The Emperor was already ill and not fully recovered. Today, he had been knocked unconscious, and now hearing such shocking news, he was even more bewildered.
First shocked, then incredulous, angry, and finally silent…
After a long pause, he turned to look at Li Yueyao and said:
"In the court… there hasn't been anything unusual lately, and the palace is also normal…"
Li Yueyao nearly choked on hearing this. After waiting so long, you just say this?
She involuntarily clenched her fists.
But then she thought, this foolish nephew is already the Emperor—she couldn’t hit him.
Besides, he was poisoned and injured…
Fine, let him off this time.
So she angrily said: "No abnormalities? I’ve only been back for a short while and already saw a pile of problems. Do you really not know?"
The Emperor asked in astonishment: "What abnormalities?"
Li Yueyao was almost driven to spit blood by her foolish nephew.
"When I entered the palace, the guard at Xuan Wu Gate blocked me outside following the Empress’s order. I held the Cang Dragon Token, but the guard didn’t even look at it. Isn’t that a problem?
Zhao Qing obstructed me from saving you. Isn’t she a problem?
The Crown Prince is the foundation of the nation, the future heir. Yet he acts according to the Empress’s wishes in everything. Isn’t he a problem?
If everything is normal, why are you poisoned so deeply, while the Imperial Medical Bureau says you’re fine, just an old illness recurring?"
As Li Yueyao spoke, she wanted to punch the Emperor a couple of times to vent her anger.
Seeing Li Yueyao somewhat angry, the Emperor tugged at her sleeve:
"Aunt, I… I’m dizzy and can’t think too much right now. What do you think?"
"Fine, first treat your illness. The antidote is urgent. But I don’t know who poisoned you. Was it the Empress?"
The Emperor shook his head: "Probably not the Empress."
"Probably?"
Li Yueyao’s voice involuntarily rose.
The Emperor tugged her sleeve again and whispered:
"Aunt, listen to me. The Empress, her abilities are average, but her ambitions are high—she wants to be the regent.
If something happens to me now, even if the empire falls into the hands of her Xie family, the Empress and Crown Prince would only become puppets. That’s not the outcome she wants."
"Then Prince Qin and Prince Jin?" Li Yueyao asked.
The Emperor said blankly: "Originally clear, now unclear."
Li Yueyao said: "Fine, for now, first detoxify you, then slowly plan."
The Emperor nodded.
Li Yueyao added: "I have no people in the palace. Are the people from the former Eastern Palace still around?"
"Sun Fu is reliable." the Emperor said weakly.
Li Yueyao sneered: "Sun Fu? He’s the first one I suspect. Reliable?"
"Why suspect him?"
"He’s your personal attendant. You’re poisoned so deeply, and he doesn’t know at all. Is that reasonable?"
"Then what do you think, Aunt?"
"First use the old Eastern Palace people, and those left by your father and mother. I’ll see if there are any usable ones.
Also, that Baiyu Qionghua Ling passed down in our family? Did you give it to the Empress?"
"No, I’ll have Sun Fu fetch it for you later." the Emperor said.
"You still have a bit of sense."
"When my mother passed away, she instructed that the Empress’s family is powerful, beware of external relatives interfering in politics, so I haven’t given her this token. You can use it first now."
Li Yueyao nodded hearing this: "Then let’s settle it like this first."
The Emperor was dizzy and couldn’t hold on, closing his eyes and saying: "Alright."
Li Yueyao said: "Don’t sleep yet. Wait until the Empress arrives, finish explaining, then sleep."
With that, she inserted a needle into the Emperor's body, then turned and said, "Summon Sun Fu."
Sun Fu promptly entered from outside.
The Emperor, his breath weak, said, "Go and fetch the Baiyu Qionghua Ling token for Princess Jin Yang."
Sun Fu replied softly, "As you command."
A short while later, Sun Fu returned with a sandalwood box. Li Yueyao opened it and, seeing it was indeed the ancestral token of the Li family, tucked it safely into her robes.
Li Yueyao then instructed, "Send for the Empress and the Crown Prince."
Moments later, the Crown Prince and the Empress entered the Emperor's bedchamber together.
Li Yueyao fixed her gaze intently on the approaching Empress and stated bluntly, "His Majesty has been poisoned."
Upon hearing this, the Empress's refined and haughty face instantly filled with shock. "Poisoned?"
