Seeing her like this, Su Qingwen couldn't help twitching the corner of her mouth. Her face suddenly turned ashen with anger. It was truly like a scholar meeting a soldier, with no way to reason things out.
"Sister." Concubine Ka was also stunned looking at Concubine Fei's sorry state. She had never expected that the rigged clothes would end up on Concubine Fei.
"Don't try to stop me. Today, I'm going to ruin Su Qingwen, that little slut." Concubine Fei flapped her arms and suddenly stood up. She grabbed Su Qingwen's arm and desperately tore at her clothes.
"Are you crazy?" Su Qingwen pushed at the woman's shoulders. Her face suddenly turned quite ugly. "Since you insist on bringing these filthy things out in the open to disgust me, I won't hold back either. These clothes were given to me by the emperor. You took them without permission and wore them, didn't you?"
"Also, since there's poison on them, fine. Call the imperial physician and let's see what kind of poison it is and whose it is. Let's get to the bottom of this and don't just dump all the blame on me. After all, I'm not a doormat and won't let you bully me!" Having boldly voiced her opinion, Su Qingwen felt truly relieved and not uncomfortable at all.
"Fine. Let's investigate. I don't believe you can pull any tricks. Su Qingwen, you little slut, just wait and see. Today, even if you kneel in front of me and beg for mercy, I won't let you off easily." Concubine Fei scratched at her face, which was even more hideous than a pig's head, and said angrily.
"What should we do now?" Concubine Ka began to tremble. How could things be so different from what they had planned?
"This..." Li Ruhua frowned tightly. She hadn't expected Concubine Fei to come suddenly and ruin their good deed. But now that things had come to this, there was no other way but to wait and see.
"However, if it's proven that it wasn't me, you have to apologize to me, and it has to be a serious one." Su Qingwen lifted her chin and looked at Concubine Fei haughtily. She wasn't some kind and innocent rabbit. If someone provoked her, they had to bear the consequences.
"Fine." Concubine Fei was so angry that she didn't think much and readily agreed.
"First, call the imperial physician and have him take a look at what's wrong with her." Su Qingwen pulled over a stool and sat down. She crossed her legs and watched Concubine Fei in front of her with interest, giving a cold snort.
The woman's body was getting itchier and itchier. She could hardly stand it anymore. She plopped down and scratched herself without a care in the world, looking more like a man than a woman.
Seeing this, Su Qingwen showed a disgusted expression. To think this was the emperor's woman. It was really embarrassing.
"I pay my respects to all the ladies." The imperial physician in the palace arrived. He first bowed respectfully to everyone present.
"Alright, be excused. Hurry up and take a look at what's wrong with Concubine Fei." Su Qingwen stood up and carefully glanced at Concubine Fei's skin. Sure enough, it was still red and swollen. After her frantic scratching just now, the red and swollen area was even bigger. Coupled with a few bloodstains, it was truly a horrible sight.
"Yes." The imperial physician stepped forward, carefully examined her, stroked his beard, and felt her pulse. Finally, he came to a conclusion.
"Lady Concubine Fei, you've clearly been poisoned!"
Bah. Even a fool could tell she was poisoned. What kind of poison was it exactly?
"Get to the point!" Su Qingwen's temples throbbed. She said helplessly.
"After my examination, Lady Concubine Fei has been poisoned by the itching grass. It can be found in the mountains. It looks normal, but as soon as a person touches it, they'll feel extremely itchy. If the dose is large, they'll look like a pig's head." The imperial physician stroked his beard and said.
"Isn't that exactly what Concubine Fei looks like?" Su Qingwen covered her lips and laughed. Concubine Fei was already fat. Now that she was swollen, she looked like a steamed bun. It was truly a pitiful sight.
"Hey, you little bitch, what are you saying?" Concubine Fei stared at Su Qingwen with gritted teeth and roared.
"Alright, alright. That's not important. What I want to know now is if there's an antidote for this itching grass and how to find out who put it there." Clearing her throat, Su Qingwen walked closer to the imperial physician step by step.
"Actually, there's no solution. Lady Concubine Fei will just have to be more careful these few days. Don't let the wounds get wet and don't scratch them anymore. Otherwise, she'll really end up with a face full of pockmarks."
"Ah?" Hearing this, Concubine Fei rolled her eyes and almost fainted.
"Wait. There's the second question." Su Qingwen took two anxious steps forward. She couldn't continue to take the blame for others.
"After touching the itching grass, no matter how much or how little, the fingers will turn a little green. It's more obvious in the sunlight. Even if you wash them many times, there will still be traces." The imperial physician said loudly.
Thank goodness. She had used a handkerchief when handling that thing. Concubine Ka let out a sigh of relief and subconsciously looked at her fingers. But just one glance and she froze on the spot.
What's going on? Is this itching grass poisonous? She had used a handkerchief. How could her fingers still turn green? This time, she was truly doomed. Concubine Ka's face darkened and she immediately covered her fingers.
"Now things have become much simpler." Su Qingwen curled her lips and walked straight up to everyone. "You all open your eyes wide and see clearly. I, Su Qingwen, am upright and have never done anything immoral. This has nothing to do with me."
With that, she stretched out her fingers.
In the sunlight, the woman's slender fingers were like exquisite works of art, shining brightly without a single speck of impurity. They looked extremely beautiful.
"How could this be?" Concubine Fei widened her eyes. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. Then, she bit her lip tightly. It seemed that the person who had harmed her wasn't Su Qingwen.
"That's not all. In case you say I had my servants do it, everyone come here for an inspection." Su Qingwen was quite confident in herself. She immediately called in the people from her palace and had them inspected one by one.
After this round of investigation, it turned out that no one was suspected.
Concubine Fei's face was an absolute mess. It was like a patchwork of all kinds of colors, looking extremely funny.
"What? Do you know you were wrong now?" Su Qingwen slowly walked up to her and crossed her arms.
"I..." Concubine Fei was so angry that her tongue almost got tied up. The feeling of being publicly humiliated was really unpleasant.
"Apologize." Su Qingwen spoke before her. "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."