RPAGF Chapter 544 Who is the praying mantis, and who is the cicada?
Chapter 544 Who is the praying mantis, and who is the cicada?
"Consort Hui calculated that if I ate it, both she and her unborn child would die, and there would be no way to prove it. She also calculated that if I didn't eat it, and someone discovered something, it would definitely become public knowledge."
"At that time, she only needs to find a scapegoat and stage a scene where she is framed, and she can easily get away with it."
Chu Ruohan looked at her and sighed inwardly.
This empress is no longer the naive, inexperienced herb-gathering girl who first entered the palace.
This deep palace is indeed the place that tests people the most.
"What does Your Majesty mean?"
Su Wan's gaze returned to the plate of pastries, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes.
“She wanted to see a play, so I sang one for her. But I had to decide which play to perform.”
She suddenly raised her voice and called out to the outside of the hall, "Someone come here."
The palace maid guarding the door immediately pushed it open and entered: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Su Wan picked up a piece of flower cake, held it to her nose and sniffed it gently, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
"These pastries smell sweet, so they must taste good. I'm a little tired and would like to rest for a while. Take these pastries away and keep a close eye on them so that no one else can steal them."
The palace maid was taken aback, but still respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Highness."
After the palace maids took the trays and left, Chu Ruohan asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what is this?"
Su Wan winked at her, gesturing for her to come closer.
A moment later, a cry of alarm suddenly rang out from Kunning Palace, followed by a palace maid's shrill scream: "It's terrible! Her Majesty the Empress has fainted!"
The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire harem.
The emperor was reviewing memorials in his study when he heard about this. His pen paused, and the ink splattered across the memorial instantly.
He stood up abruptly, his face ashen: "Summon the imperial physician! Go to Kunning Palace immediately!"
When the emperor arrived at Kunning Palace with the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, the inner chambers were already in chaos.
Su Wan lay on the bed, her face pale and her eyes closed.
Chu Ruohan was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, her eyes full of anxiety.
"What's going on!" The emperor strode in, his voice filled with suppressed rage.
Chu Ruohan quickly stood up and bowed, her voice choked with emotion: "Your Majesty, I was talking with Her Majesty when she said she was feeling a little tired. But she had only been lying down for a short while when she suddenly experienced unbearable abdominal pain and then fainted."
The head of the Imperial Medical Academy dared not delay and immediately stepped forward to take the patient's pulse.
He knelt by the bed, placing three fingers on Su Wan's fair wrist, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
The emperor stood with his hands behind his back, emanating a terrifyingly low pressure. All the palace servants in the entire bedchamber knelt on the ground, trembling.
After a long while, the head of the academy withdrew his hand, knelt down before the emperor with sweat pouring down his face, and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress... Her Majesty has been poisoned!"
"Poisoned?" The emperor's eyes narrowed instantly, flashing with a dangerous light. "What kind of poison?"
"It's...it's cinnabar."
The head of the academy replied tremblingly, "Fortunately, the dosage was small and the poisoning was detected in time. Your Majesty, I will now prescribe a remedy."
"However... however, the dragon fetus in her womb may be damaged, and it is still unknown whether it can be saved."
"Useless!" The emperor kicked the head physician in the chest, and the old physician immediately rolled to the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
The emperor's gaze swept over everyone in the hall like a sharp sword, finally landing on Chu Ruohan.
"Whom did the Empress see today? What did she use?"
Chu Ruohan immediately knelt down, took out a piece of pastry crumb wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve, and presented it to him.
"Your Majesty, Her Majesty did not consume anything before she fainted. Just now, Consort Hui sent someone to bring a plate of flower cakes, but Her Majesty said she was tired and had the maid take it away."
"I had my doubts, so I secretly kept a piece."
The chief eunuch beside the emperor immediately stepped forward to take it and present it to the head of the academy.
The head of the academy glanced at it, then tested it with a silver needle, the tip of which instantly turned black.
His face changed drastically, and he kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the poison is indeed this pastry!"
"Consort Hui!" The Emperor laughed in fury, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Prepare the carriage! I want to go and ask her myself what she's up to!"
In Consort Hui's palace.
She was sitting leisurely by the window, letting the palace maid comb her long hair.
Upon hearing the news that Kunning Palace was in chaos and that the Emperor and the imperial physicians had rushed there, a smug sneer curled at the corner of her lips.
What a fool! He took the bait so easily.
Just then, a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the hall, and the chief eunuch's shrill voice shattered the palace's tranquility: "His Majesty has arrived!"
Consort Hui felt a chill run down her spine, but she showed no sign of it on her face.
She calmly rose and went out to greet him. Just as she was about to bow, she saw the emperor, filled with anger, stride in.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Consort Hui curtsied gently. "What brings Your Majesty here today?"
The emperor completely ignored her, staring intently at her with his sharp eyes, as if trying to see right through her.
"I ask you, did you send pastries to the Empress today?"
Consort Hui was taken aback, then nodded, looking completely innocent.
"Yes. My humble servants made some flower cakes in the small kitchen of my palace. I thought they tasted good, and since Your Majesty the Empress is pregnant, I thought she might like them, so I had some sent over."
"What's wrong? Did the pastries not suit Your Highness's taste?"
As she spoke, she picked up an identical flower cake from the table, took a small bite, and savored it: "The taste is alright. Could it have been cold when it was delivered?"
Seeing her composed demeanor, the emperor's anger burned even brighter.
"Do you know that the Queen was poisoned after eating your pastries!"
"What?" Consort Hui seemed to have heard some terrible news, and the pastries in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Her face turned deathly pale instantly, her body swayed precariously, and she stared at the emperor in disbelief.
"Your Majesty, this...how is this possible? Your concubine...your concubine ate as well!"
She pointed to herself, her eyes quickly filling with tears, full of grievance.
"I also used these pastries, how could this be... Someone must be trying to harm me and frame me!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the eunuch who had delivered the pastries to Kunning Palace was brought in by the guards. Upon seeing the emperor, he was terrified and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"
When Consort Hui saw him, she grasped at a straw and demanded sharply, "Speak! Was it you? Did you poison the pastries to try and sow discord between me and Her Majesty the Empress?"
The little eunuch trembled and cried out, "Your Majesty, spare me! This servant...this servant didn't mean it!"
"Yes...someone gave me a packet of powder and told me to add it to the pastries for Her Majesty the Empress. They said that if it worked, they would give me a large sum of money and send me home from the palace!"
"Who ordered you to do this!" The emperor's voice was as cold as ice.
The young eunuch trembled, but dared not reveal the mastermind behind it all; he just kept kowtowing.
"This servant deserves to die! This servant was momentarily bewitched! I beg Your Majesty to spare this servant's family!"
Consort Hui watched this scene with a cold smile in her heart, but on the surface she looked heartbroken.
She staggered, grabbed the table beside her, and looked at the emperor with tears streaming down her face.
"Your Majesty, you must believe me. I have just lost my child and know the pain all too well. How could I possibly harm the unborn child in the Empress's womb?"
"Someone must be jealous of the harmony between me and Her Majesty the Empress, and that's why they devised such a vicious scheme!"