Chapter 12
“Head Physician Liu, Head Physician Liu! Her Majesty suddenly has a stomachache, and we don’t know why!” Chunwan gasped, her forehead slick with cold sweat.
Head Physician Liu lived in the palace in case something unexpected happened to the Empress. And now it had!
As a palace veteran, he had seen plenty and wasn’t especially flustered. He threw on his robe and followed her out, asking as they went, “What did Her Majesty eat today? What happened? Tell me everything in detail.”
“Her Majesty hasn’t eaten much today, just the dishes specially prepared by the Imperial Kitchen. After getting up, she met with the consorts, then took a turn in the imperial garden, and finally went to have a cup of tea with the Empress Dowager before returning. Nothing else happened...”
...
“Ah—it hurts!”
Her screams rang throughout Fengning Palace. All the maids and guards knelt on the ground, their faces ashen, certain they were about to die.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Head Physician Liu is here, and the Empress Dowager is on her way. You’ll be all right.”
Chunwan knelt beside the bed, carefully wiping away her sweat.
Sheng Yanhuan curled up on the bed, her hair disheveled and her face deathly pale. Thin streams of blood welled from the corner of her mouth.
“Your Majesty, please don’t move.” Head Physician Liu immediately lowered his head and took her pulse.
“Empress! Empress! How is she? Why did her stomach suddenly start hurting?” The Empress Dowager had turned pale with fright when she received the news and hurried over without delay.
“Ugh... It hurts.” Sheng Yanhuan curled up, twisting from side to side.
“Head Physician Liu! Say something! You’re making me frantic!”
“Your Majesty, please stay calm. The Empress has been poisoned, but fortunately it was discovered early, and the poison hasn’t taken hold deeply. There’s no serious danger.”
The Empress Dowager’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed. Luckily, a maid beside her caught her.
“My imperial grandchild...”
Head Physician Liu replied, “Your Majesty, the child is unharmed.”
The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief, then flew into a towering rage.
“Guards! Investigate! Search everyone in the Imperial Kitchen and Fengning Palace—all the maids and guards, every single one!”
“Head Physician Liu, name whatever medicinal herbs you need. You must do everything possible to save my imperial grandchild!”
“Yes!”
＊＊＊
“Your Highness, something has happened.”
“What is it?” Qi Mohan glanced up at her, his brush still moving.
An Shi watched him cautiously and said in a trembling voice, “Her Majesty... has been poisoned.”
Qi Mohan’s hand trembled slightly. A black streak ran from top to bottom, ruining the entire memorial.
He slowly set down his brush and closed the memorial.
“What poison?”
An Shi lowered her head, cold sweat pouring down her face.
The Prince had only just assigned her to watch the Empress, and now something like this had happened...
“An Shi came as soon as she heard the news, but she hasn’t found out what poison it was.”
Qi Mohan rose. “Go receive twenty strokes.”
“This subordinate obeys.” An Shi felt a little relieved. Twenty strokes—thank goodness, it could have been worse.
“If this happens again...”
A shadow loomed over her. An Shi didn’t dare lift her head, pressing her forehead firmly to the ground.
“This subordinate will never make the same mistake again.”
“Leave.”
＊＊
“Empress, Empress, are you feeling better? Head Physician Liu!” The Empress Dowager was beside the bed, frantic with worry.
Two hours had passed, so why hadn’t she woken up? Would her imperial grandchild be all right?
Sheng Yanhuan’s mouth tasted bitter, and her vision blurred. Her lower abdomen throbbed faintly.
The fake poison the system made is pretty convincing.
[Host, wasn’t that to help you act a little more convincingly?]
Head Physician Liu smiled reassuringly at the Empress Dowager. “The Empress’s pregnancy is stable, and the poison has been neutralized. She’ll be fine after a few days of proper rest.”
The Empress Dowager relaxed, suddenly feeling weak all over and a little dizzy.
After all, she was getting on in years and couldn’t take a shock like that.
“Help me sit down.”
The Empress Dowager took several gulps of clear tea before slowly recovering.
“Head Physician Liu, stay at Fengning Palace for the next two days. That way, you’ll know immediately if anything happens to the Empress.”
“Yes.”
The Empress Dowager was seething, and naturally, she wasn’t going to let anyone else off the hook.
Once all the maids and eunuchs in Fengning Palace had been investigated, they were all put to death. So what if some of them had been from Ci’an Palace? They were only servants. Their deaths meant nothing.
“Steward Zhao, the Empress was poisoned. As the steward of Fengning Palace, you cannot escape blame...” The Empress Dowager turned her accusations on Steward Zhao.
Steward Zhao knelt on both knees, her lips pale.
She had no idea why that wretched woman had suddenly been poisoned. Wait... that’s right! Chunwan was usually the one who tasted the food.
“Your Majesty, Chunwan is the one who usually tastes the food and checks for poison. Why was the Empress poisoned while Chunwan was left unharmed?!” Steward Zhao’s eyes lit up as she pointed straight at the little maid by the bed.
Chunwan’s eyes widened. She froze for a moment, then suddenly turned and kowtowed hard to the Empress Dowager.
“Thud—” A sharp, clear impact rang out.
When she raised her head, her forehead was already bright red.
“Your Majesty, this servant tasted every dish Her Majesty ate. This servant doesn’t know why...”
Steward Zhao understood the importance of the imperial heir. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have sent her to serve the Empress.
If the blame landed on her, she might escape execution, but she wouldn’t escape punishment.
She had to find a scapegoat!
Steward Zhao’s eyes reddened as she shouted, “You wretched girl, still trying to make excuses? You must have relied on Her Majesty’s favor and refused to taste the food, causing Her Majesty to be poisoned! If you had been poisoned, then Her Majesty would be perfectly fine now, wouldn’t she?”
Steward Zhao grew more and more agitated. “Your Majesty, she brought Her Majesty to this state! Please have her beaten to death!”