Chapter 25 Cat's Paw
That white pastry.
Like a chess piece endowed with divine power.
It fell precisely into the most critical position on the chessboard.
"Xuetuaner" the crazy Persian cat.
Its sharp claws were about to grab the seventh prince's cheek.
Less than half an inch away from the target.
Suddenly stopped.
Its red eyes were full of violence.
It instantly returned to its original gentle blue.
Then.
The eyes slowly closed.
Its body was originally as stiff as steel.
It's like all the bones have been pulled out.
He collapsed limply.
A white arc was drawn in the air.
Finally, there was a "pop" sound.
It fell at the feet of the Queen.
He completely fainted.
From frantic attacks to falling unconscious.
The whole process.
It's so fast that it's dizzying.
The warm pavilion fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone seemed to be under a petrification spell.
His face showed extreme horror and astonishment.
The Queen held the equally frightened child tightly in her arms.
Her body trembled slightly with fear.
That female official with a serious face.
She also maintained the posture of screaming with her mouth wide open.
Ling Zixia slowly stood up from the ground.
She brushed the snack crumbs off her hands.
His face had the perfect, horrified expression.
"Mother...Mother, please forgive me..."
There was a cry in her voice.
"I was frightened just now..."
"If my hand slips, the snacks on the table will be..."
She hadn't finished her words yet.
The Queen had already come back to her senses.
She ignored the unconscious cat on the ground.
Nor did he pursue Ling Zixia's seemingly "rude" behavior.
Her gaze.
Deadly.
Locked on Ling Zixia.
That look was filled with shock and inquiry that could not be described in words.
And a hint of...deep fear.
If you say.
The first time saving the seventh prince.
It can be explained as "I happened to know the folk remedy."
The second time to find out the traitor.
It can be explained by "happening to know how to test for poison."
So what about this time?
This time.
How would she explain it?
I can use a piece of ordinary cake.
In a flash.
Just subdued a mad cat that was about to hurt the prince?
This is no longer something that can be described as a "coincidence".
This is a kind of...almost instinctive, incomprehensible and miraculous method.
"Someone come."
The Queen's voice was a little dry.
She forced herself to calm down.
"Wake up this beast for me."
"Call Dr. Li over and have him examine me thoroughly!"
"I want to see what kind of evil has befallen it!"
Several brave eunuchs stepped forward immediately.
They carefully carried the unconscious Persian cat away.
Not long after.
A middle-aged imperial physician who looked younger than Imperial Physician Zhang but had a sinister look in his eyes.
He hurried over carrying the medicine box.
He was in the Imperial Hospital.
Doctor Li is famous for his treatment of "pet diseases".
He is also a distant cousin of Concubine De, known to everyone in the palace.
After Doctor Li paid his respects to the Queen.
He immediately began to examine the sleeping Persian cat.
He first used a silver needle to probe.
Various medicines were also dripped into the cat's mouth and nose.
It took a long time.
The Persian cat named "Xuetuaner".
Finally, he slowly woke up.
It looked incredibly weak.
His eyes were full of confusion.
He no longer had the crazy and violent look he had just had.
Doctor Li carefully examined the cat's eyes, teeth and claws.
He moves very slowly.
Very careful.
As if looking for some extremely subtle clues.
A long time passed.
He slowly stood up.
His face had an extremely solemn expression, a mixture of anger and sorrow.
"Reporting to the Queen."
His voice was extremely sad.
"Xuetuan'er...it's been poisoned."
This conclusion.
It made everyone present's heart jump to their throat.
"What kind of poison did you take?"
The Queen asked.
"It's a strange poison from the Western Regions called 'Crazy Beast Grass'."
Doctor Li took it out of his medicine box.
He took out a small object wrapped in white cloth.
He opened the white cloth layer by layer.
A crushed cat's paw with sharp claws was revealed.
That was what he did just now when no one was paying attention.
Secretly cut from the cat's paw.
"I am between the claws of this cat."
He said in a sad and angry tone.
"An extremely small amount of powder of this poisonous weed was found."
"This poisonous weed is colorless and odorless, and harmless to humans."
"But it can cause animals like cats and dogs to change their temperament drastically in a short period of time, causing them to go berserk and attack."
"The person who poisoned me deserves death!"
"He not only intends to murder Xuetuan'er, but also to disturb the Holy Emperor and murder His Highness the Seventh Prince!"
His words were righteous and well-spoken.
Tears and sobs.
A seemingly accidental pet-injury incident.
It directly rose to the level of "treason".
The Queen Mother's face turned ashen.
There was a raging fire in her phoenix eyes.
"check!"
She almost uttered the word through gritted teeth.
"Investigate for me! Who could have poisoned this cat without anyone noticing?"
It seemed like Doctor Li was waiting for these words.
He turned around suddenly.
With an extremely sharp, accusing look.
He stared at Ling Zixia who had been standing beside him from beginning to end.
"Empress!"
His voice was loud and powerful.
Full of unquestionable certainty.
"I believe that the person who poisoned me is either far away or right before my eyes!"
He stretched out his hand.
That skinny finger.
Like a poisoned sword.
Pointing directly at Ling Zixia.
The air in the warm pavilion.
At this moment.
Completely solidified.
Everyone's eyes.
All follow his fingers.
The focus was on the frail, seemingly harmless girl.
Ling Zixia's face was filled with great shock and fear.
Her body trembled violently because she was wrongly accused.
"No...it's not me..."
There was a cry in her voice.
"I... this is my first time entering the palace..."
"I've never even seen this cat, how could I have poisoned it?"
Her defense seemed so weak.
"Hmph, that sounds nice!"
Doctor Li sneered.
There was a sinister glint in his eyes.
“Who doesn’t know that your Ling family’s ancestors have been playing with herbs?”
"Which of the flowers and plants in this garden can't be used as a tool for you to poison?"
"When you rescued the Seventh Prince just now, you used an excuse to get close to that sycamore tree."
"Who knows if you got the powder of the 'Crazy Beast Grass' on yourself at that time?"
"Then, while no one was paying attention, you secretly flicked the poison powder onto the cat?"
His inference.
The logic is rigorous.
Interlinked.
All of Ling Zixia’s previous “righteous deeds”.
It was all portrayed as a carefully planned "performance" to get closer to the goal.
Even her act of saving the Seventh Prince.
It all turned into a self-directed and self-acted "torture trick" performed to gain the queen's trust.
The Queen's eyes.
It also slowly became cold and sharp.
She looked at Ling Zixia.
In that gaze.
Full of doubt and scrutiny again.
yes.
It's all such a coincidence.
The coincidence was so strange that it seemed as if it had been carefully arranged.
This woman.
Is she really as innocent as she appears?
Ling Zixia looked at the people around her who were looking at her with eyes full of suspicion.
There was a flash of extreme despair in her eyes.
She knows.
I have fallen into an irrefutable and fatal trap.
She had no way of defending herself.
In this suffocating and hopeless dead end.
A childish voice with a hint of crying.
But suddenly a sound came from the Queen's arms.
The seventh prince who was so frightened that he dared not speak.
At this moment, he had a pair of clear, big eyes with distinct black and white.
He looked at the beautiful older sister who was being blamed by everyone.
Then.
He held out a chubby little hand.
Pointing at the still aggressive Doctor Li.
He spoke in an extremely clear and unquestionable tone.
He said something that shocked everyone present.
It's like being struck by lightning.
"Mother."
"It's him."
"Just now, it was him, when he was treating Xuetuan'er."
"I secretly stuffed something into Xuetuan'er's paw."
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