An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

The emperor had never imagined that the two midwives he sent into Chengqian Palace would be taken out like this.

One of them was still making a scene before entering the room, and only calmed down after seeing the people in the main hall.

"What's going on? Did Lady An give birth safely?"

When the queen saw that the two people she bribed were caught, she couldn't help feeling worried.

But she still acted like a virtuous queen and asked if Lingrong was safe.

"Your Majesty, according to the Empress, both the young lady and her daughter are safe, and the little princess is in good health.

But it was late at night and cold, so it was inconvenient to carry the princess out of the delivery room, so I called the imperial physician to see her first."

Now that Lingrong is fine, Zhaoshui feels at ease. However, when he mentions the two midwives, he still can't help feeling resentful.

"These two maids intended to murder the young lady after she gave birth. They were discovered by me and others, and we have specially escorted them to the Emperor and the Empress for interrogation."

Zhaoshui pointed at the two people and told them what had just happened in the delivery room. The joy on the emperor's face was soon covered up by anger. He never imagined that the people he sent failed to fulfill their duty to protect Concubine An, but instead took her life.

Mo Mei was a flamboyant person. She kept saying that she was innocent. "It was Zhao Shui who wronged me. I just wanted to get closer to see what was happening to Lady An, but she called for someone to arrest me."

Zhao Shui treated Mo Mei's cry of injustice as nothing more than a dog's barking. Mo Mei was caught red-handed, and the powder used to murder the young lady was still in his hands. How could he let her escape?

"There are traces of these powders between Mo Mei's fingernails and on her palms. I also found a packet of powder from her sleeves."

Zhaoshui handed the powder to Su Peisheng, "Your Majesty, please ask the emperor and queen to ask the imperial physician to take a look to see if this powder is harmful!"

Su Peisheng unfolded the paper package and showed it to the emperor. The emperor looked gloomy and immediately asked Xiao Xiazi to call the imperial physician.

"Court Judge Zhang Mi should be waiting for the consultation in the side hall," the Queen instructed Xiao Xiazi, "You don't have to travel too far, just invite him over."

Xiao Xiazi glanced at the emperor, and only agreed when he saw the emperor nod slightly.

He immediately went out to find the imperial physician, but unexpectedly he ran into Fang Lin who was coming out of the delivery room.

"Eunuch Xia is going to see the imperial physician, right?"

"Yes," Xiao Xiazi glanced in the direction of the delivery room and lowered his voice intentionally, "But what instructions does Miss An have?"

"My lady said that listening to both sides will lead to enlightenment, while only believing in one side will lead to ignorance. I hope that Master Xia can find a few more doctors to come and see what the medicine is."

This request was not excessive, and Xiao Xiazi readily agreed, "Tell Miss An to rest assured, the evidence is solid, and she will definitely not have the opportunity to hide it from the world."

"The Imperial Physician Zhang, Imperial Physician He, and Medical Officer Wei are waiting in Chengqian Palace. Imperial Physician He is busy, so Eunuch Xia can go find the other two imperial physicians first."

Fanglin nodded slightly. She had come out to deliver a message, but she didn't expect to meet Xiao Xiazi, whom she knew.

But now she is a palace maid in Chengqian Palace, so even if she is familiar with him, she can only be polite.

She looked around and saw that there was no one else around, so she leaned close to Xiao Xiazi's ear and said, "I saw it clearly, it was indeed that person named Mo Mei who intentionally harmed us.

If necessary, you can mention it to the emperor, and I can testify."

"Okay." Xiao Xiazi responded promptly. He followed Fang Lin's instructions and soon found Doctor Zhang and Wei Lin who was cooking medicine.

When the two of them were brought into the palace, Mo Mei had already begun to cry about how loyal she was to the Emperor and Concubine An.

The emperor's face showed obvious impatience. When he saw the two imperial doctors coming in, he immediately asked them to check the medicine.

"Your Majesty, Empress, this powder is made from a variety of medicinal herbs such as salvia miltiorrhiza, frankincense, and myrrh. It has the effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, and relieving pain."

As soon as these words were spoken, the emperor's expression changed immediately. How could a concubine who had just given birth need blood-activating medicine?

Wei Lin had no right to speak in this situation, but he still walked forward obediently and took a look at the medicine.

It was exactly as Doctor Zhang said. It was indeed a powder made from grinding several medicinal herbs including Salvia miltiorrhiza.

The Queen also pretended to be shocked. Seeing that the Emperor was silent, she asked directly, "Why did Concubine An use blood-activating herbs for childbirth? Could it be that this herb has other uses?"

"If Miss An shows some symptoms of qi stagnation and blood stasis during childbirth, you can use a little bit of this medicine, but the dosage needs to be strictly controlled."

