The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Chapter 346: Into the Heavenly Prison

Xie Run was startled and smashed the bowl and spoon in his hands.

She pulled Taotao over and tried to pick the egg custard out of his mouth.

But after a moment, when he met Taotao's confused and innocent eyes, Xie Run realized that he had overreacted.

She held Taotao in her arms, turned her head to follow everyone's gaze, and her eyes immediately fell on Concubine Li below.

It was the palace maid beside her who screamed.

A wine bottle fell on Concubine Li's table, and the wine spilled everywhere.

She covered her mouth with her hands, and a trace of blood could be vaguely seen at the corner of her mouth. Her face looked very ugly.

The emperor and empress both had indifferent expressions, but their aura was particularly captivating.

Emperor: "Go find the imperial physician!"

"How dare you brazenly poison someone at a palace banquet? You're truly audacious!"

The Queen instructed without hesitation: "First, help Concubine Li to the side hall of Fengyi Palace to rest, and then go check on the person who is in charge of the wine and food for today's banquet."

"Whoever has passed through the hands of this thing must be arrested and questioned one by one."

"No one else is allowed to move. Check each cup and bowl to see if there are any other poisonous items."

Concubine Wen stood up and bowed: "I will do it right away."

She was the one who prepared the drinks at the banquet, and now that something had gone wrong, she had to take responsibility.

After Xie Run helped the queen deal with the affairs of the six palaces, he had many spies in the palace.

She was scheduled to participate in many of today's banquets.

After a while, someone quietly handed her the news.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Wen found out that the palace servant who was delivering the wine bumped into Qiu Wu, the maidservant next to Gong Chongyi."

When Xie Run heard this, his brows furrowed and he subconsciously turned his gaze to Fang Yuaner below.

In fact, at the moment when Concubine Li was poisoned, many people looked at her with suspicion.

After all, she and Concubine Li had had many conflicts during this period, and everyone knew about the grudge between them.

Fang Yuan'er has come all the way from the palace and has experienced many things, big and small, so she will be very calm now.

The moment Xie Run looked at her, her face was calm, but her eyes trembled.

Xie Run keenly noticed that Fang Yuaner was afraid!

Could it really be her?

At this moment, many emotions surged in Xie Run's heart.

Puzzled, doubtful, uneasy...

Xie Run got the news, and Concubine Wen quickly escorted the people they had found up.

The little maid trembled and knelt on the ground, crying, "Your Majesty, I was carrying wine today, and apart from Sister Qiu Wu who was with Gong Chongyi, I didn't meet anyone else on the way."

"My sisters testified to this, and I'm not lying!"

Concubine Wen said softly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have already sent someone to question the palace maids who served wine with her, and they have proven that they were together the entire time, except for when they ran into Qiu Wu from Chonghua Palace on the way and nearly dropped their wine glass."

"If someone really poisoned me, it could only be Qiu Wu."

The Queen looked at the stunned Fang Yuan'er coldly, "Gong Chongyi, where is your maid Qiu Wu?!"

Fang Yuan'er was only panicked for a moment at the beginning, but then she became unusually calm.

She stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, Qiu Wu is not on duty today, and she acted recklessly, so I did not bring her to the banquet."

The Queen gave a look and someone immediately went down to look for Qiu Wu.

The Queen then asked, "Since Qiu Wu wasn't on duty, why was she wandering around and bumping into the palace maid serving wine at the banquet?"

Fang Yuaner opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Finally, she could only whisper, "I don't know either."

Queen: "If that's the case, then Qiu Wu is even more suspicious. Even if she wasn't the one who poisoned her, she can't escape responsibility."

The emperor sat at the head of the table and slowly asked, "Gong Chongyi, Qiu Wu is your maid. Do you have anything to say?"

"Wait until Qiu Wu confesses something, and then it will probably be too late to talk about it."

Fang Yuaner slowly raised her head and looked at the emperor with complicated and confused eyes.

"What does Your Majesty want me to say? I know nothing."

With the emperor speaking in front, Hua Zhaorong, who had recently been in the spotlight, couldn't help but add a few words, "Gong Chongyi, Qiu Wu is yours. If she poisoned Concubine Li, I'm afraid you can't escape responsibility either."

"Besides, everyone knows about the conflict between you and Concubine Li. It's hard to say whether you didn't harbor resentment and deliberately ordered someone to poison her."

Fang Yuan'er looked at Hua Yu coldly, full of sarcasm, and said, "According to Hua Zhaorong, you and I had a conflict before. Since I poisoned someone, why did I only harm Concubine Li and not you?"

"Could it be that a brainless person like you is harder to harm than Concubine Li?"

Hua Yu never thought that he would be humiliated for no reason just because he said a few extra words.

She angrily said, "Gong Chongyi, how outrageous!"

"How dare you insult me!"

Fang Yuaner was calm and resolute, "When did I ever insult you? I was just telling the truth."

Hua Yu looked at the emperor with grievance, "Your Majesty, Gong Chongyi is a little too arrogant."

"She actually insulted me!"

emperor:"……"

After Hua Yu's interruption, the atmosphere at the scene was not so cold anymore.

Xie Run's heart was beating fast, and he felt that this matter could not be easily covered up.

The emperor was silent for a long time, and it was the empress who spoke first: "Hua Zhaorong, you are pregnant now, it is not appropriate for you to get involved in these things. It is better for you to go downstairs and rest first, so as not to disturb others."

Hua Yu looked at the emperor aggrievedly.

The emperor glanced at her calmly and said, "Listen to the queen."

Hua Yu didn't dare to say anything anymore.

Without Hua Yu to disrupt the situation, Qiu Wu was quickly brought over.

Mother Li puffed out her chest and said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, this is what I found in Qiu Wu's room!"

Mother Li handed the things over.

There was already an imperial physician checking the dishes and glasses during the banquet, so he went forward to take a look.

He took the silver needle and tried it, his face changed: "Your Majesty, this bottle contains the Crane's Beak Red, which is a deadly poison that kills people instantly!"

The Queen said coldly, "Qiu Wu, why don't you tell me who gave you the medicine? Did someone instruct you to poison it?"

Qiu Wu lowered her head and gritted her teeth, saying, "No one ordered me to do this!"

Just as Qiu Wu finished speaking, Fang Yuan'er took two steps forward, pulled her aside, and asked, "Who on earth ordered you to harm me?!"

"It's Concubine Li, right?!"

"She staged this all herself and wants to put the blame on me?!"

Qiu Wu's hair was loosened by Fang Yuan'er's pulling, and she just kept her head down and said nothing.

The Queen frowned and said, "Pull Gong Chongyi away!"

The eunuch at the side stepped forward and just as he pulled Fang Yuaner away, he saw Qiu Wu rushing towards a guard.

The guard subconsciously drew his sword.

Qiu Wu's neck touched the knife edge directly, and blood spilled all over the ground.

The concubines and royal relatives present were all shocked.

The Queen's birthday banquet was unexpectedly stained with blood.

The emperor had a cold face and said in a stern tone in front of everyone: "Gong Chongyi poisoned the palace concubine at the banquet and tried to murder her. He shall be thrown into the Heavenly Prison!"