[Main Hall]
"Father, according to our investigation, the grand consort was poisoned with Fire root", He Rui said.
He had come to report his findings to the emperor.
"Fire root? What is that?" He Jingcheng asked.
Fu Jiu stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, Fire root is a deadly heat toxin. When taken in excess, it causes severe internal heat with reactions such as sweating and extreme body heat. A small quantity was placed in the teacup used to serve Her Highness", Fu Jiu explained.
"If that is so, why didn't she have any reaction back then?" He Jingcheng asked.
He was not going to blindly believe anything they said.
"Your Majesty, the dose was given to her highness in minute quantities. However once it reacted with the ginger in the tea served in the banquet. It caused an immediate reaction that led to her highness's condition", Fu Jiu added.
"How are you sure the empress was not framed?" He Jingcheng asked.
Lu Qian stepped forward, "Your majesty, we are sure Her Highness was not framed because she had personally asked Princess Anle to gift the tea to He High use at the banquet"
They had questioned Fuxia and she had explained that she had gotten the tea from Shen Ruihua.
He Jingcheng did not know what to do.
Just then, He Yu walked in. He had the privilege of entering the main hall without being announced.
His arms were folded within his sleeves, as usual and his face was not very bright. He walked in slowly and steadily as though there was no sense of rush in his life.
He stopped beside He Rui and gave a bow, "Your Majesty, you summoned me"
"Yes", He Jingcheng confirmed.
He Rui and the others greeted He Yu and he acknowledged it with a slight nod.
"Regarding the poisoning of your consort, the empress has been proven guilty. What do you think?" He Jingcheng asked.
"Her Highness is the empress. It is not in my place to judge her actions. I only hope that your majesty will judge this case fairly", He Yu answered.
[Channing Palace]
Lingxi was still reading after Sang Xue'er and He Xuan had left.
She was having green grapes that Xin Lan had brought for her when Xin Xie came with a message.
"Your highness", she greeted first.
"What is it?" Lingxi asked.
"Her Highness has summoned you to Fengyin Hall"
Lingxi paused on the grape she was chewing, "summoned me?" she wanted to confirm.
"Yes", Xin Xie confirmed.
"Her Highness has already hurt you like this. What more does she want?" Xin Lan blurted out.
She was standing behind Lingxi.
"Xin Lan, you'll come with me. Xin Xie you'll go find Noble Consort Su. You'll pass a message to her on my behalf"
[Fengyin Hall]
"Grand Consort has arrived!"
Lingxi walked in with a calm aura. Her footsteps were light and almost soundless as she walked in but each footstep resounded clearly in Shen Ruihua's ears.
She stopped in front of Shen Ruihua who was seated and curtsied, "greetings, Empress"
Shen Ruihua studied her for a long minute. She could now see the venom beneath the smile she saw two months ago.
The girl who had claimed to be worried about her reputation in this very hall two months ago was now standing before her with composed grace and elegance.
She wore a flowing cream silk robe embroidered with delicate golden threads and finished with fine gold trim. A pristine white inner robe peeked from the collar and sleeves, while a soft ivory silk drape rested lightly across her forearms, its ends cascading lightly with every step giving her and elegant and dignified appearance.
Her dark hair fell over her waist adorned with and was adorned with tiny gold headpieces. The contrast was clear.
"So you know I'm the empress", Shen Ruihua finally spoke up, "then, why don't you kneel to greet me?"
Lingxi's eyes looked up at her, "I can kneel to your highness but as per etiquette and generational hierarchy, except for formal occasions, it is indeed improper. If I go against proper etiquette I fear..." Lingxi took a breath and looked at her with fake humility in her eyes that carry a hint of mockery, "...it may bring shame to Channing Palace", she said.
Shen Ruihua and Lingxi seemed to be having a battle with just their eyes.
Shen Ruihua slowly stood up and faced Lingxi.
"You are bolder than I thought"
"I wouldn't dare", Lingxi responded with the same tone and eye contact.
"I admit I underestimated you. You dared to frame me?" Shen Ruihua asked, though calm, her eyes carrying a strong sense of enmity.
Lingxi's eyes did not flicker and even carried a subtle smile, "I don't understand what your highness is saying"
"You are much venomous than I thought - hiding behind that smile"
Lingxi resisted the urge to chuckle and instead, gave a bigger smile, "you flatter me, your highness. I am no match for you"
"How did you do it?" Shen Ruihua asked.
Lingxi's eyes cast a glance towards Lady Mao who was standing at a corner.
They were no other servants in the room as they had been suspended during the investigation. Only Lady Mao remained.
Shen Ruihua gave a signal to her. She bowed and walked out slowly closing the door behind her.
Now, there were only three in the room - Shen Ruihua, Lingxi and Xin Lan.
Shen Ruihua looked back at Lingxi.
Lingxi gave a long sigh as though deliberating whether to speak or not. She went on to sit down. She rested her elbow on the table and rested her face on it as she slightly leaned on the right.
"Where should I start from? How about I start from the place where you obtained Fire Root?" she suggested with a very calm smile.
"That day, your trusted servant, Lady Mao purchased Fire root from a local. Afterwards, you kept it and waited for the banquet", Lingxi paused to check her reaction. There was a slight change.
Satisfied, she continued, "during the banquet, Lady Mao placed the poison in the teapot meant for your tea. The plan was to have a servant taste it beforehand and then claim I had poisoned your highness, right?" Lingxi asked.
"You knew?" Shen Ruihua was indeed surprised.
Lingxi smiled to herself. Of course this information was not gotten by herself but from Chi Yun who He Yu had ordered to find out what happened.
Lingxi did not answer her, "unfortunately, you underestimated me"
"So you decided to poison yourself beforehand and purposely acquired the tea from Fuxia. Then, when you drank the tea and fainted in front of everyone, the main suspect would be me", Shen Ruihua deduced.
"If your highness was this smart earlier, I doubt this would have been this easy for me", Lingxi responded.
"So now you made this plan to get rid of me once and for all. You really are ruthless"
Lingxi stood up and walked towards, "for your highness to think I'm ruthless, it simply means you do not match up", she stopped in front of Shen Ruihua and looked directly at her, "want to be my enemy? You are not worthy"
Shen Ruihua was furious. What did Lingxi mean by she was not worthy?
She raised her hand to slap her but Lingxi dodged and pushed herself to fall behind.
Xin Lan who had been silently watching the whole time got her cue.
"Your highness! Why did you attack her highness?" she shouted and rushed to hold Lingxi before she fell to the ground.
The door of Fengyin Hall was kicked open.
Qin Yan was in front with Noble Consort Su and some guards.