Huan Xuan Gu changed his clothes, put on a cloak over his pajamas, and went to the hall.
The person who came was a personal guard of Xiao Ling. He looked friendly and his ivory plate and credentials had been checked by Gao Mai.
The guard's face was dusty and haggard, with worry between his brows, which was obviously due to riding at a very fast speed without any rest.
Huan Xuan's heart sank: "What happened to General Xiao?"
The guard said, "Reporting to the King of Qi, General Xiao had a fever when she set out. However, because she had been suffering from a cold for a while, the accompanying doctor felt her pulse and found it to be a little floating and tight, and thought it was just a common cold. General Xiao didn't take it seriously, changed carriages, drank a dose of antipyretic and sweat-inducing soup, and set off. But when he arrived at Zhaoying Post the next day, his fever went up instead of down. General Xiao planned to rest in the post for a day before leaving. He recovered for half a day, but in the middle of the night, his condition took a turn for the worse. His high fever did not subside, and he began to feel drowsy. When the doctor felt his pulse again, he found that his pulse was different, as if..."
He paused, his face solemn, "Your Highness, please forgive me for being so bold. The doctor diagnosed that my pulse seemed to be poisoned. We dared not make any unauthorized decisions. Fortunately, the general woke up at dawn and learned that he might have been poisoned. He sent his subordinates to Chang'an overnight to report to Your Highness."
Huan Xuan's face was gloomy. The accompanying doctor was of course a man whose medical skills and qualities were trustworthy. If he was not certain about the answer, Sui Sui would never have asked him to tell him.
The guard continued, "The general said that this matter is of great importance and that any proper handling of it would be detrimental to the court. The only person she trusts in Chang'an is His Highness."
Huan Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and there seemed to be pain in his eyes: "I know."
He paused and asked, "Does General Xiao have any doubts?"
The guard hesitated for a moment and said, "General Xiao doesn't know who in the court has reason to accuse her of poisoning, but she said that judging from the symptoms of the poison, the poison used this time is very likely the same as the one used to poison the late crown prince. If Your Highness wants to investigate, you can start with the source of the poison. She was only conscious for a moment, and after saying these few words, she fell asleep again."
Huan Xuan's heart suddenly tightened. With her intelligence, she might not suspect that the culprit was the queen. Perhaps she just cared about their mother-son relationship and was afraid of making a wrong suspicion, so she didn't say it explicitly.
Now he finally understood what the Queen meant when she said, "Will you come to see me again?"
Huan Xuan wished he could grow wings and fly to Sui Sui immediately, but he knew he was helpless.
It had only been a few days since his elder brother was poisoned and the journey from Chang'an to Zhaoying took at least two days. It would be of no use to him to rush to see her now.
The only option now is to go into the palace to find the queen.
He just wanted to know where the queen had put the medicine.
All meals in the palace are prepared by the Imperial Food Bureau. Before the meals are served, there are specialists who taste them. If the food is poisonous, the people who taste the food will most likely show symptoms of poisoning, but those people are still fine.
He had a rough idea of how the Queen had obtained the poison. When Concubine Shu committed suicide by taking poison, the first person to rush to her palace was the Queen. It would have been easy for her to secretly hide some poison.
But she was not familiar with medical theory and drugs. If she wanted to poison skillfully, she would definitely need a helper who was well versed in pharmacology.
An idea immediately emerged in Huan Xuan's mind. Zhao Fengyu, the director of the Shang Pharmacy, had been checking the empress's pulse for many years and had gained her trust. Therefore, he was proficient in pharmacology. All the medicines copied from the secret room of Prince Chen's Mansion were sent to the Shang Pharmacy. If the empress really asked him for help, it would be difficult for her to obtain the poison even if she did not steal the medicine from Concubine Shu's palace.
Huan Xuan thought for a moment, asked the eunuch to take the guard to have a meal and rest, and called Liu Lang: "Take a team of horses and go to Zhaoying Post immediately to escort General Xiao."
