Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

Han Jun's gaze froze the moment it touched the crimson plant. He clearly remembered that his master's medicine room held several similar poisonous herbs. It was said that the master had specially sent someone to retrieve them from Linyuan, and his master treasured them dearly. Could it be that this Eunuch Xing...was actually the master's hidden pawn planted in the Cining Palace?

In a split second, a plan came to mind. He suddenly turned to Xie Qingli, a cold glint in his eyes: "Mr. Wuwang, how bold! This is clearly ordinary cold-heart grass, which grows in all the northwestern states of Dongling. Its toxicity is nothing special. Besides, if someone really poisoned it, why would they be so foolish as to lay the evidence out in the open?"

Before he finished speaking, he pointed at Ping An, who was kneeling on the ground, and said sternly, "Your Highness, please understand! This servant must have been bribed to give false testimony for him!"

The air in the hall suddenly became stagnant, and the Third Prince's eyes were as sharp as knives as he slowly scanned everyone in the hall.

"I'm wronged!" Ping An banged his forehead against the ground, his voice filled with tears. "I swear to heaven that if I tell even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning! There are other people on duty in the courtyard today. Your Highness, you can ask around. Someone must have seen us."

"Come here," the Third Prince ordered coldly, "Gather all the servants of the Cining Palace into the palace for questioning. Send someone to the Imperial Hospital and summon all the doctors on duty."

Xie Qingli's eyes darkened slightly, a trace of regret welling up in her heart. Just now, when she had climbed over the wall and returned, she had smelled a faint, strange fragrance as soon as she landed. Through the half-open window of the wing room, she immediately recognized the cold heart orchid and immediately thought of the reason why the empress dowager had been poisoned.

At this moment, Ping An suddenly came forward and told her that this was Eunuch Xing's room and that she was not allowed to enter without permission. She concluded that Song Zhaoxing was the one who poisoned her and immediately decided to use this to prove his guilt.

But she never imagined that her impulsive action would cause such a huge disturbance. Chu Yuncang's painstakingly cultivated chess pieces in the Cining Palace would be thwarted here.

Soon, dozens of young eunuchs knelt in the hall in an orderly manner. The palace maids who served the empress dowager closely had long been taken to the Ministry of Punishment, and the only ones left were the low-ranking eunuchs who served on the periphery.

The two young eunuchs trembled and confirmed: "We did see Master Wuwang wandering around the courtyard... Ping'an was following him the whole time..."

Xie Qingli understood that these two people must be spies planted by Chu Yuncang.

"Huh?" A thin eunuch in charge of flowers and plants cried out in surprise at the sight of the plant on the table, then hurriedly covered his mouth. Pressed, he trembled, "Isn't this Eunuch Xing's prized plant? Eunuch Xing once said it came from his hometown, Amaterasu Prefecture. He missed his homeland so much after being in the palace, so he asked someone to cultivate it to soothe his homesickness."

But an older eunuch suddenly retorted, "Nonsense! Eunuch Xing loves sweet-scented osmanthus candied lotus roots, and I occasionally hear him humming Jiangnan folk songs. He's clearly from the South!"

Instantly, the hall erupted in an uproar. Just as everyone was talking, the eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Punishment stumbled into the hall and fell to his knees with a thud. "Your Highness, Your Highness, we have examined the palace servants responsible for Your Highness's meals and found... found that Eunuch Xing is the most suspicious. But strangely..."

His voice gradually became lower and lower, almost inaudible: "While being escorted to the Ministry of Punishment, Eunuch Xing disappeared out of thin air..."

The Queen Mother, who was reclining on the phoenix couch, suddenly slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily: "What a heartless bastard! I promoted him from that filthy place in the cold palace, and he dared..."

Her phoenix eyes gleamed coldly, and her voice was as frosty as ice: "Pass the order down, seal all nine gates! Even if you have to dig up the palace three feet deep, you must find the person for me!"

