“This consort suspects that sister Consort De did not catch a cold, but rather… rather…” Wan Shi bit her silver teeth and, following Li Shimin, spoke another shocking statement: “Miscarried!”

This time, Li Yuan truly could not sit still. He suddenly rose and stared at Wan Shi in disbelief: “What did you say? Say it again!”

Wan Shi fearfully stood up: “To be honest with Your Majesty, some days before Consort De’s miscarriage, this consort encountered a palace attendant from Consort De’s service. At that time, she was carrying several packets of medicine and accidentally dropped them.”

Li Yuanji dismissively said: “What’s strange about Consort De being ill and getting medicine?”

“If it were medicine for treating colds, naturally it wouldn’t be strange, but the medicine there was not like that. Though this consort could not recognize everything, I did recognize several items: angelica, white peony, and safflower.”

“So what?” Facing Li Yuanji’s question, Wan Shi said: “This consort later asked an imperial physician. Angelica has the effect of nourishing blood and regulating menstruation, while white peony nourishes blood and soothes the liver. The last one, safflower, removes blood stasis. The imperial physician said that with these medicines present, it was very likely the Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup used to regulate menstruation.”

Li Jiancheng forced himself to remain calm: “There seems to be nothing improper about women taking this medicine?”

“If she truly took Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup, there would be nothing wrong. The fear is that Consort De only needed one of the medicines… safflower!”

Zhaixing said quietly: “If this servant remembers correctly… safflower should be what women use to induce abortion.”

“Correct.” Wan Shi nodded slightly and said to Li Yuan, whose brows were tightly knitted: “This consort didn’t pay attention at the time, until Lanyue happened to see the medicine dregs discarded by Consort De’s palace maid. In those dregs, there was only one type of medicine – safflower. The rest, angelica, white peony, and other items, were nowhere to be seen!”

“After hearing this, this consort felt something was wrong, so I went to the Imperial Medical Bureau to check the records. I discovered that the Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup was prescribed by Imperial Physician Zhou Quan, and he prescribed eight doses at once. Usually, imperial physicians prescribe at most three doses, but eight doses… in this consort’s memory, this has never happened before. Soon after, Consort De caught a cold and was bedridden, and the one treating her illness was… so coincidentally, also Imperial Physician Zhou. Even more coincidentally, Imperial Physician Zhou was recommended to enter the palace by the Crown Prince and has close ties with the Eastern Palace. After Consort De fell ill, this consort went to see her. However this consort looked at Consort De’s condition then, it seemed more like a miscarriage than a cold. If she had no private affair with anyone, this pregnancy… would be impossible!”

Li Yuan sat in the imperial chair with an iron-blue complexion. More than a year ago, while riding, he accidentally fell from his horse and rested in the palace for over a month. Although his body recovered, it left him with lingering problems. The imperial physician had tactfully mentioned that he could no longer make his concubines bear children. Though somewhat regrettable, he had many sons and daughters, and the Great Tang realm would not lack heirs, so he didn’t take it to heart. Besides Imperial Physician Li who made the diagnosis, only a few people like Wan Shi and Yin Shi knew about this matter. According to Wan Shi’s words, if Yin Shi truly became pregnant after this incident, then the flesh in her womb could absolutely not be his bloodline.

Li Yuan swept Li Jiancheng with an unfriendly glance, then turned to Wan Shi: “Since you knew of this matter early, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Though this consort had suspicions, in the end, they were merely speculations without concrete evidence. If this consort was being oversensitive, wouldn’t it needlessly harm Your Majesty’s relationship with sister?”

“So you’re saying that if Shimin hadn’t brought it up today, you planned to hide it from me for life?” Without waiting for Wan Shi to speak, Li Yuan said coldly: “Very well! I trusted you all so much ordinarily, yet each of you has been hiding things from me and doing shameful deeds behind my back. Continue speaking – what other matters are you hiding from me? Since we’re at it today, let’s clear everything up at once!”

Li Jiancheng looked hatefully at the silent Wan Shi, then cupped his hands: “Father Emperor, your son and Consort De are innocent. We have absolutely never done anything improper. It is Noble Consort Wan and Shimin conspiring to frame your son, seeking to confuse Your Majesty’s judgment.”

Wan Shi raised her face: “Your Majesty, this consort watched both the Crown Prince and Prince of Qin grow up. After elder sister passed away, this consort treated them like my own children. How could I possibly help the Prince of Qin harm the Crown Prince? Moreover, what this consort spoke of is all recorded in the Imperial Medical Bureau. If Your Majesty doesn’t believe it, you can have them brought to examine.”

Li Yuan stared at her for a moment, then said to Gaoyang who was waiting nearby: “Go immediately to fetch them. Also, summon Zhou Quan.”

Li Yuanji said loudly: “Father Emperor, Elder Brother is your legitimate eldest son. He has always been the most filial to you. Your son can vouch for Elder Brother – he would never do such a thing. This is all the Prince of Qin’s scheme.”

Since Li Yuan had become suspicious, how could Li Yuanji’s few words dispel it? He said coldly: “This has nothing to do with you. Stand aside!”

Seeing him speak thus, Li Yuanji could only stand aside awkwardly. After waiting about the time of a stick of incense, Zhou Quan hurriedly entered with Gaoyang.

As Zhou Quan bowed, Gaoyang handed the book he held to Li Yuan. Upon examination, he indeed found the Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup prescription, and as Wan Shi had said, it prescribed a full eight doses, far exceeding the usual dosage.

Li Yuan raised his eyes and glared coldly at Zhou Quan: “I have questions for you. If you dare deceive me, I will have you suffer cruel torture – unable to live, unable to die!”

This was the first time Zhou Quan had heard Li Yuan speak so harshly. He said fearfully: “Please ask, Your Majesty. This minister will certainly tell the truth and dare not conceal anything.”

“Good!” Li Yuan raised the book in his hand: “I ask you – what was the deal with the Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup you prescribed for Consort De, and why did you prescribe eight doses at once?”

Hearing this, Zhou Quan’s complexion immediately changed. He forced himself to remain calm: “Your Majesty, at that time Consort De summoned this minister for consultation because her menstruation was delayed. After examining her pulse, this minister discovered it was caused by blocked qi and blood, so I prescribed Peach Blossom Four Substance Soup for Consort De to regulate her body. This minister originally planned to prescribe three doses, then examine her pulse again, but Consort De felt that having consultations every three days was too troublesome, so she asked this minister to prescribe eight doses’ worth. This minister thought this soup was beneficial and harmless to the human body, so I agreed.”

Li Yuan smiled coldly: “But someone said that Consort De’s delayed menstruation was not due to blocked qi and blood, but because she was pregnant. How do you explain this?”

The little remaining color drained from Zhou Quan’s face, becoming pale as a corpse. The next moment, he hastily waved his hands: “This minister personally examined Consort De’s pulse that day. It was absolutely not a pregnancy pulse. Someone must be spreading rumors to harm Consort De.”

Although Zhou Quan firmly denied it, the fear and panic in his eyes did not escape Li Yuan’s notice: “Do you still remember what I said just now?”

“This minister… remembers.” Before he finished speaking, Li Yuan shouted: “Someone come! Take him to the Palace Administration Bureau and hand him over to the Director there. As long as he doesn’t die, let her do whatever she wants. When he’s willing to talk, bring him back.”

Hearing this, Zhou Quan cried out urgently: “No, Your Majesty, no! Everything this minister said is true, without a single falsehood. Please believe this minister, Your Majesty!”