Li Yueyao thought that Consort Xian and Qin Momo were truly cut from the same cloth, except Consort Xian had backbone. Since the Emperor ignored her, she ignored the Emperor in return.
Now that was something a normal person would do.
Li Yueyao took a deep breath to calm herself before asking again.
"What about Consort Shu?"
"Consort Shu… hasn't she always been frail and sickly?"
The Emperor answered bluntly.
Li Yueyao felt like crying but had no tears left. Brother Emperor, why on earth did you entrust the kingdom to this fool?
After spending a long moment mentally preparing herself and taking several deep breaths, Li Yueyao finally spoke:
"Your Majesty, when you were selecting consorts, why was Consort Shu chosen?"
"Her family background was excellent—she's the daughter of the General Who Guards the Nation."
"You know she's the General Who Guards the Nation's daughter. Although she never went to the battlefield, she's skilled with weapons, isn't she?"
The Emperor nodded. "Yes, I heard she was adept with spears and staffs even before entering the palace."
"Then why do you think she suddenly fell ill after entering the palace, and her health has been deteriorating year after year?"
The Emperor was startled and turned to look at her. "Could she also have been poisoned?"
"I'm not sure. Summon her for an audience, and I'll examine her first."
The Emperor thought for a moment and said, "Sun Fu, summon Consort Shu for an audience."
Sun Fu, who was outside the door, immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
He then beckoned to his apprentice, Li Qi, who turned to fetch Consort Shu.
Li Yueyao looked at the Emperor again and said, "How about having Qian Lou and Sun Fu come in together to assist Your Majesty with the medicinal bath?"
The Emperor nodded in agreement.
Li Yueyao then called out within the hall, "Sun Fu, Qian Lou, attend to His Majesty's medicinal bath."
The two responded and entered swiftly and silently. They helped the Emperor to the adjacent room, leaving the door open but placing a screen as a partition.
Sun Fu helped the Emperor undress, while Qian Lou tested the water temperature.
Then, the two assisted the Emperor into the bathtub.
Li Yueyao continued instructing from the other side, "He must soak for a full half-hour. Pay attention to the water temperature."
Sun Fu and Qian Lou softly acknowledged from within.
Seeing the pile of memorials on the Emperor's desk, Li Yueyao asked, "Your Majesty, how many days have these memorials been piling up?"
"Three days. I haven't had the energy to review them lately."
Li Yueyao sneered, "What, didn't you have Zhao Qing help you with the memorials?"
Naturally hearing her sneer, the Emperor slowly explained, "After arguing with Consort Xian, I stopped letting Zhao Qing review the memorials."
"Then who helps you with the daily memorials?"
"I review them myself. Occasionally, I have the Imperial Consort read them to me. When I'm truly overwhelmed, I let the Left Prime Minister and the Right Chancellor review them together."
Li Yueyao said nothing and walked straight over to the desk, picking up a memorial to read.
After a while, she said, "Your Majesty, this memorial about the floods in Lingnan is already five days old. Why hasn't it been marked with vermillion comments?"
"Regarding the Lingnan floods, first, the national treasury lacks disaster relief funds. Second, there's endless debate in the court over who should lead the relief efforts. That's why it hasn't been approved yet."
Li Yueyao sighed yet again and set the memorial aside separately.
The Emperor showed no displeasure whatsoever at Li Yueyao reviewing the memorials.
Back in the day, Li Yueyao had often helped the late Emperor review memorials. Even some memorials from the Eastern Palace were decided upon after joint deliberation between the two.
Zhao Qing had merely wanted to emulate Li Yueyao back then. It was a pity that Consort Xian had ruined it.
Li Yueyao continued reading the remaining memorials.
After a long pause, she asked again, "The total mineral tax revenue reported by the Left Treasury Office to Your Majesty seems incorrect, doesn’t it? I recall that during my brother’s reign, it was around nine hundred thousand strings annually. How has it now dropped to five hundred thousand strings, nearly halved?"
The Emperor thought carefully and replied, "Has it decreased that much? In previous years, it only fell short by a few tens of thousands of strings at most."
Li Yueyao said with annoyance, "A shortfall of tens of thousands each year, for seven consecutive years—what do you think?"
The Emperor fell silent.
"Sun Fu, have someone bring over the annual totals reported by the Left Treasury Office since His Majesty’s accession, along with the related account books, for me to review."
"Yes," Sun Fu replied.
