Drunk Bamboo

"But I am a doctor. I cannot watch the patients suffer every day and still go against my conscience. I..."

Qi Zhen paused, and finally raised her head, her eyes sincere and honest.

After seeing such a pair of determined eyes, the emperor's angry eyes suddenly became a little doubtful and he dared not look.

But he is the emperor, he cannot escape.

Qi Zhen looked at him, this time without hesitation and with great tenacity. Even with a knife at his neck, he would not waver.

"Your Majesty, even if you don't believe me, I still want to say that it is not a plague, but poisoning."

His voice rose again, "The Crown Prince and the Princess were both poisoned! I treated them with detoxification methods, and their fevers gradually subsided."

After saying this, Qi Zhen gasped.

The emperor suddenly fell silent.

He suppressed his anger, walked back and forth a few steps with no expression on his face, and then sat back on the golden chair.

His eyes were sharp and his tone was cold, "How do you prove what you said?"

Qi Zhen perked up and said immediately, "Investigate who else in the East Palace has been poisoned besides the two princes. Plague is highly contagious, and people who have close contact with them will be infected. But poisoning is not like that. The two princes must have eaten the same thing, and the poison was in the food and entered through their mouths."

"Commander Xun."

The emperor called out.

Xun Shurui, who was outside the door, immediately appeared in the hall.

"My subordinate is here."

"Send troops to surround the Eastern Palace and protect the two princes. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my permission."

Xun Shurui replied: "Yes."

The emperor added: "Bring all the food that the two princes have eaten today to have Qi imperial physician examine it. Do not spread it to anyone else."

"I obey my orders."

Xun Shurui is worthy of being the emperor's personal guard. He understands the emperor's every word and action.

The emperor didn't need to say much, everything was done clearly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Xun Shurui placed on the table all the leftovers of what the Crown Prince and the Eighth Princess had eaten today, even those that had been poured into the泔水桶.

Although the smell was a bit unpleasant, the emperor wanted to see Qi Zhen test it with his own eyes.

Xun Shurui's excuse for doing this was also very reasonable, and neither the Queen nor the Crown Princess became suspicious.

Qi Zhen checked one by one, but was disappointed in the end.

"Your Majesty, these foods are fine."

The emperor said with a dark face: "Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime."

"I dare not, but I still firmly believe in what I said." Qi Zhen did not believe in himself, but in Hua Qinfeng and Xie Yuzhu.

He looked at Xun Shurui, "Commander Xun, can you show me the eating records of the two princes?"

I said embarrassedly: "Maybe there is something missing."

This is not to question Xun Shurui's ability to do things, but to want more opportunities.

The emperor ordered, "Go and get it."

"Yes."

Soon, Xun Shurui handed the record book to Qi Zhen.

Qi Zhen looked through each page carefully, comparing it with the food on the table one by one.

The emperor asked, "Does the Crown Princess have any questions?"

Xun Shurui replied: "The Crown Princess was so focused on taking care of the young prince that she didn't say much. However, the female official Zhang Hansu asked if there was something wrong with the food."

The emperor nodded, "As expected of a Zhang family member, bring her here."

He trusts the Zhang family.

Back then, I was attracted by Zhang Hansu's profound knowledge and good manners, and his calm and steady temperament made people feel at ease.

She was chosen to be the royal grandson's court lady.

She has done a good job over the years.

Zhang Hansu stood respectfully in the hall.

The emperor said to Qi Zhen: "She takes care of Lin'er's food and clothing. You can ask her to know more."

Then he reminded Zhang Hansu, "Whatever the imperial physician Qi asks you, you must answer it and you must not hide anything."

The voice was cold and capable, "Yes."

"Excuse me, Madam Zhang, are these records accurate?"

He said calmly, "I wrote it down myself, no problem."

"Madam Zhang, think again. Did His Highness touch any food today but didn't eat it or didn't record it?" Qi Zhen reminded her, "Or did he drink anything?"

"Today I served His Highness, and I made the tea and snacks myself..." Zhang Hansu thought for a moment before saying seriously, "When the two His Highnesses were taking a nap, I went to the kitchen to check on the snacks being made. It only took a cup of tea. When I came back I saw Tan Xiang covering His Highness with a thin blanket in the room, so I didn't pay much attention. When she left, she took the tea on the table."

Qi Zhen hurriedly asked, "Is the teacup still there?"

"Yes, but the tea set has already been cleaned." Zhang Hansu looked at Qi Zhen, his eyes moving slightly, "Have the two princes been poisoned?"

Qi Zhen was stunned at first.

The emperor was surprised and asked, "Why does Han Su think so?"

Zhang Hansu bowed and analyzed the situation rationally, speaking at a steady pace and clearly, "After the plague was reported, the Crown Princess was even more cautious about the diet of Your Highness. She even fumigated the washed clothes with medicine before she felt relieved. She was so meticulous, but only the two Your Highnesses got the plague, while everyone else was fine."

"After the Imperial Physician Qi examined His Highness' pulse, Commander Xun came to ask for His Highness's diet and records for today."

"The question asked by Imperial Physician Qi just now has further confirmed Han Su's doubts."

After hearing this, Qi Zhen sighed, his eyes full of admiration for Han Su.

The emperor was silent for a while, then ordered:

"Lock up the maid named Tan Xiang and don't let anyone reveal anything."

"I obey my orders."

No traces of poisoning were found, so it was impossible to confirm the truth of what Qi Zhen said.

The emperor glanced at Qi Zhen with sharp eyes, "Don't even think about leaving the East Palace before you find out the truth."

Qi Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, mission accomplished.

It was enough that the emperor had become suspicious of the plague.

Qi Zhen knelt down and pleaded, "Your Majesty, the doctor Jin who accompanied me did not know about this, but I have given him my acupuncture skills and prescriptions. If such symptoms appear again in the palace, please allow doctor Jin to treat them. If the disease is delayed, they will die."

"The palace maids and eunuchs are all human lives, they are all innocent. Please show mercy, Your Majesty."

The emperor's heart was in turmoil, but his face remained expressionless, "Do you still have time to care about other people's lives?"

Qi Zhen raised his eyes, his eyes were pure, "Your Majesty is a wise ruler, Your Majesty promised me that you would forgive me."

He narrowed his eyes and spoke mercilessly, "You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of living."

He smiled faintly, "If I can save innocent lives from illness, I am willing to go to jail for life."

Before Xun Shurui led Qi Zhen away, the emperor issued an order, "Send someone to monitor Gao Yin's every move."

Qi Zhen raised the corner of his mouth into a hearty smile.

The emperor stood up, step by step, feeling very heavy and tired, and Eunuch Dong hurried to support him.

"Go outside the palace and find a few doctors with high reputations. Remember, they are doctors with high reputations among the people. Bring them into the palace. I want to ask them in person."

"You arrange this yourself."

Eunuch Dong lowered his eyes, and rarely smiled, "I will send the most trusted and clever person around me to handle this matter."

Emperor: "I will see these doctors tomorrow."

"Old slave, go now."

The emperor stood on the steps, looking up at the dark night sky.

The autumn wind was bleak, and the emperor felt as if he had been slapped hard on the face several times, and his cheeks were painful.