Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 126: Someone Poisoned the Incense Burner

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Someone Poisoned the Incense Burner

Li Huaixi saw her pointing the finger at herself and glared at her fiercely.

She was here to pick faults, indeed, but who would be foolish enough to say such a thing in front of everyone.

In the harem, although people fought with each other, no one dared to bring such matters to the forefront.

By saying this, Qi Yu, if she did anything further, would it not prove her intent to harm the Princess?

Li Huaixi was just a teenage girl and had not developed the thick skin of Qi Anran; being spoken to in such a way, she felt somewhat unable to stand it.

Qi Yu had no shame, but she needed to maintain hers.

Moreover, who knew how this person might complain to the Emperor Brother after returning to the Prince Residence? She was not foolish enough to openly start a conflict with Qi Yu in front of everyone.

Having thought it through, Li Huaixi no longer made things difficult for Qi Yu. With a light snort, she returned to the Empress’s side and sat down quietly.

Qi Yu, her finger sticking to the teacup, thought to herself with a light chuckle, it seems that the little princess isn’t beyond help, she still knows to save face.

However, Li Huaixi was at most an appetizer; her real enemy was the Empress sitting in the main seat.

In the harem, the Empress was supreme. Qi Yu could be rude to the Noble Consort, but she could not outright disrespect the Empress.

If the Empress wished to punish her, she probably would just have to accept it.

Qi Yu cursed inwardly, but her face still smiled as she said to the Empress, "Empress may not be aware, my mother has been sick these past few days, and the Prince is concerned, so he specifically sent me to check on her."

Upon hearing these seemingly majestic words, the Empress wanted to point directly at her nose and curse her shamelessness.

The Noble Consort had been sick for several days; she neither came early nor late, but precisely today when she sent someone to invite her.

With a cold face, the Empress asked, "Is the Prince Consort insinuating that this palace lacks compassion?"

Qi Yu had already prepared her response, and upon hearing this, she replied, "Your son has no such intention. It’s just that mother’s illness came abruptly, and I couldn’t rest easy, so I thought of visiting her first."

"What’s so abrupt about it?" Li Huaixi heard this and almost laughed in anger, "She merely caught a cold, and the Imperial Physician has seen her several times. The filial piety of the Prince Consort sure is timely!"

Qi Yu was waiting for this exact response. Raising her eyebrows slightly, she then sent someone to move the incense burner out of the Noble Consort’s room, pointing to it and said, "Princess might not know, my mother said she’s been feeling dizzy and sleepy lately, and also nauseous. These do not seem like symptoms of a cold, so I went to her room to check and suspected there’s something wrong with this incense burner."

"What’s wrong with it?" Li Huaixi was no longer entangled with her clever talk that diverted the Empress’s accusations. She too was curious about what mysteries this ordinary-looking incense burner might hold.

The Empress, however, felt something was amiss.

But before she could figure it out, she heard Qi Yu say, "I suspect someone has poisoned the incense burner."

"What?" Qi Anran was startled and blurted out.

She had always carried a packet of poison with her, just never found the opportunity. Suddenly hearing such a statement from Qi Yu, her heart rate increased sharply.

If there really was poison in the incense burner, even if she didn’t place it, it might still be traced back to her.

Qi Yu had originally planned to have the Empress deal with the Noble Consort, but she didn’t expect an extra windfall.

She accidentally uncovered another secret.

She turned her head, looked at the frightened Qi Anran, tugged at the corner of her mouth, and smiled, "Why are you so panicked, sister?"

Seeing that everyone’s eyes were turning towards her, Qi Anran composed herself and said with difficulty, "I was just thinking, how could someone dare to poison in the palace."

Qi Yu, seeing her so frightened that she could hardly speak fluently, did not expose her.

Soon, when the Noble Consort arrived, she would let them fight like dogs, killing two birds with one stone.

By now, the Empress also realized that she was likely being manipulated, and she rebuked, "How do you know that someone has poisoned it?"

Qi Yu was calm and collected as she produced a silver needle from her sleeve.

This was the same needle she had used earlier to test for poison, and it had come in handy.

She waved the silver needle in front of everyone, pointing to the part at the base that had turned black, and said, "I have already tested for poison with this silver needle. There is indeed something wrong with the ash under the incense burner."

The Empress was also frightened. She had thought Qi Yu was merely talking nonsense but hadn’t expected her to actually produce a silver needle.

With the evidence now undeniable, she had no choice but to send someone to the Imperial Hospital to summon the Imperial Physician.

The Imperial Physician arrived with the Noble Consort.

Having heard rumors in the harem, she had rushed over without fully understanding the situation.

It was she who had bribed a maid close to the Noble Consort to administer the poison.

However, the dosage was very slight; it required a continuous administration over a year to be fatal.

Why had it been exposed so quickly?

The Noble Consort suppressed her inner doubts, entered the hall, and greeted the Empress and the Noble Consort, "I was just planning to visit Sister Noble Consort when I heard something had happened, so I hurried over."

Now that the Noble Consort knew she was the one who had poisoned her, she had nothing but disdain for her. Hearing this, she didn’t nod or acknowledge it at all.

The Empress knew the moment the Noble Consort haughtily rushed in that it was likely her who had administered the poison.

The Noble Consort was arrogant and troublesome, a thorn in her side.

She had long wanted to get rid of that wretched An Ruoya.

But she had no sons herself and only a daughter, Huaixi, while the Noble Consort had Prince An as her protector.

As long as Prince An stood firm, she couldn’t act against An Ruoya even if she wanted to.

After waiting for over a decade, she finally saw the opportunity when Prince An was losing his influence.

Today, she had invited Qi Yu to the palace, hoping to enlist her help in eliminating the Noble Consort.

Prince An and Prince Qi had always been at odds, and now, her greatest potential ally was Qi Yu.

Yet, Qi Yu’s attitude had made it clear that she would not join forces with her.

Just when she thought she was at a dead end, this person had delivered a big gift to her.

Was it intentional or unintentional?

The Empress glanced at Qi Yu, who was amusing herself with a little monk beside her, not even glancing her way, and the slight goodwill that had risen in her heart disappeared.

Indeed, a concubine not fit to be seen in public.

She glanced at Qi Anran beside her, sighing inwardly at the lost opportunity. If only she had a son, she would have already sought to win Qi Anran over.

The daughter of the Prime Minister, her status far surpassed that of those insignificant ladies from prominent families in the capital city.

But Qi Wei was Prince An’s man, and Qi Anran had already been promised to Prince An in marriage.

Although that old fox Qi Wei had already been secretly cutting ties with Prince An, as long as Prince An lived, Qi Anran would still belong to Prince An Residence.

The Empress’s thoughts circled back around just as the Imperial Physician had finished testing the ash in the incense burner.

The Imperial Physician presented a blackened silver needle and said, "To report back to the Empress, I have indeed detected Love Potion in the incense burner."