Chapter 116: Xiao Li Gets a Mouthful of Drama
"Princess Consort Hui, what’s wrong?"
A palace maid cried out in alarm. Everyone looked over and saw Princess Consort Hui tearing at her own clothes. Her outer robe was already pulled down to her waist, and she was now tugging at her undergarments.
It was a good thing the weather was cold and she was wearing thick layers, or the sight would have been unbearable.
Jia Ruo had been so focused on staring at Xiao Li that she had no idea what was happening.
"Mother, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Princess Consort Hui’s consciousness was hazy, her face flushed red. She kept clawing at her clothes. When a palace maid tried to stop her, she actually grabbed the maid, pressed herself against her, and even started gnawing on her face.
Xiao Li’s eyes went wide with shock. ’So this poison really doesn’t distinguish between man and beast! It’s not just a saying!’
Seeing that something was wrong, Xiao Jingzhao shot to his feet. "Someone, go fetch an Imperial Physician!"
He strode toward Princess Consort Hui, but even in his haste, he didn’t forget to glance at Xiao Li, his gaze meeting her wide, astonished eyes...
"Quick, restrain my mother and take her away."
Xiao Jingzhao was worldly, after all. He saw at a glance that something was amiss and immediately ordered the Palace Attendants to restrain Princess Consort Hui. In a situation like this, she had to be taken away before any treatment could be administered.
Only after Princess Consort Hui was taken away did Jia Ruo seem to snap out of her stupor. It wasn’t that she was as pure as a blank sheet of paper, but she simply couldn’t connect such a sordid affair with her own mother.
Suddenly, she whipped her head around and stared daggers at Xiao Li. "Was it you?"
Xiao Li, looking like she was just enjoying the drama, replied, "Huh?"
Jia Ruo said viciously, "If I find out you did this, you’re dead."
Perhaps the matter was too humiliating. Jia Ruo didn’t even dare to ask the Empress Dowager or the Emperor to intervene. Limping, she hurried after her mother.
Except for Xiao Li, who was savoring the juicy drama, everyone else was completely baffled. ’What just happened? Why did they leave?’
The Empress Dowager frowned. "What was that all about?"
Consort Qin, who was sitting nearby, had seen Princess Consort Hui’s disgraceful behavior clearly. She wanted to answer but found it too embarrassing to say, so she only hinted, "I fear she ate something she shouldn’t have."
The food on Princess Consort Hui’s table was still there. The Emperor waved his hand. "Someone, have the Imperial Physician come and examine this."
Lou Yan bowed. "As you command."
Xiao Jingyi had been watching Xiao Li the whole time. Seeing her eyes filled with awe and the distinct pleasure of watching a good show, he was certain she knew something. However, he also felt this probably wasn’t her doing.
At that moment, Chen Pingting, seated among the concubines, was panicking.
’Wait, didn’t I tell them to put the drug in Xuanyang’s food? How did it end up with Princess Consort Hui?’
Even now, she didn’t suspect her plan had been exposed. Princess Consort Hui had been sitting right next to Xiao Li; perhaps a Palace Attendant had simply made a mistake and delivered the wrong dish.
Seeing Xiao Li happily pick up her chopsticks and take another bite of food, Chen Pingting was filled with a burning hatred. ’Eat, eat, eat! Why don’t you just eat yourself to death?’
’The plan was perfect. She was supposed to be utterly disgraced today. How could she be so lucky as to escape it?’
’The heavens are truly blind.’
’Mr. Lu died a miserable death, his body reduced to white bones buried in the yellow earth. How does this vicious, cold-blooded woman get to live so freely and happily?’
The Imperial Physician was quickly summoned. After examining the dishes, he finally focused on a plate of Eight-Treasure Emerald Fish Ball Stew. After a careful inspection, he found the answer, but he didn’t dare speak it aloud.
Just then, he caught sight of the corner of a dark purple robe nearby. His Spiritual Gate flashed, and he shuffled over. "Mr. Lou..."
The Imperial Physician rattled on, and then Lou Yan flicked his horsetail whisk, walked to the Emperor’s side, and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
Imperial Physician: Mr. Lou, it seems an aphrodisiac was put in this. Consuming it causes the body to become feverish and the mind to grow confused.
