Evil Emperor his wild consort (Regular Updates)

Planting The Blame 1

Trigonotis peduncularis?

Pang Zihuang furrowed his brows. His eyes were full of suspicion. "What trigonotis peduncularis? We have never heard of such a thing!"

"Trigonotis peduncularis is a kind of poisonous herb. Generally, anyone who comes into contact with it will begin to experience its delayed poisonous effects. If my guess is correct, someone has recently presented Your Imperial Majesty with the plant as a gift. The plant had probably withered within three days, and Your Imperial Majesty has been experiencing acute headaches since then. Is this correct?"

Gu Ruoyun smiled gently, her eyes observing Pang Zihuang from the start. Upon hearing her words, Pang Zihuang's face sank, and his eyes glazed over as if looking at a faraway landscape.

But he remained silent.

Because he would not speak, Gu Ruoyun did not press for a reply. All in all, even though Pang Zihuang was open-hearted, this matter was confidential and he would not expose any palatial matters to an outsider.

"Lady Gu," Pang Zihuang said, taking a deep breath, his expression solemn. "Can We be saved?"

Gu Ruoyun nodded, raising the corners of her lips. "There is a way, however..."

Upon hearing that he had a chance to live, Pang Zihuang burst into joy and quickly said, "Lady Gu, as long as you can save Us, We will fulfill any request!"

"Alright!"

A bright light flashed across her clear eyes, and Gu Ruoyun smiled radiantly, saying, "Remember your words, Your Imperial Majesty! I will soon write you a list of items. Please ask your men to find all the ingredients listed, and send them to the Sixth Prince's estate. I will provide your medical treatment and administer a cure afterwards. However, you do not have much time. It is best to find the medical ingredients within three days. If we delay any longer, I cannot promise that you will not encounter any problems."

"Lady Gu, We guarantee that We will send over the ingredients in less than three days. You only need to give Us the list!"

"Then... I shall await You at the Sixth Prince's estate."

Gu Ruoyun raised a writing brush, and promptly wrote down the ingredients for the cure on a piece of paper, then left the room with Pang Ran. The moment they were gone, Pang Zihuang's expression turned cold.
"Servant!" he said solemnly. "Take this list to the Imperial Physician's office. Have them send the ingredients on the list to the Sixth Prince's estate immediately! Also, summon Imperial Concubine Lin."

Trigonotis peduncularis...

The very thought of the name froze his heart.

"Nice one, Imperial Concubine Lin," he muttered angrily. "So you have all plotted to harm Us! If that child Pang Ran had not invited the Master of the Hundred Herb Hall, We probably would not even know how We died!"
Pang Zihuang gritted his teeth. He had always been particularly generous towards Imperial Concubine Lin on account of her relation to the Xia family.
Who would have known that that woman wanted Us dead! he fumed. The trigonotis peduncularis herb had been a gift from Concubine Lin, who told Us that it would help alleviate weariness. Who would have expected for it to wilt in two days! At the time, We assumed that it was some unknown plant that was difficult to care for. We never thought that it was the cause of our ailment.

At that moment, a luxurious hand as white as jade slowly opened the door to the Royal Study. A gorgeous woman in royal robes entered, her footsteps as light as a lotus, her shimmering features moving ever so delicately. She smiled softly and glided towards Pang Zihuang, before bowing in greeting, "Your servant pays respect to Your Imperial Majesty. This humble concubine does not know why she has been summoned. What does Your Imperial Majesty request?"

Peng!

Pang Zihuang slammed his hand forcefully on the desk. An angry vein rose over his temple — his face was livid with rage.
"Concubine Lin, are you aware of the crime you have committed?"

Imperial Concubine Lin staggered back in fright, her liquid black eyes stared at Pang Zihuang's handsome yet grim face in astonishment.
"Your Imperial Majesty, what has Your humble servant done to deserve Your ire? If I have done anything wrong, I humbly submit to punishment. All I ask for is that Your Imperial Majesty takes care of the Imperial body!"

Her spoken words sounded fair and reasonable. Her lovely liquid black eyes overflowed with concern, almost as if she was sincerely worried about Pang Zihuang's well-being.

"Take care of the Imperial body? Hah!" Pang Zihuang laughed derisively while clenching his fists. His eyes stared coldly at Imperial Concubine Lin's gorgeous face.

It should go without saying that this woman was indeed stunning. Even though she surpassed the Empress in looks, she did not have the benevolence and sincerity of the Empress, who was a motherly figure to the nation; neither did she have the latter's elegance and grace. Therefore, in his heart, none could ever measure up to the Empress, no matter how beautiful they were!

"Imperial Concubine Lin," Pang Zihuang sounded grave as he gritted his teeth. "Do you feel no guilt in the words you speak? We see that you are far too anxious for Us to die an early death so that the Third Prince can ascend the throne! Not on your life! We will not die, no matter what, neither will We allow you to get away with your plan!"

"Your Imperial Majesty?" Imperial Concubine Lin looked up in surprise and asked uncertainly. "Why would Your Imperial Majesty say such a thing? When has this humble servant ever wanted to take the life of Your Imperial Majesty?"

"Hmph! Are you still pretending? A few days ago, you sent Us a potted plant as a gift. Now, We ask you, was the plant called trigonotis peduncularis, which contains a slow-acting poison?"

Imperial Concubine Lin's heart thumped loudly. Initially, she assumed that her ploy would have stayed a secret. She did not expect that His Imperial Majesty would have found out about it. It seemed that she could no longer hide it.

So be it, she thought. I shall strike first and gain the upper hand!

Imperial Concubine Lin's eyes gleamed a strange glint at the thought. She lightly puckered her lips and smiled, saying, "It seems that Your Imperial Majesty has found out — what a pity that it is far too late! However, if Your Imperial Majesty is willing to abandon and kill the Empress, then I will gladly give the cure to Your Imperial Majesty. Therefore, whether Your Imperial Majesty lives or dies... stays out of my hands."

Angry thoughts crossed Pang Zihuang's mind: If Imperial Concubine Lin's target had been Us all along, that would have been fine. We did not think that she had wanted to harm the Empress as well!

This was because there were many instances where he, as the Emperor, had no volition, and he had already let the Empress down many times.

How could We have caused another woman to harm her?

"You want to be Empress, Imperial Concubine Lin?" Pang Zihuang laughed in spite of his anger. "Unfortunately, even your finger is unfit to become Empress! There is only one true Empress of Black Tortoise Country! Even if she were gone, We would forever leave her throne empty. So do not even think about it! And do not even think about asking Us to hurt her! The Empress is the love of Our life. Even if We were to die from the poison today, We will never give in to your demands!"

Imperial Concubine Lin laughed coldly, her glamorous face turned icy. Simply due to her old affection for him, she had only wanted him to kill the mother and son, for she would not have been so calculative. She did not expect that he would rather let the poison spread all over his body than kill the Empress.

Nice, very nice! she thought. Then he'll pay the consequences for his stupidity!

"It seems like a choice has been made, Your Imperial Majesty. No matter, Your Imperial Majesty will soon die a very sudden death. The two other princes left in Black Tortoise Country — one is a good-for-nothing, and the other is a drunkard whose only interest is in wine and women. Only my son is fit to carry such a demanding responsibility! Ah, one more thing; I should probably tell Your Imperial Majesty that my elder brother and I caused the deaths of the other three princes — especially the eldest prince! He looked particularly miserable as he died. He even begged me to let the Empress off with her life once I have seized power. Tsk, tsk, now why would I let her live? If it were not for her, I would have become the Empress long ago!"