Li Mao, whose original name is unknown, fled famine to a county and became a eunuch in order to have food to eat. He was only four years old at the time. Because they were similar in age, he was arranged by the late emperor to serve Yuan Chengxi.
"After following His Majesty..."
"Eunuch Li, let me interrupt," I thought I could get some useful information from Li Li, but I never thought that once he started talking, he would not be able to stop.
Now, still not asking what she wanted, Gu Qi had to ask: "When did Concubine Zheng enter the palace?"
Li Mao said outside: "When I entered the palace, Concubine Zheng was already a noble concubine. After that, I followed Your Majesty. Your Majesty was quite close to our Prince of Zhenguo and often gathered together to play in Yuning Palace. But later... ..”
The chattering stopped suddenly, and it was so quiet that you could hear the creaking of the sedan chair.
"What happened next?" Gu Qi asked as he opened the sedan curtain.
Li Mao wiped his tears outside the sedan chair and choked up: "Later, His Majesty fell ill. After diagnosis, the imperial doctor said it was poisoning."
"Poisoned?" Gu Qi frowned. Li Mao's words seemed to be related to Yuan Chengxi's poisoning incident and Mrs. Zheng.
"Is it related to this noble concubine?"
Li Mao shook his head: "Later, Concubine Zheng was also poisoned and died. The slave still remembers that scene. The whole hospital was brightly lit, and the antidote was finally found. But Your Majesty, Your Majesty has..."
At this point, he was already crying, blaming himself for failing to protect Yuan Chengxi.
Although Gu Qi felt heavy in his heart, there was still one thing he didn't understand, so he had to wait for him to calm down and then asked in a low voice: "I see that Your Majesty is very lively and vigorous. Is there anything wrong?"
Li Mao stopped sobbing, sighed and said: "On the surface, it was fine, but because the poison was too deep and the antidote was not timely, it had already penetrated into the bone marrow. Although it was not fatal, he often suffered from dizziness and palpitations, and his personality also changed. Gotta be weird.”
Gu Qizhui asked: "How weird?"
Li Cao thought for a while and replied: "Your Majesty turns out to be a lively person. Because he is close to His Highness King Zhe, the two of them always talk about everything. Ever since he fell ill, there has been a rift between the two of them. Your Highness King Zhe." Invited to Qingzhou to guard the border, His Majesty no longer got close to His Royal Highness King Zhe, and even later, he did not even go to Yuning Palace. This time, even the servants were shocked when they heard that the family banquet was held in Yuning Palace."
Gu Qi guessed it in her heart and stopped asking further questions.
When we returned to the Zhudi courtyard, it was already dark.
After thanking Li Mao, Gu Qi went back to the house and ate something hastily before preparing to make medicine.
Although there is a slight wind blowing outside, it is warmer than before. Maybe spring is coming.
Gu Qi tugged on the big cloak on her body, moved the stove to the courtyard, took a small wooden stool and sat down to boil the medicine. The lantern under the eaves of the corridor illuminated the gravel road. Looking along the light, there was no one. Unlike other concubines, the small courtyard does not have regular maids and eunuchs to serve them. Many times, there are only two people, Gu Qi and Yuan Zhe.
Now that Yuan Zhe has not returned, Gu Qi actually feels a little deserted.
After waiting for half an hour, the medicine was finally ready.
Gu Qi used a rag to pad the handle and slowly poured the boiling soup into the bowl. The surrounding area was filled with medicinal aroma, but it was a smell she didn't like.
Picking up the medicine bowl and preparing to enter the house, I caught a glimpse of a tall figure in the distance. His steps were careless and he swayed left and right as he walked.
When the man got closer, he saw his face clearly, it was Yuan Zhe.
"Your Highness." Gu Qi put down the medicine bowl and limped towards him.
Yuan Zhe smelled of alcohol, and the exposed skin from his face to his neck was red.
Seeing Gu Qi coming, he grinned: "You're here."
"Your Highness, you have drunk too much." Gu Qi reluctantly supported his body and helped him toward the courtyard little by little.
Walking to the stove, Yuan Zhe pointed to the medicine bowl beside him and asked, "What is this?"
"It's medicine, Your Highness." Gu Qi didn't want to talk nonsense to him, so she had to drag him into the house: "Your Highness is drunk, it's better to rest early."
"Don't drag me." Yuan Zhe struggled to free himself for a while, but Gu Qi couldn't resist, so she had to keep an eye on him, fearing that something had happened to him.
He picked up the medicine bowl, held it in front of his eyes, looked at it for a while, and said seriously: "Don't drink this, it's poisonous!"
"Ah?" Gu Qi felt flustered. Could it be that the little doctor from the Imperial Hospital did something wrong? We don't know each other, how could you poison me?
"You don't believe it?" Seeing that Gu Qi was half-convinced, Yuanzhe was a little angry, so he directly picked up the bowl and took a big sip.
"Your Highness!" Gu Qi panicked for a moment, but felt relieved when he saw that there was nothing unusual about him smacking his lips a few times.
But it was medicine after all, and it would be bad if it conflicted with the medicine he was taking during this period.
Gu Qi had no choice but to grab the medicine bowl and coaxed: "Your Highness, my foot is injured. That is my medicine."
Yuan Zhe stood there, looked at Gu Qi, and then at the bowl of medicine.
He patted his head suddenly, pointed at the medicine in Gu Qi's hand and said, "By the way, this is not poisonous, this is the antidote, drink it quickly, drink it quickly."
He stumbled forward, grabbed the medicine bowl again, and brought it to Gu Qi's mouth, shouting: "Drink quickly, drink quickly."