Lou Yan: Your Majesty, the Imperial Physician says the dish was laced with the palace’s forbidden drug, ’Intoxicated Joy.’
"Insolence!" the Emperor roared, slamming his hand on the table.
Intoxicated Joy had been brought into the palace by a commoner concubine in the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s harem. It was originally a drug used for breeding livestock, but after being modified, it became the most potent of aphrodisiacs. She gave this drug to the Grand Ancestor Emperor, attempting to conceive a royal heir. However, she misjudged the dosage and nearly caused the founding Emperor to die from "madness on horseback."
When the Grand Ancestor Emperor awoke, he was furious. He forced the drug down that concubine’s throat and watched with his own eyes as her blood flowed backward and she bled from all seven orifices until she died. From that day on, the drug was classified as forbidden, and no one was ever to touch it.
The Emperor’s gaze, filled with authority, fell upon the Imperial Physician.
The Imperial Physician, completely unaware that he had been played by Lou Yan, cupped his hands in a remote salute. ’Yes, that’s exactly right.’
The Emperor roared, "Investigate! Investigate this for me at once!"
The Empress Dowager frowned. "Your Majesty, what is it?"
The Emperor’s face was grim. "This son will tell you later."
The banquet was nearly over anyway. And now with this incident, the Emperor had no mood to continue eating and drinking. He said a few perfunctory words, then rose and left. The Empress Dowager was deeply concerned, but since the Emperor wouldn’t say anything, there was nothing she could do but leave, worried.
The only person who could still eat was Xiao Li.
She slowly poured herself a cup of wine. ’I’m so curious. Who on earth drank that hair-loss poison?’
’It feels like getting a blind box but not being allowed to open it. The suspense is killing me.’
To distract herself from the frustration, she could only look at Xue Zhi, who was sitting there all alone, too scared to move.
’Tsk, tsk. Doesn’t Xiao Jingzhao treasure her so much? Why would he just abandon her here to face this all by herself?’
’Is his love-addled brain diluted these days?’
----
Meanwhile, the siblings Xiao Jingzhao and Jia Ruo learned of their mother’s condition: she had been drugged, and with an aphrodisiac.
Xiao Li!
She was the first person they thought of who could commit such a vicious act.
Xiao Jingzhao mused, "It might not have been her."
Xiao Li’s shocked expression didn’t seem like an act.
Jia Ruo gritted her teeth. "Who else could it be? Don’t tell me it was Xiao Jingyi?"
Xiao Jingzhao said arrogantly, "He doesn’t have the guts."
The Imperial Physician came out, his brow beaded with sweat. Helplessly, he said, "Your Highness, this humble official’s skills are lacking. If we use medicine to counteract the Consort’s condition directly, I fear it may harm her body."
Xiao Jingzhao’s face was dark. "If you don’t use medicine to cure her, do you have any other way?"
The Consort was the late Emperor’s concubine. Was he supposed to find a man for his own mother and make his deceased father a cuckold?
How could the Imperial Physician not know this? But he had to state the risks clearly. Otherwise, if the drug was neutralized but the Consort’s health was ruined, he would be the one to take the blame.
"Then this humble official will proceed at once."
The Imperial Physician took his people inside to administer acupuncture and medicine to the Consort.
Xiao Jingzhao, being a man, could not go inside. Jia Ruo couldn’t bear to see her mother in such a disheveled state. So, the two siblings waited outside the screen.
Both were worried about their mother’s condition, and in their hearts, they were cursing Xiao Li to a death by a thousand cuts.
Jia Ruo clenched her fists tightly. "This matter is definitely connected to Xuanyang. Brother, you must avenge our mother."
A cold light glinted in Xiao Jingzhao’s eyes. "If she did this, I will never let her go."
What gratified Jia Ruo most was that her brother was always on her side. And now, he had even put Xue Zhi out of his mind. As she thought, his family was still what he valued most.
However, just as she looked up at him, she suddenly noticed that his hair crown was crooked.
’He must be too worried about Mother to even care about his appearance.’
"Brother, your hair crown is crooked."
As she spoke, she reached out to straighten it for him. But the moment she touched it, the hair crown suddenly fell off, taking a large clump of his neatly tied-up hair with it...