Kindly replied the old man and quickly retreated.
Soon afterward, he promptly led people to investigate.
"You have also been frightened tonight, so don't stay here. Let Qing Tan and Qing Yue lead you back first."
Yebei Chen looked at Yuyao with worried eyes again.
"Thank Your Majesty!"
Yuyao naturally wouldn't refuse. With a respectful bow, she brushed aside the etiquette and took the hand of Qing Tan and Qing Yue to leave the banquet hall.
On the way back.
"General, was it the queen who caused trouble for me tonight?"
Although Yuyao guessed that it was the queen who orchestrated the incident, she felt that someone else had also interfered.
During the incident, the queen's expression was too shocked and too strange, as if even she herself was surprised.
The system did not hide anything, "This was indeed done by the queen, but the queen was tricked by Lady Duan, who switched the originally intended toxic drug 'Xi Mu Yan' with the lethal poison 'Zi Mu Gui'."
"What is Xi Mu Yan? What kind of drug is that?"
Yuyao had not heard of this drug before, so she asked.
"This drug causes the fetus to wildly absorb the mother's nutrients, with the fetus becoming stronger while the mother grows weaker. Eventually, it leads to pregnant women losing their strength to give birth, resulting in difficult labor and death."
After the system explained that, she understood.
The queen's original plan was probably to go for the mother and leave the child, but she didn't expect to become the knife in Lady Duan's hand by accident.
At this moment, the queen probably hates Lady Duan to death.
The queen had indeed become furious with Lady Duan, but the matter had already occurred. Only to do the best we can to tidy up the situation and prevent people from finding out.
Yuyao asked the system to tell her about the process of the queen administering the drug and her meeting with Lady Duan.
Although the key clues have been cleaned up by the queen, it is difficult to find evidence again.
But as long as Yebei Chen has any doubts about the queen, the queen's days won't be easy.
At the very least, without mentioning anything else, Yebei Chen will no longer allow the queen to interfere in affairs.
A queen without palace power is just a prop, equivalent to a tamed tiger without teeth.
In the future, it will be much easier to deal with her.
Over the following days, Yuyao purposely and unintentionally said some seemingly disorganized, but actually insightful things to Fu Gongfu.
With Yuyao's prompt, Fu Gongfu traced the clues and soon discovered that the queen was involved.
But the trail ended here; the eunuch who administered the drug had died.
He was still found dead in a dry well in the cold palace, with no suspicious items left on his body.
This could not prove that the eunuch was the queen's person.
Yuyao had anticipated this; she only needed Yebei Chen to suspect the queen.
Later, she secretly whispered to Fu Gongfu on her way that Rongnanzhuan had privately met with Lady Duan.
Fu Gongfu immediately sensed something.
He quickly followed this lead and indeed discovered that several months ago, Rongnanzhuan had left the palace, disguised and secretly gone to the Marquis Duan's mansion.
Rongnanzhuan was the queen's personal attendant and the most trusted person. If she had something to do at the Marquis's mansion, she could go there openly.
This clandestine and disguised behavior, if claimed to be innocent, would be highly questionable.
However, since no one specifically saw what Rongnanzhuan was doing at the Marquis Duan's mansion.
Although no one saw.
But Yebei Chen ordered Rongnanzhuan to be taken to the Chingcheng Si for questioning and ordered his subordinates to pry open her mouth at all costs.
Because of the suspicion towards the queen, Yebei Chen did not leave any face for her.
Instead, he ordered that all the eunuchs and attendants in the Fengyi Palace be taken to the Chingcheng Si for questioning.
And then, subjecting them to severe interrogation.
It was obvious that the queen's actions had angered Yebei Chen.
When Rongnanzhuan and all the eunuchs and attendants in the Fengyi Palace were arrested, the queen panic and fear.
Rongnanzhuan was her most important confidant, almost knowing everything about her.
The queen was afraid that Rongnanzhuan might not withstand the harsh tortures of the Chingcheng Si and then reveal her past actions.