Her gaze shot like sharp arrows toward the group of imperial physicians gathered in the corner of the hall. Several of them were gathered around the crimson plant, their desks piled high with medical texts. Their fingers trembled as they turned the pages, sweat dripping from their foreheads.

The Queen Mother's voice was like ice: "After investigating for so long, have you found anything?"

The leading doctor, Chen Taiyi, fell to the ground with his knees weakened, his voice trembling: "This old minister...this old minister has been practicing medicine for decades, and I really...I have never seen such a rare herb..."

"Useless!" The Queen Mother swept the teacup from the table to the ground, sending shattered porcelain flying. She suddenly pointed at Han Jun and said coldly, "But your Imperial Physician Han just swore that this was a common cold-hearted grass in the northwest!"

The imperial physicians' expressions paled at the words. Doctor Chen's eyes flashed sinisterly, and he kowtowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, be wise! This man's medical skills are rudimentary, and his temperament is erratic. A few months ago, due to an arm injury, he couldn't even hold a needle properly, and was demoted to a low-ranking physician. His lies are clearly a charade..."

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes slightly and said slowly, "What a great Doctor Han! For his own selfish desires, he dared to stir up trouble in front of me and frame a loyal and honest person."

Her voice suddenly rose, and she shouted, "Come here! This man is seeking revenge and disturbing the palace. Drag him out and give him twenty lashes. He will be expelled from the palace immediately and will never be employed again!"

Han Jun's entire body trembled violently. He suddenly raised his head, his gaze like a poisoned arrow, darting towards Xie Qingli. He couldn't understand why he was the one who lost in the end, even though he had the upper hand today and had already grasped the fatal weakness of Young Master Wuwang.

Seeing Han Jun disappear outside the palace gate, Xie Qingli breathed a sigh of relief. Today's turmoil had finally been safely evaded. But...how on earth had Song Zhaoxing vanished into thin air amidst the strict imperial confines? Who was the man behind him?

Calming his mind, Xie Qingli calmly stepped forward to take the empress dowager's pulse. After a moment, he picked up a pen and wrote down a few beauty prescriptions before leaving the palace.

Outside the palace gate, Leng Shuang had already been pacing back and forth anxiously. Seeing Xie Qingli finally appear, she rushed forward and helped him onto the carriage, but still worried. She checked him carefully, confirming that Xie Qingli was safe and sound, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.

Back at Miaoxin Hall, Xie Qingli hurriedly changed his clothes and headed straight for Mr. Chong's courtyard. But he found Mr. Chong alone, his left and right hands engaged in a fierce battle on the chessboard. Wuyou was nowhere to be seen...

……

Prince Zhong’s Palace.

In the flower hall, sunlight shines through the carved window lattices, casting tiny spots of light on the ground.

The Princess of Zhong reclined on the chaise longue, her eyes slightly closed. A maid knelt beside her, gently massaging her temples. Her moon-white, cloud-patterned silk dress made her complexion appear even paler. A single silk and jade hairpin inlaid in her hair trembled gently with the massage.

"Zhen'er, since you're not feeling well, why bother to force yourself to meet guests?" Prince Zhong led Wuyou in. Seeing this, he immediately stepped forward, his tone full of heartache, "Leave the reception of the Taoist priest to me."

The wife of Prince Zhong slowly opened her eyes, a gentle smile appearing at the corner of her lips: "Your Highness is joking. The Taoist priest has helped a lot today, how could I be rude?" After saying that, she turned to Wuyou, the soft light in her eyes seemed to overflow.

Wuyou quickly bowed and said, "It's just a small favor. Your Majesty, you are so kind."

"Please stand up." Prince Zhong held Wuyou's arm and said with a hearty smile, "The princess is very easy-going. There is no need to be so formal, Taoist priest." As he said that, he personally led Wuyou to sit in front of the rosewood armchair. A maid had already served her fragrant tea.

Wuyou didn't show it on his face, but as he lowered his eyes and sipped his tea, he was secretly wondering: What was Prince Zhong planning by insisting on inviting him to his house? The tea reflected the slight frown on his face, and a cloud of doubt quietly surfaced in his heart...