Empress Qi fired back with her own rebuttal. Wasn't Honored Princess Mei's accusation of her and her son also based on mere speculation?
What audacity! Honored Princess Mei presumed to cast aspersions and slander, yet recoiled when faced with the same treatment? Who did she think she was?
She was the Queen, appointed by the Emperor himself!
She refused to tolerate such baseless slander!
Princess Concubine Virtue and the Second Prince, sensing their implication in the turmoil, waded into the fray to assert their innocence.
Empress Qi dispatched several imperial physicians to examine the Emperor's body. Their conclusion: the Emperor's demise resulted not from poisoning but from prolonged medication use, which had compromised his health over time. His passing, they deemed, was a consequence of his weakened condition…
Honored Princess Mei breathed a sigh of relief, doubling down on her pressure against Empress Qi…
