"Fortunately the hemlock is in dried conditions, so the poison is less potent. The little princess will be alright as long as the effect subsides in three days. I will prescribe some medicine to try eliminate toxins. But whether it's effective or not, that shall remain to be seen", said QiQi. Her heart hurts to see the once lively little princess becomes pale and lying on the bed.

Long Ruolan keeps on wiping the little princess's forehead with wet cloth. The little princess's body temperature is a bit high than normal.

"Ermm... Princess consort, there is something I need to tell you in private", QiQi is fidgeting while she keeps on looking at Long Ruolan's direction.

"Let's go to the courtyard", Li Xi Rui understands that the matter QiQi is concern about might have to do with Long Ruolan one way or another. "Ruolan, we will be right back", Li Xi Rui didn't want to say anything unnecessary but she didn't want to lie to the young princess either. So she kept her words simple without explanation.

After sending the servants away from the courtyard, Li Xi Rui gestures for QiQi take a seat beside her. Since the day Li Xi Rui enter Jian Palace, there is no shortage of desserts and teas in the palace. So naturally, on top of the stone table in front of them, there is a plate of mini steam cakes and a pot of chrysanthemum tea brew personally by Xiao Xi.

"Madam, the hemlock is a really poisonous plant. In fact, ingesting five to eight of the leaves could be fatal for an adult. Moreover, there is one more detrimental factor of the poison. When it is ingested by a pregnant woman, it will cause malformations of the baby of the woman survived. So in my opinion, this case might not be just a simple poisoning case", explained QiQi.

With each sentence uttered by QiQi, Li Xi Rui's face turns colder and colder. It seems like Jie's coldness has rubbed off Li Xi Rui. It would not be too much to say that Li Xi Rui is a female version of Long Jie. "Is that so?", her words are menacing. "Let's go to the study, it's time for someone to pay their debts".

As they've said, married couple will slowly resemble each other.

In the study room~

"Ruolan, how is the little princess?", asked Li Xi Rui.

"She has just fallen asleep", Long Ruolan answers amicably.

"QiQi, for these three days, I hope you will stay here for the little princess. The little princess might need to stay here for a while since she cannot be moved too much", Li Xi Rui's voice might be gentle but her emotion is in chaos. "Now we must inform Princess Long Xia about her daughter. Xiao Xi, invite princess Long Xia over!", Li Xi Rui is enraged. She had tolerated their misconducts for the past two months and now, they dare to try and nearly murdered someone under her house?! Unforgivable! Not to mention the one lying on the bed is the little princess!

"Before Princess Long Xia comes, we must catch those people! Guard, take those three chamber maids here! This time, I will make sure that they would be sorry for poisoning a princess. And there is another maid involved. Take her here for questioning", this is the first time the people in Jian Palace had seen Li Xi Rui being thoroughly enraged.

"Yes princess consort!!!", the guards carry on her orders swiftly. Just within minutes, four maids are kneeling on the floor.

"Why are we being treated like this?!!!", Mao, the tallest of the chamber maids shouted. She is one of the empress's people and yet the guards dare to put his hand on her?! Outrageous!

"Princess consort, I swear I didn't do anything! Please, have mercy on me", the maid who had serve the tea pleads.

While the two other chamber maids kept on being silent.

"Anything should be said in front of Princess Long Xia. The little princess is a part of the imperial family and yet someone in this room dared to poison her? It seems like I have been too lenient to you... It's one thing to mess with me and it's another thing to poison a child!", Li Xi Rui didn't want to cross examine the perpetrator without a powerful witness. The chamber maids are still the Empress's person. If anything happened, Li Xi Rui would be the one holding the short end of the stick. While Long Ruolan might be the Empress's daughter, her position is still below of the empress. It's not that she didn't believe Long Ruolan, it's just that she wants to cut the problem from the roots to ensure no other mischief might happen in the future.

"Princess Long Xia has arrived!", a guard announced. The princess has a panic look on her face.

"Greetings, Princess Long Xia!", all the people in the room bows down in the presence of the imperial princess.

"Arise!", said Princess Long Xia while she makes her way to the direction of the bed. Her face paled when she saw her daughter's condition. "Can someone tell me what had happened?", Princess Long Xia's voice is calm but no one knows the turbulence in her heart.

"Princess! I'm innocent! That maid, she is the one poisoning the tea! She is the one trying to kill the little princess!!", Mao shouted again. This time she blames the other maid.

"No, no... It's not me! Please, I'm innocent. It's her! She told me to send the tea to princess consort!", the other maid refuted.

"Enough!", Princess Long Xia shuts everyone up. She didn't come to see this chaos. She came for her daughter.

"Princess Long Xia, this had happened in this palace. So I am responsible for all this. I'm terribly sorry", Li Xi Rui kneels on the floor as if she was the one commited the grave mistake. Her head low and everyone could see her sincerity.

The servants one by one kneels on the floor imitating the princess consort. Yes, this is their fault. Because of their carelessness, the little princess suffered. The servants cursed the one who poisoned the little princess. 'Because of you, we might have our head separated with our body!!! You better don't make us find out who you are! If we know who you are, we will personally skin you alive!', such is the thought of servants present in the room.

A pair of hand grabs Li Xi Rui's shoulders and help her get up gently, "You are pregnant. You don't need to kneel. It is the perpetrator fault. Aunt didn't blame you, so why should you bear the consequences?". Princess Long Xia addresses herself as aunt while Li Xi Rui call her formally. "Though, I'm almost offended when you call me formally. Are you trying to dissolve our familial relationship?", Princess Long Xia questions Li Xi Rui. Her daughter is lying on the bed, but she is still able to joke. The princess indeed not a normal lady.

"Aunt", Li Xi Rui is touched from Princess Long Xia's encouragement. Regaining her composure, Li Xi Rui said, "Aunt, before the little princess collapse, she had drunk a couple cups of tea". Turning around, her eyes froze over the whole room, "But, the matter about the tea, not everyone knew about this, apart from me, Ruolan, QiQi, Xiao Xi and that maid over there, it is impossible for anyone else to know". Slowly, she continues, "Well, unless she is the one who poisoned the tea, it would be impossible to know".

Everyone who heard this turn their head to a direction.

"No! I'm innocent! How dare you accused me?!! Li Xi Rui, I am not a person you can touch!", the woman shouted like a madwoman. Her red eyes emitting fire and hostility.

"Oh... Did this princess consort say your name?", Li Xi Rui shot her down with her title. She has enough power to touch that little maid.

P/s: QiQi will call Li Xi Rui as princess consort when they're in public and when in private or in Qilin sect HQ, she will call Li Xi Rui as madam.