Chapter 033 Chapter 33
Chapter 33
The little princess has not been in good health since she fell into the water. I don’t know if it’s because she was too frightened, but she has been suffering from minor illnesses every few days.
Ruan Yun pulled her black hair back uncomfortably, with a look of sorrow on her face as she said, "Your Majesty, please go quickly."
She hasn't tied her hair up or put on makeup yet, so it might take some time. Yan Shiyu probably can't wait that long.
Yan Shiyu's eyebrows were indifferent. He grabbed Ruan Yun's small face. There was no trace of displeasure on her face. His black eyes were colder. He said, "I'll go first. Don't worry."
Ruan Yun gently touched Yan Shiyu's palm with her fingers. The touch quickly disappeared. Her clear almond eyes could not hide any thoughts. She said softly, "I know."
Yan Shiyu got up and left. Yingning and Tingxu came in to help Ruan Yun dress and put on makeup.
Ruan Yun said calmly: "What happened to the little princess?"
Ying Ning quickly replied, "When the people from Yuechun Palace came just now, I stood aside and heard a few words. It seemed that the little princess ate something and vomited continuously, so she came to invite the emperor."
Ruan Yunchao was wearing earrings on her earlobes, wondering why she got sick at this time. Logically speaking, Shen Chongyi's parents should have entered the palace today.
Without thinking further, she quickly changed her clothes and hurried towards Yuechun Palace.
By the time Ruan Yun arrived, many people had left. The Chun Palace was crowded with people the entire month, but most of them were not there for the little princess. The palace was lonely, and the unfavored concubines had even fewer opportunities to see the emperor, so they had to seize this opportunity.
Not seeing the Emperor and Empress, Ruan Yun was just about to find a place to stand when Wen Yunu called her softly, "Sister Ying."
Ruan Yun smiled, walked to Wen Yu's side, and said, "Is the Queen here?"
Wen Yunu nodded and said, "We arrived at the same time as the emperor, and we are both in the inner hall now."
"Did the imperial physician say anything?" Ruan Yun lowered her voice. Although the little princess' body was not as strong as before after falling into the water, she could not be so seriously ill.
Wen Yunu covered her lips with her hands and said softly, "Not yet. The doctor is still inside."
When Shen Chongyi saw Yan Shiyu, his body went limp and he knelt down in front of Yan Shiyu in grief, "Your Majesty."
She couldn't stop her tears, her hair was even a little messy, and Shen Chongyi's originally beautiful face was filled with fatigue and pain, which made people feel distressed.
Yan Shiyu leaned over and pulled her up personally. His dark eyes were filled with anger as he asked in a sharp voice, "How do you take care of the little princess?"
The wet nurse and the palace maids knelt on the ground, constantly asking for forgiveness.
The imperial physician also put away the pulse pillow and knelt in front of Yan Shiyu.
The queen looked at the little princess lying on the bed, feeling pity for her. She frowned and asked, "You have always been responsible for the little princess's pulse. How come she suddenly vomited so badly and couldn't eat anything?"
Imperial Physician Zheng was an expert in pediatrics. He was in the care of both the eldest prince and the little princess. When something like this happened, he was inevitably terrified. "Your Majesty, Queen, the little princess' illness didn't seem to be caused by herself. It seems more like... poisoning."
When Shen Chongyi heard this, he collapsed to the ground as if he had no bones.
The queen lost her usual gentleness and said seriously, "Doctor Zheng, are you sure?"
Doctor Zheng said, "I am sure that the little princess has a weak pulse and a burning liver fire. If she had just eaten something bad, it would at most cause a disharmony in her spleen and stomach, but that would not be the case."
The queen looked towards Yan Shiyu and saw that his face was gloomy and he was a little angry. She knelt down beside him and said, "It is my incompetence that caused such a thing to happen in the palace."
Yan Shiyu twirled the white jade ring in his hand, his jaw pointed sharply. When he raised his eyes indifferently, the sharpness in his eyes was fully revealed, and he uttered a word from his thin lips, "Check."
Everyone in the inner hall knelt down with the empress. Yan Shiyu handed his hand to the empress and said, "This matter is difficult to prevent, and you can't predict it in advance."
