jdhmnovel Chapter 319 Consort Qi Died
Chapter 319 Consort Qi Died
The chief physician, who had been called upon by the Empress, stood up tremblingly. A layer of fine sweat had already appeared on his forehead, and he was inwardly groaning. Faced with the Empress's questioning, he could only grit his teeth and answer, "Your Majesty, after my diagnosis, it is clear that His Majesty has taken an excessive amount of aphrodisiacs."
He couldn't find a flavor that clashed with the aphrodisiac, and since it was better to avoid trouble, the head of the academy only mentioned the aphrodisiac.
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp "smack" rang out, and the Empress slammed her hand on the armrest of her chair, shouting angrily, "Nonsense!"
The angry shout echoed like thunder through the palace, startling everyone present. Seeing this, Su Nuannuan quickly led everyone in a curtsy, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
The Empress's face remained grim. She stared intently at the Chief of the Imperial Academy with wide eyes and said sternly, "His Majesty is in the prime of his life, strong and healthy. Why would he need to take aphrodisiacs?"
Having said that, the Empress's gaze swept around the room before finally settling on Consort Qi, who was slumped on the ground.
At this point, Consort Qi was already terrified, she never expected things to develop to this point.
"Yingqiu, slap her." The Empress's face was ashen, her eyes coldly fixed on the unresponsive Consort Qi. Her lips parted slightly, but the words she uttered were as cold as ice, sending chills down one's spine.
"Yes." Ying Qiu responded and stepped forward with light steps. She bowed deeply to the Empress, then turned and walked towards Consort Qi, who was slumped on the ground, trembling all over.
Upon approaching Consort Qi, Yingqiu bowed again and said in a low voice, "Consort Qi, this servant has offended you greatly." However, although her tone was gentle, the coldness contained within it was impossible to ignore.
Before she could finish speaking, Ying Qiu swung her arm, and a crisp, loud slap rang out like a thunderclap in the inner hall of the Diligent Governance Hall. The slap was so powerful that it caught Consort Qi off guard, and her cheek instantly swelled up, leaving a bright red handprint on her once smooth, oval face.
The slap jolted Consort Qi awake. Ignoring the burning pain on her cheek, she scrambled to the Empress's side, knelt down with a thud, and cried out in tears, "Your Majesty, the Emperor's use of aphrodisiacs has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
The Empress sat upright in her chair, her face ashen. Her beautiful eyes coldly stared at Consort Qi, who was weeping uncontrollably. A cold smile appeared on her lips as she slowly said, "Oh? Since that's the case, then tell me, how did this aphrodisiac end up in the Emperor's stomach when he was clearly unconscious?"
"Furthermore, I am extremely curious about who gave you this aphrodisiac, and how dare you feed it to the Emperor while he was unconscious? The Emperor was already in a coma, how could you be so heartless as to do such a cruel thing?" The Empress looked at Consort Qi with disdain, her words filled with disgust and reproach.
Faced with the Empress's questioning, Consort Qi suddenly seemed to have gone mad, abruptly standing up from the ground and shouting incessantly, "No, His Majesty didn't faint at all! He took the medicine on his own initiative, it has nothing to do with me! Nothing at all! Hahaha..." Her laughter was extremely grating and chilling. At this moment, she had lost all trace of her usual dignified demeanor and was nothing more than a complete madwoman.
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan's heart tightened. She stared wide-eyed at the crazed Consort Qi and whispered to the Empress, "Your Majesty, do you think Consort Qi has gone mad?"
The Empress nodded slightly, indicating her agreement with Su Nuannuan's opinion, and then shouted loudly, "Guards! Consort Qi dared to plot against the Emperor! Her crime is heinous! Give her a cup of poisoned wine to uphold the law!"
Before the Empress could finish speaking, a young eunuch carrying a tray with a cup of poisoned wine on it hurriedly entered the hall, bowing low.
"Quickly! Force it down Consort Qi's throat!" The Empress gave the little eunuch no chance to get close and impatiently ordered.
The eunuch carrying the poisoned wine slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the deranged Consort Qi, but his face remained expressionless, as if the scene before him had nothing to do with him.
Su Nuannuan keenly sensed something was off about the little eunuch. She became wary, quickly gave Jinse a wink, and whispered, "Jinse."
Jinse understood immediately and walked towards the eunuch who was carrying the poisoned wine.
The young eunuch sensed someone approaching him and was startled. Before he could identify who it was, he instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist and thrust it forward.
"Jinse, watch out!" Su Nuannuan cried out in alarm upon seeing this.
However, to everyone's surprise, Jinse remained remarkably calm in the face of the eunuch's sudden attack. She calmly sidestepped, easily dodging his attack, and then swiftly seized his wrist with lightning speed.
With a sharp "crack," the little eunuch's wrist snapped, the breaking bones making a horrifying sound. A wave of excruciating pain washed over him, and the little eunuch let out a blood-curdling scream: "Ahhhhhh!"
This sudden turn of events shocked everyone present. Ying Qiu and Li Desheng shouted almost simultaneously, "There's an assassin! Protect the Empress (Emperor)!"
As they shouted, the Imperial Guards surged into the hall like a tide, skillfully pinning the groaning eunuch to the ground.
The Empress's face was ashen. Her gaze fell on the cup of poisoned wine spilled on the ground. After a moment of silence, she ordered expressionlessly, "Yingqiu, go and prepare another cup of poisoned wine."
"Yes," Ying Qiu replied softly, then bowed respectfully before turning and slowly retreating to prepare the deadly poisoned wine.
At the same moment, as the Imperial Guards stormed in, Consort Qi seemed to be struck by an invisible force, her frenzied state abruptly halted. Her body, as if her soul had been ripped away, became stiff and lifeless, standing motionless, muttering repeatedly, "It has nothing to do with me...it has nothing to do with me..."
Time passed slowly, and Ying Qiu soon returned with the poisoned wine. When she walked up to Consort Qi, she did not hesitate at all and poured the poisoned wine directly into Consort Qi's mouth.
Before Consort Qi could even react, the cup of poisoned wine had already flowed down her throat. Her body trembled violently, and then, as if all her last strength had been drained, she collapsed limply to the ground.
Before long, Consort Qi's face turned deathly pale, and her lips began to turn bluish-purple. Her breathing grew weaker and weaker until it finally stopped completely.
Just then, the Crown Prince and Canglan Jingcheng finally arrived late.