Chapter 53: Disfigured Palace Maid vs. Cold-blooded Emperor
When the Queen saw Concubine Mei reaching for the plate of steamed bear paws with her chopsticks, she became more and more nervous.

But there was no stopping it.

Since Concubine Mei dared to take away her palace power, the Queen had long wanted to deal with her.

Now is a good time to deal with this woman.

The Queen wasn't afraid of being found out, since she had already asked Ruonan to clean up the mess.

There should be no clues left.

Thinking of this, the queen felt relieved.

She glanced at Yu Yao inconspicuously, her eyes sliding across her bulging belly, and a hint of pity flashed in her eyes.

It seems that I can only find another opportunity to take action.

Yu Yao ate the sumptuous dish in front of her slowly and leisurely, but her attention was on Concubine Mei.

Seeing that the first dish Concubine Mei ate was steamed bear paw with added ingredients, the corners of her mouth twitched.

She brought three dishes to Concubine Mei, but she refused to eat anything else and only went for the steamed bear paw.

But he didn't say anything.

Concubine Mei was not innocent. Someone dared to take advantage of the baby in her belly and even tried to make her die in childbirth. So don't blame her for fighting back.

Yu Yao secretly calculated the time when the drug would take effect.

After about a cup of tea.

Suddenly, a painful groan came from her ears.

Yu Yao instinctively looked towards Concubine Mei, and saw that she suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood.

"Ah... It hurts, help me, help me quickly..."

Concubine Mei fell to the ground and rolled around in pain, wailing.

"what…"

The sudden change frightened the timid concubines present and they screamed instantly, and the scene became a chaos.

Yu Yao was the closest, but she was a cultivator in her previous life and had long been accustomed to the life and death of mortals.

I have also experienced various horrific and bloody scenes.

Even though Concubine Mei was like this, she couldn't be scared.

Ye Beichen naturally noticed the movement here.

"What's going on?" he frowned and said in a deep voice.

The Queen's attention was originally on Concubine Mei. When she saw Concubine Mei vomiting blood and falling to the ground, she was also frightened.

The secret medicine she used was the Mother's Beauty, which at most would make the fetus strong and the mother weak.

Is it because Concubine Mei is not pregnant that the reaction is different?
Although the queen was also frightened, she quickly calmed down and took control of the situation.

"Come here, carry Concubine Mei to the Qunfang Garden in the Imperial Garden to rest."

"Qiuyu, you also go over there and serve your master!"

The Queen looked at Mei Fei's personal maid again.

"Yes, Queen!"

When Qiuyu saw Concubine Mei being carried away by several young eunuchs, she hurried over.

"Ruonan, send someone to get the imperial physician here immediately!"

The queen spoke to her personal maid again.

"Yes, Queen!"

Ruonan responded respectfully and went downstairs quickly.

"Stop standing, sit back down."

The queen looked at all the concubines present and spoke loudly again.

"Yes, Queen!"

The concubines took their seats.

In just a moment, the chaotic scene was under control of the Queen.

Ye Beichen didn't say anything, but just sat on the dragon throne with a serious expression.

After a while, Gu Yun, the director of the Imperial Hospital, hurried over with a medicine box.

"Your humble servant Gu Yungong wishes His Majesty the best of health and the Empress the best of health."

Ye Beichen waved his hands irritably, "No need to be polite, Director Gu is going to check on Concubine Mei!"

"The minister obeys the order."

Concubine Mei had been carried to the Qunfang Garden in the Imperial Garden and was lying there, but no one was living there.

This palace was mainly used by the imperial concubines to rest when they went out for fun. It was managed by the aunt of the imperial garden, and palace maids were arranged to come and clean it every day.

Gu Yuanzheng quickly entered the Qunfang Garden under the guidance of the palace maid.

About half an hour later, Gu Yuanzheng came out.

He knelt in front of Ye Beichen with a serious face and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Concubine Mei was poisoned by an extremely rare poison. The mother and son have returned."

"Mother and son return?" Ye Beichen frowned.

