noffsinger Chapter 167 Who is the murderer?
Chapter 167 Who is the murderer?
Gu Liang curled her lips into a smile. "Aren't you afraid of losing the bet?"
"Gambling?" Jiang Zhi raised his face, a mocking glint in his eyes. "So Your Highness is also a gambler."
Gu Liang clapped her hands, "I never go to gambling dens."
Jiang Zhi laughed for a while, "Then whose property is the largest gambling den in Yanjing?"
Gu Liang smiled, "You can't leave so soon."
Jiang Zhi nodded. She knew she couldn't leave; if she did, she would be suspected.
A moment later, Imperial Physician Xu from the Imperial Hospital and Vice Minister Zhang from the Court of Judicial Review arrived in haste.
Lord Zhang looked at the arrow handed to him, his face grim, and handed it to Physician Xu.
Physician Xu took the arrow, smelled it, thought for a moment, and said, "This poison is the same one that Prince Jing was poisoned in the shoulder."
"This poison is called 'Jia Fang Hua,' which dissolves in water but only releases its toxicity upon contact with blood. However, an antidote is difficult to find."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lord Zhang's face turned ashen, and the guard beside him leaned forward to report in a low voice.
Lord Zhang narrowed his eyes slightly and led a group of guards to the women's section.
The women in the seats dared not utter a sound, for fear that it would be related to them.
Lord Zhang walked to Jiang Zhi's side, stopped, and bowed. "Princess Liang, may I see your hand?"
Jiang Zhi remained calm and extended her hands.
Lord Zhang frowned. "Imperial Physician Xu, check if there is any 'fragrant flower' inside."
Physician Xu bent down, sniffed the medicine, and shook his head. "The Princess Consort only has wound medicine on hand."
“Lord Zhang,” Jiang Zhi replied, “This injury happened when Miss Wen’s maid brought over hot water. She didn’t notice and twisted her ankle, scalding my hand. That’s why I applied some medicine.”
"Hot water?" Lord Zhang's brows furrowed suddenly. "What maidservant?"
As soon as he turned around, he saw the look of terror in Qiao Lixue's maid's eyes.
As soon as Lord Zhang walked up to her, the little maid was so frightened that she knelt down.
"My lord, this matter has nothing to do with me, nor with my young lady."
"Please, sir, find the real culprit. My young lady has been wronged."
"This has nothing to do with you or your young lady," Lord Zhang said. "Then why are you so panicked?"
The maidservant didn't know how to answer.
"I ask you why you specifically prepared hot water?"
The maid still didn't dare to speak.
"Say!"
"This servant...this servant," the maid said aggrievedly, "My mistress said she wanted to drink warm water, so she asked this servant to fetch her a bowl of water."
"Warm water?" Lord Zhang asked in confusion. "Then why would it scald the princess's hand like this?"
He seemed to know something and turned to ask Physician Xu, "Physician Xu, can hot water dissolve Jia Fanghua?"
Physician Xu nodded, "Alright."
Lord Zhang turned around and gave instructions to a nanny beside him.
"Take him away and search him."
The maid's face turned pale instantly, and she begged for mercy repeatedly: "My lord, my lord, this matter has nothing to do with me."
Jiang Zhi stood still, his gaze fixed on the little maid's sleeve.
Physician Xu's eyes flashed, and he strode over to the maid.
What's that in your cuff?
The maid looked into her sleeve, shook it vigorously, and the pink particles fell out of her sleeve.
Her eyes widened. "This, this is..."
"This servant does not know why this thing is in my sleeve."
Seeing this, Physician Liu picked up the small particles that had fallen to the ground, examined them, and suddenly his expression changed.
"It's Jia Fanghua!"
"What!" Lord Zhang frowned and ordered, "Arrest her!"
She was held down tightly, her eyes red-rimmed, and she shook her head repeatedly.
"My lord, my lord, I did not poison you."
"This servant does not know why there is this poison called Fanghua hidden in the cuff."
Lord Zhang's face darkened. "If you didn't administer this poison, then who did?"
"In the sweltering heat of summer, isn't the purpose of using hot water precisely to dissolve the lingering fragrance?"
"Drag her away. I refuse to believe that you won't tell the truth once you're at the Dali Temple!"
