Guo Imperial Physician said this already in a very restrained manner. This life he would no longer be able to stand up again. To put it bluntly, he would become paralyzed from now on, spending all day in bed, taking care of eating, drinking, urinating and defecating all within that three inches of space.
Xiao Jingheng was saddened in his heart and did not speak for a long time.
Song Zhao cried even more sadly.
She leaned on Xiao Jingheng's shoulder and wept in despair,
"Xiao Lang! This poisoner had malicious intent. If what Xiao Fuzi said was true, then that person was targeting concubine and Ruo Xing. Concubine really does not know who concubine had offended in the past that someone wanted to plot against concubine like this..."
As she was crying and complaining, Xiao Yinzi hurried into the hall again,
"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant by decree searched the six palaces, and in Consort Yao's palace...found this."
He offered up a coarse wooden box the size of a palm.
Seeing Xiao Jingheng about to open this thing, he quickly said:
"Your Majesty! There may be something odd about this object. It's best to let Guo Imperial Physician examine it first."
With a look from Xiao Jingheng, Guo Imperial Physician strode forward to take the coarse wooden box, and very cautiously opened it.
But he only took one look at the powder presented inside, without needing any detailed examination or testing, he immediately declared:
"Your Majesty! This is Five Poisons Powder!"
"Outrageous!" Xiao Jingheng's brows and eyes twisted up as he sternly said, "Where in Yao Hua Palace was this filthy stuff found?"
Xiao Yinzi stuttered in reply, "It was... it was in Consort Yao's inner chambers..."
Xiao Jingheng's face grew even greener, "Summon her!"
Xiao Yinzi quickly said, "Seeing this object taken out from her inner chambers, Consort Yao was also shocked herself. Consort said she did not know about this matter and hurried to say that she wanted to come with your servant to explain in person to Your Majesty. She is waiting outside the hall now."
Xiao Jingheng's face was frosty as he angrily shouted, "Bring her in!"
No sooner had Consort Yao entered than she heard the desperate weeping of Consort Hui coming from the inner chambers,
"My son is not yet three years old. How can you tell concubine that he will be bedridden for life, unable to get up and walk like an ordinary person? Concubine does not believe it!"
That voice was so miserable it was like a cat that couldn't endure the spring night, sending chills down people's spines.
Together with that voice, Consort Yao knelt before Xiao Jingheng with a face full of horror, bitterly pleading:
"Your Majesty, I have nothing to do with this matter. I do not know who secretly put this wooden box in concubine's palace!"
Xiao Jingheng glared at her with bulging eyes, the veins on his forehead violently throbbing.
Perhaps it was also because he had doubts in his heart that he did not scold Consort Yao, but let her continue speaking.
Consort Yao took a breath and said again, "On the occasion of concubine's recent birthday, many consorts had come to concubine's palace to congratulate concubine. Perhaps someone took the chance to place this object in concubine's palace, it's hard to know!"
She leaned forward and grabbed Xiao Jingheng's dragon robe hem. Whether it was grievance or fear, tears glistened and flowed in her reddened eyes.
"Concubine is really wronged! Your Majesty, think carefully. If concubine had done this, concubine should have disposed of these filthy things early on. How could concubine foolishly keep them and wait for someone to come and search the palace?"
She defended herself to this point, and her reasoning was quite clear and precise, grasping the flaws in this matter.
At the same time, Consort Hui also walked out of the inner chambers dejectedly.
She did not blame Consort Yao, but instead spoke up for her,
"Your Majesty, concubine also feels that this matter is quite suspicious. The imperial physician said the toxicity of Five Poisons Powder is intense and takes effect quickly, so those butterflies with the Five Poisons Powder on their wings couldn't flutter for long before they all died.
But Consort Yao did not go to Chang Le Palace today either, so if those butterflies flew out from Yao Hua Palace, they would have fallen midway and the scattered Five Poisons Powder would have already hurt the palace maids. How could it just take effect when it reached Sister Song's palace?"
Wiping away her tears, Consort Hui looked back at Song Zhao, and found leisure in her grief to show concern for her,
"Sister Song, I'm afraid this matter was done by someone in your palace, so that the poisoned butterflies would only fly around in your palace. Sister, think carefully, have you offended anyone?"
With a few simple words, Consort Hui directed all suspicion at Song Zhao.
Indeed, the incident occurred in Song Zhao's palace, but Song Zhao was unharmed. The dead butterflies and maids were not close personal servants to her.
It was Chengjing who nearly lost his life because of this.
With some speculation, it was reasonable to say that someone was targeting Song Zhao, and it was also not farfetched to say that Song Zhao deliberately tried to harm Consort Hui's only son.
It had to be said that Consort Hui had been by Xiao Jingheng's side for a long time, and she really knew how to take advantage of his suspicious mind as the emperor.
At this moment, the gaze Xiao Jingheng cast on Song Zhao already contained some doubts in addition to his original concern.
Song Zhao was completely astonished and did not answer, only asking in return,
"Someone in my palace did it?"
She looked around, the alarm in her eyes growing,
"But I haven't offended anyone either..."
At this point, Zhang Imperial Physician suddenly said,
"Your Majesty, Five Poisons Powder should not be seen in the palace. In order to use this substance to harm people, the item must have been purchased from outside the palace and brought back."
Reminded by him, Guo Imperial Physician also said,
"What Zhang Imperial Physician said is very true. Moreover, Five Poisons Powder itself can also be used as a poison to fight poison, but because the toxicity is fierce and there are few conditions that can be cured by taking the right dosage, there are not many dealers selling this item in the capital. Your Majesty can bring them in one by one for careful interrogation, perhaps some clues may emerge."
Thus, Xiao Jingheng temporarily dismissed his suspicions and had Jiang Deshun personally lead people out of the palace to handle this matter.
The majesty of the Son of Heaven was undiminished, and the people serving before him did not dare to be negligent. By that night, Jiang Deshun had already captured all the dealers selling Five Poisons Powder in the capital and brought them back.
Among them, only one dealer had recently sold Five Poisons Powder. Based on his account, the painter from Ruyi Gallery drew a portrait of the person who bought it.
Comparing the portrait, the Imperial Household Department identified the person in the painting as the inner eunuch in charge of purchasing from outside the palace, Xiao Yaozi.
That night, Xiao Yaozi was detained in the Interrogation Bureau for harsh torture, in order to forcibly extract a confession from him.
The next day, when the consorts went to pay respects to Empress Dowager Chen, Xiao Jingheng also came.
He had Xiao Yaozi brought into the hall and asked him to identify who had ordered him to purchase the Five Poisons Powder from outside the palace.
This Xiao Yaozi had already been beaten to a bloody pulp, with only half his life remaining.
But as soon as he entered, he used his bloody hand to tremblingly point to Cai Ying, who was serving Rongyue, and said weakly,
"Your Majesty... it was her who ordered your servant to buy back the Five Poisons Powder from outside the palace..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall was in an uproar.
Everyone turned their gaze to Rongyue.
Even Song Zhao looked at her in disbelief and asked in a trembling voice,
"I have no grudge against you, why did you want to harm me like this?"
