An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Even though Consort Duan had already considered this matter, her expression still changed upon hearing Wen Shichu's words.

Zhen Huan and An Lingrong couldn't help but look at each other. Although they had discussed this matter in private, they knew that the repeated incidents in the harem were nothing more than someone trying to manipulate the issue of offspring in order to eliminate dissidents and give themselves a better chance.

But seeing it today, I can't help but be amazed. Such a scheme could be planned to such an extent, requiring not only connections and money, but also a great deal of maneuvering and patience.

It should be noted that a woman's pregnancy takes ten months, and given Cao's own experimentation on herself, it's likely that this plan was already in place before Zhen Huan and the others entered the palace.

It's hard to guess who has such intentions, and who they are trying to deal with by expending so much effort.

Upon seeing the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, Wen Shichu quickly bowed and knelt down, apologizing, "Your Majesty, Empress, and all the ladies and concubines, please forgive me."

Consort Duan remained silent and looked toward the head of the table.

The emperor lowered his eyes in thought, his expression unreadable.

The Empress lowered her eyes, her face expressionless, but her fingers moved the eighteen-note zither faster, as if she was trying her best to calm her emotions.

The concubines fell silent, not daring to speak, and waited patiently for the emperor to speak.

After a long pause, Consort Duan said softly, "Your Majesty, I also guessed that. The women in the harem are both concubines and subjects. Although they cannot make contributions in the court, as concubines, none of them do not want to bear children for Your Majesty and become meritorious people of the Qing Dynasty."

In my humble opinion, if this matter is merely due to Consort Li being bewitched and resorting to despicable means to gain favor and become pregnant, leading to her current madness, then she has only herself to blame. However, if someone intends to use Consort Li to harm the imperial heir, then they must not be let off lightly.”

Consort Duan's words were both humble and polite, yet every word was precise, guiding everyone's thoughts back to the main topic, which was exactly what the emperor wanted.

The emperor pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Wen Shichu, tell me how this medicine harmed your offspring?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Shichu stood up and continued, "Your Majesty, I just wanted to know the dosage of mercury because I suspected that the person administering the medicine not only intended to harm the mother but also the fetus."

It should be understood that cinnabar is precious because it has undergone several refining processes. Although it is slightly toxic, it is still suitable for medicinal use. If used in proper dosage, it can be a good medicine for calming the nerves and cooling the blood, without harming the body, and it cannot transfer the toxicity from the mother to the infant.

However, cinnabar and mercury are different; both are highly toxic, and mercury can transfer its toxicity to the fetus through the mother's body.

As Ms. Cao just mentioned, the child has bluish-purple spots on his wrists and ankles, which is precisely caused by mercury poisoning. May I ask the wet nurse, did you continue to give this medication after becoming pregnant?

Madam Cao nodded, "According to what the itinerant doctor said that day, I originally took it once every two days. After becoming pregnant, I changed it to taking it only once on the first and fifteenth of each month, just to stabilize the pregnancy."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shichu sighed and continued, "That's it then. This person's intentions are truly profound."

If a woman continues to take this medicine as planned after becoming pregnant, the excessive amount of cinnabar and vermilion in the medicine may harm the fetus, especially when the pregnancy is unstable and there is a risk of miscarriage.

However, if a woman stops taking this medicine after becoming pregnant, and if the mother is generally healthy, the cinnabar and mercury poisons from the pills taken earlier may only remain in the mother's body and not transfer to the fetus. Perhaps after ten months, she can still give birth to a healthy baby. Therefore, the itinerant doctor instructed that if a woman becomes pregnant, the dosage should be adjusted and she should continue taking the medicine.

Someone in the room gasped in surprise, and others gasped as well. An Lingrong felt a chill run down her spine.

Wen Shichu looked up and, seeing that the emperor had no intention of interrupting, continued, "Judging from the dosage of the three ingredients in this prescription—cinnabar, vermilion, and mercury—it is indeed intended to poison the fetus while it is still in the womb."

The baby was born with bluish-purple spots on its body caused by mercury poisoning. This was due to the pregnant woman's long-term use of the medication, but most people wouldn't make that connection and would simply consider it a birthmark.

Cao's face was covered in tears, and she couldn't help but sob.

Everyone present was shocked to hear this. There was another scheme behind the first one, which was truly malicious and intended to drive people to their doom.

The emperor's face turned ashen, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "Good! Good! Excellent! Truly a well-thought-out plan! Truly thoughtful!"

Seeing this, Consort Duan quickly comforted the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, there is no need to further distinguish the sinister intentions of the person behind the scenes."

"However, I still have one question. Since cinnabar and vermilion belong to the same category, and vermilion is purer and more precious than cinnabar, why not use only one type of cinnabar, but instead add both to the medicine?"

Upon hearing this, the emperor was also puzzled and asked Wen Shichu, "Wen Shichu, tell me, why is this?"

Wen Shichu was also puzzled; he couldn't fully understand the matter himself. But this question touched on something he wasn't good at. He was usually only skilled in medical research, and knew very little about the use of medicine by alchemists.

Just as Wen Shichu was about to bite the bullet and report the truth, Qin Fang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, “Your Majesty, this method is based on the secret method used by alchemists to refine medicine. I only heard about it by chance from a wandering Taoist priest when I was young.”

It is said that although mercury is highly poisonous, it is indispensable for alchemy; without it, pills cannot be formed and will not be effective. Therefore, alchemists always use mercury in their elixirs.

There are two common ways to control mercury poison. One is to rely on one's own cultivation to control mercury toxicity. However, I believe that this is often hearsay. In reality, the second method is to use the method of drug counteraction to control mercury toxicity.

I have heard that among the medicines that counteract mercury, cinnabar is the most common, and vermilion is the most effective. I suspect that this person used these two medicines through a secret method used by alchemists.

The reason for the heavy use of cinnabar was to counteract the toxicity of mercury.

The reason this formula can remain effective after the baby is born is because mercury can transfer into the baby's body, but cinnabar cannot.

Before birth, the fetus relies on the mother's body for survival. The mother's body contains cinnabar, which counteracts the poison of mercury. Therefore, as long as the mother maintains her usual dosage of medication while the fetus is in the womb, the fetus will not die from poisoning. Thus, after the fetus is born, the mercury poison in its body is no longer counteracted by cinnabar.

If the child is breastfed, the cinnabar already in the mother's bloodstream can pass into the child's body through breast milk, helping to suppress the poisoning. However, if the child is not breastfed, their young and weak constitution will not allow them to survive for long; they will slowly succumb to the poison. The symptoms will be as Cao described: the child's body will turn bluish-yellow when they die. This is a symptom of death from mercury poisoning.

After Qin Fang finished speaking, he bowed properly and said, "This humble subject's opinion is unfounded, and I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."