Chapter 791 Who’s the Mastermind Behind All of This?
Shao Wanru got to her feet and stood aside with her head down. She looked extremely meek and she didn’t take another look at Shao Yanru, who was kneeling on the ground while crying relentlessly.
“Fifth Miss Shao, I heard that you brought some medicinal materials that are used to ease the pain for First Miss Shao. So you put them in First Miss Shao’s own medicine materials and mixed them together for her to drink?” the Empress asked.
Shao Wanru answered calmly, “Your Grace, there is indeed such a thing. This morning, my Big Sister said that she was in poor health and couldn’t fall asleep because of the pain at night, so she asked me to go to the Imperial Institute of Medicine. She sent someone here, and the people in the Chuxiu Palace should also have known it!”
Although Han Dan came early, the people of the Chuxiu Palace had also been early at work in recent days. Someone must have seen her.
“You can’t fall asleep because of the pain at night?” The Empress looked at Shao Yanru and asked coldly, “the medicine from the imperial physician didn’t work?”
“Your Grace, First Miss Shao has been taking the medicine I prescribed these days, and her injury is much better than before. It is unlikely that she can’t fall asleep because of the pain at night,” the imperial physician said hurriedly. Just as he entered the palace, he sensed something wrong when he saw they were all here. In this palace, even the imperial physician must have an acute sense to help him know the situation better.
If nothing serious had happened, the Empress wouldn’t have come to such a remote hall. She didn’t even send anyone to ask about First Miss Shao’s health a few days after she got injured, let alone come here in person.
“She’s much better now. So it’s unlikely that the pain would make her toss and turn?” The Empress repeated his words with a sneer on her face.
Shao Yanru’s expression changed. She wiped her tears and said in a sad voice, “Your Grace, I… it really hurts. I don’t know why, but last night the pain suddenly became much stronger, so I sent someone to ask my Fifth Sister to go to the Imperial Institute of Medicine.”
She braced herself to say that it hurt.
Hearing her words, the imperial physician hesitated. Everyone had different body conditions. And the scale of the pain of the same kind of wound ranged among people. It was something understandable.
“Maybe… some people will feel differently about the pain…” The imperial physician hesitated and had to explain.
“Fifth Miss, you went to the Imperial Institute of Medicine. Which imperial physician gave you the medicine?” Asked the Empress, no longer insistent on the trivial matter.
“When I went there, there happened to be no imperial physician on duty. It was a little eunuch that asked me to get the medicine,” Shao Wanru said calmly.
It was as if she didn’t know that she had already become the biggest suspect since she was the one who fetched the medicine.
“Fifth… Fifth Sister, did you take the medicine yourself? Didn’t the imperial physician give it to you… Could it be that… you took the wrong medicine?” Shao Yanru looked at Shao Wanru and sobbed with tears all over her face. It seemed that she was still defending Shao Wanru.
If it weren’t for that thing about the Emperor, the Empress might also think that Shao Yanru was a kind person. But at this time, the more she looked at her, the more she felt that Shao Yanru was scheming.
The Empress didn’t look at Shao Yanru at all, as if she didn’t hear her at all. She asked Shao Wanru, “What do you think?”
Shao Yanru felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, so she could only bite her lip and lower her head. She had some pre-planned words, but now the Empress ignored her, so she couldn’t say those words at this moment.
Fortunately, she had planned it in advance, for fear of what would happen if it was exposed. Now it seemed that her original decision was very effective. No matter where it might go, she would still remain innocent. So that everyone would believe that Shao Wanru was the one who intended to hurt her and started everything.
Now even the Emperor was involved in this. She was even curious about how Shao Wanru was going to defending herself. Although her grandma was Rui’an Great Elder Princess, it would not do her much good in front of the Emperor.
Shao Wanru glanced at Shao Yanru coldly. Shao Yanru, who looked aggrieved and sad, was still wiping her tears. At this time, this woman still thought she would win.
“Your Grace, I didn’t take this medicine myself. Although there was no imperial physician there, there was a little eunuch. He took it for me!” Shao Wanru said slowly. She had been prepared for this, so she answered without any hesitation.
“The little eunuchs in the Imperial Institute of Medicine are basically illiterate. How could anyone of them get the right medicine for Fifth Miss?” The imperial physician asked in confusion.
It was not a secret in the palace.
The Empress stared at her face, hoping to see a trace of worry and panic on her face.
Shao Wanru’s face was still as calm as water, without the slightest ripple. After the imperial physician finished speaking, she said, “The little eunuch does not know how to read, but this medicine is common and needed by many imperial physicians. The little eunuch led me there to check it. I confirmed it back then. I didn’t touch the medicine!”
“Even if you know the medicine, it’s impossible for you to know that it’s used to ease the pain. The function is not written on the cabinet!” The imperial physician said in surprise. Ordinary ladies from aristocratic families didn’t know what these names mean. So they didn’t have the guts to ask the little eunuchs to fetch the medicine. “Fifth Miss, are you sure you didn’t get the wrong medicine?”
