lcionline Chapter 245: Noble Zhou's life hangs by a thread
Chapter 245: Noble Zhou's life hangs by a thread
The confidants all understood that what Madam Xiao had not yet said was -
Could it be that in His Majesty's heart, you have already chosen Her Majesty to be the next Queen?
As soon as this thought came to their mind, they were shocked!
Even Madam Xiao was very surprised.
She has always known that His Majesty dotes on Her Majesty, and his affection for Her Majesty even exceeds that for all the masters in the harem!
But she never dared to think in this direction.
Because when the Queen passed away, the Imperial Concubine's family background would be unmatched in the harem! She had the Queen Mother's support and had served His Majesty for a long time, so she was the most likely candidate for the next Queen.
At worst, there are the more experienced Concubine Liang and Concubine Xue above her. How could such a good thing fall to Concubine Rou?
Not to mention them, even Shen Zhinian himself was surprised!
She has always been good at understanding people's minds, but this time she was a little unsure of Nangong Xuanyu's intention.
Shen Zhinian didn't believe that the emperor's feelings for her were so deep that he was willing to overcome all difficulties and make her the queen.
The man might have seen the jade dragon bracelet in his private vault and fell in love with her, so he gave it to her as a reward on a whim.
It is also possible that he was testing her to see if she had any inappropriate thoughts after she became pregnant and became the mistress.
It is said that a woman's heart is as elusive as a needle in the sea. But Shen Zhinian felt that the emperor's mind was also very difficult to figure out.
Whatever the truth is, she will just give it a try next time.
Shen Zhinian took the jade dragon bracelet off his hand and put it into the box. He withdrew his gaze and said, "Who knows? Put it away first and take it out when His Majesty comes next time."
"Yes!"
Two days passed in a flash.
That day, Shen Zhinian had finished breakfast and was reading a book by the window.
Yuan Bao suddenly ran in from outside with an anxious look on his face: "Oh no, Madam! Just now, when Concubine Zhou was admiring the plum blossoms in the Plum Garden, she was unfortunately bitten by a poisonous spider! Now, Your Majesty and the madams and ladies of each palace have all rushed to the Pear Blossom Pavilion!"
"What did you say?!"
Shen Zhinian stood up, his eyes darkening.
She is now in charge of the affairs of the six palaces. A poisonous spider appeared in the Plum Garden and bit a pregnant concubine. She also has to take responsibility!
Shen Zhinian walked out with big strides, supported by Handan and Fuqiu, and asked, "Why is there a poisonous spider in the plum garden?!"
The masters in the harem are all precious, and there are special palace servants in charge of every corner every day, just to prevent something bad from happening and disturbing the precious people.
"Your Majesty, I don't know either. Your Majesty has already ordered someone to investigate."
Putting aside the responsibility, if something happened to Concubine Zhou, Shen Zhinian would be the only pregnant concubine left in the harem. One can imagine how much attention she would receive.
Both publicly and privately, Shen Zhinian didn't want anything to happen to Concubine Zhou.
She sat in the sedan chair and ordered, "Xia Feng, go to the Imperial Hospital to see if Doctor Tang has gone to the Lihua Pavilion. If not, have him go there immediately!"
"Slave, you obey!"
Soon, Shen Zhinian's procession arrived at Yongshou Palace.
When she entered the Lihua Pavilion, there was already a large crowd of people standing inside.
Concubine Zhou's left hand was swollen, her forehead was sweating, and she vomited from time to time. The imperial doctors anxiously surrounded her bed, treating her, and Tang Luochuan was among them.
Except for Concubine Liu who was still confined to the main hall, almost all the concubines with famous names in the harem had arrived.
Shen Zhinian bowed: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! I pay my respects to Her Majesty, Concubine Liang!"
At the same time, the concubines in the palace saluted her one after another: "I greet Concubine Rou!"
Nangong Xuanyu stepped forward and helped Shen Zhinian up: "You are still pregnant, no need to be polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"I wonder how Concubine Zhou is doing?"
Pregnant concubines had accidents one after another, and the emperor's eyes were filled with gloom: "The imperial physician is still making a diagnosis."
At this moment, he felt a little panic and even a little fear in his heart.
First it was Concubine Meng, then Concubine Zhou, is the next one going to be the woman in front of me?
No! He would never let anything happen to her!
Everyone looked at the dizzy Concubine Zhou, with different thoughts in their minds.
Some people sympathized with her and felt that it was pitiful for her to suffer such an unexpected disaster.
Some people were indifferent, thinking that she was pregnant, why didn't she stay in the bedroom to take care of the baby, but was running around everywhere? She deserved this fate!
Some people thought maliciously in their hearts that it would be best if Concubine Zhou was poisoned to death this time, or if the heir to the throne could not be saved! This way they would have one less competitor.
Cuizhu is guarding here on behalf of Concubine Liu, and is extremely anxious!
The baby in Concubine Zhou's belly is not her own royal heir, but the imperial concubine's!
If something happens to the royal heir, all the efforts made by the Queen during this period will be in vain!
The most shocked person was Jiang Wange!
Although she knew that she had traveled to a palace fighting story and it was impossible not to fight, she grew up in a society ruled by law after all, and had never thought of killing anyone, let alone killing a pregnant woman.
She just had someone release a few large, non-venomous spiders in places where Concubine Zhou often went, hoping to scare her and then frame Shen Zhinian.
Concubine Zhou will definitely bear a grudge against Shen Zhinian, and if the two of them fight, she can rest easy.
But why did the non-venomous spider become poisonous? !
What exactly went wrong? !
Jiang Wange took a deep breath and used great effort to stay calm so as not to let anyone notice anything unusual.
Now that things have come to this, there is no point in dwelling on this. Why not take this opportunity to think about how to maximize the benefits?
If anything happened to Concubine Zhou or her children because of this, Shen Zhinian would be even more to blame!
She got the upper hand, so she should be happy!
Anyway, her original intention was not to kill Concubine Zhou. She didn't want such an accident to happen, so she could only blame Concubine Zhou for her bad luck!
Jiang Wange thought about this and instantly felt much better!
As time passed, the emperor's face became more and more gloomy, and he asked in a deep voice: "What happened to Concubine Zhou and the heir?!"
The imperial doctors were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they all knelt on the ground.
Tang Luochuan was also among them.
In fact, he has already come to a conclusion.
However, if I tell her how to deal with it, even if I can save Concubine Zhou and the royal heir, she will definitely bear a grudge against me and even take revenge on me afterwards.
So, Tang Luochuan chose to remain silent.
The leading imperial physician trembled and said, "Your Majesty, the poisonous spider that bit Lady Zhou is not a common species in the capital."
"Although we can find a way to develop an antidote, it's too late. By the time the antidote is ready, I'm afraid Concubine Zhou and the heir will already be... already..."
Nangong Xuanyu interrupted him and gritted his teeth and said, "Speaking of the point! How can we protect the heir to the throne?!"
The imperial physician sighed and said, "We, the humble officials, immediately tied up Lady Zhou's left hand with a rope, so the poison has not spread to other parts of her body for the time being."