Early the next morning, the entire harem was in an uproar. Dongfang Yi was woken up in a daze.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!" Donghua stood beside her and said, frowning as if hesitant.
"What's going on?" Dongfang Yi sat up straight after hearing this, rubbing her sleepy eyes and asking, seemingly a bit unhappy that the woman beside her had woken her up so early.
"Concubine Lian is dead!" Donghua said loudly.
Hearing this, her drowsiness was instantly shattered. She stared wide - eyed, her face full of disbelief.
"What's going on?! Is it true?!" she said, her heart pounding.
The woman who had come to complain to her just yesterday couldn't possibly be dead today.
Donghua then slowly began to tell the story.
It was said that this morning, Xiaoxiang from Concubine Lian's palace went to wake her up. As soon as she entered the palace, she felt it was too quiet. When she lifted the beaded curtain and walked in, she saw Concubine Lian lying motionless on the bed.
Xiaoxiang called out a few times but got no response. Then she pushed the person on the bed, only to find a woman with blood oozing from her seven orifices.
She immediately let out a scream and ran out of the palace, shouting all the way, "Something's wrong! Something's wrong! Concubine Lian is in trouble!"
Then the imperial physician rushed over. After examination, it was said that Concubine Lian had died of poisoning. There was a letter beside her, which said how she had framed the Empress. Every word seemed sincere, as if she was truly repenting, making others think she had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
After Donghua finished speaking, Dongfang Yi frowned even more tightly. She couldn't help but feel that all this was too much of a coincidence. She had already suspected Concubine Lian and was about to find out the person behind her, but now the most important witness was dead.
There must be something fishy about this. Concubine Lian's death was probably related to that person behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, she decided to go and have a look herself, hoping to find out something.
In about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, she and Donghua arrived at Concubine Lian's palace. As soon as they entered, there were a crowd of palace servants. Among them were Concubine Chu and other concubines from different palaces.
When they saw Dongfang Yi coming, they all bowed slightly and shouted in unison, "Your servant pays respects to the Empress!"
Dongfang Yi nodded but said nothing. She strode into the inner chamber.
Inside the palace, she saw Imperial Physician Li who was still examining. When he saw the person coming, he respectfully bowed and said, "Your humble servant pays respects to the Empress."
"How's the examination going?" she asked.
"Concubine Lian died of poisoning, and the poison is extremely potent," the man replied.
Dongfang Yi looked at the woman on the couch, with blood oozing from her seven orifices, her face pale and lifeless. A feeling of nausea welled up in her heart. Then she asked, "What kind of poison is it?"
She was really curious about who could have poisoned the woman so quietly.
"Your Highness, Concubine Lian died of the most common arsenic poison!" Imperial Physician Li replied.
"Your humble servant just doesn't understand. According to the amount of arsenic in Concubine Lian's body, it should be a bowl of pasty poison. Your humble servant really doesn't know how she could have swallowed it!" he continued.
After hearing this, Dongfang Yi frowned even more tightly. She knew about arsenic. It was probably the most common poison, and its toxicity was extremely strong. Just a little bit could be fatal.
"Are you sure? Are there any other wounds on her body?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with a hint of hesitation.
"That will have to wait for the coroner to conduct further investigations," Imperial Physician Li replied. After all, he was a bit helpless when it came to the corpse.
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi just nodded. She reached out and picked up the letter on the bedside table.
The handwriting on it was delicate and beautiful. It was obviously written by a woman. On the way here, Donghua had told her that the handwriting was exactly the same as Concubine Lian's, looking like it was written by herself.
The letter detailed how she had framed the Empress during the hunting trip. It also said that she had always been dissatisfied with the Empress and had long harbored the intention to kill. Since she had failed to kill the Empress and was afraid that the matter would be exposed, after much deliberation, she had chosen to commit suicide by taking poison.
All of this seemed to point to suicide. Concubine Lian's death seemed to have nothing to do with anyone else.
But how could Dongfang Yi believe it? Who could swallow a large bowl of pasty arsenic when they were sober? So this proved that this must not be a suicide case. There must be someone behind the assassination. As for the details, they would have to wait for the coroner to finish examining the body.
Just as she was thinking, a proclamation came from outside the palace, "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!"
Then she saw a man in a black robe and a golden crown striding in. His eyes were chillingly cold.
Everyone bowed and shouted long live the Emperor.
Dongfang Yi also bowed slightly. Then, when there was no one around, she said to him, "Concubine Lian's death is really suspicious!"
What she meant was that she suspected Concubine Lian had been murdered.
On the way here, Helian Qi had probably also heard about the twists and turns of this matter. All the palace servants in the harem were spreading the news that she had committed suicide out of fear of punishment after harming the Empress. But he naturally knew that it couldn't be that simple.
Now, after hearing Dongfang Yi's analysis, his mind became clearer.
In this incident, Concubine Chu was a bit suspect. It couldn't be ruled out that she had killed Concubine Lian to completely clear herself of suspicion. But this seemed a bit far - fetched.
Looking at Concubine Chu outside today, her face showed a look of confusion, as if she had never expected such a thing to happen. According to her previous personality, she would definitely have publicized her innocence all over the place. But now she was so calm.
"Let's wait until the coroner finishes examining the body," she said, looking a bit tired with her eyes downcast.
The affairs in the harem never seemed to end. One thing after another was really overwhelming for her.
Helian Qi seemed to see her exhaustion. He reached out and stroked her hair, smiling gently and comforting her, "Don't worry. I will find out everything."
This gentle voice gradually soothed her emotions and made her less agitated. She whispered, "I know."
After chatting for a few more words, they each returned to their own palaces.
The atmosphere in the entire harem suddenly became gloomy. After all, someone had died, and everyone in each palace was in a panic and couldn't calm down.
At the same time, the palace was divided into two factions. One faction claimed that Concubine Lian had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, while the other suspected that she had been killed. Most of them suspected Concubine Chu.