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

What if... the person who poisoned the body is the "whistleblower"?

What if the poison was introduced in another way?

Chu Nianci suddenly looked up, her sharp gaze fixed on the beautiful noblewoman...

Her face, as beautiful as a peach blossom, now subtly revealed a hint of pride and arrogance.

It's as if it's saying, "You can never beat me."

The charming noblewoman often does things in a way that doesn't follow the rules, and her schemes cannot be judged by conventional standards.

A clear and bold guess quickly took shape in her mind.

She first had Imperial Physician Zhang carry Shen Lanbing and Consort Jia to a side hall for treatment.

Then, he turned around and bowed.

"This is indeed Cold Food Powder," Chu Nianci said, "but it's not the same as the kind that poisoned Bai Shuren."

The hall fell silent for a moment, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Aren't they all cold food powder?

What difference could there be?

Duanmu Qingyu and Empress Lin understood her meaning... If the poison was different, then Bai Shuren's death had nothing to do with Chu Nianci.

Empress Lin immediately looked at Chu Shunqing, her voice slightly deep: "But Physician Chu just clearly said that the two have the same composition."

Duanmu Qingyu's icy gaze then fell upon Chu Shunqing: "That's right, that's what you just said."

Chu Shunqing, who had been gloating and watching the spectacle unfold, knelt down with a thud upon hearing this: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please be wise. What I said is absolutely true. Both are indeed cold food powder, and Imperial Physician Zhang has just verified them..."

"It's different," Chu Nianci interrupted her, her voice clear, "Consort Jia and Noble Lady Lan used highly purified Cold Food Powder, and they only fell into a coma because of an overdose, while the Cold Food Powder in Bai Shu's body... was mixed with arsenic."

Duanmu Qingyu raised his hand and ordered someone to present the two kinds of poison powder.

After a careful examination, Imperial Physician Zhang frowned and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, just as the young lady said, the poison that Bai was poisoned contained trace amounts of arsenic, which accumulated over time and caused the poisoning to take effect. This particular amount is of higher purity and must have been directly added to the tea."

"This... how is this possible?" Chu Shunqing's expression changed drastically. He rushed forward to examine it himself, and his face immediately turned red.

She was so focused on taking credit that she didn't even notice that one of the portions was laced with arsenic!

"Your Majesty, the physician Chu's skills are incompetent; he has misdiagnosed me more than once." A hint of sarcasm flashed across Consort Shu's bright face.

Chu Shunqing was so angry that his chest heaved, and a metallic taste rose in his throat, which he had to suppress with great effort.

Consort Shu was practically her nemesis. Ever since she lost face due to her menstrual irregularities, Consort Shu had been targeting her in every way.

But she still didn't dare to resist.

They could only lower their heads and silently swallow their humiliation.

Empress Lin's face darkened, and Duanmu Qingyu's eyes grew even colder.

The pretty lady quickly retorted, "So what? Maybe you used two different kinds of poison!"

Consort Shu covered her lips with a handkerchief, a contemptuous smile curving her lips as she chuckled softly, "To poison someone with two different kinds of medicine? This person is either evil or stupid."

The pretty lady was speechless after being rebuked by her.

"Your Majesty, just as Consort Shu said," Chu Nianci raised her head, her eyes shining with excitement, "the reason why there are two kinds of poison is very simple... because the poisoners were actually two different groups of people."

She paused, then said, word by word, "The poison in Consort Bai was administered by Xiao Guizi. And the poison in Tangdi Palace was administered by Zhui'er."

"Absurd!" Consort Qiao retorted as if burned, her voice shrill and panicked. "She's dead, how could she have poisoned her? Consort Hui, you'll stop at nothing to escape punishment, even framing a dead person!"

Everyone in the hall looked surprised and doubtful.

Even the young emperor frowned in disbelief and pondered deeply.

Chu Nianci remained calm and turned to Duanmu Qingyu, explaining clearly and logically, "Your Majesty."