The imperial physician felt that he knew some shreds of the truth. The little eunuch couldn’t read and only took Fifth Miss Shao to the medicine cabinet. The Fifth Miss Shao didn’t know medicine and mistook the powder for medicine. Then she took the powder and put it in First Miss Shao’s medicine. After that, something seemed to have happened, which startled the Empress.
“Your Grace, I didn’t get the wrong medicine. I know some medical knowledge and have treated my grandma once!” Shao Wanru shook her head and denied the wrong answer given by the imperial physician.
She knew about medical skills. Even if she didn’t reveal this secret, Shao Yanru would do it today.
If she didn’t know medical skills, she wouldn’t be blamed for the powder.
Shao Yanru lowered her head and listened to Shao Wanru’s words quietly. Feeling that Shao Wanru’s speech was rational, she felt inexplicably uneasy. She believed that Shao Wanru’s reaction should not be like this.
How could she not panic? How could she remain calm when such a big thing happened and even the Emperor was involved?
Wrong, something must be wrong! But what exactly was wrong?
She felt uncontrollably worried.
“You said you know medical knowledge, so you know those medicinal materials. Do you know the smell in this room?” The Empress said with a gloomy face.
Shao Wanru sniffed and shook her head. “There is a smell of traditional Chinese medicine, which is the same as the one often used by my Big Sister. When I went out before, the decoction has not been served yet. Your Grace! Is there anything wrong with this medicine? The little eunuch brought me the medicine and left in a hurry. Your Grace, if you don’t believe me, you can check it out!” Shao Wanru said.
Even though she knew some knowledge about medicine, she was not proficient in it. After all, she only learned it for a short period of time. Besides, when she left, the bowl of decoction hadn’t been served yet. Even if there was something wrong with it, she would not know.
Hearing her words, the Empress frowned. She believed that it was true since Shao Wanru dared to say so. Even though no imperial physician was there, she was not the one who fetched the medicine, so it was impossible for her to get any other material. So the Emperess thought that the aphrodisiac was not taken by Shao Wanru.
But someone must have done something. The Empress did not believe that the aphrodisiac was given by the imperial physician.
The imperial physician suddenly asked the palace maid kneeling on the ground, “Is the wrapping paper still here?”
“Yes, yes, it should still be there. It was there when I came here just now!” The palace maid nodded repeatedly and almost cried with joy. She didn’t know how to prove her innocence. It would be great if the paper was still there.
A eunuch went out. After a while, he came back with a pile of paper and put it on the table. The imperial physician picked up and smelled the paper piece by piece. After a while, he picked out a small piece of paper.
“Your Grace, this is the wrapping paper for that medicine.” It was not convenient for him to speak bluntly, so he could only say implicitly.
“For that medicine?” The Empress asked.
“Yes, it’s the wrapping paper for that medicine!” The imperial physician nodded.
Shao Wanru stood at the side and looked at the paper. There were creases on it. She could tell that the medicine pack was not big.
“Your Grace, I have never seen such a small pack. If I saw such a small pack before, I would have definitely noticed that it is different. First Miss Shao’s medicine is not like this.”
After the palace maid said that, Shao Yanru was on the verge of collapse. She covered her chest and looked at Shao Wanru with tears all over her face and astonishment. The look in her eyes was full of disbelief, anger, and grievance. It could be told that she was silently blaming Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru’s eyes met Shao Yanru’s. There was no trace of warmth or cowardice in her cold eyes. After a long while, she said to the Empress, “Your Grace, where do you think this medicine came from?”
“If it was not there before, someone must have put it in the decoction.” The Empress’s sharp eyes fell on Shao Yanru’s face. She still felt that Shao Yanru was very likely to be the one who had done it. No matter how she thought of this incident, Shao Yanru was the one who got advantages. It was obvious that she had plotted against the Emperor, but now she claimed to be innocent.
If it were in the past, she might think that Shao Yanru was a good person and should have been framed. But now she hated Shao Yanru every time she looked at this woman. How could she believe that Shao Yanru was innocent?
Shao Wanru had a bad relationship with the whole Duke Xing’s Mansion and had an ordinary relationship with Shao Yanru. How could she help Shao Yanru do such a thing?
“Have you left while decocting the medicine?” The general steward of the Phoenix Palace glanced at the Empress, trying to guess her intentions as he asked the palace maid.
“I haven’t left. I was there the whole time. It was only when First Miss asked for water that I left for a while, but I asked Shuqi to stay there for me. I stayed there for the rest of the time… Later, Fifth Miss came in and sat for a while, and then left,” the palace maid said timidly.
If what she said was true, both Shao Wanru and Shao Yanru’s maid should be suspected.
Shao Wanru understood, and a trace of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. She could explain it clearly. “Your Grace, I merely went inside to have a seat and see how long would it take for the medicine to be ready. After that, I stayed far away from the medicine pot. I could never tamper with the medicine in front of the palace maid!”