The most beautiful lady in the harem

The next day, Qin Liuse arrived at Yongshou Palace early in the morning and found that Zhu Cui did not seem to be as hostile to her as before.

But it wasn't much better, except that there wasn't the same verbal confrontation as before.

He didn't talk to her in the house, but when he saw her in the corridor, he just glared at her and walked away angrily without saying anything.

He looked like he didn't want to talk to her.

Qin Liuse was completely confused. She didn't know what was wrong with this young lady. She had such a bad temper.

"Zhu Cui is a young and energetic girl. Don't bother with her." The Empress Dowager Cixi said to Qin Liuse while drinking warm water.

"I don't understand what the Empress Dowager means. There is nothing wrong with Miss Zhucui treating me inappropriately." Qin Liuse pretended not to understand.

There were only two people in the palace. Qin Liuse knew that the Queen Mother Cixi deliberately chose a time when no one else was around to say this to her.

Since the matter between me and Zhu Cui has never erupted, we can only pretend that it never existed.

Every time, it was Zhu Cui who was talking, and she happened to hear it when she passed by. Qin Liuse didn't take it seriously and just let it go in one ear and out the other.

The two had never had a direct conflict.

Therefore, from beginning to end, Qin Liuse never said a bad word about Zhu Cui.

The Empress Dowager chuckled and said with a curved corner of her mouth, "You are such a lovely girl."

I don't know whether he was praising Qin Liuse or pointing out her shortcomings.

But Qin Liuse thought that her tone did not mean that she disliked her, and she couldn't help but feel relieved.

She pondered what the Empress Dowager meant.

Is it because she handled the matter properly, without exacerbating the conflict or causing trouble for no reason, and the Empress Dowager Cixi thought it was very good and looked at her with new eyes?

-

The Empress Dowager Cixi gave birth to the Ninth Prince in her early years, but he was not favored because of his humble status.

The people in the harem were all snobbish, and the villains in the Shanggong Bureau gave her only inferior items, so her health had always been poor. Fortunately, she had a good fortune in her early years, so she was able to hold on for so long.

Although this cold is not serious, it keeps coming back and I haven't completely recovered.

By the afternoon of that day, the Empress Dowager Cixi had a fever again.

After the imperial physician arrived, he took the empress dowager's pulse and said, "Your Majesty's health is weak. It is normal for you to have such relapses. It's nothing serious. You just need to stay in bed and recuperate, and stay in a good mood. You will recover in a few days."

Emperor Yongjia hosted a banquet for his ministers in the front court today and sent Zhu Wanxi to inquire.

After Aunt Fanghua informed Eunuch Zhu of the Empress Dowager's condition, Zhu Wanxi nodded, said a few words of concern, and took his men back to report.

It is true that Zhucui has an honest character, and it is also true that she is deeply worried about the Queen Mother.

She stayed in the small kitchen with a worried look on her face, making medicine for the Empress Dowager together with Concubine Qin.

After boiling the medicine, Qin Liuse quickly brought it in and said softly to the Empress Dowager, "Your Highness, you can get up and take the medicine now."

Aunt Fanghua took out a silver needle and tried the medicine for the Empress Dowager. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, she gave the medicine to the Empress Dowager with peace of mind.

The silver needles were placed in an exquisitely carved wooden box, exuding a faint fragrance. Qin Liuse sniffed it and praised, "The Queen Mother's things are really good things, so fragrant."

Aunt Fanghua smiled and said, "This is the Fanmu incense box from the Western Regions. It was given to the Empress by the late Emperor."

Qin Liuse scooped up some soup and fed it to the Empress Dowager while glancing at the box a few times.

Aunt Fanghua saw that Qin Liuse looked a little strange, so she took the silver needle and asked again, "Jieyu, what's wrong?"

Qin Liuse did feel that something was wrong, but since it was a reward from the late emperor and it had been used for so many years without any problems, there was naturally nothing wrong.

Then he smiled and said, "I just smelled the fragrance and thought that I rarely heard the name, so I was curious."

That being said, when Qin Liuse returned to Shu Yuexuan at night, she immediately pulled Zijin aside to ask.

"Do you know the Fan wood that was sent as tribute from the Western Regions? Is there anything special about the boxes made of this wood?"

Zijin thought for a moment and said, "Fanmu itself is harmless. If it is used with a single medicine for a long time, the qi will be mixed up, and there will not be any serious illness. However, over time, it will produce toxins in the body and deplete the human essence."

After Qin Liuse heard this, her heart started beating fast, and she felt inexplicably nervous and terrified. "What kind of medicine is this?"

Zijin looked at Qin Liuse and his expression suddenly became serious. His voice became a little low. "It is Fu? It is a medicine that is often used to nourish the body and mind."

