The Demon Physician’s Apprentice
The Demon Physician’s Apprentice
"No need to introduce its usage. Just tell us the Empress Dowager's plan."
Just when Matron Chen was about to explain Frostbite's properties, Zhao Qian quickly interrupted her.
Please, if everyone were to know that Master was once impotent, he would be utterly humiliated!
What an evil old hag!
Matron Chen was startled, and not daring to mention Frostbite's properties anymore, continued, "The Crown Prince was still young back then, so the Empress Dowager thought of using Frostbite on His Majesty. That way, His Majesty could secure the throne for the Crown Prince, and when the Crown Prince became an adult, the poison would have taken full effect…"
When Lu Liangwei heard this, the truth finally dawned on her.
Now she understood why the culprit had used a slow-acting poison.
Empress Dowager Xiaojing had really pulled out all the stops to help Long Chi seize the throne.
Just then, Matron Chen glanced at Ling Lihua before going on, "The Empress Dowager found out that the Grand Duchess was the Demon Physician's apprentice and that only she can cure Frostbite victims. After she got her hands on Frostbite, instead of poisoning His Majesty right away, she continued to wait for a suitable time. During the second year of His Majesty's reign, she learned about Madam Zheng seducing the Grand Duke, and that was when she knew her chance had come."
"But His Majesty was very vigilant at that time, and the Empress Dowager had no chance to attack, so she continued to wait patiently for the perfect opportunity and also ordered her henchmen to watch Madam Zheng closely. During the third year of His Majesty's reign, the Empress Dowager learned about his plan to retrieve the Worthy Consort's remains from the imperial mausoleum. She ordered her henchmen to smear Frostbite on the remains in advance and even shifted the blame onto the Prince of Lasting Peace. No matter how vigilant His Majesty was, he would never have thought that the Empress Dowager would poison the Worthy Consort's remains."
"After His Majesty returned, he vomited blood and fell into a coma. The Empress Dowager then knew that he had been poisoned. After His Majesty woke up, he investigated the matter and found that all evidence pointed to the Prince of Lasting Peace. The Prince had always been a timid person, and after the Empress Dowager released the news that His Majesty planned to execute him in advance, he was so frightened that he committed suicide in his mansion."
Frowning, Lu Liangwei asked, "Since the Prince didn't do it, why did he commit suicide?" No matter how timid he was, he did not have to get so scared and commit suicide without even fighting for a chance to defend himself. Unless…
Long Yang said slowly, "Because the Prince received the news that I saw him as a threat and wanted to kill him. He didn't want his family to get hurt because of him, so he killed himself."
Matron Chen nodded. "That's right. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager had been closely monitoring Madam Zheng, and she found out that she'd given birth to a baby girl a month ago. A few days later, the Grand Duchess gave birth to the Empress, and at that time, the Empress Dowager had already sent Liu Fu to bring Madam Zheng and her daughter back and kill her husband, too."
"Under the pressure of coercion and temptation, Madam Zheng finally agreed to serve the Empress Dowager. She came to the Grand Duke Mansion with her daughter and acted all pathetic and desperate. Sure enough, like what the Empress Dowager expected, the Grand Duchess couldn't stand the Grand Duke's betrayal and left the mansion resolutely. But the Empress Dowager was still worried, so she sent a group of covert guards to intercept and kill the Grand Duchess…"
After saying this, she glanced at Ling Lihua uneasily.
The Empress Dowager had planned everything carefully, but she never imagined that Ling Lihua would still be alive and even cured the Emperor of the poison.