Li Qitian’s face was grim as he looked at the two maidservants dressed in ordinary palace maid attire. He could never have imagined that the Empress would harbor Qin Yining’s people by her side.

“What evidence do you have? Speak.” Li Qitian’s tone was extremely impatient, already showing his intention to resolve this matter quickly.

Bingtang retrieved two small porcelain boxes from her sleeves and placed them on the ground before her, kowtowing as she said, “Your Majesty, these are the evidence this servant collected that day from the overturned bird’s nest soup and from the mouth of the dead little pug.”

The nobles and female relatives all craned their necks in unison, looking toward the two porcelain bottles placed on the richly decorated carpet. Some of the more delicate ladies even raised their handkerchiefs to cover their noses, as if they could smell something foul.

Bingtang continued, “This servant has some knowledge of medicine. During these past days, this servant used many methods and finally verified that the bird’s nest soup indeed contained poison, and the little pug was indeed poisoned to death. However, the poison in the bird’s nest soup and the poison that killed the pug were completely different toxins!”

At these words, everyone was momentarily stunned.

The Empress Dowager was greatly alarmed, involuntarily clenching her hands. Her elbows struck heavily against the small table beside her with a loud thud, yet she remained unaware.

Li Qitian and the Empress sat close enough – how could they not notice the Empress Dowager’s unusual reaction?

Several people looked at the Empress Dowager questioningly, only to discover her face was taut, her jaw clenched tight, her gaze dark and fixed steadily in one direction.

The direction the Empress Dowager was looking contained Li Helan, Consort Yu, and Consort Yun.

Li Qitian narrowed his eyes.

The Empress gripped the armrest of her chair tightly, her eyes full of shock and disbelief as she turned to look at Li Qitian. When husband and wife’s gazes met, both saw the answer in each other’s eyes.

Bingtang continued, “After analysis, this servant learned that the poison affecting the pug was ordinary arsenic. But the poison in the bird’s nest soup was unusual.”

“Could it be cinnabar or peacock bile?” someone asked curiously.

Bingtang shook her head, “Neither. This poison originates from the Southern Frontier, and its circulation in the martial world is not widespread. It’s said that in the Southern Frontier, some tribal chieftains would feed their food to cats and dogs first with every meal to determine if it contained poison. Someone seeking to harm such a tribal chieftain found this toxin and successfully assassinated him despite his strict precautions.”

Bingtang raised her eyes to look at Li Qitian, then lowered her head again, saying, “Your Majesty, this poison is only effective on humans, not on animals.”

“Such a poison exists!” Li Qitian was astonished.

Although he had eunuchs taste his food before each meal, hearing this still sent chills through his heart.

“Yes, this poison is called ‘Dream Death.’ When a person is poisoned, both the brain and meridians become paralyzed, causing immediate sudden death. It’s unlike poisons such as cinnabar that require time to take effect.”

Bingtang raised her head again, saying, “In other words, Dream Death only affects humans, and once used, there’s no salvation. Unlike poisons like cinnabar that have an onset period and possibility of rescue.”

As Bingtang finished speaking, the hall fell into complete silence.

The noble family members who had dared to discuss matters earlier to curry favor with Li Qitian now cowered like singed quails, no longer daring to speak.

Everyone knew what it meant for such a poison – one that caused instant death upon consumption – to appear in the palace.

Li Qitian’s face was ashen, yet he didn’t forget to observe the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was trembling with rage by this point.

Under the Empress Dowager’s gaze, Li Helan’s expression was grave, while both Consort Yun and Consort Yu suppressed their panic with ashen faces.

Seeing all this, even without knowing the inside details, Li Qitian had formed his suspicions.

The Empress similarly noticed these reactions and spoke at the opportune moment: “Your Majesty, this subject believes this matter should involve questioning Consort Yu. Consort Yu’s pug had clearly been fed arsenic beforehand. She came and knocked over the bird’s nest soup sent by the Qin family, yet insisted the pug died from eating the bird’s nest soup. Why would she do this? This was obviously premeditated, with someone behind the scenes giving instructions.”

