After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Chapter 035 Unexpected Disaster

Princess Ping Le said it wasn't without even looking at it.

The imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and said with his hands at his sides, "In my humble opinion, the problem is most likely with this handkerchief."

Ignoring the palace maids' attempts to stop her, Princess Ping Le ripped the handkerchief off the kitten's leg. Beneath the handkerchief, a previously scabbed wound was severely festering, and even the handkerchief was stained with filth. A strong stench of blood mingled with a familiar foul odor.

The stench reminded Lu Zhiyuan of the two dead rats.

She had Lu Yun throw the rat into Lu Jinyao's bed. This morning, someone heard Lu Jinyao shouting in her room. When the maid rushed over, she lied and said it was a nightmare to cover up the rat incident.

As expected of the second female lead in the book, Ji Wanwan provided strong support, unlike other young girls who would cry and plead with Old Madam Lu, whom she could use.

I initially thought she chose to keep quiet because she felt guilty, but it turns out she had a big surprise up her sleeve.

Squeezing through the crowd, she said, "Your Majesty, Princess, this handkerchief is mine. I personally wrapped it for Xue'er just before she went to the banquet."

Princess Ping Le's eyes reddened, and she rushed to Lu Zhiyuan, grabbing her clothes: "Lu Zhiyuan, I knew it was you, I knew it was you who harmed my Xue'er."

Lu Zhiyuan grasped her hand: "Your Highness has wronged me."

"Injustice? How dare you say that I, the princess, have wronged you?" Princess Ping Le was so angry that she wanted to strangle her: "The handkerchief is yours, and you admitted it yourself. Lu Zhiyuan, if anything happens to Xue'er, I, the princess, will make you pay with your life."

"Nonsense! What are you all standing there for? Quickly bring the princess back!" The Empress said angrily. "A beast is dead, so be it. How can you make things difficult for Yuan'er in front of everyone?"

Lu Zhiyuan realized that the Empress, seemingly friendly, was actually targeting the Lu family... no, she was targeting the Xie family. Ever since Princess Ping Le arrived, she had been intentionally or unintentionally stirring up trouble. As for Princess Ping Le, she was probably a sword that the Empress had deliberately spoiled, a sword that would run rampant and could be destroyed at any time.

"Your Majesty, may I see Xue'er?" Lu Zhiyuan prostrated on the ground: "Although this matter did not originate from me, it is related to me. I have been ill for a long time and have some medical skills. Perhaps I can see the clues."

Princess Ping Le was furious.

"Mother, did you hear that? She said she knows medicine, and that she's the one who harmed my Xue'er. I'm going to tell Father and have him behead her."

"Ping Le!" The Empress covered her ears: "Look at you, where is your princess demeanor! The matter is not clear, how can you speak recklessly? Mother believes in Yuan'er, believes that she would never kill a cat at Mother's banquet."

Princess Ping Le stomped her feet in anger.

With the Empress's permission, Lu Zhiyuan took the kitten from Xu Rui. Sure enough, it was the same poison. But how was this poison administered to Xue'er? And how did Lu Jinyao come into contact with Xue'er?

Could it be that Wanwan has spies in the palace this season?

Suppressing her doubts, she borrowed a silver needle from the imperial physician and used it to open the festering wound on the kitten's paw: "Xue'er jumped out of the flower bushes and is covered in pollen. Different flowers have different pollen, and different pollen has different pollen. We only need to invite the palace gardeners to take a look and we will know. I bandaged Xue'er because her leg was injured and bitten by a snake."

First, seal the acupoints with silver needles, then use silver needles to clean the rotten parts on the kitten's legs.

“I live in a separate courtyard in the mountains, where I am very familiar with snakes, insects, and rodents. The snake that bit Xue’er was a non-venomous rat snake, which was very small, about the thickness of an index finger. Based on the grass clippings on Xue’er’s abdomen, I determined that the snake that bit Xue’er was located in the side hall.”

"Which side hall are you referring to, Miss?"

