Chapter 8 Chapter Eight

When Imperial Physician Xu came, he was already powerless.He and Imperial Physician Zhao were so busy that they were sweating profusely. They stretched out their hands to pinch Yigui, smoked them with mugwort leaves, and poured a lot of soup. In the end, they had to spread their hands and say, "Ms. In the belly, there is nothing I can do about it." She couldn't say a word, so she could only snuggle up with Hailan, watching Yigui's body getting more and more bloody, her body getting weaker and weaker, and she couldn't even groan when she was in a coma. She looked blankly, the pain and shock had swallowed up the initial panic and fear in her heart.She could only murmur helplessly: "How could it be? How could it be?"

Although she doesn't have a deep friendship with Yigui, these days, she has been with Yigui almost every day, watching her belly bulge a little bit, watching her joy of becoming a new mother, even she can't help looking forward to, one day , She will watch the birth of this child with her own eyes.Although she has never had a child of her own, she can witness the birth of a life with her own eyes. That kind of joy and hope comes from the bottom of her heart. But even she couldn't think of it, she was so careful, how could she be like this, witnessing the disappearance of the child so suddenly.Listening to the imperial physician's cold words, the child was stillborn.

The imperial doctor came over cautiously: "Concubine Xian, there is nothing I can do. I want to kill the stillbirth in Yigui's womb with medicine, so that the stillbirth will not stay in the mother's womb for too long and affect Yigui's body." She didn't know how long it took her to force out this sentence: "Why did you die? Why did the child die?" The imperial physicians looked at each other in shock: "This... I don't know, I can only wait for the fetus to be taken out." It took a long time for Ruyi to move her already stiff body. She and Hailan helped each other up with difficulty. When she turned to the door, she looked up and saw the emperor with a face as pale as paper.

It was really as pale as paper, his whole face was white and transparent, it was the kind of rusty blue color that reveals helplessness and despair, as if his whole body had become dull like that, lost the heroic vitality in the past, and only The thin silhouette just stood there thinly.The emperor stood close at hand, and she could clearly see the sadness and confusion in his eyes.But she couldn't say any comforting words, she could only hold hands with him quietly, hoping to give each other a bit of firmness and courage to support with the warmth left in each other's palms. Hailan backed away silently, letting them face each other sadly and quietly.Ruyi clearly saw that the pain in his eyes was clearly spreading.The emperor's voice trembled like a collapse: "Ruyi, tell me why another of my children died? Ruyi, why didn't any of my children survive after I ascended the throne? Is it the fate of heaven? I? Punish me for getting the glory of the Nine-Five Supreme, but losing the family happiness of father and son?"

His words pierced into her eardrums like needles. Even though he is the supreme being in the world, he still has such an unspeakable pain of life and death.Ruyi clearly feels that the impermanence of fate is like a cold sharp knife without a sharp edge. You don't know where it hides, and you can only silently bear its sharp piercing anytime and anywhere, watching your own blood It gurgled out, and held it back. Ruyi hugged him silently, turning the hopelessness in her heart into the strength to hug him, supporting his body that would fall down at any time.She knew that her consolation was so weak, but she still wanted to say: "Your Majesty, you already have three elder brothers, and you will have children. Don't worry, there will definitely be more..."

There was a crystal clear liquid that blurred her eyes, almost gushing out, but she had no choice but to hold it back, holding back and refusing to drop it.Yes, if even she wept, wouldn't it make him even more sad.She looked up, feeling the thin sting when the night wind dried the tears in her eyes. The crimson palace lantern under the eaves was blown by the wind like a spinning top, as ethereal as a phosphorous fire, and more like something that took the life of a child. The ghost's uncloaked eyes looked at all beings mockingly.She listened to Yigui who was in a coma in Dongnuange intermittently moaning in pain, and the helplessness in her heart became more and more intense.She had no choice but to get up, and lit the dozens of candles on the lotus platform in the Xinuang Pavilion one by one, the scorching light reflected the inside of the hall almost like daytime, and the golden mirror tiles on the ground gave off a dark luster, just like the gloomy and uncertain expression on the emperor's face Rusty blue, the whole person seems to be shrouded in shadows of varying shades.