Zhang Mi cupped his hands and said, "I think the dosage of these medicines is not much. Even if Lady An uses them, there won't be any major problems."

"So that's how it is." The Queen and the Emperor exchanged a glance, with a smile on her face, "Aunt Momei already has a lot of experience in delivering babies, so this powder is probably for emergency use.

Zhaoshui is worried about Concubine An, so it is normal for her to be a little nervous. Your Majesty, please don't blame her."

Not only did the queen not blame Zhaoshui for making a fuss, she even intended to ask the emperor to forgive her.

But Zhaoshui didn't appreciate it. This nanny was behaving sneakily. If she really could help the young master, why would she hide like that?

"The amount of medicine is difficult to determine. Who knows how much medicine Aunt Momei is carrying?"

"Miss Zhaoshui, if you don't believe me, just search me. I'm innocent, so why would I be afraid of you throwing dirty water on me?"

Mo Mei's voice was as loud as ever. She opened her arms and raised her chin provocatively to Zhao Shui, "Come and search me. I have been slandered so badly that I should seek to clear my name."

Before Zhaoshui could speak, the Queen directly rebuked Momei, "The Emperor and all the concubines in the harem are here, there is no room for you to make such a noise!"

Mo Mei suddenly became quiet. She glared at Zhao Shui quietly and stood aside calmly.

Zhaoshui was still kneeling there. She didn't believe that Momei had no intention of harming anyone. Instead, she felt that since the Queen was protecting her like this, Momei must have been bribed by the Queen.

"It's just a small matter, why does the Queen get so angry?"

Concubine Qi smiled and consoled him. She looked at the emperor shyly. Her pink Manchu dress made her look particularly awkward. "Now Hongshi has a younger sister. This is a great thing, Your Majesty."

The emperor's eyebrows twisted together when he saw her pink Manchu dress.

He wanted to ask her to change into some clothes that were more suitable for her status, but because there were so many people present, he couldn't say it so bluntly and make Concubine Qi lose face.

"I have already promised that when Lady An gives birth safely, I will promote her to be a concubine.

Now that both her mother and daughter are safe, this happy event will naturally be put on the agenda."

The emperor naturally did not forget his promise. Now that Lingrong was promoted because of giving birth to a daughter, all the concubines present had no right to obstruct it. They could only show joy and congratulate her.

"I think everything has been sorted out over there. I'll go see Concubine An."

"Your Majesty, please stay," Zhaoshui suddenly said, pointing to Nanny Qiutong who was standing aside as if she didn't exist, "This Nanny's behavior is also very strange, she put medicine on the rim of the cup.

Even if the Emperor and the Empress blame me, I would like to ask Imperial Doctor Zhang and Imperial Doctor Wei to take a look at the teacup."

The emperor looked displeased, but since it was a serious matter involving the murder of a concubine, he couldn't refuse. He simply waved his hand and ordered Zhang Mi to investigate.

The amount of medicine applied on the rim of the cup was small. Zhang Mi and Wei Lin took a long time to distinguish between them before they realized that they were also some blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing medicines.

"Your Majesty, this..." Zhang Mi hesitated as he looked at the cup in his hand and the medicine powder beside the emperor. "The medicine in this cup is peach kernel and kudzu root, which is the same as the medicine in Mo Mei's hand. They are both used to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis."

"There is another one," Wei Lin suddenly said, "...it should be Strychnos nux vomica. This drug is very toxic and the Imperial Hospital will not use it easily."

The emperor may not be familiar with the other medicines, but he is most familiar with Strychnos nux vomica. This medicine is highly toxic and any carelessness could result in two deaths.

"Who ordered it?"

The emperor was extremely angry at this point. He originally thought that it was just a little palace maid's excessive worry, but he didn't expect that someone would actually dare to bribe the person he sent to attack the pregnant concubine.

Qiu Tong knelt on the ground, without a trace of panic on her face, “Like Mo Mei, these medicines are just for emergencies.

As for the strychnine, I really don’t know where it came from.”

"This strychnine is extremely poisonous. It is not easy for ordinary people to get it." Concubine Jing on the side suddenly spoke up. She nodded slightly to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you ask Eunuch Su to check the source of this medicine."

"Go check."

Su Peisheng did not dare to stay and immediately took his men to the Imperial Hospital to check for medicine, fearing that he would be reprimanded by the emperor if he was a step slower.

"Your Majesty, I have the audacity to ask Miss Zhaoshui something." Wei Lin stood beside Zhaoshui and looked down slightly. "Did you find these medicines before or after Miss An gave birth?"

