Chapter 6 — Saving the Emperor One Sugar Cube at a Time

Within those eyes, there was no anxiety—only the absolute certainty of triumph.

More importantly.

After the divine physician prescribed the medicine, he deliberately instructed the palace attendants to lock up all sweets in the imperial kitchens, proclaiming that sugary treats would stagnate the vital energy and block the flow of blood.

Yet I gave His Majesty merely a single piece of rock sugar, and His Majesty awoke.

Complete and utter nonsense!

Wu Xuechu retorted sharply and loudly.

That piece of rock sugar was nothing more than a coincidence, happening to align with the moment the medicinal potency finally took effect. What could a lowly maidservant originating from the Laundry Bureau possibly comprehend about the intricate principles of medicine?

I may not understand the principles of medicine, but someone else does.

My voice remained calm, yet every single word carried immense weight. At a wave of Xiao Qiyuan’s hand, the Head Eunuch of the Inner Palace immediately presented three distinct items. One was the medical prescription personally written by Wu Xuechu, the second was the daily log and pulse records compiled over the past few days, and the third was a packet of pulverized, shattered medicinal dregs.

Lord Imperial Physician, explain this to Us.

Xiao Qiyuan closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his temples. The elderly Chief Imperial Physician stepped forward, trembling all over.

Reporting to Your Majesty... the dosage of aconite and ginseng in this prescription is overwhelmingly massive, and moreover, both ingredients possess an extremely harsh, drying, and violent nature.

If Your Majesty were truly suffering from a severe cold affliction, this prescription might indeed have saved a life.

Yet Your Majesty’s collapse this time... although the pulse was deep and submerged, it was fundamentally a condition of depletion and exhaustion.

Administering such ferocious and drastic medicine is no different from pouring oil onto a raging fire; it would completely consume the remaining primordial energy within the heart meridians.

As these words fell, a profound silence descended upon the grand hall.

Bring them in.

Xiao Qiyuan commanded in a low, chilling tone. Several imperial guards dragged a eunuch forward, throwing him violently into the center of the hall—it was none other than the inner court attendant who had provided false testimony regarding the imperial kitchens. The moment he hit the ground, he began kowtowing frantically, splattering fresh blood across the white jade floor tiles.

This slave deserves death! This slave deserves death!

It was the Crown Prince’s personal retainer who gave this slave a hundred taels of silver, ordering me to lock up the rock sugar and all the candied fruits in the storage rooms...

He claimed that doing so was solely for the safety of His Majesty.

This slave truly did not know that this was a scheme to take a human life!

The Crown Prince’s complexion drained of all color, turning ashen as he nearly collapsed limply onto the floor.

Imperial Father! This is a malicious frame-up! How could this son ever...

A frame-up?

Xiao Qiyuan seized a teacup from the table and hurled it violently, smashing it against the floor right beside Xiao Chengyu’s feet.

That night, although We were unable to open Our eyes, Our ears were far from deaf!

We heard everything with absolute clarity.

How impatiently you ordered your guards to execute the palace maid who saved Our life, and how you calmly discussed funeral arrangements with this so-called divine physician!

Wu Xuechu’s face turned the color of ash. She opened her mouth, attempting to mount another defense, but her gaze fell upon the exquisite white jade phial that Xiao Qiyuan was slowly stroking in his hand—the very container of lethal poison the assassin had used to end his own life that fateful night.

The scent of this particular poison must be intimately familiar to Physician Wu, is it not?

Wu Xuechu’s entire body trembled violently before she collapsed limply to the ground. She understood all too well that in the presence of Xiao Qiyuan, any further falsehoods had lost all meaning. She bit down hard upon her lower lip, and finally, driven by a reckless desperation, she abruptly turned her head to glare fixedly at the Crown Prince.

9

It was the Crown Prince!

Wu Xuechu stared unblinkingly at Xiao Chengyu.

It was all commanded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!

Xiao Chengyu’s face turned deathly pale. He suddenly leaped to his feet, pointing a trembling finger at her as he hurled furious abuses:

Vile creature! How dare you bite the hand that fed you and falsely accuse Us! Imperial Father, this son is utterly wronged! This venomous woman knows she is doomed, so she wants to drag this son down into the grave with her!

I am falsely accusing you?

Wu Xuechu let out a succession of cold, desolate laughs, reaching down to rip the dragon-patterned jade pendant from her waist and hoisting it high into the air.

This personal jade pendant was the earnest money bestowed upon me by the Crown Prince’s own hands!

His Highness promised that the moment the Emperor died, the day of the new sovereign’s ascension would also be the day I ascended to the highest seat in the Imperial Hospital!

His Highness even remarked that until that unyielding old immortal closed his eyes for good, he would never be able to sit securely upon the seat of the East Palace!

Silence! Someone, gag her mouth at once!

Meng Yuanshu suddenly burst into the hall. Having completely shed her usual composed and dignified demeanor, she lunged forward, desperately seeking to tear at Wu Xuechu’s mouth, only to be forcefully restrained by the armored guards flanking the entrance.

I beg Your Majesty to bring forth your discerning judgment!

Meng Yuanshu collapsed heavily in a heap at Xiao Qiyuan’s feet, her voice breaking as she wept in shrill despair.

Yu'er is your own flesh and blood, Your Majesty. Since his youth, he has always been benevolent and filial—how could he ever commit such a monstrous and treasonous act?

It must be that this fraudulent physician administered the wrong medicine out of her own incompetence, and fearing the loss of her head, she is now thrashing about like a mad dog, biting everyone in sight!

As she wept, she cast a vicious glance in my direction, thrusting a trembling finger straight toward the bridge of my nose:

For all we know, this lowly maid from the Laundry Bureau might have colluded with outsiders to orchestrate this poisonous plot, all to drive a wedge within the imperial family!

Your Majesty, you should immediately issue a decree to execute this wretched wench by a thousand cuts!

I cast a frigid gaze upon this woman who held the position of Mother of the Nation, yet not a single ripple stirred within my heart. Even on the verge of ruin, she still forgot neither to fling filth upon a defenseless palace maid nor to silence her through execution. What a pity that such hollow rhetoric could no longer deceive a single soul present. The imperial physicians were trembling so violently they dared not even lift their heads. The loyal veteran ministers wore expressions of profound contempt, refusing to bestow even a fraction of another glance upon this mother and son.

Clack!

A crisp, resounding snap echoed through the chamber as the Empress Dowager heavily slammed her sandalwood prayer beads down onto the cold stone floor.