He paused and said, "Tell the guard leader named Tian beside General Xiao that the poison may not be in his food. Ask the doctor to thoroughly check the objects that General Xiao touches on a daily basis, especially the things that come out of the palace, and the gifts from the emperor and the queen. If poison is found in them, seal them up carefully and send them to me by express horse."
Then she handed him her jade token and said, "I still have something to do. You go and guard her. If anyone from the Queen's palace comes, don't let them get close to General Xiao."
Liu Lang's face turned grim: "I obey your command."
Huan Xuan called Song Jiu again and said, "Take my token and go to Shang Pharmacy to find Zhao Fengyu. Tell him that I have an emergency and ask him to come to the palace to treat me immediately. Once you find him, take him under control immediately. Whether he is willing or not, bring him to the palace and put him under house arrest."
He was not sure whether Doctor Zhao was involved in this, but if he was, it was too late to go to him now.
Song Jiu went to do it immediately.
Huan Xuan made all the arrangements and immediately ordered someone to prepare a carriage. He changed his clothes in his room and went to the palace with his personal guards.
…
At this time, the queen was in the emperor's bedroom.
The emperor's condition suddenly became serious two days ago, and the cold turned into a continuous high fever.
The queen waited by the imperial bed for two days and two nights without taking off her clothes.
The emperor's condition showed no signs of improvement. Since yesterday, he had been sleeping for longer periods of time and awake for shorter periods of time.
At this moment, he had just woken up from a five or six hour coma. He felt as if his internal organs were on fire and his throat was dry and smoking.
He opened his eyes, and everything in front of him was blurry. He rubbed his eyes hard and vaguely saw a familiar figure sitting beside the bed.
The Queen said, "Your Majesty has awakened."
The emperor nodded slightly. The curtains in the hall were lowered, and a lamp was lit beside the couch to distinguish between day and night. He asked, "How long have I slept? What time is it now?"
The Queen glanced at the Lotus Clock and said, "It is past the hour of You. Your Majesty, are you hungry? I will order you to serve me some food."
The emperor shook his head: "I don't have much appetite."
He glanced around the hall and frowned slightly: "Where is Sun Fu?"
Sun Fu was his chief eunuch and was always by his side.
The queen's eyes flickered slightly in the light: "Eunuch Sun has contracted an epidemic and has left the palace to recuperate."
The emperor frowned even more tightly: "When?"
The Queen said, "It was the other day when your Majesty was in a coma and I took the initiative to make the decision."
The emperor felt more and more strange: "Where is Liu Qingsuo?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar voice came from behind the screen: "I am here, Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?" It was the voice of Liu Qingsuo, the deputy chief eunuch of the Greenhouse Palace.
The emperor felt relieved, but suddenly he felt that he was a little paranoid. He looked at the empress with a little regret and said, "You have worked hard these two days. I feel better now. I will ask you to serve me. You should go and have a rest too."
The Queen said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind."
She smiled slightly: "We are husband and wife, Your Majesty's time is running out, and I will see you less and less every day. How can I leave you?"
The emperor's face suddenly changed when he heard this: "What do you mean?"
The Queen said, "Your Majesty, do you understand my intention?"
The emperor cried out, "Come on!"
Eunuch Liu came out from behind the screen and bowed to the emperor, "Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?"
The emperor said: "Hurry up..."
Before he finished speaking, he looked at his face, then at the queen, and suddenly a look of fear flashed across his eyes, and then turned into anger: "You dog slave!"
Liu Qingsuo's face turned a little pale, but he still moved.
The Queen waved her hand and said, "Please leave. I want to have a few words with His Majesty."
Eunuch Liu retreated quickly as if he had been pardoned.
The emperor shouted twice, but naturally there was no response, and his voice echoed in the tall and spacious hall.
The Queen said, "Your Majesty, you are wasting your energy."
The emperor struggled to sit up, but as soon as he got up, he felt dizzy and fell back on the bed.
The queen hurriedly propped his head on the pillow and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Her movements were gentle and kind, just like a virtuous wife who cared deeply for her husband.
