Queen seeing Meifeng reaching for the steamed bear claws with her chopsticks, she felt increasingly nervous.
But it did not prevent it.
Meifeng dared to take away her palace authority, and the empress had long wanted to deal with her.
That's also the right time to deal with this woman.
The empress is not afraid of being investigated, as she has already asked Ruonan to clean up.
There should be no clues left.
Thinking about it, the empress can also put down her worries.
She looked at Yu Yao with a sly eye, sliding over her swollen belly, and a glint of regret flashed in her eyes.
It seems that there is no choice but to find another opportunity to strike.
Yu Yao slowly ate the rich dishes in front of her, but her attention was indeed on Meifeng.
Seeing Meifeng's first meal was the steamed bear claws with ingredients, her lips twitched slightly.
She served three dishes to Meifeng, but Meifeng didn't eat anything else, only that steamed bear claw.
But she didn't say anything.
Meifeng is not innocent. Daring to strike at the baby in her womb, even attempting to make her die in childbirth, don't blame her for retaliation.
Yu Yao secretly calculated the time for the drug to take effect.
After about a cup of tea's worth of time.
Suddenly, a suppressed groan of pain echoed in her ear.
Yu Yao subconsciously looked at Meifeng, only to see her suddenly vomit a large amount of blood.
"Ah... It hurts so much, save me, save me quickly..."
Meifeng fell to the ground in pain, rolling around and wailing.
"Ah..."
The sudden accident startled the cowardly concubines in the scene, causing them to shriek instantly, turning the scene into chaos.
Yu Yao was the closest, but she was a cultivator in her previous life, having long been accustomed to the deaths and lives of ordinary people.
She has also experienced various terrifying and bloody scenes.
Meifeng's actions couldn't scare her.
Ye Beicheng naturally noticed the commotion from over there.
"What's going on?" He furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice.
The empress's attention was originally on Meifeng, so when Meifeng vomited blood and fell to the ground, she was also frightened.
The poison she administered was a substance known as "Mother's Desire," which was designed only to make the fetus strong while weakening the mother.
Maybe because Meifeng is not pregnant, so the reaction is different?
Although the empress was also frightened, she soon calmed down and controlled the situation.
"Send someone to carry Meifeng to the Group of Flowers Garden in the Imperial Garden for some rest."
"Qiu Yu, you also go and serve your master there!"
The empress's gaze again fell on Meifeng's maidservant.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Qiu Yu saw Meifeng being carried away by a few little eunuchs and quickly followed them.
"Ruonan, quickly send someone to invite the imperial doctor to come!"
The empress then addressed her personal maid again.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Ruonan respectfully replied and quickly went down.
"Everyone, stop standing. All of you sit back down."
The empress's gaze swept over all the concubines present, and she spoke loudly again.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The concubines took their seats.
However, in just a moment, the chaotic scene was brought under control by the empress.
Ye Beicheng didn't speak, but sat on the Dragon Throne with a serious expression.
After a short while, the Head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Gu Yu, hurried over with a medical box.
"Your servant, Gu Yun, respectfully asks for the health and well-being of the emperor, and the prosperity of the queen."
Ye Beicheng waved impatiently, "Unnecessary ceremony, Head Gu, quickly go and check on Meifeng!"
"Your servant will obey the order."
Meifeng has already been carried to the Group of Flowers Garden in the Imperial Garden, where no one lives.
This palace is mainly for the concubines to rest when they come out to play.
It is managed by the aunt of the Imperial Garden, and maids are arranged to clean it every day.
Gu Yun quickly followed the maids to enter the Group of Flowers Garden.
About half an hour later, Gu Yun came out.
Gu Yun knelt in front of Ye Beicheng with a serious expression and respectfully said, "Your servant reports to the emperor, Meifeng has ingested an extremely rare and potent poison known as 'Mother and Child Reunion'."
"Zi Mu Gui?" Ye Beicheng furrowed his brow.
"Your Majesty, zi mu gui is a highly virulent poison specifically designed for pregnant women. As soon as a pregnant woman is exposed to even a small amount, she will immediately die with both the mother and child. Meifeng is not pregnant, so while she may not die immediately, she will likely remain bedridden in the future."
