Chapter 171: Unveiling the Secret
The Grand Princess’s gaze fell upon Li Zhao. “Crown Prince, you speak with such certainty, but do you have proof?”
“Naturally,” Li Zhao replied with a faint smile, his deep eyes sweeping over the yellowed booklet. His every movement exuded the sharpness of someone in a position of power.
“Here are the medical records. Following this lead, the truth will surely be revealed.”
The Grand Princess nodded. “Since the Crown Prince is so confident, he must have given it much thought. However, such dedication makes one curious. What exactly is the reason for your insistence on this old matter?”
Old ginger is spicier.
This seemingly casual question was like a massive stone dropped into a calm lake.
It sent everyone’s minds racing with speculation about the Crown Prince’s motives.
Was there some unspeakable purpose behind it? Was it a scheme from the Eastern Palace?
Li Zhao slightly raised his chin and took two steps forward, standing tall like a pine tree.
“Consort Xue Shu was meticulously schemed against, resulting in the loss of two lives. My Imperial Mother, having visited the ailing Consort Shu, was then embroiled in controversy. For years, within and outside the palace, it has been rumored that the Empress murdered Consort Xue Shu and the unborn Imperial Prince. The injustice against my Imperial Mother is a constant thorn in my throat. As a son, how can I stand idly by?”
The Grand Princess said coldly, “Then, who does the Crown Prince believe to be the mastermind?”
Li Zhao: “In the struggles of the harem, whoever benefits is the mastermind…”
All eyes turned, as if by unspoken agreement, towards Consort Xiao.
Empress Xie’s previously pale face suddenly flushed, her breathing quickened, and the handkerchief in her hand was twisted out of shape.
The stigma and slander she had carried for years, leaving her unable to defend herself and forcing her to swallow her pride, had never made her think that after so many years, the truth would finally come to light…
She looked at her son, who stood tall and elegant.
Her gaze then inadvertently swept over Xue Sui’s calm face.
Her intuition told her that this matter was inextricably linked to Madam Ping’an.
Empress Xie’s emotions were incredibly complex.
The atmosphere in the hall shifted abruptly, becoming so oppressive it was difficult to breathe.
Consort Xiao felt the growing scrutiny and suspicion like thorns in her back, her hands and feet growing cold.
“Your Highness!” she asked sharply, “You deliberately chose the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet to bring up old matters. Are you intentionally disrupting the celebration and displeasing the Empress Dowager? Or do you harbor ambitions and wish to use this opportunity to incite conflict in the Imperial Court?”
“Why is Consort so anxious?” Empress Xie smiled gracefully, the jade bracelet on her wrist flashing with a faint, cold light. “It’s merely that the Crown Prince happened to witness such methods and happened to uncover old records from the Imperial Hospital, seeking justice for Consort Xue Shu.”
With that, she turned to Empress Dowager Cheng Qing, her move both strategic and swift.
“The Empress Dowager has always cherished Consort Xue Shu. If her unjust grievance can be redressed, would that not be a rare birthday gift?”
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing looked at the “birthday gift” presented by Li Zhao. She was rendered speechless by Empress Xie’s question, feeling displeased but unable to show it, so she could only force a smile and sigh.
“All of you, are you intentionally preventing me from having a proper birthday celebration…”
She let out a displeased snort from her nostrils, her gaze slowly drifting towards Xue Sui.
“Since Madam Ping’an understands medicine and claims to be more skilled than Imperial Physician Fu, then let her examine. Ping Le!”
The controversy surrounding Consort Xue’s death once again fell upon Princess Ping Le.
“Imperial Grandmother?!” Ping Le exclaimed in shock upon hearing her name, instinctively shifting to the side, but was met with a stern glare from Li Zhao.
“If Imperial Sister has nothing to hide, why fear a doctor’s examination of her pulse?”
“She is not a doctor. Who knows what her intentions are?”
Li Zhao smiled. “I have learned that Madam Ping’an possesses exceptional medical skills. She not only saved the life of the Second Young Lady of the Xue Mansion but also saved Consort Wan and Princess Wen Jia. How can she not be considered a doctor?”
“I can vouch for her,” Old Madam Cui stood up and bowed respectfully to the Empress Dowager and the various Noble Persons present, speaking in defense of Xue Sui. “For years, I have suffered from chronic rheumatism, often experiencing unbearable dizziness. It was only thanks to my granddaughter’s meticulous treatment that I gradually improved. My granddaughter is pure and kind; she would not lie.”
Clearly, the old madam was determined to seek an explanation for Consort Xue Shu’s death.
With Old Madam Cui’s firm plea and the murmuring of the other ladies present, Empress Dowager Cheng Qing hesitated for a moment before slowly sighing out a single word.
“Examine!”
Xue Sui walked forward slowly and, without allowing refusal, took Ping Le’s wrist.
Ping Le, shocked and angry, raised her chin and glared at Xue Sui, struggling forcefully to break free.
Xue Sui met her gaze, and after a moment of silent confrontation, she smiled gently.
“As I suspected, it was indeed caused by medication. Princess Ping Le was not pregnant, nor did she miscarry.”
