Emperor Qingming held the tea cup and brought it close to his lips.
However, with such a slight exertion, the knuckles of his fingers suddenly felt extremely painful. This pain seemed to be exactly the same as the pain coming from his knees, causing his fingers to tremble uncontrollably——
"Crack!"
The flower and bird tea cup fell from the hand, smashed to pieces at his feet, and the tea soup burst out.
"..." This voice made Concubine Rong tremble violently, her pupils shrank instantly, and the tight strings in her mind burst. Feeling guilty, she almost instinctively squatted down to clean up the broken porcelain.
Tea.
"Ah, Your Majesty!" Li Ji hurriedly stepped forward and wiped the tea off Emperor Qingming's body.
Emperor Qingming's eyes fell on Concubine Rong.
"It's just a cup of tea, why is my concubine so nervous?"
Concubine Rong paused to collect the broken porcelain and said hurriedly: "...The tea I handed you must have been too hot. I was just careless!"
"Really?" Emperor Qingming's eyes flickered: "If that's the case, shouldn't my concubine check first to see if I've been burned?"
"Yes... I was so anxious and confused for a moment!" Concubine Rong Guifei raised her head, trying her best to look calm and concerned, but she didn't know that her face was already as white as snow: "Your Majesty... is it burnt?"
Emperor Qingming looked at her quietly for a moment.
Concubine Rong was stiff, but she did not dare to avoid the sight, fearing that she might show a guilty conscience.
At this moment, she realized that her behavior was too abnormal——
But this is regicide...
The heinous crime with the most serious consequences that can exist in the world!
She was just an ordinary boudoir daughter and had never hurt anyone with her own hands, but this time she chose the biggest one if she didn't do it!
Even if you have made up your mind, you can only have the courage to think about the benefits after everything is done. When it comes to fear, how can you not be afraid or panic?
The sound of the tea cup falling just now was like thunder exploding in her mind. Her first thought was to cover up the evidence of the crime, and she had no time to think about how this move might be self-defeating...
At this moment, she could even hear her own heartbeat clearly. Each beat was getting louder and louder, as if it could jump out of her chest in the next moment.
But at this moment, she saw the emperor in her sight suddenly showing a gentle smile.
"..." Concubine Rong Gui saw this and pulled her stiff cheek.
"Hurry up and help the imperial concubine up." Emperor Qingming told Gong E: "Broken porcelain is sharp, what should I do if it hurts the imperial concubine's hand?"
His tone was as concerned as ever.
The palace lady responded "yes" and bent down to help Concubine Rong Gui up.
"My beloved, her face seems a little bad, please sit down quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Concubine Rong felt relieved. She sat down in a chair beside Fu and said softly: "I was just too worried about Your Majesty's dragon body, so I lost my composure for a moment..."
"I understand everything." Emperor Qingming once again ordered Gong'e: "Why don't you quickly give the imperial concubine a cup of tea so that the imperial concubine can calm down."
Concubine Rong, who had just felt relieved, suddenly felt like she had fallen into an ice cave.
The palace lady did as she was told and picked up the teapot.
The red tea soup is slowly poured into the tea cup, and the sound is leisurely and Zen-like.
"Empress."
Seeing Gong E holding the tea in front of her, Concubine Rong took it calmly.
The wall of the cup was warm, which made her fingers cold.
Her whole body was covered in cold sweat, the pores on her skin stood on end, and her mind went blank.
"Why don't you drink, my beloved concubine?"
The emperor's overly calm voice reached her ears, but it made her tremble.
"Your Majesty..." She met those eyes and called out in a dry voice, but she didn't know what to say or what excuse she could find to cover it up.
She had clearly noticed that the emperor was suspicious!
At this time, the hall was eerily silent.
Li Ji lowered his eyes and looked at the mess on the ground that had not yet been cleaned up. He did not rush to ask Gong E to clean it up.
The silent atmosphere is brewing, like the tension under a tall building that is about to collapse.
Just when Concubine Rong's hand holding the teacup began to tremble, almost unable to hold on in this breathless atmosphere, an internal prison officer suddenly walked in.
"Your Majesty, Doctor Zheng has arrived."
"Your Majesty's health is urgent..." Concubine Rong said, "Please quickly ask Dr. Zheng to come in and examine your Majesty!"
The internal prison guard was vaguely aware of the strange atmosphere and stood still for a while.
Until Emperor Qingming spoke: "Xuan."
The inner prisoner responded and withdrew.
Doctor Zheng came in quickly, saluted, and asked, "I wonder if your Majesty is feeling unwell?"
Just looking at his face, there is indeed something wrong.
However, the emperor said: "I'm not in a hurry. It's better for Dr. Zheng to test the cup of tea in the concubine's hand and take a closer look to see if there is anything wrong -"
Tea……
Doctor Zheng looked over and felt a little confused - what could be wrong with the tea in the Ancestral Temple?
Looking at Concubine Rong's expression, she felt something strange, so she stepped forward.
Seeing that Concubine Rong made no move to hand it over, she respectfully stretched out her hand and said, "Please give this tea to the minister for inspection."
Concubine Rong had cold sweat beginning to trickle down her forehead silently. She noticed that the gaze was always fixed on her, and she slowly handed the teacup into Doctor Zheng's hands.
Doctor Zheng looked at the color of the tea, then took a closer sniff, and his eyes changed slightly.
As a relatively progressive imperial physician, since the incident when Concubine Sun tried to poison the Queen Mother in the Lingshan Palace, he would often consult with Imperial Physician Luo, who was firmly in the position of veterinarian, for advice on toxicology, and he spent a lot of time and energy studying it.
As time went by, the medicine box contained more and more poison testing items.
After some inspection, Doctor Zheng solemnly said: "Your Majesty, this tea is mixed with a highly poisonous substance... This poison is called Fanqian Shuang. The method of making the poison is similar to that of the drug that induces the disease, but the toxicity is more intense. If you take it,
It's heavy enough and can kill someone within two hours!" - If the emperor were to act like this, even one hour would be enough!
Concubine Rong's eyes trembled, and the last trace of luck in her heart was shattered.
The eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were shocked.
Especially Gong E, who was beside Concubine Rong, was even more frightened. This pot of tea... was brewed by her mother-in-law herself!
"It's extremely poisonous." Emperor Qingming nodded clearly and looked at Concubine Rong.
"I wonder if the imperial concubine has drank this tea?!" Dr. Zheng came to his senses and asked hurriedly.
Li Ji glanced at him.
Wow, why can't I understand the situation?
"The imperial concubine certainly didn't touch it." Emperor Qingming smiled and said: "Since it was a good thing specially prepared for me, how could the imperial concubine touch it?"
Concubine Rong was completely panicked. She immediately left the rosewood chair and knelt down in front of Emperor Qingming: "Your Majesty, I... I don't know that this tea is poisonous!"
Emperor Qingming seemed as if he hadn't heard anything, and a chill finally appeared on his face. He leaned closer to her and asked one word at a time: "Why did your concubine want to take my life? Is there anything I can't do to you?"
