Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1545: Chapter 1545 The Person Who Can Detoxify_1

That evening, Bai Ruozhu was still to stay in Cining Palace. It was only when the curfew commenced that Jiang Yichun left reluctantly, prompting the Empress Dowager to chuckle secretly. She asked Bai Ruozhu, ”The two of you share such a good relationship; when will you give Little Dengdeng a little sister?”

”Perhaps in another half a year or a year,” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile. She hadn’t forgotten the pain of childbirth and preferred to take her time recovering.

The Empress Dowager knew that she was proficient in medical skills, so she probably knew it was better to wait, and didn’t press further. But she did lower her voice to ask, ”You’re saying Princess Diao Bin’s white hair won’t affect her giving birth, right?”

”Not at all, the princess has a strong constitution. I fear that within half a year of marriage she’ll have good news,” Bai Ruozhu said cheerfully.

The Empress Dowager heaved a sigh of relief and her mood improved.

The next day, news came from the Department of Precautionary Punishment that the palace maid who had poisoned Liu Fei had been captured.

That eunuch also confessed to the involvement of a previously caught eunuch from the Department of Precautionary Punishment. The latter had been tortured without revealing anything, but this morning, he had confessed everything.

He said he had shared a special relationship with a palace maid from Liuyun Hall named Xixia, but a month ago, Xixia accidentally dirtied Liu Fei’s clothes and was punished with twenty strikes. She was then thrown into the firewood room with orders that no one visit her. As a result, Xixia’s injuries worsened, and she passed away within days.

The eunuch had been extremely fond of Xixia and bore a grudge against Liu Fei. Hence, he seized the opportunity to collude with another palace maid who had been close to Xixia during her lifetime and poisoned Liu Fei.

After hearing the outcome, Bai Ruozhu chuckled. The confession from the eunuch of the Department of Precautionary Punishment didn’t seem false, but he was definitely not the real mastermind behind the scenes.

Firstly, the poison used on Liu Fei was very unusual; how could an ordinary eunuch from the Department of Precautionary Punishment procure it?

Secondly, the person who came to bury poison beneath her window wasn’t that eunuch. He didn’t possess such martial arts, and the confession didn’t mention an accomplice.

Moreover, there was no reason originally to connect Liu Fei’s poisoning with her. That connection was only made because of a fake holy edict which summoned Liu Fei to Yangxin Hall at that time when she came across Bai Ruozhu. Such a well-designed scheme was not something a lone eunuch could pull off.

Clearly, there was a prominent figure behind all this, with the confessing eunuch being merely a pawn in the game.

That person had exploited the eunuch’s desire for revenge for the palace maid and undoubtedly had some leverage over him. It was even possible that the eunuch had been threatened last night, causing him to strangely confess to all the charges this morning.

If she could test her medicine on the eunuch, it would probably become much simpler.

However, Bai Ruozhu didn’t get the chance to try this out. By lunchtime, the eunuch had committed suicide due to his fear of punishment by breaking a bowl and cutting open his wrists.

...

In the residence of Duke Zhengguo outside the palace, a person dressed in black hurried to see Grand Princess Huilan.

”Princess, the emperor has dispatched two Shadow Guards to investigate, and I fear they are becoming suspicious of us,” the person in black said in a hushed voice.

Hatred flashed in the eyes of Grand Princess Huilan, ”Let them suspect. Does he really dare to lay a hand on me? Do not forget who supported him to stabilize his footing in the past!”

”With no one to save Liu Fei, should we just watch her die like this? What if the Liu Family finds out...” The person in black dared not continue. Liu Fei had once been promoted to the status of Imperial Concubine Liu because of her maternal family’s influence.

A smile appeared on the face of Grand Princess Huilan, ”You needn’t worry about that; she won’t die.”

The person clad in black, seeing the situation, dared not ask further. After carefully listening to the instructions, he quietly left the Zhenguo Duke Residence.

Huilan’s eyes brimmed with even more hatred as she muttered to herself, looking at a clump of bamboo outside the window, ”Bai Ruozhu, you’re lucky this time, but it won’t be so simple. Sooner or later, I’ll make your life worse than death!”

...

The atmosphere in the Liuyun Hall was oppressively tense, as the master of this place, Liu Fei, seemed on the brink of death. If Liu Fei died, they might all be held accountable, and even if not punished, they would likely be assigned to the harshest and most exhausting duties in the palace – a fate no one present wanted to see.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and a little eunuch came running over with a face full of joy, ”Quickly gather your spirits! The Empress Mother is coming, and she says she has found a Divine Doctor who can cure our mistress of the poison. Our mistress will surely be fine!”

The crowd didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but like drowning people grasping at a lifebuoy, all the servants swiftly regained their spirits.

When the Empress appeared, she was followed by a retinue of palace maids and eunuchs, and there was also a woman dressed like a physician, although her clothes were not those of the Female Physicians Institution.

”Physician Hao, please take a look,” the Empress said to Hao Baishuang.

”Yes,” Hao Baishuang went to take Liu Fei’s pulse, checked her over, then, once finished, she bowed to the Empress and said, ”As a commoner, I can cure this poison. Just let me write down the prescription.”

The Empress, overjoyed, hastily called for writing materials, and soon after, Hao Baishuang wrote down the prescription and instructed the chief palace maid on how to brew and administer it.

It didn’t take long for the people below to go to the Imperial Medical Room to fetch the medicine, and the news that Hao Baishuang could cure Liu Fei of the poison also spread.

Bai Ruozhu, who had just left for the Female Physicians Institution, heard this news and couldn’t help but sneer. It seemed to be the grand move of Grand Princess Huilan; now she was pushing Hao Baishuang forward. Wasn’t she afraid of making the wedding dress for someone else?

And Mao Xingcai, having learned of this, was so furious to hear that Hao Baishuang was still using his disciple’s name that he almost fainted.

By the afternoon, the Empress had granted Bai Ruozhu permission to return home, and Liu Fei’s condition had also improved.

Bai Ruozhu didn’t want to deal with the institute’s matters and went straight back to join his parents in holding his son.

After catching up with his family, Bai Ruozhu called Jianqi to make some arrangements. The next day, the news that Princess Diao Bin had contracted a strange disease and her hair had turned completely white spread throughout the capital. Further rumors said Princess Diao Bin was an ill omen. Otherwise, why would a girl under twenty have white hair?

This news also spread within the palace; the Emperor, upon learning of it, flew into a rage and punished many gossiping palace maids and eunuchs, but the news could not be contained and spread through every corner of the Capital City like the wind.

Inside the embassy, Prince Saihan and the Turkic envoy, along with several other key officials, were in discussion.

”Prince Saihan, the matter of Princess Diao Bin seems to be true; the news is everywhere. If it were a lie, then the sacrifice of the Danliang Imperial family would be too great, wouldn’t it?” said the Turkic envoy.

”Yes, Prince, that day, my subordinate saw it clearly; Princess Diao Bin’s hair was all white, just like a demon. Such a woman must not be married; it might jeopardize your great cause,” another officer said.

”Otherwise, change the marriage alliance to another candidate. Since there are no other princesses in the Imperial family, even a conferred princess would do,” suggested the Turkic envoy once more.

Prince Saihan suddenly burst into laughter; his mustache trembling as he did. He looked at the crowd and said, ”Who says the Danliang Imperial family has no other princesses? I’ve received news that there is indeed another young and beautiful princess, and she is currently in Cining Palace.”