Legend of Zhen Huan: Zhen Huan is reborn

040 Cassava Flour Incident

The baby's food was placed on the table one by one. The imperial physician checked them one by one, but found nothing abnormal. His face gradually became gloomy.

Suddenly, the imperial physician picked up the water chestnut soup that Princess Wen Yi had just eaten half of and observed it carefully for a long time.

A solemn look suddenly appeared on his face, and he knelt down and said, "I think there is something wrong with this soup. To be cautious, I implore Your Majesty to send the eunuch who tastes the food in the imperial kitchen to come and identify it together."

When Yinzhen heard this, his face immediately darkened, and he said in a deep voice: "Go and call Xiao Xiazi."

Not long after, Xiao Xiazi arrived.

After rinsing his mouth with clean water, he used a silver needle to test it to confirm that it was non-toxic, and then scooped up the water chestnut soup with a spoon and tasted it slowly.

He frowned slightly, scooped another spoonful to taste it, and then reported: "Your Majesty, this water chestnut soup is not poisonous, but it is not made purely from water chestnut powder. It is mixed with cassava powder."

Yinzhen frowned in confusion: "Tapioca flour? What is that?"

The imperial physician explained, "Cassava, also known as manioc, tree sweet potato, and cassava, belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. Cassava is the scientific name, and it is a specialty tribute from Southeast Asia. It is not produced in my country. Cassava can be ground into powder to make snacks, but its roots, stems, and leaves are poisonous and must be handled with care."

The queen was shocked and asked, "You mean someone deliberately poisoned me?"

The imperial physician shook his head and said, "Cassava flour itself is generally non-toxic. It's just that babies' stomachs are delicate. Eating cassava flour can irritate their stomachs and cause vomiting or spitting up milk. Long-term intake may even cause death from physical weakness."

He added, "Cassava flour and water chestnut flour are quite similar in color and shape, and it is difficult to detect them when mixed together."

Yinzhen's face suddenly turned pale as ice, and he said sternly, "The Imperial Kitchen is usually so strict, how could there be a mistake in this matter?"

Concubine Hua followed closely and analyzed calmly: "The imperial kitchen has always been meticulous in its meals, and it is impossible for them to make mistakes easily. This was obviously done deliberately by someone."

Yinzhen's rage grew even stronger, his voice filled with anger and shock: "You want to kill my Wen Yi with such a vicious method?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. The atmosphere was solemn and no one dared to speak easily.

Cao Qinmo was in great sorrow at the moment, tears rolling down her cheeks. She said with a somewhat aggrieved tone: "I know that I am of low moral character. If I have made any mistakes, I am willing to bear them alone. I only pray that God will have mercy on me and spare the innocent Wen Yi. As her mother, I am willing to accept any punishment."

Concubine Hua watched coldly from the side. Suddenly, she sneered, walked forward and pulled Cao Qinmo up, saying, "What's the use of praying to God? I'm afraid someone is secretly making trouble in the palace and deliberately making things difficult for you and your daughter."

She turned to Yinzhen, bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, please have mercy on Concubine Cao and her daughter, and make sure to investigate this matter thoroughly to correct the customs of the palace."

A cold light flashed in Yinzhen's eyes, and he ordered in a deep voice: "Investigate! Investigate this matter immediately and find out who is behind this."

After this was said, who would dare to slack off? After careful investigation, it was discovered that Princess Wen Yi's severe vomiting began on the night of the banquet, which was when she tasted water chestnut soup for the first time.

After taking it for several consecutive days, it was clear that the source of the problem was the cassava flour mixed in the soup.

When Wu Changrui, the eunuch in charge of the imperial kitchen, checked the palaces that received cassava flour, he bowed his head and reported, "Except for the Bitong Academy of the nobles of Wan, which sent people to receive cassava flour four days ago, claiming that they were making pearl dumplings, no other palaces had such records."

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were focused on Zhen Huan. There was silence all around, as if even the air had frozen.

