You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

The concubines exchanged glances, then all lowered their heads and held their breath.

Everyone knows that Consort Shu is hot-tempered, sensitive, and suspicious. Anyone who interrupts at this time might incur her wrath.

"How dare you spout nonsense? I'll grant you the honor of being sent to the Cold Palace!" Consort Shu carefully tucked the scroll into her sleeve, her beautiful eyes flashing with cold light.

Green Qiao, standing beside her, sensed something amiss... Why would Consort Hui tell such an easily exposed lie in public?

It was highly likely. The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became, and he immediately whispered, "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed suspicious..."

"I have some knowledge of medicine, how dare I speak presumptuously?" Chu Nianci was not afraid at all, and lowered her eyes respectfully, becoming even more serious.

Consort Yue, already seething with anger from her demotion, bit her lip upon seeing this, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. She felt her chance had come, and said indifferently, "Nonsense! How could there be such filthy things in Her Majesty the Empress's palace? You must speak with facts."

Empress Lin's heart skipped a beat, and she also felt a little strange.

She did indeed have someone put some medicine on the lilies in Consort Shu's palace, but the matter was done extremely secretly. Not only did she use several roundabout methods, but she also made sure to remove the flower buds every day. How could it have ended up on Consort Shu's sleeve?

Empress Lin's face darkened, and she forced a cautious smile, remaining silent to avoid arousing suspicion from Consort Shu.

A sense of unease swept through Consort Shu's heart, and she quickly raised her sleeve to take a closer look... Sure enough, there was a lot of pale yellow pollen on the cuff.

She frowned, pulled out a handkerchief to cover the corner of her lips, and her sharp eyes darkened, slowly revealing a hint of doubt.

She paused, then glanced at Chu Nianci.

Seeing her give an innocent smile with neither servility nor arrogance, he thought to himself that although this vixen was despicable, there was no need for her to tell such a lie.

Thinking of this, his gaze turned icy: "Go and summon Imperial Physician Zhang!"

Green Qiao immediately signaled to the palace maid to invite them.

After a short while, Physician Zhang arrived in a hurry and examined the patient carefully, his expression turning grave.

"How is it?" Consort Shu asked anxiously.

Physician Zhang, with a serious expression, stroked his beard and sighed deeply: "The substance on Your Majesty's sleeve is indeed purified oleander and safflower powder. This substance is extremely toxic. Frequent inhalation can cause infertility, and prolonged exposure can lead to mental confusion, irritability, and anger. If not treated promptly... I fear that your ability to have children may be compromised."

The word "infertility" is like an ice pick piercing my heart.

Consort Shu's face turned deathly pale instantly.

His eyes were filled with resentment and malice.

If a woman in the imperial harem could not bear children, her life was over.

Born into the Prime Minister's family, she was the only legitimate daughter in the family. She was pampered and spoiled since childhood and had a very high ambition. She entered the palace with the aim of becoming the Empress. She also hoped to have children with Duanmu Qingyu and have many children. How could she accept the ending of being childless?

Consort Shu's sharp gaze swept across the faces of each concubine, finally settling on Empress Lin's dignified and virtuous face.

Suddenly, she remembered the little eunuch carrying flowers she had bumped into outside the palace gate earlier...

"Yes...it must have been from that time!" A venomous glint flashed in Consort Shu's eyes. "You vile woman, how dare you send someone to harm me?"

She suddenly drew her peach blossom whip from her waist. Green Qiao couldn't stop her in time, and the whip lashed hard across the face of Xia Dong, the head maid next to the Empress. However, she forgot that the Empress was also next to Xia Dong, and the tip of the whip struck the Empress's fair wrist.

"Ah..." Xia Dong covered her face and screamed.

Empress Lin withdrew her hand in pain, unable to maintain her composure any longer, and her face immediately turned cold.

