After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 40 Dragon Boat Festival Banquet (Part 4)

"What! Poisoning? Imperial Physician, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?" Upon hearing that the pastries and lotus seed soup contained a deadly poison, Consort Zhen's face instantly turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

The imperial physician, confident in his medical skills, stated firmly, "I can assure you, I am absolutely certain that Her Highness the Princess has been poisoned."

Consort Liang was furious and gritted her teeth. The little princess in her arms cried again because of her discomfort.

She lowered her head, looking at her pitiful daughter in her arms: "I'd like to see who dares to hurt my Jingyao!"

Having said that, he glared fiercely at the food on the ground, placed the princess on the bed, turned around and strode towards the main hall, determined to seek justice from the emperor.

Seeing this, Consort Zhen quickly instructed the maid beside her, "Qimeng, you stay here and take good care of the princess. I will go with the Noble Consort."

After saying that, she followed closely behind the Imperial Concubine.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Qi Meng said loudly, looking at Zhen Pin's back.

The Imperial Concubine entered the palace and knelt heavily on the cold floor tiles. Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls as she cried out in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's face instantly turned ashen, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He stood up abruptly, strode over to the Imperial Concubine, reached out to help her up, and said in a deep voice, "Imperial Concubine, tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"

Consort Zhen looked at the Imperial Concubine with a pained expression and told her what had happened: "Your Majesty, the eldest princess has been poisoned. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly. Who dared to poison the princess's food?"

At this moment, Consort Liang's elder brother, an official dressed in magnificent court robes, also stepped forward. With a solemn expression and righteous indignation, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I implore you to thoroughly investigate this matter and give the little princess justice! The Consort dotes on the little princess, and it is truly heartbreaking that such a thing has happened!"

Xiao Jingheng's face was so dark it seemed like it could drip water. He swept his sharp gaze around and then shouted, "Eunuch Zhao!"

Eunuch Zhao hurried forward, bowed, and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Immediately take men to the Imperial Kitchen and bring all the palace maids and eunuchs who prepared the food for the little princess today. I want to interrogate them personally!"

Xiao Jingheng's voice carried an undeniable air of authority.

Eunuch Zhao quickly replied, "Yes, this servant will go right away," and then turned and hurriedly left with several eunuchs.

Xiao Jingheng turned to look at the still tearful Consort and gently comforted her, "Consort, rest assured, I will handle this matter properly and will never allow anyone to harm you and the little princess!"

Consort Liang's tears flowed like a spring, and her shoulders trembled as she wept.

Xiao Jingheng's gaze sharpened as he turned to the Empress, his tone accusatory: "Empress, how were the little princess's meals prepared? How could such a thing have happened!"

The Empress swayed and knelt on the ground, her face pale and her voice trembling: "Your Majesty, I have failed in my duties. Please forgive me. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and give the Consort an explanation."

Lu Jingning and the Empress organized this banquet together, and if anything goes wrong, no one can escape responsibility.

She stepped forward, walked to Xiao Jingheng, knelt down, her face resolute, and her voice clear: "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the Empress. The Empress has always been very caring towards the little princess. Someone must have done this on purpose. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, find out the truth, and give the Empress and the little princess justice."

Seeing this, Consort Zhen hurriedly stepped forward, her face filled with barely concealed anxiety. She pointed at Lu Jingning, her voice sharp: "Your Majesty, this matter is probably related to Consort Lu, isn't it? I dare to guess that she harbored resentment and thus targeted the little princess." "Consort Zhen, you can't make false accusations! I have never had any enmity with the Imperial Concubine, why would I poison the princess?" Lu Jingning questioned, each word distinct.
Xiao Jingheng frowned and looked at Consort Zhen with a hint of displeasure in his eyes: "What does this have to do with Noble Lady Lu?"

Seeing that the Emperor favored Consort Lu, Consort Zhen became increasingly convinced that Lu Jingning was behind it.

"Your Majesty may not know, but Consort Lu is always cunning and scheming. She must have held a grudge after the Imperial Concubine punished her last time, and she took advantage of this banquet to poison the princess."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Jingning with eyes full of hatred.

"Consort Zhen, how can you slander Noble Lady Lu without any evidence?" Upon seeing this, the Empress abandoned her usual good temper and her face showed displeasure.

Upon hearing Consort Zhen's words, Consort Liang frowned, her gaze shifting back and forth between Lu Jingning, seemingly wavering.

Consort Zhen bit her lip lightly, her voice tinged with uncertainty yet still firm: "Why is Your Majesty protecting her?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress's face darkened further, and she glared at Consort Zhen: "Consort Zhen, how can you fabricate such baseless accusations? Where is the peace and tranquility of the harem? I also organized this banquet; could it be that I, too, have plotted against the princess?"

Consort Liang, unable to bear seeing Consort Zhen reprimanded by the Empress, spoke up for her: "Consort Zhen was merely speculating; why must Your Majesty be so angry?"

Xiao Jingheng rubbed his temples in frustration, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the Imperial Concubine. His voice was steady and powerful: "Imperial Concubine, rest assured, I will thoroughly investigate this matter. No matter who it is, if they dare to harm the little princess, I will not tolerate it!"

His words revealed an undeniable determination.

Lu Jingning pondered this matter in his heart, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Madam Lu sitting to the side, with a smug smile on her face.

She immediately understood that Madam Lu must be behind this turmoil. Lu Jingning took a deep breath and suppressed the anger and panic in her heart.

"Your Majesty, every dish is tested for poison by the palace maids; there's no way they wouldn't detect it, unless someone..."

After saying that, her gaze quickly searched the hall. Suddenly, her eyes locked onto a young palace maid with her head down and her fingers trembling slightly. The maid was trying to quietly retreat behind the hall door.

Lu Jingning's words pierced the heavy atmosphere in the hall like a sharp arrow: "Your Majesty, that palace maid's behavior was suspicious, there must be something fishy going on!"

"Grab her!"

Xiao Jingheng's eyes narrowed, and he immediately waved his hand. The Imperial Guards appeared like ghosts and quickly surrounded the palace maid with clean and efficient movements.

"Don't grab me, it wasn't me!" The palace maid looked up in terror, her eyes filled with despair and panic, trying to break free but to no avail.

Consort Zhen looked stunned and wanted to argue, "Did Consort Lu just say it casually to try and clear herself of suspicion? Who knew..."

Before she could finish speaking, Consort Liang stopped her with a cold, sharp look: "Consort Zhen, that's enough! This is not the time to argue."

Consort Liang's voice carried an undeniable authority. She turned to Lu Jingning, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, with a hint of re-examination.

　I hope everyone will support me; I'll update two chapters daily.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)