After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 68

With the Emperor suddenly vomiting bl00d and falling unconscious, the birthday banquet naturally could not continue.

A group of Imperial Physicians arrived, surrounding the Emperor’s bed to diagnose her. Before long, they were drenched in sweat.

Her Majesty’s face was pale and her lips were blue, clearly indicating poisoning!

As soon as this news broke, the people present at the General’s Manor were in an uproar.

“Poisoned?” Almost everyone immediately looked towards the Xie family members.

Today, Her Majesty had attended the banquet at the General’s Manor.

Now that something had happened, the Xie family was naturally the first to bear the brunt.

But the General’s Manor plotting rebellion?

What for?

Given the current status of the Xie family, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say their ancestors had been blessed. Great General Xie held control over half the military power, his daughter was a favored consort, his eldest nephew was a minister, and his second nephew had also been granted a general’s title.

To harm Her Majesty?

It was truly baffling. Unless the Xie family was insatiable and desired the highest position.

“Explain clearly, how is Her Majesty?” Xie Anyu’s calm voice rang out. She furrowed her brows, her heroic spirit fully displayed on her face.

Gone was the gentle demeanor she had shown while chatting and laughing with Xie Wan at the banquet earlier.

Indeed, this was Xie Chengdong’s daughter, Consort Wan, but she was also Xie Anyu, who had been on the battlefield.

The Imperial Physician was startled by her presence and quickly said, “Not much toxin was ingested. The vomiting of bl00d is due to the extreme potency of the poison… Her Majesty has already been given an antidote pill, which has temporarily alleviated the toxicity. However, Her Majesty’s health has always been poor… From now on…”

The Imperial Physician hesitated, seeing the Consort Wan’s face darken. The sweat on his back couldn’t help but soak through his clothes.

“Everything should prioritize Her Majesty’s health. Order whatever is needed.”

“Yes.”

“What about the poison?” This time it was Zhou Ning who spoke. Her upright gaze subtly swept over the row of Xie family members, including Xie Anyu.

The Imperial Physician frowned, “The poison entered through the mouth, so it was impossible to guard against.”

As soon as the Imperial Physician said this, the officials present were stunned.

So, was there really a problem with the food at the General’s Manor today?

But they had eaten too, and they were fine.

Who administered the poison?

The person closest to Her Majesty at the time… Everyone couldn’t help but quietly form their own suspicions.

“If I wanted to poison her, why would I specifically choose my father’s birthday banquet? Am I afraid that my nine generations of relatives are too few to be executed?” Xie Anyu’s cold remark instantly dispelled many people’s thoughts.

Indeed, this matter was not yet concluded.

Zhou Ning nodded, “This matter must be thoroughly investigated. Everyone present could potentially be the poisoner. Please cooperate with the Imperial Guards’ investigation.”

Although Zhou Ning’s official rank was lower than many present, she was the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards and Her Majesty’s personal bodyguard. At this moment, no one dared to disobey her.

Anyone who failed to follow orders at this critical juncture could easily be labeled a traitor.

All in all, the best outcome was that Her Majesty’s life was not in danger for now.

Unlike the relieved court officials, Chu Tang’s mood was naturally extremely complex.

Even this didn’t kill her?

This Emperor Ruiming here was even harder to kill than the one in his ‘dream’.

However, thinking that ‘she’ was by his Imperial Sister’s side, Chu Tang quickly felt relieved.

If Xie Wan knew about the past like him, it wasn’t strange that she would pay extra attention to the Emperor’s condition. It was already an unexpected bonus that the poison had succeeded at all.

That’s right, Chu Tang hadn’t expected to kill his Imperial Sister in one go.

If not this time, then next time.

Ultimately, this action was not directly related to him. He was merely a pusher behind the scenes, lending a small hand to Xu Ping.

Chu Tang quietly watched the bedroom door, which was almost closed, thinking, this poison, coupled with your sickly body since childhood…

You probably don’t have many days left to live.

Even Sister Wan isn’t a living immortal; she can’t save you.

His gaze inadvertently fell upon Xie Anyu.

And quite coincidentally, Xie Anyu, feeling his gaze, turned back to look at him.

Their eyes met. Chu Tang tried to show a simple and innocent smile, but Xie Anyu just stared at him, the hint of disgust in her eyes too obvious.

Chu Tang’s smile didn’t fully form. He showed an indifferent expression.

Sister Wan, this throne should be mine.

Imperial Sister will die; this is fate.

You know all this, don’t you?

Later, not only the Imperial Guards but also people from the Censorate Office arrived.

The matter was too important to be overlooked.

All of Her Majesty’s food was tasted by others before being served. If the poison truly entered through the mouth, it was strange. Yet, all the food in front of Her Majesty had been checked, and there were no traces of poison.

Two hours later, the Imperial Guards found the culprit behind the poisoning—

It was a young servant boy responsible for serving dishes in the Xie Manor kitchen.

Unfortunately, nothing could be extracted from the servant boy’s mouth, because by the time they found him, he had already committed suicide by taking poison.

The coroner had examined the body and confirmed that the poison was the same as the one Her Majesty had ingested.

Subsequently, the Imperial Guards also discovered that the servant boy had smeared the poison on the bottom of the plate beforehand. The person who tasted the food naturally ate the dish on top.

And that plate of stir-fried vegetables happened to be a dish Her Majesty usually liked to eat.

But apparently, Her Majesty didn’t eat much of that dish she usually liked today. She only took a small bite and was poisoned shortly after.