About half an hour later, the queen also hurried over.She just leaned over to pay her respects, when the imperial doctor came over with a big ebony plate with a disturbed expression on her face. The emperor ordered the empress to get up, and asked the imperial physician, "What else can make you so flustered?" Imperial Physician Xu and Imperial Physician Zhao looked at each other, knelt down and kowtowed in a hurry, and said, "Your Majesty Rong Weichen said carefully, the fetus has been conceived, but..." He hesitated for a moment, and then boldly continued: "But this The fetus is different, it's not like a normal stillborn fetus!"

The emperor said irritably: "It's not unusual to have a stillborn baby, do you want you to tell me?" Imperial Physician Xu hurriedly said: "Wei Chen and Imperial Physician Zhao have been taking turns serving Yigui's fetal image these days. According to the pulse diagnosis, the fetus has never been seriously injured. But the stillborn fetus..." The emperor faintly felt bad, his temples twitched, and his face became more and more ugly: "How about the stillbirth?" Doctor Xu said: "From the mother's umbilical cord to the dead fetus, the whole body is blue. What's more frightening is that the fetus has already formed, and it can be seen that it is a male fetus, but... the child is obviously poisoned and died suddenly. If it grows up and gives birth However, according to the poisoning situation, it may also be a teratogenic..."

Imperial Physician Xu didn't dare to continue, so Imperial Physician Zhao had no choice but to hold up the wooden tray: "The dead fetus is here. If the emperor doesn't believe it, you can see it with your own eyes." The emperor quickly lifted up the black cloth with two fingers and took a look. Ruyi happened to catch a glimpse of it, and saw a mass of blood and flesh inside, and the mass of flesh and blood in the middle was indeed an ominous black. Ruyi panicked and almost vomited. She bent down to resist the pain and fear in her chest.The emperor's body shook slightly, and the teacup in his hand slammed on the ground with a clang. He stood up almost violently, and roared, "How could this be? How could it be?!"

The queen couldn't support herself and almost fainted. Fortunately, Lian Xin and Su Xin supported her firmly.The queen said repeatedly: "Impossible! Impossible! How could such things happen one after another in the Aixinjueluo family...how could..." She suddenly came to her senses, and shouted: "You said it was poisoning? What kind of poison? " Imperial Physician Zhao straightened up and said, "If Weichen and Imperial Physician Xu guessed correctly, they were poisoned by mercury. I don't know how Yigui came into contact with mercury, not only through the skin, but also showed signs of ingestion, because The dose is too strong, so the fetus is poisoned to death in the abdomen. And if the mercury is chronically poisoned, the dose is not so large, and the fetus may grow until it is delivered out of the mother, but it may be a deformity or a stupid nature.” He and Xu The imperial physician looked at each other and said loudly: "I have another speculation, I don't know whether to say it or not."

