"Mrs. Tong, do you perhaps find my tea unpalatable?" Consort Liang suddenly changed her tone, her voice carrying a hint of accusation.
Nan Yi lowered her angry eyes, bowed, and said, "Yilan wouldn't dare."
"I dare not say so. Hanyan, pour tea for the concubine," Consort Liang instructed. "This time, you must be careful."
Nan Yi absolutely refused to accept the second cup of tea. She wasn't stupid; she wouldn't drink it knowing there was something wrong with it.
Nan Yi thought that if she didn't answer, everything would be fine; she underestimated the people in the palace.
Inside, a tug-of-war ensued, but outside came Yiren's screams. She pushed aside Hanyan, who was holding tea and insisting on offering it to her, and ran outside to find Yiren being held down on the ground by several palace maids, unable to move.
"What are you doing? Let her go!" Nan Yi shouted angrily.
The palace maids ignored her completely and turned their attention to Hanyan at the door. "Sister Hanyan, this girl actually dared to damage the plum grove. The plum trees in the grove were planted and carefully cared for by Her Majesty, but she broke off plum branches indiscriminately. Not content with just breaking off one branch, she broke off a whole bunch and threw them all over the ground."
"Master, I didn't do it. They broke it themselves and deliberately framed me. It has nothing to do with me," Yiren anxiously defended herself.
The palace maid retorted, "What a joke! Who do you think you are, that we would destroy the plum grove to frame you?"
Yiren tried to explain, "Master, this servant..."
Nan waved her hand, and she understood everything. Consort Liang had her cornered. If she didn't drink the tea, she would use Yiren to coerce her.
Yiren had served her faithfully for many years, and over the years she had come to regard her as a sister, and she had grown accustomed to Yiren's company.
In this palace, Consort Liang might not be able to force her, but for Lady Yi, life and death were entirely in Consort Liang's hands.
"Let her go, I'll drink it," Nan Yichao Hanyan said.
Upon seeing this, Yiren seemed to understand something and hurriedly stopped her, "No, Master, don't worry about me, don't drink her drink."
"The concubine is sensible," Han Yan said with a smile, bringing over the teacup again.
Nan Yi suppressed his anger, glanced at the struggling Yi Ren, and with a heavy heart, took the teacup and poured it directly into his mouth. He had just swallowed the tea.
"His Majesty has arrived."
Li Dequan's shrill voice reminded the people in Songyanzhai.
Everyone knelt down and bowed.
Nan Yi threw down the teacup in his hand, quickly tried to vomit the tea that had just entered his stomach, and vomited several times.
"Your Highness, how are you?" Yiren supported her, saying happily, "The Emperor has arrived! What a wonderful son! The Emperor will surely stand up for Your Highness."
Nan Yi brushed her lips together, and when she looked up, she caught a glimpse of the coldness in Han Yan's eyes and the way she glanced at Yi Ren. Nan Yi pursed her lips tightly.
Han Yan threatened her.
She's going to suffer the consequences today.
With a burning hatred in his heart, Nan Yi pressed down on Yi Ren's hand and ordered in a deep voice, "Don't say anything later, I'm fine."
"But Master, you..."
"Listen to me," Nan Yi interrupted her.
Yiren was unwilling and looked extremely resentful, but still obediently agreed.
The master and servant knelt down to greet the emperor. Kangxi walked over, glanced at Meilin, and asked in a low voice, "What are you two doing?"
He glanced at Nan Yi and said, "Why are you still here, girl? The Imperial Concubine is waiting for you. Don't delay, don't keep the Imperial Concubine waiting."
"Yes, Yilan obeys." Nan Yi kowtowed to Kangxi and pulled Yiren away.
Once out of Kangxi's sight, the two jogged out of Consort Liang's palace. Yiren said urgently, "Your Majesty, let's go to the Imperial Hospital first and see what exactly went into that tea. I always thought Consort Liang was kind-hearted, but I never imagined she was so incompetent."