"Your Majesty, you'd better not move," said the Queen. "The more you move, the faster the poison will spread."
The emperor originally thought that she had bribed the eunuchs to put him under house arrest while he was seriously ill, but he didn't expect that she would poison him. He was shocked and speechless. After a long while, he said, "Why? We have been married for so many years, how have I ever been sorry for you?"
The queen seemed to have heard a great joke. She covered her mouth with her sleeves and laughed so hard that tears almost came out of her eyes. "Your Majesty, do you think I am living a good life?"
The emperor was furious and said, "I respect you and love you. Even if I have many children for you, there are only a few of them in the harem. Do you still want me to do this?"
The queen straightened her clothes and said leisurely, "Yes, Your Majesty treats me poorly."
The emperor said, "Although I promised you to be together forever when we got married, I didn't do it... At that time, I was planning to dismiss the concubines in the palace, but who would have thought that my brother would give up the throne? I never wanted to keep my promise, but as the son of heaven, it is my responsibility to have children and offspring, and you agreed to it at that time."
He paused and said, "I have tried my best to make up for you, until you gave birth to Sanlang and damaged your body, and then let the concubines give birth to illegitimate children. You treated Silang and Wulang like this, do you think I really know? But because I love you, I just turned a blind eye..."
The Queen interrupted him and asked, "Your Majesty, are you now blaming me, the legitimate mother, for being harsh towards my illegitimate son?"
The emperor said, "I have never blamed you for anything."
The queen sneered and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the sons of Consort Xian and Consort Shu are only a few months apart from Sanlang?"
The emperor avoided her gaze and said, "It was you who wanted to show off their virtues and said in person that you wanted to keep the two unborn babies..."
The queen smiled and said, "Who ordered them to stop taking the contraceptive soup? When I found out, they were already pregnant. What else could I do but acknowledge it?"
The emperor said: "I see that you had a very hard time carrying that baby, I don't want you to suffer the same pain again..."
The queen's eyes were full of sarcasm: "Your Majesty really cares about me. Your Majesty also knows how hard it was for me to be pregnant. When I couldn't eat anything and even vomited when I drank water, where was Your Majesty?"
The emperor asked, "During that period, there were internal and external troubles. How could you know?"
The Queen said: "Internal and external troubles have also delayed Your Majesty's visit to the concubines."
The emperor was so angry that he asked, "What does it matter if I visit a few concubines? Do I have to depend on your mood?"
The queen sneered: "Your Majesty finally spoke from your heart."
The two were speechless for a moment, and the emperor asked, "What's the point of digging up these old things? You and I have been husband and wife for many years, and we still have some affection for each other. Are you poisoning me for these things?"
There were tears in his eyes: "I have given you all the honors that a queen should have. After Ye'er left, you wanted to go out, so I built a temple for you. You are in charge of the harem, and I didn't let anyone pass you by..."
The queen interrupted him sharply: "How dare you mention Ye'er!"
She paused and said, "You dare to tell me the truth, when did you know why Ye'er died?"
The emperor's eyes suddenly became dejected. He turned his head away, looked at the curtain, pursed his lips and said nothing.
The Queen said, "You knew this a long time ago, right? Why did you indulge me all these years? It's because you have something to hide!"
The emperor could not utter any rebuttal, his mouth drooped, and his eyes showed sorrow.
After a long while, he sighed and said, "Even if you are thinking about the relationship between husband and wife, as the mother of a country, for the sake of the country and the people, you should..."
The queen snorted coldly, "What do I have to do with the country? What do I have to do with the well-being of the people? In the past, I worked diligently and endured humiliation for you, the Huan family, but what do I have now? Where is my Ye'er?"
She said with tears in her eyes, "At first, I cried all day long because of the pregnancy of those two slaves. It was Ye'er who comforted me, wiped my tears with his little hands, and told me not to be sad. When I gave birth, he slept all night, saying that he would wait until my mother and brother were safe before he could rest assured. Where were you at that time? After I gave birth to Sanlang, I was in poor health and was bedridden for half a year. The first thing he did every morning when he opened his eyes was to come and visit me. Where were you at that time?"
