Yun Xi was completely unaffected by all the stares.
In her previous life, when this happened, the Third Prince had actually died from the poison. Then, when Yun Xi faced the accusation, she could only cry in fear while defending herself as best she could.
Now that she was not reacting much, the people in this hall seemed to have lost interest in an important show.
Yun Xi just realised that, to those people, her suffering was just an interesting entertainment to watch.
But this time, it was not Yun Xi who would be the spectacle, but the director! Hahahaha!
Yun Xi laughed so hard that it gave the people there goosebumps.
"Is she crazy?" the people began to whisper.
Yun Xi took a slow breath, then said calmly,
"Even though the tea was from me, it doesn't mean I poisoned it, Your Highness."
Yun Xi said, and the room was then filled with silence, no one spoke.
"In that case, the only way is to investigate. Consort Wang Yun Xi, you must be willing to be investigated, but because you are carrying the Crown Prince's child, the investigation will be conducted at your residence. You are not allowed to leave the Pavilion until the investigation is complete,"
said the Emperor.
Yun Xi smiled cynically. She then took a few steps forward from her seat and stood upright facing the Emperor. The people who witnessed her actions were stunned.
How insolent!
"I refuse! Being confined to my residence, even if it is in the name of investigation, is that not the same as being found guilty? How about we investigate here? The second prince is an expert in poisons, so at least he can offer some advice, can't he? The court physician is also here, so we have no shortage of experts to uncover the truth about the poison. Everyone is gathered here, so we can be sure that the culprit is also here, because only certain people can approach the Emperor's family's special dishes. We should summon the maids who work in the kitchen and the head chef."
Yun Xi said, staring straight at the Emperor and Empress. Once again, everyone fell silent, until suddenly Yan Ling spoke up.
"I agree with my wife's opinion. Since everyone is here, I am sure the culprit will be found here too."
Yun Xi turned to Yan Ling, not expecting him to speak up. Was Yan Ling helping her?
"But how? We can't possibly check everyone one by one, can we?" Consort Liu Qin Mei suddenly said. Yun Xi chuckled and replied
"Why not? Or do you mean that instead of going to all that trouble, it's better to sacrifice one person even though they haven't been proven guilty?"
"O-of course that's not what I meant, Sister Yun Xi. You know that's not what I meant, why would you say that..."
"Yun Xi, I don't think Qin Mei meant it that way," Yan Ling interjected. Yun Xi looked at him cynically and said, "It's up to you."
"So, how do we prove who the real culprit is?" asked Yun Xi then.
"There is the best way to make sure. Please bring the tea you served today, the one that hasn't been brewed yet," said Yan Xiao. The maid from the kitchen immediately nodded in understanding and quickly went to the kitchen. Meanwhile, the servants and maids who worked in the kitchen had already arrived in the hall as the emperor ordered them to be summoned.
Shortly afterwards, the maid who had been ordered to fetch the tea arrived. Yan Xiao asked the court physician and his assistants who were there to examine it together.
"What the second prince said is correct, Your Majesty. This tea contains poison!" said the court physician. The guests who were present, including members of the imperial family, now began to speak openly to accuse Yun Xi, and some of them even hurled insults at her.
Yan Ling furrowed his brow, his face looking unhappy, but when he looked at Yun Xi, Yan Ling was stunned. His wife was smiling with a very calm face.
"As I said, even though the tea was a gift that I brought especially for the imperial family, I was not informed that it would be served directly at this banquet. Then isn't all this too strange? If the tea I brought was poisonous, shouldn't all the members of the imperial family be poisoned by now? Why only the third prince?"
"That's because you targeted him!!!" shouted a man, and Yun Xi turned to look at him. It turned out that the man who was so eager to accuse her was Liu Qin Mei's uncle, the half-brother of Liu Qin Mei's mother.
Not many people knew him because he was indeed useless. But Yun Xi knew him because in her previous life, this person had appeared and tried to harass her. It turned out that in this life, this person was still the same.
Staring at him, Yun Xi raised an eyebrow. Just by looking at his appearance, Yun Xi knew that this person was a complete loser!
"Tell me the reason, why should I target the third prince?" asked Yun Xi. The man laughed heartily.
"Of course, it's because you are ambitious to become the Crown Princess! If the third prince is gone, then your position will be even stronger, especially since you deliberately got pregnant with His Highness the Crown Prince's child!"
The words "deliberately" were clearly meant to show how cunning Yun Xi was to get pregnant.
"I see, but I'm sorry, I'm not as stupid as you, sir. Even if I wanted to target someone to make my husband's position unshakeable, that person would be none other than the second prince, Yan Xiao. Forgive me, Third Consort, but you also know that the Third Prince's abilities are still far behind those of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. If I targeted him, wouldn't it just be a waste of time and energy?"
The Third Consort was stunned. Although Yun Xi's words sounded humiliating, they were all facts, so she couldn't refute them.
Seeing the Emperor's third concubine fall silent, Yun Xi smiled. Then she said,
"Speaking of pregnancy, I'm not the only one carrying the Crown Prince's child right now, and also, everyone in this palace knows who the Crown Prince's favourite wife is, right? So even if both of our children are born, it seems obvious who has the greater potential to become the crown princess. Isn't that right, Mr. Liu Yu Ning? You should know more about your niece's love story, so why are you saying that I am more likely to become the crown princess than your niece, fufufu."
"You!!!!" Liu Yu Ning clearly couldn't refute this, while Liu Qin Mei silently clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. She really wanted to tear Yun Xi's mouth apart right now.
'What a damn bitch!' she cursed silently.
"Enough, stop arguing. We'd better find a way to discover who did this. I have to go and see how my son is doing!" said the Emperor. Liu Yu Ning immediately fell silent and sat down, her face red with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Yun Xi turned to look at Yan Xiao meaningfully.
"It's actually easy. The person who sprinkled this poison will have marks all over their palms and arms."
"Marks?"
"Yes, purplish-red spots. That's because this poison is very sharp and can irritate the skin, just like poison made from caterpillar powder. This poison also causes an excruciating itching sensation. Even if you apply ointment or take antidote, the marks will remain for 14 days, so we just need to find someone with such marks on their hands."