The Emperor's heart is won, she sits on the Phoenix Throne! The Divine Physician's Eldest

The imperial physician arrived quickly and confirmed that the Empress had been poisoned.

"Poisoning? How could someone be poisoned out of the blue?" Emperor Changlong asked.

The Empress's condition was so frightening that the palace servants went to fetch Emperor Changlong.

The imperial physician examined everything the empress had just touched, and finally placed the wine pot and wine cups in front of Emperor Changlong.

"Your Majesty, I have investigated and found that the wine pot and cups contained poison. The Empress was poisoned after drinking the wine from these."

"Someone, summon everyone who touched this wine pot and cup today!"

Emperor Changlong issued an order. Although he disliked the Empress, she was, after all, the mother of the nation. However, the fact that this person dared to poison the Empress showed how arrogant he was.

Before long, ten palace servants knelt before Emperor Changlong, who then interrogated them one by one.

"Your Majesty, this servant was in charge of serving the dishes, but I only touched the wine pot while arranging the plates."

“Your Majesty, this servant was responsible for watching over the food and wine here and did not touch the wine pot or the wine cups.”

"Your Majesty, this servant was responsible for setting out the wine pot and cups, but this servant absolutely did not poison them."

"emperor……"

……

After Emperor Changlong interrogated the ten palace servants, he found that none of them had a motive for the crime, and they all had witnesses who proved that they had indeed not poisoned the palace servants.

For a time, the case reached a stalemate.

"Your Majesty, there is something I am unsure whether I should say." Lan Zi said cautiously.

"Say!"

"Her Majesty the Empress had been drinking the wine from the wine pot. At first, she wasn't poisoned, but then... then..."

Lan Zi hesitated, and Emperor Changlong, with a serious expression, asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, Princess Youfeng came over and poured a cup of wine for the Empress. The Empress was immediately poisoned after drinking it," Lan Zi said.

"Lan Zi!" the Empress said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense! Princess Youfeng is kind-hearted. Even if she hates me, she would never poison me!"

Emperor Changlong asked the Empress, "Why does Youfeng hate you?"

"Your Majesty, this is all my fault. It was I who brought up the matter of Princess Youfeng and General Meng's mansion. I told Princess Youfeng that whatever her past identity was, that was all in the past. From now on, she should live a good life with Prince Ling and be a good daughter-in-law of the royal family."

The Empress explained to Emperor Changlong that she was very clever and only told half of what she meant.

"Princess Youfeng, how dare you! The Empress's words are all true, not a single word of them is slander against you, yet you hold a grudge and seek revenge against the Empress. You deserve to die!"

The Empress Dowager's face was cold. "Your Majesty, you must severely punish Song Siyao this time. I just said to her, she has no chance. If she gets the chance, she's afraid she'll poison me too!"

"Your Majesty, my life or death is of no importance, but if the Empress Dowager is harmed..." The Empress hesitated before continuing.

Emperor Changlong looked at Song Siyao, "Youfeng, what do you think?"

Song Siyao replied, "Your Majesty, I did not poison anyone."

"I believe you." Emperor Changlong nodded. "But the Empress has indeed been poisoned. Find the culprit who poisoned her!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Song Siyao looked at the Empress. "Your Majesty, everyone who had access to the wine pot and cups has been interrogated. If none of them poisoned the wine, and neither did I, your humble servant, poison it, then there is only one possibility: Your Majesty poisoned it yourself."

"Princess Youfeng, I just said you were kind-hearted and spoke well of you, believing you wouldn't have poisoned me. I never expected you to frame me instead!" The Empress said angrily.

"Song Siyao, how could you say such a thing as the Empress poisoning herself? Everyone saw how dangerous the Empress's condition was just now. If the imperial physician hadn't arrived in time, the Empress's life would have been in danger. Who would risk their life to poison themselves?" the Empress Dowager questioned sternly.

“Princess Youfeng, the Empress has no grudge against you, so why would she poison herself to harm you?” Jiang Yu also chimed in.

"Your Majesty is quite shrewd, but in any situation, once all other possibilities are ruled out, the only remaining one, no matter how inconceivable, is still the truth."

Song Siyao said, "Just now, Physician Zhang said that the poison you were poisoned with is called 'Wangpo'. The name sounds very dangerous, and the symptoms after being poisoned are also very serious. However, these are just the symptoms. Wangpo is a very mild poison and will not cause any fundamental damage to the body."

"Princess Youfeng, I know you are a skilled physician and knowledgeable in toxicology. You went to great lengths to frame me for poisoning myself, even choosing the poison with such meticulous care," the Empress said angrily.

"Your Majesty, I know that you will never admit it unless I present you with irrefutable evidence."

Song Siyao looked at Emperor Changlong and said, "Your Majesty, I need two clean cups."

"Someone, bring Princess Youfeng a cup," Emperor Changlong ordered.

A palace maid brought over two cups.

Song Siyao picked up the wine pot, poured half a cup of wine into the first wine cup, and then pressed the protrusion on the lid of the wine pot and poured half a cup of wine into the second wine cup.

"Your Majesty, please have the imperial physician examine these two cups of wine," Song Siyao said.

"Imperial Physician." As soon as Emperor Changlong gave the order, the imperial physician immediately stepped forward.

After a short while, the imperial physician replied, "Your Majesty, one of these two cups of wine is poisoned, and the other is not."

"Youfeng, what's going on?" Emperor Changlong asked, his face full of confusion.

"Your Majesty, this is no ordinary wine pot. In the martial arts world, it is known as the 'Life and Death Pot.' One press means life, another means death. It is often used to set traps and harm people."

Song Siyao explained, "The poisoned wine that Her Majesty the Empress drank was hidden in this wine pot long ago. She initially drank wine that was not poisoned. Later, after I came over, she pressed the mechanism, and the life-and-death pot was in my hands. The wine that I poured out was poisoned."

"You're talking nonsense!" The Empress was furious. She pointed at Song Siyao, "I had no idea there was a mechanism in this wine pot. What are your intentions in framing me?"

"Today, everyone's wine pot looks the same, but the weight of the life-and-death pot is different from other ordinary wine pots. You can feel it as soon as you lift it with your hand."

Song Siyao's voice was icy cold. "Since Her Majesty the Empress says she is unaware of this, let's start with the wine pot and investigate its origin. The wine pot was already filled with wine before it was served. Moreover, there are many people around here, so the chances of someone putting poison into the wine pot here are very small. Therefore, the poison must have been prepared from the beginning."

"These wine pots all look the same. The only safe way to ensure that the pot of life and death is placed accurately on the Empress's table is for the Empress to arrange for the person to place the wine pot."

Song Siyao stared at a young eunuch and asked, "Isn't that right?"

"I'm innocent! I didn't do it!" the little eunuch cried out.

“You are the one responsible for placing the wine pot. Since it wasn’t the Empress’s order, then you are plotting to harm her. Murdering the Empress is a capital offense, punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! Your parents, brothers, and sisters will all lose their lives because of your mistake!” Song Siyao warned.

The young eunuch thought for a moment. Since he was going to die anyway, if he plotted against the empress, his whole family would die, but if he obeyed the empress, only he would die.

He immediately implicated the Empress, saying, "This servant said that Her Majesty the Empress gave this wine pot to this servant and asked me to place it on her table."

"Empress, what else do you have to say?" Emperor Changlong asked angrily.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have no grudge against Princess Youfeng. Why would I harm myself to frame her?" the Empress said, feeling wronged.

Song Siyao said, "Her Majesty the Empress's actions are, of course, to cover up her even greater crimes."