strictlysupreme Chapter 249 Who poisoned me?
Chapter 249 Who poisoned me?
The next morning.
Xu Liuer got up early and personally cooked a bowl of fresh bamboo shoot and chicken soup.
The soup is clear and bright, with a faint aroma of bamboo shoots, and the chicken is cooked until tender and flavorful.
She carefully ladled out the soup, put it into a food box, and then went to Qinglan Courtyard.
But the wooden door remains tightly closed today.
The maid standing guard at the door said respectfully, "Second Young Madam, the Young Madam is still resting."
Xu Liuer paused, then asked softly, "How is my sister-in-law? Is she any better than yesterday?"
"Reporting to Second Young Madam, the young mistress's condition has improved considerably. She ate quite a bit at dinner last night. She's been taking her medication lately and is sleeping more than usual; she's still sleeping now, as you can see..."
Xu Liuer breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
As long as I know my sister-in-law is alright, that's all that matters.
Whether we can meet or not is not that important.
She smiled and nodded: "Since my sister-in-law is asleep, I won't go in and disturb her. Please give this soup to her so she can drink it when she wakes up."
The maid took the tray, and Xu Liuer gave her a few more instructions. Seeing that the maid agreed, she turned and left.
The palace, the warm chamber.
A cold wind swept across the blue brick corridor outside the hall, and the doors of the warm pavilion were wide open.
The concubines of the harem stood neatly in the hall, each with a different expression, but none of them dared to speak.
The atmosphere was extremely depressing.
"Have you found out yet?" Gao Xian sat on the dragon throne, his voice low and cold.
Gao Xian suspected that someone in the harem had poisoned Mo Qingkui, so he summoned all the concubines in the palace to find out the truth.
Eunuch Li bowed his head and cautiously reported back.
"Your Majesty, we've found it. Poison was discovered on Consort Chen's kingfisher feather hairpin and wooden comb..."
"The imperial physician said that this poison is a slow-acting poison that will make people weak and powerless, and their bodies will become increasingly empty..."
He presented a wooden tray with a kingfisher feather hairpin and a wooden comb on it.
"What a vicious method!" Gao Xian's face turned cold.
Knowing that it's easiest to detect tampering with food, they tamper with everyday clothing!
If Mo Qingkui hadn't suddenly fainted, who knows when such despicable methods would have been discovered!
His gaze swept across the faces of the concubines below like knives.
Seeing that they all looked natural, the coldness in their eyes intensified.
These women are all wicked! They all want to harm Qingkui!
He's determined to get to the bottom of this today!
"Summon the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department to me!" Gao Xian roared.
A short while later, a slightly overweight old eunuch was brought into the hall.
Qin Le'an was a little scared when she saw him, but then she thought that she hadn't done it.
She was merely aware of the situation; it's not her fault at all.
Thinking about it this way, I immediately felt much more at ease, and my anxiety subsided.
Eunuch Zhao knelt on the ground tremblingly, his forehead almost touching the floor tiles, his voice shaking: "This servant greets Your Majesty..."
"Were these hairpins and combs sent to Consort Chen's palace by the Imperial Household Department?" Gao Xian asked directly.
Cold sweat poured down Zhao's forehead. "Your Majesty, these things were indeed allocated from the Imperial Household Department. But I dare to swear on my life that when they left the Imperial Household Department, they were all completely innocent, without the slightest discrepancy..."
"Innocence?" Gao Xian's gaze was like a knife, his voice uttering each word clearly, "Then why is there poison on this! How dare you deceive the emperor?!"
He suddenly raised his hand and threw the gold hairpin and wooden comb hard in front of Eunuch Zhao.
Gao Xian slammed his hand on the table, the sound like thunder, sending chills down one's spine.
"I will ask you one more time. If you still don't tell the truth, I will order your tongue to be pulled out, and you will never be able to speak again for the rest of your life!"
"You're done with your position as the head of the Imperial Household Department. Get out of there and go to the dungeon. There are 170 extreme tortures there. I want you to suffer one every day! After you've suffered all the extreme tortures, I'll send you down to see Yama, the King of Hell!"
The thought that Qingkui was almost killed by these people made him want to kill them all!
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhao trembled all over, collapsed to his knees, his forehead pressed against the floor tiles, cold sweat dripping down his face.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he spoke tremblingly: "Your Majesty, these gold hairpins and wooden combs... were indeed seen by a master."
Gao Xian glanced at him coldly, his tone even icy: "Who?"
Qin Le'an, who was standing to the side, subconsciously turned his head upon hearing this and looked at the Consort Xian beside him.
However, at that moment, Eunuch Zhao's voice reached her ears with unparalleled clarity.
"Yes, it was Consort Qin! She went to the Imperial Household Department to look at this set of jewelry!"
what? !
Qin Le'an's face turned deathly pale instantly; he could hardly believe his ears.
"What nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever seen this set of jewelry!"
Qin Le'an blurted out, his eyes filled with terror, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, please investigate! I have never seen these things, much less tampered with them! Eunuch Zhao's words are pure slander! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
Her mind was in turmoil, and she kowtowed repeatedly, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.
How could things have suddenly turned out like this!
Why did Eunuch Zhao suddenly start falsely accusing her? She had never offended him!
Consort Xian turned her gaze and casually glanced at Qin Le'an, who was kneeling on the ground.
Seeing her fearful and terrified expression, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
Gao Xian's gaze also fell on Qin Le'an, and his brows furrowed.
He didn't actually believe that Qin Le'an had poisoned him.
She's Qin Jiuwei's older sister; she shouldn't be that vicious...
The hall fell silent for a moment, with only Qin Le'an's constant kowtowing and pleading.
Gao Xian sat on the dragon throne, without saying a word.
The other concubines dared not utter a word.
"Your Majesty..." A timid voice broke the brief silence.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qin Le'an's personal maid, Donglian, suddenly come out.
"Donglian?" Qin Le'an looked up in a daze. "What are you going to do?"
Donglian knelt down with a thud, looked up at Gao Xian, her voice trembling but filled with determination.
"Your Majesty, this servant... this servant no longer wishes to conceal the truth! The poison on the hairpin was inflicted by Consort Qin!"
Donglian paused, as if gritting her teeth and mustering her courage, and raised the porcelain bottle in her hand.
"This contains poison. I was ordered by Consort Qin to put this poison into the kingfisher hairpin and wooden comb that were intended for Consort Chen."
"This poison has been kept by me ever since. Ever since I administered the poison, I have been filled with anxiety. Now, I can no longer bear the torment of my conscience, which is why I have come to report this!"
"Your Majesty, please see the truth!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the hall fell silent, as if the air had frozen.
Until it was torn apart by Qin Le'an's shrill voice.
"Ah! Donglian, what nonsense are you talking about!"
She turned her head abruptly, staring intently at her, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Donglian lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with her.
He was simply holding a porcelain bottle in his hand, looking righteous and indignant.
"Donglian, are you crazy?!"
Her voice was shrill, filled with barely suppressed anger, "I've never seen this poison before! Why are you framing me like this?!"
Donglian kept her head down, but her voice revealed a hint of determination: "This servant dares not speak nonsense, Your Majesty. This poison was indeed given to this servant by Consort Qin. This servant is just telling the truth."
"You're talking nonsense!" Qin Le'an lunged at Donglian. "Your Majesty, this is clearly fabricated by her. She was instructed by someone to harm me!"