bestfiction Chapter 190 Body Search
Chapter 190 Body Search
"Mother, the Queen is right. You should go back to Renshou Palace and rest. Your son and the Queen will handle it together." Bo Muxi advised Queen Mother Zhao very respectfully.
The emperor's performance finally restored some of his image in Shen Zhiyao's heart. The emperor was a little dark and suspicious, but he would still support his trusted partners when necessary.
"Alas, I am old, and I can't stand some things anymore, so I'll leave it to you guys to handle it..."
After saying this, Queen Mother Zhao took Nanny Wang's hand and walked away with her head held high.
The Queen Mother left in a graceful and domineering manner, but in fact she was only worried in her heart that it was her "extremely smart" niece who was responsible for this mistake again.
She thought that it would be better to return to Renshou Palace as soon as possible. Although she could not suppress the queen on the spot, she could take action earlier after returning to the palace to avoid being caught off guard.
On the surface, Bo Muxi did support the Queen, but secretly he was also trying to get the Queen Mother to prepare.
Although he was very disgusted, on the one hand, he had to consider his mother's family. On the other hand, if he suppressed the Feng family now, who would help him check and balance the power of princes such as Prince Rui?
Checks and balances is an art, and is definitely not the kind of satisfaction with revenge or right and wrong that ordinary people pursue.
After watching Queen Mother Zhao walk out of Yongfu Palace, he waved his hand and said, "Lin'en, temporarily control all the people present. At the same time, seal up all the food and leftovers in the dining room and the hall of Yongfu Palace for inspection!"
"Yes, I'll do it this way." Lin En bowed and responded, then acted according to the order.
Yongfu Palace was peaceful just now, but now it was suddenly shrouded in a solemn and murderous atmosphere, and everyone's eyes were full of worry.
"Sister Shen, before they recover from their shock, you should secretly check if there is anything suspicious on them." Lu Wanyi had already taken advantage of the chaos to sneak up to Shen Zhiyao and whispered in her ear to remind her.
Shen Zhiyao instructed Qiuyue and Chuan who were following her, and they checked each other secretly but found nothing unusual.
Sure enough, before they could recover from the shock, they heard Concubine Lu Shu say, "Your Majesty, this matter is too strange. To protect the innocence of the sisters, I suggest that you search them."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and they all looked at Concubine Lu Shufei. This was not something she would say. Could it be that she had been possessed by another spirit?
However, Concubine Zhao curled the corners of her lips slightly. Concubine Lu was now like a puppet controlled by her own hands, and she dared not disobey in the slightest.
Bo Muxi looked at Concubine Lv Shufei with a surprised look: "You mean, the poisoner is in the hall?"
Shen Zhiyao sneered in her heart. It was obvious that the emperor was asking this question even though she knew the answer. However, Concubine Lu Shu brought it up at a good time, as it saved the emperor from having to ask to search everyone.
Concubine Lu pretended to be terrified and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have no selfish motives. I just want to protect the sisters in the palace from being framed. If we leave this hall, it will be even more difficult to explain in the future."
Since these words came from Concubine Lu Shufei, who always appeared neutral, they had some credibility.
"Queen, what do you think?" Bo Muxi did not answer, but turned to ask the queen.
The queen was speechless when faced with his "blame-shifting" behavior, but she could only actively agree: "I think what Concubine Lu Shu said makes sense. If we check and find that no one is carrying poison, it will also stop the gossip."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyao couldn't help but admire the Queen's language skills. Although Concubine Lü Shufei's words were pompous, she was obviously certain that someone had poisoned the scene, while the Queen obviously hoped that everyone was innocent, which gave a much better feeling.
"Well, since the Queen agrees, then let's do this."
After Bo Muxi finished speaking, he winked at Eunuch An again.
Eunuch An obviously had a lot of experience in this kind of thing. With just a glance, he understood what was going on and went out to make the arrangements.
Only a moment later, not only did three people from the Imperial Medical Bureau come, but also a lot of guards. At the same time, more than a dozen palace maids with solemn faces also entered Yongfu Palace.
Shen Zhiyao recognized several of the palace maids, and they were actually from Changdeok Palace. Did the emperor really want to search them?
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyao couldn't help but glance at Lu Wanyi. How could this person calculate so accurately?
She really had to re-examine Lu Wanyi.
Everyone was so frightened by this scene that they were at a loss what to do, and the hall was filled with all kinds of buzzing discussions.
The guards guarded the key gates with expressionless faces, like emotionless puppets, which aggravated the suffocation feeling of the people.
The emperor and the empress sat on the upper thrones, occasionally whispering to each other, as if they were communicating something.
All the palace maids of Changdeok Palace gathered in a side hall, and Eunuch An called out the names of the concubines' residences in the main hall. Those who were called had to go into the side hall together and be searched by the palace maids.
Concubines and maids were treated equally, and no one had the privilege of being exempt from body searches.
"Jin Shuyi and everyone from Cuiweixuan, please go to the side hall." Eunuch An was very kind and bowed with a smile to invite them.
Although Shen Zhiyao was impatient in her heart, she still looked kind. When she entered the side hall, the servants who searched her body were polite and accepted gifts, and they were not too annoying.
After searching for a while, the head nanny saw that there was nothing unusual, so she bowed and said with a smile: "Madam Jin Shuyi, please go out through the side door. We are also acting according to your orders, so please don't blame us."
"That's not right, Ma'am. It'd be better to check it out, so as to save the old lady from gossip." Shen Zhiyao smiled gently.
They went out to see, and saw Lu Wanyi looking at her with concern, so they gathered together again.
"Sister Shen, who do you think we might find the stuff from?" Lu Wanyi asked softly with a gossipy look on her face.
"Could it be the talented Hu who has been in the limelight recently? There are many people who dislike her." Shen Zhiyao whispered the answer she had just thought of.
"It is indeed possible..." Lu Wanyi nodded in agreement, seeming to be thinking about something.
The two were just gossiping and guessing, when Eunuch An spoke up: "Your Majesty, I found this on Concubine Wanxian's maid."
After saying this, he presented the found items to the emperor and empress with both hands.
All I saw was that Eunuch An was dragging a strange blue feather.
"What is this?" Bo Muxi came closer to look at it, but had no clue, and could not help but look at the queen.
"Your Majesty, I am not very knowledgeable and have never seen this thing before..." The Queen also looked confused.
In fact, the queen had seen this thing, but at this time she could only say that she had not seen it, for she was still worried that she would make more mistakes if she said more.
"Doctor Zhang, come and take a look." Bo Muxi ordered in a serious voice.
"Yes." Doctor Zhang responded, and when he came forward to take a look, his face changed drastically.
"Your Majesty, these are feathers from a bird of prey called '鸩'. This bird has been feeding on poisonous snakes for a long time, so its feathers are highly poisonous. If you soak them in wine, it will become '鸩 wine', which is quite toxic." Imperial Doctor Zhang explained carefully.
The Queen looked at Doctor Zhao and said, "Doctor Zhang, go check if the nurse who was just dragged out has been poisoned by this poison."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and see her right away!" Imperial Doctor Zhang hurriedly turned around and left the hall. He was afraid that it was too late and the wet nurse might even be "cold through"!