It was fortunate that this was the case. Although the poison Her Majesty ingested was potent, the amount was small, so her life was not in danger.

Having investigated this far, the person in charge of the case had already reached a conclusion.

“Someone who knows Her Majesty’s preferences so well and can arrange things precisely within the Xie Manor… Consort Wan is highly suspicious. What do you think, Commander Zhou?”

Zhou Ning remained silent upon hearing this. After a moment of silence, she said, “Now that the key witness is dead, it’s difficult to arrest anyone without evidence. For now, keep the Xie family members under strict surveillance. As for the rest… wait until Her Majesty wakes up.”

She always felt that this matter was not that simple.

What would the Xie family gain by taking Her Majesty’s life? This matter made no sense whatsoever.

It was clearly a frame-up.

The other party obviously wanted Her Majesty’s life. If Her Majesty had eaten more of that dish she usually liked today, even an immortal wouldn’t have been able to save her.

If Her Majesty died, the Xie family would certainly not be the biggest beneficiary. It should be said that if Her Majesty died in the General’s Manor, the Xie family would instead become the target of public criticism.

Someone who hated both Her Majesty and the Xie family so much…

There were indeed such people in court.

It’s just…

Xu Ping hadn’t even shown up today.

Zhou Ning composed herself. Everything would wait until Her Majesty woke up.

Xie Wan slept for two days.

When she slowly woke up, she was no longer in the General’s Manor but had returned to the Imperial Palace, lying in her familiar surroundings.

She weakly opened her eyes. Zhaoxia noticed her movement and immediately put down everything she was doing, “Your Majesty, you’re awake. I’ll go call the Imperial Physicians…”

The Imperial Physicians were already waiting outside. They dared not leave as long as Her Majesty was not awake. Upon learning that Her Majesty had woken up, they naturally rushed in and examined her again.

Xie Wan allowed the Imperial Physicians to attend to her, while also asking Zhaoxia, “How long have I slept?”

She noticed that Xie Anyu was not by her side.

“Your Majesty, you have slept for two days,” the Imperial Physician answered first. “Waking up means you’ve pulled through. The poison in your body has been completely removed, but the poison was potent, and your internal organs are damaged. You need careful recuperation… For the next month or two, you need to pay attention to rest.”

The Imperial Physician looked at Her Majesty’s pale face and thought, how long has Her Majesty’s health been good? After this poisoning, who knows how long it will take to recover again.

Xie Wan understood the meaning in his expression and said softly, ambiguously, “It doesn’t matter how long it takes to recover. Anyway, this is the only time.”

“Where is Xie Anyu?” Xie Wan weakly lifted her eyes.

“Consort Wan…” Zhaoxia continued, but didn’t know how to phrase it.

Zhou Ning walked in from outside at this moment and reported, “Your Majesty, Consort Wan is at the Censorate Office.”

The three words “Censorate Office” made Xie Wan narrow her eyes. She asked Zhou Ning, “Did you have her locked up?”

Zhou Ning didn’t speak, only glancing at the Imperial Physician.

“Imperial Physician, you may withdraw first.”

The Imperial Physician hurriedly got up and walked out.

Clearly, he knew what Zhou Ning was about to report to Her Majesty.

After he left, Zhou Ning said, “Yesterday, the Imperial Academy of Medicine confirmed that the poison Her Majesty was afflicted with likely originated from West Jin, made from a toxic plant called Danyu from West Jin. Following this, the faction led by Prime Minister Xu, with the Minister of Rites at the forefront, submitted memorials one after another, demanding a thorough investigation into this matter.”

The poisoning incident could still be attributed to lack of evidence, but the discovery of a poison unique to West Jin in the General’s Manor was a matter that had to be investigated.

Trade between West Jin and Da Yue Empire was not close. Everything entering the country was inspected at the northern border passes.

Smuggling weapons was a serious crime, and bringing toxic plants or poisons into the country was equally unforgivable.

Especially this poison, which was actually used on Her Majesty.

“Furthermore…” Zhou Ning sighed, “The Imperial Guards also found a medical book left by Madam Xie before her death in the General’s Manor, which happened to contain information about Danyu.”

If there was only suspicion before, the discovery of the medical book seemed to nail the Xie family’s guilt.

“There are already rumors in court saying that the Xie family colluded with West Jin to assassinate Her Majesty. To set the record straight, Consort Wan voluntarily went to the Censorate Office to cooperate with the investigation.” Finally, Zhou Ning added, “…This subordinate believes that the Xie family could not possibly collude with West Jin, much less assassinate Her Majesty.”

Xie Wan moved her fingertips, saying nothing else.

To want the Xie family ruined, it was undoubtedly Xu Ping’s goal. She had thought Chu Tang played no role in this, but it turned out he had helped quite a bit.

Her mother’s medical book did indeed contain records of Danyu. If it were the Chu Tang of her previous life, he might actually know about this.

The Xie couple had stayed in the northern region in their early years, and her mother was a military doctor. It was natural for her to have records and knowledge of some unique poisons used by the enemy.

She had led troops against West Jin more than once, and she had even publicly discussed things left in her mother’s medical book.

Now it was being used as evidence for poisoning?

Xie Wan thought, if it were Chu Long, she might really have believed it.

After all, too many coincidences together could no longer be called coincidences.

“Prepare the sedan chair. I’m going to the Censorate Office.” Xie Wan got up, letting Zhaoxia help her dress. Her face was still weak.

Regardless, she had to go and bring her little general back first.