"Zhui'er's job every day is to fetch water, but with so many people coming and going, she can't easily poison it. But she doesn't need to poison it, because someone has already poisoned it. Only one bucket of water delivered each day is poisoned..."

She paused here, because a hint of understanding had flashed in Duanmu Qingyu's bright eyes.

Unexpectedly, he had guessed it too.

She continued, "If Zhui'er is alive, she knows which bucket of water is poisoned and will not use the poisoned water. But as soon as she leaves or dies, the bucket of water that has been poisoned will be used. In this way, when the poison takes effect, she will be 'dead,' thus clearing herself of the suspicion of poisoning and completely shifting the blame onto me, thus completing her plan to frame me with her own death."

Her eyes were bright and her voice was firm: "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may immediately check the water carts that were sent to Tangdi Palace today and those that may not have been taken away yet. It is very likely that the water cart is inside one of them. I implore Your Majesty to check the water carts first and at the same time conduct a thorough search of the six palaces. The cold food powder that poisoned Bai Shuren is also within the six palaces."

The hall fell into a deathly silence; you could hear a pin drop.

This deduction was truly unexpected, yet it subtly aligned with the intricate and vicious scheme.

Her face was ashen, her whole body trembled uncontrollably, a chill ran from her feet to her head, and her hands and feet were icy cold.

His face was filled with the panic of his plan being exposed.

She saw right through it all... This plan was supposed to be flawless.

Since entering the palace, she had always considered herself exceptionally intelligent, but she never expected...

The dead testified, and the living were poisoned—a plan with irrefutable evidence—yet she saw through it.

This shows that her intelligence is superior to his own.

Looking at her sneer, Consort Qiao suddenly realized that she... probably already knew about the Cold Food Powder. No wonder no poison was found. She must have buried the poison in her own palace.

In an instant, the beautiful lady broke out in a cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, this, a thorough search of the six palaces, will cause widespread panic..." Consort Qiao's lips trembled as she retorted, but her face was ashen. She shuddered uncontrollably, a chilling fear instantly spreading from the soles of her feet throughout her body, leaving her limbs icy cold.

"They are all concubines. How can you allow the guards to search them? Such a large-scale search of the palace will damage His Majesty's dignity!" Empress Lin also spoke up to dissuade them.

Since entering the palace, Duanmu Qingyu's gaze has been cold, like a desolate, frozen lake.

At this moment, a crack finally appeared on that cold face. "As expected, you are malicious, plotting such a scheme to harm people. Issue my order: intercept the water carts and conduct a thorough search of the six palaces..."

Jingxi accepted the order and, accompanied by guards, went to search the palace.

Soon, a guard returned, his face hesitant, and knelt to report: "Your Majesty..."

"Just tell me what you found out, don't beat around the bush."

"Yes," the guard said, bowing his head. "As you instructed, we have thoroughly searched the East and West Six Palaces. We found nothing unusual elsewhere, except... except in Consort Qiao's Leisure Moon Pavilion, where we found Cold Food Powder. Upon examination, it was found to be exactly the same as the one used to poison Consort Bai."

They actually found gambling equipment and the like, but the guards were well-versed in how to make money in the palace, so they naturally wouldn't say it out loud and offend anyone.

"The Charming Lady".

Duanmu Qingyu's voice was like ice, his gaze sweeping over the dark brown bloodstains on the edge of the incense burner before finally settling on the pale face of the pretty noblewoman.

"What else do you have to say?"

The pretty lady's legs went weak, and she collapsed heavily to her knees on the cold, black brick floor.

A sharp pain shot through my knee, but it was nothing compared to the panic in my heart.

She bit her lower lip until she tasted a faint metallic taste of blood, and her eyes quickly filled with tears.

She raised her face, feigning utter grief and injustice: "Your Majesty, please understand... I would never dare to commit such a treasonous act! If... if it truly was my doing, I am willing to die immediately to atone for my sins and prove my innocence!"

A sliver of hope still lingered in her heart.

The waterwheel runs daily; check it now.

That particular waterwheel may have long since left the Tangdi Palace area, or even been cleaned up, so it may be impossible to find any trace of it.

