Even though the Ji family had served Yu Lin in battle for generations, they remained subjects.
If the sovereign wishes the minister to die, the minister must die.
Moreover, the messenger had publicly revealed the cause of the defeat at Luoyi.
Even if the Emperor, mindful of public opinion, hesitated to punish the Ji family without seeing the military dispatches, he had sufficient grounds to confine the Ji family, or even to imprison all the Ji family's women pending final judgment.
It was precisely because the Emperor had delayed taking action against the Ji family that Ji Zizhao felt grateful for His Majesty's benevolence, and had even surrendered all of the Ji family's openly held wealth to the treasury, ostensibly to help the Emperor share his burdens, but also to buy the Ji family their lives.
But now...
Ji Zizhao realized she had been profoundly mistaken.
The reason the Emperor had not acted against the Ji family, whether out of consideration for public sentiment or for the Ji family's past merits, was not the reason.
It was...
The Empress Dowager!!
Renshou Palace was situated within the Eastern Six Palaces, its grounds vast and its palaces magnificent.
A palace attendant was already waiting in the courtyard. Upon seeing the Empress Dowager enter, she quickly took the Empress Dowager's hand from Ji Zizhao.
This attendant, unlike the stiff嬷嬷 who had accompanied the Empress Dowager to Kanghe Hall, held the Empress Dowager's arm as they walked towards the sleeping quarters, softly inquiring, "Your Majesty is smiling so radiantly. Did someone who came to congratulate you today say something pleasant?"
The Empress Dowager smiled and glanced at Ji Zizhao, who followed behind her. "You are indeed observant."
The attendant smiled wordlessly and guided the Empress Dowager into the sleeping quarters.
Ji Zizhao followed closely. Upon entering the chamber, she immediately knelt before the Empress Dowager. "This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your magnanimity!"
The Empress Dowager, supported by the嬷嬷, sat on a soft couch. She looked at Ji Zizhao kneeling on the floor and asked, "It is true that I protected the Ji family, but for you to thank me so openly, are you not afraid of ears listening through walls?"
"Even the attendants serving you can joke with Your Majesty, which shows your kindness. My grandfather always said that goodness is like climbing a mountain, while evil is like collapsing. With Your Majesty's kindness, there would surely be no vile individuals spying nearby."
This attendant was not as cautious as the嬷嬷 who had accompanied the Empress Dowager, and spoke to her with a natural ease and complete lack of reservation. This showed the attendant's high status by the Empress Dowager's side, and the security of Renshou Palace.
The Empress Dowager smiled with satisfaction. "Indeed, she is the eldest granddaughter that Zhengyong cherishes the most. She is truly as clever as ice and snow." She paused, then looked at the嬷嬷 beside her, "Jian Qiu, what do you think?"
"If Your Majesty wishes to praise the eldest daughter of the Ji family, why must you use my mouth? I shall go and prepare hot water for tea for Your Majesty and the eldest daughter of the Ji family." The attendant called Jian Qiu teased and left.
The Empress Dowager watched Jian Qiu leave, then beckoned Ji Zizhao. "Come, let me look at you properly."
Ji Zizhao rose and walked to the Empress Dowager's side.
The Empress Dowager took Ji Zizhao's hand. Her eyes, which seemed to have seen through all worldly matters, gained a faint blush. "You are very much like Zhengyong, especially your unyielding spirit. You were cast from the same mold. When Zhengyong saved my life, I promised him that I would ensure his prosperity and splendor for all generations. But I have failed him..."
Burning tears streamed down her eyes, winding their way down the Empress Dowager's weathered face. The unspoken pain and regret made her tremble uncontrollably.
"But rest assured, I could not protect Zhengyong, but I will definitely protect you. Consider it my atonement to Zhengyong, otherwise, even in the afterlife, I will have no face to meet Zhengyong. Cough, cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..." As the Empress Dowager spoke, she suddenly began to cough violently.
