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Concubine Xu stole a glance at Xiao Jinyan, hoping he hadn’t noticed her pretense.

She then stole another glance at Imperial Doctor Wen, the money has been taken, you must speak favorably!

Xiao Jinyan: "..." Even spending money to bribe people?

After Imperial Doctor Wen finished his examination, Xiao Jinyan asked coldly, "How is Concubine Xu’s health?"

"Your Highness, Concubine Xu’s health is good, she just has some indigestion recently, which might cause some discomfort in her stomach," Imperial Doctor Wen replied.

After hearing this, Concubine Xu couldn’t help but complain, you’ve taken the money, can’t you make it sound more serious? Can this deter His Highness?

Xiao Jinyan snorted, "Since it’s nothing serious, I shall return."

Upon finishing, he instructed Cai Xia, "Take good care of your young mistress."

Cai Xia carefully responded, "This maid understands."

Xiao Jinyan withdrew his gaze and turned to leave Yixiang Hall.

Concubine Xu knew she couldn’t stop him; she glared at Imperial Doctor Wen, "You’ve taken the money, why didn’t you make it sound worse?"

Imperial Doctor Wen looked bewildered, "This humble doctor did not take any money."

Now it was Concubine Xu’s turn to be bewildered.

"Then why did you say I’m not feeling well?"

Imperial Doctor Wen explained, "Concubine Xu truly has indigestion, don’t you feel some bloating in your stomach?"

Concubine Xu paused for a moment, touched her stomach, and indeed, there seemed to be some bloating～

Returning to Qimeng Hall, Xiao Jinyan could hear the tune of high mountains and flowing water from afar, slightly more frantic than before, indicating that the person playing the instrument was also feeling restless.

He walked in slowly.

Shuiyao had come in beforehand to report, "Princess, His Highness has returned."

On hearing this, Princess Xueyan looked up and saw Xiao Jinyan approaching slowly. Eager to greet him, she stood up but just as she did so, she felt the world spin and darkness overcame her, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Princess?" Shuiyao exclaimed in shock and hurried over to help Princess Xueyan up.

Xiao Jinyan coldly ordered Liu Xi, "Call Imperial Doctor Wen over."

A quarter of an hour later, Liu Xi called for Imperial Doctor Wen just as he stepped out of Yixiang Hall.

Princess Xueyan lay in bed, her face deathly pale, sweating profusely from her forehead.

Imperial Doctor Wen was taking Princess Xueyan’s pulse, his brow furrowed.

Xiao Jinyan asked sternly, "How is Princess Xueyan?"

Imperial Doctor Wen replied, "Your Highness, Princess Xueyan has been poisoned."

"How could she have been poisoned all of a sudden?" Xiao Jinyan glanced at Shuiyao, who was kneeling on the ground, and questioned coldly, "You attend to Princess Xueyan’s personal needs. Do you know why she would be poisoned?"

Scared out of her wits, Shuiyao replied with a trembling voice, "Your Highness, this maid doesn’t know."

Xiao Jinyan continued to inquire, "Is there anyone suspicious in Qimeng Hall?"

Wiping her tears, Shuiyao replied, "The Princess is always personally attended to by this maid. All her meals are tested for poison. Even if someone wanted to poison her, there would be no opportunity to do so."

Xiao Jinyan looked at Imperial Doctor Wen, "Why haven’t you prepared the medicine yet?"

Imperial Doctor Wen responded with a bashful face, "Your Highness, the poison in Princess Xueyan is very strange. I have not seen it before and have not yet figured out an antidote."

The poisoning of Princess Xueyan alarmed the Empress.

The Empress hurried over to inquire and found out that Princess Xueyan had suddenly been poisoned with no known antidote at the moment.

The women in the palace competed fiercely, employing various schemes; she had seen it all before.

Princess Xueyan being poisoned on the very day she was to attend the Emperor’s bedchamber was suspect enough.

She questioned sternly, "Imperial Doctor Wen, you’re not sure what poison it is, so what good are you as an Imperial Doctor?"