Nan Yi smiled bitterly, "Fool, those who can reach the rank of concubine are not simply kind-hearted people. The higher they go, the more power and status they have driven them crazy."
She felt nothing from that cup of tea. Consort Liang treated her this way to stand up for the Eighth Prince's wife, but there are many ways to do so. Why choose to poison her?
What exactly went wrong that made Consort Liang so ruthless towards her?
“We’re not going to Jingren Palace. Yiren, go to the Imperial Concubine’s place and tell her that I’m not feeling well and that I’m leaving the palace early to avoid being passed on to her.”
"What about you? I dare not leave you behind. What if something happens to you on the way?" Yiren refused to leave.
Nan Yi shook his head. "Nothing will happen anytime soon. Otherwise, Consort Liang will be implicated. I'll go find our master. He should be waiting for me at the palace gate."
Upon hearing this, Yiren nodded with red eyes, "It's all my fault."
"Nonsense. Consort Liang is deliberately trying to make things difficult for you. No matter what, she will always find an excuse. Go quickly and return to your residence as soon as possible," Nan Yi said softly.
"Yes, I understand."
Yiren wiped away her tears and ran away, while Nan ran straight to the palace gate.
As expected, the Fourth Master was waiting for her at the palace gate. Without saying a word, she pulled him into the carriage, saying, "I have something to tell you. Just now I..."
What? Tell the Fourth Master that Consort Liang made things difficult for her and even forced her to drink tea with a problem.
What will the Fourth Prince do? Will he settle accounts with Consort Liang? No, he will endure it and then hold all the scores against the Eighth Prince, settling them all at once.
It's unclear whether the Eighth Prince was aware of everything Consort Liang did to her. If he wasn't, and it was Consort Liang acting on her own initiative, then the blame lies with the person responsible, and she cannot blame the Eighth Prince.
The Eighth Prince's future is already bad enough; does she really want to make things worse for him?
The words were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.
"Yi'er, why do you look so pale? Have you seen the Imperial Concubine?" Yinzhen took her hand and asked.
"No, I... I had a stomachache for no reason, so I sent Yiren to apologize to the Imperial Concubine and came back myself." She pretended to have a stomachache, rubbing her abdomen and grabbing the Fourth Prince's sleeve with one hand. "Take me back to the manor and ask Physician Wu to come and take a look at me. Ouch, it hurts so much."
"Why the sudden stomach pain?" Upon hearing this, Yinzhen looked worried and hurriedly instructed the coachman to drive the carriage faster.
Back at the mansion, Nan Yi nestled in the quilt, clutching her stomach, motionless. After the martial arts physician entered the mansion and took her pulse, his brows furrowed tightly. Finally, he gave the Fourth Master a look, inviting him to speak in the outer room.
Yinzhen put his hands behind his back and said, "Divine Doctor, please speak freely."
The physician stroked his beard, his face dark. "Your Highness, I have been taking care of Master Tong's health for several years. If he had lived a more leisurely life and had less to worry about, his health would have been fine in three or four years. But now, alas."
Yinzhen's expression changed slightly. "Her condition has changed?"
"Otherwise, since Master Tong is a martial artist, when I examined her pulse today, I discovered that there was a turbid energy gathering in her dantian. I can't figure out what it is right now, and it will take some time to decipher it."
"Is there any serious problem?" Yinzhen asked in surprise.
The divine physician nodded, "Even I, a humble commoner, cannot diagnose this. Do you think it's a serious matter?"
"A miracle doctor?"
"Your Highness need not say more, I understand. However, in order to understand Master Tong's condition in more detail, I also need to know about Master Tong's daily diet and lifestyle."
Yinzhen cupped his hands in greeting, "I will investigate immediately."
He summoned the servants from the Orchid Courtyard, but the maids who served him said that all of Nan Yi's personal affairs were handled by Yi Ren, and since they had never been close to him, they did not know anything about it.
Lady Tong said that Lady Yi went to apologize to the Imperial Concubine on her behalf, and she is probably still in the palace at this moment.
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