“No, I did not, I did not! Crown Prince Consort, I definitely did not put in poison for Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s tea, Crown Prince Consort! My king, my king! Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the Queen Dowager, please exercise your penetrating judgment!!” The royal maid frantically shuffled forward on her knees and kept giving the queen dowager resounding kowtows.
However, the queen dowager looked at her coldly. “What you are saying is that the crown prince consort is framing you?”
“No, no! This servant does not dare! This servant does, does not mean that.” This royal maid was stammering in her speech.
Feng Gu trembled in fury and went up to give that royal maid two slaps across the face. “Caiqin, you have served the queen dowager for so many years. Why would you dare do such an absurd thing today?”
“Nanny Feng, I did, did not do this. It is not me!!”
“Shut up!” Feng Gu berated, “I had instructed you to prepare everything today, so everything had passed through your hands. Yet you still want to blame it on someone else?”
The royal maid called Caiqin bit her lips hard while kneeling there, looking as if she were suffering from an extreme grievance. “This tea definitely has no problem at all. If Your Majesty the Queen Dowager is doubtful, this servant, this servant is willing to drink it!”
After saying this, she snatched that steaming cup of tea before the queen dowager, who had creased her eyebrows, could say anything. She gulped it down in one go and ended up choking, coughing vigorously.
When she looked up, she saw the crown prince consort and crown prince standing nearby looking at her like she was a living corpse, to the point that her heart shuddered apprehensively.
“Shaoyao.”
“Shaoyao is present!” Shaoyao stepped forth.
“Feed her the pastry on the table.”
When Caiqin heard this, her entire body shuddered and basically slumped to the ground.
As everyone present was a shrewd character, they immediately understood when they observed this royal maid’s reaction.
Queen Zhao stood up in a great rage. “Very good, you wicked servant! How dare you poison the queen dowager! Guards!”
“Present!” The royal guards keeping watch outside the chamber immediately swarmed inside.
Yet at this time, Shaoyao had already seized the royal maid Caiqin’s arm and shoved the pastry into her mouth.
It only took a moment for that Caiqin’s face to flush red before turning black, and she collapsed to the ground while painfully gasping for breath. She struggled while curled up on the ground before dying from paralysis.
The whole process happened in only a short few minutes.
Everyone’s hairs stood on end, their bodies trembling, as they watched it happen.
This poison was so potent that it prevented any hope of rescue.
Qiao Mu stated calmly, “According to Grandmother’s eating habits, she will only eat two to three bites of this pastry. The effects will not be as potent as swallowing an entire piece, so rescue would still be possible.”
The king was trembling in anger, and he smacked the table. “Simply ludicrous. Quickly go investigate who it is that is so malicious that dares to do this.”
“If that person is able to use such a potent poison in the palace without anybody knowing, how horrifying would that be?” Queen Zhao added in deep worry.
Qiao Mu shook her head. “As these two poisons are extremely difficult to concoct, it can only be administered on a small scale.”
The king felt more at ease with this, but he was still a bit dissatisfied. “How can we get the mastermind out of her now that you killed this royal maid?”
“There is no need to interrogate.” The queen dowager sighed as she shook her head. “I think, I know who it is.”
Everyone was taken aback, and they looked at the queen dowager.