The successive coughs were so overwhelming that they felt suffocating just to hear.
Seeing the Empress Dowager's face turn red with strain, Ji Zizhao quickly withdrew her hand to support her trembling body. To her surprise, the Empress Dowager opened her mouth again, and a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.
In an instant, the Empress Dowager, who had been conscious, fainted completely into Ji Zizhao's arms!
Everything happened too suddenly, leaving Ji Zizhao no time to react or consider.
She quickly helped the Empress Dowager lie down on the soft couch and placed a hand on her wrist. She felt the pulse, small and erratic, difficult to grasp.
Ji Zizhao's eyes sharpened.
This, this pulse was...
It was!!
In that moment, Ji Zizhao felt her heart pound wildly in her chest.
Suppressing the frantic beating of her heart, Ji Zizhao took out her portable needle pack from her embrace. She drew out three specially made three-inch silver needles, using the Empress Dowager's heart as the center, and placed the three needles on the major blood vessels nearby, forming a solid triangular pattern.
When she sensed the Empress Dowager's breathing gradually stabilize, Ji Zizhao withdrew two more needles and placed them on two acupuncture points on the Empress Dowager's head, the Tongli points, one in front and one behind.
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
Then, a strange voice spoke, "This humble servant is a maid from Fengyi Palace. I am here on behalf of Her Majesty the Empress to bring some pastries to the Empress Dowager."
Ji Zizhao tensed all over and looked at the shadow cast by the door with cold eyes.
The Empress Dowager was unconscious, yet Her Majesty the Empress chose this moment to send pastries. If anyone were to see the Empress Dowager unconscious before her, she would have no way to explain herself.
There are no coincidences in this world, only inevitability.
She suspected that the palace maid bringing pastries was a pretense, and her true purpose was to frame her!
A hand suddenly grasped Ji Zizhao's wrist.
Immediately, the Empress Dowager's voice calmly rang out, "You may leave the pastries with the palace attendant at the door. Go back and tell your mistress that I appreciate her kind intentions."
The figure outside the door paused for a moment, then bowed and said, "This humble servant takes her leave."
Inside the sleeping quarters, there was silence.
Only after the footsteps had completely disappeared did the Empress Dowager slowly support herself with Ji Zizhao's hand.
Looking down at her disheveled clothes, the Empress Dowager frowned in confusion. "You understand medicine?"
Ji Zizhao immediately knelt on the ground. "I beg Your Majesty to forgive this humble subject's impertinence."
The Empress Dowager looked at the girl who knelt so readily, a hint of kindness in her eyes. "Get up. I am not so ungrateful."
However, Ji Zizhao remained kneeling and did not rise.
The pulse was short and strong, like a string of薏苡 seeds.
She dared to assert that the Empress Dowager's spitting blood and even her unconsciousness were not due to poor health, but rather...
Poison!!
Although this poison was fierce, it was not of recent onset.
To put it plainly...
The Empress Dowager had been poisoned for many years, and the toxins had now deeply infiltrated her bones!
Ji Zizhao did not wish to alarm the Empress Dowager by revealing the truth. Her sense of smell was acute, and she could confirm that everything in the room was normal. Therefore, the only thing to suspect was her diet!
Suppressing her shock, Ji Zizhao coaxed, "May I ask if Your Majesty would permit this humble subject to examine your daily menu?"
The Empress Dowager looked at Ji Zizhao, who was tense all over, and suddenly smiled. "Calm in the face of danger, composed in the face of adversity... No wonder Zhengyong cherished you so, even to the point of letting everyone in the imperial city believe you were incompetent. I truly wish to descend quickly and see Zhengyong."
The Empress Dowager's evasion of the main point made Ji Zizhao's already calmed heart pound wildly again.
For she understood the veiled meaning in the Empress Dowager's words...
Not only did the Empress Dowager know she was poisoned!
She also knew that if the poison was not removed, her life would not last much longer!!