After hearing Lanyi's words, Qi Daiyu fell silent for a moment.
The Empress trusting her so deeply was originally a good thing, but this kind of trust had provided an opportunity for those harboring ill intentions to target them both, leaving her with an indescribable feeling in her heart.
After a moment of thought, Qi Daiyu looked at the imperial physician. "What is this Qilan Leaf?"
She wore an expression of never having heard of such a thing. The physician dared not recklessly speculate on whether she was telling the truth or not, and merely bowed his head to share what he knew.
"Qilan Leaf is a special plant from beyond our borders. It resembles an orchid, with petals marked by deep blue, peculiar patterns. It can emit a strange fragrance that lures people to pick it. Its stem is hollow and contains sap. Merchants from beyond the borders discovered that if the sap from the Qilan Leaf is used in medicine, especially when added to face creams commonly used by women, it can smooth the skin and has the effect of delaying skin aging. Many years ago, this substance was highly popular beyond the borders and also spread into our Zhao Kingdom, where it was quite sought after. However, it wasn't long before it was discovered that excessive use of this substance could lead to poisoning. Mild symptoms include abdominal pain, headache, and fainting; severe cases involve stomach ulcers and heart meridian blockages. Subsequently, regulations were established forbidding this substance from flowing into our country."
Qi Daiyu: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, since this substance has already been banned, how could I, residing deep within the inner palace, possibly obtain it?"
The Physician: "A significant amount of Qilan Leaf was brought in from beyond the borders back then and not all of it was destroyed. It's possible some people still keep it privately."
The physician's meaning was that if one was determined to find it, it wasn't impossible, just requiring more effort.
Qi Daiyu: "I have little contact with the world outside the palace, only occasionally exchanging letters with my family. Apart from letters, any items sent in from outside the palace must be inspected by the Imperial Household Department and registered. If, as this physician says, I wished to seek out Qilan Leaf, I could only ask my maternal family. In that case, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager could simply send someone to the Imperial Household Department to check whether any items sent in by my family over these past few years contained Qilan Leaf."
The physician spoke again: "Judging by the Empress's current symptoms, a considerable quantity of Qilan Leaf would be required. If sent into the palace, it would naturally attract attention. However, if it were already extracted Qilan Leaf sap, concealed in containers not easily noticed, it would be very difficult to detect."
This physician's words almost every sentence seemed to target Qi Daiyu. She couldn't help but glance at him. She had found it strange from the moment she arrived why it wasn't Chief Physician Xia who came, but this unfamiliar-looking physician instead.
Qi Daiyu pressed her lips together. "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager may also send someone to search my palace."
Whether she believed Consort Hui or not, the Empress Dowager would inevitably send someone to make a trip.
While waiting for the results during this time, Qi Daiyu wasn't idle either. She began reviewing the stored surveillance footage from the study.
Her current appearance, to others, seemed like she was sitting quietly with lowered eyes, waiting.
The Empress Dowager thought to herself that regardless of whether Consort Hui was involved in the Empress's poisoning, her composure was quite commendable.
Since only Qi Daiyu would enter the Changchun Palace study, and it remained empty at all other times, the surveillance camera was battery-powered, requiring battery changes at regular intervals. Qi Daiyu would also check the surveillance footage then. There had never been anything amiss. So, if there was a problem with the study, it could only have happened recently. Qi Daiyu reviewed the footage quickly, and before long, she noticed something wrong.
Three days ago, someone had entered the study without her knowledge.
When Nanny Zhao returned, she was followed by Lu Wei from Changchun Palace.
Who was Lu Wei?
She was a young palace maid assigned by the Imperial Household Department specifically to serve the princess after Si Yu arrived at Changchun Palace. Around fourteen years old, due to her young age, she was given light duties like sweeping, watering flowers, or playing with Si Yu.
The atmosphere at Changchun Palace was good. Qi Daiyu would sometimes jump rope or kick shuttlecocks with the palace maids in the courtyard. Qi Daiyu had an impression of this Lu Wei and remembered she was good at kicking the shuttlecock and had received a few silver ingots from her.
After entering, Nanny Zhao first glanced subtly at Qi Daiyu, then addressed the Empress Dowager: "Following your instructions to search Changchun Palace, this old servant found this palace maid acting suspiciously, so I had her restrained and questioned carefully. This maid is timid and confessed everything. I found this in the soil of the flowerbed beneath the corridor of Changchun Palace."
She produced an object wrapped in a handkerchief—a jade jar about half the size of a palm, its body still smeared with some soil. The jade jar contained some deep blue liquid.
Nanny Zhao handed the jade jar to the physician. He carefully opened it, and a strong, peculiar fragrance immediately wafted out.
The physician hastily closed the lid. "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this scent is precisely the strange fragrance inherent to Qilan Leaf!"
The Empress Dowager's expression finally changed, her gaze sharp as a blade as she looked at Qi Daiyu: "Consort Hui, this object was found in your Changchun Palace. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Qi Daiyu asked Nanny Zhao: "May I ask, Nanny Zhao, after you went to Changchun Palace, was it because you noticed this young maid's abnormal demeanor that you felt something was amiss?"
Nanny Zhao: "Exactly."
"And what about my personal maids?"
Nanny Zhao answered without hesitation: "When this old servant announced the search, they were all cooperative, and their demeanors were all quite normal." They were somewhat flustered, but that was perfectly normal when suddenly faced with a palace search. And after seeing the item dug up from the flowerbed, they looked utterly incredulous.
Qi Daiyu then faced the Empress Dowager: "Then I don't understand. If it were I who intended to harm the Empress, using this so-called Qilan Leaf, why would I entrust such an important item to a minor palace maid instead of to a personal maid or the head matron?"
