Madam Shen, however, disdained such behavior and rarely showed up. This time, she came at the Empress's invitation, and also because she wanted to take the opportunity to see Ye Zhen and Helian Qing.
Logically, since she had come, Lady Xiao should not have come again. It was not a glorious thing for two wives from one household to attend the Empress's banquet.
Without Li Heng's permission, it's likely that Lady Xiao wouldn't dare to act on her own.
Li Heng, a man who is so concerned with saving face, would never have acted this way under normal circumstances. What was his reason?
Madam Shen had doubts in her heart, but as usual, she pretended not to see Madam Xiao and ignored her.
After arriving, Madam Xiao learned that Madam Shen had gone out. She noticed that Ye Zhen was also not there, so she decided to come out and take a look.
"Where did you go, sister? I've been looking for you everywhere."
Madam Shen gave her a single word: "Get out."
Li Heng is a scoundrel, and so is Xiao Shi.
Her excessive restraint aroused suspicion from Madam Xiao. After scolding everyone, Madam Shen walked into the Phoenix Palace without regard for their gazes.
Xiao looked embarrassed and aggrieved, forcing a smile at the people around her, "Please don't be offended, everyone. My sister is always straightforward and was just joking with me."
Although they sensed the hidden meaning in her words, most of them respected her status as the wife of the Prime Minister and exchanged pleasantries with her.
Besides keeping an eye on Madam Shen, Xiao also had to find Qin Xue, as this was a task given to her by Prime Minister Li.
So he chatted with everyone for a while and then left.
She had already inquired with others and learned that Qin Xue had just been here and had gone to the garden to enjoy the scenery, so she also went to the garden.
They searched for a long time but couldn't find anyone.
The person she couldn't find anywhere was secretly hiding outside a small outbuilding next to the Imperial Hospital.
There were several rabbits in that room, which Su Luoqing used for testing medicine.
She had just followed Su Luoqing and overheard her talking to the medicine boy about developing a poison to save someone by using poison against poison.
Worried about potential problems, Su Luoqing first tested it on rabbits.
Qin Xue saw her add poison to the water the rabbit was going to drink, and after waiting for a while, she said to the medicine boy, "This poison will take half an hour to take effect. You stay here and guard it."
"Her Majesty is hosting a banquet today, and I must go to serve her. It's inconvenient for me to bring the poison, so I'll leave it here for now. Please keep an eye on it and make sure it's not lost. I'll come back to retrieve it after the banquet."
Qin Xue could see clearly that Su Luoqing had hidden the poison in a cabinet near the window in the outhouse.
She was very excited and felt that God was on her side.
If the poison takes half an hour to take effect, then if she had poisoned Chen Banjun at the banquet, by the time he returned and the poison took effect, the banquet would be over, and the evidence would have been cleared away. Who would have thought it was her?
Therefore, while the medicine boy was in the toilet, she sneaked into the outhouse, stole the poison, and put it into her waistband.
But then another problem arises.
How should we poison Chen Banjun? He is the emperor's servant, someone who should be serving the emperor.
Today, the Empress is hosting a banquet for the noblewomen. The Emperor will not be dining here, and neither will Chen Banjun.
She returned to Fengyi Palace with a heavy heart, just as the banquet was about to begin. Following the introduction of the palace maid, she took her seat.
Even if Chen Banjun was highly regarded by the emperor, he was still a servant, and his wife could not compare to the ladies with imperial titles.
Therefore, she was positioned towards the back, next to a young woman she didn't recognize.
The first dish was bird's nest and shark fin soup. Qin Xue was tired of eating this kind of food in Jiangnan. After following Chen Banjun, although Chen Banjun restricted her freedom, he did not deprive her of food.
In addition, he had something on his mind, so he lacked interest.
But the woman next to her was quite fond of it, and whispered to her maid, "As expected of the Empress's banquet, I've only ever heard of such delicacies. I'm so lucky to have them today. It's just a pity that I can't take them out of the palace for my husband to try."
The maidservant replied, "Madam dotes on Master. If you really want to take him out, Her Majesty might not object. I just saw Her Majesty send food to His Majesty."
The woman quickly shook her head, "Your Majesty is kind, but if I were to speak up, I'm afraid I'd make a fool of myself. Besides, these soups and broths will be cold by the time they're taken out of the palace after the banquet. It would be more appropriate if my husband were in the palace today..."
What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener.
Qin Xue looked around and, finding that her position was unremarkable, tentatively asked the palace maid, "I would like to deliver soup to Eunuch Chen. Could you please bring me a food box?"
Every servant in the palace knew Chen Banjun, and seeing that Qin Xue felt sorry for Eunuch Chen, they quickly agreed.
A short while later, Qin Xue left Fengyi Palace carrying a food box. On the way, when no one was paying attention, she secretly put the medicine into the soup.
Then, with a heavy heart, she arrived outside the Imperial Study. Of course, she was not allowed to go in, but Chen Banjun was very happy to come out from inside when he learned that she had come to deliver the meal.
He even praised her, saying, "It shows that our family hasn't spoiled you for nothing. Alright, you're carrying twins, you can't go hungry. Hurry up and go back to eat."
Qin Xue nodded obediently, "I remember how good Father-in-law is to me. I will be even better to you in the future. Please remember to drink this."
Leaving you with a complete corpse is indeed a good thing.
Seeing that Chen Banjun had no doubts and smiled as he said he would definitely drink, Qin Xue returned to Xi Shang in a cheerful mood.
She thought to herself that after Chen Banjun died, she would definitely pretend to be very sad and cry.
Although she was the one who delivered the soup, she brought nothing with her when she was brought into the palace. Being unfamiliar with the place, she couldn't get any poison, so no one would suspect her.
But to her surprise, a quarter of an hour later, the Imperial Guards rushed in.
"It's terrible, Your Majesty! Qin Xue has murdered the emperor! His Majesty drank the soup Qin Xue sent him and is now vomiting blood and unconscious. The imperial physicians have discovered that the soup contained a large amount of poison."
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