What a strange girl.
Lai Chenglong couldn’t help thinking so, though he still moved forward according to protocol, preparing to place her in shackles.
But just then, Qi Yuan suddenly stepped forward and knelt before Emperor Yongchang: “Your Majesty, behind me stands the entire Marquis household. My father is one of your most trusted ministers. Unless I had lost my mind, how could I possibly poison Noble Consort Xiao Liu?”
Emperor Yongchang stared at her coldly, expression unreadable.
Qi Yuan showed no fear. She lifted her gaze and met the emperor’s eyes directly.
Even Lai Chenglong felt a jolt of surprise in his heart.
To look an emperor straight in the eyes—this girl was no ordinary person.
Emperor Yongchang let out a cold laugh and pointed to the physicians and the remnants of the medicinal decoction nearby: “Then explain this—why is there aconitum carmichaeli in it? A deadly poison! The medicine was prescribed by you, decocted by you. Isn’t that true?!”
Qi Yuan nodded calmly: “Yes, it’s true. I wrote that prescription myself—which is why I have a record of it.”
She looked at the maid named Shuanghua behind Princess Baorong. “Gugu, you should have the prescription I wrote at that time, correct? And if you don’t, the eunuch who fetched the medicine would have it.”
There was no way to lie about this.
Shuanghua let out a cold snort. “Yes, I do have it.”
As she retrieved the prescription, she added, “But even so, what does that prove? The prescription may have been fine, but you could have added the poison afterward!”
Qi Yuan smiled slightly: “No need for you to trouble yourself over that.”
She handed the prescription to Emperor Yongchang to read first.
Of course, he couldn’t make sense of it, so he passed it to the gathered physicians.
The doctors examined it one after another and reported truthfully: “This prescription is clearly for Qi Bi Syndrome. It soothes the liver and regulates qi. There’s no better remedy than this.”
Princess Baorong shrieked sharply: “So what?! What does that prove?! You could have still added poison later!”
Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh and walked over to the pile of medicine dregs. She flipped through them and pointed out the contents one by one for all to see: “Look closely, everyone. This medicine not only contains aconitum carmichaeli, but also an excessive amount of safflower. Aconitum alone is deadly. Combined with high doses of safflower, it would cause massive bleeding from both ends— Not just in women, but in men as well.”
She stood up calmly and looked straight at Emperor Yongchang: “Your Majesty, I’ve heard that the Wangye has also fallen ill.”
The Wangye….
Xiao Mo!
Emperor Yongchang felt a chill crawl up the back of his skull—his limbs even stiffened.
He realized.
Everyone else did too.
Xiao Yunting looked at Qi Yuan, completely overwhelmed.
He would always underestimate her.
Lai Chenglong was likewise staring at her, a trace of doubt and deep curiosity in his eyes.
This was a life-and-death moment, teetering on the edge—yet she remained so calm, so composed, speaking clearly and logically.
But…
Having seen so many political schemes, Lai Chenglong could tell: Qi Yuan couldn’t possibly be innocent.
Even if she had wiped her hands clean, it was too clean—that in itself was suspicious.
Still, now wasn’t the time to bring that up.
Princess Baorong screamed hysterically: “Lies! What nonsense are you spewing?! You wretched woman—you killed my royal mother, and now you’re trying to push the blame?! You did this—all of this was clearly your doing! And now you want to pretend it wasn’t?!”
She lunged to grab Emperor Yongchang’s sleeve and cried out desperately: “Royal Father! Kill her! Kill her and avenge my Royal mother! Kill her!”
Emperor Yongchang didn’t move. He narrowed his eyes and asked Qi Yuan, “Just speak plainly—what are you trying to say?”
Qi Yuan remained fearless and replied calmly, “This wasn’t the medicine I prescribed. My prescription is right here, in duplicate. Your Majesty has seen it.”
She stood straight, her back stiff and upright.
