jdhmnovel Chapter 211 Ling Huan overcomes difficulties and becomes more determined
Chapter 211 Ling Huan overcomes difficulties and becomes more determined
An Lingrong nodded and said, "Huan'er, this is a very good plan. Those palace maids and eunuchs are usually the most well-informed, and they might be able to find out something useful. But how do we get them to talk?"
Zhen Huan frowned slightly. "We can offer them some benefits, such as rewards of money or valuables. Furthermore, we can use Concubine Hua's authority to intimidate them a little. By combining kindness and power, they won't be silent."
Concubine Hua snorted softly, "The servants in this palace are very good at changing their attitudes according to the situation. If they get some benefits and are afraid of me, they will definitely tell the truth."
After the three of them had made their decision, they began to act.
Zhen Huan called Jin Xi over and said, "Go to the Imperial Household Department and select some exquisite items. Take some money with you and go quietly to find out what the palace maids and eunuchs are saying, especially those who hang around the Imperial Household Department and are talkative."
Jinxi took the order and left.
Concubine Hua instructed Songzhi, "Go and keep an eye on the movements of the various palaces. If anyone appears panicked or secretly colludes, report to me immediately."
Songzhi answered "yes" and left quickly.
An Lingrong said to Zhen Huan, "Huan'er, I want to go to the Imperial Hospital and see if I can learn something about this strange disease from the imperial doctors. After all, the imperial doctors there are more familiar with the health conditions of everyone in the palace."
Zhen Huan agreed, "It's a good idea for Lingrong to go, but you should be careful. There might be spies from that faction in the Imperial Hospital."
An Lingrong said, "I will be careful, Huan'er, don't worry."
An Lingrong arrived at the Imperial Hospital and happened to see Doctor Wen sorting out medicinal herbs.
An Lingrong asked softly, "Doctor Wen, do you have any clues about the strange illness in the palace recently?"
Doctor Wen bowed and slowly said, "Empress An, this strange disease is coming on with all the force. I've examined the patients, and the symptoms are quite bizarre. It seems they've been poisoned by some rare poison, but it's hard to pinpoint the exact cause. I'm currently consulting ancient texts, trying to find any clues."
An Lingrong pressed the issue, "Did Doctor Wen find anything in common among the sick people? For example, what they ate, what they came into contact with, etc."
Doctor Wen pondered for a moment. "I've discovered that most of the sick people have used a batch of spices recently delivered to the Imperial Household Department. However, upon testing, those spices have not been found to be overtly toxic. However, the formula of these spices seems to have some peculiarities, and I'm still researching them."
An Lingrong's heart stirred. "Spices? Imperial Physician Wen, please investigate this matter of spices carefully. If you find anything, please inform Concubine Xi and me immediately."
Doctor Wen replied, "I obey your command."
After An Lingrong returned to the palace, she told Zhen Huan and Concubine Hua about this.
Zhen Huan's eyes glared. "It seems there's something wrong with these spices. Perhaps someone tampered with them, causing everyone to become ill."
Hua Fei asked, "But the spices were tested and found to be non-toxic. What's going on here? Could it be that someone is using some kind of trick to deceive people?"
An Lingrong said, "I find it strange, too. Perhaps we can find some experts in spices to re-inspect that batch of spices."
Zhen Huan nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to you, Lingrong. Sister Hua Fei and I will continue to gather information from the palace maids and eunuchs."
An Lingrong sets out to find someone who is an expert in spices, while Zhen Huan and Concubine Hua deal with the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace.
Zhen Huan said to a young eunuch, "If you can tell me the truth about this strange disease, this money will be yours. If you dare to lie, I will not forgive you!"
The young eunuch looked at the pile of silver and was afraid of Zhen Huan's majesty. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, I heard that this strange disease seems to have spread from the cold palace. I have seen a mysterious person lingering near the cold palace, acting suspiciously."
Zhen Huan was shocked: "Cold Palace? Did you see the mysterious man clearly?"
The young eunuch shook his head: "I didn't dare to get too close. I only saw a person wearing a black robe, who looked like a man."
Zhen Huan and Concubine Hua looked at each other and saw a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.
Concubine Hua asked, "This cold palace is rarely visited on weekdays. How could it be related to this strange illness? Could it be that someone deliberately planned this in the cold palace?"
Zhen Huan said, "No matter what, we have to go to the cold palace to investigate. However, the cold palace is gloomy and we need to be careful."