Fu? is a very common medicinal ingredient. Today, when Qin Liuse went to the Empress Dowager Cixi's small kitchen, she deliberately looked through the medicine residue. She didn't know anything else, but because this medicine was very common, she remembered that it was indeed there.

Qin Liuse tightened her grip on the handkerchief, her heart skipped a beat, and she forced a smile to calm herself down.

He tried to maintain a calm tone and hold back his body trembling, "What a terrible way to harm someone. That kind of medicine is very common, but that kind of wood is not common. Who would think of doing something like this to harm someone?"

Zijin held Concubine Qin's hand and asked nervously, "Concubine Qin, who wants to harm you?"

Qin Liuse shook her head weakly and told Zijin what happened in the Queen Mother's palace.

No wonder the Empress Dowager Cixi's illness has not completely improved in the past few days. She has taken medicine, but she still looks sick.

I think it has taken a toll on my body after using it for so long.

Moreover, such a cautious and secretive method could not be used because the pulse could not be taken. The imperial physician would not feed the empress dowager medicine, let alone enter her small kitchen.

If she hadn't paid attention, and hadn't had someone as reliable and knowledgeable as Zijin, who would have been able to tell.

There was only one person in the harem who wanted to put the Empress Dowager Cixi to death, and that was the ever-busy Empress Dowager Dong.

The position of the empress dowager is second only to the emperor. It is impossible that Emperor Yongjia, the son of the emperor, would harm his own mother.

It’s just that the Queen Mother Dong’s move was too powerful.

Qin Liuse couldn't understand why, even though he had reached this position, he still disliked the Empress Dowager Cixi.

What's even more chilling is that since the Empress Dowager Dong can reach into the Empress Dowager Xi's palace, that means that the Empress Dowager Dong might have her spies in the Empress Dowager Xi's Yongshou Palace.

I just don't know whether this medicine is already in the prescription or was specially added by the Empress Dowager Dong.

If it is the latter, then the Empress Dowager Cixi's Yongshou Palace was really filled with deep-rooted people.

"Jieyu, are you going to tell the Queen Mother this news?"

Qin Liuse nodded. Of course she had to say it, but she hadn't figured out how to say it yet.

Qin Liuse did not want to expose the fact that Zijin knew medicine and was very proficient in it, no less skilled than the imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau.

If Zi Jin was exposed, she might become a threat to Qin Liuse herself in the future. Who knows, one day someone might find a way to remove Zi Jin from her side.

It is not easy to deal with her, after all, she is Emperor Yongjia's person. But for servants like Zijin, whether their heads are still on their necks or not is just a matter of a word from their masters.

The women in the harem love to use poison to harm people so much. When the time comes, she will really be left with no one to cry out.

The next day, Qin Liuse went to Yongshou Palace with a medical book.

I deliberately chose to tell this matter when only Aunt Fanghua and the Empress Dowager were in the palace.

Zhu Cui is too straightforward, and Qin Liuse is afraid that with her temper, she might not be able to keep the secret and alert the enemy.

As for Bizhu, Qin Liuse didn't know whether she was the Empress Dowager Cixi's confidant.

But Aunt Fanghua has followed the Empress Dowager Cixi for so many years, so she is still one of us.

"I usually have nothing to do, so I like to look through medical books to find prescriptions for nourishing the body. Yesterday, I heard that this wood was special and seemed familiar. I felt very strange, so I went back to look through the medical books. I saw that this wood was harmful to the body when used with a certain medicine."

"I am very frightened. Your Majesty has been taking tonic medicine for so long. I dare not hide this from you." Qin Liuse opened the medical book and looked at the Empress Dowager with a nervous and terrified expression.

The Empress Dowager had seen many storms and waves, so her expression remained calm. Aunt Fanghua was also someone who had seen the world, but when she heard the news, her expression turned very ugly.

She covered her chest and felt stuffy, and couldn't help but spit.

"That dissolute vixen in the Cining Palace has not let the queen go after all these years!..."

Aunt Fanghua's curse was so vulgar and powerful that Qin Liuse couldn't help but be shocked, thinking that Aunt Fanghua was really angry.

The Empress Dowager leaned on the chair, smiling, "It's hard for her to be so hard on me after all these years."

Qin Liuse waited for a long time, and when the atmosphere gradually calmed down, she asked, "It's good that you have figured it out now. Your Majesty, don't use the silver needles in the box anymore. For now, the most important thing is to catch the spies in the palace."

The Empress Dowager Cixi was not at all surprised or panicked, as if she had become accustomed to these fighting tactics over the years.

She smiled kindly, and was very satisfied with Qin Liuse's courage and strategy. She touched Qin Liuse's hand and said, "It's hard for you to think so much about me."