Then, without arrogance or submission, she said, “Someone deliberately switched my medicine.”
Just then, Liu Wangfei ran in, weeping: “Xiao Xianjiao! Go see Ah Mo, quick! He can’t stop vomiting and having diarrhea—he’s in a terrible state. Hurry and get a physician to see him!”
Emperor Yongchang’s mind was already a mess, but when it came to saving his child—there was no question.
He ordered the group of physicians, “Hurry and go treat the Wangye! If anything happens to him, you’ll be going with him!”
The physicians, legs trembling, rushed out one by one.
Qi Yuan suddenly called out to Liu Wangfei, who was turning to leave: “Your Ladyship, you said the Wangye is vomiting and having diarrhea?”
Liu Wangfei choked back sobs and nodded.
Qi Yuan’s expression turned serious. She dropped to her knees and kowtowed to Emperor Yongchang: “Your Majesty, please allow this humble girl to go examine the Wangye. Perhaps only I can determine the cause of his illness!”
At this point, a living son was more important than anything else.
Otherwise, the censors’ scolding would drown him, ritual protocols would crush him, and foreign envoys might write all kinds of twisted tales.
He held back his fury, ignored Princess Baorong’s cries, and nodded. Then he followed Qi Yuan to Xiao Mo’s residence.
The physicians were all deeply worried. They were just common doctors, not imperial physicians.
They might know how to treat such illnesses, but they didn’t dare to treat nobles!
Fortunately, before they had to do anything, Qi Yuan arrived.
As soon as she came in, she had Xiao Yunting and Princess Consort Lu restrain Xiao Mo’s flailing limbs. Then she quickly drew her gold needles and inserted them at the following acupoints:
Fengchi, Fengfu, Dazhui, Renzhong, Yaoqi, Jinsuo, Yanglingquan, Sanyinjiao, Baihui, Xinshu, and Ganshu.
With these needles in place, Xiao Mo finally calmed down. He stopped convulsing and vomiting.
Liu Wangfei was overwhelmed with joy and burst into tears.
Emperor Yongchang, on the other hand, was shocked and asked, “What was wrong with him?! Why did he recover as soon as you began treatment?”
Qi Yuan watched the needles vibrate slightly, her gaze tense as she monitored their movements. Only then did she take a moment to look back at Emperor Yongchang and say: “Your Majesty, with your divine wisdom, can’t you see? This—this was the medicine I originally prescribed for the Noble Consort.”
…..
What?!
Everyone was stunned.
Liu Wangfei was even more shocked: “What did you say?! This was the medicine meant for the Noble Consort? So… so Ah Mo’s seizures and nonstop vomiting—was it because he took the wrong medicine?!”
Qi Yuan nodded.
Emperor Yongchang’s mind was in chaos once more.
But he was still an emperor—he clearly sensed the stench of conspiracy.
There could not be such a coincidence in the world.
He turned to Lai Chenglong and asked, “What exactly is going on? What did you find in your questioning?”
Lai Chenglong snapped to attention and gave Qi Yuan a deep glance before stepping forward and replying respectfully: “Your Majesty, this subject has questioned all those involved in preparing the medicine. It was confirmed that Miss Qi personally decocted the medicine for Noble Consort Xiao Liu. But during the process, a nun suddenly fainted. Miss Qi went to assist her. She was gone for no more than a quarter of an hour.”
Emperor Yongchang’s suspicions grew. He asked: “What nun?”
Lai Chenglong hesitated for a moment, then coughed softly and said, “She… she was a nun from Princess Baorong’s meditation hall—she was there to give sermons…”
Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh. “So the nun fainting was just a ruse—to lure me away so someone could sneak in and add aconitum! Your Highness the Princess—how vicious you are! Just how much do you hate me? You actually poisoned your own mother with lethal poison just to frame me? Were you so desperate to destroy me that you’d go as far as killing her with your own hand?!”
