Disease rights policy

Chen Jinning was surprised that Consort Rong could lie in front of everyone. She only wanted to protect Qiao Ran, so she argued, "Princess Xi fell by accident. Everyone saw it. Consort Rong, please don't talk nonsense."

Supported by a palace maid, Consort Rong slowly turned around and scanned the room. "Really? Who saw it?"

Those still present were all of lower rank than Consort Rong, and far less favored by her. They dared not openly oppose her, and for a moment the hall was silent.

Consort Rong smiled with satisfaction, "Look, Princess Ning is not good at disciplining me, and her viciousness is so great that she doesn't even spare children."

Chen Jinning's face turned red with anger. It was clearly not Qiao Ran who did it. She should have known better than to come here. She was about to continue arguing when Qiao Ran suddenly pulled Chen Jinning from behind.

"Consort Rong insists that I tripped Princess Xi, and I have no way to defend myself. It would be better to wait for the Empress and the Emperor to make a decision."

Consort Rong stared viciously at Qiao Ran. The moment their eyes met, she suddenly felt that those clear and calm eyes seemed familiar, but she had never met any of the maids in the Chen household.

Thinking of this, Qiao Ran's beautiful appearance became even more repulsive in Consort Rong's eyes, and she attributed her familiarity to Qiao Ran's beauty.

"Guards!" Consort Rong suddenly became even more ruthless. "You insubordinate wretch, slap your face!"

The two palace maids beside Consort Rong immediately attacked Qiao Ran from both sides. They always had to obey Consort Rong's orders, otherwise they would be punished, ranging from two strokes of the cane to death. They had no choice but to comply.

"What are you doing!" Chen Jinning's tone hardened as she pushed aside the palace maid approaching from the right. "I am Princess Suining, let's see who dares to touch me!"

The maids were also taken aback, and subconsciously looked at Consort Rong. Consort Rong remained silent with a gloomy face, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and offend Princess Suining.

Chen Jinning, a lady from a respectable family, was not very strong, and the palace maid easily pushed her away. Qiao Ran held back her anger because of the situation. When the first palace maid reached out her hand, she pretended to back away, but actually swiftly struck the palace maid hard on the waist. Then she pretended to trip the palace maid in a panic. The palace maid cried out in surprise, fell down, and her face turned pale with pain. She couldn't get up for a long time.

Consort Rong asked coldly, "What's wrong with you!"

The palace maid was in pain, her whole body ached inexplicably, and she couldn't speak. Consort Rong came up and slapped her. She felt like she had been wronged to death.

"Your Highness, this is Roufu Palace! Not your Yuxiu Palace. What do you want?" Chen Jinning asked angrily.

A loud voice outside announced, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" and she instantly saw her savior.

Hearing the commotion at Roufu Palace, the Empress hurriedly came from Kunning Palace. Before she even reached the gate, she heard the farce inside. With Consort Rong around, even the smallest things could be blown out of proportion. She was so annoyed that she didn't want to go in.

As soon as the Empress entered, everyone bowed and greeted her. The Empress slowly sat down before asking, "What kind of behavior is this, all this noise and arguing? It's one thing if you don't care that Princess Xi is injured, but to argue like this, would you be happy if His Majesty found out and punished me for not disciplining her properly?"

Seeing that the commotion had escalated, the other concubines whispered, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

The Empress knew what they were thinking. Over the years, there had been countless power struggles in the harem. Although she hadn't participated, she hadn't completely stayed out of it either; she just sometimes disdained to pay attention.

So he waved his hand and said, "If there's nothing else, you can all leave now. Don't disturb Princess Xi's peace and quiet."

"Yes, I will retire."

Before long, the number of people in the hall decreased, and the air became more breezy.

The Empress glanced at Consort Rong and said coldly, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Consort Rong not only didn't leave, but also sat down calmly to the side, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Her Majesty the Empress's news travels fast. In just a few words, it's already from Kunning Palace to Roufu Palace."

"Nonsense!" The Empress slammed her hand on the table, her tone unfriendly. "As the mistress of this harem, where can't I go! As long as I live, you will not be allowed to run wild and cause chaos in this harem!"

The Empress was known for her kindness, and the servants rarely saw her so angry, so they all immediately knelt down.

Consort Rong gritted her teeth. "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I was just standing up for Princess Xi. It's a pity that Princess Xi is so young, yet there are people who can't stand to see her doing well. They caused the little princess to fall so badly. Your Majesty, you didn't see it with your own eyes. There was such a long cut on her forehead. How will she be able to face people after this?"

The Empress frowned, her head throbbing even more. This was a serious matter. "What exactly happened?"

Chen Jinning could not let Consort Rong continue to frame her, so she walked up to the Empress and knelt down. The Empress was startled, and her brows furrowed even more. "A-Ning, get up quickly."

"Your Majesty, please investigate!" Chen Jinning knelt down, and Qiao Ran naturally followed suit. Chen Jinning said, "Princess Xi was running too fast and accidentally fell. Consort Rong insisted that it was my maid who tripped her. Your Majesty, Linglong is perfectly fine. Why would she harm Princess Xi? Please, Your Majesty, seek justice."

Qiao Ran kowtowed and defended herself, saying, "Linglong did not trip Princess Xi, and I don't know why Consort Rong insists that I tripped her. Please, Your Highness, uphold justice."

Consort Rong's eyes narrowed. "Am I to say I've wronged you?"

