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墨書 Inktalez
In the following days, there were no major events. Mu Junqi's health had improved significantly during this period of rest, and even the wounds on her body had nearly healed after using the medicine given by Xia Ziqian. If one did not look closely, it would be hard to tell that there was anything wrong.
However, the palace was never short of schemes. Just as things seemed to settle down, a significant event occurred. As the Year-End approached, since Mu Junqi re-emerged, her status not only remained unchanged but seemed to be even more elevated than before. Consequently, the concubines in the harem came to pay their respects and curry favor.
Seeing their false appearances sometimes made Mu Junqi want to escape, but she felt that since she had chosen this path from the beginning, she should face whatever happened with grace.
One day, the weather was quite pleasant. Although it felt a bit chilly when going outside, sitting in her chamber basking in the sun made it feel less cold. Perhaps due to having rested more in recent days, she found it hard to sleep lately and often sat by the window staring blankly outside. Even when Mo Xiao Li came to visit, she would still go out to greet him, but anyone could see that she was preoccupied.
It was clear what was on her mind: the Empress was concerned about the Little Prince. After all, the Little Prince was still in Consort Xi's palace, and for so long, she could only see her child by visiting Consort Xi's quarters. Although she had mentioned this a few times to Mo Xiao Li, her requests had been declined for various reasons.
While she sat by the window lost in thought, Ziyue suddenly walked in. After bowing to her, she said, "Your Highness, I have something to discuss with you—"
Seeing Ziyue's expression, Mu Junqi immediately understood what it was about and quickly dismissed everyone else, leaving only Ziyue behind. She then asked seriously, "What progress has been made on that matter?"
"In response to Your Highness," Ziyue replied, "there are some leads now. During the banquet that day, an old maid from the palace was supposed to prepare the holy water. However, she fell ill and delayed her task. No one knows who ultimately prepared the holy water. But I overheard a young eunuch mention that he saw a palace maid lingering outside the old maid's door that day. At first, he thought nothing of it; now it seems that maid is highly suspicious."
"Do you know who that palace maid is?" Mu Junqi asked with a frown.
Ziyue smiled slightly and said, "Of course. I heard it's from Yunxi Palace—"
"Yunxi Palace—" Mu Junqi repeated quietly. She never expected it would involve someone from Yunxi Palace; Consort Xi did not seem like someone who would engage in such actions.
Seeing her disbelief, Ziyue continued, "Your Highness, perhaps you think it's impossible for someone from Yunxi Palace to do this. But everyone in this harem is hypocritical; human hearts are hard to read. Just because Consort Xi appears to be obedient and takes care of the Empress Dowager doesn't mean she isn't capable of deceit. Have you ever considered why among so many concubines in the harem, only Consort Xi has been entrusted with raising the Little Prince? It's because she has the support of the Empress Dowager and presents herself as gentle and kind to deceive everyone."
After hearing Ziyue's words, Mu Junqi pondered for a moment before looking out at the scenery and saying, "Do you know why I have always believed Consort Xi wouldn't do such a thing?"
"That's because Consort Xi knows how to win people's hearts without competing for His Majesty's favor like others do. So what do you think someone like her truly desires?"
Ziyue was somewhat confused and shook her head. Then Mu Junqi said, "Since that's the case, we can proceed. As long as you remember to handle that matter well, we should be able to resolve this quickly. Send someone to investigate the identity of the maid in Yunxi Palace, and then find out what kind of background Yun Ruo, who is beside Consort Xi, has."
"Yes, I will go right away," she said before turning to leave.
Watching Ziyue leave, Mu Junqi turned her gaze back outside. After sitting still for a long time, she suddenly heard arguing in the courtyard. Looking over in confusion, she saw nothing. Just then, Palace Eunuch rushed in and knelt on the ground respectfully, saying, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened. Something in Qinxiang Garden has been poisoned. Just now, Mei'er from the kitchen only tasted it and suddenly collapsed. She has already..."
Upon hearing this, Mu Junqi was shocked and immediately stood up, asking urgently, "What is happening now? Take This Palace there."
