klisemfg Chapter 350 This whole thing just had to happen.
Chapter 350 This whole thing just had to happen.
Shen Jieyu's sudden abdominal pain instantly threw the summer banquet into chaos.
The Emperor suddenly stood up, his black dragon-patterned wide sleeves adorned with jade chopsticks, and amidst the exclamations of the concubines, he had already picked her up and carried her to the inner palace.
Consort Xie was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that her face turned pale. It was only after Consort Qu reminded her that she hurriedly sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. The Empress coldly swept over the chaos, her phoenix eyes lingering for a moment on Consort Xie's pale face: "Wait there, all of you." With that, she turned and went to the inner palace.
As soon as Consort Shen collapsed, Meng Shu instructed Meng Zhu, who was behind Consort Chun, to go to the outer room and summon the imperial physician. According to the custom of the banquet, the Imperial Hospital was required to send an imperial physician to stand guard outside in case of emergency.
Consort Chun watched the imperial physician hurrying towards the inner palace and wondered, "This imperial physician looks unfamiliar. Wasn't it Imperial Physician Sun who was originally there to help Consort Shen with her pregnancy?"
Previously, when he was in the Prince's residence, Physician Sun was favored by the Emperor and was even invited to perform a medical examination for the Empress and Consort Chun.
Meng Shu explained in a low voice, "This is Physician Cui. Since he entered the Imperial Hospital, he has been in charge of Consort Shen's pregnancy."
Consort Chun then remembered that Jian Zhi had mentioned this person once; his name was Cui Huan, and he had entered the Imperial Hospital through recommendation.
"Consort Xie is probably in trouble. She just received a reward, but such a mistake has happened in the blink of an eye."
Consort Chun sighed softly, but this sigh was not for Consort Xie.
Managing palace affairs may seem glamorous, but it's actually like walking on thin ice; one wrong step and everything is lost. If it weren't for Shu'er constantly reminding her, she probably would have already perished in the treacherous depths of the palace.
Meng Shu's gaze swept across everyone's faces, and she said softly, "Although we don't know why Consort Shen got into trouble, Consort Xie, who hosted the banquet, will not escape punishment."
While everyone was gathered together discussing, Meng Shu quietly got up and walked towards Shen Jieyu's seat.
At this moment, Song Jieyu had the same thought as her and was carefully examining the items on the table with a serious face. When she saw Meng Shu walking over, she had no time to pay attention to her.
Meng Shu didn't get too close. She only glanced at it before frowning slightly. The dishes on the table in front of Consort Shen's seat were no different from those in front of everyone else. Just based on this alone, Consort Xie's loss was not unjustified—Shen was pregnant at the time, and these cold dishes should not have been served in the first place.
Song Jieyu examined it carefully for a long time but found nothing unusual. Just as she was about to send someone to the back hall to investigate, Meng Shu said, "Sister Song, why don't you take a look at this plate of lotus flower pastries?"
Song Jieyu subconsciously reached out and picked up the plate of lotus flower pastries.
Shen Jieyu must really like this kind of pastry. The lotus flower pastry in front of her had been eaten down to only a small half, revealing the red jujube paste filling inside.
Song Jieyu didn't notice anything wrong. Meng Shu was about to remind her when she saw Song Jieyu quickly break off a small piece and eat it.
Meng Shu: "......"
Song Jieyu pursed her lips, a flash of anger in her eyes, and said sharply, "Xie Jieyu, how dare you! This jujube paste is mixed with a lot of hawthorn! Yi'an got sick after eating this lotus flower pastry..."
(Note: Shen Jieyu's given name was Yi'an. She came from a family of military officers, and her mother named her Shen Yi'an.)
Song Jieyu's sharp shout startled the candlelight in the hall, instantly attracting the attention of all the concubines.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jieyu's vision went black, and she hurriedly defended herself: "No...no, someone must be trying to harm me. I made a detailed menu and specifically instructed the kitchen to avoid certain foods for Sister Shen's meal."
