The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

Wu Xiangrong immediately glared at the man fiercely.

"The matter hasn't been thoroughly investigated yet, why are you fanning the flames here? Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the other ladies haven't expressed their opinions, so how can you have a say?"

The young concubine shrank her neck and whispered in protest, "Does that mean you have the right to speak? Isn't it obvious? Ying Ronghua's other diet is fine, but the hawthorn pills given by Concubine Zhao are the problem. And no one else can open that package of hawthorn pills and replace them... Concubine Zhao pretends to have a deep sisterly love for Ying Ronghua, but secretly she is plotting to murder her unborn child..."

There were many people present, but no one dared to speak casually.

Although the palace concubine's voice was low and she was mumbling, everyone in the room could hear it.

Wu Xiangrong angrily said, "Why would Concubine Zhao want to murder Ying Ronghua's fetus? Concubine Zhao has all the favors and status she wants, but she's not like the rest of you who are jealous of others and always harbor evil intentions! To me, it seems more like someone is jealous of Concubine Zhao and also jealous of Ying Ronghua's fetus, so they're killing them both with one stone!"

Pointing at the young concubine who had spoken, he said, "You took the opportunity to fan the flames. Are you also suspected of being involved in this matter, specifically instigating it?"

The concubine was so angry that she mustered up her courage, walked out of the crowd and knelt before the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I am only discussing the matter at hand. I have no intention of instigating..."

Since she showed her face in front of the emperor, she acted in a charming and seductive manner, turned her head to the emperor, sobbed, and wiped her tears with her sleeves.

"Concubine Wu is close to Concubine Zhao and always favors her. I understand. But this involves the royal heir, and Ying Ronghua has suffered so much. Any doubts must be thoroughly investigated. Even the Empress Dowager's osmanthus curd has been investigated. What's wrong with us reasonably suspecting Concubine Zhao? Your Majesty, don't you agree?"

She was only concerned with proving her innocence, but she stepped on the emperor's taboo without realizing it.

There were undercurrents between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. The investigation into the osmanthus curd had already displeased the Empress Dowager.

At this time, a concubine used this matter to make a fuss, targeting Fei Wan...

The emperor's face immediately darkened.

"Step back and go back and copy the 'Rules for Women' a hundred times."

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty... I am merely expressing the doubts in everyone's mind..."

"Five hundred times."

"..."

The palace concubine didn't dare to say anything more. She kowtowed and quickly left the side hall, walking away in disgrace.

From beginning to end, the emperor never remembered who she was.

There were many women in the palace, but those with average talent and appearance had long been forgotten by him.

Fei Wan used her eyes to stop Wu Xiangrong from begging for mercy, and walked up to the emperor herself.

"Your Majesty, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the candied fruit I gave Sister Ying. But now this has happened, and I don't know where the mistake was made. For now, the most important thing is to take good care of Sister Ying's health. My innocence is not important, but to give an explanation to Sister Ying and her unborn child, I implore Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation. I will relinquish my duties as the harem's assistant and remain indoors, awaiting the results of the investigation."

Her words were sincere and her expression was frank, which made some people think that it might not be her.

But at this moment, Cao Bin came in from outside and whispered a few words in the emperor's ear.

The emperor, who was looking at Fei Wan gently and wanted to say something, suddenly changed his expression.

He glanced at Fei Wan scrutinizingly and said, "Bring her in."

The eunuch in front of the emperor dragged a palace maid into the hall and forced her to kneel down.

Fei Wan was stunned: "...Linshui?"

"Who is this, Sister Zhao?" Concubine Yue raised her eyebrows.

Fei Wan was puzzled: "She is a new maid in my palace. Eunuch Cao, what crime did she commit?"

Cao Bin bowed and explained to everyone.

It turned out that when he was ordered to seal off Changle Palace and Chunxi Palace and told no one there to move, this palace maid was sneaking around and fiddling with something in a secluded corner of Chunxi Palace.

The eunuch in front of the emperor noticed it and immediately stepped forward to stop her, but she was in a panic and stepped on something on the ground.

The eunuchs came closer with lanterns in hand to take a look.

I found her digging a hole under the flowers to bury something.

"It's this package..."

Cao Bin took an oil-paper bag from the young eunuch.

Several imperial physicians present immediately determined that this was the processed safflower powder.

The judge of the Wenyuan Court frowned. "The smell and cooking temperature are exactly the same as the safflower contained in the hawthorn pills in Ying Ronghua's purse."

"The punishment will be carried out right here." The emperor gave the order in a calm tone with an expressionless face.

After a while, a package of torture instruments was delivered from the Palace Justice Department's torture room.

When the cowhide scroll was opened, various knives and scissors of various shapes, still stained with blood, and things that no one could name were revealed.

Many concubines quickly turned their eyes away, not daring to look closely.

Obviously, the emperor's order was intended to shock everyone.

Cao Bin gave a signal, and a eunuch came forward, picked up a string of torture instruments, and walked to the palace maid Lin Shui.

Just put the thing on her finger.

This finger-clip torture device, also used by government offices, was particularly cruel to female prisoners. Ten fingers were inserted, the ropes on both sides were stretched straight, and the clamps tightly clamped the fingers. When the ropes were released, the hand was essentially crippled.

The pain is so severe that it goes straight to my heart.

"Ah! No! No! I'm telling the truth! I'll tell you everything! Your Majesty, please spare me! Concubine Zhao, I'm so sorry!"

Before the clamps were put on, Lin Shui screamed loudly.

She struggled to break free from the eunuch's grip, crawled to the emperor's feet on her knees, and screamed in fear.

"Your Majesty, it was Concubine Zhao who made the safflower and mixed it into the candied fruit for Lady Ying. There was some left after the candied fruit was made, and Her Majesty didn't let it be thrown away, so she planned to make another one if it didn't work out. The incident happened tonight, and I was afraid the things would be dug out, so I wanted to bury it in the ground and destroy it. But I didn't cover it up intentionally. Concubine Zhao threatened me not to tell anyone, otherwise she would kill me before she was convicted. I was forced to do this, Your Majesty! Please forgive me!"

The whole room was in an uproar.

Everyone looked at Fei Wan.

The emperor frowned, "Zhao Qing."

His tone was gentle, waiting for Fei Wan to explain.

Fei Wan glared at Lin Shui coldly, "I sent preserves to Sister Ying last month. When did you come to serve at Chunxi Palace?"

Concubine Kang exclaimed, "That's right. The new arrival in Chunxi Palace is on the third day of this month. I remember it was my sister's birthday that day."

Then everyone looked at Linshui again.

Fei Wan continued, "Besides, if I wanted to harm Sister Ying by adding something to the candied fruit, I should have asked someone who has served me for a long time to do it. You are a newcomer who only cleans the palace. I barely remember your name. How can I trust you with private matters?"

Wu Xiangrong, Chen Guiren and other concubines of Feiwan's faction hurriedly said "Yes, yes".

Lin Shui said, "Before I entered Chunxi Palace, I was working for Her Majesty. The safflower was given to me by Her Majesty in exchange for money. She said that private matters should be handled by unfamiliar people to avoid arousing suspicion. If Xiangyi, Xiaohui, and other close maids were used, they would inevitably be spotted and exposed. I was able to enter Chunxi Palace because I gave money to Eunuch Liude, who specifically asked him to assign me to Chunxi Palace! Her Majesty made the hawthorn pills herself, and after I entered Chunxi Palace, she gave me the remaining safflower to keep. Even Xiangyi and the others were unaware of it!"