Sitting at the banquet, Wu Jie moved a few dishes with her chopsticks. The things at the palace banquet are all big fish and meat, and too much spices and oils are used, which has never been to her liking.

Between eating and drinking, she looked up.

This was the first time seeing Yuan Jing after the Ghost Festival assassin. He has lost a little weight by two points, and it seems that he has been traveling around for a month, patrolling the Imperial Army, and he has also gotten a little tanned.

As if feeling her gaze, Yuan Jing's eyes suddenly moved over.

Wu Jie immediately lowered her gaze, pretending to be drinking. There is still a good show to watch later.

Yuan Jing didn't look back, just stared at her, but it's just been a month since she saw her, she was extremely thin.All the concubines in the palace, because they haven't seen him for a long time, are all dressed up this time, even the big-bellied Concubine Lijin is no exception. The royal blue palace dress is embroidered with peacock pattern with gold thread, full ofGems of all colors.Only Wu Jie was dressed in a light pink palace dress, and her waist seemed to be unable to support even such clothes.

Wu Jie drank a glass of weak fruit wine, and in the name of changing clothes, she got up and left the table.

After going down to the Zhaixing Tower, the cool wind outside the hall was blowing on the cheeks, which lifted people's spirits.

A round of bright moon is as big as a silver plate, and its clear brilliance dangles and sprinkles on the world. As far as the eye can see, the corridors piled with white stones, the pillars painted with gold carvings, and the lush flowers and trees on both sides are all covered with a thin layer of silver light.

To celebrate the festival, lanterns were lit everywhere in the palace, red and round, with golden tassels hanging below.

As Wu Jie walked among them, the sweet osmanthus fragrance came from her nose.

After walking two steps, a figure appeared in front of him.

Wu Jie took a look, it turned out to be Yuan Jing. He didn't know when he slipped out of the palace banquet and was still ahead of him.

When they bumped into each other, Wu Jie could only bow and salute.

Yuan Jing raised her hand and said in a deep voice, "I only heard that something happened to you in the Summer Palace after I came back."

Wu Jie said politely, "Your Majesty is busy with military affairs. Presumably, the empress does not want to disturb the Emperor with such trivial matters. What's more, the ministers and concubines are safe and sound now."

Yuan Jing hummed, and asked again, "I heard that a maid beside you saved you."

Wu Jie's heart tightened, and she said with a smile, "It's a rough servant girl, she has more strength. Fortunately, she swung the candlestick desperately and stabbed the poisonous snake to death. We escaped unharmed."

"This matter." Yuan Jing considered his words, and finally said, "It's too coincidental. I heard about it today, and I have already told someone to investigate it."

Wu Jie was a little surprised. She lowered her head, "The empress has already inspected the small Buddhist hall. The manager was too careless. She didn't expect that the concubine was still copying Buddhist scriptures in the study, so she rowed the boat and left. After that, the empress has already Killing him with a stick, and punishing all the palace guards guarding the small Buddha hall, can be regarded as an explanation to my concubines."

Everyone has been cleaned up by Empress Gao. Even with Yuan Jing's power, it may not be easy to clean up. Besides, even if we find out, so what, are you berating the queen for being a concubine of yourself?

As long as General Gao is in that position for a day, Empress Gao will be as stable as Mount Tai. That being the case, it is better not to tear away that layer of hypocrisy.

Besides, it is more enjoyable to do things like revenge yourself. There's going to be a good show going on soon tonight. After this incident, Empress Gao must not have so much free time to make things difficult for her little concubine.

Yuan Jing stared at Wu Jie solemnly.

Wu Jie looked away and reminded, "The emperor has been out for so long, it's time to go back."

Yuan Jing hummed, but he didn't see any movement.

Wu Jie was feeling a headache, but fortunately Wan Chongji hurried over, saw Yuan Jing, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the moon worship ceremony is about to begin, and the Empress Dowager is looking for you."

From the palace to the folk, there is a custom of worshiping the moon and praying for blessings on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the banquet, the family sets up a desk in the backyard, places offerings, and then worships the moon god.

Yuan Jing glanced at Wu Jie, but finally said nothing, turned around and took Wan Chongji away.

Wu Jie looked at his back and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I didn't ask myself to follow along.

She didn't want any concubine to see herself meeting Yuan Jing next month, causing trouble.

I miss the days when I fell out of favor in my previous life. I lived alone in Changqiu Pavilion, enjoying the moon in summer, snow in winter, picking flowers in spring and fruits in autumn.

Yuan Jing walked in the corridor, and soon disappeared among the flowers and trees. His footsteps gradually slowed down, and he suddenly laughed, "I didn't know it before, but I am like a snake and scorpion, which makes people shy away."

Wan Chongji was taken aback, not knowing why the emperor said such a sentence suddenly.

Guessing that Yuan Jing was almost here, Wu Jie slowly walked out of the garden and followed the path to the moon worship place set up by the Inner Palace.

