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Chapter 788 The Incense Is Poisonous

Madame Jingrou presumably did not get enough sleep, so her face looked exceptionally pale.

She, who had been used to the sedative incense blended by Lin Mengya, cast a glance at the box and nodded to give Lin Mengya implicit consent to put the incense into the censer.

Lin Mengya got up, walked up to the censer in front of Madame Jingrou and the Emperor, opened the box, drew a piece of incense at random out of the box and put it into the censer.

The charcoal fire instantly devoured it and gave off a pleasant aroma, which gave a sense of warmth.

Madame’s face softened gradually, and even the Emperor seemed to be affected and showed a less taut look.

Meanwhile, Lin Mengya furrowed her brows.

“Madame, there’s something wrong with the incense!” Taking a deep breath, Lin Mengya shouted with her face changing dramatically.

She immediately fetched a tea cup in front of Madame Jingrou and poured the tea into the censer to put out the charcoal fire.

“What’s wrong?” Even Madame Jingrou was taken aback by what had just happened, involuntarily glanced at Lin Mengya in puzzlement and asked.

What made Lin Mengya, who had always been steady and cautious, lose her cool was presumably something serious.

“Madame, Your Majesty, please forgive me! I smell something wrong with the incense. For the sake of your safety, you’d better send for an imperial physician to check it with me! Ningqiu, keep an eye on the incense box and keep everyone away from it!” Lin Mengya said with a serious look.

At the sight of her expression, the Emperor and Madame Jingrou realized that something was wrong.

Madame Jingrou looked at the Emperor. Seeing him nod, she sent someone to summon the imperial physician who was on duty in the imperial palace.

After a while, the imperial physician came in a hurry.

At this moment, Lin Mengya was kneeling on the floor. She had stayed away from the censer and the incense box since she found there was something wrong with the incense.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I’m wondering if you summon me urgently because you feel uncomfortable,” the imperial physician said.

As an imperial physician, he was obligated to serve the royal family.

However, the Emperor had practiced martial arts since he was a child and was under the protection of lots of capable people around him, so the imperial physician rarely had a chance to play his role.

It was unusual that the Emperor summoned him in such a hurry today.

“Helan, the imperial physician is here. Tell us what on earth is going on?” Madame Jingrou asked, as the Emperor did not care about such a trifle.

Hearing herself asked, Lin Mengya answered seriously, “Your Grace, I think there’s something wrong with the incense. It smells a little fishy. I blended the incense personally, and I’m sure it does not contain this kind of material. So I’m wondering if there’s something wrong with the incense. It’s not a big deal, but considering it’s related to you and His Majesty, I have to be cautious.”

Lin Mengya spoke in an extremely sincere tone and did not try to absolve herself from guilt because the incense was blended by her.

Nevertheless, what she said was true.

Anything related to the Emperor was significant.

At the thought Lin Mengya’s words made sense, Madame Jingrou asked her and the imperial physician to have a check together.

Less than half of the incense had been burned in the censer. The imperial physician cautiously took it out, put it in his hand, and sniffed it gently.

His relaxed expression became increasingly serious.

Lin Mengya felt a little uneasy. After exchanging glances, both she and the imperial physician formed their opinions.

“Are all the other incense here?” The imperial physician asked.

“Yes, I did not dare to dispose of it arbitrarily, so I’ve asked someone to keep an eye on it and keep everyone away from it,” Lin Mengya said.

Ningqiu immediately brought the incense box over. No one had the ability or courage to do anything to the box under the Emperor’s and Madame Jingrou’s noses.

The imperial physician opened the box to check the incense, and his eyebrows gradually knitted into a straight line.

“What’s going on? Doctor Liu, is there anything wrong with the incense?” Madame Jingrou asked.

The atmosphere in the chamber was extremely serious, and no one dared to say a word.

Even the Emperor, who had been reading all this time, fixed his eyes on Doctor Liu and Lin Mengya.

At the sight of the impatience in his cold eyes, Doctor Liu trembled with fear.

He answered, “Your... Your Grace, the incense seems to be mixed with poison! Regarding what it is, I have to examine it carefully after returning. Nevertheless, you should definitely stop using the incense.”

Someone dared to put poison in the incense!

All people present felt that a chill ran from their spines to the top of their heads.

With a “bang”, the book in the Emperor’s hand was slammed onto the desk.

Taken aback by this, all people got on their knees and didn’t dare to utter a single word.

“Investigate into this,” the Emperor said with murderous intent in his cold voice, sounding chilling.

Lin Mengya was naturally the first to be suspected.

Instead of defending herself, she kowtowed, looked at the Emperor and Madame Jingrou, and said sincerely, “Since the incense is blended by me personally, I should be blamed for having not keeping it properly no matter how it was mixed with poison. Your Majesty, Your Grace, please punish me.”

Lin Mengya’s taking the initiative to admit her mistake prevented Madame Jingrou and the Emperor from punishing her severely.