Qiao Ran thought to herself, isn't that right?

Empress: "Enough! Yinghong, go see Princess Xi. The imperial physician has been gone for half a day, and he should have some results by now."

Yinghong bowed and left. The Empress was too lazy to settle Consort Rong's case. She trusted Chen Jinning from the bottom of her heart. After seeing Linglong's appearance, she should have reminded Chen Jinning earlier not to let Linglong run into Consort Rong's trap.

If it were just a minor incident, it wouldn't be a big deal, but this time Princess Xi was actually injured. With the Emperor questioning her, she has to handle the situation properly.

"You'd better pray that Princess Xi is alright," the Empress said, unwilling to see Consort Rong any longer. "That despicable thing, who somehow managed to win the Emperor's heart and maintain his favor for so many years. No matter how much I hate her, I'm powerless to do anything about it." With a stern face, she ordered Consort Rong, "You go back to the palace first."

Consort Rong took a leisurely sip of tea and said in a high-pitched voice, "The Empress despises me and doesn't want to see me. Fine, you can handle things here slowly. I'll leave."

The Empress ignored her completely, and Consort Rong, supported by her maid, walked away with a cold smile.

"You two stop kneeling and get up."

Qiao Ran had been kneeling for a long time, and her knees were aching. With the departure of that wicked Consort Rong, she breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled Chen Jinning up, and before they could even stand properly, Yinghong rushed over in a panic, "Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"

The Empress knew Yinghong's temper well, and stood up instantly when she saw her lose her composure.

Yinghong exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, Princess Xi... Princess Xi is dying!"

“Bang!!”

The Empress accidentally knocked over a white jade teacup on the table, which shattered into pieces upon hitting the ground. She clutched her chest and asked, "What did you say?"

Yinghong knelt down, her face pale. "Your Majesty, please go and see! Princess Xi... she's really not going to make it. Consort Li couldn't bear the bad news and has fainted too."

The Empress nearly fell and staggered toward the side hall where the imperial physician was treating her. Chen Jinning was so frightened that she could hardly speak, her hands gripping Qiao Ran tightly, her nails almost digging into Qiao Ran's palms.

"Sister Qiao...how could this be?"

Qiao Ran remained relatively calm and said in a low voice, "Let's go take a look first."

She was right there when Princess Xi fell and was helped up. She saw it clearly. Princess Xi had only cut her forehead on the sharp edge of a table leg. It looked like she was bleeding, but it wasn't serious. It was just a superficial wound.

Even if Princess Xi is young, this injury shouldn't be fatal.

When they arrived at the side hall, a circle of people were already kneeling on the ground. The maids and eunuchs of Roufu Palace were weeping softly. The Empress needed Yinghong's support to keep herself steady, and her lips were as white as blood.

Yinghong called out "Your Majesty" in a low voice a few times before the Empress took a deep breath and moved her lips to say, "Seal off Roufu Palace... No! Immediately notify the Imperial Guards to seal off the palace!"

The little eunuch kneeling on the outermost edge scrambled out to report.

The Empress's legs went weak, and she sat down on the edge of the couch. The Princess Xi beside her had become a cold corpse, her tender face contorted in pain, and her whole body was an unnatural bluish-purple.

Qiao Ran glanced at it from afar and knew that the person had been poisoned.

Even though she was usually very calm, her heart was pounding wildly. Something terrible had happened!

And this matter is probably inseparable from them.

Consort Rong is definitely involved too!

The news of Princess Xi's death from poisoning quickly reached Li Hezhang's ears. Upon hearing this, Li Hezhang nearly fainted and flew into a rage.

The Imperial Guards sealed off the capital city in an instant, and Roufu Palace was completely surrounded, trapping Qiao Ran and Chen Jinning inside.

It was Yao Yuze who arrived. He was still recovering from a serious illness, and with such a major incident occurring in the palace, he dared not slacken his vigilance for a moment. After Pu Jing examined Princess Xi's body, he brought the imperial physician up.

The physician summoned to treat her was Li, a veteran of the palace. He said, word by word, "Princess Xi's forehead injury was not serious. At first, I thought it was just a minor bump. But after less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Princess Xi suddenly started convulsing, her crying stopped, and then blood started flowing from her seven orifices... General, it's Cold Stone Powder. The perpetrator is simply too vicious."

Yao Yuze asked coldly, "Where did the poison come from?"

Physician Li said, "It seeped in through the wound on her forehead, but how could there be Cold Stone Powder on this wound? I urge the General to quickly investigate who came into contact with the little princess when she fell."

Cold Stone Powder?

Qiao Ran and Chen Jinning exchanged a glance. Chen Jinning was terrified. This was plotting to harm the imperial heir, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

At that time, besides the people from Roufu Palace, the only person who had contact with Princess Xi was... Chen Jinning!

Sure enough, one of the women kneeling among the palace maids crawled out and cried, "General, back then, back then Princess Suining used a handkerchief to stop the bleeding for our little princess Xi!"

Chen Jinning glanced at Yao Yuze, "I..."

She couldn't explain it clearly, and even vaguely felt that it was the problem with her handkerchief.

Qiao Ran didn't dare to make a sound. She had always known that the palace was full of intrigues and dangers, and she had always been on guard. But she never expected that there would be a net in front of her that could kill Chen Jinning and the entire Chen family at once!

Yao Yuze: "Where's the handkerchief?"