Li Yueyao studied the Empress's expression carefully and saw that the shock did not appear feigned.
"The Imperial Physicians all claim it is a recurrence of His Majesty's old ailment. How did Your Highness diagnose poisoning? And what kind of poison is it?" the Empress asked rapidly after her initial shock.
"Our ancestors have repeatedly appeared in my dreams to warn me that His Majesty has been poisoned, urging me to return and save him. Yesterday, I spent the night reviewing the Poison Canon authored by the great imperial physician Chen Jin of the previous dynasty. Today, upon returning and taking His Majesty's pulse, I discovered he has likely been poisoned with a toxin called 'Chimu.'"
Those afflicted by this poison exhibit pulse signs and symptoms resembling a common cold. However, this drug gradually erodes the body's meridians, causing the victim's qi and blood to steadily decline until all vitality is extinguished. Even a general in the prime of his life, if continuously administered this poison for half a year, would suddenly age prematurely, with his extraordinary meridians weakening like those of an old man."
Hearing this from his bed, the Emperor's expression turned extremely grim.
"Moreover, those poisoned by this substance have a small red dot at the Danzhong point on their chest." As she spoke, Li Yueyao pulled open the Emperor's robe, revealing a small red dot precisely at the Danzhong point.
Seeing this, the Empress and the Crown Prince grew tense. The Crown Prince anxiously asked, "Grandaunt, can this poison be cured?"
Li Yueyao smiled at the Crown Prince. "Do not worry, Crown Prince. His Majesty has been poisoned for just over two months; the toxicity is still shallow and can be cured."
The Emperor relaxed slightly upon hearing this.
"The poison can be cured, but we must first determine where it was administered and who administered it."
Hearing this, the Empress composed herself, stepped forward slowly, and said, "We entrust this matter to you, Grandaunt. If there is any way I can assist, please do not hesitate to command."
Li Yueyao replied solemnly and respectfully, "You are too kind, Empress. I will spare no effort in treating His Majesty."
She then added, "Then I must trouble the Empress to watch over His Majesty here. I will go prepare the antidote."
After speaking, she turned to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I will borrow Sun Fu for a while."
The Emperor nodded weakly.
Li Yueyao bowed to the Emperor and took her leave.
Sun Fu hurriedly followed Li Yueyao out.
Once outside the Emperor's bedchamber, Li Yueyao's face turned cold, exuding the authoritative pressure of a superior. She asked Sun Fu, "Do you have any idea how His Majesty was poisoned?"
Upon hearing Li Yueyao's question, sweat began to bead on Sun Fu's forehead, his mind racing frantically. He feared that a single misspoken word might offend this formidable figure and cost him his life.
"Just now, hearing Your Highness mention that His Majesty has been poisoned for over two months, this servant has already dispatched someone to retrieve the records of His Majesty's meals from the past three months for Your Highness to review," Sun Fu replied.
Li Yueyao continued walking as she spoke. "Submit a list of all personnel on duty at Taiji Palace during these three months."
"As you command."
"Has His Majesty's daily routine changed at all in the past three months?"
"Over the past three months, His Majesty has frequently visited the Noble Consort, sometimes resting quite late."
"Oh? Bring me the records of His Majesty's overnight stays in the rear palace over the last three months. I wish to see them."
"As you command."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the western side hall of Taiji Palace.
After sitting down, Li Yueyao neither looked at Sun Fu nor spoke.
Sweat beads on Sun Fu's forehead trickled down his cheeks, slid past his chin, and finally vanished into the thick carpet, yet he dared not raise a hand to wipe them away.
After standing in silence for a quarter of an hour, Li Yueyao picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "Do you know your crime?"
Hearing this, Sun Fu was so frightened that his legs gave way, and he knelt directly on the ground.
"This servant is guilty. I beg Your Highness to punish me."
"What crime have you committed?" Li Yueyao asked lightly.
Sun Fu pressed his forehead to the ground and replied respectfully, "This servant failed to serve His Majesty properly, leading to His Majesty being poisoned. I deserve death."
"You were merely the lowest-ranking cleaning servant in the imperial garden, bullied and mistreated by others after entering the palace. It was I and His Majesty who saved you when we passed by the imperial garden.
Over the years, under His Majesty's grace, you rose step by step to become the chief eunuch of the palace.
What? Have you forgotten your origins so quickly?
Or do you wish to return to the imperial garden as a cleaner?"