It was almost midnight when Chen Qing returned.
"I have seen Lord Wei. He seems to be... waiting for us to come."
Hua Zhi nodded, "Did you say anything?"
"Yes, he said that although it was the Fourth Prince who asked him to send someone to assassinate you, it was actually Concubine Yue who wanted you dead. In addition, when he was still using it, he saw the Fourth Prince bring a bag of musk before entering the palace. He recognized it because of its special scent. At that time, he thought that the Fourth Prince was preparing to give it to Concubine Yue. Later, after the assassination of you happened, he realized that the two were not hostile. He had doubts in his heart for a long time. If it was not to deal with the fetus in Concubine Yue's belly, why did he bring musk into the palace? If it was for a legitimate purpose, the palace would not be short of this medicine."
Musk? Hua Zhi had a big reaction to this medicine. In the TV series, this was a magical medicine. Anything related to it must be related to harming people. Musk had to be brought in from outside the palace. She didn't think this would be a good thing.
"Anything else?"
Chen Qing shook his head.
"Okay, there's still some time. Go take a break. It won't be easy tomorrow."
"You too."
Even the darkest night will pass. Hua Zhi kept her eyes open until dawn, her eyes bloodshot. Yingchun wrung out a hot towel and applied it to her eyes while nagging, "Don't stay like this, your body won't be able to bear it. You've been taking medicine for a long time, what will happen if you continue like this?"
"You think I don't want to sleep? I can't sleep." Hua Zhi sighed. There were too many things in her mind and she couldn't stop for a moment. She couldn't control it.
Yingchun murmured softly, "I really hope the prince can come back soon."
"It's better to come back slowly." Hua Zhi took off the handkerchief and blinked her eyes, seeming to feel better. "Is the old man awake?"
"Yes, when I came here, Divine Doctor Yu was just changing the medicine."
Hua Zhi nodded, lowered her head and straightened her clothes, "Ask Chen Qing to come in."
Chen Qing was waiting outside the door. When he heard the call, he pushed the door open and came in. He greeted her without raising his eyebrows, "Hello, young lady."
Hua Zhi looked at him with a calm expression, "Go ahead and stir up the storm."
Chen Qing bowed deeply, "I obey your orders."
After walking out the door, Hua Zhi stepped down the stairs and looked up at the sky. The sky was gloomy and the air was very humid, so she was afraid that it would rain again.
"Big girl."
Hua Zhi turned around when she heard the voice. Doctor Yu came out of the room carrying a medicine box. She stepped forward and bowed, "Is the old man feeling better?"
"Not so fast." Doctor Yu looked at her, "It doesn't look good, young lady."
Hua Zhi also knew that she probably didn't look very good right now, so she walked up the stairs and changed the subject, "I just wanted to ask Divine Doctor Yu, what evil can the herb musk be used for?"
Doctor Yu handed the medicine box to the boy, walked over with his hands behind his back, and looked out from the railing with her, "All medicines are good, it all depends on the intention of the person using them."
"I made a mistake."
Doctor Yu smiled, "Perhaps the most memorable thing about it is that it can cause miscarriage in pregnant women. Musk does have this effect. However, if it is used for difficult labor, stillbirth, or retained placenta, musk can also activate blood circulation, promote menstruation, and induce labor. It is also very effective in refreshing the mind, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. Moreover, this thing is precious and can only be used by the rich and powerful. However, there is no shortage of it in the palace."
"Since there is no shortage of them in the palace, why did the Fourth Prince want to bring them in from outside the palace?"
Doctor Yu's expression remained unchanged, as if he had just heard an ordinary conversation. "All the musk in the palace is recorded. It is clear how much was used, where it was used and on whom. If they want to use it for something that is not good for others to know, then they can't touch anything in the palace."
"Besides inducing a miscarriage, how else can you commit evil?"
Doctor Yu turned around and looked at her. "If the amount is controlled well, it can overdraw the body and cause a great mental shock. It is possible to cause poisoning or unconsciousness."
Mental shock, poisoning, unconsciousness... Hua Zhi thought of countless possibilities.
"There is another point that few people may know, musk and garlic are incompatible, and eating them together for more than three months will cause internal organ failure and death."
Counteract each other!
Hua Zhi's mind buzzed, and the points that had been puzzling her finally became clear. The emperor must be awake. Haoyue would not poison the emperor even to leave himself a way out. It would be too easy to find out the problem. But what if the foods were incompatible
Hua Zhi bowed solemnly, "Thank you for your advice, I have a direction in mind, and I would also like to ask you, can you diagnose the symptoms of consuming musk and garlic?"
"nature."
"I understand. I'll have to trouble you again when the time comes." Hua Zhi bowed again and went back to the room, spread out paper and picked up a pen to sort out everything.
At this time, the capital city was like water in a frying pan.
Someone reported to the authorities early in the morning, saying that a large amount of weapons and food was found in a family's home, and that they even had the emperor's crown and robes. As for why he saw it, he was a bachelor and directly admitted that he was a burglar. He originally wanted to steal something, but he didn't expect to find such a big thing. Although he was not a good person, he hoped that Daqing could remain stable for hundreds of years, so he reported to the authorities at dawn.
Daqing had been established for nearly two hundred years, and this was the first incident that was related to rebellion. The people discussed it openly and secretly and passed on information to each other, all trying to guess who was behind the scenes. Even the people were like this, not to mention the ministers.
The prefect Wen Qing should have personally led people to rush over. When he really saw the crown and robes, his eyes widened. This is really, really bold! This is the imperial city!
Thinking of the current situation in the palace, he felt even more chilled and quickly sent someone to deliver a letter to General Zhou Jing who was in charge of the Central Camp. When Zhou Jing arrived and saw these things, he gasped. The two looked at each other and realized that the wind was about to blow.
"I'll leave this to General Zhou. I'll go to the palace now."
"But now the Emperor..."
Wen Qing waved away the others in the room, walked closer and said, "No matter what the situation is in the palace, this matter must be reported to the higher-ups. I will also inform the six ministries and the dukes' offices of various countries."
Zhou Jing nodded, "That's right, I'll guard this place, just go ahead."
Wen Qing looked at the dazzling imperial crown again and couldn't help thinking, if only the prince were here, it would be great. If the prince were here, they wouldn't be so unable to move.
As expected, there was no reaction in the palace. All officials gathered again. Duke Ding, as the most powerful duke, had the unshirkable responsibility to become the leader.
"If you have any ideas, just tell me."
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and no one spoke. Although no one said it explicitly, they all guessed in their hearts that the emperor might have met with an accident. Counting the days, the emperor had not shown up for nearly ten days, and now the imperial power was coveted by others, but he had not said a word. This situation was not right no matter how you looked at it, but no matter how wrong it was, they could not step forward; they were not qualified.
Almost at the same time, everyone looked at the princes standing in the most conspicuous places. Today's matter was of great importance, and four princes were present, including the fifth prince who seldom appeared in public.