novelaction Chapter 464 The Smell of Purse
Chapter 464 The Smell of Purse
He Shuangying shook her head, indicating no.
Concubine De refused to give in and kept questioning her all the way.
Since He Shuangying got up in the morning three days ago, he was asked about everything, including what she did, who she met, what she ate and used... every detail was checked.
He Shuangying responded with a few words at first, but then she raised one corner of her mouth and revealed a strange sneer.
"Empress Defei, are you here to investigate, or are you targeting me because of an old grudge? His Majesty is still here, and you treat me like this. You can only imagine how outrageous it would be when His Majesty is not here."
She had always said in front of the emperor that the concubines in the palace looked down on her and bullied her. She took this opportunity to let the emperor see it with his own eyes.
Upon hearing this, the emperor looked at Concubine De.
Concubine De bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am not very knowledgeable and cannot think of a better way to investigate thoroughly. The only thing I can do is to question everyone who handled the clothes. I'll start with He Cainu, then ask Concubine Zhao, the palace maids around them, and the palace maids who made the clothes at the Needlework Bureau. Finally, I'll also ask those around Concubine Ming. This is my plan, and I'm not trying to target anyone."
Before the emperor could speak, He Shuangying spoke first, "Why didn't Empress Defei start by asking the palace maids? Even if you asked me first, you'd be asking too many questions. If you keep asking me this way, how long will it take to find out? I'm afraid that by the time you're asking me, the person who actually tampered with the clothes will have already destroyed the evidence. Wouldn't that just be a waste of time?"
De Fei said, "If you're afraid of wasting time, then answer my questions honestly. If you hadn't been so hypocritical for half a day, I would have finished asking you all my questions."
The two men were arguing here when a medical officer came out from the back hall. He was the deputy of the attending physician.
"Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, the eldest princess's rash has subsided. After taking the medicine, no new rashes have appeared. The previous rash has also faded from bright red to a lighter red. Her condition is improving."
"Excellent! You have done a good job. There is a reward!"
The emperor clapped his hands in praise.
The imperial eunuch gave the medical officer two purses filled with silver ingots.
The medical officer thanked him and went back inside to continue treating the patient.
Empress Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank God," "Today is the eldest princess' birthday. Fortunately, it was just a close call. Otherwise, as the person who organized the banquet, I would have been really uneasy."
She stood up and asked the emperor to allow her to go to the back hall to check on the eldest princess.
The emperor is right.
Queen Yan then supported Linglong, left her seat, walked around the table, and went to the back hall.
He Shuangying smiled and continued, "Auspicious people are blessed by fate. The eldest princess is your majesty's eldest daughter, and her body is precious. She will definitely be fine. And... eh?"
She was halfway through her words when she was suddenly stunned.
At this moment, Empress Yan was walking past Fei Wan's table, holding Ling Long's hand. He Shuangying stood by Fei Wan's table, looking thoughtful, stretching her neck and sniffing Ling Long.
"What are you doing?" Queen Yan frowned slightly.
He Shuangying was stunned and said uncertainly, "This smell...why does it smell like the pollen on the princess's clothes?"
She approached Linglong in public and was very rude.
I sniffed along Linglong's neck all the way down to her waist.
He grabbed Linglong's heart-shaped purse embroidered with wintersweet in lotus green that was hanging around her waist.
"It smells so bad here!" said He Shuangying.
Linglong pulled back the purse's string, her face livid. "Miss He, what are you doing? This is a purse filled with invigorating powder. It only has the bitter smell of herbs, not the scent of pollen."
"Invigorating powder? Are you sure this is invigorating powder?" He Shuangying was very suspicious and held the purse tightly.
Linglong said, "I've been feeling restless lately, and my head is feeling dizzy. To avoid being late for work, I asked the Imperial Pharmacy for a prescription and mixed up some invigorating powder. I put it in my purse and smell it whenever I feel dizzy. It's very effective. Why did Miss He suddenly attack me?"
The emperor was still alive, and it was very inappropriate for He Shuangying to treat the queen's personal maid like this.
Everyone in the hall looked at them in confusion and surprise.
He Shuangying sneered: "If you insist that this is a stimulating powder, then pour it out for everyone to see. The imperial physician is inside. Do you dare to ask the imperial physician to identify whether this thing is appropriate and whether it has anything to do with the eldest princess's illness?!"
"I don't understand what you are saying, Miss He!" Linglongyin said angrily.
He Shuangying actually dared to treat her like this in front of the emperor. It was obviously targeting the empress!
Although Linglong is a palace maid, she has to stand firm at this time, even if she is later accused of disrespecting the palace concubines.
"Miss He, you're so certain that the contents of my purse are related to the eldest princess's illness. May I ask how you're so sure? Is it simply based on the 'smell' you mentioned? The eldest princess's clothes were stained with unpleasant pollen, causing a rash, but there wasn't any strong odor. How did you detect that?"
He Shuangying said, "I have a naturally good sense of smell and can detect subtle odors better than most people. Just tell me, do you dare to show the contents of your purse in public for everyone to see?"
Linglong bowed and said, "There's nothing I'm afraid of. But you, Little Master He, might need to think carefully. If there's nothing wrong with your purse, how are you going to explain it to everyone?"
"Just open the purse. I won't bother you, a servant, with any instructions."
He Shuangying was very confident.
Linglong went to see Queen Yan.
As a maidservant of Empress Yan, she could not decide for herself whether to open her purse or not, because her every move represented the dignity of the Empress.
Queen Yan met Linglong's gaze, but turned to look at the emperor.
After arguing for so long, the emperor didn’t say a word. What does that mean?
"Your Majesty, He Cainu has accused my maid without any reason. I wonder..."
"Why not ask the maid to open the purse and take a look?"
The emperor interrupted Empress Yan and spoke in a calm voice.