Chapter 316

All the guests at the event were thrown into chaos upon learning that Noble Consort Wei had been poisoned. Even the Empress felt something was amiss. She looked at her court lady, who shook her head, indicating that their faction was not responsible, despite their desire for the other party’s downfall. Today’s plan did not involve Noble Consort Wei.

Additionally, the affair between the Crown Prince and the Emperor’s concubine was still being discussed. The concubine had undoubtedly been assaulted but had chosen to end her life by biting her tongue rather than explaining further, dying to escape the shame. The Crown Prince was arrested by the Emperor and awaited a careful review before sentencing, considering his position as the next in line to the throne.

There were so many issues arising today that even the ruler of Bai Region felt a growing headache!

"Upon examination, it was found that the poison in Guifei’s body is one that induces miscarriage. It has no effect on others but is extremely dangerous for pregnant women," the royal physician reported. The head of the Wei family immediately interjected angrily.

"This clearly shows that someone intended to harm Noble Consort Wei." He hastily added, urging the Emperor to find and punish the culprit.

"And what of the other investigations?" The Emperor’s face was dark with concern. He asked seriously. This matter concerned his bloodline—was this not an affront to him?

"Uh, well... we questioned Noble Consort Wei’s court lady and found that..."

"Found what?" The Emperor’s displeasure grew at the physician’s hesitation.

"We found that... the same poison was present in today’s banquet food." After saying that, the person banged his head in fear of death.

This revelation was bound to cause a significant uproar, as the preparation and presentation of the food were the Empress’s responsibilities. It was no wonder the speaker was reluctant to report it, as it implicated the Empress directly!

"What do you mean by suddenly bringing up the food?" The Empress felt extremely unsafe. She gripped the fan in her hand tightly. She hadn’t tampered with the banquet food herself because even if Yueqian were punished with death, the Empress would still be responsible for organizing the event. If anything slipped through, it would imply her lack of oversight.

Instead, the Empress chose to deal with Yueqian and the Second Prince in a way that would avoid any mishaps at the event.

But who would have thought that the plan, which made Yueqian wary of the ingredients, would end up being used against her?

"Inspect all the ingredients used in the food! We must catch the culprit today!" The Emperor roared. Someone dared to tamper with the food they consumed? This showed they had no fear of death!

The burly man glanced at Furen Mu, who shook her head in exasperation. Looking back, he had laughed at her for being overly cautious, but in the end, something had indeed happened!

Rewind to a few days earlier.

Furen Mu had come to the palace herself to deliver "ingredients" to him. She knew he enjoyed her cooking so much that he often sent people to the port to get it. She claimed that such precious ingredients would be given to him privately in exchange for his help as a witness this time.

This cunning woman dared to bargain with him. She explained that the Empress wanted to use her ingredients, so she feared someone might use this opportunity to harm her. Thus, she asked him to inspect all the ingredients and test for poisons using the royal physician. After that, she cooked food for them as hush money—oops, as a token of gratitude for their assistance.

Before the day of the event, before the Empress received the ingredients from her, these special ingredients were kept in his palace and were a well-kept secret.

On the day they were delivered, he ensured his people delivered them to the Empress’s kitchen. From beginning to end, all the ingredients Yueqian brought were under his watchful eye. He had confidently stated that no one would dare use poison again after what had happened at the Second Prince’s manor, knowing how knowledgeable Furen Mu was about poisons.

He said he would be her witness, believing nothing would happen and enjoying delicious food every day in return.

At that time, he never imagined such an incident would occur. The situation escalated significantly, and the secret agreement he had with her was at risk if...

"We found it, Your Majesty. The poison... the poison is in this strange ingredient!" And then, the thing he least wanted to believe had happened.

While the fetus in Noble Consort’s womb was in danger, who would have thought that the Emperor of the Bai Region would laugh in disbelief.

"Good, good, very good!!"

The Emperor’s voice echoed loudly. Many people were terrified because they didn’t understand what the Emperor was laughing about or what had happened to him.

"Well then, Empress, tell us how you acquired these ingredients," the Emperor still did not reveal the truth to everyone. He stopped laughing and looked at the Empress beside the throne. Her expression was just as shocked, and even when he asked, she didn’t want to speak.