The queen made a decisive decision: "If you have anything to say, just say it." Imperial Physician Zhao said: "Mr. Yigui has had fever, sweating profusely, palpitations, insomnia, dreaminess, and frequent ulcers since she was pregnant. Although it is very similar to the symptoms common to pregnant women, the emperor and empress do not think these symptoms are very similar. Can it be done alone?" Ruyi thought for a moment: "You mean... Lady Mei!" Imperial physician Zhao said: "Concubine Xian is right. I forgive you for boldly speculating that Meigui's stillbirth may not be an accident, but because of the poison of mercury like Yigui." The emperor was furious: "Since you found that the symptoms of Yigui and Meigui are similar, why didn't you realize that you were poisoned by mercury?" The two imperial physicians kowtowed like garlic: "Wei Chen said that the symptoms of mercury poisoning are very slow, and the symptoms are very similar to the reaction of first pregnancy. If it weren't for the fact that Yigui's mother is not as strong as Meigui, it would lead to stillbirth before full term It’s hardly noticeable at all.” The queen didn't feel pale: "Then the mercury you mentioned, where did this thing come from in the palace?" Doctor Xu said: "With a little refinement of cinnabar, it is very easy to get. There are many Buddhist things in the palace, and there are plenty of cinnabar in the Baohua Palace, which is easy to get. Even the imperial hospital is often used for dispensing. I am afraid that anyone can get it." The emperor clenched his hands tightly, his veins bulging: "How dare you infer that Meigui's fetus is the same? Why didn't the imperial doctor say it was the scourge of mercury?" Imperial Physician Xu said in confusion: "I have never seen Meigui's stillbirth, so I dare not speak nonsense. I just speculate based on the symptoms of Meigui and Yigui. Yigui's fetus is also a fluke, because the mercury poisoning occurs in the fetus. It will be obvious when you are young, and you will have the symptoms of black umbilical cord all over your body. If you wait until the eighth month of pregnancy, even if the baby is stillborn at the time of delivery, it will only have a blue belly, and the difference between the symptoms and other stillbirths will not be obvious." The queen's voice was very soft: "Your Majesty, my concubine clearly remembers that Meigui's womb is turning blue." She said in a deep voice, as solemn as a bell, "Your Majesty, Ruomei and Yigui's fetuses are really green." Poisoning, that is to say, the stillbirth is not a punishment from God, but someone deliberately murdered the dragon fetus and shaken the auspiciousness of the country. The concubine, as the head of the six palaces, asked the emperor to investigate the matter thoroughly to comfort the two dragons The spirit of the womb in heaven." Bright hatred flashed in the emperor's eyes, and he said coldly: "Check! I want to see who has the guts to murder my child!" Everyone's attention was focused on thoroughly investigating the death of the dragon fetus, and no one remembered to take a look at Yigui who was still unconscious.Ruyi walked outside the door of the Nuan Pavilion alone, raised the corner of the brocade curtain, and looked at the pale face of the sleeping woman in the pile of brocade quilts, her pair of slender hands silently curled up on the dark purple brocade quilt, with empty gestures, as if she was trying to grab something .Her eyes were sour, and she couldn't help but shed tears. She knew very well that what Yigui wanted to catch, she couldn't catch anymore. Because the accident happened to the two imperial heirs in succession, even the Queen Mother was alarmed. For a while, the investigation was carried out layer by layer, vigorously and resolutely, and even the palace servants who served by Mrs. Yi were not spared, and they were interrogated one by one.In the palace, there is a trend of all the plants and trees being soldiers, the wind is raging, and everyone is in danger.Even Jiagui, who is the most flamboyant in daily life, hides in his palace and stays at home. The exquisite nuns of the Punishment Department are most old in work. They only used one or two of the seventy-two tortures of the Punishment Department, and some people passed out because of the torture. It would be much easier to ask one by one. After Yigui's child died, the emperor seldom came to comfort and visit him. Even when he came, he sat down for a while and then left, only focusing on the investigation.On the contrary, the queen cared about the relationship between master and servant, even though her second elder brother was still ill, she came to visit several times. After waking up, Yigui has been in a daze, not thinking about food and drink, those eyes that were once happy, there is nothing but tears.In addition, the imperial doctor said that the residue in her body was not clear, and she had to take a certain amount of safflower and achyranthes knee soup every day to force it down. For Yigui who is weak, it was nothing more than another torture.Ruyi and Hailan have been guarding her to prevent her from committing suicide.But she just sobbed to the corner, and said hoarsely, "Don't worry, Concubine Xian, if you don't find out who killed the concubine's child, the concubine will never commit suicide." Broken teeth: "The concubine has served the emperor for so many years before she has a child. He is the concubine's only expectation and hope. Who is it? Who is so unable