“It’s uninhabited and located in a shady place year-round.” Lu Zhiyuan looked up at Xu Rui: “That’s weeds. If it were a palace that Her Majesty the Empress frequents, the palace craftsmen would definitely clear it away. That weeds prefer shade and like to grow among decaying leaves, hence my deduction.”

Xu Rui gave a signal, and immediately a eunuch went to the side hall to catch the snake.

The imperial physician glanced at the wound on the kitten's leg and confirmed it was a snake bite. He then examined the handkerchief wrapped around the kitten's wound; it was a newly released handkerchief from the Twelve Flower Goddesses series by Jinxiu Pavilion. The handkerchief was made of double-layered mulberry silk, and the embroidery alone was worth a hundred taels of silver.

Using such an expensive handkerchief to bandage a cat—in the capital city and beyond, perhaps only Lu Zhiyuan would be willing to do so.

“I have only been in the palace for half an hour, and every move I make is under the watchful eyes of Her Majesty the Empress. This is my first time entering the palace and my first audience with the Empress. I have no grudge against the Princess, nor do I have any enmity with Xue’er. I truly do not know what reason I would have to poison Xue’er and accidentally injure the Princess.”

Princess Ping Le was stumped by the question.

Her cat went missing yesterday evening, and the imperial physician also said that Xue'er's leg injury was from last night. At that time, Lu Zhiyuan was still at the Pingnan Marquis's residence. This was her first time entering the palace; she and her mother were brought in by Eunuch Xu. Who was Eunuch Xu? He was the Empress Dowager's confidant, a master of the palace guards. What could Lu Zhiyuan, a sickly and incompetent woman, possibly do to her and her Xue'er?

After thinking for a while with her head lowered, Princess Ping Le asked, "If it's a non-venomous rat snake, why did Xue'er suddenly go mad?"

"Imperial Physician, have you ever heard of a medicine?" Lu Zhiyuan lifted her eyelids: "Itch-inducing powder, also known as peeling powder."

“Itch-inducing powder? Isn’t that something used in prisons? How did it end up in the palace?” The imperial physician frowned, then suddenly remembered the potency of the medicine and turned to look at Princess Ping Le.

The princess was showing signs of poisoning and had begun scratching her wounds unconsciously. Lu Zhiyuan reacted quickly, snatching the silver pouch from the imperial physician and using silver needles to seal her acupoints.

"Your medical skills are limited, and I can only suppress the poison for half an hour. I beg the imperial physician to think of a way to find an antidote."

The antidote, a common remedy in the prison, was naturally also kept there. The imperial physician, not daring to delay, hurried to fetch the medicine. The Empress, looking at the silver needles on Ping Le's arm, asked Lu Zhiyuan, "How does Yuan'er know this poison?"

Lu Zhiyuan, her gaze calm, told the Empress that she had almost been poisoned by the poison, but fortunately, her maid was quick-witted and saved her life. She had personally witnessed rats poisoned by the poison biting off their own skin because of the unbearable pain and itching.

Princess Ping Le turned pale with fright and asked in a trembling voice, "Where is your maid?"

Lu Zhiyuan glanced back, pretending to just realize that Lu Jinyao was gone, and replied, "She is not a maid, but a relative of mine."

The Empress raised an eyebrow and looked at Xie Chaoyun standing in front of her: "Since you are relatives, why are you dressed as a maid? Are you from the Xie family? I don't remember the Xie family having such a young lady?"

Xie Chaoyun appeared somewhat flustered, knelt on the ground, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not mean to deceive you. It is just that my husband has repeatedly asked me to bring her into the palace to broaden her horizons. There were many people just now, and my daughter and I did not know when she disappeared."

Xie Chaoyun was deeply in love with Lu Huai, even severing ties with the Xie family for his sake—a fact that was no secret in the capital. Lu Huai arrived in the capital with a mysterious woman, accompanied by his two children. Speculation arose that this woman was Lu Huai's mistress from Weinan, and the Emperor even reprimanded Lu Huai for this.

Seeing Xie Chaoyun and Lu Zhiyuan stammering, how could the Empress, as the head of the inner palace, not guess the maid's identity? Her eyes darkened, and she commanded, "Find that ill-mannered one for me."