This palace comes back in this life, only to be Nian Shilan

Chapter 64: Stronger than the Third Prince

Drink tea and relax. Jiang Cheng understood Hua Fei's hint, and knelt down and said to the emperor:

"I would like to check what the Queen Mother ate today."

Yongzheng took the teacup and lowered his brows, "Su Peisheng."

"Whoo."

Yixiu thought that the matter of Yutai Jinzhan had been covered up, so she didn't stop it.

After Zhuxi took Jiang Cheng to check what the empress dowager ate, Jiang Cheng had confirmed his guess, so he went into the hall, knelt down and reported.

"Your Majesty, I am a humble servant with limited knowledge. In my opinion, the Queen Mother must have been poisoned by the Jade Platform Golden Cup by mistake. She also ate shrimp and spinach for lunch, which amplified the toxicity of the Jade Platform Golden Cup."

"Jade Table and Golden Cups?" Yongzheng's eyes fell on the pots of delicate white flowers with yellow stamens on the table. Yongzheng felt as if he had seen these flowers somewhere before.

"Yes, the pollen of the Jade Platform Golden Calendula is slightly toxic. If people inhale too much, they will feel cold and tremble all over. In addition, eating too much shrimp and spinach can also make people tremble. The three factors catalyze the body and make people feel cold and tremble constantly."

Jiang Cheng told Wen Shichu what he had read in the medical book a few days ago. He usually saw Wen Shichu reading a book when he had nothing to do. He also looked up some information on a whim when he came back from Yiku Palace that day. He didn't expect that all of them would be used. It seems that what the ancients said is true: There is a golden house in books.

Jiang Cheng seemed to have seen the enormous wealth waiting for him.

"In that case, the Queen Mother was poisoned by the incompatibility between food and plants." Yongzheng looked at Jiang Cheng who was kneeling on the ground, his face showing no joy or anger.

"Your Majesty, that's right." Jiang Cheng continued. "This poison can be removed by drinking some licorice lemon tea. It will not cause any harm to your body."

"I remember that this jade table and golden cup are very valuable. I saw many of them in the Yude Hall behind the Yangxin Palace a few days ago." Yongzheng looked at the queen. "The queen has always been in charge of the harem's things."

Seeing that the matter of Yutai Jinzhan had finally been revealed, Yixiu could only try to distance herself from the matter: "Your Majesty, I didn't know about this matter."

"Speaking of which, the Third Prince came to pay his respects to me this morning, and he also said that he was shivering with cold. There are also many jade tables and golden cups sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in my palace." Concubine Qi's mind suddenly became much clearer when she thought of her eldest son.

"Fortunately, the Third Prince is in good health. He strictly follows the Emperor's instructions and practices riding and archery every day. He recovered after shaking for a while." At this time, Concubine Qi did not forget to show off her big son.

Concubine Hua: Concubine Qi, you seem to be stronger than the Third Prince. You didn’t even tremble after inhaling the pollen.

"Su Peisheng, go check where these jade tables and golden cups were sent to. Apart from Shoukang Palace and Changchun Palace, which other palaces have them?"

"Your Majesty, I have just checked. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent several pots of golden cups to the ladies in each palace. However, some ladies placed the flowers far away, so nothing happened. Some ladies placed them close and felt cold. Noble Fucha and Sang'er in the Yanx Palace seemed to have inhaled a lot of pollen. Someone was sent to call the imperial physician just now." There is a reason why Su Peisheng has followed the emperor for many years and his position has remained unshakable. He always thinks what the emperor thinks and worries about what the emperor worries about.

"The Jade Platform and Golden Cups are available in Xianfu Palace, Yanxi Palace, and even the more remote Suiyuxuan."

When Yongzheng heard the three words "Sui Yuxuan", his hand holding the jade bracelet tightened noticeably, and Concubine Hua noticed it.

Concubine Hua thought that Eunuch Su had some knowledge of the art of speaking.

