CHAPTER 207 — THE EMPRESS WAS POISONED
It was Dong'er.
Tang Kexin's heart lurched. Dong'er never left the Empress's side — not unless something was terribly wrong.
"What's happened?"
Her voice cracked before she could stop it.
Dong'er froze when she saw her — shock, relief, and a dozen tangled emotions flickering across her face. But urgency quickly swallowed everything else.
"Young Mistress… the Empress… the Empress has been poisoned."
Tang Kexin's blood ran cold.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't even feel her own heartbeat.
Then everything snapped into motion.
She shot to her feet, ready to run straight out of the mansion — disguise, danger, consequences be damned — but Ye Lanjue caught her wrist.
"What are you doing?" he asked, voice low but firm.
Tang Kexin stared at him, eyes wide with panic. "Didn't you hear? The Empress—"
"Prepare the carriage," Ye Lanjue ordered sharply, not taking his eyes off her.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Ming Xun bowed and sprinted away.
He didn't try to stop her.
He didn't try to reason with her.
He knew her too well.
The Empress was the closest thing she had to a mother in this world.
Of course she would run.
Of course she would break.
Tang Kexin's breath trembled. She forced herself to swallow the rising panic. She had to stay calm. She had to think. She had to—
Ye Lanjue squeezed her hand.
A silent anchor.
A reminder that she wasn't alone.
The carriage arrived in record time. They climbed in together, and Tang Kexin clenched Ye Lanjue's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Her mind raced.
What poison?
How much had she consumed?
Was she conscious?
Was she in pain?
Every second felt like a year.
Ye Lanjue watched her quietly. She had abandoned her disguise entirely — she didn't even realise it. Her fear was raw, unfiltered, and painfully human.
He tightened his grip around her fingers.
He would get her there.
He would protect her.
He would protect the Empress too — for her sake.
---
The moment they reached the palace gates, Ye Lanjue swept her into his arms and ran.
Kunning Palace was in chaos.
Servants sobbed.
Guards shouted.
The air was thick with fear.
An imperial physician stepped out of the chamber, face pale.
"How is the Empress?" Tang Kexin demanded, rushing forward.
The physician blinked at her — the runaway princess consort — but quickly regained composure.
"The Empress was poisoned," he said gravely. "Fortunately, she consumed very little. She will not die immediately. But the poison is… extremely difficult to cure."
Tang Kexin's heart dropped. "What do you mean?"
"There is only one antidote," the physician said. "The Jadeblood Heart Grass. It is exceedingly rare — none exists in the palace. And even if it is found… the antidote must be refined with the blood of a close relative."
Tang Kexin's breath caught.
She didn't waste another second.
She pushed past him and entered the chamber.
---
The Empress lay motionless on the bed, her face drained of colour. Her breathing was shallow, barely perceptible.
The Emperor sat beside her, holding her hand with both of his, stroking her cheek with trembling fingers. His eyes were red, his expression hollow.
When he looked up and saw Tang Kexin, something in his face softened — as if her presence was the only thing keeping him from collapsing.
"Xin'er… you're here."
His voice was hoarse, cracked, nothing like the powerful ruler he was.
Tang Kexin's throat tightened.
The Emperor truly loved the Empress.
Deeply.
Painfully.
"Your Majesty," she said, forcing her voice steady, "let me examine her."
He nodded immediately. "Yes. Yes, Xin'er… please."
Tang Kexin sat beside the Empress and took her pulse.
It was faint.
Erratic.
Wrong.
A poison she had never encountered.
A poison that didn't belong to this world.
Her stomach twisted.
She withdrew her hand slowly.
"How is she?" the Emperor asked, voice trembling.
Tang Kexin shook her head.
The Emperor's face crumpled.
He bowed his head over the Empress's hand, grief pouring from him like water from a broken vessel.
"Your Majesty" Tang Kexin said quietly, "do you know who poisoned her?"
The Emperor let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know. I reviewed memorials at noon. I told Qing'er to eat first. When I heard the sound… she was already on the ground."
His voice cracked.
He didn't even call her "Empress."
He called her Qing'er.
Tang Kexin's heart ached.
"The Empress's food is always tested," she said. "The poison must have been added at the last possible moment. I will investigate this. I swear it."
The Emperor nodded weakly. "Good."
He trusted her.
He trusted Ye Lanjue.
He trusted that they would protect Qing'er when he could not.
"Your Majesty," Tang Kexin said, "the Jadeblood Heart Grass — do you know where to find it?"
The Emperor's eyes sharpened. "I know someone who has it. I will ask for it myself."
Tang Kexin frowned. Something about his tone unsettled her — a quiet resolve, a dangerous determination.
"Xin'er," he said softly, "leave us. I want to stay with her. And do not worry about the medicine. I will bring it back."
Tang Kexin hesitated.
The Emperor's gaze never left the Empress's face.
He had already made up his mind.
And whatever he intended to do…
he would not be stopped.
——————————————
CHAPTER 208 — TRUTH
"Then… I'll take my leave."
