Meilin's POV
The tea burns going down.
For three seconds, nothing happens.
Then my throat closes.
I can't breathe. The room spins. My knees buckle.
Someone screams—Feng, I think. Hands catch me before I hit the floor.
"Meilin!" The Emperor's voice, panicked. When did he get here?
So the tea really was poisoned.
I'm dying. Again.
Sixth time's the charm, I guess.
But something's wrong. This doesn't feel like the other deaths. That time with poison, it was slower—hours of agony. This is fast, violent, like my body is fighting something.
"Get the physician! Now!" The Emperor is shouting, holding me against his chest.
Through blurring vision, I see Shen sitting up in bed, her "illness" mysteriously forgotten. Her face shows shock—real shock.
She didn't expect me to drink it.
And she definitely didn't expect this reaction.
"Your Majesty, you need to make her vomit!" A man's voice—the physician. "The poison is Silver Thorn. If it reaches her heart—"
Everything goes black.
I wake up to arguing.
"—told you not to leave her side!"
"I was gone for two minutes, Your Majesty!"
"Two minutes was enough for someone to poison her tea!"
My eyes flutter open. I'm in my chambers, in bed. Morning light streams through the windows.
How long was I unconscious?
"She's awake!" Feng's face appears above me. "Your Majesty, thank the gods!"
The Emperor pushes her aside, leaning over me with wild eyes. "How do you feel? Are you in pain? Should I call the physician again?"
"I'm fine," I croak. My throat feels like I swallowed broken glass.
"You're not fine. You almost died. Again." His hands are shaking as he touches my face. "Why did you drink it? Why would you do something so reckless?"
Because I needed to prove Shen was lying. Because I needed to break the pattern. Because I'm tired of being the victim.
But I don't say any of that.
"The tea was supposed to be safe," I whisper. "I approved it myself. Someone switched it."
"Obviously someone switched it!" He's almost yelling now. "You could have died!"
"But I didn't." I try to sit up. Everything hurts. "What happened? How long—"
"Twelve hours," Feng says quietly. "The physician saved you. The Emperor wouldn't leave your side."
I look at him. He does look terrible—hair messy, robes wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes.
"You should rest, Your Majesty," I say formally.
"Don't." His voice breaks. "Don't call me that. Don't be polite. I thought I lost you again. I thought—"
A knock interrupts him.
"Enter," he snaps.
General Xiao steps in, bowing. "Your Majesty, forgive the intrusion. Lord Wei requests your presence. He says it's urgent regarding the poisoning investigation."
The Emperor's jaw clenches. "Tell Wei I'll be there when I'm ready."
"He insists it cannot wait. He's... he's arrested someone."
My stomach drops. "Who?"
Xiao's eyes meet mine with something like pity. "Lady Feng's younger brother. He was working in the kitchens yesterday. Wei found poison in his quarters."
No.
Feng goes white. "That's impossible. My brother wouldn't—"
"I know," I say quickly, grabbing her hand. This is Wei's backup plan. If poisoning me didn't work, frame someone close to me. In my third lifetime, he framed my personal maid. "It's a setup."
"We need proof," the Emperor says, standing. "Xiao, gather evidence. Everything about what happened yesterday. Who had access to the tea, who was in the kitchens, everything."
"Your Majesty." I force myself to sit up despite the pain. "I'm coming with you."
"Absolutely not. You need to rest—"
"My lady-in-waiting's brother is accused of trying to kill me. I'm coming."
We stare at each other. Finally, he nods. "Fine. But you're not walking."
Before I can protest, he scoops me up in his arms.
"Your Majesty! Put me down!"
"No." He carries me toward the door. "You almost died. You're weak. Deal with it."
Feng and Xiao exchange glances but wisely say nothing.
Lord Wei's interrogation chamber is in the palace's basement. I've never been here in previous timelines—empresses don't visit dungeons. But this time, I need to see.
Wei looks surprised when we enter, the Emperor still carrying me.
"Your Majesty! The Empress should be resting—"
"The Empress wants to see the evidence," I say coldly.
Feng's brother kneels in chains in the corner. He's young—maybe sixteen—and terrified.
"I didn't do it!" he sobs when he sees us. "Your Majesty, I swear, I don't know how that poison got in my room!"
"We found it hidden under his mattress," Wei says smoothly. "Along with this."
He holds up a small cloth bundle. When he opens it, my blood runs cold.
It's a jade hairpin. My jade hairpin—the one from my wedding set that I thought I lost weeks ago.
"The boy admits he's been in the Empress's chambers," Wei continues. "We believe he stole this as a trophy after poisoning her tea."