Moreover, she was the first one to point out that there was something wrong with the incense.

Even someone as strict as the Emperor could not say anything about this.

“You are indeed responsible for this. Get up. You said that the incense was blended by you personally. Did you find anything unusual about it before coming here?” Madame Jingrou asked.

If there was anything unusual about the incense, Lin Mengya, as the first person to touch the incense, could certainly detect it.

She lowered her head and pondered for a moment before she spoke slowly, “The incense is blended by me and made by the other palace maids of the Fengyu Court. I brought it here as soon as it was smoke dried. By the way, before I left, the palace maids, who made it, and I burned a piece of the incense and found nothing wrong. I don’t know why it was mixed with poison after I came here.”

If there was nothing wrong with the incense when it was taken out of the Fengyu Court, it meant that things went wrong on the way.

Lin Mengya pondered for a moment and appeared to suddenly realize something. However, after glancing at Madame Jingrou and the Emperor, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.

“What did you think of? Just say it.” Madame Jingrou, who did notice her hesitant look, said.

Looking at Madame Jingrou timidly, Lin Mengya said in embarrassment, “Apart from the palace maids of our Fengyu Court, the incense has been touched by none other than a palace maid named Yuanshu who checked it on my way here.”

Hearing the name “Yuanshu”, Madame Jingrou became sullen.

Because the Empress brought Yuanshu with her when she married into the imperial palace and Yuanshu had her force in the imperial palace, even Madame Jingrou had gotten the cold shoulder from Yuanshu many times in the first years after she married into the imperial palace.

Now Yuanshu happened to get involved in this, which caused a multitude of associations.

“Lass, how can you make such an irresponsible remark!” Madame Jingrou said gruffly with a stern countenance.

She had been rebuked by the Emperor not long ago because of the Empress.

Now hearing that the Empress’s maid got involved in this, she naturally wanted to avoid dealing with this.

However, Lin Mengya kept kowtowing, saying that everything she said was true.

Now things became a little tricky. Madame Jingrou had to stare pleadingly at the Emperor who was beside her, and said, “Your Majesty, it’s all up to you.”

Everyone in the chamber fell silent. Lin Mengya knelt on the ground under the Emperor’s gaze.

The Emperor’s eyes were cold, and no one knew what he was thinking.

He glanced thoughtfully at Lin Mengya and then at Doctor Liu.

“Summon the Grand Shaman. I want to know what poison it is at once,” the Emperor said, reaching a conclusion.

He demanded a thorough investigation. The Grand Shaman came from a family working for the royal family for generations, and he was tremendously impartial.

Moreover, he was so versed in the principles of poison that he could identify all poisons in the world.

If the poison in the incense was harmful to the Emperor and Madame Jingrou, he would get to the bottom of this no matter who the culprit was.

The Grand Shaman was the guardian of the royal family. Since the Emperor summoned him, it meant that they would certainly find out the truth.

Madame Jingrou looked a little worried. However, after casting a glance at the incense box, she became extremely determined.

Someone tried to poison her and even the Emperor.

She would never let it go at that!

She said, “I have to keep you here before we find out the truth. Come on, take Helan to the side chamber. No one is allowed to visit her without His Majesty’s or my permission.”

“Okay, Your Grace.” As Lin Mengya said, she got up from the ground with her head down.

Then she obediently followed a eunuch out of the chamber and was brought to an inconspicuous side chamber where there were only a bed, two chairs and a table.

“Please get in, Miss Helan,” the eunuch said.

Those who served the Emperor were all shrewd.

Although Lin Mengya was now detained, the eunuch was still polite to her without slighting her.

“Thank you, sir. Oh, yes, the incense box is of utmost importance. Please do me a favor and keep an eye on it,” Lin Mengya said.

The eunuch smiled in agreement.

She spoke and acted like an innocent person, who tried hard to clear her name, in front of others.

Even these words would reach the Emperor.

With a sigh, Lin Mengya walked into the side chamber obediently and stood with her back to the window, seeming to be preoccupied by a multitude of worries.

Her keen sense of hearing enabled her to hear the eunuch walking away.

In the dark, Lin Mengya, who had been dejected, showed a meaningful smile at the moment.

Things went as she planned.

She believed that there was going to be a particularly wonderful show tomorrow.

The palace maid Yuanshu would become the key to bringing down the Empress.

When the time came, she would like to see the Eldest Prince would choose the trust of the Emperor or the innocence of his mother.

Although the side chamber was not as comfortable as the one in the Fengyu Court, it was quiet and clean equipped with all she needed, so she enjoyed a leisurely time here.

Through the window, she could vaguely see the situation in the chamber.

Not long ago, a group of people in weird clothes headed for the chamber.

The Grand Shaman was presumably among them.

At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the night curtain was going to fall.

After checking the time and adjusting her clothes, Lin Mengya began to pace back and forth ceaselessly in a place where she could be seen through the window.