The altar and futon are set in the white stone open space at the east end of the imperial garden. Empress Gao and her concubines have already arrived.

Wu Jie quietly sneaked in.Not long after, the Empress Dowager came over with the support of Concubine Hongshu.

Then everyone followed the etiquette and knelt down to pray for blessings one after another.

After the empress dowager and the empress worshiped, it was the turn of the concubines.

Wu Jie took some incense sticks from the hand of the palace man, stepped forward and knelt on the futon, before she bent down, a call came from behind her.

During the ceremony, the atmosphere was dignified and solemn, and this shout was very clear.

Wu Jie remained calm and kowtowed three times before standing up with the support of the maid.

Turning her head to look, it was Du Guiren who was standing behind. She was covering her stomach, her face was pale, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Du Guiren was waiting in line to pay respects, when suddenly he felt cramps in his abdomen, and couldn't help but exclaimed. After shouting, she also realized that she had disturbed the ceremony, but the pain in her stomach was unbearable, so she could only hold her stomach and groan.

Empress Gao frowned, and ordered, "Hurry up and help people aside."

Only then did Guiren Du's maid hurried forward and supported the master to retreat.

Before he had taken two steps, Lin Zhaoyuan suddenly screamed and bent down, clutching his belly.

At this moment, someone immediately noticed that something was wrong. Empress Gao was about to call for the imperial doctor, when suddenly Empress Dowager Hong screamed beside her.

Empress Dowager Hong's temperament is not as scruples about sacrifices and face as Lin Zhaoyuan and Du Guiren. She held her stomach and screamed repeatedly.

After the Queen Mother Hong was recruited, the concubines present began to suffer from abdominal pain one after another, including Wu Jie.

But compared to the Queen Mother's situation, Wu Jie and the others didn't have many people paying attention.

Not long after, only Yuan Jing and Empress Gao remained standing intact, and even the pregnant Concubine Lijin turned pale.

A Mid-Autumn Festival banquet started happily and ended in panic.

Wu Jie returned to the palace, asked Chi Rui to bring hot tea, drank two bowls, and soon recovered.

It was already late at night when the imperial physician hurried over for diagnosis and treatment. Hearing that Wu Jie had recovered, he was greatly relieved.

Wu Jie took the opportunity to ask about the situation.

The young imperial doctor took the reward from Chi Rui, but couldn't refuse, so he stuffed it into his bosom. While talking about the news I heard, "Several strong ladies have survived, just like you. Even the Compassionate Ning Palace is not good."

Wu Jie asked with lingering fear, "I heard that Director Wan sealed all the entrances to the banquet, waiting for the imperial hospital to test for drugs."

"This Mr. Shen has taken people to check in detail. All the ingredients are free of toxins. They were fed to cats and dogs, and no poison was found. It must be because of the cold weather, and the ingredients at the banquet are occasionally stale."

Halfway through the talk, the imperial doctor stopped and scratched his head. The ingredients for the palace banquet were also a ritual ceremony attended by the empress dowager, the emperor, and the empress. Do the people in the imperial dining room want to live anymore?

For this reason, even the imperial physician himself felt that it was unrealistic.

Such an unrealistic reason, of course, cannot convince the Queen Mother even more.

Empress Dowager Hong insisted that someone poisoned the banquet, and the target was herself.

It's no wonder that the Queen Mother Hong thought so, because the concubines who were also recruited recovered after two or three days of recuperation. Even Concubine Lijin, who hugged her stomach and screamed, stabilized after taking two doses of anti-fetal drugs.Only Empress Dowager Hong suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, which lasted for several days, but there was no relief at all.

Such symptoms are indeed like being poisoned, but the hospital went back and forth for diagnosis and treatment, but they couldn't find the cause.

Empress Dowager Hong has a very temper these days, insisting that someone is going to poison her old man.

It is self-evident who the murderer is.

Yuan Jing was caught in the middle again, in a dilemma.

In the bedroom of the Compassionate Ning Palace, he held a medicine bowl and stood by the bed himself.

But when the Queen Mother Hong lost her temper, no one would give her any face. Glancing at the emperor with a sneer, he asked, "Why did the Ai family need to use medicine? If they died like this, it would be considered a compliment to those people. The Ai family doesn't have to suffer through these vicious methods. Isn't everyone happy?"

Yuan Jing had no choice but to persuade, "The symptoms of the empress are no different from those of the concubines. The empress only needs to take the medicine with peace of mind."

"What's safe to take medicine? Their poisoning is mild, and they are young and energetic. Naturally, it can be easily cured. Now that Ai's family is poisoned into the five internal organs, I am afraid that the imperial doctor will see it and he will not be able to recover. The emperor does not need to say these hypocritical and pretentious words, just hurry up and prepare for Ai's family." Funerals come urgently."

These words are definitely heart-breaking words.

