a statement of facts, they were actually quite suggestive...
She meant that, apart from the food from Fangfei Palace, the young prince only ate the desserts brought by Qianhua Palace.
No one in Fangfei Palace would harm the young prince, so it must have been someone from Qianhua Palace who poisoned him...
Yuan Yao looked at Consort Li: "Consort Li, the young prince died young, and I am also saddened. However, Your Majesty, you cannot conclude that it was Qianhua Palace that poisoned him!"
This matter must be thoroughly investigated!
"You think you can just investigate whenever you want?" Consort Li sneered, her eyebrows and eyes twisting slightly. "Just summon the imperial physicians and have them test each of those teas and snacks for poison. Wouldn't it be clear whether Qianhua Palace was behind it?"
“Alright!” Yuan Yao nodded, then looked at the Emperor and said solemnly in her childish voice, “Your Majesty, please investigate and restore the innocence of Qianhua Palace!”
The emperor's expression remained unchanged, his fingers tapping repeatedly on the edge of the table.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
After a moment, the emperor said in a hoarse voice, "Summon the imperial physician."
The imperial physician arrived quickly, accompanied by the Empress.
The Empress was in her thirties, with fair skin, willow-leaf eyebrows, and almond-shaped eyes. She had a dignified and gentle appearance, and looked like a virtuous and kind person.
Huairou was also with her.
Upon seeing Yuan Yao, Huai Rou looked worried.
Yuan Yao obediently bowed: "Yao'er greets Your Majesty the Empress and the Princess."
"Get up," the Queen said gently.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress." Yuan Yao spoke clearly and sweetly.
The Empress nodded, her expression kind.
Huairou walked over and pulled Yuan Yao aside: "Yao'er, what happened? How could the dessert you sent possibly cause poisoning?"
Yuan Yao shook her head: "I don't know either."
Huairou said, "There must be some misunderstanding. After I brought the things you gave me back to Fengwu Palace, I also let my mother taste them, and both my mother and I are fine..."
Upon hearing Huairou's words, Consort Li, her eyes reddening, questioned, "What does Princess Huairou mean by this? Could it be that I framed Qianhua Palace?"
Upon hearing this, Huairou glanced at the Empress.
The Empress's expression was calm, and her tone was also indifferent: "I have indeed tasted the dessert that Yuan Yao gave me, and it tastes quite good."
Yuan Yao felt conflicted upon hearing this.
The Queen's words, on the surface praising her desserts, were actually a subtle way of expressing that she trusted her...
It seems that the Empress wasn't as magnanimous towards Consort Li as the rumors suggested.
Consort Li clenched her fists at her sides and suddenly knelt down on the ground, her voice mournful: "Your Majesty, I know that after I made a mistake back then, Your Majesty has never forgiven me."
But even if Your Majesty despises me, shouldn't you protect the person who harmed my child? Chen'er is only four years old..."
"Your Highness Consort Li's words are truly eye-opening!" A loud voice came from outside the door.
Yuan Yao was stunned for a moment.
Princess Huaiyao?
Why is she here?
Consort Li looked toward the door in astonishment.
Then, Huaiyao, dressed in a bright blue dress and with a whip wrapped around her hand, strode in.
Approaching the Emperor and Empress, Huaiyao casually gave a curtsy: "Father, Mother."
After performing the ceremony, Huaiyao looked at Consort Li with a face full of disdain.
Consort Li gritted her teeth: "Huaiyao, what do you mean?"
Huaiyao flicked her high ponytail, raised her chin high, squinted, and looked at Consort Li with disdain: "You laugh at me for being a palace maid by the Empress's side, yet you were able to rise to the rank of Consort, bear children for the Emperor, and even have the Empress personally allocate palaces and servants to take care of you. Not only do you not know how to be grateful, but you also blame the Empress for not being virtuous and generous enough. You're like an ingrate! That's one thing!"
Secondly, the things Lan Yue brought back to Fangfei Palace were originally requested by Lan Yue. Yuan Yao was generous and prepared a set for each of us. However, before the truth was revealed, you falsely accused Yuan Yao and Qianhua Palace of poisoning...
Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!
Consort Li was so angry upon hearing this that she trembled all over.
She took a deep breath, knelt on the ground and cried, "Chen'er is gone. I am very sad, which is why I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."
At this moment, the imperial physician arrived.
The Emperor didn't even glance at Consort Li, and said to the eunuch, "Examine the young prince's body and the tea and snacks carefully, so as not to make any mistakes."
His voice was extremely low and carried a great deal of pressure.
The imperial physician nodded: "Your Majesty, I will go immediately."
"Wait." Consort Li looked up, her face streaked with tears. "Bring Chen'er here! For the sake of fairness, please have the imperial physician examine the poison in person!"
The Empress frowned slightly and looked at the Emperor gently: "Your Majesty, can you bear it?"
The emperor was timid and terrified of ghosts and corpses. Not long ago, he was so frightened by Consort Ruan that he fell seriously ill...
The emperor glanced at Consort Li, his eyelids drooping slightly: "Bring her here."
Soon, the young prince's body was brought up.
Having witnessed numerous bloody scenes such as dead bodies and severed hands, Yuan Yao is now relatively calm.
She took small, short steps and went closer to take a look.
Having been dead for some time, the young prince's body had become stiff, his skin was a deathly gray, and his eye sockets and the area around his mouth were bluish-black.
If you look closely, there are still dark red bloodstains on the little prince's nostrils, the corners of his eyes, and the corners of his mouth that haven't been wiped clean...
It certainly looks like poisoning.
The imperial physician had the young prince's body placed on the bed, took a medicine box, placed it on the table, and opened it to reveal a row of silver needles of various thicknesses, as well as some other tools.
He first pried open the little prince's eyelids to examine him carefully. Then, he used tools to clean the little prince's nostrils and mouth, then smelled them, and finally used a silver needle to test for poison...
The tips of the silver needles visibly turned black.
The imperial physician remained expressionless and ordered tea and snacks to be brought out.
Soon, two palace maids brought out the tea and snacks from Qianhua Palace.
The imperial physician took out new silver needles and tested them one by one.
In the end, the silver needles that had been used to prick ginger milk curd and custard buns turned black.
Huaiyao was the first to speak, exclaiming in surprise, "How could this be?!"
Huairou was also stunned.
Consort Li laughed and cried at the same time, pointing at the silver needles in the imperial physician's hand, and exclaimed in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, look! The poison was administered by Qianhua Palace!"
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