EBE Chapter 168: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Call me Empress Dowager! (18)
Chapter 168: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Call me Empress Dowager! (18)
"Well, let Yongcong wear more clothes and take good care of him." Lin Qinghe stood up and put Yongcong in the arms of the nanny.
The annual banquet had already begun, and the concubines took their seats one after another. Lin Qinghe, as the only two concubines with the highest rank present, sat on the left and right of Hongli with Su Lujun.
Because it had not been a year since the Queen's death, the annual banquet was quite frugal and most of the food served was vegetarian.
Su Lujun stayed alert while watching over the Third Prince and the First Prince while they were eating, and asked servants to use silver needles to test for poison or to take a bite to confirm that there was nothing wrong before letting Yonghuang and the others start eating.
This action made Hongli frown repeatedly, thinking that Su Lujun was really making too much of a fuss. After all, these dishes had been tested for poison before they were served. Besides, who would dare to tamper with such a New Year banquet?
He thought to himself: Su Lujun is making too much of a fuss.
When the banquet was halfway through, the Third Prince hurriedly ate a few bites of food, and when Su Lujun wasn't paying attention, he quietly slipped away alone.
Su Lujun saw that there seemed to be nothing unusual in the food served, and her guard relaxed a little. Could it be that Concubine Ling was just deliberately deceiving her?
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly, a young palace maid who was tasting almond milk covered her chest and fell to the ground without any warning.
"What happened?" Su Lujun stood up in panic. The little palace maid who was lying on the ground had turned purple in the face, like a dying fish.
"Someone has poisoned you, Your Majesty!" Lin Qinghe immediately shouted, pointing his finger at the little palace maid lying on the ground, whose face had also turned extremely pale.
Because within the range of her spiritual perception, the Third Prince was actually pushed into the water alive!
It's true that misfortunes never come alone.
The guards outside heard the noise and immediately rushed in like a tide, surrounding the place and shouting, "Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"
Hongli was obviously stunned by this sudden change, but the empress dowager had already been alert to this. She shouted with dignity: "Someone dared to poison here, it's really lawless!"
At this moment, Su Lujun was trembling all over, her eyes fixed on the bowl of almond milk that had been knocked over on the ground.
She looked around and found that the Third Prince was not there. She was secretly glad that Yong Zhang had left. Otherwise, if Yong Zhang drank the bowl of almond milk, she really couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.
However, at this moment, a panicked eunuch suddenly rushed in from outside the door, and he shouted anxiously: "My Lady Concubine, Your Majesty, it's bad! The Third Prince has fallen into the water!"
Su Lujun's heart, which had just been relieved, suddenly rose again, almost jumping out of her throat. Yong Zhang fell into the water? Her face became extremely anxious, and even a trace of blood disappeared.
"What? Where is Yongzhang?" she screamed, her voice full of fear and worry.
When Hongli heard that the Third Prince was in trouble, he quickly stood up and asked, "How is the Third Prince now?"
The eunuch who followed Yong Zhang panted and said tremblingly: "Reporting to the emperor, a palace servant came in time to rescue the third prince, but the third prince choked on too much water and has now fainted..."
Hearing this, Hongli's face instantly became extremely gloomy. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Why don't you quickly call the imperial physician to treat the Third Prince? Also, call another imperial physician to come here to see what's going on with this palace maid!"
Hongli was filled with anxiety and uneasiness. During this period, he clearly felt that he was becoming increasingly incapable of doing things, and none of the concubines in the harem became pregnant again.
In order to solve this problem, Hongli also secretly summoned the imperial physician to treat him.
The imperial doctors only vaguely said they would try their best to treat the patient.
As time went by, Hongli gradually understood one thing in his heart: he might really be dying.
Thinking of this, Hongli's mood became heavier. As the king of a country, having an heir was crucial to the stability of the dynasty.
These princes and princesses under his knees are now Hongli's lifeblood. Anyone who touches them will touch his reverse scale.
In a tense atmosphere, the imperial doctors rushed to the scene, rushed to rescue the third prince, and carefully checked the physical condition of the palace maid.
"Investigate! Seal this place and investigate for me! I want to see who has the guts to murder the prince under my nose!" Hongli roared with a gloomy face.
With the full efforts of the imperial physician, Yong Zhang finally slowly opened his eyes.
When he woke up, the first thing he saw was his father, who had a gloomy face but showed worry in his eyes, and his mother, who was quietly wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. He cried out, and without hesitation, threw himself into Su Lujun's warm embrace and burst into tears.
Hongli watched this scene quietly, until the Third Prince's crying gradually subsided and his emotions gradually stabilized, then he asked: "Yongzhang, how did you fall into the water?"
Lin Qinghe stood aside silently with her eyelids lowered.
Her spiritual sense clearly saw who pushed Yong Zhang into the water, but Yong Zhang might not be able to see the person behind him.
As expected, Yong Zhang shook his head, a little bewildered, "Father, someone must have pushed me, but I don't know who it was."
Hongli was in a rare good temper and comforted him with a few words, "I understand, you should take a rest first, the emperor will definitely find out the murderer behind the scenes."
Yongzhang nodded tiredly and lay back on the bed. Su Lujun stood by, holding Yonghuang's hand tightly, her eyes full of worry and relief.
"Your Majesty, I heard that in addition to Yongzhang, there seemed to be a palace maid who was involved in the drowning incident and rescued him. You might as well summon this person and interrogate him in detail. Only in this way can we thoroughly find out the truth of the matter." The queen mother sat back on the phoenix chair, her face as gloomy as water.
"Your Majesty, the palace maid who saved the Third Prince was Xia He from Yongshou Palace." The eunuch accompanying the Third Prince knelt on the ground and said in a panic.
Seeing this, Lin Qinghe quickly stood up and bowed, then replied softly, "This Xia He is the latest maid promoted in my palace. I didn't expect that she would be able to save the Third Prince by chance. It is really my fortune."
The Queen Mother and Hongli sat aside, their faces gloomy, each with different thoughts in their minds. The Imperial Concubine Ling of Yongshou Palace was also involved...
Soon, Xia He was led into the palace. She lowered her head, knelt down respectfully, and said in a clear voice: "Your servant greets the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."
Hongli raised his hand slightly and said slowly, "No need to be polite. Tell me what happened in detail. Don't hide anything."
Xia He kowtowed and replied, "Yes. Not long after the banquet started, Concubine Ling asked me to go back and get a hand warmer, saying that I forgot to bring it when I came in a hurry.
I was thinking of taking a shortcut, but when I passed by a pond, I suddenly heard someone calling for help. I hurried over and found that it was the Third Prince who had fallen into the water.
The situation was critical, and I didn't have time to think about it, so I jumped into the water to rescue the Third Prince. Fortunately, the Third Prince was not seriously injured, but just a little frightened. "
Hongli nodded and continued to ask: "Did you see who pushed the third prince into the water?"