Thus, Palace Eunuch Zhang Gonggong led the way. Before long, they arrived at the small kitchen that Mo Xiao Li had specifically instructed about. Before entering, they saw many people gathered at the door. When they saw her approaching, they hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects.
Mu Junqi had no time to speak and simply waved her hand before walking straight in. Upon entering, she saw the room filled with thick smoke and found the girl named Mei'er lying on the ground. Through the haze, she could vaguely see dark blood flowing from her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Her eyes were wide open, and her hands were tightly gripping her neck as if something was there; her whole body was convulsing in a terrifying manner.
Seeing this, Zhang Gonggong sighed and said, "Your Highness, let's go outside; this place is too ominous."
Reluctantly, Mu Junqi followed Zhang Gonggong outside. Once outside, she scanned the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Has anyone touched anything in there?"
"No—"
"That's good." She pointed at a maid and said, "You go to the Imperial Medical Institute and find someone to come here." Then she pointed at another eunuch and said, "You take a few people to surround this place; no one is allowed to enter. Understood?"
"Servant understands," both replied.
At that moment, Huixin returned and walked over in confusion upon seeing so many people in the courtyard. Seeing Mu Junqi standing there, she hurriedly approached to pay her respects and said, "Your Highness is auspicious; are you alright?"
Looking at Huixin, who was filled with concern, Mu Junqi replied, "This Palace is fine; come inside with me." She then walked toward a nearby hall.
Once inside, Mu Junqi spoke up: "It seems someone can no longer hold back. For the next few days, you take a few reliable people to keep an eye on all the servants in the courtyard at all times. If anything strange happens, tie them up first but be careful not to let them notice or cause a commotion. Understood?"
Huixin naturally understood the importance of this matter and quickly said, "Your Highness, please rest assured, this time I will definitely satisfy you."
Then Mu Junqi continued, "However, you two must be careful these days. You must not let them find anything. Also, whether it is food or other items, make sure to check them thoroughly before using them. Otherwise, falling into their trap would be disastrous."
"I understand, Your Highness—"
Chapter 139
After a while, the imperial physician was invited over. Qinxiang Garden was surrounded by many people who were watching the excitement. Initially, they thought something had happened to Mu Junqi, so Xia Ziqian hurried over. Upon hearing that a palace maid had been poisoned in the kitchen, he furrowed his brows tightly.
Once everything was settled, Xia Ziqian stood in front of Mu Junqi and said, "Your Majesty, this maid was poisoned with the most lethal Deadly Powder. This poison immediately erodes the throat upon ingestion and then spreads throughout the body, causing bleeding from all seven orifices and resulting in instant death. Therefore, this drug is very difficult to obtain. I never expected it would be used on a palace maid."
Now Mu Junqi saw that Xia Ziqian was no longer as infatuated as before; she regarded him more like an older brother. After hearing his words, she asked in confusion, "Do you know where this poison originated?"
"There is no reliable information on that. However, this poison has been gone for many years; I never expected it to reappear here."
After Xia Ziqian and the others left, Ziyue went outside and gathered everyone from Qinxiang Garden. Since many people had arrived later, there were still quite a few unfamiliar faces.
"You should all know what happened today. Now let's hear your observations."
At first, there was silence for a while until suddenly a palace maid spoke up: "Ziyue sister, at that time I was outside sweeping snow and seemed to see a shadow flash by. I didn't pay much attention then and thought it was just an illusion. Now that I think about it, it could have been the murderer who came in to poison during that moment."
"Well then, did anyone else see anything?"
A young eunuch slowly raised his hand and said, "I also seemed to see a dark figure. At that time, Mei'er needed some firewood, so I went out to look for some. It seemed that when I came out, I saw someone heading towards the kitchen, but since they were facing away from me, I couldn't tell who it was."
"Was it a man or a woman? Did you notice any features?" Ziyue quickly asked upon hearing this.
The young eunuch thought carefully before saying, "It's a eunuch, but he is relatively tall. From the back, there are no distinguishing features, except that he seems to have a jade pendant hanging from his waist, though I couldn't see exactly what it looked like."
