It won't take much time, just two hours, and the matter on Chu Huashang's side can be settled. She will be able to clear her name and also use this matter to make the Emperor even more fond of her... But how could it be...

  What's the use of posthumous honors to her!

  She was truly terrified this time. She bit her lip and said, "Your Majesty, the concubine is innocent, it's someone framing... Please, don't make such a decision, this matter hasn't been investigated clearly yet, give the concubine some time... You can hand the concubine over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation..."

  "Yuan'er, you must understand me." Taohong shook his head and said: "Whether it was a trap or not, it was all aimed at Xiangfei's belly. Xiangfei cannot tolerate such things. Moreover, in the end, I really lost an imperial heir. This matter is of great importance, so let's conclude it quickly and give the harem some peace..."

  "After all, it's still because of Empress Xiang... Lin Yan secretly sneered and lowered her head: "Empress Xiang wants the life of the concubine too much. Such a good opportunity, how can she not add fuel to the fire? Granting death on the spot is indeed a good method, no need to leave any chance for the concubine to turn things around..."

  "Yuan'er, you also know that the father of Shang Fei is the Supreme Commander of the Northern Territory. She has always been very understanding and never asks me for anything, except this time... You have already committed a crime, and her request is not excessive, just to grant you an early death two days in advance. I will give face to the Shang family after all."

  Tuoba Hong said helplessly, but very resolutely.

  Lin Yuxin sneered inwardly, indeed a ruthless emperor.

  "What else do you have to say, tell me sooner." Tuoba Hong indeed felt a little reluctant, originally it would be so soon that he would see her die.

  The more he looked at it, the more it seemed like a frame-up, and the woman in front of him was probably not the one who killed Bai Xiuyi.

  Lin Wan slowly shook her head and said: "It's not the concubine's fault. The concubine has put the emperor in a difficult position."

  Tuoba Hong looked at the tear stains on her eyes and couldn't help but sigh. In fact, among the women in this palace who truly had feelings for him, she was indeed one of the few. They were all daughters of high-ranking officials, constantly talking about love, but in reality, they only loved power.

  The woman in front of him, even on the verge of death, was still thinking of him with all her heart, and did not take the opportunity to ask for official positions for her father and brother at home. Tuoba Hong, though cold-blooded, couldn't help but be moved.

  However, he did not change his mind to give up his life. He raised his hand and the eunuch beside him lifted the red silk on the tray, and without surprise, Lin Yu saw the poisonous wine, white silk and dagger.

  Do you want my life? Lin Yuxin smiled coldly in her heart, and then stretched out her hand, not to choose one of the three objects, but to pick up the sachet in front of her, tilting her head back and pouring it into her mouth.

  The effect of arsenic is no worse than that of poisonous wine. Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei let out a sigh and withdrew.

  However, a moment later, a clear and melodious female voice came from behind: "Your Majesty..."

  Tuoba Hong turned his head back, but saw Lin Yan get up from the ground, standing upright with a clear and cold expression. She pressed her chest with her hand, turned around again, and her face was shocked.

  Tuoba Hong was incredulous: "You... don't you feel uncomfortable?"

  "It's fine." Lin Yan shook her head and said: "Didn't they say there was arsenic in this...?"

  "That's enough." Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei snatched the sachet from her hand and handed it to Yao Fusheng, saying: "There is still a bit left in here. Haven't Li Yuyi and the others left yet? Call them over to take a look. And just now, who was it that used a silver needle to probe... have him arrested..."

  The old woman held up the silver needle and repeatedly cried out for injustice.

  Before long, Li Taizhen hurried in, bringing with him news of Bai's sudden death from poisoning.

  "Have a good investigation for me." Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei threw the sachet at Li Taoyi's feet: "I want to know why Guizi ate arsenic and yet is still alive and well." Not a single word about Bai was mentioned in his words.

  At this time, Tuoba Hong didn't care about Bai's life or death at all. He only hated that the woman was stupid and had been pregnant for a month without realizing it, so she easily suffered from poisoning and harmed the heir of Da Qin.

  At the moment a woman died within the vermilion walls of the imperial city, another woman came back to life. Lin Wan heard the two words "Guī Jī" from Tuòbá Hóng's mouth and knew she was already out of danger.

  Geez, that was close... Luckily, my brain turned fast enough to come up with a plan, otherwise I would have been killed on the spot. Even if I had cleared my name later, what's the use?

  Li Taigong didn't dare to delay, first took the silver needle to test it again, then used his finger to dip some powder and sniffed it under his nose, finally saying: "There is indeed arsenic in this..."

  "What's next?"

  "But this is just unrefined raw material, with very little arsenic content. Logically, it should be called Arsenopyrite instead. Refining Arsenopyrite is not easy, and even after burning an entire block of the original ore, only about a fingernail-sized amount of arsenic can be obtained. As for the silver needle turning black when encountering arsenic, in fact, it turns black when encountering Arsenopyrite... According to my estimation, this sachet is small and delicate, even if one were to ingest an entire packet of Arsenopyrite powder, it would not cause too much harm to a person."

  Lin Wan seemed to have thought of something, and exclaimed: "I know! Chuyun told me a few days ago that mercuric sulfide can be used for beauty, but Chuxue and Chutao and several other palace maids strongly opposed it, advising me not to use harmful methods. Unfortunately, I believed what Chuyun said and decided on this method... Later, I sent Chuxue to the Imperial Food Bureau to ask for mercuric sulfide, probably because Chuxue was afraid that I would use too much of it, so she secretly asked them to bring back some crude mercuric sulfide powder... This matter can be investigated by checking the records at the Imperial Food Bureau."

