Chapter 460: Chapter 256 The Real Cause of Death of the Former Empress
When Tong Xi said, "Isn’t this just like the Empress?" the first reaction Zhao Yao had was that the former Empress did not truly die of illness, but might have been killed by Empress Xie. However, he quickly felt that his idea was too frightening, but after he learned the true cause of Princess Consort Dai’s death, Zhao Yao felt that his previous dreadful suspicion might be correct.
Liang Zhaoyi was frightened by Zhao Yao’s words, and she hastily denied, "Impossible."
"Mother Concubine, nothing is impossible." The more Zhao Yao thought, the more he felt his speculation could be right. "Mother Concubine, think carefully, when the former Empress passed away from illness, wasn’t the Empress already of age?"
Liang Zhaoyi carefully recalled, then her face changed dramatically.
"Yes, before the former Empress died from illness, the Empress had come of age. I remember the Empress’s coming of age ceremony was very grand. On one hand, because she was the Duke Zhen’s legitimate daughter, and on the other hand, they said it was to ward off bad luck for the Empress."
Zhao Yao continued to ask, "Was it not long after the Empress came of age that the former Empress passed away from illness?"
"No, the former Empress passed away at the end of that year when the Empress came of age." Liang Zhaoyi tried hard to recall the events of that year. "I remember after the Empress’s coming of age ceremony, the former Empress’s condition suddenly improved somewhat. At that time, everyone said it was because of the Empress’s coming of age ceremony warding off bad luck, and as a result, the Emperor rewarded the Empress with many things."
She added, "At that time, everyone praised the Empress, saying her coming of age ceremony warded off the sickness from the former Empress."
Zhao Yao was shocked, "Is there really such a thing?"
Liang Zhaoyi nodded, her tone very certain, "I am not mistaken. At that time, when the former Empress’s condition improved, we even went to Changle Palace to visit her. She looked much better, talked to us for a while, and told us not to worry about her. Before the Empress’s coming of age ceremony, the former Empress was very ill. The Imperial Physician said she could not hold on for much longer, at most another month, but after the Empress’s coming of age ceremony, the former Empress’s health suddenly began to improve."
Zhao Yao then asked, "How long did the former Empress’s improvement last?"
"It seemed like more than a month. I remember then the former Empress was much better. The Imperial Physician said if it continued like that, before long, the former Empress would be able to get out of bed. But later, the former Empress caught a chill, and she fell gravely ill again despite the Imperial Physician’s best efforts." Liang Zhaoyi reminisced. "At that time, the Empress even specially prayed for the former Empress and went to the National Protection Temple to recite scriptures for her, but unfortunately, the former Empress’s illness did not improve at all and instead became increasingly severe."
"Didn’t the Imperial Physicians discover that the former Empress was poisoned?" Zhao Yao speculated in his heart that the former Empress might have been slowly poisoned by the Empress. This kind of slow poison wouldn’t take the Empress’s life immediately, but would gradually erode her health, leaving her body weak, and ultimately she would die of illness.
Liang Zhaoyi shook her head and said, "No, back then, the Emperor also suspected that the former Empress might have been poisoned by someone, and specifically instructed the Imperial Physicians to carefully diagnose her pulse, but the Imperial Physicians did not find the former Empress was poisoned."
"And what about the Divine Doctor from the Duke Zhen Mansion? Did the Emperor invite him to diagnose the former Empress’s pulse?"
"Yes, the Divine Doctor from the Duke Zhen Mansion also did not diagnose that the former Empress was poisoned." The Emperor took the former Empress’s grave illness very seriously, and the concubines were also very concerned, so Liang Zhaoyi remembered this matter very clearly. "The Divine Doctor said that the former Empress’s poor health was caused by exhaustion, coupled with not properly recuperating from earlier illnesses, which is why her condition was so weak."
Zhao Yao thought to himself: Back then, the Empress might have bribed the Divine Doctor from the Duke Zhen Mansion, or even gotten slow poison from the Divine Doctor.
Liang Zhaoyi saw what Zhao Yao was thinking and said, "Impossible. If the Divine Doctor had really been bribed by the Empress, with the Empress’s personality, she wouldn’t have kept him around, but the Divine Doctor has always been well at the Duke Zhen Mansion."
She added, "The former Empress was gentle and kind to everyone. It’s said that initially, the former Empress saved the Divine Doctor, and that’s why he was willing to join the Duke Zhen Mansion. The Divine Doctor could not have been bribed by the Empress."
Zhao Yao was surprised, "So the Divine Doctor was brought into the Duke Zhen Mansion by the former Empress?"
"That’s correct, the Divine Doctor from the Duke Zhen Mansion is highly skilled. If the former Empress had been poisoned, he would not have failed to discover it." Liang Zhaoyi said, "The former Empress could not have been killed by the Empress."