The Empress of Zhen Huan Reborn

Wen Shichu nodded without hesitation and said, "In reply to your Majesty, the Emperor summons me to Jiuzhou Qingyan every day to inquire about Lord Nian's condition and also asks me to give Lord Nian the best medicinal herbs."

After hearing Wen Shichu's answer, Nian Shilan pondered for a moment and said, "Since my brother is well now, I will report the truth to the emperor."

Wen Shichu knew that Nian Shilan did not intend to let Nian Gengyao continue to pretend to be sick, so he nodded and said, "Yes, I obey your order."

Nian Shilan asked again, "I summoned you here today to ask you, is the emperor's pulse case in your custody now?"

Wen Shichu didn't know why Nian Shilan suddenly brought up the emperor's pulse diagnosis, but he still nodded honestly and said, "In reply to the queen, I have been checking the emperor's pulse these days. Doctor Zhang has asked the emperor to approve his retirement and return home a few days ago, and the emperor has agreed."

Nian Shilan didn't care much about Doctor Zhang's affairs. After hearing Wen Shichu say that the emperor's pulse record was in his custody, Nian Shilan asked, "Is the emperor in good health now?"

When Wen Shichu heard Nian Shilan's question, he was about to answer, but Nian Shilan added with full force, "Doctor Wen, you should know that as the queen, I want to hear the truth, not excuses."

Wen Shichu was startled by Nian Shilan's words, and then hurriedly whispered: "In reply to the Queen, I dare not lie to the Queen. The Emperor is in good health and everything is fine."

Nian Shilan felt that Wen Shichu had something else to say. Sure enough, Wen Shichu glanced at the two ladies sitting there and added, "It's just that the emperor was almost assassinated a few days ago."

Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan were shocked when they heard this: "What? Who is it?"

Wen Shichu bowed his head and replied: "It is not clear yet, but I found that the poison to be given to the emperor is extremely rare, and it seems to have come from the Western Regions."

Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan looked at each other and thought secretly in their hearts.

After a long while, Nian Shilan asked again, "Does the emperor know about this?"

Wen Shichu nodded and said, "Of course the emperor knows."

Zhen Huan asked, "If it is convenient, could you please ask Doctor Wen to tell me and the Queen what happened that day?"

Wen Shichu thought about it, then nodded and said, "The Emperor has ordered that this should not be spread outside. I hope the two ladies will remember not to mention this to anyone else."

Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan looked at each other and said affirmatively, "Of course it should be so."

Wen Shichu slowly recounted what happened that day, "That day I went to the Qinzheng Palace to diagnose the emperor's pulse, but the emperor was busy with government affairs and did not return to Jiuzhou Qingyan until very late. The emperor asked me to go with him to the bedroom to diagnose his pulse. When the servant was pouring tea, he accidentally touched me and the tea spilled all over me. When the tea touched me, I noticed something unusual..."

Wen Shichu continued, "So I checked the cup of tea under the pretext of changing clothes and found that it was poisonous."

"What happens next?" Nian Shilan asked impatiently.

"After that, I secretly took the tea out. After inspection, I found that it was indeed poisonous, and the poison came from the Western Regions." Wen Shichu answered calmly.

"Someone actually dared to poison the Emperor!" Zhen Huan said indignantly.

"Can you find out who did this?" Nian Shilan's eyes revealed a hint of ruthlessness.

"There are no clues yet." Wen Shichu sighed, "I have informed the emperor of this matter, and the emperor has sent his men to investigate it thoroughly."

"This matter is of great importance, and we must not let the news leak out." Zhen Huan reminded, "If the thief knows that we have noticed something, I am afraid he will become even more unscrupulous."

"I understand." Wen Shichu nodded.

"That's great." Nian Shilan nodded with satisfaction. "I'd like to ask Imperial Doctor Wen to continue to monitor the emperor's health. If he feels unwell, please report it in time."

"I obey your command." Wen Shichu bowed and left the palace.

After Wen Shichu left, Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long while, Nian Shilan broke the deadlock and said with a gloomy face, "The harem is getting worse day by day. Someone actually dared to run to the emperor and poison him."

Zhen Huan looked at Nian Shilan and asked in disbelief, "You said it was someone from the harem?"

Nian Shilan heard Zhen Huan's stupid question and rolled her eyes at her. "What else? Use your brain. No matter how far the people in the previous dynasty stretched their hands, they were only trying to make things difficult for the emperor in government affairs. How could they possibly reach out to the servants around the emperor and poison him?"

"Who could it be?" Zhen Huan muttered to herself, "The one who could poison the emperor's tea must be someone who often gets close to the emperor."

Nian Shilan glanced helplessly at Zhen Huan and sneered, "In this harem, besides me and you, Concubine Xin is the most favored one!"

Zhen Huan was shocked when she heard what Nian Shilan said, "No way? She seems to be very well behaved on weekdays!"

Seeing this, Nian Shilan didn't know what to say. After all, without solid evidence, making random guesses would only cause unnecessary trouble.

Zhen Huan suddenly thought of something at this time, and couldn't help but pat her forehead and said, "I forgot to ask Wen Shichu what type of poison it was. Your Majesty, do you think of it? There is indeed a concubine from the Western Regions in this palace."

Nian Shilan was shocked. She naturally knew what Zhen Huan was referring to. At the beginning, in order to pacify the border, the emperor specially selected a woman from the Western Regions to enter the palace. However, due to language barriers, the woman was never favored. This time when she came to the Yuanmingyuan Villa to escape the summer heat, the emperor made an exception for some reason and let her come with him.

"It seems that we have to start with her." Nian Shilan said with a firm look.

Zhen Huan nodded slightly to show her agreement. The two decided to secretly observe the actions of the Western Region woman before making further plans.

A few days later, his men came to report to Nian Shilan that the Western Region woman often walked alone in the Summer Resort, and seemed to be worried. Moreover, she always avoided other people and rarely communicated with other concubines.

One day, Nian Shilan and Zhen Huan accidentally discovered that the Western Regions woman sneaked into the small garden. They followed her curiously, but saw that the Western Regions woman dug a small hole under a peony flower and buried a black pill in it.

"What is this?" Zhen Huan asked puzzledly.

Nian Shilan's face was solemn. She remembered a kind of secret technique from the Western Regions that she had heard of before - Gu technique. It was said that by feeding Gu worms, one could control a person's mind.