Duanmu Qingyu stopped looking at her, as if even glancing at her would be considered filthy. He simply ordered indifferently, "Follow today's water supply route, check each waterwheel for me, and detain and interrogate all those who handled the waterwheels and related palace personnel."

Time slipped away slowly in the suffocating silence.

The copper water clock seemed to stretch out time, dripping away bit by bit.

It felt like countless fine needles, constantly pricking the nerves of everyone in the hall.

The beautiful noblewoman knelt on the cold ground, her inner clothes already soaked with cold sweat, and her wet hair clung to her pale cheeks.

The dripping of the copper water clock was slow and steady, each drop like a heavy hammer blow to her heartstrings on the verge of collapse.

Finally, a series of hurried yet steady footsteps approached from afar.

Jingxi hurried into the hall and respectfully knelt to report: "Your Majesty, the five water carts in front of Tangdi Palace and those that have recently stopped there have all been inspected, and there is nothing unusual. However, this servant has traced the water supply order back to Your Majesty..."

When they arrived at a spare water cart beside the passageway outside Lizheng Gate, although the water had been emptied, residual water containing cold food powder was found in the groove of the cart shaft. The two eunuchs guarding the water cart have been arrested. During the initial interrogation, one of them confessed that Xiao Luzi had bribed them.

The air inside the hall seemed to have been suddenly sucked out.

But Chu Nianci felt the air was incredibly sweet.

Only then did I breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Actually, everything she said just now was speculation and conjecture, but she was right all along.

It was like a large rock falling to the ground.

Her eyes reddened slightly, and she collapsed to the ground.

She wasn't weak; rather, she genuinely revealed the grievances and lingering fear of surviving a disaster. Her clear eyes looked at Duanmu Qingyu, as if silently telling a story.

Look, if this insidious scheme hadn't been exposed, she wouldn't be able to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River today.

Duanmu Qingyu stepped forward to help her up and pulled her back to sit down on the chair next to her.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this." His voice rang out gently, like a spring breeze brushing across his face.

Then, his face instantly turned horribly gloomy, and a storm gathered in his eyes.

"Good, what a brilliant plan," he practically spat out the words through gritted teeth. "Jingxi, take men and search Xianyue Pavilion thoroughly, inside and out, and interrogate Xiao Luzi immediately."

"Yes!" Jingxi accepted the order and immediately left with a team of guards and eunuchs from the Censorate.

This time, the wait wasn't long.

Less than half an hour later, the head of the guards who went to search returned quickly, holding an inconspicuous celadon bottle in his hands.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress," the head guard knelt on one knee, his voice booming, "a bottle was unearthed three feet deep under the crabapple tree in the southeast corner of the backyard of Xianyue Pavilion. After examination by Imperial Physician Zhang, it was found to contain purified Cold Food Powder. Xiao Luzi, the eunuch of Xianyue Pavilion, has confessed."

"It was Consort Qiao who ordered him to secretly sell them near Yongxiang. He also confessed that the previous accusations against Consort Hui's son and daughter were also instigated by Consort Qiao, who used a large sum of money to coerce her family into giving false testimony and then poisoning them."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

"My God...it was her! And she even called Bai Shuren 'sister' all the time! How could she be so vicious!"

"They devised this series of vicious schemes not only to eliminate Consort Hui, but also to drag Consort Shu down with them..."

"She seemed so docile on the surface, I never imagined she was so deep and vicious!"

"Fortunately, Consort Hui is intelligent and His Majesty is wise, and they saw through her scheme. Otherwise, living in the harem with such a viper would have kept me up at night..."

Everyone looked at Consort Qiao with shock and fear. Even the palace servants standing next to her subconsciously took a few steps back, as if she were some kind of poisonous and filthy creature, something to be avoided at all costs.

The beautiful lady was struck dumb, frozen in place, her face pale and her body ice-cold.

It felt like being doused with a bucket of ice water, freezing even the blood in your veins.

Despair instantly engulfed her.