tallest building

Chapter 378 Suffering a Vicious Attack

"This is just right for me, since Madam Wang only allows me to eat soup and porridge anyway." With that thought, Ying Shan took out the bowl and sat down at the table to eat.

Xiaoyue woke up when he was halfway through his meal.

"Second Young Master, when did you arrive?" Xiaoyue quickly stood up. "I heard you've been sick these past few days. Are you feeling better?"

“I came to play with Brother Chang’an,” Ying Shan said, putting down her bowl. “I was really hungry, so I ate the porridge on the table.”

"It's alright, Fourth Young Master is asleep anyway, it's a waste for the porridge to go cold." Xiaoyue took out her handkerchief and wiped his mouth. "I'll go get you a bowl of water!"

The teapot in the inner room was empty; there was no water inside.

Xiaoyue then went to the outer room to pour water.

Only half a cup of water had been poured when Ying Shan cried out from the inner room, "My stomach hurts so much!"

"Did you catch a cold when you came, Second Young Master?" Xiaoyue asked hurriedly. "Drink some hot water, and I'll rub it for you!"

She hurriedly brought in the water and saw Ying Shan lying on the ground, clutching her stomach.

"Does it hurt that badly?" Xiaoyue was also startled.

"It hurts so much! My stomach hurts so much!" Ying Shan rolled around on the ground in pain.

Gong Chang'an was also woken up. He sat up and asked, "What's wrong?"

At this moment, several palace maids from the outer room also crowded in.

Xiaoyue, holding Yingshan, saw that he was covered in sweat from the pain and quickly said, "Stop crowding around him, go and call the imperial physician to take a look!"

Just as two palace maids were about to leave, Su Qingyun walked in.

"Doctor Su, that's wonderful! Come quickly and take a look at the Second Young Master," Xiaoyue said anxiously. "His stomach is hurting terribly."

Su Qingyun rushed forward and exclaimed in alarm upon seeing Ying Shan's symptoms. She pried open his eyelids to examine him, then picked up his hand to look at his fingernails, and even brought it close to his mouth to smell it.

"This is arsenic poisoning. What did he just eat?" Su Qingyun asked sternly.

"Ah?!" Xiaoyue was stunned when she heard this. She paused for a moment before pointing to the bowl on the table and saying, "It's this bowl of water chestnut soup! It was originally brought to our fourth young master by Eunuch Zhao, but he was asleep and didn't eat it. Just now, the second young master came over and took half a bowl for himself."

"Keep an eye on that bowl of porridge, and don't let anyone touch it!" Su Qingyun didn't have time to check the bowl of porridge at that moment.

"Quickly bring me plenty of clean water!" He thought that Ying Shan had just eaten, and inducing vomiting was the most effective method at this time.

"Second Young Master, you have to bear it and open your mouth wide." Su Qingyun picked up Ying Shan horizontally and used his hand to urge him to vomit.

Ying Shan spat out two mouthfuls, but the vomit already contained traces of blood.

Xiaoyue and the others were terrified. Gong Chang'an shouted, "Go and fetch another imperial physician! Bring the antidote!"

Su Qingyun forced Ying Shan to drink a large amount of water and tried to induce vomiting again, but Ying Shan was too young, and he had been sick for the past two days, so there was nothing in his stomach.

After swallowing this bowl of porridge laced with arsenic, it was like a tiger entering a sheepfold.

"Mother! Mother! I want my mother! My stomach hurts." Ying Shan was in so much pain that she instinctively looked for her mother.

He hadn't seen his mother since entering the palace and missed her every day. But his mother told him that he couldn't keep thinking about his parents while in the palace, so he gradually suppressed it, though he still missed them in his heart.

Then Physician Wu and others arrived. There was still about half a bottle of the powdered rhinoceros horn that had been used to detoxify Feng Tianzhu last time, which they all forced down Ying Shan's throat. The commotion naturally alerted everyone in the palace.

People were spreading rumors that something had happened at Mingjing Palace.

At this moment, Yu Lu was serving the Empress. The Empress ate the water chestnut soup in her bowl in small bites: "Fresh water chestnuts are indeed fragrant and soft and sticky."

"If Your Majesty likes it, let's ask them to make it again in a few days." Yu Lu knew that even if the Empress liked something very much, she wouldn't eat it every meal; she would at least wait two days.

This can be considered an unwritten rule.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something has happened at Mingjing Palace!" Chunying walked in, her face pale. "I heard people outside saying that someone has been poisoned."

"Who has been poisoned?" the Empress asked hastily upon hearing this.

"Is it the Fourth Young Master Gong?" Yu Lu asked.

"It seems...so it is," Chunying said. "I heard them talking about that child, that child. Mingjing Palace only has one child, isn't it the Fourth Young Master Gong?"

"You may leave now!" The Empress had already noticed. "Tell them to quiet down. What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling like this?"

"Yes." Chunying blushed as well, realizing that she herself had been flustered and rather unladylike just now.

"Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your orders without fail," Yu Lu said with a mixture of pride and flattery after Chunying left.

"Did you do this?" The Empress gave him an approving look.

"This servant has been keeping an eye on things for several days, and today I finally found a good opportunity." Yu Lu explained how he went to the imperial kitchen to get the water chestnut soup, went to a secluded place to poison it, and then pretended to twist his ankle so that Zhao Changming would carry him. He took the opportunity to switch the two bowls of water chestnut soup, and the poisoned bowl ended up in Zhao Changming's hands.

"Hmm, this matter was handled quite well. Although they may suspect you, they have no evidence after all." The Queen smiled. "Don't worry, no one will dare to do anything to you."

Then, still somewhat worried, she asked, "Did you use enough poison? What if they have to save you later?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant has given him a very generous amount," Yu Lu said. "Once he takes it, even a god couldn't save him."

"I wonder if Wen Mingqian has received the news yet?" The Empress knew that Wen Mingqian was not in Mingjing Palace, but had gone to Princess Duanmin's place.

“I didn’t know before, but how could I not know after such a big commotion? Besides, someone will definitely tell her.” Yu Lu suppressed the slight glimmer of conscience that arose within him. He had no choice but to obey the Empress’s orders.

"Yu Lu, you have done very well. I will not treat you unfairly." The Empress raised her hand and patted Yu Lu's shoulder.

"As long as Your Majesty is happy, I would gladly go through fire and water for you, and I do not need any reward," Yu Lu hurriedly said.

Wen Mingqian naturally heard the news at this time and rushed back.

When she returned to Mingjing Palace, Ying Shan was already on the verge of death.

"Second Young Master, Second Young Master, how are you?" Wen Mingqian was extremely distressed. Ying Shan was only seven years old. How could this be the end for her?

"Consort Wen, this is of utmost importance." Su Qingyun was covered in dirt from saving people, but he didn't care. "The Second Young Master was poisoned by the porridge in this room. You must report this immediately!"

Wen Mingqian naturally understood what he meant: someone had poisoned Gong Chang'an, but Ying Shan had mistakenly eaten it.

They were very careful; anything Gong Chang'an was about to put in his mouth had to be tested with a silver needle beforehand.

Therefore, even if someone deliberately poisoned him, Gong Chang'an would not easily fall victim to it.

Poor Ying Shan was completely unprepared and fell victim to this heinous act.