Shen Yuxi's and the system's mocking laughter seemed to surround Emperor Xuanzhao's ears in 3D.
He was so embarrassed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Seeing her son looking so mortified, the empress dowager inexplicably felt a little delight in his misfortune. What was that about?
Once they had finished laughing at Emperor Xuanzhao, the three giants of the imperial palace chatted among themselves, paying her no attention.
Shen Yuxi divided her attention to chat, asking the system, [What about that huge scoop concerning the empress dowager you mentioned earlier? Hurry up and tell me.]
The three pretended to chat, but in reality, they had their ears pricked up, following Shen Yuxi's inner voice all along.
At Shen Yuxi's words, all three unconsciously softened their breathing.
[The empress dowager is getting on in years. She could hardly be called robust, but she was free of illness and misfortune. Over the past year, however, her health has taken a sharp turn for the worse. The imperial physicians are helpless, and she can only get through her days relying on medicinal decoctions.]
[Host, you should have smelled the strong scent of medicinal decoctions when you entered the hall.]
Shen Yuxi hummed in agreement. [The empress dowager's complexion is visibly dull, and she sounds weak and breathless when she speaks. I'm afraid those decoctions are the only things keeping her spirits up.]
[Actually, the empress dowager used to be quite healthy. Someone secretly harmed her, poisoning her. That's why she's become so weak.]
The system's words were like a thunderclap out of a clear sky, stunning the three eavesdroppers.
Who had the audacity to plot against the empress dowager?
Emperor Xuanzhao's gaze instantly turned cold. He was already planning a thousand cruel ways for the mastermind to die once caught.
The empress looked toward the empress dowager with concern.
[That shouldn't be. The empress dowager devotes herself to worshipping Buddha and stays out of the affairs of both the court and the harem. She poses no threat to anyone.]
Shen Yuxi was puzzled. [If it were an enemy of the court, wouldn't targeting the emperor satisfy their hatred more?]
Emperor Xuanzhao: Well, thank you so much!
[You've got it wrong, host. The person plotting against the empress dowager isn't a political enemy, but a consort in the harem.]
[Who?]
[The empress dowager's niece, Consort Xuan.]
At those words, the emperor's and empress's expressions changed sharply.
Consort Xuan had some nerve.
Shen Yuxi's mouth fell slightly open in disbelief.
[Consort Xuan has her aunt, the empress dowager, backing her. Even the emperor would show her extra consideration for the empress dowager's sake. Why would Consort Xuan be so foolish as to poison her?]
The system sighed. [Although Consort Xuan is the empress dowager's niece, she's extremely timid. Aside from paying her respects to the empress and empress dowager, she rarely interacts with anyone else in the harem.]
The empress dowager and empress inwardly nodded in agreement.
Indeed, Consort Xuan never fought or competed for anything and was quiet and reserved. Had they not heard it from the system, they would have found it hard to believe that she alone had caused the empress dowager's illness.
[A year ago, Consort Xuan unexpectedly became pregnant, but she didn't know it herself.]
[At the time, the Ruo Qiang Kingdom invaded, leaving the people at the border dead or wounded. Mo Xuanchen was entrusted with command in that moment of crisis and fought the first battle against the Ruo Qiang Kingdom.]
[The Ruo Qiang Kingdom's national strength was on par with the Mo Kingdom's. What's more, Ruo Qiang had already captured several of the Mo Kingdom's border cities by then.]
[That battle was an extremely difficult one.]
[Worried about her grandson's safety, the empress dowager gathered the harem's consorts to kneel before the Buddha statue day and night, praying that Mo Xuanchen would remain safe.]
[It was Consort Xuan's first pregnancy, and it was unstable. After kneeling for a day and a night, she felt unwell and suffered bouts of pain in her lower abdomen. But seeing the empress dowager and empress persist in kneeling, she didn't dare ask to rest at such a time.]
The system's words carried the three back to their memories of a year ago.
The empress dowager's eyes dimmed slightly. At the time, she had not known that Consort Xuan was unwell or pregnant.
If Consort Xuan had only spoken up, she certainly would have summoned an imperial physician and let her return to her palace to rest.