Unfortunately, no one listened to her. Apart from Consort Qu, all the other concubines in the palace retreated as if avoiding a snake or scorpion.
Song Jieyu glanced at her coldly, then stepped closer, her slender fingers gripping Xie Jieyu's chin like iron clamps. "If Yi'an suffers even the slightest mishap, I, Song Xi, will make you pay a hundredfold."
Xingyu, who had been left in the palace by the Empress, quickly stepped forward to separate the two and gestured to Zhixue to present the lotus flower pastry on the table to the imperial physician.
Although Song Jieyu lost her composure, her defense of Shen Jieyu was entirely sincere and heartfelt.
Meng Shu was slightly moved by this scene, and silently turned back to Chunfei's side.
Within half an hour, the Empress sent someone out to announce that everyone was to disperse, except for Consort Xie, who remained to await trial. Consort Shen had experienced a miscarriage scare, but fortunately, the imperial physician arrived in time and she was out of danger.
Meng Shu and Consort Chun left Linde Palace hand in hand, walking slowly under the moonlight.
"With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, it was originally Consort Xie who was in charge of organizing the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Now, I'm afraid she won't even be able to keep her Consort title."
Consort Chun was uneasy. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day after tomorrow. I hope this hot potato doesn't fall on us."
Meng Shu suppressed a laugh and said, "As long as we are careful, what is there to fear? Xie Jieyu was not careful enough to begin with, so it was expected that she would end up in this situation."
Upon arriving at Huining Palace, Consort Chun suddenly grasped Meng Shu's hand and asked, "Shu'er, do you think this was truly done by Consort Xie?"
Meng Shu turned to look at Lvliu. Just now, when she went to Shen Jieyu's table, she instructed Lvliu to observe everyone.
Green Willow hesitated before replying, “Your Highness, I saw it clearly just now. When Consort Song picked up the lotus flower pastry, only Consort Rong’s expression was unusual… I was instructed beforehand to pay attention. Consort Qu, on the other hand… seemed to be observing Consort Rong as well, but she was wearing a veil, so I couldn’t see her expression and couldn’t be entirely sure.”
"It's actually Consort Rong?!" Consort Chun was speechless.
Meng Shu said calmly, "It wouldn't be surprising who it is. Aren't there plenty of people in this palace who want to harm others? Consort Rong is somewhat cunning, but Consort Qu is even more shrewd..."
Ruizhu said at the right moment, "Xiao Nianzi just inquired and found out that Consort Qu asked for leave from Her Majesty the Empress due to illness... Her illness came on strangely; she was in good spirits when she greeted the Empress this morning."
Consort Chun shook her head, "Let's forget about Consort Qu. Even if she wanted to harm Consort Shen, she wouldn't have had the chance to bribe the people in the kitchen."
Without money or connections, it's incredibly difficult to get by in the palace.
......
At this moment, inside the Lead Pavilion.
Qu Baolin is truly ill; the reason she got this illness is entirely due to her own actions.
She had intended to use her illness to curry favor with the emperor, planning to send someone to invite him over after the summer banquet... but what she received instead was news that Consort Shen had gone through a miscarriage.
Now she was both angry and anxious, and her illness worsened...
On the night of his return to the palace, the Emperor spent the night in Shujing Palace, accompanying Consort Shen.
The Emperor was quite annoyed, because tonight was Meng Shu's first night in Lingcui Palace. He had originally planned to summon Meng Shu back to Lingcui Palace to rest after the banquet, but this incident had happened instead.
Actually, half a piece of hawthorn cake wouldn't have affected the fetus, but Shen Jieyu became really greedy after becoming pregnant. She even drank a lot of milk tea and mint drinks at the banquet... In addition, she hadn't been feeling well these past few days, which caused her persistent abdominal pain.
On her first night at Cuiyu Hall, Meng Shu had Green Willow and Winter Melon keeping watch by her side, and she slept soundly all night, enjoying a very pleasant sleep.