Tears rolled down her old cheeks. She wiped her tears and suddenly a crazy smile appeared on her face: "My Ye'er is gone. What if everyone in the world dies? I still care!"
The emperor frowned, with deep fear in his eyes, and said in a trembling voice: "You are crazy..."
The queen said coldly: "Yes, I have been crazy for a long time. I was crazy on the day Ye'er died. But even if I am crazy, I will let your majesty pass the throne to those slaves and their offspring. They are not worthy."
After a long silence, soft footsteps were heard outside the screen, and the queen said, "Your Majesty, it's time to take the medicine."
She paused and said, "Don't worry, after taking this bowl of medicine, Your Majesty won't have to suffer from headaches anymore."
…
When Huan Xuan reached the Wangxian Gate of the palace, he met a eunuch in the emperor's bedroom.
The eunuch pulled the reins of his horse and said from a distance, "Is it His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi who has arrived?"
Huan Xuan ordered the carriage to stop and lifted the curtain. The eunuch had already dismounted and walked forward, hesitating to say, "I was just about to go to the palace to report the news."
Huan Xuan saw that he looked anxious and pale, and his heart sank: "What happened?"
The eunuch came closer and whispered, "Your Highness, His Majesty is in very good condition..."
Huan Xuan asked: "What's wrong?"
The eunuch said, "Your Majesty caught a slight cold the day before yesterday, but he was fine until yesterday afternoon. But he suddenly developed a high fever, and became unconscious at night. He has been in a coma since then and has not woken up yet..."
Huan Xuan's heart trembled, and he frowned and asked, "Who is taking care of your Majesty when he is sick?"
The eunuch said, "In the past, your Majesty's pulse diagnosis and prescriptions were all handled by Lin Fengyu, but a few days ago, your Majesty's wind disease worsened, and he didn't get better after taking Lin Fengyu's prescription, so he changed to Zhao Fengyu. Zhao Fengyu changed the prescription, and your Majesty took two doses and it worked. Your Majesty was very pleased, and let Zhao Fengyu serve in the palace for the past few days..."
He paused, and continued, "However, your majesty's condition suddenly became serious. The queen suspected that Zhao Fengyu's prescription was not right, so she summoned Lin Fengyu and Zheng Fengyu to check the medicine residue. Only then did she find that Zhao Fengyu was eager for quick success and secretly added a few banned drugs. Although those drugs can temporarily relieve the pain, they are not the root cause, and they will delay the disease and are toxic. If it were someone who was strong and healthy, this little bit of poison might not be a big deal, but your majesty is weak, and he became ill after taking these drugs."
Huan Xuan asked, "Is Zhao Fengyu here?"
The eunuch said, "After that, the Empress had Zhao Fengyu detained in a side hall, fearing that he might have hidden poison on him. He committed suicide last night out of fear of the crime."
Another person who committed suicide out of fear of crime. Huan Xuan asked coldly, "Who is in charge of the situation in the palace right now?"
The eunuch said, "The Empress has been serving His Majesty in bed for the past two days, without taking off her clothes, and the news that His Majesty is unconscious has not yet spread."
Once Zhao Fengyu died, there was no evidence to prove that the emperor was poisoned. Even if the medical officers saw something strange, they dared not say it out loud - the emperor was in a coma, and now the empress was in charge of the palace. Throughout history, those who interfered with the secrets of heaven and earth would never end well.
Huan Xuan asked again: "Where are the two stewards around your majesty?"
The eunuch's eyes flickered: "General Manager Sun is ill, General Manager Liu is temporarily taking over the position and serving in the palace..."
Huan Xuan knew what was going on as soon as he heard it. Of the two senior eunuchs surrounding the emperor, Sun Fu's "illness" must have something to do with the empress, while Liu Qingsuo had most likely been bribed by the empress.
The eunuch said, "The Queen has ordered me to go to the palace and invite Your Highness to come in and discuss matters."
Huan Xuan's face was so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip out: "I know."