He then glanced at the Emperor’s expression and saw him with his eyes closed, seemingly on the verge of falling asleep.
Sun Fu couldn’t help but gain a new understanding of the relationship between Princess Jin Yang and His Majesty.
In contrast, Qian Lou appeared accustomed to such scenes, finding it no different from when His Majesty was in the Eastern Palace.
When Consort Shu arrived, she saw Princess Jin Yang reviewing memorials. Turning her head, she noticed Sun Fu standing nearby.
She lowered her gaze, focusing on the tip of her nose, and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings to Princess Jin Yang."
"Rise."
Li Yueyao looked up at Consort Shu, who appeared haggard and frail, as if standing required great effort. Half her body leaned on the maid beside her.
Consort Shu was only two years older than Li Yueyao, yet now her cheeks were sunken, her cheekbones prominent, and dark circles shadowed her eyes, making her look as though she were in her forties.
"Come sit. Let me check your pulse."
Consort Shu, leaning on her maid, struggled to walk over to Li Yueyao’s side.
Li Yueyao observed Consort Shu’s arm, pale and almost translucent, with blue veins clearly visible beneath the skin.
The pulse-checking process took a long time, and the deeper Li Yueyao probed, the more her brow furrowed.
Consort Shu, seeing this, dared not make a sound. After a long while, Li Yueyao spoke, "Cuiwei, go fetch that copy of the Poison Canon."
Cuiwei went to the side hall and quickly returned with the book.
Li Yueyao flipped through the pages for a long time before finally stopping on one.
Consort Shu leaned over to look and saw three words written there: "Red Beauty’s Intoxication."
"Your Highness…"
"Don’t call me ‘Your Highness.’ Call me Aunt," Li Yueyao said without looking up.
"Aunt, what is this Red Beauty’s Intoxication…?"
"It’s a type of poison. You’re not ill—you’ve been poisoned."
After saying this, Li Yueyao closed the book, took out a silver needle, and gestured for the maid to roll up Consort Shu’s sleeve. She then inserted the needle into the Pianli point on her arm.
Consort Shu immediately felt some relief from her tinnitus, but she watched as the silver needle that had just pierced her gradually turned gray.
Seeing this, Consort Shu gasped and struggled to ask, "Aunt, what exactly is this Red Beauty’s Intoxication poison?"
"It follows the same pattern as the ‘Chimu’ poison the Emperor was given—one weakens men, the other weakens women. It seems there is a master of poison hidden within the palace."
As soon as Li Yueyao finished speaking, Consort Shu exclaimed, "What? His Majesty has also been poisoned?"
The Emperor, meanwhile, asked in surprise, "There’s a master of poison in the palace?"
Li Yueyao nodded and added, "The Emperor has been poisoned for two or three months. The toxicity is still shallow and easy to treat. Your poison, Consort Shu, has been in your system for years and will be more difficult to cure. However, it’s not without a solution. Take this bottle of detoxification pills for now. Let me study this further, and I will definitely cure you. Still, you must take great care of your health from now on."
Li Yueyao reached out and patted Consort Shu’s hand reassuringly.
The Emperor asked, "Aunt, the poisoner…"
Li Yueyao did not answer, instead turning to the Emperor and saying, "Your Majesty, has the Empress managed the palace like this for years?"
The Emperor remained silent.
"The Empress has failed in her duties overseeing the palace; she should rest for a while," Li Yueyao said.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded and glanced at Sun Fu, saying, "Go and deliver the decree. Say that I have been ill for a long time without recovery, and the Imperial Observatory has reported that someone in the palace is engaging in unlawful acts.
The Empress has failed to properly restrain the palace, so the authority over the six palaces shall temporarily be handed over to the Imperial Consort."
Consort Shu and Li Yueyao exchanged glances, both seeing concern in each other's eyes.
Thus, Li Yueyao spoke up, "Your Majesty, this move is inappropriate."
"Oh, why is it inappropriate?" the Emperor asked.
Li Yueyao replied, "If the Empress loses her palace authority and the Imperial Consort takes over, and the poisoner in the palace has yet to be caught,
that skilled poisoner might inevitably target the Imperial Consort, unjustly subjecting her to this unforeseen calamity."
Consort Shu also agreed, saying, "Indeed, Your Majesty, wouldn't this action place the Imperial Consort in a precarious position?"
The Emperor felt their reasoning was sound and asked, "Then, according to Aunt's opinion, who should be entrusted with the management authority over the six palaces?"