Zhen Huan knew that this matter was unavoidable, so she faced it calmly. She slowly said, "Someone in my palace did receive cassava flour a few days ago, but this was not my order."

After hearing this, Concubine Hua raised a sarcastic smile: "Oh? I want to ask, which other servant dares to make decisions on his own and act on behalf of the master? May I ask Lady Wan, which palace maid is so bold?"

Zhen Huan remained calm and replied, "It must be a maid in this palace. I am not familiar with her."

Yinzhen suddenly asked, his tone somewhat serious: "Except for the palace of Wan Guiren, it is true that only her people have received tapioca flour. Is there no one else?"

Wu Changrui did not dare to hesitate for a moment and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

Yinzhen turned his gaze to Zhen Huan, his eyes were deep and complicated, and then he said calmly: "But based on this alone, we cannot conclude that this was done by Concubine Wan."

At this moment, a palace maid suddenly knelt on the ground and said in a firm tone: "Your Majesty, during the banquet that day, Concubine Wan went out alone, and I saw with my own eyes that the young lady seemed to be walking in the direction of Qingliang Palace."

Yinzhen's eyes suddenly became sharp. He looked directly at the palace maid and asked, "Did you really see it with your own eyes?"

The maid bowed her head and answered respectfully: "Every word I said is true, absolutely true."

Then, another palace maid knelt down and added, "Your Majesty, I also saw that Concubine Wan did go out alone that night and did not bring anyone with her."

Cao Qinmo walked quickly to Zhen Huan's side and said tearfully, "Sister, I may have been negligent in some ways of dealing with people and accidentally angered you. If you have any resentment in your heart, you can punish me, but please do not implicate the innocent Wen Yi with your anger. She is still just a baby in her cradle."

Zhen Huan heard this and shook her head gently, comforting her: "Sister Cao, why do you say that? I have never felt that you have done anything wrong, so how can you hold a grudge against me?"

She paused for a moment, then asked, "Could it be that you feel that you have done something inappropriate that has caused your younger sister to feel resentful?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Qinmo was suddenly speechless. She just tightly grasped Zhen Huan's sleeves, tears streaming down her face, unable to control herself.

The Queen reprimanded solemnly, "Lady Cao, what do you mean by this? The situation is not clear yet, and you are weeping like this, isn't that inappropriate?"

Hua Fei interrupted with contempt, "I think that this matter is not yet clear, but already clear. Doesn't the Queen's words seem to favor Concubine Wan?"

Hua Fei's words were sharp, but the Queen did not get angry. She just responded calmly: "Hua Fei, when you speak like this, have you forgotten the proper respect you should have for me? Or do you dare to ignore my existence as a concubine?"

Hua Fei's face was equally solemn. She responded stubbornly, "I didn't mean to offend you. I just feel sorry for the suffering of Princess Wen Yi and feel very unfair about what happened to Concubine Cao."

She turned to Yinzhen and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please do me justice."

Yinzhen nodded slightly and said, "Even if you care about Princess Wen Yi, you should respect the Queen. After all, she is the master of the harem."

As soon as Yinzhen finished speaking, he turned to Zhen Huan and said gently, "Lady Wan, if you have anything to say, feel free to speak frankly."

Zhen Huan immediately knelt on the ground and eagerly explained: "Your Majesty, I was not involved in this matter, and I did not leave that night. I was at the banquet the whole time."

Yinzhen pondered for a moment, and seemed to remember the scene of that night. He nodded slightly and said, "I remember it."

Concubine Hua was unwilling to give in. She gestured to the palace maid kneeling beside her, and the palace maid immediately reported in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, I did see Concubine Wan leave the banquet that night."

Yinzhen stared at the maid with a sharp gaze and retorted coldly: "But in my memory, Concubine Wan did not seem to leave the table."

Faced with Yinzhen's questioning, the palace maid was so frightened that she trembled and dared not speak anymore.