Chapter 46 Emptying the National Treasury for Exile (1)
Yun Zhaoxue was summoned to the palace by the Empress's decree to reminisce about the past.
Empress Wei was the second empress, and had only been empress for a few years. She had only one princess and her relationship with the original owner was so-so. Why would she send word about her entering the palace at this critical juncture?
She muttered to herself, "What does the Empress want me to do? Is she trying to kill me? Why would she want to? I have no grudge against her."
Zhuiying, who was standing to the side, glanced at her, then quickly looked down.
"Chasing Shadow, what do you think the Empress wanted to see me about?"
"I don't know either."
"You know that, but you won't say it. I did save your master, and I've always felt that we're in the same boat. But you're not being honest. Go away, I don't need you here."
Zhuiying didn't want to leave. "I suspect it's because of Wei Bao, the eldest son of the Duke of Wei's mansion, who killed Qin Hu."
"What does Qin Hu's death have to do with me? It's not like I killed him..." Yun Zhaoxue suddenly realized something, "Did you kill Qin Hu?"
Zhuiying remained silent; the prince did not say that he could tell her about this.
She wouldn't betray them, would she?
Yun Zhaoxue praised, "Not bad, you settled your score on the spot and even found a scapegoat."
“If the Crown Princess does not wish to enter the palace, she may feign illness.”
"Since it's the Empress's decree, I must give her face and go to the palace."
The Emperor can't even tolerate the memorial tablet of the Prince of Zhenbei; he will soon exile or behead the Xiao family.
Now that she has such a good opportunity to enter the palace, how could she possibly miss it?
She ordered people to dress her up and make her face look pale, making her look very fragile, as if she was about to faint at any moment. Red Dates and Green Branches supported her.
The shadow was about to catch up.
Yun Zhaoxue said, "Zhuiying, you don't need to go. The palace is investigating very strictly, and I'm afraid your identity will be exposed."
"yes!"
Not just anyone can enter the palace; one must have a token or be summoned by a noble person within the palace to enter.
Perhaps the Empress had given instructions, because the heavily guarded guards let her pass without questioning her or asking for her token.
After walking several kilometers, we finally arrived at the Empress's Kunning Palace.
His deathly pale face made him look even more horrible; he could scare people to death if he went out at night.
Yun Zhaoxue was panting heavily, "Huff huff huff... We've finally arrived. I'm exhausted."
Upon entering the palace, the Empress wore a bright red brocade robe with gold-embroidered wide sleeves, the hem of which was embroidered with phoenixes with outstretched wings in gold thread. She wore a crown adorned with pearls and dragon and phoenix hairpins, with gold tassels hanging down her temples, and a jade belt with pendants around her waist, exuding elegance and nobility.
The palace maids lowered their heads and held their breath, not daring to look directly at her face.
Yun Zhaoxue curtsied and said, "This humble woman greets Your Majesty the Empress!" Her voice was weak and sickly.
The Empress stared at her, pursed her lips, remained silent, and slowly picked up a cup of tea, without telling her to get up.
Knowing that she was being difficult again, Yun Zhaoxue slumped against the maid behind her.
Two maids, one on each side, helped her to a chair and sat her down. "Princess, Princess..."
The Empress frowned, and collapsed before she could even begin to make things difficult for the Empress.
So useless?
His sickly body wouldn't last more than a few days if he were exiled.
The Empress asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Yun Zhaoxue lay on the chair, her expression pained, cold sweat beading on her forehead and wetting her bangs. "Your Majesty, I am weak. I am pregnant and have walked such a long distance. My body can't take it. It's all my fault for being so weak. Please forgive me."
Seeing that she was half-dead, the Empress feared that if she continued to make things difficult for her, she would really die. After all, the other party was a princess, and she did not want to cause trouble for herself.
He cut to the chase: "Have you ever seen Five-Stone Powder at the Prince of Zhenbei's residence?"
Yun Zhaoxue exclaimed, "Five-Stone Powder? That stuff is poisonous, isn't it? I've never seen it before. Why would Your Majesty ask such a question?"
"Who notified you to go to the prison that day? Was it an accomplice of Prince Xiao?"
Capturing just a few of the Prince of Zhenbei's personal guards or secret agents would suffice to satisfy Prime Minister Qin.
“I went there on my own initiative. I thought he was going to die, so I went to see him off on his final journey. I happened to see Qin Hu and the others torturing him, so I saved him.”