"I remember that on the day I slept with the Queen, Baojuan told me that the Queen had specially ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send a jade table and golden cup to the Yanxi Palace to add some joy to her. Fortunately, Sister Mei and Sister Zhen are fine. It must be unpleasant to have a cold."

An Lingrong spoke at the right time. She looked at the Queen and recalled how she couldn't stop trembling that day. If Baoque hadn't asked her to drink the licorice lemon tea sent by Concubine Hua, she would have been laughed at that night when she was favored by the Queen.

An Lingrong was a thoughtful person to begin with. Now as she looked at the Queen, she thought of Baojuan, who always kept nagging her that the Queen was thinking about her. An Lingrong could not help but feel terrified when she thought about it.

"I did ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send some Jade Platform Golden Cups to An Yingying that day to add some joy, but I didn't know that the pollen of Jade Platform Golden Cups is poisonous. I have no grudges against An Yingying, so why should I harm her?" The queen simply knelt down to defend herself. "Besides, isn't An Yingying fine?"

The emperor listened to the queen's words and looked at An Lingrong again, his eyes full of inquiry.

"Your Majesty, I am indeed fine. Before I left the Yanxi Palace, I felt cold and shivering all over. Later, Baoque gave me licorice lemon tea, and I recovered."

"How do you know that licorice lemon tea can cure the poison of Jade Platform Golden Cup?"

"I don't know. I am a concubine of low rank and cannot drink good tea, so I often go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get some cheap licorice to make tea. Baoque just wanted me to drink some hot tea to warm myself up. Maybe it was a lucky coincidence."

When the emperor heard about An Lingrong's hard life, his eyes were full of tenderness when he looked at An Lingrong: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs treated you harshly, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also following the rules. I don't want to disturb the emperor, and I'm fine now, right?" An Lingrong said as she went up the pole.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs withheld the promised allowance, and then lavishly gave each palace this precious and poisonous jade table golden cup. How do you manage the harem and the queen?"

The Queen only hated that Huang Gui, the head of the Imperial Household Department, was all Hua Fei's men, but she couldn't say this openly. For a moment, the Queen was really speechless.

Just when Yixiu couldn't think of a response, the Queen Mother woke up slowly and was helped up by Zhuxi: "Your Majesty, why are you here?"

"Empress Dowager, your son heard that you were not feeling well, so he came to visit you. I hope you are feeling better now." The Empress Dowager was suffering from convulsions and chills, and had not fallen asleep. She lay in bed listening to the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable to the Empress, and she forced herself to get up.

"I'm feeling better now. It's just that I was greedy and ate the wrong thing. Your Majesty, please don't blame others."

"What the Empress Dowager taught me is true, but I still have to deal with the internal affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which flatters the powerful and bullies the weak, deceives the superiors and conceals the truth from the subordinates, and takes bribes."

Seeing the emperor's tough attitude, the empress dowager didn't say much.

"Come here, call the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report back." said the emperor.

When Huang Guiquan heard that something had happened to the jade table and golden cups he had given as a gift, he was kneeling at the gate of Shoukang Palace awaiting his fate. Now, when he heard the emperor summoning him, he rushed in quickly.

"Your servant Huang Guiquan kowtows to His Majesty. I acknowledge my guilt. I acknowledge my guilt."

"You admitted your guilt quite quickly. I have seen that you servants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been taking advantage of others to get benefits. You dared to send poisonous jade cups to various palaces as if they were free."

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. This Jade Platform Golden Cup is really a misunderstanding."

Huang Guiquan took two steps forward on his knees and said, "That day, the Queen asked me to deliver the Jade Table and Golden Cup to An Changzai. The servants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were not experienced in their work and brought in a lot of them at once.

"I thought that the Jade Platform Golden Cups were precious and their blooming period was not too long. The Queen also asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to be frugal. I was afraid that the Queen would think it was wasteful, so I sent some to each palace. I am only doing what the Queen ordered."