The two of them, along with their guards, arrived at the cold palace, which was filled with a foul, eerie, and terrifying smell.
Zhen Huan endured the discomfort and looked around. Suddenly, she heard a faint groan.
Zhen Huan followed the sound and found an old palace maid curled up in a corner of a dilapidated house with a sickly look on her face.
Zhen Huan approached and asked, "Who are you? Why are you sick here?"
The old maid slowly raised her head, her eyes empty. "My Lady, save me... I've been framed... This disease... This disease was poisoned by that demon..."
Zhen Huan asked anxiously, "Who is the devil you are talking about?"
The old palace maid was about to speak when she suddenly foamed at the mouth and died.
Zhen Huan was horrified: "Oh no! Someone is trying to silence me!"
Hua Fei came over and asked: "What happened?"
Zhen Huan recounted the situation.
Concubine Hua angrily said, "The person behind this must be afraid that this old palace maid will reveal the truth, so they took action first!"
Zhen Huan said, "It seems we are getting closer to the truth, which is why they are so panicked. We can't let them succeed, we must speed up the investigation."
At this time, An Lingrong called in a folk spice master. After examining the batch of spices, the spice master said, "A very hidden poisonous herb has been mixed into these spices. This poisonous herb is not poisonous when used alone, but when mixed with another common spice, it becomes highly toxic. This method is extremely sophisticated and difficult to detect unless you are an expert in spices."
An Lingrong asked, "Master, do you know what kind of poisonous weed it is? And what kind of spices is it mixed with?"
The spice master said, "This poisonous herb is called Dark Gloomy Grass. When mixed with the agarwood commonly used in the palace, it becomes poisonous. However, this Dark Gloomy Grass is extremely rare and difficult for ordinary people to obtain."
An Lingrong had a plan in mind. She said to Zhen Huan and Concubine Hua, "Huan'er, sisters, since this poisonous weed is so rare, the person who possesses it must be extraordinary. We can start from the source of this poisonous weed and trace it further."
Zhen Huan said, "Ling Rong is right. We can have Zhen Yuandao investigate the traces of the dark grass outside the palace. At the same time, we will continue to search for clues related to this poisonous grass inside the palace."
So, Zhen Huan wrote a letter to Zhen Yuandao to inform him of the incident. They also stepped up their investigation in the palace, searching everywhere for people and events related to the Dark Grass.
During this process, they discovered that a regular palace maid had secretly visited an abandoned palace, which was said to be the residence of a deposed concubine who seemed to be quite proficient in spices during her lifetime.
Zhen Huan and others decided to go to the abandoned palace to find out what was going on.
As soon as I stepped into the palace, I smelled a faint scent of dark grass.
Zhen Huan said, "It seems there must be something fishy going on here. Everyone, search carefully."
After a careful search in the palace, they found a worn spice recipe manual. The manual recorded some lost spice recipes, including a method of mixing dark grass and agarwood to produce a highly toxic substance.
Zhen Huan held the manual and said coldly, "This is the evidence. We must find out who used this formula to harm people and restore peace to the palace!"
However, just as they were about to return to the palace, a group of men in black suddenly appeared and surrounded them.
The leading man in black sneered, "Do you think you can leave so easily? Don't even think about taking this manual with you!"
Zhen Huan angrily asked, "Who are you? Why are you trying to stop us from finding the truth?"
The man in black didn't answer and attacked with his sword.
Concubine Hua shouted, "Guards, protect the queen!"
The guards engaged in a fierce fight with the men in black. Under the protection of the guards, Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, and Concubine Hua tried to break out.
An Lingrong took advantage of the chaos to take out the spices she had made and sprinkled them at the man in black. The spices had a confusing effect, and after the man in black inhaled them, his movements slowed down slightly.
Seeing this, Zhen Huan shouted, "If you don't leave now, when will you leave?"
Everyone fought hard to break through and finally got rid of the entanglement of the man in black.
After returning to the palace, Zhen Huan said, "The person behind this is determined not to let us find out the truth. But the more obstacles we encounter, the more we cannot give up."
An Lingrong said, "That's right. We must quickly find the mastermind behind this man in black and bring them to justice."
Concubine Hua said, "I just don't believe they can cover the sky with one hand in this palace!"
The three of them regrouped and continued to pursue the truth, and the conspiracy hidden in the darkness gradually surfaced thanks to their unremitting efforts.