The Empress questioned her for half an hour but couldn't get any information out of her, so she kindly let her rest in a side hall and ordered her servants to fetch the imperial physician for her.
Yun Zhaoxue lay on the bed waiting for the imperial physician to arrive.
She wasn't afraid at all. With red dates and lychees in hand, worried about being exposed, she asked in a low voice, "Princess, the imperial physician will find out soon enough if he takes my pulse. What should we do?"
"Don't panic, don't panic, I have a plan."
Soon, the Empress's personal nanny arrived with a royal physician.
I first took her pulse, then made up a story that she was weak and prescribed her some medicine.
The old woman instructed the workers to go down and brew the medicine.
Half an hour later, he brought over a bowl of dark, murky medicine.
Yun Zhaoxue used the advanced medical instruments in her space to detect that the medicine was poisonous.
It's poisonous, or perhaps it's a form of witchcraft.
The Gu worms are refined into powder and mixed into medicine. After a pregnant woman drinks it, the mother is unharmed, but the Gu poison specifically damages the fetus's heart and blood vessels, resulting in a weak and mentally impaired child after birth.
The empress was ruthless enough to harm her unborn child in order to achieve her goals; she was truly vicious.
Don't even think about using mere Gu poison to control her.
Yun Zhaoxue leaned against the embroidered pillow at the head of the bed. Her slender fingers touched the medicine cup, but her snow-white wrist was suspended in mid-air. She frowned and pursed her lips, her eyes showing three parts displeasure and seven parts annoyance.
Seeing that she wouldn't drink, the nanny gave a look to the maid, who then picked up the bowl and held it to Yun Zhaoxue's lips, as if she were about to force-feed her the medicine. The medicine from the rim of the bowl stained the corner of her lips.
Yun Zhaoxue frowned, then suddenly turned her head away, her almond-shaped eyes slightly closed, and her nose wrinkled slightly. "It's bitter. I won't drink it. Take it away! Take it away!"
“Princess, Her Majesty the Empress is worried about your health. If you don’t drink it, you will be letting Her Majesty down. This old servant will not be able to explain it to Her Majesty.”
"What does it have to do with me, a mere servant, if I can't explain myself?"
The old woman sneered inwardly. Even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner. This Princess Zhaoxue was indeed as brainless and stupid as the rumors suggested.
"Someone, go and report to Her Majesty the Empress..."
Yun Zhaoxue pretended to compromise, "Wait a minute, there's no need to trouble Your Highness with such a small matter... Put it down first, it's hot, you can drink it later."
The old woman gestured to the maid with her eyes, watching her drink it, and then she went back to report to the Empress.
After the medicine cooled down for a while and stopped emitting heat, the palace maid urged her repeatedly to drink it.
Yun Zhaoxue tilted her head back and downed the drink in one gulp, seemingly drinking it, but secretly poured it into her spatial storage.
After drinking, she feigned severe abdominal pain and rolled around on the bed. The maid glanced at her, picked up the bowl, hurriedly withdrew, and locked the door behind her.
The red dates and green branches were in a panic and didn't know what to do.
Yun Zhaoxue almost rolled onto the bed, and the two quickly rushed over, knelt down to catch her, and moved her back onto the bed.
"Princess, Princess, how are you? Please don't frighten me..."
"Don't go! Don't go! Our princess is feeling unwell after drinking your medicine. Quickly, fetch the imperial physician for her..."
Hongzao rushed over, banging on the door and shouting, but no one answered.
Two palace maids were guarding the door. When they heard the wailing coming from inside, one of them went back to report while the other blocked the door.
However, they did not notice that Yun Zhaoxue had quietly slipped out of the back window.
The original owner frequently visited the palace when he was a child and was very familiar with it, knowing that the national treasury was near the Ministry of Revenue.
As dusk fell, Yun Zhaoxue, dressed in eunuch's attire, tried to avoid people as much as possible within the palace. Whenever she encountered patrolling guards or secret agents, she would quickly hide in her spatial dimension. She hid and concealed herself all the way until she finally found the national treasury.
She was lucky; she happened to be there during a shift change, and there was no one around at that moment.
He ran quickly to the door, the mechanism clicked open, and the heavy iron door slid open silently.
A chill, carrying the scent of gold and silver, swept over us.
I sensed danger from above as soon as I stepped through the door.
Is anyone there?
And not just one, but many.
That dog emperor is really cautious.
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