"It was after the young lady gave birth, the two of them took advantage of everyone's laxity and attacked the young lady."

Wei Lin nodded. Now he understood why the dosage of these medicines was so small.

“Your Majesty, after giving birth, women’s qi and blood are already deficient due to blood loss. If they are exposed to blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs at this time, it is easy to cause hemorrhage.

Although the amount of medicine used by Mo Mei and Qiu Tong was not much, it was enough to induce hemorrhage in women after childbirth, or even... more than enough. "

"Doctor Zhang, is that so?" The emperor glanced at Zhang Mi, who immediately nodded repeatedly, proving that what Wei Lin said was true, "I was so attracted by the strychnine that I neglected this matter for a while."

The emperor did not say anything, and the palace fell completely silent for a moment. Mo Mei and Qiu Tong knelt with their heads bowed, unable to utter a single word of excuse.

The Queen clutched the armrests of her chair tightly, not expecting that the situation would be disrupted by the sudden appearance of Wei Lin, who revealed all the means she had used to deal with An Lingrong.

"Your Majesty, these two servants refuse to reveal the person behind the scenes. Why don't we send them to the Ministry of Punishment and give them a good lesson?"

Concubine Qi was happy to watch the fun. While she was trying to comfort the emperor, she also winked at the empress, "Empress, don't you agree?"

The queen was in no mood to pay attention to her at this moment. Even though she had already made arrangements for her escape route, she couldn't help but worry.

After all, she didn't know whether a second Wei Lin would appear.

Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Concubine Qi stopped talking in dismay. She didn't understand what she had said wrong that made the Emperor and the Empress both look sullen and refuse to pay any attention to her.

"I'll ask you one last time, who gave the order?" The emperor glanced at the two maids and saw that they were still stubborn, so he added, "Send them both to the Ministry of Punishment. The one who confesses first will be spared, and the other will be beaten to death."

Xiao Xiazi responded loudly, and without waiting for the two maids to speak, he ordered someone to tie them up and take them away.

Mo Mei was so frightened that she lost her soul. As soon as her arm was grabbed, she started crying and shouting that it was Fu Changzai.

But the emperor did not order them to be released. Instead, he tacitly allowed the guards to drag them both to the Ministry of Punishment.

But the mere words of Fu Changzai caused a lot of discussion among the concubines. After all, she had just suffered a miscarriage because of Concubine Duan not long ago, and it didn't seem like she had the energy to harm Concubine An.

"The main target should be Concubine Duan, why did they come to harm An Lingrong?" Xia Dongchun pulled Concubine Tian and whispered, "This must be a lie. Anyway, I don't believe it. What about you?"

Concubine Tian wished she could shut Xia Dongchun's mouth. Xia Dongchun often forgot to use honorifics except when addressing the Emperor and the Empress, and kept calling everyone "you, me, him" all day long.

Now that the emperor and the empress are here, she still hasn't learned her lesson and keeps talking nonsense.

"It's not your turn to speak. If you have anything to say, go back to the Yanxi Palace and talk." Concubine Tian pushed Xia Dongchun who was coming closer, and told her to shut up her mouth that only caused trouble.

Fortunately, they were not the only ones discussing the matter in the palace. Concubine Tian looked at the queen quietly. She knew in her heart that the vicious woman who gave her the red musk beads was the mastermind behind the scenes.

I just don't know whether the emperor has discovered the queen's tricks.

"What a noise, what a scene."

The emperor listened for a long time but did not hear any useful information from the words of these concubines. He patiently comforted them and asked everyone to return to the palace to rest.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go to my palace and have some rest?" Concubine Qi tried desperately to win the emperor's favor, but was met with only a cold face from the emperor.

"Concubine Qi," the Queen called out to Concubine Qi who was about to get close to her, "Concubine An just gave birth to a child and was almost assassinated, so the Emperor naturally wants to spend more time with her.

Besides, the emperor hasn’t seen the little princess yet.”

Concubine Qi didn't think that having a daughter was good-looking. Her own Hongshi was the eldest son and there was a good chance that he would ascend to the throne in the future.

"Your Majesty, it has been a while since you last visited Hongshi," Concubine Qi hurriedly followed the Queen. She raised her voice intentionally to show off her son, "Hongshi has now read the Zizheng Yaolan, and the master has praised him highly."

"Hongshi is still young, so don't push him too hard." The Queen was more worried about the truth being revealed at this moment, and she was in no mood to listen to Concubine Qi bragging about her son.

But she still did not forget to scare Concubine Qi. There were so many women in the harem, like flowers, and she never knew when a prince that the emperor would favor more would be born.

"This is just because the princess dotes on me. If she gives birth to a prince in the future, I'm afraid she will surpass me."