The Virtuous Concubine

Doctor Zheng gritted his teeth and said, "There is arsenic in the cracks of Zhang Chang's fingernails!"

In a split second, Doctor Zheng had already made her choice. Seeing her in such a state, it was clear that Zhang Changzai was no longer useful. Concubine Wu Ya was pregnant with the Dragon's descendant and was favored by the emperor, so it was obvious who she would choose.

Doctor Zheng's words were like a death sentence for Zhang Changzai. When Zhang Changzai heard what he said, her face turned pale instantly, and her body slumped down weakly, as if all the vitality had been sucked out of her. She simply closed her eyes and fainted.

Seeing this, Malu first asked Bai Fu to collect the broken pieces of the cup and the remaining tea as evidence, and then asked Bai Xia to tie Zhang Changzai's hands to prevent her from destroying the evidence.

Qian Shunxi and Zhou Quanfu outside were also smart. One ran to the Qianqing Palace to report the news, and the other ran to the Imperial Medical Bureau to ask a few more imperial doctors to be witnesses.

After everything was arranged, Malu turned to Zhang Changzai, her eyes full of anger and disappointment. She kicked Zhang Changzai hard in the waist, and the piercing pain made Zhang Changzai unable to pretend anymore. She rolled on the ground in pain, her face twisted in pain.

She turned around and glared at Malu: "How dare you lynch a concubine?!"

Malu sneered: "Yes, poisoning a pregnant concubine is a small matter. What happened today is no longer a private punishment, but a major plan related to the safety of the royal bloodline. If you are really innocent, the emperor and the empress dowager will naturally take care of the kick you received."

Zhang Changzai's face turned even paler, she knew her crime had been exposed. A trace of fear flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger: "You are framing me! I want to see the emperor, I want to see the emperor!"

Ma Lu was unmoved. She knew that Zhang Chang's threat at this time was a last-ditch effort: "I told you, if you are really wronged, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager will give you justice."

Zhang Changzai's body trembled slightly, she knew she was finished. There was a flash of despair in her eyes, but she still roared unwillingly: "I won't let you go, you bitch!"

Ma Lu ignored Zhang Changzai's shouting. She turned around and ordered the palace maids and eunuchs, "Take Zhang Changzai away and keep her under good care until the emperor decides what to do."

After saying that, he began to pinch his face hard, and after brewing his emotions for a long time, his eyes soon turned red, and his face was also red, looking extremely frightened. Then Malu began to smash the furnishings of Yonghe Palace and swept everything to the ground.

Bai Fu, Bai Xia and the new doctor Zheng from Yonghe Palace were all shocked. Could it be that the master was frightened and went insane? If she was angry, she could just beat and kill Zhang Changzai. Why smash the furnishings in her own palace?

The system prompts: "Kangxi has arrived outside the Yonghe Palace."

Malu quickly threw herself into Bai Xia's arms, crying and shaking. This sudden action made Bai Fu and Bai Xia stunned.

As soon as Kangxi came in, he saw the mess on the floor and the frightened pregnant woman, Malu, with tears in her eyes.

He had already heard Qian Shunxi's report on the way. Seeing this, his heart tightened. He walked forward quickly, hugged Malu tightly in his arms, and comforted him softly: "Malu, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Malu raised her head and looked at Kangxi with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, I...I was almost killed by someone!"

Kangxi's eyes flashed with anger. He knew that Malu must have been extremely frightened. He patted Malu's back gently. Although he knew what happened, he still wanted to hear Malu tell it again to make sure it was not a trap or snare: "What happened?"

Malu sobbed and told Kangxi everything, including how Zhang Changzai poisoned herself in order to frame her, which she changed into "Zhang Changzai even painted arsenic on her fingernails and poisoned her tea in order to harm her."

They are all teacups anyway, so what does it matter whose cup the finger is in?

"Originally I just wanted to... Zhang Changzai has been accompanying me a lot these past two days, so I gave her a set of armor as a token of sisterly friendship. When I was trying on the armor, I saw that her fingers were red and swollen, and I thought she was scalded by the tea, so I prepared to test the temperature of the tea. I usually help Aunt Shuyu take care of tea affairs, and I immediately smelled that something was wrong with the Tieguanyin, so I found an excuse to call the imperial physician, but I didn't expect that the doctor would find arsenic..."

After hearing this, Kangxi's face turned extremely ugly. He had never expected that such a thing as poisoning the heir to the throne would happen in the harem. Where did this arsenic come from? Although Zhang Changzai did not have much favor, she gave birth to two daughters for him, and he visited her once every one or two months.

If Zhang Changzai ever dislikes me and thinks that I favor other concubines and that it is my problem, and one day the blame is directed at me, what should I do? !

It was really hard to sleep. It didn't matter to him if Malu or the child got into trouble, because there were plenty of women in the harem who could give birth. But if there was any possibility of harming his health, Kangxi couldn't stand it for even a minute.

The advisor next to him knew what Kangxi was thinking when he heard this and shook his head - Zhang Changzai is gone.

Sure enough, Kangxi waved his hand and said, "Advisor, you are personally responsible for this matter. You must find out the source of the arsenic, where the remaining arsenic is, and how it entered the palace."

The consultant flicked his sleeves and said, "Yes!"

He knew the seriousness of the matter, and quickly summoned his capable assistants from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct a thorough search of Zhang Changzai's residence.

Kangxi became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He unconsciously clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force he exerted. "This vicious woman actually dared to harm my heir. I will never let her off easily! Someone, demote Zhang to a commoner. Send this woman and her attendants to the Ministry of Punishment for severe torture!"

At the same time, Kangxi ordered the imperial physician Zheng to conduct a comprehensive examination on Malu to ensure the health of her and the fetus. He also specifically instructed that Malu's diet and daily life must be taken care of by a dedicated person and no negligence should be allowed.

Under Kangxi's arrangement, the order of Yonghe Palace was quickly restored to normal, and Malu gradually recovered from the "shock" under Kangxi's care.

As expected, Kangxi stayed in Yonghe Palace tonight.

Finally, with the unremitting efforts of the consulting firm, the source of arsenic was found out. It turned out that a eunuch in the palace colluded with the outside world and secretly brought arsenic into the palace. Behind this eunuch were the shadows of Tong Jia and Niu Hulu, and even the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace!

However, Zhang Changzai was weak after giving birth and could not withstand the torture. She died in the Ministry of Punishment before she could confess anything.

When Kangxi saw the result, he was so angry that he beat the consultant ten times.

It wasn't that the consultant was not good enough, but the result made Kangxi feel like he had eaten shit. The person behind the scenes had muddied the waters. If he really continued to investigate, the three women with the highest status in the harem would be embarrassed.

He would also lose face greatly. Failure to judge people is the greatest sin an emperor can commit.

Kangxi handled the matter extremely harshly. He ordered the eunuchs involved, Zhang Changzai and all those who served her to be executed as a warning to others. He also ordered the attendants and those in charge of record-keeping in the harem not to record the incident.

Zhang Changzai thus disappeared into the dust of history. Her name and deeds were deliberately forgotten, as if she had never existed in this world.

The other concubines and eunuchs in the harem were all terrified when they saw this. The fourth daughter of the emperor, born to Zhang Changzai, lost her mother's care and died of illness on a rainy night in late autumn.

A little life, before she had a chance to feel the warmth of the world, left in such a hurry. Even if she was the heir to the throne, she could not be given a title when she died of illness at such a young age. She was hastily buried. Her departure did not attract much attention, as if it was just a sigh in the autumn rain.