The secret guards acted swiftly and immediately dispersed to search for people in every courtyard.
The maids were startled. "What are you doing?!"
"By the princess's order, all the servants of His Majesty are to be questioned in front of the palace hall."
One of the maids stepped forward. "We serve His Majesty."
"The princess is His Majesty's daughter. Do you dare to defy the order?"
The maid wrung her hands. "Of course not, it's just..."
"No 'just'. A servant only needs to obey." The guard stared into her eyes, making her shiver.
After a while, she forced a smile. "Naturally."
Her uneasiness was seen by everyone, but they only thought it was the anger of a favored servant who had lost her privilege. No one suspected anything else.
Apart from her, there were also a few eunuchs who tried to be stubborn. They were grabbed by the neck and brought to the palace hall trembling.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, everyone was brought in. Many of them were trembling and looked confused.
Hua Siyun scanned the crowd with a cold face and asked, "Have any of you noticed anything unusual about His Majesty recently?"
Everyone looked at each other and knelt down, shaking their heads. "We've seen nothing unusual, Your Highness."
Hua Siyun frowned. She knew it wouldn't be easy to find the culprit right away. If the person dared to poison, how could they be easily intimidated?
"Truly good servants of the queen mother. His Majesty is unwell, and none of you noticed?"
Hua Siyun didn't seem angry, but every word made people tremble. "Very well. Since none of you noticed anything, my guards will investigate. I'd like to see how you've been doing your jobs!"
She said this deliberately to make the culprit panic and reveal themselves.
Seeing this, Ji Yunxi thought for a moment and stepped forward. "Princess, would you mind if the Dream Flower Pavilion got involved in this matter?"
"The Dream Flower Pavilion?"
"Yes. The Dream Flower Pavilion is known for its quick investigations. If you don't mind, I can send people from the Dream Flower Pavilion to look into this. It will be much faster." Ji Yunxi glanced around. "I think the people from the Dream Flower Pavilion have no connection with the Beidi royal family, so they can be impartial."
A pair of hands in the crowd suddenly clenched tightly.
Hua Siyun understood what Ji Yunxi meant and looked at her gratefully. "It would be great if the Dream Flower Pavilion could help."
Ji Yunxi took out her token of the Dream Flower Pavilion in front of everyone and gave it to Hua Siyun's guard.
"Take this token and go. Ask the steward to send people here."
"Yes, ma'am."
As the guard left, a person in the crowd broke out in a cold sweat and their face changed slightly.
Hua Siyun scanned the crowd. "Thank you, Miss Ji, for your help. The reputation of the Dream Flower Pavilion is well - known throughout the world. I think it won't take long to get to the bottom of this."
Everyone held their breaths and knelt obediently.
"Until we get the news, everyone kneel outside the palace for me."
Everyone was locked outside the door. Ji Yunxi asked Jiang Yaoji, "Miss Jiang, do you know what poison the empress has been poisoned with?"
Jiang Yaoji thought for a moment. "If I diagnosed correctly, it should be aconite and monkshood poison."
"Aconite and monkshood? As far as I know, aren't they medicines?" Ji Yunxi was a bit confused.
Jiang Yaoji nodded. "You're well - learned, Miss Ji. Although this medicine is usually used to treat diseases, it is still poisonous. And because it can be used as medicine, it's very difficult to trace the source of the medicine if someone is poisoned by aconite and monkshood."
"Yes, after all, it's not rare." Ji Yunxi immediately glanced at the imperial physicians.
Jiang Yaoji followed her gaze and said meaningfully, "I suppose the palace has this medicine stocked?"
The imperial physician kneeling on one side was startled and nodded. "You're right, Divine Physician Jiang. We do have this medicine stocked. But since it's poisonous, our Imperial Hospital has strict regulations on its dosage and usage. We also check it regularly, so there should be no mistakes. Please, Your Highness, make a fair judgment!"
Hearing the name of aconite and monkshood, the imperial physician started to panic and quickly explained, afraid that Hua Siyun would suspect them.
Hua Siyun stared at him and clenched her fist. "Really? Make a fair judgment? You imperial physicians couldn't even tell it was aconite and monkshood poisoning?!"
The chief imperial physician was sweating profusely. "Your Highness, the toxicity of aconite and monkshood is very hidden. At first, we didn't think it was poisoning..."
"Are you blaming me? What are you all being supported by the court for?!" Hua Siyun couldn't bear it anymore and threw the teacup in her hand.
Ji Yunxi didn't stop her. There was a creepy smile in her eyes. She stepped forward and patted Hua Siyun's hand soothingly.
"Princess, it's okay. Wait until the people come. After the investigation, we'll know whether it was someone with malicious intent or someone neglecting their duty."
Jiang Yaoji had a similar thought to Ji Yunxi at this time. "Miss Ji is right. With the people from the Dream Flower Pavilion here, it will be much more convenient. We'll know soon."
Hearing this, Ji Yunxi looked at her intently, always feeling that there was something behind her words.
The two of them kept talking, almost scaring the imperial physicians to death. Many of those with weak nerves had slumped to the ground.
Hua Siyun had no time to look at them. She just looked at her mother lovingly and gently stroked her slightly wrinkled eyebrows.
The people from the Dream Flower Pavilion came quickly, but Ji Yunxi didn't expect Zhao Qingcang and Jing Weiwei to be at the front.
When she saw them, her face darkened immediately.
Zhao Qingcang and Jing Weiwei knew that Ji Yunxi didn't want to see them, but since they were already here, they still stepped forward reluctantly and bowed.
"Your subordinates pay respects to the pavilion master and the vice - pavilion master."
Their respectful attitude temporarily suppressed Ji Yunxi's dissatisfaction. Her cold voice came out. "Why are you in Beidi?"
Jing Weiwei stepped forward and secretly glanced at Feng Xingzhi. "Pavilion master, after we came here, we never went back. Since there weren't enough people in the Beidi branch, we stayed in Beidi temporarily."
Ji Yunxi guessed that it was probably Lu Shu who didn't want these two people to bother her anymore, so he deliberately left them in Beidi.
Who would have thought that they would happen to come here this time.
Ji Yunxi sighed. "Alright, then you must investigate thoroughly."
Zhao Qingcang seemed to want to atone for his mistakes through this matter and quickly replied, "Yes! Your subordinate will surely live up to the pavilion master's order."
Jing Weiwei still looked at Feng Xingzhi reluctantly. Ji Yunxi had no choice but to say, "Jing Weiwei, you lead people to find the antidote for aconite and monkshood."
Before Jing Weiwei could speak, Jiang Yaoji stepped forward.
"Miss Ji, my Jiang family does have the antidote for aconite and monkshood."
Hua Siyun's eyes lit up and she looked at her in surprise.
However, the next second, Jiang Yaoji said, "But I'm a businesswoman. This antidote is hard to find, so I naturally won't give it for free."
She pursed her lips and smiled, while both Hua Siyun and Ji Yunxi's faces darkened.