The Empress looked coldly at the Empress Dowager. “This subject cannot tolerate anyone attempting to harm an imperial prince from behind the scenes. Your Majesty, having such a person remain in the palace makes this subject’s heart turn cold with fear just thinking about it.”

The Empress Dowager suddenly came to her senses. Meeting the Empress’s gaze, she unconsciously looked away, then feeling this showed guilt, she defiantly glared back.

The nobles and female relatives had long observed the expressions of these imperial family members during their exchange. No one was foolish – everyone had their suspicions, but all wisely lowered their heads again, maintaining silence without looking or listening.

Li Qitian’s thumb and index finger rapidly twisted together. When the motion suddenly stopped, he commanded in a deep voice: “Summon Judge Liu.”

“By your command.” Xiong Jinshui, who was serving at his side, immediately acknowledged the order and hurried out with bated breath.

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the gray-haired Judge Liu arrived breathlessly carrying his medicine box.

He received the imperial order to examine the evidence and withdrew to a side room for testing.

During this time, Qin Yining, Ji Yun, and Bingtang remained kneeling in their original positions.

The nobles and female relatives all remained silent.

Li Qitian’s fingernails lightly tapped against the small table. His gaze swept around before finally settling on Consort Yun and Consort Yu. With his intelligence, he could already outline the entire sequence of events in his mind.

Who wouldn’t want the prince to die, yet also wanted to harm Qin Yining?

It could be the Empress Dowager. So the Empress Dowager arranged for Consort Yu to block the way, ensuring the poisoned bird’s nest soup wouldn’t enter Kunning Palace.

Who hoped the prince would perish in this incident?

That would only be Consort Yun and Consort Yu.

But Consort Yu was obviously being manipulated, using arsenic to block the way. She likely didn’t understand the full situation, or if she did, she was merely a chess piece.

What about Consort Yun? Relying on her beauty, high rank, and good family background, if the First Prince were gone, any future offspring of hers would have hope. Moreover, Consort Yun was the Empress Dowager’s grand-niece and could freely enter and exit Ci’an Palace. She had sufficient motive to secretly switch the poison behind the Empress Dowager’s back.

How truly vicious! Without careful consideration, it wasn’t clear, but the sordid affairs within this harem were apparently no less than those of the imperial court!

Judge Liu had already heard the sequence of events from Xiong Jinshui before arriving. Now with a direction for his research, he obtained the test results in just half an hour.

“Your Majesty, after this subject’s examination, one of these two poisons is common arsenic. The other poison requires more careful testing for detailed results, but this subject can confirm they are indeed two different toxins.”

Everyone continued their silence. Li Qitian’s face was now ashen.

Qin Yining kowtowed and said, “This subject’s wife received the imperial order to enter the palace to accompany Consort Shun. Before entering the palace, all clothing and accessories underwent strict inspection, confirming no dangerous poisons were brought into the palace. The bird’s nest soup was prepared in Ci’an Palace’s small kitchen and carried by palace maids. This subject’s wife merely carried the food box – she had no poison to administer and no reason to poison anyone.

“Thinking carefully, Consort Yu brought a pug that had been fed poison beforehand to block the way, deliberately knocking over the food box and using the pug’s poisoning death to ‘expose’ the bird’s nest soup as poisoned. It seems someone, knowing the bird’s nest soup contained poison and not wanting the prince to be harmed, yet also not wanting to miss the opportunity to frame this subject’s wife, ordered Consort Yu to stage this revelation. Please, Your Majesty, interrogate Consort Yu – you will surely catch the real culprit.”

After Qin Yining finished kowtowing and speaking, she continued kneeling in place.

Li Qitian clenched his fists until they cracked, momentarily falling into a dilemma.