Ping Le’s face changed drastically. “Are you saying that with just your words, you can spout nonsense and twist the truth?”
The Grand Princess also frowned and questioned, “Indeed, Madam Ping’an has no proof. How can anyone be convinced?”
Imperial Physician Fu snorted and passionately declared, “I come from a legitimate medical lineage, with thousands of recorded medical cases. Upon careful examination of Princess Ping Le’s pulse, it is slow and irregular, string-like and chaotic – signs of severe qi and blood deficiency after a miscarriage. Madam Ping’an, relying on her own superficial judgment, dares to speak so boldly in the hall and attempt to overturn a settled conclusion? How ridiculous!”
Xue Sui calmly released her hand and smiled as she bowed to the Empress Dowager at the head of the hall.
“Empress Dowager, could you please have someone fetch a basin of soapberry water?”
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing’s gaze shifted back and forth between the individuals.
After a long pause, she finally raised her hand wearily. “Go fetch it.”
Before long, a palace servant brought over a copper basin.
It was filled with water infused with soapberry.
Xue Sui stirred the water twice, watching the ripples gently spread. Suddenly, she raised her hand and, before Ping Le could react, lifted her sleeve and pressed a section of her fair, slender hand into the water.
Ping Le cried out, “Xue Liu, what are you doing?”
No one answered her.
All eyes in Ci An Hall were drawn to the changes in the basin—
The soapberry water showed no unusual reaction.
However, Ping Le’s normally fair skin began to take on a strange grayish-blue hue in the water.
Xue Sui bowed respectfully. “Red Musk Powder turns blue when it encounters alkali. Princess Ping Le has this substance hidden in her sleeve, and it stains the skin upon contact… However, why the Princess would carry Red Musk Powder into the hall, and whether she was framed, I cannot say…”
Ping Le’s face contorted in disbelief as she looked at her discolored hand.
“What’s happening? Why is this happening? Did you do this?”
Xue Sui did not try to prove herself to anyone. She said calmly, “Stephania tetrandra mixed with Red Musk Powder can induce abortion or create the illusion of a miscarriage. This has long been rumored among the common folk, but it is a street trick that most noble ladies in the palace are unaware of. However, for those who study medicine, it is hardly a great secret, wouldn’t you agree, Imperial Physician Fu…”
She looked at Fu Qingsong’s slightly flustered expression.
“If Imperial Physician Fu still has doubts, he is welcome to conduct another examination.”
Imperial Physician Fu’s eyes darted away, his voice weak. “I, I am from the orthodox medical school of the Imperial Hospital, dedicated to the study of medicine and serving the nobility. How would I know such vulgar tricks? I have never heard of it, never heard of it…”
Xue Sui curved her lips, knowing he intended to shirk responsibility, and did not press the matter.
She slowly turned her gaze to the sandalwood box on the Empress Dowager’s desk and smiled faintly.
“If Consort Xue Shu’s medical records indeed contain such entries, then the Consort’s premature labor and hemorrhage back then were likely the result of foul play, and there are probably hidden circumstances behind it…”
In the hall, the expressions of several elderly ladies of rank suddenly changed.
The prayer beads in Old Madam Cui’s hand snapped with a “snap,” and the sandalwood beads rolled across the floor.
It was the Xiao Clan who had harmed their own daughter and the Imperial Prince in her womb!
It turned out that their daughter had been poisoned in Rouyi Hall that year, dying during a difficult labor.
It was hateful that the Xue family had been kept in the dark for years, remaining loyal to the Xiao Clan and serving them diligently, only to realize they had unknowingly become accomplices to their enemy.
Their daughter had died with lingering resentment, her eyes wide open in death!
Old Madam Cui trembled with rage. She first adjusted her clothes, then, suppressing her grief and indignation, steadily approached the Empress Dowager. She slowly and solemnly knelt down, placing her hands flat on the ground, and performed a deep bow.
“Please, Empress Dowager, dispense justice for Consort Xue Shu and for the daughter of the Xue family!”
Xue Yuechen looked at her grandmother, her eyes reddening, unable to speak.
Seeing this, Wen Jia stumbled and fell at the Empress Dowager’s feet, tears streaming down her face.
“This granddaughter is wronged. Please, Imperial Grandmother, dispense justice for this granddaughter…”
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing’s chest heaved violently. Looking at the ladies of rank whispering in the hall, a chill rose from her chest, and she felt a sense of being overwhelmed.
Li Zhao looked down at Ping Le, who was filled with disbelief.
“Imperial Sister, what else do you have to say?”
“No… this is impossible…” Ping Le shook her head slightly, looking at her discolored wrist. She suddenly looked at Consort Xiao. “Imperial Mother! It wasn’t me… I didn’t…”
“Silence!” Consort Xiao slapped Ping Le across the face. A scratch from her fingernail immediately drew blood on Ping Le’s cheek.
“It’s one thing for you to be infatuated with the Imperial Son-in-law and consumed by jealousy, but why would you frame your sisters?”
There’s another chapter at 7 PM. Wishing everyone a happy holiday!