"Your Majesty," Xia Dong, disregarding her own face, hurriedly bent down to examine the Empress's hand. Covering her face, she rebuked in a trembling voice, "Consort Shu, how can you be so disrespectful? I have no complaints about punishing me, but Her Majesty the Empress is of such noble birth. How could she be injured without even knowing the facts!"

Seeing that she had accidentally injured the Empress, Consort Shu bit her lip, stepped forward, bowed, and said insincerely, "Your Majesty, I was angry for a moment and accidentally injured you. Please punish me."

Empress Lin gave her a cold glance, thinking that since he admitted to accidentally injuring her, punishing her for this might be seen as making a fuss or using it as an excuse.

So she calmly raised her hand and said, "Since it was an unintentional mistake, I will not punish you."

"Your Majesty!" Xia Dong's stern face showed heartache.

"Alright!" Empress Lin said, "Let's investigate this matter thoroughly first."

Consort Shu, secretly pleased with herself, straightened up and said, "I was framed in Kunning Palace, and you, the head maid, are the prime suspect. Today, we'll get to the bottom of this. If it really was you, you lowly servant, who caused this, I'll have your head chopped off!"

Consort Shu gripped the whip handle tightly, her eyes filled with ruthlessness.

She never respected the Empress, and after believing the Empress had harmed her, she became even more reckless and wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible...

This whip was never meant to strike Xia Dong, but rather to tarnish the Empress's reputation.

"Surround them all! Guards, search them! No one will leave until the matter is cleared!" Consort Shu shouted sternly.

Empress Lin was so angry that her face turned pale, but she gripped the armrest of her throne tightly, her eyes flashing with cold light, and she just smiled coldly.

"Your Majesty," Green Fairy advised in a low voice, "It is right to surround Kunning Palace to prevent the thieves from escaping, but if you want to search them, it would be best to inform the Emperor."

Consort Shu narrowed her almond-shaped eyes, adjusted the phoenix hairpin at her temple, snorted coldly, put away her whip, and sat down, which was taken as tacit approval.

Upon seeing this, a young eunuch hurriedly ran towards the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Duanmu Qingyu was handling state affairs in the Qin Zheng Hall when he heard about this.

I didn't want to get involved in the trivial matters of the harem.

The eunuch sent by Consort Shu alarmed the old prime minister right after the court session ended... Upon hearing that his beloved granddaughter was in trouble, the old prime minister, despite his advanced age, knelt and wept outside the palace gate.

The emperor had no choice but to set aside state affairs and ride in his entourage to Kunning Palace, his brows already showing a hint of impatience.

Even the emperor's presence was alarmed, so Empress Lin had no choice but to lead her entourage to the palace gates to kneel and welcome him.

Duanmu Qingyu stepped into the hall, his gaze sweeping over everyone indifferently, pausing briefly on Chu Nianci before withdrawing.

Consort Shu, whose eyes were initially filled with resentment, burst into tears upon seeing Duanmu Qingyu. She knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, "Your Majesty... someone is trying to harm me! You must avenge me!"

She cried with tears streaming down her face, a stark contrast to her earlier domineering and arrogant demeanor.

The cold light in Duanmu Qingyu's phoenix eyes was like the thin ice on the river in early winter, clearly indicating his displeasure.

Chu Nianci lowered his eyes and thought: He hates these palace intrigues the most. Today, his political affairs have been disrupted. He must have reached the limit of his patience.

Duanmu Qingyu did not speak, but walked directly to the dragon throne prepared by the eunuch and sat down.

The thick fur collar of his silver-gray cloak accentuated his noble and aloof face, which resembled cold jade. His sword-like eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and although he was as handsome as if cast in stone, he was surrounded by a layer of coldness that kept strangers at bay.

Chu Nianci knew he was angry when she saw his fair fingers clenched into a fist.

Consort Shu was still sobbing.

