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

Chapter 61 The Empress Faints

"Your Majesty"

"Queen!"

In an instant, exclamations arose from all inside the hall.

Qingming cried out in alarm, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Lu Jingning reacted quickly and rushed forward. Suddenly, in the midst of the chaos, she caught a glimpse of Consort Liang and Consort Zhen's expressions out of the corner of her eye.

They found that they were not panicked at all, but rather had an inexplicable calmness on their faces, and even Zhenpin had a faint sneer on the corner of her mouth.

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes seemingly concealing a secret.

A sense of foreboding rose in Lu Jingning's heart. She could only suppress her doubts and go to check on the Empress's condition first: "Your Majesty, wake up, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that the Empress did not react, he shouted loudly, "Quickly summon the imperial physician! Now!"

Then, Consort Liang slowly rose, her steps elegant and composed, a seemingly serious but actually complex smile on her face. She slowly walked to the Empress's side and whispered, "Oh dear, what should we do? Quickly, let's carry Her Majesty to her bedchamber so that the imperial physician can examine her carefully."

"Alright, I'll listen to Your Highness." Qingming nodded quickly upon hearing this, her eyes filled with anxiety but also revealing her trust in Your Highness.

Several palace maids carefully lifted the Empress, whose body was limp and weak. Surrounded by the crowd, she was slowly moved to her bedchamber.

Before long, Physician Han arrived in a hurry, carrying his medicine chest.

"Quickly, Physician Han, quickly examine Her Majesty the Empress!" Qingming rushed forward, grabbed the physician's arm, and said anxiously.

A palace maid brought a stool and placed it in front of the Empress's bed. Imperial Physician Han quickly sat down and examined the Empress's greetings.

Upon hearing that the Empress had fainted, Xiao Jingheng hurriedly entered her bedchamber.

Everyone quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects."

Xiao Jingheng waved his hand and said, "Get up, all of you." He then walked quickly to the Empress's bedside and looked intently at Physician Han, who was taking the Empress's pulse.

Xiao Jingheng frowned, his expression extremely grave: "How is the Empress?"

Imperial Physician Han slowly withdrew his hand, bowed his head solemnly, and reported in a low but clear voice: "Your Majesty, the Empress's lips are purple, which is a sign of poisoning."

"What, poisoned?" Xiao Jingheng looked incredulous.

Imperial Physician Han nodded, saying with certainty, "Your Majesty, although the Empress has been poisoned, the poison is quite mild and has not damaged her heart or lungs."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's eyes sharpened, and he nodded, his tone firm: "You must do everything in your power to save the Empress. I want her to be safe and sound."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingheng pressed on again, "Do you know what kind of poison caused it?"
Physician Han looked troubled and shook his head: "Your Majesty, it is still difficult to determine at this time."

Suddenly, Physician Han twitched his nostrils, abruptly raised his head, and looked in the direction of an unusually strong fragrance.

The fragrance, with a subtle, almost imperceptible sweetness, gently permeated the bedchamber.

Lu Jingning noticed that Consort Liang and Consort Zhen's expressions seemed to subtly change for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, as if it were all just an illusion.

She was certain that the Empress's fainting was related to Consort Gui and Consort Zhen.

"Where is this smell coming from?" Physician Han asked, frowning.

After speaking, Physician Han rose from the stool and began searching for the source of the fragrance. His gaze settled on the exquisite sachet beside the Empress's bed.

He carefully removed it, brought it close to his nose to sniff it, then opened the sachet to examine its contents.

Suddenly, he frowned: "Your Majesty, the fragrance in this sachet is abnormal. I am certain that the poison is inside."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's face instantly darkened, and his gaze swept around sharply: "Where did this sachet come from?"

Qingming trembled and immediately knelt down, replying in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this sachet was sent by Consort Lu... Consort Lu a few days ago."

Before he finished speaking, everyone's eyes involuntarily turned to Lu Jingning.

Lu Jingning suddenly knelt on the cold ground, his knees hitting the ground with a "thud".

She looked up, her eyes filled with determination and innocence: "Your Majesty, I did not poison you. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."

Although her voice trembled slightly, it conveyed an undeniable sincerity.

Xiao Jingheng looked at her without the slightest doubt. He then stepped forward, gently helped her up with his strong hand, and said softly, "I believe you."

This scene caused Consort Liang's expression to change slightly, a hint of jealousy creeping into her eyes. A sarcastic smile curled at the corner of her lips: "That's not necessarily true. Consort Lu has always been close to the Empress; perhaps she was the one who poisoned her."

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!" Xiao Jingheng immediately rebuked.

At this moment, the Empress slightly opened her eyes, and Qingming immediately exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you're awake!"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

As she spoke, the Empress was about to sit up, but the Emperor stopped her, saying, "Empress, you are in poor health, there's no need for such formalities."

"Your Majesty, in my dazed state before I fully woke up, I heard that this matter was related to Consort Lu. I believe Consort Lu; this matter has nothing to do with her."

Although the Queen spoke softly, every word she uttered reached everyone's ears.

When Imperial Physician Han saw that the Empress had woken up, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "This sachet was hanging above Your Majesty's bedside. Didn't Your Majesty notice any strange smell?"

The Empress gently shook her head, her gentle expression tinged with a hint of doubt: "I haven't noticed anything unusual. Physician Han, is there really something wrong with this sachet?"

Imperial Physician Han frowned, his eyes filled with confusion: "That can't be! The fragrance has a distinctly strange smell. How could Her Majesty have been completely unaware?"

The Empress frowned slightly, as if trying to recall: "Last night before I fell asleep, I thought I smelled a faint, unusual fragrance, but I was so sleepy at the time that I didn't think much of it."

Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Han hurriedly took out a sachet from his sleeve and gently approached the Empress: "Your Majesty, please smell it carefully again. Is this the scent?"

The Queen took a deep breath, her delicate brows furrowing more and more tightly. That barely perceptible, sweet fragrance wafted into her nostrils once more, and she slowly nodded: "That's the scent."

"I have a question, Physician Han. I wonder if you could answer it for me?" Lu Jingning walked up to the physician and asked.

"Please speak, sir."

Lu Jingning looked at the sachet in Physician Han's hand: "Physician Han, can you tell that the poison in this sachet is slow-acting?"

"Judging from the Empress's symptoms, this poison is not chronic," Physician Han carefully explained to Lu Jingning.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, if there were something wrong with this sachet, Your Majesty should have been in trouble long ago when I gave it to you. But Your Majesty has only been poisoned now, which means that something was added to it."

Lu Jingning succinctly pointed out the problem, then looked at the Imperial Concubine: "Your Highness, do you think what I said makes sense?"

(End of this chapter)