Then the Concubine Shu in the inner hall looked worried and said, "The little princess is still young, and someone could do such a cruel thing. The emperor must give justice to Shen Chongyi and her daughter."
Yan Shiyu asked someone to help Shen Chongyi up, and then he stood up and walked out. Shen Chongyi looked at Yan Shiyu expectantly, but Yan Shiyu held her shoulders. The heat in his palms was transmitted to Shen Chongyi's body. Yan Shiyu said in a heavier voice: "I will find out."
Shen Chongyi shed another tear and grabbed Yan Shiyu's sleeve, begging desperately, "I only have the emperor. The emperor must save Xin'er."
Yan Shiyu did not respond to Shen Chongyi and strode out of the hall.
The Queen ordered calmly, "Bring over the people who are responsible for the little princess's food and her services these days."
Ran Xia hurried to do it, not daring to delay for even a moment.
When Yan Shiyu walked out of the hall, most of the concubines had already arrived. They all saluted Yan Shiyu. He just sat down and said nothing else.
The Queen walked out with him, her beautiful eyes mixed with fatigue, her tone was always calm, and she said, "Everyone, get up."
Everyone stood up with the help of palace maids. Ruan Jun glanced at the emperor's expression, but the moment she looked over, she happened to meet Yan Shiyu's dark eyes, and she was so frightened that she hurriedly looked away.
Yan Shiyu paused with his fingertips on the table, his deep black eyes concealing a tremendous rage. He closed his eyes tightly, and only when he opened them again did he regain his usual coldness.
Looking towards Ruan Jun, the main hall was not very big to begin with, and most of the concubines in the harem had already arrived. The palace maids were busy looking for people. Perhaps she had been standing for too long, so she leaned on the palace maid to make herself less uncomfortable.
Yan Shiyu suddenly said coldly: "Why don't you let your master sit down!"
Wei Maoyuan knew what was going on at a glance. It was normal that the Yuechun Palace maids did not notice it. Only the empress and several high-ranking ladies were sitting there. However, the emperor's heart was with Ying Cairen. He quickly brought a chair and placed it behind Ying Cairen, and said, "Master Ying, please sit down."
Ruan Jun didn't dare to do anything else in the current situation. She just blinked her almond-shaped eyes at Yan Shiyu and then slowly sat down.
Yu Ronghua looked at Ruan Jun and thought that she was an extremely seductive person. In such a situation, she could still seduce the emperor and be fascinated by her. She was really shameless. Now she regretted very much that she did not get rid of Ruan Jun directly at that time, but let her stay in the harem!
Shufei's face changed even more. Her scallion-like fingertips dug into his palms, but she seemed to feel no pain. Her lips couldn't help twitching, but she didn't say anything in the end.
Yan Shiyu looked away when he saw Ruan Jun sitting down. Ran Xia had already brought all the people over, and they were kneeling in a large crowd.
The Queen stared at a wet nurse in front of her and said sternly, "How did you take care of the little princess? You didn't even know that the food was poisoned. How can you do your job?"
The nurse wept bitterly, her body trembling with fear, and said, "We have been taking good care of the little princess, and I hope the Queen will understand."
Concubine De asked back, "Since you are so sincere, could it be that the little princess was fine a few days ago, but suddenly became so ill today?"
The nurse immediately kowtowed and said, "The little princess has never eaten well, and the kitchen has mostly used the princess's favorite food. A few days ago, when it was cold, we added a pot for the princess, and the little princess liked it very much, so the kitchen sent it every day. Other than that, there is really nothing wrong."
Ruan Jun looked at the frightened look on the wet nurse's face and didn't think she was lying. If the little princess was sick, they wouldn't benefit much and it might even affect the whole family. Why would they take such a big risk to hide the little princess's illness and wait until the little princess was completely ill before telling her?
The queen frowned and asked the person in the kitchen, "It seems that there is something wrong with the food sent by the kitchen."
The steward of the kitchen held the hat on his head and said hurriedly, "We servants will never neglect the food. Every day, the food is tested for poison by the eunuchs and then taken away by the palace maids from various palaces. Your Majesty, please understand!"