Yuan Jing had no choice but to kneel in front of the bed on one knee, and said in a low voice, "Mother, don't get angry. The imperial doctor has seen it before, and the mother's symptoms are not poisoning. As long as you rest in peace, you can recover, not to mention that all the concubines have recovered now."

"Ha, those people are not her stumbling block, she naturally disdains to be poisoned to death, only me, an old woman, who is sick all day long, but still leaning on it, making things difficult for her, can she not be angry? With the incident with Lanzhen before, who knew that she was taboo of Yinchuaner Begonia's flower juice, but it was just a coincidence."

Bringing up the old matter again, a coldness flashed in Yuan Jing's eyes, but she didn't say anything, just continued to comfort her in a warm voice.

However, no matter how much he persuaded, Empress Dowager Hong refused to change her words. She believed that it was Empress Gao who poisoned her, and she used Concubine Hong Shu to deal with Empress Gao before revenge.

"Since the emperor thinks the empress is innocent, I want to ask, Aijia is seriously ill now, why doesn't the empress come to serve the mother of a country so vainly about filial piety, is there any reason?"

Yuan Jing tried her best to soothe the uneasiness in her chest, "Mother, the queen has been unwell for the past two days"

Empress Dowager Hong was full of sarcasm, and interrupted the emperor's words impatiently, "I'm so unwell. Now all the concubines in the palace are unwell, and she is the only one who is alive and well, and now she is also feeling unwell."

That night, all the concubines and concubines suffered from abdominal pain, especially the Empress Dowager. In the entire palace, only Empress Gao stood out and was not injured at all.

"Mother, if it was really the empress who attacked, how could she poison all the concubines, and she was alone safe and sound?" Yuan Jing couldn't help distinguishing.

Empress Dowager Hong sneered, "According to Ai's family, she did exactly the opposite. Knowing that the emperor will definitely get her off in this way, she is so rampant."

He cried again, "I'm hopeless. I'll talk about these grievances when I go down to see the first emperor."

Facing the Queen Mother's stubbornness, Yuan Jing had nothing to do. Over the years, Queen Mother Hong has become more and more paranoid, and her self-willedness in her youth has intensified.

Seeing Yuan Jing was silent.

Empress Dowager Hong glanced at him, and continued, "The Ai family knows that the General's Mansion is behind her, so naturally no one in this palace should pay attention."

"Your Majesty, you should also think about it. The Gao family has become increasingly domineering over the years, holding the military power in the Northwest. I heard that General Gao already has the title of King of the Northwest among the people. I know that there is the General's Mansion, but I don't know that there is a capital city and that there is an emperor."

"The Ai family knew that the emperor's conquest of the Yelan country also meant to restrain the Gao family. Didn't the Gao family realize it?"

Yuan Jing's face darkened, "Mother Queen"

Empress Dowager Hong gave a rare smile, "The harem is not allowed to be involved in politics, and the Ai family is not easy to talk about. It's just that you don't rely on trustworthy people, how can you do it? This child Chong Yue grew up with you, and Lan Zhen is your childhood sweetheart." , during those years you were in the Hong family, how did your brothers treat you, don’t you have a scale in your heart?"

Yuan Jing said in a low voice, "How can my son not know the closeness inside and outside?"

Empress Dowager Hong stared at him, "If you really know, it will be a blessing to our Great Wei court and a blessing to my people all over the world."

Yuan Jing lowered his gaze, "You don't need to worry too much about the mother, I naturally know it well. It is my son's blessing that the mother can recover from her illness with peace of mind."

He bent over and knelt down on the side, holding up the medicine bowl.

This time, Queen Mother Hong did not refuse the concoction that was fed into her mouth.

Drinking a bowl of medicine with a straight face, the Queen Mother Hong said wearily, "There are still political affairs in the court, you can go down and get busy, don't always worry about Ai's side."

Only then did Yuan Jing hand the medicine bowl to the palace servants who were serving beside him, and left.

As the emperor went out, the cool wind poured in from the open door of the vestibule, bypassed the screen, and blew the bright candles burning in the bedroom to flicker.

Empress Dowager Hong looked uncertain, staring at the screen, and suddenly cursed, "A wolf's ambition."

I don't know who I'm scolding. The surrounding palace servants all lowered their heads, pretending not to hear.

This situation is not good. Immediately a group of palace people rushed up and surrounded the masters.

Under Yuan Jing's exasperated order, all the medical officers on duty in Tai Hospital hurried over in a short while.

This kind of large-scale abdominal pain and discomfort did not require a doctor's diagnosis and treatment. Everyone knew that there must be something wrong with the diet at the banquet.

Before the arrival of the imperial physician, Wan Chongji had already led people to seal up all the food at the banquet, waiting for the toxins to be checked.

Staying in the imperial garden like this is not an option. After the imperial physician arrived, Yuan Jing immediately ordered to send everyone back to their respective palaces, and then the imperial physician divided them into groups for diagnosis and treatment.