"I cleaned her chambers!" the boy cries. "That's my job! And I never saw that hairpin before!"
"Convenient," Wei says. "Your Majesty, the evidence is clear. He had access, motive—"
"What motive?" I interrupt. "Why would a kitchen servant want to kill me?"
Wei's smile is oily. "Perhaps he was paid. Perhaps by someone who wanted to remove you from power."
He means Shen. He's setting up a narrative where Shen paid Feng's brother to poison me, which makes Shen look guilty while actually framing an innocent boy.
It's clever. Diabolical, but clever.
"This is ridiculous," Feng says, stepping forward. "My brother is loyal to the Empress! He would never—"
"Your bias is noted, Lady Feng," Wei cuts her off. "But the evidence speaks for itself."
"Then let me speak," I say firmly. The Emperor finally sets me down, though he keeps a hand on my waist to steady me. "That hairpin was stolen from my chambers three weeks ago. I reported it to the head of household."
Wei's smile falters. "I have no record of such a report."
"Because you're the one who stole it." I meet his eyes. "You needed something to plant as evidence. You've been planning this for weeks."
The room goes silent.
"That's a serious accusation, Your Majesty," Wei says carefully. "Do you have proof?"
"Do you?" I counter. "All you have is poison in a boy's room and a hairpin that was stolen. Anyone could have planted both."
"The boy had access—"
"So did dozens of servants. So did you." I take a step toward him, ignoring the pain. "In fact, you're the Master of Rites. You have access to everything in this palace. Including rare poisons like Silver Thorn."
Wei's face hardens. "Are you accusing me of attempting to murder you?"
"I'm saying the evidence is circumstantial at best."
"Your Majesty." Xiao steps forward, holding papers. "I checked the kitchen records. The tea sent to Consort Shen's chambers yesterday was from the imperial stores. Only three people have keys to those stores—the head servant, the Emperor, and Lord Wei."
Wei's jaw tightens. "Surely you're not suggesting—"
"I'm suggesting we investigate all possibilities," the Emperor says coldly. "Including yours. Guard!"
Two guards step forward.
"Escort Lord Wei to his chambers. He is not to leave until this investigation is complete."
"Your Majesty!" Wei's composure finally cracks. "This is outrageous! I am the Master of Rites! You cannot—"
"I just did." The Emperor's voice is ice. "You will cooperate, or you will be arrested. Choose."
For a moment, Wei looks like he might fight. Then his expression smooths into that oily smile again.
"Of course, Your Majesty. I am happy to cooperate. I have nothing to hide."
He leaves with the guards, but not before shooting me a look that promises revenge.
"Release the boy," I tell Xiao. "He's innocent."
Feng rushes to her brother, hugging him as Xiao removes the chains.
The Emperor turns to me. "That was dangerous. You just made an enemy of—"
"Of a man who's already my enemy," I finish. "Wei has been planning my death since before the wedding. Now he knows I'm onto him."
"Which makes you a target."
"I've always been a target. At least now we're fighting back."
He stares at me for a long moment. "You're different. From the memories. You were gentler, more..."
"Naive?" I supply. "Trusting? Stupid?"
"I was going to say hopeful."
Something twists in my chest. "Hope died around the third lifetime. I'm just angry now."
"Good." His hand finds mine. "Angry people fight back. Hopeful people just keep getting hurt."
Before I can respond, Xiao calls out urgently.
"Your Majesty! Come quickly!"
We rush over. Xiao is standing by the evidence table, holding up the bottle of poison Wei claimed to find in the boy's room.
"What is it?" the Emperor asks.
"This bottle. The seal on it." Xiao's face is pale. "This is from the imperial physician's private collection. The one that was reported stolen six months ago."
Six months. Before I even married the Emperor.
"So Wei has been planning this for at least six months," I say slowly.
"Or longer." Xiao sets down the bottle carefully. "Your Majesty, there's something else. The physician's records show that Silver Thorn poison was also used once before in the palace."
My heart stops. "When?"
"Five years ago. In the death of the previous empress candidates."
The Emperor's three brothers. The ones who died mysteriously, making him emperor.
"Wei killed them," I whisper. "He's been manipulating the throne for years."
"And now he's trying to remove you," the Emperor says grimly. "Because you're in his way."
"In his way of what?"
Before anyone can answer, an explosion rocks the palace.
The walls shake. Dust falls from the ceiling. Screams echo from above.
"What was that?" Feng gasps.
Xiao runs to the door, looks out, then turns back with horror on his face.
"The Oracle's temple. It's on fire."
My grandmother. The Oracle. The one person who might know how to break the curse completely.
And Wei just tried to kill her.