"Your Majesty, Zi Mu Gui is a strong poison specifically for pregnant women. If a pregnant woman is exposed to a little bit of it, both she and her child will die immediately. Mei Fei is not a pregnant woman, so although she will not die immediately, she will probably be bedridden in the future."

Gu Yuanzheng said again.

"What did you say? This is a rare and potent poison specifically for pregnant women?"

Ye Beichen stood up from the dragon throne in shock.

"Your Majesty, yes, but I would like to see the meal that Concubine Mei just had!"

Gu Yuanzheng said respectfully again.

"Fu'an, have Gu Yuanzheng check everything that Concubine Mei just ate."

Ye Beichen's face was extremely gloomy and his voice was extremely cold.

If he guessed correctly, the original target of the person who poisoned her should be Yao'er.

But somehow, the poison that Zi Mu Gui was given was accidentally ingested by Concubine Mei.

What Ye Beichen could think of, everyone naturally thought of as well.

Concubine Mei and Concubine Yao's seats were next to each other, and everyone saw it. Concubine Yao was the only pregnant woman in the entire harem.

The following is specifically for pregnant women.

So who else could be the target of the poison if not Concubine Yao?
I just don’t know who the person who poisoned the concubine is. He is so cruel that he wants to kill both Concubine Yao and Concubine Yao.

Everyone present looked at Yu Yao, with sympathy and pity...

Although the queen was shocked, she was also afraid at this moment.

This was totally different from what she had expected.

The poison she used was clearly the Mother-Thirsty Poison that weakens pregnant women, so how did it turn into the extremely rare and potent poison that brings Mother and Child back to the Earth?

Could it be that someone else also took action?
The queen's eyes casually swept across all the concubines present.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see any clues on anyone's face.

Eunuch Fu quickly took everything that Concubine Mei had eaten to Yuanzheng Gu for inspection.

Dean Gu took out a thin silver needle and checked the meals that Concubine Mei had eaten one by one.

Finally, something strange was discovered on the plate of steamed bear paws.

Dean Gu wrapped the silver needle, which was corroded and only half of it was left, in a handkerchief and put it aside.

Then he walked out of the crowd, faced Ye Beichen, and said with a serious face:
"Your Majesty, the problem is this plate of steamed bear paws. The deadly poison contained in this steamed bear paw is Zi Mu Gui."

Yu Yao knew it was her turn to perform. She pinched herself secretly and tears instantly burst out.

"Your Majesty, the steamed bear paw was originally on my table. I saw that the food on Mei Fei's table was cold, so I brought a few plates over. Who knew..."

When Yu Yao said this, she fell to her knees with a plop. With red eyes, she looked at Ye Beichen excitedly, "Your Majesty, someone wants to harm me. Please help me."

She wanted to kowtow twice more, but her belly was too big and she couldn't do it.

"Could it be that the Imperial Concubine knew that the bear paw was poisonous and gave it to Concubine Mei on purpose?"

The one who spoke was Yu Zhaoyi.

Yu Yao looked at Yu Zhaoyi and said coldly, "I don't understand pharmacology, so how can I know that the bear paw is poisonous?"

Although she did it on purpose, she certainly couldn't admit it.

Ye Beichen glanced at Yu Zhaoyi coldly and said unhappily, "Yu Zhaoyi, if you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb!"

When Yu Zhaoyi saw the emperor looking at her coldly, her face turned pale instantly and she didn't dare to speak anymore.

"My beloved concubine is pregnant again. The ground is cold. Stop kneeling and get up quickly!"

Ye Beichen withdrew his gaze from Yu Zhaoyi, walked over to Yu Yao, and saw that she was still kneeling on the ground.

He pulled her up from the ground and said with pity, "Don't worry, I will give you an explanation."

He spoke with absolute certainty and looked extremely serious.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yu Yao lowered her head slightly, her eyes were red, her voice was choked, and she looked very aggrieved.

Ye Beichen patted her gently.

Then he looked at Eunuch Fu beside him and said coldly, "Fu'an, go check it for me. I want to know who is so bold as to harm my beloved concubine and my son."

(End of this chapter)