mesbooks Chapter 190 The Empress Dowager's Poisoning is Cured
Chapter 190 The Empress Dowager's Poisoning is Cured
Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager had been poisoned, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and their hearts pounded with fear. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock and worry.
The Emperor's expression changed drastically. His eyes widened, veins bulged on his forehead, and he immediately demanded in a stern voice, "Can this poison be cured? I want to hear the truth!"
Imperial Physician Zhang remained kneeling on the cold ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, his voice filled with obvious fear and unease: "Your Majesty, this poison... can be cured, but..."
"But what? Hurry up and tell me! If you keep dawdling, the Emperor will punish you!" Su Nuannuan, who was already extremely anxious, couldn't help but urge her loudly.
Imperial Physician Zhang took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and then answered tremblingly, "Although this antidote can remove the toxins, it will hinder the Empress Dowager's lifespan." After saying this, he lowered his head, not daring to look at the Emperor's angry gaze any longer.
"Moreover, in my humble opinion, this poison is an extremely insidious, slow-acting poison that does not usually show obvious symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose even when taking a patient's pulse. The reason it suddenly broke out this time is probably because Her Majesty the Empress Dowager ate some kind of food that could trigger the poison," Physician Zhang continued, sweating profusely.
At this moment, the Empress, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Imperial Physician Zhang, don't worry about that now, the most important thing is to detoxify the Empress! We can talk about other things later."
The Emperor nodded, indicating his agreement with the Empress's opinion. He then decisively ordered the Imperial Guards to quickly surround Cixi Palace to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. At the same time, he summoned Granny Song.
At this moment, Granny Song was also in a state of anxiety and worry. When she heard the Emperor's message, she hurriedly got up from beside the Empress Dowager and rushed over. After seeing the Emperor, the Empress, and Su Nuannuan, Granny Song quickly knelt down and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty, Your Majesty, and all the masters."
"Granny Song, I ask you, what exactly did the Empress Dowager eat today?" The Emperor sat upright in his chair, his face ashen, his gaze piercing as he stared coldly at Granny Song, and asked in a chilling tone.
Upon hearing this, Granny Song was startled and dared not be negligent in the slightest. She quickly walked to the table where the items were placed, carefully picked up the thick food record book, and then quickly turned back to the Emperor. She respectfully bowed and held it high above her head with both hands, presenting it to the Emperor.
It's important to understand that within this vast palace, every palace maintains a detailed food and drink record. This practice has a crucial reason—to prevent situations like today's from recurring. After all, should trouble arise, this food and drink record can pinpoint the root cause with unerring accuracy.
Some might have doubts: Couldn't these food records be deliberately altered or falsified? If you think that, you're sorely mistaken! Every single stroke of these records is written truthfully in front of your superiors. Moreover, they are subject to regular inspection and verification. Therefore, it's extremely difficult to tamper with or cheat here.
The Emperor merely glanced at the food record book without reaching out to take it. Seeing this, Yingqiu, who had been serving the Empress, quickly took a small step forward, first giving the Emperor a slight curtsy, then reaching out to gently take the food record book from Song Mama's hands, and then respectfully presenting it to the Empress.
The Empress calmly took the book and began to peruse it at a leisurely pace. She examined each page carefully, her expression remaining serene, yet as time passed, she found nothing unusual. The foods recorded within were all commonplace items, possessing nothing extraordinary whatsoever.
After reading it, the Empress handed the food record book to Ying Qiu and whispered, "Give this to Physician Zhang later and ask him to examine it carefully to see if there is anything unusual about it."
Ying Qiu quickly stepped forward, respectfully extended both hands, and steadily accepted the gift, replying, "Yes," before stepping aside.
At this moment, the Empress turned to look at the Emperor, her face filled with worry, and said, "Your Majesty, the poison that the Empress Dowager suffered from has accumulated over a long period of time. But I really can't understand who could be so cruel as to use such a method to poison the Empress Dowager?"
As the Emperor listened to the Empress's words, his face grew increasingly grim. He slowly said, "Actually, this isn't the first time Mother has suffered a relapse of the poison..."
As the Empress meticulously examined the Empress Dowager's daily dietary records, the Emperor's memories became increasingly clear. At that time, he was still young and ignorant, but he vividly remembered the horrific state his mother had been in after the poisoning. Now, he realized that his father's claim of a successful detoxification was likely a lie. Clearly, the toxins in his mother's body hadn't been completely eliminated; rather, during the detoxification process, the villains had secretly replaced them with a more insidious and difficult-to-detect poison.
Thinking of this, the Emperor frowned and his eyes turned as cold as frost. He raised his voice slightly and said to the Empress, "At that time, Physician Zhang had not yet entered the Imperial Hospital, but I believe that Granny Song must have a vivid memory of this matter."
Upon hearing this, Song, the old nanny who had been standing silently to the side, was slightly taken aback. Then, as if she suddenly understood something, a fierce glint flashed in her eyes, and she quickly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, this servant does indeed remember. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, this servant knows what to do." After speaking, she exuded a chilling aura of malevolence.
Su Nuannuan, Consort Qin, and Consort Li exchanged glances, a strange feeling rising in their hearts, as if they had just overheard a royal secret.
"Oh my god, did we hear something terrible? What if the Emperor kills us to silence us in a fit of rage?" Su Nuannuan's heart suddenly raced, and all sorts of terrifying scenes involuntarily flashed through her mind.
At this moment, the Emperor nodded slightly, indicating that he understood, but he kept his lips tightly closed and remained silent. Although the Empress was unaware of what had happened before, she, with her extraordinary intelligence, keenly sensed that something was amiss. Therefore, she wisely chose to remain silent, quietly staying by the Emperor's side, waiting together for Physician Zhang to detoxify the Empress Dowager.
Time ticked by, and after about half an hour, Physician Zhang finally emerged. He looked exhausted, gently wiping large beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He then respectfully bowed to the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager’s poisoning has been cured. However, to ensure complete safety, the Empress Dowager will still need to take the detoxifying medicine daily to thoroughly remove any remaining toxins from her body.”
However, the Emperor remained expressionless after hearing this, only staring coldly at Physician Zhang. His icy gaze was like a chilling blade, sending shivers down one's spine. Physician Zhang felt as if he were being pricked by thorns under the Emperor's gaze, and sweat poured from his forehead, yet he dared not raise his hand to wipe it away.
At this moment, Song, who had been anxiously waiting for news, was overjoyed to hear that her mistress's poison had been cured. She hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, now that the Empress Dowager's poison has been cured, this servant will take her leave to attend to her." After saying this, she hurriedly walked towards the Empress Dowager's bed.