What did this mean? It meant that the Empress, who dared to use the ingredients to threaten Furen Mu, ended up being a victim herself... This is why there is a saying that, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

"These ingredients are mine," Yueqian confidently stated. She knew this was something the Emperor would have to take responsibility for.Did he really think she would let him enjoy such delicious food without any cost?! That was too simplistic! From the start, she made her intentions clear. Was there any part that wasn’t obvious? She even told the Emperor that someone would certainly tamper with her ingredients, but he dismissed it, saying the Empress, who was beside the throne, wouldn’t be foolish enough to openly declare her desire for the ingredients and use this opportunity to frame her. It seemed too intentional.

But when did Yueqian say he was wrong, and when did she ever claim that the Empress would be the one to act?

"What do you mean, Furen Mu! Are you admitting these ingredients are yours? Does that mean you dared to harm Noble Consort Wei?"

"What does this mean? Isn’t she on the same side as the Second Prince? Then why target the Second Prince too?"

"I think I understand this! Perhaps it was the Second Prince who thought of this plan."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn’t it obvious? If Noble Consort Wei is truly pregnant, then wouldn’t his rival increase? If she gives birth to a prince! With the power of the Wei family, they would be a formidable opponent."

"Does this mean the Second Prince’s faction conspired together?"

"Truly despicable."

Many who had remained neutral felt disgusted by such scheming. They couldn’t believe that even allies would turn on each other. Consequently, sympathy for the unborn child of Noble Consort Wei grew, even though they didn’t know the truth yet. Of course, this easily swayed people to take sides.

Unless the person they were targeting was Yueqian...

"My apologies for disappointing everyone. Even though these are my ingredients, I can prove my innocence," Yueqian confidently stated.

"Prove it? Even if you have evidence of all the ingredients, you cannot escape this blame."

"Yes, you know about poisons, don’t you? Poisoning someone wouldn’t be difficult for you."

"I thought Furen Mu excelled in medicine to help people, not to use it in such circumstances." Yueqian saw that they were still opposing her. The beautiful woman smiled slightly.

"First of all, I didn’t know Noble Consort Wei was pregnant. Who here knew she was pregnant? Do you think I would know better than the Emperor? Even His Majesty... Noble Consort Wei kept it a secret from him. How could I, who has never met her in person, know?" Yueqian smiled as she said this.

The royal physicians exchanged glances. What she said was true. Even they had not been summoned to examine her, meaning Noble Consort Wei indeed intended to keep it a secret.

"Only the personal court lady would know, right? Ah, no... the other person who would know must be... Master Wei, did you know beforehand that Noble Consort Wei was pregnant?"

Yueqian stepped in front of him, her expression serious and calm. She believed the Empress hadn’t acted, and no one stood to gain more from this than Noble Consort Wei herself.

"Y-You! Even if I knew, you wouldn’t think I’d harm the prince, would you?"

"Hmm? The prince, you say? It seems you have high hopes indeed," Yueqian smirked. The others also paused, now doubting the words of the head of the Wei family.

This made the middle-aged man’s face darken immediately. He wanted to speak further, but Yueqian raised her hand to stop him, disregarding etiquette entirely!

"Moreover, as you know, if I truly intended to act, would I leave evidence by using my own ingredients? Not only that... if I were to act, I wouldn’t let the child survive. But it seems the person who acted this time held back, using a dosage that wouldn’t harm the child in the womb, right? If you doubt it, let the royal physicians examine it."

"Just by smelling it, one can tell that this poison doesn’t use “White Tiger” but “Green Tiger,” which is less potent. If one truly intended to concoct this poison, they’d use the highly dangerous and cheaper White Tiger. Yet, the person who made this poison foolishly used the more expensive and difficult-to-make “Green Tiger,” which doesn’t cause miscarriages..."

Yueqian detailed each point methodically. Separating the components of “White Tiger” and “Green Tiger” might be difficult for some, but it wasn’t a challenge for her.

The royal physician seemed to realize this point as well. He looked at Furen Mu and asked for guidance.

"If what you say is true, then do you have a method to verify it? Please guide us." Upon hearing the royal physician said this, the leader of the Wei family’s eyes shifted immediately.Others might not know, but they knew well what they had done! To ensure no real harm came to the pregnancy, they had altered some components. While they weren’t sure exactly what changes were made, it seemed to align with what Furen Mu had said. If she were allowed to investigate and the results came out, wouldn’t they be in serious trouble?!