The Empress Dowager gasped, disbelief etched on her face. The Emperor had been drugged?
Who could get close enough to the Emperor to administer such a poison?
Could it be Zhao Cairen? The Empress Dowager’s thoughts raced. Her dark pupils, cold and sharp, gleamed with a chilling light. She longed to execute Liu Cairen immediately to quell the hatred in her heart.
However, the most pressing concern wasn't the wretched Zhao Cairen, but the Emperor’s royal health and the lack of an heir.
What if the Emperor was permanently incapacitated? The Empress Dowager, usually unshakeable like Mount Tai, grew anxious, her brow furrowed with worry.
"Minister Zhang, is there a cure for this illness?"
"Your Majesty, I have heard the Emperor's attending imperial physicians discuss the medical situation in detail. As we don't know the ingredients used, we cannot currently devise a viable plan. I fear this poison may be incurable."
Zhang Zhaode chose his words carefully, not daring to be careless. Others might not know, but he was well aware that within the entire Eastern Qin Kingdom, the most formidable person was the Empress Dowager before him.
Not only was she stunningly beautiful, remaining so for decades, but her mind was also exceptionally meticulous and dark, beyond the grasp of ordinary people.
She was privy to all matters within the palace.
"This is unacceptable. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven. Now that the imperial lineage is without an heir, such an incident has occurred. Minister Zhang, you must find a way to resolve this matter quickly."
"Yes, I will do my utmost. However, Your Majesty could dispatch people to secretly seek out miraculous healers in the martial world. Perhaps they can cure such unorthodox ailments."
Zhang Zhaode reminded the Empress Dowager. She suddenly came to her senses. Yes, there were always people who could cure anything in the world; that was why she had panicked.
"Very well, Minister Zhang, you may withdraw."
"Yes, your humble servant takes his leave."
Zhang Zhaode retreated. The Empress Dowager, seated high above, was utterly exhausted. She reclined on a soft couch. Years of effort had worn her body and spirit.
What was the point of standing so high?
Only the chilling loneliness of the heights. If she had chosen a different life back then, would things be different? She fell into a reverie.
Jingfu Palace.
Its opulence exuded royal extravagance. A magnificent crimson carpet adorned with golden scales and coiling dragons amidst auspicious clouds lay on the floor, fragrant with ambergris.
The man seated high was clad in a sumptuous brocade dragon robe with wide sleeves, cinched by a jade belt featuring five flying dragons.
He was dashing and heroic, yet a persistent gloom lingered in his brows. His deep black eyes were dark and turbulent, like crashing waves against a cliff, instilling fear.
"Did that wretch confess? Who ordered her?"
As he spoke, his voice, cold and menacing, unleashed, instantly enveloping the hall in a chilling aura.
Below, Xiao Tingzi cautiously replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I sent people to interrogate her under torture. However, Zhao Cairen remained unyielding even in death, insisting no one ordered her and that she did not drug the Emperor."
"That damnable creature, still defiant!"
Shangguan Yao's voice suddenly turned cold and harsh, increasing in volume. Just as he was about to order Xiao Tingzi to execute Zhao Cairen, he remembered something.
He had just visited Zhao Cairen the previous night. Due to the suddenness of it, he hadn't ordered her to take an abortifacient. This meant, could she be pregnant?
If she were pregnant, it would be an imperial heir. What he had previously disregarded, he now held in high regard.
"Dispatch imperial physicians to treat her. Ensure nothing happens to her."
Shangguan Yao's command stunned Xiao Tingzi, who remained motionless for a long time, bewildered by the Emperor's drastic change in attitude. After all, he had severely punished Zhao Cairen.
Why was he now sending imperial physicians to treat her? Xiao Tingzi thought he might have misheard and dared not move. The man above darkened his expression and spoke coldly.
"Did you not hear me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant shall attend to it immediately."
Xiao Tingzi swiftly retreated, instructing a young eunuch to summon imperial physicians to treat Zhao Cairen, emphasizing that nothing must happen to her.
Perhaps the Emperor had taken pity on her. It must be so. The beautiful concubine he had favored just yesterday, he couldn't bear to harm her, Xiao Tingzi surmised.
Jinhua Palace, the most heartwarming place in the entire harem. From early morning, Yun Xiao couldn't stop smiling. Thinking of someone's current gloom and despair, their utter misery, made her overjoyed. She even ate half a bowl more for breakfast and had several pastries.
"Your Majesty," Wanwan couldn't bear to watch. Her mouth had been stretched into a smile since morning and hadn't closed. It was too unsettling.
This boundless joy, as if she wanted to set off firecrackers, if seen by those with ill intentions, it would surely stir up trouble. Moreover, that Defei Niangniang was already wary of her.
Xiao He had been beaten to death, had Ye Suxue ceased her machinations that night? She likely hadn't spared her.
Yun Xiao knew what Wanwan was thinking, but she was too happy. Suppressing it would lead to internal injury.
"Wanwan, just one more smile."
Wanwan rolled her eyes, unable to do anything about her mistress. Sometimes, she truly felt her mistress was childish. If she weren't a fool, if she weren't the Empress of Eastern Qin, she would surely live happily.
Instead of living like this, scheming against tigers and hacking through thorns, hiding her true nature.
Yun Xiao smiled for a while longer, then indeed stopped, her expression turning serious.
"Although he was severely injured, he is likely on guard. If it is discovered who was behind this, the punishment will be extremely severe. Did they not say that two concubines were punished last night? And another concubine was drowned in the lake."
Yun Xiao's voice grew somber and desolate towards the end. This was the one thing she hadn't anticipated: implicating two concubines in the punishment, especially Liu Meiren, who was drowned. How innocent she was!
She had overestimated that man who sat high above. He was so cruel, destroying flowers with ruthless hands, showing no tenderness for his beauties. The women in this palace were likely living on the edge of a blade. She had merely accelerated the progression of events.
"Your Majesty."
"We must be careful," Yun Xiao lowered her head. A smile still lingered on her lips, but her eyes held an icy sternness.
The Imperial Hospital was in a state of tension. Chief Imperial Physician Zhang Zhaode, leading several esteemed imperial physicians, after tireless experimentation throughout the night, secretly sent bowls after bowls of medicine to Jingfu Palace, but they had no effect whatsoever.
In the end, the young Emperor refused to take the medicine. He had already drunk enough of the bitter and foul-smelling concoctions and no longer wished to eat anything.
The vast Jingfu Palace, both inside and out, was silent.
In the inner chamber sat the Empress Dowager in her opulent robes, her face etched with worry. In just a few days, she had visibly thinned, indicating the great importance the new Emperor held for her.
"Yao'er."
"Mother, let it be. Let them continue their research with peace of mind. If this continues to be handled this way, the entire palace, perhaps even the entire court, will know."
Shangguan Yao's voice was laced with suppressed gloom. He felt stifled. He did not wish for such a humiliating affair to spread, which was why he had Liu Meiren thrown into the lake that night.
If the concubines in the palace knew that the man they relied on was incompetent, what an embarrassing situation he would find himself in. Therefore, he preferred to let it remain hidden.