Le You took a small sip.
The warm, bitter medicine touched her tongue, and Le You suddenly scrunched her delicate brows. She stuck out her tongue and said, "Grandmother Empress Dowager, today's medicine tastes even more bitter than yesterday's... Nanny Qian, could you fetch some candied fruits for Grandmother? The ones Mother made yesterday are especially sweet."
Nanny Qian smiled kindly. "This old servant will see to it at once."
Just then, a eunuch from Cining Palace came to announce, "Empress Dowager, Granny Liu from Kunning Palace requests an audience. She brings word from the Empress regarding the arrangements for Your Majesty's upcoming birthday celebration."
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes slightly. "Let her in."
Granny Liu hurried into the main hall of Cining Palace. She was about to kneel and pay her respects when she caught sight of Princess Le You standing beside the Empress Dowager. Le You was holding the medicine bowl, preparing to take another sip.
Granny Liu immediately sensed something amiss. Forgetting formalities, she blurted out, "Is Princess Le You drinking the Empress Dowager's tonic?"
Le You tilted her head sweetly. "Yes!"
Granny Liu gasped in alarm. "No! Absolutely not! Empress Dowager, there’s something wrong with that tonic!"
The moment Granny Liu spoke, the Empress Dowager reacted instantly. She snatched the medicine bowl from Le You’s hands, her voice frantic. "Someone, call the imperial physicians! Le You, my dear, you must spit out what you’ve swallowed!"
The palace servants sprang into action. Some rushed to summon the physicians, others fetched a basin to induce vomiting, while still others heated milk and brewed honeysuckle and mung bean water to counteract any poison.
The Empress Dowager’s hands trembled with fear, her heart pounding violently. She cradled Le You in her arms. The child’s delicate throat couldn’t expel the medicine easily, so the Empress Dowager herself pressed a small spoon against the back of Le You’s tongue to help her vomit.
Le You retched and spat out two mouthfuls of the medicine, clutching her throat with tiny hands, her face scrunched in discomfort. "Grandmother, what’s happening?"
The little girl looked up innocently, her cheeks flushed from vomiting, her clear eyes wide with confusion. The Empress Dowager’s heart ached. She gently patted Le You’s back. "This medicine isn’t for children—Le You, do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Le You shook her head obediently. "No, not at all."
Still uneasy, the Empress Dowager had the maids bring warmed milk, which could mitigate toxicity. Though Le You didn’t understand what was happening, she obediently drank half a bowl.
Afterward, the Empress Dowager had Le You rest on a nearby cushioned divan, assigning an elderly nanny to watch over her and monitor her condition.
"Tell me everything," the Empress Dowager demanded, her voice icy. "And don’t you dare lie."
Granny Liu dropped to her knees and revealed everything—how the Empress had mistreated Li Wan'er, forced her to take potent medicine, and even poisoned the tonics meant for Consort Chen and the Empress Dowager.
A deathly silence fell over Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager’s face darkened, her aura oppressive.
"You were the Empress’s personal nanny. Why expose her now?" the Empress Dowager asked coldly.
Granny Liu kowtowed. "The Empress is beyond reason, digging her own grave. This old servant has advised her repeatedly to no avail. I must think of my own survival. Besides, Consort Chen has promised me a peaceful retirement."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "In a few days, find an excuse to leave the palace. I will reward you with a hundred taels of gold."
Granny Liu was overjoyed, kowtowing again in gratitude. "This lowly servant thanks Your Majesty for your generosity. I swear to take this secret to my grave."
Granny Liu left, relieved that she would soon escape the palace’s treacherous waters and live out her remaining years in peace.
...
Before long, Cining Palace eunuchs returned with six imperial physicians.
They examined Le You thoroughly.
"Empress Dowager," an elderly physician reported, "Princess Le You vomited in time and shows no signs of harm."
The Empress Dowager relaxed slightly.
Nanny Qian brought the unopened packet of herbs meant for the tonic, and the physicians carefully weighed and inspected each ingredient according to the prescription.
After half an hour, the Empress Dowager asked coldly, "Were the tonic’s ingredients altered?"
The physicians exchanged uneasy glances.
Within the imperial medical bureau, it was common knowledge that Imperial Physician Shen and his associates—once protégés of the Tan family—were favored by the Empress. The herbs for the Empress Dowager’s tonic were naturally prepared under their supervision.
The physicians were shrewd enough to recognize the power struggle between the Empress Dowager and the Empress. They lowered their heads, unwilling to get involved.
Only one physician, the composed and unflappable Moxun, stepped forward.
"Empress Dowager," he said, "two ingredients in your tonic were excessively increased. Prolonged consumption would lead to organ failure within three years."
Moxun, never one to mince words, added, "Princess Le You only took one sip and vomited promptly, so she is unharmed. Had she delayed even half an hour, she might have suffered severe vomiting, diarrhea, or even organ damage."
The Empress Dowager studied Moxun with approval.
The other physicians were dismissed, leaving only Moxun behind.
Soon after, an elderly nanny brought Li Wan'er to Cining Palace. The girl kept her head bowed timidly, her face tense.
Her relationship with her grandmother had always been distant, their bond faint.
Li Wan'er curtsied nervously.
The Empress Dowager instructed Moxun to examine her.
After a brief examination, Moxun reported truthfully, "Empress Dowager, this young mistress still harbors traces of a cold, masked by excessive medication. At her age, gentler remedies should be used—overmedication harms the body."
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes briefly. So it was true.
The Empress’s cruelty knew no bounds—she had even targeted poor Li Wan'er for her own schemes.
The Empress Dowager took Li Wan'er’s hand. The girl was thirteen, still delicate and unassuming, her face pale and refined. Her eyes resembled those of the late Crown Prince Li Yuanchang, while her nose and lips took after his departed consort.
The Empress Dowager’s eyes stung with remorse.
"My dear child," she said gently, "you’ve suffered too much. From now on, you shall live in the western wing of Cining Palace. Your grandmother will protect you—no one will harm you again."
Li Wan'er lowered her head, tears falling like scattered pearls.
The maids and nannies who had served Li Wan'er were each given thirty strokes of the rod before being banished to the servants’ quarters. Nanny Qian led a group to retrieve Li Wan'er’s belongings from her former residence.
...
Shen Wei, upon hearing that Le You had accidentally consumed the Empress Dowager’s tonic, broke into a cold sweat and rushed to Cining Palace.
As she arrived, Le You’s bright, cheerful voice reached her ears.
The child was unharmed.
She was enthusiastically leading Li Wan'er around, introducing her to the palace grounds. Li Wan'er, gentle by nature, smiled warmly, clearly fond of her little cousin.
"Mother!" Le You spotted Shen Wei and dashed over.
Shen Wei knelt and embraced her. Le You’s plump cheeks were rosy from the sun, her complexion healthy, with no trace of illness.
Relief washed over Shen Wei.
She pinched Le You’s chubby cheek. "I heard you ate something you shouldn’t have. You scared me half to death."
