Chapter 177 Peanut Kernels
Jiang Yuanzheng is coming very quickly.
He was driven by the eunuch all the way, and before he could even catch his breath, he pushed through the crowd, knelt beside the dragon throne, and took the eldest prince's pulse.
The eldest prince's face had become red and swollen, and he was having difficulty breathing. He kept crying and coughing.
Although Yun Qin didn't know medicine, based on her experience, this was clearly a symptom of an allergy.
Allergies can be a serious or minor matter, but seeing that the eldest prince is just coughing and is still conscious, with no symptoms of shock, his life may not be in danger.
Jiang Yuanzheng quickly made a judgment, took out a silver needle, and gave the eldest prince a few injections on his chest and neck.
Soon, the eldest prince's breathing became much smoother.
Yunqin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Dean Jiang's acupuncture techniques always seemed magical to her no matter how many times she saw him.
"Your Majesty, the eldest prince must have eaten something that caused asthma and rubella." Jiang Yuanzheng said after saluting the emperor.
Concubine De, who was crying so hard that she was out of breath, shouted loudly: "Peanuts, the eldest prince will be like this whenever he eats peanuts."
She held the eldest prince's hand and cried bitterly, "Everyone in the palace knows about this. Why? Who wants to harm the eldest prince?"
When Concubine De shouted like this, everyone in the palace changed color.
The Empress, in particular, had been supporting the Queen Mother. After hearing these words, her body swayed slightly, and it was the Queen Mother who pulled her up that helped her to stand steadily.
The Queen Mother gave her a sharp look, but then patted her hand on her arm.
Her movements were small, but they did not escape Yunqin's eyes.
Why did the Queen Mother want to appease the Queen? Was it really the Queen who did it?
Seeing that the eldest prince's condition had stabilized, Huo Jinchi breathed a sigh of relief and asked Jiang Yuanzheng, "Is there any danger?"
"Wait for the asthma-relieving and wind-relieving medicine I'll prescribe for you, and stop eating foods containing peanuts. You should be able to get better slowly." Jiang Yuanzheng said respectfully.
After hearing this, everyone's expressions relaxed slightly, at least on the surface.
"Please write a prescription." Huo Jinchi said coldly.
Jiang Yuanzheng was invited to the side to write a prescription. No one spoke anymore. The only sounds in the hall were the crying of Concubine De and her son. The atmosphere instantly became depressing.
The main reason was that Hawking Chi's face looked so ugly that almost no one dared to speak.
"Check!" He spat out a word coldly.
Xu An immediately led the eunuchs to break into pieces everything on the table and taste them.
Still no one in the palace dared to speak.
This was the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, and something like this happened. Everyone was a little nervous, fearing that she would get furious.
But the Queen Mother was not angry. She just sighed and sat back in her chair, and then pulled the Queen to sit next to her.
She glanced at Concubine De and whispered, "Since the eldest prince is fine, don't be too sad. Be careful not to hurt yourself by crying."
De Fei, who was sitting paralyzed beside the dragon chair, hugged the eldest prince and sobbed, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your concern."
The Queen Mother responded calmly, glanced at the eunuchs who were checking, then looked at Huo Jinchi and said concernedly: "Don't blame yourself too much, my son. Children of this age are new to everything. Who knows, they might have eaten something random."
Yun Qin lowered her eyes as she listened to these words, and the fingers on Rong Xin's hand moved slightly.
Is the Queen Mother going to put the blame on the eldest prince himself?
After listening to the words, Defei, who was holding the eldest prince, suddenly choked up. She did not refute the empress dowager's words, but turned her head to look at Huo Jinchi.
She bit her lips lightly and cried like raindrops falling on the crabapple tree, which was really pitiful.
Huo Jinchi looked down at her and whispered, "I will investigate thoroughly."
There was a gentleness in his voice, which made Concubine De cry even harder.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Huo Jinchi nodded slightly, glanced at the Queen Mother again, and whispered, "My Queen Mother must be tired, why don't you go to the side hall to rest first."
Are you trying to drive the Queen Mother away?
Yun Qin raised her eyebrows slightly and almost couldn't help but look up at the Queen Mother's expression.
"The eldest prince is still ill, and I am very worried. Even though he has gone to the side hall, I am still worried about him." The empress dowager said worriedly, and she didn't seem to be angry about the emperor's words.
Huo Jinchi seemed to be simply concerned. When he heard that the Queen Mother wanted to stay, he did not persuade her anymore. He just said, "Why don't you serve tea to the Queen Mother?"
As they were talking, the eunuchs had already checked all the food on the table. The table was once a table full of delicious food, but now it was in a mess, with all kinds of food mixed together, which made people feel uncomfortable just by looking at it.
Fortunately, they were finally punished and found a plate of almond cakes from several plates of snacks.
"Your Majesty, this is almond pastry, but it has some crushed peanuts in it."
Xu An broke open the almond cake and showed it to Huo Jinchi.
Hawking Chi took it away immediately.
"Your Majesty!" Before Xu An could stop him, he saw Huo Jinchi taking a bite of the snack.
Sure enough, the finely chopped almonds were mixed with some peanut kernels. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't tell them apart.
Shen Danying also walked to his table, picked up the almond crisps on the plate, took a bite, and then said to the emperor: "There are also peanut kernels."
Huo Jinchi glanced at her and then looked at the other concubines.
Sure enough, the almond cakes on every table were like this.
Since they are all the same, it means that no one has deliberately replaced them. Huo Jinchi's gaze finally fell on the queen. There was no anger on his face, but his fingers crushed the almond crisps in his hands.
"Send someone to the kitchen to investigate!"
Xu An responded, turned to look at Xiao Dezi, and said in a stern voice: "Be sure to investigate carefully."
"Yes!" Xiao Dezi saluted the emperor again before leaving quickly with his men.
After the people left, Huo Jinchi wiped his hands with a handkerchief and said to the queen, "What do you want to say?"
Except for the fact that her body swayed slightly at the beginning, the expression on the queen's face remained cold and there was no change.
"After I prepared the menu for today's palace banquet, I showed it to the emperor first before sending it to the kitchen." The queen's voice was cold.
This means that she did not add the almond pastry to the menu on her own initiative.
Huo Jinchi stared at her, "I'm asking you, why are there peanuts in this almond biscuit? Don't you know that the eldest prince is allergic to peanuts?"
"I do know." The Queen's voice finally revealed some of her emotions, anger and grievance, "But no one told me that the eldest prince would come to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday, and I never thought that the kitchen would add peanuts to the almond cakes!"
As she spoke, she looked at Concubine De coldly, "Come and tell me, have you told me in advance that the eldest prince is coming to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday!"
Defei raised her tear-stained face, looked at the empress, then looked at Huo Jinchi, "I really didn't, but, but..." As she spoke, she choked with sobs and could not utter a single word.
It was the maidservant beside her who stepped forward to pay her respects and said in tears, "I am here to tell you that although you did not tell the Empress that you brought the eldest prince to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday, you have already started making clothes for the eldest prince and prepared a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager."
"Everyone in the palace knows about this." She lowered her eyes, "How come the Empress is the only one who doesn't know about this?"