A hint of suppressed frustration flashed across his star-studded eyes, but thinking of the prime minister, he finally mustered his patience and spoke: "Since something has happened, I will investigate it myself. Get up first, there's no need to cry, it hasn't reached the point of no return yet."

Although the voice was soft, it warmed Consort Shu's heart.

She choked back tears, leaned against Lü Qiao, and whispered, "Yes..."

"Why is there oleander powder in Kunning Palace?" Duanmu Qingyu's tone turned cold. "Guards, investigate this thoroughly for me."

After giving his instructions, the emperor turned to look at Imperial Physician Zhang, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "The Imperial Hospital must do everything in its power to help Consort Shu recover."

The Prime Minister's residence currently has no eligible daughters to send to the palace, and the collateral branches are ultimately a step away.

To maintain the family's honor and favor, Consort Shu must not be allowed to get into trouble... and Duanmu Qingyu also needs her to stay safely in the palace so that the Prime Minister's Mansion can continue to stand on his side.

Almost the entire Imperial Medical Academy was summoned for a thorough investigation.

With the Emperor and Empress present, the servants naturally dared not neglect their duties and quickly searched the Kunning Palace, but found nothing suspicious.

However, oleander and safflower powder were found in the lilies sent from Yukun Palace.

Jingxi led a group to find all the problematic bouquets.

After several imperial physicians took turns examining the lilies, they knelt and reported: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, these lily stamens do indeed contain purified oleander and safflower powder."

Consort Shu's face darkened abruptly. She wiped away her tears and asked sternly, "Who was in charge of the flowers and trees?"

"It was delivered directly from the greenhouse," Green Flutters replied without the slightest hesitation.

Led by the head eunuch, all the palace servants from the flower room rushed over. After checking the number of people, they discovered that the little palace maid who delivered flowers to Yukun Palace was missing.

So, an order was given to search the palace. Soon, the imperial guards reported that a palace maid named Yun'er had been strangled to death in an alley next to the flower room. She was the one who usually delivered flowers to Yukun Palace.

Qin Zhenxing, the chief eunuch beside Consort Shu, turned around and kicked the head steward of the flower room in the back of the knee, causing the skinny man in his forties to fall to his knees with a thud.

"You dog slave! You've always been in charge of delivering the flowers and trees to Yukun Palace. How could there be poison in them? Speak! Who ordered you to do this?" Qin Zhenxing shouted fiercely.

The head eunuch, drenched in cold sweat, kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please understand! I wouldn't dare to harm my master even if you gave me a hundred lives!"

Empress Lin, who had been on tenterhooks, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing of Yun'er's death, but said solemnly, "This matter is suspicious; it would be better to hand it over to the Imperial Household Department for a thorough investigation."

The head steward was terrified and cried out that he was innocent. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he said, "This servant remembers... Yun'er complained a few days ago that the sister by Consort Shu's side often beat and scolded her over the matter of sending flowers. Could it be that she is holding a grudge...?"

Green Fringe raised her hand and slapped her across the face: "Nonsense! When have we ever hit her?"

The Empress raised her hand to stop her, then turned her gaze to the Emperor.

Everyone in the palace knew that Consort Shu had a violent temper and it was common for her to beat her servants.

She called softly, "Your Majesty, look..."

Consort Shu's eyes were filled with resentment as she bit her lip and sobbed, "His Majesty promised to stand up for me..."

Duanmu Qingyu's eyes were deep and unfathomable. After a moment of silence, he spoke to the head steward of the flower room: "I will only ask you once, how much do you know about this matter? If you are sent to the inner palace and then reveal your secret, I will make you suffer more than if you were dead, and your entire family will be implicated."

The head of the flower shop trembled uncontrollably, sweat dripping from his forehead to his lips, which he dared not wipe away.

After trembling for a while, she finally said, "Your Majesty, please spare me! This servant remembers, a while ago Consort Yue came to the flower room to choose flowers and exchanged a few words with Yun'er. This servant really doesn't know anything else..."