Gu Yun said again.
"What did you say? This is a rare and highly poisonous drug specifically targeted at pregnant women?"
Ye Beicheng stood up from the Dragon Throne in shock.
"Your Majesty, yes, but Your servant still needs to inspect the food that Consort Meifeng has eaten!"
Gu Yun expressed his respect again.
"Fu An, let Gu Yun examine all the things that Meifeng has eaten just now."
Ye Beicheng's face was extremely gloomy, and his voice was icy cold.
If he hasn't guessed wrong, the person who poisoned her originally targeted Yao Yao.
But for some reason, the poison "Mother and Child Reunion" was mistakenly consumed by Meifeng.
What Ye Beicheng could think of, everyone else could also think of.
Meifeng and Yao Guifei were seated next to each other, and everyone could see that. In the entire palace, there was only Yao Guifei who was pregnant.
And the poison used was specifically designed for pregnant women, "Mother and Child Reunion."
Then the target of the poisoning can only be Yao Guifei, right?
But it's unclear who the poisoner is, and why they are so cruel, wanting to kill both Yao Guifei and her child.
The eyes of everyone present fell on Yu Yao, filled with sympathy and regret...
Although the empress was shocked, she was also afraid at this moment.
This is completely different from what she had anticipated.
The poison she administered was clearly meant to weaken a pregnant woman with the "Desire for Mother's Grace," but how did it turn into the extremely rare and potent poison "Mother and Child Reunion"?
Could there be others who have also poisoned her?
The empress's gaze casually swept around all the concubines present.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find any clues on anyone's face.
Fu An quickly brought Meifeng's food and drink to Gu Yun for inspection.
Gu Yun took out a thin silver needle and inspected each of Meifeng's meals one by one.
Finally, he discovered something unusual on the plate of steamed bear claws.
Gu Yun wrapped the half-corroded silver needle in a handkerchief and placed it aside.
Then he stepped out of the crowd, faced Ye Beicheng, and respectfully bowed with a serious expression and said:
"Your Majesty, the dish at issue is the steamed bear claws; the potent poison in them is indeed 'Mother and Child Reunion'."
Yu Yao knew that she should come forward, and she secretly squeezed her own hand, causing tears to flow out suddenly.
"The steamed bear claws were originally on my table, Your Majesty. I saw that the dishes on Consort Meifeng's table were cold, so I brought over a few plates. How could…"
Yu Yao said this, then she knelt down on the ground with a thud, her eyes red with emotion, looking up at Ye Beicheng with a passionate plea, "Your Majesty, someone is trying to harm me. Please help me and take justice for me."
She had wanted to kneel twice more, but her belly was so large that she couldn't get down to the ground.
"Could it be that the Guifei concubine already knew that the bear claws were poisoned, and then deliberately gave them to Meifeng to eat?"
The one who spoke was Princess Consort Yuzhao.
Yu Yao looked at Princess Consort Yuzhao and said coldly, "I am not a pharmacologist, so how could I possibly know that there was poison in those bear claws?"
Although it was indeed her intention, she would never admit it in public.
Ye Beicheng gave Princess Consort Yuzhao a cold glance and said in an angry tone, "Princess Consort Yuzhao, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
Princess Consort Yuzhao saw that the emperor was looking at her coldly and her face turned white several shades, not daring to continue speaking.
"My dear concubine, since you are pregnant, the ground is cold. Get up quickly and stop kneeling!"
Ye Beicheng turned away from Princess Consort Yuzhao and walked towards Yu Yao, seeing that she was still kneeling on the ground.
So he pulled her up from the ground and said tenderly, "You can rest assured that the emperor will definitely give you an explanation."
He spoke with determination and his expression was very serious.
"Thank Your Majesty!"
Yu Yao lowered her head slightly, with red eyes and a hoarse voice, looking very pitiful.
Ye Beicheng gently patted her on the back.
Then he looked towards the side and said coldly to Fu An, "Fu An, go and investigate. I want to know who dared to harm my beloved concubine and my son."