Fortunately, her brother was still in her hand.
The queen soon calmed down.
The queen quickly sent someone to secretly deliver the jade pendant that belonged to Rongnanzhuan's brother to the Chingcheng Si.
Chingcheng Si.
In some dim, foreboding, damp, and brutally bloody dark room.
Rongnanzhuan was bound to a pillar with chains, her entire body already drenched in blood. The numerous deep scars on her body were so grotesque and terrifying that they could be seen through.
It was clearly torture.
Even after torture, Rongnanzhuan's jawbone was very hard, and she still refused to say anything.
She firmly believed that the empress would save her out.
At this moment, a jade pendant suddenly flew into the dark room through the window and landed at her feet.
Seeing the jade pendant suddenly appear at her feet, Rongnanzhuan's calm eyes were instantly filled with excitement.
"Aah! Brother, brother! Empress, please believe me, I haven't said anything at all, please release my brother!"
No one knew what had happened that night in the Chingcheng Si.
However, the guards of the Chingcheng Si later discovered in the late hours of the night that Rongnanzhuan was dead. She had died by biting her tongue.
Although a jade pendant was left at the scene.
But that was just an ordinary jade pendant and could not prove whose it was.
With Rongnanzhuan's death, the clues were also broken.
The other palace attendants from the Fengyi Palace who were detained in the Chingcheng Si did reveal some things, but mostly they were unimportant matters.
At best, it would only make Yebei Chen's impression of the queen worse, but would not be able to hurt her seriously.
Without solid evidence, Yebei Chen was also unable to charge the queen with a crime.
Although he couldn't formally convict her, Yebei Chen had already internally concluded that it was the queen who was responsible and had colluded with Lady Duan.
Although there is no evidence, he believes so in his heart.
This matter has already reached Yebei Chen's bottom line.
He has lost all remaining feelings of conjugal affection for the queen.
This night, Yebei Chen went to the Fengyi Palace, and it is unknown what the two of them discussed.
The next day, the queen fell ill and was then confined to the Fengyi Palace, with no one allowed to visit her.
Of course, she also handed over her power as the empress.
After being sealed off and losing her power, the queen is essentially the same as a deposed queen, not allowed to be visited by anyone.
Although the emperor did not issue an edict convicting the empress, both the previous court and the palace accepted that it was the empress who administered zimu gui to Empress Yao.
From the emperor's recent series of actions alone, you can tell.
After all, no one is a fool. Everyone can see it clearly.
The fall of the empress.
The concubines and palace attendants who had previously aligned with the empress all distanced themselves.
Later, they began to search for new allies.
Yuyao was the first choice for those concubines and palace attendants.
Who else would be the top choice but her? She holds the highest rank, is favored, and is carrying the emperor's only heir.
Everyone can see that Empress Yao has a bright future.
Yuyao dislikes forming factions and does not need to, so she tells Qingtan and Qingyu to close their doors to visitors.
The concubines and palace attendants saw that Empress Yao was closing her doors to visitors, and they instantly understood the message, no longer coming to disturb.
After Yebei Chen regained control of the palace, he did not entrust it to any concubine or attendant, but instead to the empress dowager.
Although the empress dowager's leg injury had not fully healed, she had already recovered.
She could simply review the matters, while others would handle the rest.
The empress dowager did not refuse either, happily accepting it.
After all, the empress dowager is also a person who loves power.
The concubine Wan, who had originally assisted the empress in handling affairs, wisely handed over the palace power that was assigned to her to the empress dowager.
The empress dowager felt that Concubine Wan was very astute and gave her more satisfaction in her heart.
She awarded Concubine Wan with many good things, and then sent her back.
Concubine Mei was poisoned and is lying there half dead, so she cannot continue to handle palace affairs.
The palace power that was originally assigned to her was also taken back by the empress dowager.
For a time, all the palace power was under the control of the empress dowager, and her prestige became more and more prominent.