Tang Kexin cast one last lingering look at the Empress — pale, still, heartbreakingly fragile — before forcing herself to step out of the chamber.
Ye Lanjue was waiting just outside, standing rigidly in the corridor. He hadn't entered because he knew the Emperor would never leave the Empress's side, and barging in would only cause more chaos. Besides, the Empress was gravely ill — it wasn't appropriate for him to intrude.
The moment he saw Tang Kexin, he strode forward, tension etched across his face.
"How is she?"
Tang Kexin's composure cracked. Her voice trembled. "I… I can't cure it."
The words tasted like ash.
She clenched her fists. "Why? Why are there still things I can't fix? After everything I've learned, everything I've done… why can't I save her?"
Ye Lanjue's expression softened, but his voice remained steady — the anchor she desperately needed. "How was she poisoned?"
Tang Kexin swallowed hard. "Food poisoning."
Ye Lanjue's eyes sharpened instantly. "Food?"
He understood immediately.
This wasn't an accident.
This wasn't carelessness.
This was deliberate.
And the target… might not have been the Empress at all.
Tang Kexin realised it too. Her breath hitched. "If the food was poisoned… then it could have been meant for the Emperor. Or both of them."
Either way, the Empress would take the blame.
Either way, she would die.
The cruelty of it made Tang Kexin's stomach twist.
"If the food was tampered with," Ye Lanjue said coldly, "it must have happened during delivery. We need to know who approached it."
"Agreed."
They didn't waste another second.
---
The imperial kitchens were thrown into chaos the moment the Third Prince arrived. Servants dropped to their knees, trembling.
"Who delivered lunch to Kunning Palace today?" Ye Lanjue demanded, voice icy.
Several servants stepped forward, shaking.
"Did anyone approach the food on the way?" he asked, gaze sweeping over them like a blade.
They all shook their heads.
Tang Kexin watched their faces closely. Confusion. Fear. But no guilt.
"Were you the only ones delivering it?" she asked. "Did you personally take it all the way?"
The servants exchanged uneasy glances.
One eunuch kept darting glances at another man.
Tang Kexin walked straight toward him. The others instinctively stepped back.
"You delivered it?" she asked, voice low and cutting.
The eunuch collapsed to his knees. "Princess, spare me! I—I didn't go! I had terrible diarrhoea at lunchtime, I couldn't leave!"
His voice cracked with genuine fear.
"Then who went?" Tang Kexin pressed.
"H-he's in the room… he hasn't come out."
Tang Kexin didn't wait.
She strode to the indicated door and kicked it open.
A body lay crumpled on the floor.
Dead.
The servants behind her screamed.
Tang Kexin knelt beside the corpse. No signs of struggle. No wounds. No blood. Whoever killed him had done it swiftly and cleanly.
Ye Lanjue entered behind her — and pulled a small lacquered box from beneath the bed.
He opened it carefully.
Inside lay several pieces of jewellery — gold, silver, and one enormous pearl, flawless and luminous.
Far too valuable for a low-ranking eunuch.
Ye Lanjue's expression didn't change, but his eyes darkened.
He closed the box and took Tang Kexin's hand.
"Only Imperial Concubine Rong, Imperial Concubine Ming, and the Empress possess jewellery of this calibre," he said quietly. "The other concubines wouldn't have access to something like this."
Tang Kexin's jaw tightened. "So the most likely culprit is a concubine. If the Emperor dies, the Crown Prince ascends. And with his condition… Consort Rong would be desperate."
She remembered the rumours she'd heard that morning.
Consort Rong — quiet, hidden, rarely appearing — all for the sake of her son.
"Now we need evidence," Ye Lanjue said. "If she did this, she won't escape."
Tang Kexin nodded grimly.
---
That night, the palace was shrouded in a cold, moonless darkness. The wind howled through the corridors like a warning.
The Emperor left the palace alone.
He knew exactly where he was going.
He knew exactly what he was risking.
If he went to this person… he might lose Qing'er forever.
But if he didn't… she would die.
He would rather lose her than bury her.
---
"You're looking for This King."
The Northern King stepped out of the shadows, his expression unreadable. His face was half-hidden in darkness, making his presence feel even more formidable.
The Emperor didn't waste time.
"Qing'er has been poisoned. She needs the Jadeblood Heart Grass."
His voice was steady, but his hands trembled.
The Northern King's eyes flickered. He had known the moment Qing'er was poisoned. His own heart had clenched with fear — but unlike the Emperor, he had the means to save her.
He had been waiting for this moment.
"So?" he asked coolly.
The Emperor's composure cracked. "I beg you — give me the medicine. Let me save her."
He didn't care about pride.
He didn't care about dignity.
He didn't care about the past.
He only cared about Qing'er.
The Northern King's lips curled into a cold, bitter smile.
"You want me to save her?" he said softly. "So she can thank you?"
His voice dripped with contempt.
"You couldn't protect her for nineteen years. And now, when she's dying from a poison meant for you… you come to me?"
His eyes glinted with something dark.
"Why should I save the woman you failed to keep safe?"