mtl008 Chapter 449 Long-standing Poison
Chapter 449 Long-standing Poison
The cacophony of crying suddenly calmed Empress Su, who said in a low but sharp voice, "Stop crying! Shut up!"
Her gaze turned icy and fierce as she swept over everyone in the hall. "I do not wish for this matter to get out. If even the slightest news of His Majesty's poisoning spreads, I will spare not a single person in this hall today!"
Everyone fell silent immediately after being startled by Empress Su's shout, with only Consort Zhou's suppressed sobs remaining in the hall.
Empress Su took a deep breath, trying to calm her turbulent emotions, and turned her gaze to the only person in the hall who could be described as calm—Yun Shang.
Throughout the entire process, Yun Shang's face showed no obvious change.
Empress Su even suspected that this person might have known about the emperor's poisoning all along.
but……
Old Feng said that the emperor had been poisoned for a long time, while Yun Shang had only arrived in the capital last year, and besides, Yun Shang had no reason to harm the emperor.
Empress Su suppressed her doubts and ordered the eunuchs and imperial physicians in the hall to leave.
The imperial physicians and eunuchs were relieved and hurriedly withdrew, but Consort Zhou remained kneeling on the ground, silently shedding tears.
Empress Su gave her a cold glance and ordered, "Noble Consort, you may also return to the palace."
Consort Zhou looked up with teary eyes, choked with sobs, and shook her head, "No, I will not leave. I will stay in the Palace of Longevity and stay with Your Majesty forever!"
Upon hearing this, Empress Su's gaze towards her grew even colder.
Empress Su never cared that Emperor Wenjing favored Consort Zhou, nor did she care that Consort Zhou was arrogant because of the emperor's favor.
After all, she had no romantic feelings for Emperor Wenjing, so these things didn't bother her.
But at such a crucial moment, Consort Zhou was still putting on airs, and she could no longer tolerate it.
Empress Su immediately instructed the nanny beside her: "Send the Imperial Concubine back and keep a close eye on her!"
The nanny obeyed the order and immediately summoned two strong palace maids, who lifted Consort Zhou up from both sides.
Consort Zhou struggled desperately, crying out, "Your Majesty, how can you be so cruel? His Majesty's life hangs in the balance, and all I want is to stay by his side!"
Empress Su remained unmoved, watching coldly until Consort Zhou was forcibly taken out of the Hall of Longevity, at which point her shrill cries gradually faded away outside the hall.
Only Empress Su, Yun Shang, Old Man Feng, and the unconscious Emperor Wenjing remained in the hall.
Empress Su slowly walked towards Yun Shang, each step she took seeming to be a deliberation.
After standing in front of him, Empress Su stared into Yun Shang's eyes and asked, word by word, "Yun Shang, I ask you, are you truly completely unaware of His Majesty's poisoning?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Yun Shang's eyes, as if she was quite taken aback by Empress Su's suspicion.
He then lowered his eyes slightly, his face remaining calm and composed, and replied neither servile nor arrogant, "Your subject does not know."
Old Feng, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but interject, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has been poisoned for a long time, at least four or five years. Even if he wanted to poison him, he wouldn't have had the chance."
Empress Su showed no reaction to his words, her gaze remaining fixed on Yun Shang, trying to find a flaw in his expression.
But Yun Shang's expression remained calm, showing no sign of panic or guilt.
After a long silence, Empress Su looked away and sighed softly, "Fine, I'll believe you for now. But His Majesty is poisoned, and I must find the real culprit as soon as possible. Do you have any ideas?"
Yun Shang pondered for a moment, “Your Majesty, whether now or in the past, anything the Emperor can come into contact with has been tested for poison by a specialist. Poisonous substances will not easily appear around the Emperor.”
"Therefore, I believe that the person who poisoned Your Majesty must be extremely familiar with the affairs of the palace in order to poison Your Majesty without anyone noticing."
"The divine physician Feng said that the emperor has been poisoned for many years, which proves that the poison of 'Jiuyingyuan' has been lurking in the emperor's body all these years. The fact that the emperor suddenly flared up at this time must be because someone let the emperor come into contact with the medicine."
"Your Majesty, at this critical juncture, who do you think is most likely to harm the Emperor?"
Empress Su's expression hardened, and her gaze fell once again on the unconscious Emperor Wenjing. "You mean... the Right Faction?"
Yun Shang said, "The powerful families have held power for many years and have always treated the emperor as their puppet. The emperor will endure and lie low in order to completely eliminate the powerful families, but the powerful families may very well do something underhanded in order to keep holding power."
"The Emperor suddenly succumbed to the poison just as Li Chongyi was imprisoned, which is most likely a backup plan left by the powerful families."
Empress Su frowned, pondering to herself that powerful families had deep roots in the court and wielded immense influence. In the past few days, the Emperor had ordered Yun Shang to arrest key figures in a high-profile manner, while those with less serious crimes were simply confined to their own residences.
Empress Su frowned deeply. "It was my carelessness."
The powerful families have held power for many years, and the palace must have been thoroughly infiltrated. Although she has investigated many times, there may still be some who have slipped through the net.
Empress Su was deeply saddened and rubbed her forehead. "The most important thing now is to keep the news of the Emperor's poisoning a secret. The court must not be thrown into chaos."
"The remaining princes..."
Now, only three princes remain who can handle things.
Prince Chen, Prince Jin, and Prince Su are all options. Prince Jin's status is too low, and Prince Su's status is also unsuitable. Prince Chen, on the other hand, is sickly.
If only one of these three can be chosen to temporarily manage state affairs...
Empress Su's eyes flickered, but she did not reveal her thoughts to Yun Shang. She only said, "I will order a thorough investigation of the inner palace. As for how to deal with the affairs of the court, I will decide after discussing it with the Empress Dowager."
Yun Shang bowed respectfully, "Yes."
……
The news of Emperor Wenjing's poisoning was kept completely secret. The only explanation given to the public was that the emperor had been overworked recently and needed to rest and recuperate.
The court officials had some doubts, but since the Empress Dowager had intervened, they had no choice but to believe her.
After all, the Empress Dowager is the Emperor's mother; she couldn't possibly harm the Emperor, could she?
While the previous dynasty was relatively peaceful, the inner palace was far from tranquil.
Under the pretext of 'rectifying the palace,' the Empress dismissed many palace servants and ordered a thorough investigation of everything the Emperor had come into contact with over the years.
There is a special record in the palace that records the emperor's daily life, and even the smallest details are recorded in it.
Empress Su and a group of palace servants searched for a day and a night, and finally found a clue in a record from seven years ago.
Seven years ago, during those two summer months, Consort Zhou often cut lotus flowers and sent them to the Hall of Longevity.
Emperor Wenjing doted on Consort Zhou to the extreme, indulging her every whim. As a result, Consort Zhou did this unconventional thing for two months in a row.
Consort Zhou stopped sending lotus flowers to the Palace of Longevity when the lotus flowers had finished blooming that year.
Empress Su once asked Old Man Feng if there was anything different about him after being poisoned by "Dove Shadow Resentment" compared to normal.
Old Feng said that symptoms such as thirst, frequent urination, and reduced sweating may occur.
Drinking more water in the summer is normal, but Empress Su compared the records from previous years and found that only the summer seven years ago was the most unusual.