tallest building

Su Qingyun returned to the Imperial Hospital, and Chen Feng came to find him just over an hour later.

"Physician Su, you should go and take a look! The dog has indeed started too." Chen Feng's face was very grim. "The symptoms of the other patients are getting worse and worse. Even though Physician Zhang has already given them acupuncture, it still can't be stopped."

“In that case, there’s no need for me to go and check. To be honest, once it’s ingested, it’s incurable.” Su Qingyun shook his head. “Or perhaps I’m just not knowledgeable enough. You could ask Judge Wu and the others if they have a better solution.”

"Huh? How could this happen?!" Chen Feng's face turned ashen.

"I'm only responsible for treating patients; other matters are not my concern," Su Qingyun said.

Chen Feng didn't say anything more and walked out.

He knew this was no small matter, so he quickly summoned his apprentice and sent him out of the palace to inform the King of Chu and his queen.

Upon hearing the news, the Princess of Chu hurriedly entered the palace and first went to pay her respects to the Empress: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for my hasty entry into the palace today. I heard that several palace servants in Bai'er's palace suffered from diarrhea last night, and the imperial physicians were helpless, fearing that the illness might have been passed on to him."

"How could the imperial physicians not be able to cure such a common ailment as diarrhea?" The Empress was also puzzled. "You go and take a look first. I will call the imperial physicians over after I finish what I'm doing and ask them in detail."

Ying Bai was surprised to see his mother: "Why are you here? I didn't hear that you were going to the palace."

"Silly child, you have no idea what happened!" Princess Chu held her son's hand, feeling a lingering fear. "The people in your palace suffered from diarrhea after eating your food. What if you had eaten it yourself..."

"Your Highness, I was afraid of frightening the young master, so I didn't tell him the truth." At this moment, Chen Feng walked over. "Those people don't even have the strength to speak now, and several imperial physicians have tried to help them."

"Mother, what exactly happened?" Ying Bai pressed, "Last night's dinner..."

"That food was poisoned!" said the Princess of Chu. "It's a good thing you didn't eat it, otherwise you would be the one lying on the ground now."

"Someone poisoned my food?!" Ying Bai was naturally terrified. "Who did it? Have they found out?"

"If we don't investigate, who else could it be?" Princess Chu sneered. "Now they can't hold back anymore, so they've simply turned on you. How despicable!"

"You mean King Zhao and his men?" Ying Bai asked, his eyes wide. "They want to poison me?"

“The Prince of Zhao and the Dong family are used to being arrogant and domineering; no one has ever dared to confront them. You’ve stolen Ying Tong’s thunder several times; they’ve been itching to get their hands on you for a long time.” The Princess of Chu’s voice trembled. “You must come with me to see Princess Duanmin. I know she genuinely cares for you. She spoke to me at home the other day, sharing many heartfelt words. Even if we complain to the Empress first, it will be useless. The Empress is in cahoots with them; how could she possibly speak on our side?!”

Then he led his son to find Princess Duanmin and King Fenye.

"Why did Your Highness come to the palace today? You didn't tell me beforehand. If I had known, I would have prepared roasted mutton for you," Princess Duanmin said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, the Princess of Chu pushed her son and said, "Quickly kneel down before the princess and the prince!"

"What's wrong? Get up quickly, child." Princess Domi was very surprised and hurriedly tried to help Ying Bai up.

“Princess, we women have no other choice but to beg you.” Princess Chu said this and then burst into tears. “This child is lucky to be alive, otherwise he would have been killed.” Then she cried and recounted the whole story.

"Is...is this true?" Princess Duanmin asked hesitantly. "Do His Majesty and the Empress know about it?"

Princess Chu shook her head: "I didn't dare to tell the Empress directly, Princess. Think about it, who else in this palace would dare to lay a hand on Bai'er? And who could possibly be in his way?"

“It’s not appropriate to say that the food was poisoned now, but we haven’t found out who poisoned it,” Princess Duanmin said. “The Emperor and Empress are the most powerful people in the palace, and things can’t be resolved without their involvement.”

“I know that, of course, but I am all alone and helpless. I beg the princess to help me,” said the Princess of Chu, wiping away her tears. “Otherwise, we will truly have no way to survive.”

"Alright then! I'll invite my aunt over too, and we'll discuss this further first." Princess Duanmin, of course, knew that this was a serious matter and could not be taken lightly.

The King of Chu learned of this matter, but it was inconvenient for him to enter the palace. He asked his queen to go into the palace first to assess the situation before discussing anything else.

She then went to see Mr. Hua Ying and told him about it.

After hearing this, Mr. Hua Ying said, "The Prince of Zhao has already resorted to desperate measures. If Your Highness can secure the engagement between the Crown Prince and Princess Fenye, more court officials will likely be inclined to support you. In that case, we can break ties with the Prince of Zhao and expose his shameful deeds."

“Indeed, this trouble is bound to happen sooner or later,” said the King of Chu. “I think it’s best to hurry, before Dong Yannian and the others return.”

Just then, the steward rushed in, shouting, "Your Highness, Mr. Huaying, something terrible has happened! The people we were hiding on the estate have escaped last night!"

"How could we let them escape? Where are the guards?!" King Chu stood up abruptly in anger and questioned the steward.

"Several of those who were watching... have died or been injured..." The steward lowered his head. "It must be that people from Prince Zhao's side found out where they were and took advantage of the darkness..."

"What are we going to do?" The King of Chu turned pale and slumped into his chair. "Our most important evidence is gone..."

“Those people are very well hidden. Unless a traitor leaks the information, it’s unlikely that they can be found out,” Mr. Hua Ying said. “Now that things have come to this, we should think of a solution. We must not lose heart.”

"What do you suggest we do, sir?" The King of Chu placed all his hopes on Hua Ying. "My mind is a complete mess right now, I really don't know what to do."

His talent was only average. If it weren't for Mr. Hua Ying's advice and strategies, how would he have had the courage to confront the King of Zhao?

“Let’s start with what’s happening in the palace. Since someone poisoned the Crown Prince, let’s make a big deal out of it,” Hua Ying said. “Even though the person has escaped, we still have the account books, which are still useful to us.”

At lunchtime, the Queen Consort of Chu finally came out of the palace, and the King of Chu hurriedly asked her how she was doing.

“Bai’er is lucky this time. Those palace maids’ diarrhea just wouldn’t stop, even Imperial Physician Wu had to help. I went to Princess Duanmin, and Princess Duanmin went to the Eldest Princess. We haven’t told the Empress and the others the truth yet. I came back to discuss with you how to handle this properly. If we tell the Empress directly, she will definitely find a way to suppress it.” Princess Chu’s face was also very grim. “That Physician Su Qingyun from the Imperial Hospital was the first to discover it; he’s a good person.” (End of Chapter)