  "No need to look anymore." Tuoba Hong reached out and pulled Lin Wan, saying in a warm voice: "In any case, it's all thanks to those loyal slaves of yours. You're the same, you were poisoned by mercury, how could you care about beauty and neglect your body?"

  "Let's investigate then." Lin Yu wiped away her tears, her face a picture of utmost grievance: "I beg Your Majesty to investigate."

  "Yuan'er..." Tuoba Hong's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he could only say: "Alright, I'll check the records."

  A small eunuch in front of him quickly ran out to take care of this matter. The eunuch soon returned with the account book of the six bureaus, and Emperor Taizong clearly saw the entry "Hui Guizi took one or two rough jade stones". He hastily threw away the account book, stretched out his hand to hold Lin Huan in his arms, and sighed: "I know that you, my daughter-in-law, would not do such a thing."

  Lin Wan was sobbing in his arms, but her heart was as cold as ice. Tuoba Hong was now putting on a "trust me" expression, what about the violent rage and death sentence just now? His face is thicker than the city wall! From now on, she must be more careful with herself, this man will not protect her, and at critical moments, he will sacrifice her and abandon her.

  Tuoba Hong again ordered Li Taizhong: "Guī Jī took a small amount of arsenic, which is also not good. You give her some medicine to take, and you must ensure that Guī Jī's body is unharmed."

  The emperor's sincere concern is evident without a doubt.

  "It's not a difficult task." Li Taishan cupped his hands and said, "If the amount is small, drinking a bowl of mung bean soup in the morning and evening for three days will be able to clear the toxin."

  Immediately, clever palace maidens went down to prepare mung bean soup.

  Lin Wan was helped to sit down by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei himself.

  She knew the emperor had a guilty conscience. But this was not what she wanted to see, for men who felt ashamed in front of a woman would try their best to make it up to her, but the distance in his heart had grown far apart.

  Lin Wan said: "This matter is also the fault of the concubines. If they didn't use the arsenic recipe to whiten their faces, they wouldn't have been framed."

  "It's not Lin Yu's fault, it's this evil slave deceiving her master. She first deceived you into wearing a sachet with arsenic, and then framed you, truly vicious." Tuoba Hong suddenly stretched out his foot and kicked Chu Yun, who was kneeling behind Lin Yu, to the ground.

  Everyone understood the situation. Chang Nian made a lucky escape, and as she got up from the ground, she smiled and apologized to Lin Yuan, saying that she only knew how to use silver needles and almost wronged her mistress. Yao Fu Sheng was equally quick-witted, and he slapped Chu Yun twice, scolding: "You wicked slave, who told you to frame our mistress? Don't you dare to confess the truth!"

  Chu Yun never expected such a twist, and was already frightened out of her wits, lying paralyzed on the ground unable to speak. Chang Mama had not finished what she set out to do earlier, and now with all her heart wanting to make amends, hastily went to search Chu Yun's body, thinking that the truly effective poison, mercury sulfide, must be on this maid.

  Unfortunately, there was no poison on Chuyun's body, but the woman's accessories were scattered all over the ground.

  Chu Yun was crying and begging for mercy from start to finish.

  Lin Wan looked at her disheveled appearance, bent down to pick up a piece of agate pendant, and smiled softly to Tuoba Hong: "The palace maid of the concubine is really rich and noble, this good water head jade even the concubine thinks it's rare, I don't know whose reward it is."

  Tuoba Hong snatched the pendant, his face immediately changed, and he flung it to the ground, saying: "Take Yun Xiurong into custody, search Xianfu Palace! This palace maid will be taken to Shenxing Temple!"

  Chi Yun was quickly dragged away. Lin Wan's face still looked puzzled, and she said: "Your Majesty, is this..."

  Tuoba Hong's face was filled with disgust, and he quickly flipped through the account book he had just looked at, the pages rustling loudly due to his anger. He stopped at a page near the back, saying hatefully: "Chu Shi, you're really something! The agate qilin pendant was personally given to Chu Shi by me, and because of its high value, it's no wonder even you coveted it." His anger grew as he spoke: "I didn't expect her to use this thing to bribe your palace maid to harm you in secret! I'll continue to investigate this book, and indeed, I see that she did go to the Shangyuan Bureau to obtain arsenic. Yuan'er, since she's so maliciously harming you, I will definitely mete out justice for you."

  "Your Majesty, please calm down." Lin Wan took the green bean soup from the palace maid and stroked the emperor's arm, saying: "Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler, and the concubines are lucky to have escaped disaster thanks to Your Majesty's keen insight. But someone wants to harm the concubine, it is also because of the concubine's lack of virtue that she has brought about her own misfortune... The concubine's death is not a big deal, but it will also implicate the emperor's child, and the concubine is very worried."

  "Yuan'er, you always understand. Taohong nodded and said: 'It's that poisonous woman Chushi who wants to kill two birds with one stone, what fault do you have?'"

  Lin Wan poured the emperor a bowl of soup, and then advised him: "Your Majesty should go accompany Empress Xiang now, I'll finish this bowl and then withdraw to the palace."

  "All right." Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei nodded: "I'll have someone escort you back."