The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The more straightforward Xie Yuzhen is, the more hypocritical Qian Shunyi appears.

The emperor did not even suspect that Xie Yuzhen had framed or put the blame on Qian Shunyi: "When the month is older, you should not be so reckless again."

"I know I have a bad temper, but I will be more careful for the sake of our daughter." Xie Yuzhen touched her belly, her expression gentle and full of maternal radiance.

The emperor also knew that she had changed for the better recently, and he felt both proud and emotional. Although he secretly wanted to have a son with Xie Yuzhen, seeing that she was sure it was a daughter, he was unwilling to go against her wishes. He thought that at most after the son was born, he could let him wear girls' clothes for a few years to make Xie Yuzhen happy.

But what Xie Yuzhen was thinking was that it was no big deal for her to suffer some grievances now. When her precious daughter ascended the throne, she would deal with all those who dared to wrong her!

I really hope Qian Shunyi can live longer, preferably until her precious daughter ascends the throne, so that she won’t be so angry that she will die!

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician is here." The queen, who was watching the emperor and Xie Yuzhen being so affectionate without showing any sign of aggrieved, spoke up to remind them.

The imperial physician who came was not the old imperial physician that Xie Yuzhen had met last time, but a young man with a calm temperament. He wore the imperial physician's light blue official uniform very beautifully. After entering the hall, he did not look around, but walked straight into the hall to pay his respects to the emperor.

The emperor made a gesture to stand up and said, "Mr. Lin, come and take a look at this cup of flower tea to see if there is anything wrong with it."

Imperial Physician Lin took the order and stepped forward, opened the lid, first sniffed the scent of the scented tea, then gently dipped his fingertips in the tea and put it into his mouth. His eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, as if he was thinking about something.

Qian Shunyi clutched his sleeves tightly, observing the imperial physician's expression intently, and prayed silently in his heart that Imperial Physician Lin would not be able to find out anything.

But Concubine Ning only said "ah" and said, "I remember that Imperial Physician Lin is the best at identifying various herbs, and he often uses flowers and herbs as medicine and medicinal diet. Last time Yao Wen was sick and refused to take medicine, it was thanks to Imperial Physician Lin's flower and herb stew that she was coaxed into talking."

Qian Shunyi felt her heart beat suddenly.

Ever since Xie Yuzhen criticized her, she has been looking unhappy. She only managed to avoid showing her emotions by keeping a straight face all the time. But this was nothing to the smart people sitting there. They had already seen through Qian Shunyi's guilty conscience. Only she herself was still clueless and thought she was acting calm and upright enough.

Imperial Physician Lin asked a palace servant to bring a small silver spoon, stirred the scented tea twice, took another sip with the spoon, put down the teacup and spoon, bowed, and said: "Your Majesty, there is no strong poison in this tea..."

Qian Shunyi breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was beating even faster. She felt her legs were tense and she had a premonition that she was about to lose her balance.

"...but there is Datura pollen."

These words instantly brought down Qian Shunyi, who had just breathed a sigh of relief. Her whole body shook violently, and the expression on her face became even more tense. The yellowish makeup powder was washed away by the water, and her face was so pale that she looked like a dead person.

"Datura pollen?!" The queen stood up suddenly, scaring the emperor next to her.

The queen picked up the scented tea on the table and handed it to Yunrong: "Get a small stove and dry the tea!"

Xie Yuzhen looked at her actions, feeling puzzled. Noticing that the emperor was also frowning, he glanced at the concubines below him as his thoughts turned - could this Datura pollen be related to some old story that he didn't know about?

Qian Shunyi was also frightened by the Queen's behavior of facing a great enemy, but she couldn't understand why she had such a big reaction since it wasn't a deadly poison that would kill people instantly.

Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind rushing past her. Turning her head, she saw Concubine Chen walking to the middle and kneeling down: "Your Majesty, Madam, I beg you to thoroughly investigate the origin of the pollen!"

As she spoke, she looked at Qian Shunyi with indifference. Qian Shunyi took a step back with weak legs: "What is this, Your Majesty?"

Chen Guipin's eyes gradually filled with hatred: "Qian Shunyi and I were selected to enter the palace together. We have had many verbal conflicts over the years. Could it be that Shunyi has forgotten how my child went there?!"

With a buzz in his mind, Qian Shunyi finally remembered.

Chen Guipin entered the palace at the same time as Qian Shunyi. Qian Shunyi was favored first because of her appearance, but soon fell out of favor because of her temperament. Although Chen Guipin had a cold appearance, she was a good musician and could compose poetry and paint, which was very consistent with the emperor's preferences. She soon replaced Qian Shunyi and began to gain favor.

And soon after, she became pregnant and successfully gave birth to the fourth prince.

However, when the fourth prince was three years old, he somehow drowned together with his wet nurse and two little palace maids in a bathtub that was only as high as an adult's legs. Later, Datura pollen was found in their food that day, and the evidence at the time completely pointed to Zhao Cairen, who lived in the same palace with Qian Shunyi.

However, Concubine Zhao was just a palace maid. She was illiterate and did not know the medicinal properties of Datura. She had no channels to obtain Datura pollen, let alone the ability to reach out to Concubine Chen's Zhaohua Palace. Moreover, although there was evidence pointing to her, she happened to be accompanying the Queen Mother to worship Buddha those days. Both herself and the female officials were in seclusion and did not go in or out. With Concubine Song Shufei coming forward to protect her, the death of the Fourth Prince became an unsolved case.

Because of this incident, Zhao Cairen completely fell out of favor, became silent, and lived like a wooden man.

"Boom"!

Concubine Zhao knelt behind Concubine Chen like a wooden figure. She said nothing, but just silently put her forehead on the ground.

Qian Shunyi felt that the heavy sound of Concubine Zhao's kneeling was like a huge hammer hanging on her body. She felt weak all over and knelt down tremblingly: "This is really none of my business. I have never harmed the Fourth Prince!"

She no longer cared about the dignity of a girl from a noble family, and had no time to complain about the world. Qian Shunyi was completely panicked. She didn't care about the dead prince at all. When the news of the fourth prince's death came, she just laughed at Chen Guipin in private with her maid, saying that she was only good at singing and dancing, but couldn't even raise a child.

"Datura pollen can make people delirious and lose consciousness, so the Fourth Prince drowned in the water silently... Why did you poison Concubine Xie?" The emperor signaled his attendants to help Concubine Chen up first. Concubine Chen's eyes flashed with resentment and she pursed her lips tightly.

She knew that Qian Shunyi was not likable and had a stupid personality, and that the Datura pollen that she gave to the Fourth Prince might not really be her... But so what? Chen Guipin's heart had grown cold since she lost her child. The Emperor no longer summoned her because of her cold heart, and she was unwilling to continue facing the Emperor. She just read books and chanted Buddhist scriptures in her palace every day, and her life became more and more lonely.

Two years later, the reappearance of Datura pollen was like a ray of light in the darkness to Chen Guipin. She needed something to vent her resentment, and even if this person was not the real murderer, she was unwilling to let him go.