to tolerate the concubine's child!" Who is trying to kill the child?Even Ruyi herself couldn't figure it out.She could only take a bowl of bird's nest porridge, slowly fed Yigui, and said comfortingly: "Eat a little, and you will have the strength to continue waiting for what you want to know." When the bowl of bird's nest porridge was finished, it was Zhao Yitai who was beside the queen who came first. He said: "Concubine Xian, Mrs. Hai and Mrs. Yi, please make some preparations. The Empress invites the three of you to go to Changchun Palace immediately." Ruyi put down the bowl in her hand and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Mrs. Yigui is still recuperating, can you..." Zhao Yitai said: "It's important for the empress to invite you. What's more, it's about Mrs. Yi, so I invite Mrs. Yi to go no matter how tired she is." Having said that, Ruyi ordered people to get off the sedan chair, and immediately went to Changchun Palace.After entering the palace, the emperor and empress were sitting on it, and all the concubines and concubines had arrived, even nobleman Mei who was meditating in Yuhua Pavilion was also sitting there.After the three entered the hall, they saw each other one by one, and then sat down according to their respective positions.The queen saw that Mrs. Yi was sick and weak, she couldn't help pity her, and said: "Zhao Yitai, take a goose feather cushion for Mrs. Yi, so that she can sit more comfortably." Yigui hurriedly thanked you tremblingly, and the emperor said: "You are not feeling well, just sit with peace of mind." Concubine Hui raised the silk in her hand, and said lazily: "It's spring outside in March, just when Xingjiao is singing, and the empress doesn't go to the imperial garden to enjoy the spring, why is she so eager to call the courtiers and concubines into the Changchun Palace? ?” The empress's always dignified and gentle face could not help but show a bit of sadness: "Since last winter, the emperor's heir in the palace has suffered misfortune, and there have been many mournful voices. Both the palace and the emperor are extremely worried. No matter how beautiful the spring is, I have no intention of appreciating it. The reason why I urgently called my sisters here today is because there are some clues about Mrs. Yigui's stillbirth, and I need to find someone to ask. Since this is a matter of the harem, everyone in the harem should naturally listen to it." Yigui's expression became tense, and he hurriedly asked: "What the empress said, do you know who is the one who murdered the concubine's child?" The empress said softly: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient. This matter has a lot to do with it. This palace and the emperor only know a little bit about it. As for whether this is the case, everyone should come and listen." The emperor said: "Since the empress has found out something, please speak up if you have something to say." The queen glanced at Zhao Yitai who was beside her, Zhao Yitai clapped her hands twice, and then saw Imperial Physician Xu and Imperial Physician Zhao come in together. The queen said in a deep voice: "Everyone knows that Yigui suffered a misfortune. The dragon fetus died in the womb because of the poison of mercury. But this palace is completely puzzled. There is no mercury and cinnabar in Yigui's room. Concubine Xian Mr. Hehai is also very careful about Mr. Yi's diet and daily life. It is reasonable to say that nothing will happen. If you want to investigate the matter, you must find the source. The concubine asked someone to search the utensils in Mr. Yi's room, and found these things .” The queen raised her face, and Lian Xin was holding a copper plate with a pair of red candles carved with silver flowers and some burnt charcoal ash on it.The emperor took a look at the pair of red candles, and asked suspiciously: "It's just an ordinary red candle, what's wrong?" The queen shook her head slightly, stretched out her hand and broke one of them, and said: "Please take a closer look, Your Majesty, is this candle different?" The emperor looked at the sun: "Although it is a red candle, there are some red particles mixed in it, but the things used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are becoming more and more careless now? They actually use such a red candle." The queen said again: "The emperor carefully looked at the charcoal ashes. It is now the end of March, and there is only Yigui from Yanxi Palace who is afraid of the cold and uses a charcoal basin. This is the charcoal ashes from the red bamboo charcoal she used in the pavilion." , the color is off-white. But when you look closely, there is something strange." The queen fiddled with the armor lightly, but saw some silvery things on the charcoal, and some vermilion powder. Hard to notice. The Queen raised her hand and signaled Lian Xin to show it to everyone. Everyone was secretly surprised, but they really didn't know what it was. The queen said: "These are the things used in the Yigui Palace, please take a look at the imperial doctor, what good things are in the candle and the ashes?" Imperial Physician Zhao broke open the candle, twisted it with his fingers and sniffed it carefully, Imperial Physician Xu also checked the contents inside the charcoal ash, and almost said in unison: "Reporting to the Emperor and Empress, everything inside is cinnabar." Doctor Zhao said: "When cinnabar meets high heat, it will precipitate mercury, and when the mercury meets heat, it