[What a fool. What could be more important than her own health?]
Shen Yuxi was exasperated at her failure to do better. [If Consort Xuan had been a little braver back then, things wouldn't have ended up...]
[Exactly.]
[Consort Xuan miscarried after kneeling for too long and broke down emotionally. When she woke, she vented her feelings in a frenzy, smashing everything in the room within sight to pieces.]
The system shook its head. [She believed that if the empress dowager hadn't told her to kneel, she wouldn't have lost her child.]
[Harboring that hatred, Consort Xuan secretly obtained a slow-acting poison from outside the palace. It could imperceptibly deplete a person's vital essence and lifespan without killing them in the short term.]
[Consort Xuan wanted revenge for her child. After composing herself, she continued to pay her respects to the empress dowager every few days as usual.]
Shen Yuxi raised a question. [With so many imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy, none of them could find the source of the empress dowager's illness?]
[Imperial physicians aren't all-powerful either.]
The system said, [Consort Xuan feared that giving the empress dowager something directly would be too easily discovered, so she used herself as bait. She took the antidote beforehand and deliberately wore a poisoned sachet when approaching the empress dowager.]
[No one would trace it back to her.]
Shen Yuxi clicked her tongue twice. [Call her bold, yet she would rather endure the pain of a miscarriage for fear of displeasing the empress dowager. Call her timid, yet she actually dared risk the extermination of nine generations of her clan to poison the empress dowager.]
[Humans are such contradictory creatures,] the system said.
[The empress dowager dotes on Consort Xuan quite a bit. Without her protection, given Consort Xuan's weak nature-mud that couldn't hold up a wall-she would have lost her life long ago.]
[Whenever Consort Xuan thinks of her dead child, she can't remember any of the empress dowager's kindness. She doesn't soften in the slightest when poisoning her.]
[How can I let the empress dowager know that Consort Xuan poisoned her? I can't just let Consort Xuan kill her.]
At those words, warmth suddenly filled the empress dowager's heart.
Shen Yuxi pondered for a long while.
As soon as she raised her head, Emperor Xuanzhao and the other two immediately withdrew their gazes and pretended to chat.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, there is something I wish to say, but I don't know whether I should."
The empress dowager smiled gently. "Good child, speak freely. I pardon you of any offense."
Shen Yuxi took two steps forward, adopting a solemn tone.
She said, "I see darkness between your brows, a wan complexion, and slight swelling at the corners of your eyes. This doesn't look like an ordinary illness. Rather, it looks like... poisoning!"
"Poisoning!" The three feigned shock.
Entirely unaware, Shen Yuxi nodded solemnly. "I have some knowledge of medicine. Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, might you allow me to take your pulse?"
The empress dowager hurriedly held out her hand.
With a convincing air, Shen Yuxi laid three fingers over the empress dowager's wrist, closed her eyes, and carefully felt her pulse.
Half a minute later, Shen Yuxi withdrew her hand, her expression grave.
Emperor Xuanzhao asked urgently, "What does the empress dowager's pulse indicate?"
"Your Majesty, the empress dowager's pulse confirms poisoning beyond doubt."
"But all the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy have examined and treated the empress dowager. None said that Mother had been poisoned."
"Your Majesty the Empress, the poison afflicting the empress dowager is no ordinary one. It is understandable that the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy could not detect it."
"How can you be so certain, young official Shen?"
[Questions, questions, questions-what the hell is there to ask? The urgent task is to save the empress dowager.]
The moment Shen Yuxi lost her temper, Emperor Xuanzhao shut his mouth and fell silent.
The empress and empress dowager pressed their lips together to hide their laughter. It was the first time they had seen the emperor suffer a setback without daring to talk back-and at the hands of a young girl, no less.
"If Your Majesty and the empress dowager trust me, I am willing to treat Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Just then, a palace maid entered the hall to announce that Consort Xuan sought an audience.
Shen Yuxi's lovely eyes lifted slightly. Better to arrive at the right moment than early; she had just been wondering how to warn the empress dowager to beware of Consort Xuan.