Ziyue nodded and continued to ask, "Did you see anything else besides this?"
"No—" everyone replied in unison.
At this point, there was no more valuable information, so Ziyue dismissed everyone and hurried back to her room. As soon as she entered, Mu Junqi came over and asked, "How is it? Any news?"
Ziyue recounted all the information she had heard and then looked at Huixin on the other side and asked, "Did you find out anything?"
"Nothing; everyone said they didn't see anything—"
Mu Junqi listened silently to what they said and then said, "It seems we can only proceed like this for now. Keep an eye on them, and let me know immediately if you get any news, understood?"
"Yes, maidservant Understood—"
Night soon fell, and naturally, the news about the poisoned palace maid in Qinxiang Garden spread somehow. Before long, everyone in the harem knew about it. Not long after, Mo Xiao Li hurried back. As soon as she entered the door, she rushed straight to the bedroom and only spoke after seeing Mu Junqi safe and sound: "What happened today?"
"I don't know; perhaps someone wants to give me a warning," Mu Junqi said with a light laugh.
Mo Xiao Li furrowed her brows tightly and looked at her, saying, "Actually, I feel there's something suspicious about this matter."
"You noticed too. At first, I thought the intention was to kill me. But later I realized that if that were the case, they wouldn't have sent it to the kitchen. Everyone knows our food is checked before we eat it. Such a potent poison could never be delivered to me directly. It’s clear that this was meant to give Consort a warning."
Mo Xiao Li looked gloomy and nodded. After sitting down on a nearby chair, she finally spoke: "I really didn't expect someone in the harem would do such a thing. You just returned and they couldn't wait to take action. Has there been any investigation into this matter?"
"Well, from the looks of it, quite a few people seem prepared to oppose me..." Mu Junqi murmured softly.
Mo Xiao Li did not hear clearly what she said and asked with some confusion, "What did you just say?"
"Nothing much, I just feel that these people really overrate me. In fact, I pose no threat to them at all, right?" She then looked at Mo Xiao Li.
However, Mo Xiao Li disagreed with her statement. He walked over, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "I don't care what they think; you will always be the person I love the most." With that, he kissed her lips.
Mu Junqi was startled by this sudden kiss and shyly lowered her head. The taste of him lingered on her lips. Soon after, Mo Xiao Li's hand wrapped around her waist, and he continued to kiss her deeply, lingering on her lips. This made her somewhat entranced. Although it wasn't their first kiss, their relationship had been fraught with conflicts before, and after having a child, they had to endure for a long time without such intimacy.
Before long, Mu Junqi noticed that Mo Xiao Li's gaze deepened in an instant. Just a kiss made his body react; he let out a low groan and tightened his grip around her waist as he continued to kiss her deeply.
It was no longer a gentle kiss but one filled with a sense of possession as he eagerly sucked on her lips. His hands that were originally holding her began to roam over her body irregularly. The heat radiating from him made her feel suddenly parched and uneasy. She squirmed slightly, wanting to escape this feeling, but Mo Xiao Li immediately stopped her movements.
As they paused, Mo Xiao Li lightly kissed her neck while whispering, "Tonight, I want you—"
Mu Junqi didn't respond; her body was already reacting to his teasing and felt weak in his embrace. If it weren't for his strong hands supporting her, she probably wouldn't be able to stand at that moment. So she gently nodded.
Seeing this, Mo Xiao Li felt a surge of joy in his heart. He picked her up horizontally and took a few steps to the bedside before pressing her down beneath him while still kissing her lips. His hands began to move as well; in just a few moments, most of her clothes were removed. Her cheeks were completely flushed, and she didn't dare to open her eyes, tightly shutting them instead.
Mo Xiao Li chuckled softly and said, "It's already this time; why are you so shy? Open your eyes and look at me."
Mu Junqi still kept her eyes tightly closed and didn't dare to open them. Mo Xiao Li didn't force her; his body was already demanding more as he leaned over her and began to move slowly...
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