will turn into a colorless and odorless gas and spread out, making people inhale unconsciously. The vermilion powder left in the charcoal ash must be Some people mix a little cinnabar into the red bamboo charcoal, and it is not easy to find it after it is burned." The queen sneered: "This is not too old-fashioned. The emperor looked at the red candle, which was decorated with silver flowers. Even if the vermilion and silver powder were burnt out, people would think it was the melted candle tears and silver flowers. Hard to notice." Concubine Hui frowned slightly, tsk-tsk said: "It's impossible to go all out to harm Mrs. Yi. This person is really vicious." The emperor said: "Since this is the case, all the palace people in Yiguiren's Pavilion will feel unwell. Why is it that only Yiguiren is unwell?" Meigui's hand holding the silk trembled, and she said in a trembling voice: "The servants of the palace all come in shifts, and Yigui is in it, and almost never leaves every day, so of course he has suffered a lot." The empress glanced at the emperor, with a bit of intolerance and disgust: "These are just small things. The concubine heard from the imperial doctor that the fetus in Yigui's pregnancy was seriously poisoned. Obviously, Yigui had signs of taking cinnabar or mercury. But how can you eat that thing, there must be something wrong with the diet.” Hailan hurriedly got up, and said tremblingly: "If you go back to the empress, all the food for Mrs. Yigui is fresh from the imperial dining room, and it is cooked by Mrs. Yigui's personal cook in the small kitchen. The concubine also shared with Xian The imperial concubine pays attention every day, and there is no fresh food for Lady Yi to eat." The queen shook her head and said: "You are still young, so you don't know how powerful it is. The fish and shrimps sent here are all jumping around, but this jumping around is not far from the pot, who cares what's wrong with it. Zhao Yitai, you Come on." Zhao Yitai said: "Originally, the empress asked the slaves to go to the imperial dining room to inquire what the two nobles liked to eat when they were pregnant. Only then did they know that the two nobles liked fish and shrimp very much. The original intention of the empress was to ask the servants to see What's wrong with these fish and shrimps, who knows that when they arrived at the imperial dining room, they found that all the fish for Yigui people were dead, so they threw them out. The servant felt strange, because the chickens, ducks, fish and shrimps used by Yigui people were raised separately That’s right, the chickens and ducks are still alive, and the fish and shrimps died within a few days. So the slaves paid extra attention and found a small bag of leftover fish food, wanting to see what’s different.” Zhao Yitai turned around and took a small bag of fish food and held it in front of the queen.The queen glanced coldly and said: "These fish are raised in the imperial dining room for the pregnant concubines to eat. They are all carefully selected and then raised in a small pond. The food they feed is also very fine. Li attaches so much importance to the emperor's heir, I didn't expect some people with ulterior motives to make up their minds on this." Jiagui looked at the fish in the basin curiously: "Is there any difference between these fish food?" The queen said lightly: "If there is any difference, just ask the imperial doctor to have a look." Imperial Physician Zhao hurriedly answered "Yes", and looked side by side with Imperial Physician Xu for a moment, with a dignified expression: "Reporting to Empress, these fish foods are mixed with finely ground cinnabar powder, after feeding them to fish and shrimp, There will be no abnormalities in the first few days. Because the cinnabar itself is only sweet, slightly cold, and slightly poisonous. But after two days of fish and shrimp eating and raising, the toxins are all dissolved in the meat. Once cooked and heated, the poisonous The stronger it is, the stronger it is. Originally, it’s okay to eat a little bit, but after a long period of time, it’s tantamount to taking cinnabar and mercury, which will slowly damage the fetus. The method is extremely sophisticated.” Zhao Yitai said again: "The servant also asked in the imperial dining room that the fish and shrimps that Yigui and Meigui ate after they became pregnant are indeed fed with this kind of fish food, there is absolutely no mistake." Jiagui hurriedly covered his mouth in fright, opened his eyes wide in panic, and subconsciously pressed his abdomen.The pure concubine closed her eyes and chanted a few Buddha's mantras, shaking her head endlessly.Concubine Hui looked at those things with disgust, and said repeatedly: "What a vicious method!" Meigui and Yigui had already looked grief and indignation on their faces, they couldn't hold back several times, and they were about to explode almost immediately. Ruyi was ashamed, and hurriedly got up and said: "The emperor forgives the sin, the queen empress forgives the sin, the concubine thought that she had been very careful about Yigui's diet, but she didn't realize that she still resorted to such a dirty trick. Please also ask the emperor and queen Come down!" The queen glanced at her, and said slowly: "Concubine Xian, you are indeed careful, but no matter how careful you are, there will always be times when you are not careful. As for what crimes and punishments you will suffer, I will discuss with the emperor later." disposal."