Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 49 The Soup is Poisoned

"This humble woman dares not claim credit. Both my maternal and marital families have received imperial favor. It is only my duty to serve Your Majesty and Your Highness wholeheartedly. How could I dare to ask for a reward?"

"That won't do, she must be rewarded." Emperor Cheng was overjoyed and looked at Consort Zheng: "My dear consort, what do you think about bestowing upon Shen a third-rank title? Let her go back and be on equal footing with her husband."

"Of course not, this is a gift from His Majesty. I would like to express my gratitude in another way." Consort Zheng was also overjoyed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have already made a list and sent it to the Imperial Household Department. As long as His Majesty agrees, I can prepare it immediately."

"Very well, whatever makes my beloved consort happy is fine, but I'm afraid the Empress will be heartbroken." Emperor Cheng couldn't help but praise Shen Li, saying that this painting should really be shown to the whole world.

"I have fulfilled my mission. Now that the painting is finished, it is inconvenient for me to stay in the palace for long. I will leave the palace tomorrow," Shen Li said at the right time.

Before Emperor Cheng could speak, Consort Zheng interjected, "How can you leave right after finishing the painting? If word gets out, it will make me look like I'm mistreating a meritorious official. Stay for two more days, and I'll have someone give you some rest and nourishment before you leave."

"Very well, you've worked hard too. If the Imperial Concubine invites you to stay, then stay a couple more days," Emperor Cheng said.

A slight ripple appeared in Shen Li's usually calm eyes; it seemed things were not so simple.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It would be impolite of me to refuse." She agreed.

Consort Zheng waited until the ink was dry enough to be picked up from the table before leaving, and of course the painting was taken back to the main hall.

"They just took it away like that?" Peony felt resentful.

The young lady has been drawing for so long, and she really doesn't hold back at all, not even letting the young lady stay a little longer in the evening.

Shen Li looked in the direction of the main hall, and slowly calmed down: "Before it was painted, it was my painting. After it was painted, it had its own life and no longer belonged to anyone."

"It belongs to her now, doesn't it?" Peony pouted. "Besides, why won't she let you leave? Didn't she want you to finish your painting quickly so you could leave sooner?"

"Didn't they say they wanted to give us some nourishing food?" Shen Li chuckled. "Grind ink and write down a menu."

"Huh?" Peony thought to herself, "They really want to eat it? Is it really that simple?"

"What do you want to eat?" Shen Li asked as she wrote.

Braised pork hock.

"Okay, braised camel hump."

"Miss, it's braised pork hock."

"Okay, Silver Blood Bird's Nest."

“…” Peony.

Did she say something wrong? She didn't even dare to correct herself, afraid that the young lady would order her some braised pork.

These past few days, Anhua Palace has been like a New Year celebration. Consort Zheng has been rewarding all the palace staff with lavish gifts, and the food throughout the palace is better than during the New Year. Consort Zheng has become even more arrogant when she goes to pay her respects to the Empress.

Everyone could see that Consort Zheng was genuinely happy. Her most direct expression of this was by showering Shen Li with gifts, including whole corals, strings of pearls, and stone and jade carvings from the Imperial Household Department—all of which were precious tribute items.

In addition, there was top-quality gold, jewelry, and various fabrics that she personally subsidized; just preparing these alone made a grand spectacle.

The concubines in the palace widened their eyes upon hearing this. It was far too generous. Was the Imperial Household Department going to be emptied of its coffers? What other treasures would be given to them in the future?

Of course, they dared not speak out against it, after all, Consort Zheng was at the height of her power, and Prince Yi was even more favored. Even the Empress was so angry that she fell ill, and the Crown Prince was under house arrest. Who else could deal with this mother and son?

"Your Majesty, this is far too much." Su Mei looked at the list with a pained expression. "How could she possibly deserve so many fine things? And she refuses to use them for you. Isn't it a waste to give away so many treasures?"

Consort Zheng was in the Wanbao Pavilion at this moment, where the painting of the goddess hung in the very center. She stared at it intently: "I want people to think that she is mine."

"Are you trying to sow discord?"

"Not entirely. I also wanted to show her my sincerity. What has the Crown Prince given her?" Consort Zheng said leisurely.

To some extent, these things serve as a form of reassurance. Hopefully, Shen Li can be more flexible in her thinking and avoid getting stuck in a dead end.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"I heard the gifts are all prepared and will be delivered by the Imperial Household Department when you return to your residence the day after tomorrow." Peony set out the bowls and chopsticks.

Seeing the abundant dishes, she relaxed a lot. The Imperial Concubine had already granted them permission to return to the mansion early the day after tomorrow. After this dinner, there would only be one day left.

They've been staying here for so many days, so nothing unexpected is likely to happen.

In Shen Li's hand was a note, sent by Gu Chang'an to warn her of danger.

Although Gu Chang'an didn't know what tricks the palace might be up to, he knew that staying for two more days and bringing so many gifts was definitely not a good deed.

"What did you say, sir?" Peony asked.

Shen Li burned the note under the lamp and shook her head: "It's okay, let's eat."

"Please wait a moment, I haven't tested the poison yet." Peony took out the silver needle box and took out the silver needles to test them one by one.

This is a procedure that is followed for every meal. To be on the safe side, almost every dish that goes into Shen Li's plate is tasted.

Shen Li picked up a plate of food that had been tested for poison and started eating, disregarding the rule she had been taught since childhood that one should not eat more than three times a day.

“Consort Zheng still knows her limits; at the very least, she wouldn’t poison the food,” Peony said while examining the dishes.

Shen Li narrowed her eyes but did not respond. At this point, she might resort to any extreme means. If there was nothing in the dish, she wouldn't even be able to think of where the trick was hidden.

At this time in her previous life, the Crown Prince was not implicated in the Liu Ling case, and Prince Yi had no chance to enter the palace. She, on the other hand, was overwhelmed and almost fell ill. Before leaving the palace, Consort Zheng made no move, and she had no precedent to follow at this moment.

“Miss…poison…” When Peony’s silver needle was taken out of the blood bird’s nest soup, the silver needle was clearly bright red.

Peony was so frightened that her face turned pale. Luckily, she had tested each one, otherwise it would have been a disaster.

Shen Li stared at the reddening silver needle, her pupils contracting. To be precise, the reddening was not a sign of poison, and ordinary silver needles could not detect it.

But this one was a gift from her grandfather. It can not only identify deadly poisons, but also other medicines, and will show different colors.

Red indicates a drug that invigorates blood and qi, and is very likely an aphrodisiac.

It turned out to be the case.

Peony panicked: "Miss, what should we do? Are we going to see His Majesty tonight? They want to kill people, we can't stay here for even a moment longer."

"It's alright, let's try other things. Let's eat first." Shen Li calmed down after realizing what was going on.

These people are truly incorrigible; they're using her paintings to ruin her reputation. This time, she was genuinely enraged. She thought of her sisters in prison who had also had their innocence ruined in the same way, sold into brothels, and had their lives ruined.

How despicable!

Peony's hands were trembling: "Miss, perhaps you shouldn't eat it, I'm afraid..."

She was terrified that there might be some undetected poison that could harm her mistress's health.

"It's alright, it's alright." She stared intently at the bowl of snow swallow.