Concubine Shu smiled lightly, stroking the nail polish in her hand and said, "Everyone says that they are innocent. Could it be that the poison got into the little princess's food?"
A voice came faintly from the corner, saying, "It's the little princess's bad luck. How come the eldest prince is fine and only the poison got into the little princess's food?"
The queen slammed the table and shouted, "How dare you!"
Concubine Zhou knelt down innocently and said, "I am just guessing, I have no other intention."
There was a hint of impending storm in Yan Shiyu's voice, and he tapped the table with his white jade ring on his finger. "You are full of curses, and you will be punished for half a year."
Concubine Zhou looked at the Emperor with her bright eyes and wanted to say something, but after receiving a warning from the Empress, she had to agree reluctantly.
Concubine De turned her body to the side, her face full of worry, and said, "Actually, what Concubine Zhou said is not without reason. If someone wants to harm the heir to the throne, would they only harm the little princess?"
Yan Shiyu glanced at Wei Maoyuan, and Wei Maoyuan immediately went to the side hall to bring out Doctor Zheng.
Doctor Zheng knelt down, and Yan Shiyu raised his hand and asked, "What did you find out?"
"There is nothing wrong with the other meals. The problem lies with the winter warm pot." Doctor Zheng replied.
Shen Chongyi was supported by someone and walked out of the inner hall. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes and she looked at Yan Shiyu with a bit of pleading. Yan Shiyu waved his hand, and Wan Mo helped Shen Chongyi sit down.
Listening to Doctor Zheng's words, Shen Chongyi's voice was much lower than usual, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
Doctor Zheng said, "It is normal to add spices to the pot, but the pot that the little princess ate had an extra ingredient, the hemp leaf. There is nothing wrong with adding the hemp leaf alone, but the soup that I prescribed for the little princess to harmonize the spleen and stomach contains hawthorn. Hawthorn is sour in nature, and it will be more irritating when it meets the hemp leaf. The child cannot resist it, and the hemp leaf juice will also penetrate the spleen and stomach to the whole body."
Ruan Jun frowned when he heard this. It was really a vicious method to come up with such a sinister trick.
Wen Yunu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She covered her lips with a handkerchief and stood a little closer to Ruan Yun. Ruan Yun noticed it, reached out and patted the back of her hand, signaling her not to panic.
Yan Shiyu asked in a cold tone, "According to what you said, someone deliberately put the hemp leaves in?"
Doctor Zheng said, "I dare not speak nonsense."
The Queen's face was filled with worry and uncontrollable anger. She said, "The Imperial Medical Office has pulse records of what can and cannot be eaten. Don't you think the kitchen staff don't know?"
He turned to look at Yan Shiyu, asking with his eyes what to do now. Yan Shiyu's dark eyes opened, "Investigate."
Everyone stood in Yuechun Palace and dared not make a sound. Wei Maoyuan personally led people to search various palaces.
Many concubines held their handkerchiefs against their chests. Although they knew they had not done anything wrong, they could not prevent themselves from being ambushed in the palace. Who knew when they would be assassinated?
Ruan Yun sat quietly, her brows were sullen and her lips were slightly curled. She had only eaten a little for breakfast and now it was time for lunch. She was already very hungry and didn't know when this place would end.
A quarter of an hour later, Wei Maoyuan came back in a hurry, with some snow on his clothes and his face looking a little strange.
Yan Shiyu looked over, and Wei Maoyuan immediately had someone put the things they had found in front of Doctor Zheng. Doctor Zheng picked up the things in the package, smelled them, and replied: "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this is the hemp leaf."
Wei Maoyuan straightened the hat on his head and suddenly looked at Ruan Yun. Ruan Yun's heart shuddered, as she would not think that Wei Maoyuan was just looking at her for no reason.
Both Defei and Shufei noticed that even the Empress had some uncertainty in her eyes.
Wei Maoyuan stared at the emperor's cold and murderous gaze, wishing he could bury his head in the cracks of the ground. He gritted his teeth and said:
"These were all searched out from the Ruiyu Pavilion of Yingcai and buried in the soil under the locust tree in the backyard."
But just as he finished speaking, the teacup was swept away by Yan Shiyu, and the shattered fragments made everyone in the hall kneel down.
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