usatvline Chapter 509: A show of force
Chapter 509: A show of force
"What's that smell?" asked Emperor Qianwu.
"The scent of oleander." Shen Shuyi looked directly at Emperor Qianwu and spoke slowly.
"Oleander?" Emperor Qianwu frowned.
"Yes, Your Majesty, every part of oleander is highly toxic. It can cause people's heartbeat to accelerate, dizziness, and in severe cases, epilepsy and coma. The toxins of oleander, such as tricholoma and Gelsemium elegans, are similar to those of oleander..." Doctor Han explained.
"Since the county lady had already noticed it, why didn't she say it earlier?" Concubine Li was certain that Shen Shuyi had bad intentions.
Shen Shuyi said respectfully: "I just felt that this smell was a little strange and familiar, but I couldn't remember what it was until I saw the state of the queen just now, and suddenly I remembered that it was the smell of oleander."
Lipin pursed her lips slightly, unable to find any evidence against Shen Shuyi.
Now, she can only be thankful that she and her fetus are safe.
But who on earth wants to harm her?
Lipin looked at Shen Shuyi's face in front of her. Although she was still angry, she had to put her mind at ease because it concerned her own safety and the safety of the fetus.
"Doctor Han, take your men to conduct a thorough investigation of the Lihua Palace immediately." Emperor Qianwu said in a cold voice.
"Yes."
Doctor Han searched for a while and finally brought a pot of Tianbao flowers and said, "Please step aside. In my humble opinion, it must be because of this pot of Tianbao flowers.
"Tianbao flower is also a kind of oleander, and is also poisonous. I found that several of these Tianbao flowers had withered, and white juice was oozing out of their ends. This juice happens to be highly poisonous."
Lipin was looking at the pot of lush and gorgeous pink Tianbao flowers, feeling a little dazed.
"I've had this flower for a long time. How could it be..."
Doctor Han said again, "Your Highness usually only watches it and doesn't come into contact with it much, so I think it's fine. But today the flower has juice spilled out, and it was very close to the incense burner, so I think it has released some scent, or maybe Your Highness has accidentally come into contact with it."
Emperor Qianwu said coldly: "Li Yun, go and interrogate the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Garden for me!"
"Yes."
Lipin still felt a little scared, and now she felt palpitations when she saw the flower.
"Throw it out now!"
Emperor Qianwu frowned and looked at Doctor Han: "Please prescribe some tonic medicine to help Concubine Li recover."
"The minister obeys the order."
Lipin wanted to say something else, but Wang Xi got the news from the young eunuch and whispered something to Emperor Qianwu. Emperor Qianwu looked confused: "Oh? Really?"
"Yes."
"My dear, please take a good rest."
After that, Emperor Qianwu led his party away. When passing by Shen Shuyi, Shen Shuyi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I respectfully send you off."
As if he just remembered Shen Shuyi, Emperor Qianwu said in a deep voice: "The Princess of Changning County has done a great service in saving people, and she should be rewarded!"
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
After Emperor Qianwu left, Imperial Physician Han gave Concubine Li a few more instructions before taking his men away.
Shen Shuyi looked at the pale-faced Lipin lying on the bed and asked softly, "Are you feeling better now, Madam?"
Lipin stared at her without saying a word.
Shen Shuyi curled her lips and said, "I have reminded you before that it is not a good thing for the Buddhist beads to break. Be careful not to create more karma. The gain will not outweigh the loss."
Lipin suppressed her anger and said coldly, "Shen Shuyi, don't think that I will be grateful to you just because you saved me today. How do you know that you didn't do this?"
Shen Shuyi smiled, his voice clear.
"Your Majesty is right. Your Majesty is in a high position and has great power. It is not difficult for you to punish me. But similarly, if I want you to die in the palace, it doesn't seem that difficult to do so either."
Lipin's pupils shrank slightly, and she subconsciously tightened her handkerchief in her hand: "What do you mean?"
Shen Shuyi smiled kindly: "Your Majesty and I have nothing to do with each other. If Your Majesty thinks that I am a good-natured person, you can try to see if you will have such good luck next time."
"You! You are so brave!" Concubine Li spoke angrily, obviously angered by Shen Shuyi's arrogance!
"Did you poison me today?"
Lipin reacted quickly, with a hint of vigilance in her eyes.
Shen Shuyi pulled the corner of her lip and said puzzledly: "This flower was not sent by me. Why does the queen have such a deep prejudice against me?"
Lipin's throat tightened, and when she met the girl's cold and indifferent eyes, she inexplicably felt a sense of fear.
She wanted to give Shen Shuyi a warning, so she gave herself a warning in return?
She was so bold that she actually dared to attack Long Si!
Shen Shuyi smiled and spoke again: "Your Majesty and I have no vested interests. Instead of being suspicious, Your Majesty should investigate where this flower came from."
"I will take my leave now. Please take care of your pregnancy and your health."
Concubine Li stared at Shen Shuyi's back in a daze, unable to guess what she meant.
Who is it!
Who on earth wants to harm her child?
Why did Your Majesty pick it up so high and put it down so gently?
Concubine Li was unwilling to accept this, so she got angry and her stomach started to tighten and ache again.
*
Far away from Lihua Palace, Jinzhu whispered, "I was so scared. I thought His Majesty would vent his anger on you."
Shen Shu smiled nonchalantly: "Lipin is just having fun, I'm just a tool."
Jinzhu came closer and asked softly, "Miss, the poison of Concubine Li..."
Shen Shuyi curled the corners of his lips and glanced at her: "Go and pass a message to Tong Guan, let him seize the opportunity."
Jinzhu's eyes lit up: "I understand."
"What do you understand? These flowers were sent by Concubine Rou. What are you thinking about?" Shen Shuyi said seriously.
Jinzhu curled her eyes and said nothing: I don’t believe you at all!
Shen Shuyi was amused by her appearance and his thoughts were racing.
She didn't have that much time to play with Concubine Li, but since Concubine Li came to her, she didn't mind using her to pave the way for Tong Guan.
What's more, the more she suspected that Concubine Rou wanted to use the Chai family as a scapegoat, the more she wanted to get the account book from Concubine Rou.
As long as this account book falls into Concubine Li's hands, it will be much easier for her to succeed.
After all, the thing was hidden and she had no right to search Concubine Rou's bedroom.
As for Lipin's poison...
But today, when she saw the pot of Tianbao flowers, she pinched off a few branches and threw them on the incense burner beside her.
It is winter now and the room is hot and dry. The toxicity of the flower branches will be more easily dispersed after being heated.
In addition, she pinched a short rhizome between her fingertips and dripped the juice from the broken part into Lipin's teacup.
Because there was only one drop, the toxicity was not strong, but Concubine Li was pregnant and had been there for a long time, so she was inevitably affected.
But no matter what Concubine Li does, there is still a lack of solid evidence regarding the official silver.
Although there were forged official silver and the list in Xie Jingchi's hand as evidence, there was still a lack of strong human evidence.
Moreover, Shen Shuyi often couldn't help but wonder, even if the evidence was irrefutable, would Emperor Qianwu, this overbearing and tyrannical emperor, really kill his own relatives for the sake of these silvers and the victims of the disaster?
He might be able to abandon the Chai family, but could he have the heart to abandon his own son?
If you want to completely bring down Xiao Heyu and his gang, it is unlikely to succeed just by relying on the two issues of falsifying official funds and drawing empty salaries.