"At ease." The Emperor ordered the kneeling servants to make way for the physician.
Gao Ling stepped forward and examined the Empress' pulse. The Emperor, however, remained at the Empress's side and only exchanged glances with Gao Ling from where he stood.
Gao Ling examined the pale hand and placed a silk handkerchief to cover it. After a while, he placed his fingers and carefully read the pulse. His forehead creased occasionally when he detected the inconsistent beat and secretly inserted a needle in Ning Lou's vein. Gao Ling, noticing the old woman was in the middle of a conversation with a palace maid, shot the Emperor a glance and quickly nodded. Then he retrieved his hand and hid the needle in his sleeve, unnoticed.
Having known the Empress' condition, Gao Ling curtsied and asked the anxious old woman, "May I ask what the Empress' consume?" Then he swiftly threw the Emperor another glance.
"Grandmother, I will..." The Emperor tried to intervene.
"Someone bring that servant inside!" The Empress Dowager spoke to the mamas at the back. One of them scurried off and fetched the crying Xiao Qu, currently being detained by two eunuchs outside.
The Emperor held the unsaid words.
The mama came back along with the group of three.
"Your Majesty, she's the one who prepared the Empress' meal." The mama pointed to Xiao Qu, then lowered her head.
The two eunuchs pushed Xiao Qu to the ground. Xiao Qu even ignored everyone and only cried. Her face was smeared by tears and was pitifully being pressed by two men. She continued to mumble her plea of innocence, and the mamas felt some pity for her as well as Tang-mama, but no one spoke for her case.
"This slave didn't do anything. This slave is innocent. This slave really didn't do anything." Xiao Qu mumbled repeatedly.
One of the eunuchs slapped her, stopping Xiao Qu's pleas, and grabbed her chin with force.
"What happened here?" The coldness seemingly spread across the whole room as the old woman approached Xiao Qu. It was known to the people in the Phoenix Pavilion that Ning Lou was the Empress Dowager's bottom line.
"Niang Niang vomited blood after eating the soup, but... cough." Xiao Qu had trouble continuing due to the eunuch's hand.
The eunuch, after receiving a nod from the old woman, loosened his hold a bit to let Xiao Qu take a breath.
"Continue." None of them even dared to breathe and did their best to minimize their presence. The little girl's pleading didn't draw much mercy from the old woman.
"This slave is innocent," Xiao Qu sobbed and said.
Having lost her patience, the old woman slapped Xiao Qu on her own and tremblingly held the servant's hair. "What happened?" Even when the physician didn't conclude his findings, the old woman who lived in the palace and had experienced the Harem's monstrosity got the gist of what happened. Xiao Qu felt her scalp aching and was afraid of the unfamiliar old woman in front of her. Back in the day, this woman would always put on an amiable smile when she stayed at the Empress quarters. But now, just because of one event, she has turned into someone who can kill a person with just a glance. Her heart leaped into her throat.
The servants inside retreated even further at the Empress Dowager's sudden outburst. The Emperor sent a signal to Gao Ling. Gao Ling, on the other hand, managed to divert the Dowager's attention.
"Grandmother, it is better to..."
"You, unfilial thing, shut up! My Lou'er won't end up like this because of you!" The Empress Dowager reprimanded the Emperor, but no matter how his insides got ripped apart by these kinds of words, he was still unable to argue with the old woman.
"I didn't wish for any of those to happen," he replied, darting his eyes at every servant who emerged in the exchanges.
The Empress Dowager didn't engage in another conversation with him.
The mamas lowered their heads and pretended not to hear anything. The eyes that held the hidden glow carried death warnings.
"Where are the leftovers from the Empress meal?" Gao Ling asked, much calmer, intervening between the two.
"The... it's on the table." Xiao Qu snapped and answered Gao Ling's interrogation.
"Bring it here," the Empress Dowager commanded, beating Gao Ling to it. The old woman's tone turned a bit softer, and Tang-mama gladly sighed.
Xiao Qu felt her heart palpitate at a frantic pace. Never did she think she would be a suspect of treason someday and get accused by these people. She'd seen a few palace maids get punished and die so suddenly, and now in this place, it seemed her whole body was being splashed by ice-cold water. Will I get beheaded? Yan'jie, help me. I really didn't do anything.
The mama didn't delay it and brought the pot immediately to the physician. Gao Ling opened his box and picked up another needle. He dipped the tipped in the soup and waited for a while to see if there were any changes. The eyes of those present in the room focused on that silver needle that emerged in the watery soup. But only two pairs of eyes secretly send each other a spark.
Gao Ling pulled the needle to let everyone see. The tip was glittering silver. The old woman was first to react.
"Are you sure? Lou'er is in such a state. Can you check it again?" The old woman kept her eyes on the needle held by the young man.
Gao Ling sighed inside, catching his breath from the previous intense atmosphere. It was never good to be caught in such a situation, especially with two powerful figures.
The Emperor, who stayed silent for a long time, finally spoke: "Physician Gao, check it again."
The empress dowager merely threw him a sidelong glance before closing in on the physician.
The physician nodded, accepting the command. He dipped the tip for a few seconds and brought it out. Nothing happened; the needle never turned black.
(A/N: Have a great weekdays filled with abundance and don't be like our MC who is fond of scamming people. It's bad! Bad! I tell you!
Ning Lou: You dare say I'm bad when you don't pay me at all.
A/N: You're already rich with your position. An Empress has command in the inner palace's budget.
Ning Lou: ( $ _ $ ) I suddenly have the urge to embezzle the funds.
A/N: *sweating profusely* (￣_￣|||))