Jiang Zhi watched all of this coldly.
Gu Yuan was poisoned, and the eldest princess also left.
The entire Qionghua Banquet was thrown into complete chaos. Helpless, Eunuch Wang went up on the stage and announced, "Today's Qionghua Banquet is now over."
"Anyone who dares to harbor rebellious thoughts after today's events will not be spared by His Majesty!"
But the Prince Jing's mansion is not peaceful tonight.
Gu Yuan remained unconscious.
A group of doctors from the Imperial Medical Academy knelt before Gu Yuan's bed, not daring to utter a single word.
The Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor sat before Gu Yuan's bed, glaring angrily at the group of imperial physicians below.
The emperor suddenly reached out and smashed the teacup on the table onto the ground.
“A bunch of rubbish!”
The emperor roared, "You bunch of useless trash!"
"Since you know that Zilan was poisoned by Jiafanghua, why can't you cure it?"
Physician Xu spoke slowly. "Your Majesty, the poison of this 'Fragrant Flower' is extremely potent. Once it enters the bloodstream, without an antidote, it is impossible to revive a person."
"We have done our best, please forgive us."
The Imperial Noble Consort wiped away her tears with one hand and stroked Gu Yuan's cheek with the other.
She sobbed, "Why is our Yuan'er so unlucky?"
"Your Majesty, you must find the real culprit and avenge our Yuan'er."
The emperor sighed, "The Dali Temple has already arrested Wenyan and her personal maid."
"Why would Miss Wen shoot Zilan out of the blue?"
"Isn't she Zhaoyang's biological daughter?"
The emperor ordered his servants, "Go and summon Zhaoyang to me."
The Imperial Noble Consort cried uncontrollably, "No matter why she shot Yuan'er, I will send her to hell."
"Assassinating a prince is a serious crime."
She turned to look at the emperor, "The most important thing now is to get Yuan'er awake."
"I will not have a moment of peace until Yuan'er wakes up."
The emperor sighed: "Tomorrow, I will issue an imperial edict in the court seeking a renowned physician to save Zilan."
His gaze fell on the several imperial physicians in front of him.
"As for you, I don't care what methods you use, you all need to discuss with me a proper way to save Zilan."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital nodded hurriedly.
The Imperial Noble Consort clenched her hands, looking at Gu Yuan with a worried expression.
In a daze, she seemed to recall the fortune slip she had drawn. Just as she turned around, she saw the emperor sitting in his chair.
"His Majesty!"
The Imperial Noble Consort walked to the Emperor's side. "Your Majesty, do you think Yuan'er might be possessed by an evil spirit?"
"My beloved concubine," the emperor said expressionlessly, "you must be overthinking things."
The Imperial Noble Consort choked up and said, "Your Majesty, I was also anxious. I heard that marrying a wife to bring good luck can make people feel better."
"After some time, Yuan'er will wake up."
"What does Your Majesty think of my opinion?"
The emperor rose and said to the Imperial Noble Consort, "I will grant your request."
"It's getting late, and I have court tomorrow, so I'll head back to the palace now."
After the emperor left the Prince Jing's residence, the Imperial Noble Consort remained seated by Gu Yuan's bedside.
The maid beside her said, "Your Highness, there are many suspicious points in this matter."
"Yes," the Imperial Noble Consort wiped away her tears, "She had no grudge against Prince Yuan'er, so why would she poison him?"
The maid glanced around, then leaned closer, "Your Highness, that woman seems to be Qiao Lixue, the eldest daughter of the Qiao family."
"Her?" The Imperial Noble Consort was even more puzzled. "Shouldn't she be dead?"
"How could she be at the Qionghua Banquet?" she asked again. "If it was her, I remember she's always been one of the best archers. How could she have shot Yuan'er for no reason?"
The maidservant added, "I asked around, and the person she was competing against today was the Princess Consort of Liang."
The Imperial Noble Consort's expression shifted slightly. "Princess Liang? Jiang Zhi?"
"But that doesn't mean she couldn't even hold the arrow steady, and that she shot three arrows but missed the target."
Suddenly her face turned cold. "But this murderer must die, otherwise I won't be able to swallow this insult."