Too high to reach

Chapter 383 There are no losers
The Emperor is preparing for the palace examination.

Several questions had been selected long ago, but only at this point was one finally chosen.

The eunuch Xiao Fuzi brought up a tray with one Twenty-Four Flavor Pill and a bowl of specially prepared medicinal ingredients...

Chief Steward Liu laughed and said, "Your Majesty, from today onwards, you will have to take the Twenty-Four Flavor Pills again."

The Emperor hummed in agreement.

Xiao Fuzi placed the tray down, took out the pills, and showed them to the head steward.

The chief steward took it to check if the seal was intact, then turned around and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor didn't look at it and waved his hand dismissively.

Chief Steward Liu handed it to the palace maid beside him. The maid washed her hands, prepared the medicine, rolled it into small pills, and placed them in a small dish.

It was placed in front of the Emperor, and then the medicinal ingredient was brought over.

The emperor picked it up, about to drink it.

"Your Majesty! Stop! Stop! Don't eat!" A shrill cry rang out from the doorway.

The people in the room were startled. The emperor's hand, which was holding the medicine, trembled so much that he almost dropped it.

Turning around, I saw the Empress Dowager, who was rushing over with a worried expression, and even tripped as she stepped over the threshold.

"Mother... what's wrong?"

Judging from the scene, the Empress Dowager had run all the way from the main gate, panting and sweating profusely. She urgently presented her evidence: "Your Majesty, I had a nightmare yesterday. I dreamt that your usual Twenty-Four Flavor Pills had been switched with poison! The scene was so vivid, it felt like it was real!"

Inside the room, no one spoke; you could hear a pin drop.

The emperor stared at the pills being rolled into small balls with a gloomy look in his eyes... and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Meanwhile, Xiao Fuzi, who was getting the medicine, thought to herself: "My God, how could this be... Someone changed the medicine, someone lit it! What kind of freaks are these! They're practically trying to kill me!"

He knelt down with a thud, trembling and unable to speak.

The Emperor stared at the pills for a long time, remaining relatively calm. "Mother, please don't be anxious. Sit down and tell me slowly."

The Empress Dowager sat down, recalling: "I dreamt of a man in black who sneaked in while the storeroom attendant was asleep and switched the medicine. Oh my, the movements and the scene were just like I saw it with my own eyes."

When I woke up, I was covered in sweat and realized it was a dream. I thought: maybe my hand was pressing on my chest, which caused the nightmare. I didn't take it too seriously. The Empress Dowager looked shaken: "This morning, when the imperial physician came to check on your health, I told him about this. As a result, the physician said that your previous medicine had been used up. From today onwards, you should start taking the Twenty-Four Flavor Pill again."

I thought to myself, "How could this be such a coincidence? Better safe than sorry!" So I rushed over... "Your Majesty, this matter may not be true. But since we've dreamt of it, let's be careful and have it checked!"

After listening, the Emperor showed no expression and asked the kneeling eunuch, "Xiao Fuzi, you've always been in charge of the medicine. What do you have to say?"

Xiao Fuzi was terrified and quickly kowtowed, pleading, "Your Majesty, I have been guarding your medicine for seven years without a single mistake. I guarantee that this medicine is absolutely safe. If there is even the slightest error, I am willing to be torn to pieces!"

"You dog of a servant!" the Empress Dowager pointed at him and cursed, "Even if you were skinned alive, you wouldn't be worth a single hair of the Emperor's head!"

The eunuch cried, "Your Majesty, the Emperor... really has no problem at all! This servant will eat it immediately! We can even ask someone from the Imperial Hospital to check."

The Emperor leaned back. "Summon the entire Imperial Medical Academy. Little Fu, have you thought this through? What if something goes wrong..."

"Your Majesty, if anything is found out, you may kill this servant!"

The Empress Dowager sneered inwardly, "Of course you don't know anything about this. You were even snoring when they changed your dressing!"
I wonder what the Empress is like now...

What is the Empress like? Today, her people are keeping a close eye on the Emperor's medication.

So the moment the Empress Dowager stepped forward, she found out and was shocked…

This is definitely not a good thing! Did the old woman find out?

impossible.

...How long did you plan this? You thought of every single detail, how could something unexpected still happen?
Unable to hold back her tears, she almost had someone inform the Crown Prince to flee.

However... she thought again, even if they find out, they probably won't be able to find me, right?
Oh no, I still have something in my hands... The imperial physicians arrived very quickly. Standing in the courtyard, the Emperor himself came out to give the orders.

“Go to the pharmacy and check all the medications. Check them alternately. If something passes your test but you didn’t notice the problem… and someone else finds out, not only you, but your entire family will be dragged out and beheaded!”

The imperial physicians went there with trepidation.

The young eunuch knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, you are going to use the Twenty-Four Flavor Pills today. Once they have been inspected, they cannot be used."

A glint of light flashed in the Emperor's eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, this servant reminds you that we must send someone to fetch the medicine from the treasury immediately, lest we miss today's medicine!"

cut……

The emperor was startled.

The Empress still had the prepared pills in her hand. She personally crushed them, dissolved them in water, and had a palace maid take them out, pretending to water the flowers, scattering them in the water. Then, she diluted them with plenty of water... and there wasn't a trace left...

Only then did I relax a little.

For the rest of the day, the imperial physician did nothing but search the entire storeroom, break open and examine all the pills, and even taste them…

The imperial physician tasted almost all the pills.

The result was: there were no problems.

Even the pill in front of the Emperor is...

The Empress Dowager was puzzled: How could this be? Where did things go wrong?

This was done by her people and the people of Prince Yong'an.

The first to sense something was amiss were her people, followed by the Yong'an Prince's subordinates. Otherwise, her men wouldn't have gotten so close without being detected. That person clearly stated they saw the man in black changing his bandages…

After hearing the result, even the emperor was speechless...

The Empress Dowager was embarrassed: "Emperor... Oh dear, look at this... This is my fault! I've been too concerned about you, and my concern has clouded my judgment. I'm so sorry."

After regaining his composure, the Emperor looked at the mess in the pharmacy and suddenly realized that one could never be too careful when it came to medicine.

This sudden investigation is actually a good thing.

So he said gently, "It's alright. The Empress Dowager is only thinking of me. It's just that some medicine was lost, nothing serious... It's good to have it checked out."

Empress Dowager Qian said a few more words, then slunk away.

After the Empress Dowager left, the Emperor looked at Xiao Fuzi, who was still kneeling on the ground. "Alright, this is just a reminder to you. Don't slack off now that you've been working for so long. Have someone clean up quickly. And replenish all these medicines as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, you should rest now! Use the medicine as soon as it's brought back. There's the palace examination tomorrow! You need to select your disciples and the top scholar..." he rambled on.

"Alright! Enough with the nonsense? You're usually a meticulous worker, and you've certainly been frightened today. One promotion, one hundred taels of silver!"

Xiao Fuzi was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to kowtow, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

The Empress sat helplessly in the palace. Had she just seen the first light of dawn, only to be plunged back into darkness? She felt as if she were already being slowly tortured to death…

It felt like an eternity had passed before someone finally came to report: the Empress Dowager had returned, the people who went to the Western Hills to fetch medicine had left, and the imperial physicians had also departed.

The house was being cleaned, and medicine was being replenished again. Little Fuzi, having received a reward, grinned widely and ran around.

It's alright...

The Empress was initially shocked, then overjoyed, and slumped into her chair...

But why?
The Empress Dowager returned to her room, only to be met with great joy followed by shock...

She was also asking herself, why is this happening?
There are no losers in this matter...