tallest building

Chapter 224 Poisonous Green Tangerine

In autumn, various places in the south began to offer tributes such as Buddha's Hand citrus and green tangerines.

These were the most popular items for offerings in the Empress's palace, especially green tangerines, which the Empress loved most.

On this day, Wen Mingqian went to the Empress's palace and saw a large plate of green tangerines on the table in front of the Empress, and the whole room was filled with the unique fragrance of green tangerines.

“These days I’ve been sleeping soundly with the incense you made. Besides, autumn is my favorite season,” the Empress said. “You must remember the best time of year, when oranges are yellow and tangerines are green.”

"Your Majesty is in such good spirits these days," Wen Mingqian said, "just like the weather outside."

"Yes, the autumn air is crisp and refreshing, and I feel refreshed as well," the Empress said with great pleasure. "If only it could last forever."

“Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune; every day from now on will surely be a good day,” Wen Mingqian said.

"I'll share some of these green tangerines with you. Take them inside and leave them there." The Empress played with a green tangerine in her hand, occasionally bringing it to her nose to sniff. "I really think this smells the best in the world."

Wen Mingqian thanked the Empress for the reward, chatted with her for a few more minutes, and then withdrew.

The young palace maid placed the plate of green tangerines bestowed by the Empress into Wen Mingqian's room, saying repeatedly, "Madam Wen, you have quite the nerve. The Empress doesn't usually bestow these green tangerines upon others."

Wen Mingqian just smiled and didn't say anything. She didn't like the scent of the green tangerines, but she couldn't show it in front of others.

Just like how she actually loathed the Empress, yet showed it without revealing it at all.

In fact, these green tangerines were originally ordinary items, but because the Empress liked them, their value increased dramatically, and they became rare items in the palace.

Wen Mingqian reached out and picked up a green tangerine, slowly playing with it in his hand.

As he pondered her thoughts, he gradually became engrossed.

When she came to her senses again and put the green tangerine down, her hands were already covered in the scent of tangerines.

Wen Mingqian rubbed his hands together, and his brows furrowed slightly involuntarily.

This taste...

She hesitated for a moment, then smelled it carefully again.

Something is wrong!
Wen Mingqian is a master of incense making and has an exceptional sensitivity to fragrance.

It can clearly distinguish different kinds of fragrances, and even within the same type of fragrance, it can differentiate between strong and weak, new and old.

Of course, you can also tell whether the fragrance is pure or impure by smell.

She could faintly smell another scent mixed in with the aroma of the green tangerines. This scent was not a common one; it had an inexplicable strangeness, and smelling it for too long would give one an inexplicable feeling of unease.

Wen Mingqian picked up another green tangerine, brought it close to his nose, and smelled it; it still had that strange smell.

The aroma of the green tangerine is actually quite strong, with that strange smell mixed in, almost imperceptible. If it weren't for a perfumery master like Wen Mingqian, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

Of course, even she had to get close to tell the difference.

If it weren't for the coincidence that the Empress bestowed this plate of green tangerines upon her today, she wouldn't have noticed it.

Wen Mingqian took the orange to the window and examined it carefully in the sunlight. He noticed that there seemed to be faint light brown powder in some of the textures of the orange peel, which meant that someone had tampered with it.

Looking at her hands, one could vaguely see traces, but only to the point of being noticeable only to those who were paying attention. Clearly, someone had smeared something on the tangerines.

Wen Mingqian carefully brushed each orange with a brush, some more powdery than others. The final brushing removed a thin layer of powder from the oranges, leaving a dusty residue on the plate.

Wen Mingqian sprinkled some water on it, then took a silver needle to test it, and it immediately turned black.

Just as she had expected, the substance was poisonous.

Who poisoned the Empress?

That person has some nerve!
"Mother!" Just as Wen Mingqian was pondering, Gong Chang'an walked in.

Wen Mingqian quietly hid the silver needles and asked him, "Where did you come from?"

"I was listening to the Master's lecture when it ended." Gong Chang'an sat down and started sneezing. "Why are there oranges in this room? I hate the smell the most."

“These were a gift from the Empress. If you don’t like the smell, you might as well put them away!” Wen Mingqian said, taking a cloth bag and putting all the oranges inside.

"I miss Zhang Ma. It's been so long since I've had her cooking," Gong Chang'an pouted. "When will she be able to come to the palace?"

“If you miss him, go see him whenever you can leave the palace,” Wen Mingqian said. “He probably can’t come in anytime soon.”

“Mother, let’s hurry up,” Gong Chang’an said. “I feel like I’m just wasting my days in the palace.”

“Chang’an, if you have some free time, you might as well try to visit Consort Yun’s palace.” Wen Mingqian advised him, “It’s not convenient for me, I’m afraid the Empress will be unhappy if she finds out. You are a child, it’s fine for you to go there occasionally.”

“I haven’t even seen Consort Yun since I entered the palace,” Gong Chang’an said. “I heard the Empress doesn’t like her.”

“Consort Yun has been claiming illness and has not left the palace, which the Empress has tacitly accepted. It’s just that she was close to her sister back then, and after her sister’s accident, you can imagine her situation,” Wen Mingqian sighed. “Now that we’re entering the palace, we can’t bring anyone with us due to our status, so we can only slowly find help here.”

Aunt Zhang did mention a few people to me, but so many years have passed, and people's hearts are fickle, so I have to test them one by one.

In my opinion, Consort Yun is the most reliable among these people. If she had taken advantage of their misfortune like the others, she wouldn't be so disliked by the Empress.

"I understand, Mother. If a suitable opportunity arises, I will definitely go," Gong Chang'an nodded.

"Why weren't you with those two princes today?" Wen Mingqian asked him.

“They had a bit of a falling out,” Gong Chang’an said. “Didn’t we say before that we should stir up a conflict between them?”

In fact, the two of them have gotten along quite well in recent years and have hardly ever quarreled. The reason for this is that the Crown Prince of Chu has always yielded to the Crown Prince of Zhao.

Ultimately, the Zhao family held greater power, and Ying Tong had a closer relationship with the Queen. The Chu family, naturally aware of this, deliberately avoided the limelight.

“Yes, if things continue like this, nothing will be stirred up. As the saying goes, ‘a storm begins with a ripple,’ and conflicts are gradually built up,” Wen Mingqian said. “The most important thing is to ignite the competitive spirit of the King of Chu’s son. As long as he is willing to compete, that’s fine.”

Wen Mingqian and the others had already analyzed this before. The Empress's family was very powerful and influential, with the Prince of Zhao and the Prince of Chu being the right-hand men of the Dong family.

We must find a way to eliminate them one by one.

The best course of action is to let them kill each other, so as not to involve too many innocent people, and to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"If you ask me, it's not difficult. Ying Bai is a very arrogant person," Gong Chang'an said. "I'll find the right opportunity to stir things up for him."

"Then you must remember not to make it too obvious, or people will notice something amiss," Wen Mingqian advised him. "Don't be impatient; you have to take things one step at a time."