"Some might say that going against expectations like this actually makes it less likely to be noticed," Qi Daiyu preempted the argument, "But the problem is, this young maid serves the Third Princess and has only been at Changchun Palace for barely a year. For the sake of so-called 'going against expectations,' would I really take the risk of entrusting it to someone I don't trust much?"
"Furthermore, sending the Empress the beauty cream was half a month ago. For a full half month, wouldn't I be far too careless not to dispose of this Qilan sap?"
Qi Daiyu slowly knelt down. "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this matter is riddled with inconsistencies. How the Qilan sap entered the palace, and why it appeared in my quarters—I'm afraid there is another hidden truth behind this. I am merely a scapegoat for someone else."
The physician moved his lips as if to say something, but he was just a physician; speaking too much might arouse suspicion, so he lowered his head.
It was Nanny Zhao who spoke: "But how do we know this isn't all deliberately orchestrated by you, Consort Hui, precisely to clear yourself of suspicion?"
Qi Daiyu understood immediately that Nanny Zhao was offering her a cue. She took the opportunity to continue, "The person who truly harmed the Empress absolutely cannot be me. What would my motive be for harming Her Majesty? Generally, to harm someone, it's either for revenge or for gain. One wouldn't just act without reason. But I bear no grudge against the Empress at all. She has always shown me great kindness and consideration, for which I am only grateful. How could I harm her? As for gain, what benefit would harming the Empress possibly bring me?"
Everyone in the palace knew that Consort Hui had always been under the Empress's protection. If one were to name the person in the harem who supported the Empress the most, it would undoubtedly be Consort Hui.
Qi Daiyu gave a cold laugh. "The person trying to frame me miscalculated one thing. In this entire inner palace, there is no one who wishes more fervently than I do for Her Majesty the Empress to enjoy good health and a long life!"
Regardless of the truth behind that initial "life-saving favor" years ago, her interests and the Empress's had long since become intertwined. Qi Daiyu was not lying; she was absolutely the last person in the palace who would want anything to happen to the Empress. A superior like this was truly a rare find.
Qi Daiyu's argument was logically flawless, leaving even the Empress Dowager unable to find fault.
However, the undeniable fact remained that the pitcher plant juice had been found in the Changchun Palace. The Empress Dowager looked at Lu Wei and said sternly, "Take this palace maid to the Punishment Office." Whether this was a frame-up or Consort Hui was simply too cunning, once this maid entered the Punishment Office, everything would become clear. Once there, one either told the truth and died quickly, or held out and endured hundreds of horrific tortures, unable to even die. The most tight-lipped person in the palace could only hold out until the twelfth punishment at most before talking. This young maid probably wouldn't last past the third.
As the maid was dragged away, the Empress Dowager turned to Qi Daiyu. "As for Consort Hui, you are temporarily confined to the Changchun..."
"Your Majesty, the Empress has awakened!" It was Mei Yi who hurried in. She glanced at Qi Daiyu before kneeling before the Empress Dowager. "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress says that regarding the poisoning incident, she believes it absolutely could not have been Consort Hui's doing."
Qi Daiyu was stunned, a sudden ache in her nose.
The Empress Dowager also hadn't expected the Empress's first words upon waking to be a declaration of Consort Hui's innocence, but she had no time to dwell on it now. "Since the Empress says so, then Consort Hui, you may return for now. Mei Yi, quickly take me to see the Empress!"
Qi Daiyu wanted to say she wished to see the Empress too, but she saw Mei Yi subtly shake her head at her. Qi Daiyu had no choice but to let it go.
Exiting the main hall, Qi Daiyu saw the Eldest Princess waiting in the courtyard. She walked over.
The Eldest Princess, her eyes red, looked at her. "Consort Hui, was it you who made Mother Empress fall unconscious?"
Qi Daiyu crouched down. The princess was now so tall that Qi Daiyu had to look up at her.
"Does the Eldest Princess believe I harmed Her Majesty?"
Some of the servants in Kunning Palace were saying just that—that Consort Hui had been putting on an act all along, just to deceive the Empress and lower her guard.
"No. You wouldn't harm Mother Empress!" the Eldest Princess said firmly. She absolutely refused to believe Consort Hui was that kind of person.
Qi Daiyu smiled. "That's right. I would never harm Her Majesty the Empress."
Watching Qi Daiyu's retreating figure, the tears the Eldest Princess had been holding back finally fell. But she quickly wiped them away. A cold severity surfaced on her young face, bearing a fleeting resemblance to the Empress's usual demeanor.
The Eldest Princess instructed Zhuyi, "Have those gossipmongers bound. We will report them to Father Emperor upon his return. Kunning Palace cannot keep such people."
Her mother had told her she was a princess, one of the most esteemed figures in the palace, and she had the right to deal with those who erred.
Consort Hui had also told her that she was still young, and sometimes saying or doing things herself wasn't the best way to solve a problem; it was better to leave it to the adults. She could certainly have those gossipers punished to vent her anger, but rumors might spread that despite her youth, she was vicious and cruel. Therefore, it was better to let Father Emperor handle them.
In this palace, no one was more formidable than Father Emperor.
News of the Empress's poisoning quickly spread throughout the rear palace, eliciting varied reactions from the consorts.
In Yanxi Palace, Consort An was stringing beads when the news arrived. She paused, and the beads in her hand scattered across the floor.
Her usually stiff face was contorted with rare shock.
"What did you say? The Empress was poisoned by pitcher plant leaves?"
How could that be possible...