"Your Majesty, this is a slow-acting poison. It has been in her system for some days. This humble doctor needs to do further research," replied Imperial Doctor Wen cautiously.

Frowning, the Empress ordered, "Qing Ying, go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and summon the Imperial Doctors here."

"Yes," Qing Ying hurried off to the Imperial Medical Bureau and summoned nearly all the Imperial Doctors.

While everyone’s attention was on Concubine Xue, a maid dressed in a purple gown entered, took the lily flowers from the table, and carried them away.

She carefully came to a secluded place and threw the lily flowers into the water.

Seeing that no one had noticed, she then turned and left.

Several Imperial Doctors studied until midnight, but they still couldn’t devise an antidote.

The Empress didn’t return to Fengyi Palace until midnight.

Just as she had taken off her clothes and was preparing to rest, the shrill voice of Eunuch Li came from outside, "The Emperor has arrived."

The dog Emperor had left Fengyi Palace in a huff last time and had not visited since, having always stayed with Concubine Ning.

Why had he suddenly come today?

As the Emperor entered, the Empress advanced a couple of steps and bowed, "Your Majesty."

The Emperor glanced down at the Empress, "I heard that Princess Xueyan has been poisoned. Is this true?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress’ eyes paused, realizing it was for this matter that he had come so unexpectedly.

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is indeed true."

The Emperor then asked, "Who is responsible for this?"

The Empress answered, "It has not yet been discovered, and the antidote has not been produced."

The Emperor sat down at the table, his fingers tapping on the surface as he looked at the Empress and his gaze shifted to the tea set on the table. He commanded, "I’m a bit thirsty."

"This concubine will pour you some tea," said the Empress as she got up to the table, took a new teacup, filled it from the teapot, and offered it with both hands.

There was no way around it, regardless of how worthless the dog Emperor was, he was still the Emperor.

The Emperor watched the teacup before him, reached out to take it, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. The tea was somewhat cool, and he frowned at the Empress, "Why is the tea cold?"

The Empress couldn’t help but roll her eyes; was the tea supposed to be steaming hot in the middle of the night?

"This concubine will have new tea brewed," said the Empress as she turned her head and instructed Qing Ying, "Prepare a fresh pot of tea."

Qing Ying quickly brought the new tea, and the Empress personally offered it, "Your Majesty, please have some tea."

Internally, she thought, drink it, so you can’t sleep and stay awake all night!

"Mhm," replied the Emperor, now satisfied as he accepted the teacup, gently blew on it, and took a sip.

The Empress stood there, watching the dog Emperor leisurely drinking his tea, with no intention of leaving.

She quietly yawned. She didn’t understand why the dog Emperor, being such a philanderer, didn’t have any sons who resembled him.

The Emperor sipped the tea twice, looking for an excuse to stay, but found none.

In the past few days, the Empress had indeed gone too far.

How could she push a sovereign Emperor to the ground?

"Empress."

The Empress lowered her gaze in submission, "This concubine is here."

The Emperor lifted his gaze to the Empress, "Are you aware of your mistake?"

The Empress was startled, then quickly realized that the dog Emperor was dredging up old grievances.

"This concubine should not have accidentally pushed Your Majesty."

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction, "These past few days, I’ve been with Concubine Ning. Given her pregnancy, it is inconvenient..."

The Empress immediately understood the dog Emperor’s thoughts; he felt sorry for Concubine Ning, who had too few attendants, her treatment almost that of an Imperial Noble Consort.

"Tomorrow, this concubine will instruct the Internal Affairs Department to arrange for a few more maids to serve her properly," she said.

Emperor: "..." Could you not let me finish my sentence?

In the end, the Emperor left Fengyi Palace once again with anger in his heart.

Upon leaving Fengyi, the Emperor went straight to the Imperial Study Room, considering how coincidental it was that Princess Xueyan had been poisoned just after serving him in his chambers.

"Eunuch Li, summon the Crown Prince for me," he ordered.

As Eunuch Li left to carry out the command to the East Palace, Xiao Jinyan had already left through the back door heading toward Hehuan Hall.