Story of Yanxi Palace: Fu Ying's banner will never fall

Chapter 118 Forcing Concubine Yu

Concubine Gao's expression remained as calm as water. She repeated again: "Concubine Yu, if you are sick, you must take medicine." Her tone was cold and firm, making it irresistible.

Doctor Liu's hands began to tremble violently as he held the medicine bowl, and the medicine splashed out of the bowl and onto the ground. His eyes revealed fear and hesitation.

Concubine Gao looked at Concubine Yu who was struggling desperately, and a hint of impatience flashed in her eyes.

She said coldly: "You are not a child anymore, why are you so troubled to take medicine? You should be more sensible. Someone, help her."

Several palace maids moved at the sound. They walked forward quickly. Two of them held Concubine Yu's shoulders, and the other pinched her chin, forcing her to open her mouth.

Concubine Yu shook her head frantically, her hairpins fell off one after another, and her hair also scattered around. She looked like a madman.

But no matter how she resisted, she could not escape the control of the palace maids.

At this moment, a clear shout came: "Stop!"

When everyone heard the sound, they looked and saw Empress Fucha hurried over with a group of palace maids and eunuchs.

She walked very quickly, as if she was afraid of being late. She didn't even have time to change her clothes. She was still wearing the plain clothes she wore when tending to flowers and plants, and the hem of her skirt was stained with some fallen petals and dirt.

Empress Fucha walked quickly to Concubine Yu and helped her up, her eyes full of concern. Then she turned and glared at Concubine Gao, and said sternly, "Concubine Gao, what are you doing?"

Concubine Gao raised her lips slightly, revealing a faint smile, and said, "Your Majesty, you have come at the right time. Concubine Yu is not feeling well, and I was just about to ask the imperial physician to treat her."

After saying this, her gaze fell on the bowl of medicine, and a barely perceptible hint of pride flashed in her eyes.

Empress Fucha looked at the medicine bowl on the ground, frowned, and questioned, "Is this really medicine for curing the disease?"

Concubine Gao chuckled and looked at Doctor Liu who was standing beside her. She said, "Doctor Liu, tell the Queen what this medicine is."

Imperial Doctor Liu took a step forward, bowed, and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, Concubine Yu is suffering from a cough. This is the loquat paste I prescribed for her to clear away heat and benefit the lungs." His voice was calm and firm, making it difficult to doubt.

However, Concubine Yu suddenly shouted, "Nonsense! This is not loquat paste at all, it is clearly a bowl of poison! Queen, you have to save me!"

Her face was as pale as paper, her eyes were full of fear and despair, and she clutched the corner of Empress Fucha's clothes tightly, as if she had grabbed the last straw to save her life.

Empress Fucha's face darkened. She looked at Concubine Gao suspiciously, then looked at Imperial Doctor Liu and asked coldly, "Is this really just a bowl of loquat paste?"

Concubine Gao raised her lips and sneered, "If that's the case, let's ask the Imperial Hospital to take a look."

Her eyes turned to the Queen, clearly putting pressure on her.

Empress Fucha sighed helplessly. She knew that this turmoil could not be avoided now, so she said, "Someone, summon Director Zhang from the Imperial Hospital." There was a hint of fatigue and helplessness in her voice.

Soon, Zhang Yuanpan came hurriedly. After respectfully bowing to the queen, he carefully checked the medicine in the medicine bowl and smelled it.

A moment later, he returned to the queen and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, this medicine is indeed loquat paste." His tone was firm and confident, leaving no room for doubt.

Upon hearing the result, Empress Fucha and Concubine Yu were stunned.

They originally thought there would be a fierce confrontation, but they didn't expect the facts to be so simple and clear.

A triumphant smile spread across Concubine Gao's face. She nodded with satisfaction, as if she had expected this outcome.

Concubine Gao had a half-smile on her face, her eyes fell on Concubine Yu, with a hint of cunning and provocation in her eyes.

She slowly said, "Noble Lady Yu, since you are pregnant with the dragon seed, I will not bother with you this time. However, Queen, I am very curious, who tipped you off that I was here to poison Noble Lady Yu?"

Empress Fucha smiled slightly, her eyes revealing majesty and confidence.

She gently stroked the handkerchief in her hand and said softly, "Some time ago, I knew that Concubine Yu was pregnant. In order to let her rest assured and take care of the baby, I specially sent someone to guard the Yonghe Palace to prevent anyone from plotting against her. I did not inform anyone of the situation."

After hearing this, Concubine Gao's eyes widened, her face full of astonishment, her fingers tightly grasped the corner of her clothes, and she looked a little flustered. She gritted her teeth and retorted unwillingly:

"Oh, although Concubine Yu is pregnant, she actually slandered my good intentions. This is really unforgivable!"

At this time, Wei Yingluo stepped forward and said in a clear and firm voice: "Empress, the raw materials of loquat paste are different, and the toxicity is also different. The old loquat leaves are not toxic. On the contrary, the new leaves are poisonous."

Everyone was shocked and turned their eyes to Wei Yingluo.

She continued, "When I was young, I loved eating loquats very much. But one time, I accidentally ate the pit, which caused me to have difficulty breathing and vomiting. This is because both the new leaves and the pit are poisonous. Taking too much of them can be life-threatening. Imperial doctors have always used old loquat leaves to make loquat paste, but some people with ulterior motives use new loquat leaves. Please ask Judge Zhang to take a closer look..."

When Concubine Gao heard this, her face instantly turned gloomy. She stared at Wei Yingluo fiercely, with a hint of murderous intent in her eyes. However, she still pretended to be calm and said, "If you want to investigate, then go ahead."

Zhang Yuanpan carefully examined it again, but could hardly identify it. He shook his head helplessly and said to Concubine Gao: "I can't tell the difference between old and new leaves in this loquat paste."

"Useless thing." Concubine Gao smiled and called softly, "Zhilan."

Zhilan stepped forward and replied, "The servant is here."

Her voice trembled slightly, but she still stood there calmly waiting for the next instruction.

Concubine Gao took the medicine bowl from Zhang Yuanpan, shook it gently, and then handed it to Zhilan: "Drink it!" Her tone was cold and firm, making people irresistible.

Zhilan took the bowl of medicine tremblingly, her hands shaking and her heart filled with fear.

She knew she had no way out and could only obey Concubine Gao's orders. She closed her eyes tightly, picked up the medicine bowl, took a deep breath, and drank the medicine in one gulp.

After a while, everyone stared at Zhilan's reaction nervously. However, unlike what they imagined, Zhilan did not show any abnormal symptoms.

On the contrary, she just looked a little pale, but she didn't seem to be in any serious trouble.

At the same time, Concubine Yu's face became paler and paler, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her body began to tremble.

The queen frowned and looked at Concubine Yu worriedly, with a hint of uneasiness in her eyes.