Gu Qi looked up at him and saw the rare innocence in his eyes, as well as a hint of anxiety and urgency.
Seeing that Gu Qi was motionless, Yuan Zhe said aggrievedly: "Why don't you drink? Are you afraid that I will harm you?"
"Ah, no, I'll drink, I'll drink." Gu Qi took the medicine bowl and drank the bitter medicine in one gulp.
Yuan Zhe laughed innocently, opened his arms and hugged Gu Qi into his arms: "I'm sorry."
Gu Qi didn't know what to do, but then she heard his soft snoring.
"Oh." Gu Qi sighed and helped him into the house.
As the New Year approaches, the palace maids and eunuchs are busy hanging lanterns and preparing sacrifices early.
Gu Qi stood in the courtyard and arranged the arrangements with the palace ladies.
The slightly deserted courtyard became much warmer after being dressed up.
"When did Your Highness wake up?" Turning around, he saw Yuan Zhe standing at the door of the room, looking at Gu Qi in a daze.
"Just now." He opened his lips lightly and said nothing else.
"Oh," Gu Qi held a word "福" in her hand and grinned at him: "The food is warm on the stove, so eat as much as you can."
Yuanzhe said "hmm" and turned around and entered the house.
The maids cleaned up the yard and left, and it was already noon.
Perhaps because of the busy morning, my stomach started to growl.
Gu Qi walked outside the small courtyard, looked into the distance, and saw a figure rushing here carrying a food box.
When this person approached, it was an unfamiliar face.
"Master Pei, I've been waiting for a long time." The man handed the food box to Gu Qi and turned to leave.
"Eunuch, wait a minute!" Gu Qi pulled him and asked, "I wonder why Eunuch Li didn't come today?"
"Which Eunuch Li?"
"Li Mao."
He was stunned for a moment and replied: "I don't know."
Gu Qi narrowed her eyes, obviously seeing that he was lying.
The little eunuch glanced at Gu Qi and lowered his head in a hurry.
There is nothing that money cannot do in this palace.
Gu Qi took a small ingot of silver from his sleeve and stuffed it into the little eunuch's hand.
Seemingly frightened by Gu Qi's actions, he trembled and pushed the money back: "I really don't know!"
Before Gu Qi could speak, he ran away.
never mind.
When he returned to the room, he saw Yuan Zhe sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Your Highness, it's time to eat." Gu Qi put the food box on the table and sat down.
Yuan Zhe put down the book in his hand, walked over and looked at Gu Qida: "Why are you suddenly absent-minded?"
Gu Qi muttered to herself: "It's a little strange." Then he opened the food box and took out the food inside.
Yuan Zhe sat down opposite and did not move his chopsticks.
"Pei Qihuan."
Hearing Yuan Zhe calling him, Gu Qi raised his head: "Ah? What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Yuan Zhe picked up the chopsticks in front of him, tapped the plate, and made a crisp sound: "Is the person delivering the food Wei Li or Li Mao?"
Gu Qi shook her head and said, "No, he's just a face-to-face father-in-law."
Yuan Zhe also looked confused, then frowned and stared at the food in front of him.
"Your Highness, let's eat first."
Gu Qi picked up the chopsticks and just picked up the vegetables when Yuan Zhe went up and knocked them away.
"Wait a minute." Yuan Zhe still frowned, his face ashen.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Gu Qi didn't know why, but seeing how serious he was, she swallowed nervously.
As if he had made a lot of determination, Yuan Zhe picked up the vegetables in front of him and put them into his mouth. After chewing it and swallowing it, it became as motionless as a stone statue.
Gu Qi didn't dare to act rashly and could only keep staring at him.
It wasn't until Yuan Zhe tasted all the food that he relaxed and let out a long sigh of relief.
"It's okay, let's eat."
Gu Qi raised her hand to pick up the vegetables, but Yuan Zhe put his chopsticks down and stood up.
"Your Highness, don't you want to eat?"
He glanced at Gu Qi and said, "I've just finished the meal you left for me. I'm not hungry at all."
"Then what your Highness just did..." Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qi seemed to suddenly understand what Yuan Zhe had just done.
She carefully looked out the window, but there was no one in the courtyard.
He asked softly: "Test the poison?"
Yuan Zhe nodded.
Gu Qi stood up suddenly, and the table made a harsh sound after being impacted.
"Why didn't His Highness say anything about such a dangerous thing?"
Yuan Zhe looked at the food on the table and said, "If you are coming after me, why bother dragging you into the water?"
Could it be that Yuan Chengxi has murderous intentions?
But why is the food non-toxic?
Gu Qi frowned, puzzled.
Although Yuan Zhe died as he wished, he sent a young eunuch whom he had never seen before to deliver meals. After he was poisoned and was discovered by the palace officials, all suspicions would be blamed on himself.
So, Yuan Chengxi wants to kill two birds with one stone?
Thinking of this, Gu Qidun felt his scalp numb.
If Yuan Zhe died today, he would definitely be involved.
Either he was poisoned and died like Yuan Zhe, or he was framed to death.
No matter how you look at it, it seems like it’s coming for you.
But I didn't show my weakness in front of Yuan Chengxi. Why did he kill me?
Gu Qi went through today's events in detail, and really didn't know where the problem occurred.
But I didn't dare to eat the food in front of me.
Suddenly, Gu Qi pointed at the food and said, "Your Highness, is it possible that it is a chronic poison?"
Yuan Zhe's body trembled, his eyes widened, he stared at Gu Qi and asked, "How did you know?"
"Ah? What do you know?" Gu Qi was startled by his reaction.
Yuan Zhe's eyes were full of murderous intent, and he stepped closer, scaring Gu Qi so much that he stepped back.
