Everyone froze, that was truly a problem.
Feng Xi Wu had not yet escaped danger, and if Lu Qing Wan, the physician, were to fall too, that would be disastrous!
Emperor Jing You narrowed his eyes and looked at Lu Qing Wan, "Regent Consort, what do you say?"
He was an emperor, and more importantly, Feng Xi Wu's elder brother. At heart, he only cared about Feng Xi Wu's safety.
Therefore, when Shen Ci said that Lu Qing Wan had transferred the Qing Jiang Symbiotic Gu to herself, he was not surprised in the least.
In his eyes, this was merely a method of treatment to save Feng Xi Wu, and Lu Qing Wan's fate was not within his considerations.
And now, even knowing that Lu Qing Wan might suffer from poison after touching the pot of Lily of the Valley, he still wanted Lu Qing Wan to confirm whether that Lily of the Valley was infected with the so-called Bai Nian Sheng.
Lu Qing Wan's gaze swept across the indifference in Emperor Jing You's eyes. The next moment, her expression was even more indifferent than his.
"It's fine. As I said, Bai Nian Sheng only triggers the Gu poison through direct contact. I won't touch it."
She gestured to Tang Xiao with a slight tilt of her chin, "Go on, there's no time to lose. Bring it here for me to see."
Tang Xiao silently turned and returned shortly with a small potted plant.
The dark green, long oval leaves grew elegant, curved flower stems, bearing pure white, fragrant flowers. The layered petals resembled clusters of marshmallows, looking incredibly inviting.
However, before Tang Xiao could walk to Lu Qing Wan with the pot, the spatial laboratory erupted with a sharp warning sound.
"Warning, highly toxic active bacteria detected. Highly toxic! Highly toxic!"
The spatial laboratory had no visual expression, but Lu Qing Wan's mind automatically conjured a warning sign with a yellow background and red exclamation marks.
With a barrage of warning sounds in her head, Lu Qing Wan called out to Li Yang, "Find a rabbit or some other small animal."
Li Yang pursed his lips and asked her, "Consort, can the ingredients prepared by the imperial kitchen be used?"
This was a crucial area of the imperial palace; not even a single mouse could be found, so where would they find a small animal?
Lu Qing Wan nodded, "Anything is fine, except for a goose."
Li Yang hurried out. Shen Ci leaned in quietly, "Consort, can't you determine if this Lily of the Valley is carrying Bai Nian Sheng?"
Lu Qing Wan asked in return, "Where did this pot of Lily of the Valley come from?"
Shen Ci remained silent and looked at Emperor Jing You.
The latter explained in a deep voice, "Duke Pei presented it to me. Xi Wu said you liked it and wanted to get it for you to nurture, so he thoughtfully embellished it."
It was for her sake!
Lu Qing Wan took a deep breath, "Has the origin of this pot of Lily of the Valley been thoroughly investigated?"
She looked at Li Jin. It was impossible for Feng Xi Wu, who wanted to gift it to her, not to investigate the source of the gift.
She was only worried that Feng Xi Wu had intended to investigate, but he was in the palace and then fell ill.
What if the subordinates hadn't finished investigating in time, and the mastermind had already covered their tracks by now?
Fortunately, the few trusted subordinates around Feng Xi Wu were reliable.
Upon hearing this, Li Jin immediately replied, "Reporting to Consort, my subordinate has already had people investigate. This pot of Lily of the Valley was brought back by the heir of Duke Pei from the Tian Xuan Sect as a birthday gift for the elderly madam of Duke Pei's residence.
As the item was rare, Duke Pei then presented it to the palace.
However, Duke Pei claimed he wanted to offer this pot of Lily of the Valley to Your Majesty, but according to my subordinate's knowledge, he spent the entire morning inquiring about the Prince's whereabouts.
He could have entered the palace before the Prince, but he deliberately lingered on the way for a while. Only after the Prince entered the palace did he deliberately mention the Lily of the Valley to others.
And he presented the Lily of the Valley to Your Majesty in front of the Prince."
He paused at this point, appearing somewhat troubled.
Lu Qing Wan looked at Emperor Jing You, "Your Majesty is the Prince's brother, not an outsider. Speak freely, do not hesitate, lest we delay matters."
Li Jin then hesitantly revealed the unsaid words.
"Last night, the Prince asked my subordinate to investigate recent contacts of Duke Xu. Duke Pei was among them.
Furthermore, the matter of transferring Consort Ye to Your Majesty's side, with the tacit approval of Prefect Ji Chang, was also orchestrated by these two."
After Li Jin finished speaking, both Lu Qing Wan and Emperor Jing You wore complex expressions.
Lu Qing Wan murmured to herself, "Duke Xu already knew my identity. If he told Duke Pei about me saving His Majesty, wouldn't I have become bait for him to hook?"
Her gaze fell on Feng Xi Wu's pale and sickly appearance, and Lu Qing Wan felt a pang of regret.
If only she hadn't been so careless and had disguised herself more meticulously.
As she was blaming herself, Emperor Jing You's voice sounded faintly, "Can any of you explain to me what is going on with Consort Ye?"
Lu Qing Wan looked up sharply, "Didn't the Prince tell you?"
Emperor Jing You looked at her with emotionless eyes. Lu Qing Wan saw clearly the three large characters: "What do you think?"
She inexplicably felt the emperor's domineering aura and her small body trembled, "Li Jin, you explain to His Majesty."
No matter what, this matter could no longer bypass Consort Ye. Sooner or later, Emperor Jing You would have to know. She could only hope that Feng Xi Wu's poisoning this time was unrelated to Consort Ye.
Otherwise, how disheartened would this person be!
...
With Lu Qing Wan's permission, Li Jin recounted everything they had investigated about Consort Ye to Emperor Jing You with familiarity.
He neither exaggerated nor deliberately fanned the flames, but even so, Emperor Jing You's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"When did you all find out?"
The question was vague, and no one knew what specific matter he was asking about.
Li Jin carefully considered his words, his speech as cautious as Feng Xi Wu's when he was enraged.
"On Your Majesty's birthday, the young prince was ambushed and his acupoint was struck. The Consort, in order to save the young prince, lost her decorum before the court. The Prince ordered my subordinate to investigate, and this investigation led to Xu Zhi Huan.
At that time, the Prince was traveling to the southern lands to seek medicine, and he specifically investigated further, which unexpectedly revealed the truth behind Consort Ye's entry into the palace."
The orphaned girl he kindly took in turned out to be bait presented to him by others, and now, this bait had grown claws and was biting him back.
Emperor Jing You's mood was more than just uncomfortable.
"And, are the Qing Jiang Symbiotic Gu and the Ice Silkworm Poison in Xi Wu's body confirmed to be her doing?"
Li Jin bowed, "When the Prince was injured by Xiao Jing An, his knees were unbearable. Consort Ye found a physician for him. My subordinate cannot definitively say that Consort Ye administered the Gu poison to the Prince.
However, my subordinates have investigated and found that Consort Ye's ancestors hailed from the royal family of Nanzhao, and raising Gu was their ancestral profession. The Prince has suffered from Gu poison for many years, how could she not know?
Moreover, on the second day of the Prince's wedding, when the Consort went to Kunning Palace to serve tea, a contraceptive drug was found in the tea and fabric prepared for the Consort.
Yet the Prince has always treated Consort Ye as his own mother since childhood, and has done nothing to wrong her!"
Although Li Jin was stating facts, his words were not without sympathy for Feng Xi Wu.
Emperor Jing You fell silent for a long while after hearing this. Finally, he could no longer bear it and forcefully smashed the teacup on the ground.