Chapter 269

Guo Imperial Physician received the order and proceeded to examine the pulses of the Empress, Noble Consort, Song Zhao, and Consort Yin in that order.

For the first few individuals, their pulses were normal, and there was no trace of anything unusual.

However, when Guo Imperial Physician examined Consort Yin's pulse last, his expression suddenly changed.

After a while, he solemnly replied to Xiao Jingheng, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there are no issues with the Empress, Noble Consort, and Yifei. They do not exhibit any symptoms of having consumed the Nine Yin Powder. However... Consort Yin does show symptoms of having used this substance."

Consort Yin was shocked and wore an incredulous expression. "How... could this be? Could it harm me fundamentally?"

Guo Imperial Physician reassured her, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Fortunately, the dosage was not heavy. I will prescribe some tonics for you later, and with proper care, there should be no problem."

At this moment, Xiao Jingheng's expression became extremely complicated, and the Empress vigorously defended herself, "I also sent the plum soup to Noble Consort and Yifei. I drank it myself as well. Why is Consort Yin the only one affected?"

"You have the audacity to ask that, Empress," Noble Consort Chen sneered at her with a sinister tone. "I dared not take a single sip of the plum soup you sent. After experiencing the incident with Yu'er's miscarriage, how could I dare to use anything you give?"

However, Song Zhao was puzzled and said, "But I did drink the plum soup the Empress sent that day, and I am indeed unharmed."

Xiao Jingheng explained, "You have been sharing food and drinks with me these past few days. The plum soup the Empress sent to me had to be carefully inspected. There would be no contamination in it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stared at the Empress with a dark gaze.

"What do you mean by this, Your Majesty?" The Empress was alarmed and uneasy. "Could it be... that you truly suspect me of doing this?"

She stood up, straightened her sleeves, and knelt directly in front of Xiao Jingheng, her words resolute: "I am innocent! If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send people to thoroughly search my chambers and see if there is any such contamination!"

"Search now? Ha!" Noble Consort Chen sneered. "You can utter these words because you must have already cleaned up any contamination long ago."

"That's not true." Consort Yin stepped forward and stood beside the Empress, speaking on her behalf.

"The incident happened suddenly. At that time, I was in the Empress's chamber, accompanying her in conversation. It was the servants who came to report about Concubine Tong's mishap with the fallen petals. The Empress immediately rushed over with me.

Moreover, Guo Imperial Physician just mentioned that if a woman is not pregnant, the Nine Yin Powder would only act as a contraceptive without being noticeable. Even Concubine Tong herself didn't know she was pregnant. How could the Empress have foreseen today's disturbance?"

Consort Yin's words made sense. However, as the situation suddenly turned, and every detail seemed to point to the Empress, Xiao Jingheng couldn't fully trust her.

"Jiang Deshun, take people to search the Empress's chambers. This matter must be resolved, and her clear reputation should be restored."

The Empress expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for seeking justice and clearing my name!"

During the search in the Empress's chamber led by Jiang Deshun, the Empress remained calm throughout the entire process. She even went to the inner room to visit Rongyue, who was still unconscious, instructing the imperial physician to take good care of her and ensure her recovery so that she could continue to bear children for the royal family.

After about two quarters of an hour, Jiang Deshun returned and reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I didn't find anything that shouldn't be there in the Empress's chamber."

Upon hearing this, the Empress finally let go of the anxiety that had been weighing on her. She took a deep breath and poured out her grievances, choked with sobs, "Your Majesty, I am innocent and clear of any wrongdoing."

But as soon as she finished speaking, a eunuch entered the room carrying a wooden bucket covered with a white cloth.

Despite that, a faint smell of blood could still be detected emanating from the bucket.

Noble Consort Chen covered her nose and took two steps back, disgust evident on her face. She said, "What is this? It's so bloody and nauseating."

The eunuch replied, "Please pardon me, Noble Consort. Your Majesty, this was retrieved from the courtyard pond behind the Empress's residence."

He lifted the white cloth covering the top of the wooden bucket, and everyone looked inside to see five or six carp floating lifelessly on the water, their bellies turned white.

The eunuch explained, "These carp were found gathered together, all with their bellies turned up. Carp are easy to keep alive, so it's suspicious to find them in such a large group with upturned bellies. I thought it was unusual, so I picked them up."

Xiao Jingheng glanced at the wooden bucket and said to Guo Imperial Physician, "Go and have a look."

Guo Imperial Physician bowed and ordered his assistant to carry the wooden bucket outside so as not to disgust the masters if it burst open. After a while, when Guo Imperial Physician returned, he had a plain handkerchief in his hand, stained with some black sticky powder in the center. He presented the item to Xiao Jingheng and solemnly reported, "Your Majesty, this item was found in the intestines of the carp. It is indeed Nine Yin Powder. I believe someone poured the Nine Yin Powder into the courtyard pond, and the carp mistakenly ingested it. If it were any other fish, they wouldn't have turned up so quickly. But since carp don't have a stomach, the food they eat goes directly into their intestines, causing rapid digestion and poisoning. It's precisely because carp don't have a stomach that I was able to retrieve these intact dirty substances from their intestines."

The meaning behind Guo Imperial Physician's words was already quite clear.

This Nine Yin Powder must have been recently thrown into the water and was mistakenly ingested by the carp, causing them to die inexplicably.

Earlier, Consort Yin mentioned that she and the Empress were in a hurry.

Now, the way the Nine Yin Powder was handled confirms that someone must have been in a hurry to dispose of it and hastily threw it into the courtyard pond, hoping to cover up the evidence.

Seeing the evidence found, the Empress couldn't stay seated any longer.

Ignoring Noble Consort Chen, she hastily stood up and cried out loudly, "I am innocent! I have never done such a thing. I don't even know who has set up such a clever scheme to frame me! I..."

"Frame you?" Noble Consort Chen sternly interrupted the Empress, "The plum soup was a gift from you, and the Nine Yin Powder was found in your chambers. Besides you, all the concubines who drank the plum soup showed signs of poisoning. Tell me, who has the ability to target you, the revered Empress?"

She pressed closer to the Empress, her tone filled with resentment and agitation.

"Do you remember how you schemed to cause my miscarriage? Have you forgotten? Wasn't it done with such despicable means? And now that you have brought so much misfortune upon yourself and can no longer bear children, do you want all the imperial consorts to suffer the same fate as you? Empress, your cruelty knows no bounds!"

The Empress was forced to retreat repeatedly, stumbling and tripping over a chair leg, finally falling to the ground.

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it!"

Noble Consort Chen glared fiercely at the Empress, then turned around and knelt before Xiao Jingheng, speaking with solemnity:

"I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter, to cleanse the palace and ensure that this wicked woman cannot bring further harm to the dynasty!"

She set the stage, and Consort Yao quickly followed suit, also kneeling on the ground. In the meantime, she grabbed Consort Hui and pulled her down to kneel as well.

Seeing Consort Yin, Song Zhao exchanged a glance with her and both of them promptly kneeled, speaking in unison to Xiao Jingheng:

"We beseech Your Majesty to grant Concubine Tong justice for her unborn child!"

[This is a game within a game within a game, and it's also the first time that Consort Hui, the explosive loli, has shown her skills in the palace intrigue. The big boss has officially entered the chaotic battle.

[The whole situation will be reviewed tomorrow, traditional arts, happy Monday.]