Yun Su interrupted him, her expression moved.
"For so many years, you've had to lie low in the court. Now that this dog emperor has cut off our path to survival, I'll take my leave first and wait for you in the afterlife!"
After saying that, she suddenly tilted her head back.
A trickle of blood oozed from his lips.
The guard stepped forward to examine her: "Your Majesty, she had poison hidden in her teeth and has committed suicide by poisoning herself!"
Song Ziyu stared at her corpse, so shocked that he fell to the ground.
"Your Majesty, she is lying! She is slandering me! I swear, I have never seen this person, let alone been her accomplice!"
The elder's wife also turned pale.
Yun Su's words terrified her, and she immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, how can we believe this traitor's words? She is deliberately trying to sow discord between the emperor and his subjects. You must not be deceived by her!"
“Ziyu really did go to save the emperor just now! The Song family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, risking their lives to secure the Great Yong Dynasty. How could they possibly collude with the Illusion Moon Sect? Please investigate this matter thoroughly!”
Under normal circumstances, Emperor Jingyuan would have listened to honest advice.
But now, with Physician Jin's advice still fresh in his mind, Emperor Jingyuan had long suspected that the Yuan family had ulterior motives, so how could he possibly believe the words of the Song family?
He glanced coldly at the two of them, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed the conflicted expression on the face of the imperial physician beside him.
That was the imperial physician who had just bandaged Song Ziyu's wound.
Emperor Jingyuan asked, "Imperial Physician Li, is there a problem?"
Imperial Physician Li knelt down, frowning as he said, "Your Majesty, when I was examining General Song's pulse just now, I discovered... I found that his pulse was abnormal, as if he had taken Cold Food Powder."
Everyone was taken aback by these words.
"Hanshi San?" Xu Shu said, "Isn't that a banned drug? Why would General Song take this medicine when he's perfectly fine?"
The matriarch trembled, and as if remembering something, all the color drained from her face.
She quickly spoke up.
"Your Majesty, Ziyu was momentarily confused and took the Cold Food Powder in order to improve his health and serve the country. Even so, taking forbidden drugs violates the law, and the Song family is willing to accept whatever punishment is due!"
"Oh? I see."
Just then, Jiang Wan stepped down from the stage and spoke.
"No wonder the general had been experiencing alternating chills and fever the other day, as if he had a fever. It turns out he had taken a forbidden drug."
The imperial physician couldn't help but ask, "What, General Song started taking the medicine a few days ago?"
The matriarch glared at Jiang Wan, signaling her to shut up.
Jiang Wan walked past her as if she didn't see her, and roughly counted a few days.
The imperial physician calculated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, this Cold Food Powder does have the effect of strengthening the body, but it has severe side effects. It will take five days to see its effects, according to Lady Jiang's calculations..."
"The Cold Food Powder that General Song took happened to take effect today."
The rest is self-explanatory.
If Song Ziyu did not know that the Illusion Moon Church would carry out an assassination attempt today, how could he have calculated the date in advance and taken the Cold Food Powder?
No one would believe that this was a coincidence.
Song Ziyu must have known the news in advance to make these preparations.
The matriarch trembled, and suddenly everything went black.
Her lips trembled, but she could only stammer and not utter a word.
What could she say? That she knew about the Phantom Moon Sect's assassination attempt beforehand, which is why she fed Song Ziyu the banned drug?
How then could she explain concealing information and failing to report it to the imperial court?
This is a grave crime of assassinating the emperor; those who know about it but fail to report it will be punished as accomplices.
Either way, she faced a death sentence, and she had no way to argue her case.
With just a few casual words, Jiang Wan had already blocked the Song family's path to survival.
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