Chapter 229: Unpredictable
The sky gradually darkened. A wind started to blow, causing the lanterns under the corridor to sway. It felt like a storm was about to come.
The candlelight in the hall swayed in the wind, reflecting on Concubine De's pale face.
"Your Majesty, you must believe me!" Defei's voice was sad, and she was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. "Let's take a step back. Even if I really wanted to harm Xipin, why would I use Ziyan? Isn't this telling others that it was me who did it?"
The eldest prince was frightened when he saw his mother kneeling on the ground and crying. He immediately knelt down beside Concubine De and called her mother. Then he looked at Huo Jinchi and said, "I ate the dried loquats too. It has nothing to do with you! Father, please don't punish you!"
Although he was young, all the children in the palace were precocious. He could vaguely tell that it was his dried loquats that had made Concubine Xi sick.
But he ate it fine!
Huo Jinchi frowned slightly and said to Doctor Zhang Yu, "Hurry up and show it to the eldest prince."
Doctor Zhang Yu examined the eldest prince's pulse as instructed, and then said, "Your Majesty, fortunately the eldest prince ate at the right time. He is not seriously ill, but his intestines and stomach are damaged and he needs to be nourished."
Defei then remembered to care about the eldest prince's health, hugged him, and cried to Huo Jinchi: "Your Majesty, the person who framed me also wants to harm the eldest prince. I beg you to investigate thoroughly, clear my name, and give justice to the eldest prince, Your Majesty."
"Isn't the eldest prince safe?" Fang Danying said, "The person who drugged the prince probably knew that the drug wouldn't harm the prince's body. And with just a handful of loquats, half of them were drugged and half were not. It seems like they were afraid of hurting the prince."
Xu Danying immediately rebuked: "What do you mean by that? You want to say that this is what Concubine De did. How could Concubine De, as the biological mother of the eldest prince, have the heart to hurt the eldest prince? You are stupid, it is better not to say anything!"
Being scolded as stupid, Fang Danying's face was a little ugly, and he snorted, "Where did Sister Xu hear me mention the word Empress Defei? Sister Xu actually identified Empress Defei with a name."
"You!" Xu Danying glared at him.
"Shut up!" Huo Jinchi shouted coldly. He glanced into the inner hall and saw that it was still quiet inside. Then he asked Concubine De, "Did you prepare this dried loquat yourself?"
"No." Concubine De immediately shook her head and said, "They were all prepared by the palace maid who takes care of the eldest prince's daily life. She called her Xing'er."
"Bring the people up!"
Yun Qin was indeed awakened by the noise in the palace. When Rong Xin saw her wake up, she was immediately surprised and said, "Aqin, you are awake."
Although she was in excruciating pain and even dizzy, Yun Qin did not lose consciousness and knew clearly what had happened to her.
"Have you found the person?" She lay on her side and hugged the woman in her arms. She was still very weak and her voice was only whispering.
Rong Xin shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks again, she felt extremely guilty, "I was on guard day and night, but someone still managed to take advantage of me!"
"Don't cry, sister. It's easy to be a thief, but you can't be on guard against thieves for a thousand days." Yun Qin pulled the corner of her lip and said self-deprecatingly, "I didn't expect that they would use the eldest prince's hand. I was too confident."
She is not without a foundation in the palace now. She has Nanny Zhao in the Shang Palace Bureau, Zhang Huaide in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Xiao Dezi in front of her. Through their connections, she can expand her influence to many more informants.
A few days ago, she received news that someone deliberately spread the news of her pregnancy.
Yun Qin immediately understood that it was she who urgently summoned Doctor Zhang Yu and did not allow him to reveal the black dragon to the outside world, which aroused suspicion, and the most suspicious person was Concubine De.
Because only Defei had been staring at Doctor Zhang Yu and her pulse, naturally only Defei would have the greatest chance of making this association and coming to the conclusion that she might be pregnant.
Concubine De spread the news everywhere, simply wanting more people to deal with her.
Yun Qin knew that this day would come, so she had always been extra careful about her diet. On this occasion today, she didn't even eat anything. But she never expected that she would end up eating a handful of dried loquats.
"The person behind the scenes not only understands my behavior and habits, but also understands the eldest prince." Yun Qin's eyes were cold, "He also knows that the eldest prince can only talk to me and will only ask me to exchange zongzi."
At this point, she paused, her eyes becoming even colder, "Perhaps Concubine De doesn't have any milk dumplings anywhere, and that can be arranged by someone."
Rong Xin gritted her teeth and hammered the bed frame, "It's too vicious!" She pressed the corner of the quilt and said, "Do you want me to call the emperor in?"
Yun Qin nodded, "It's good to call them in. We still have a big show to perform."
Rong Xin then walked out of the inner hall and said that Yun Qin had woken up.
Huo Jinchi immediately stood up and went to the inner hall. Seeing Yun Qin trying to get up, he immediately sat down beside the bed and held her in his arms.
"Why did you wake up?" he asked in a low voice, the gentleness of the voice that none of the concubines present had ever heard.
Some people either become jealous or tightly wrap their handkerchiefs around their hands.
Before Yunqin could speak, she heard Fang Danying speak first:
"Sister Xibin, I'm so glad you're okay. We were so scared."
Yun Qin leaned in Huo Jinchi's arms, buried her head in his chest, and choked up as she cried, "I almost died, but they still came to see my excitement, making me restless."
As she spoke, she clutched Huo Jinchi's clothes tightly, and seemed to be shouting with all her might, but only hoarse sounds came out of her throat.
Hawking stroked her back, his heart aching so much that his eyes were burning. He looked at everyone and shouted angrily:
"De Fei, the Queen stays here, and everyone else goes to the side hall and waits for me!"
No one expected him to suddenly get angry. They were all shocked and looked at Fang Danying who was speaking, thinking that it was all her fault for talking too much.
Fang Danying's face turned pale and he seemed to be about to fall.
Huo Jinchi looked at the eldest prince again and said, "Wet nurse, take the eldest prince away!"
"I won't go. I won't go. Father, please let me stay with mother!" The eldest prince was pulled by his wet nurse and started crying.
Yun Qin heard his voice and glanced sideways, but did not say anything. What happened next was indeed not suitable for a child to watch.
The eldest prince was no match for the wet nurse's strength and was carried away by her.
The hall was immediately mostly empty, with only the sobbing Concubine De and the Empress standing aside with a cold expression.
"Okay, I'll chase them away. Don't be angry." Huo Jinchi stroked Yun Qin's back and whispered to comfort her.
Yun Qin finally raised her head, revealing a face covered with tear marks, and called out "Your Majesty" softly.
She said nothing, but Huo Jinchi had already held her hand tightly and said coldly: "Don't worry, I will definitely give you justice!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yun Qin nodded slightly and leaned into his arms again.
The Empress did not react, but Concubine De was about to crush the handkerchief in her hand, calling her "a vixen and a bitch" countless times in her heart.
At the same time, the palace maid named Xing'er was also brought before the crowd.
She was thrown to the ground, and before Huo Jinchi could even open his mouth to ask, she yelled, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it has nothing to do with me!"
He looked as if he knew something.