Chapter 400

The palace servant kneeling at the front spoke cautiously: "Your Majesty, a fire broke out in the Ice Palace just now. We managed to put it out in time, but the fire started next to the late Empress's ice coffin. The hem of the late Empress's robe was damaged somewhat, but not seriously..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng, who was following behind Song Xuan, breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked preemptively, "What about the criminal woman?!"

That Jiang family member should be executed immediately.

"Madam Shen has been taken into custody by the servants on my orders," the palace maid replied in a low voice.

Song Xuan said with a stern face, "Bring the person here."

After saying that, he stepped into the ice palace. Some of the ice inside had melted, and there were many water stains of various sizes on the ground.

Song Xuan strode to the ice coffin, and Shen Zheng and Shen Zheng followed.

When Shen Zheng saw the intact face of the corpse in the ice coffin, his heart finally settled down. Just then, Jiang was also brought up.

Jiang looked very disheveled. She was very thin, her cheeks were sunken, the dark circles under her eyes were very serious, her eyes were dull, and she seemed to have lost all her energy.

"You vile woman, who allowed you to enter the palace without permission?" Shen Zheng couldn't help but curse out loud, wishing he could kill Jiang Shi on the spot.

When Shen Zheng saw his mother in this state, his eyes showed heartache. When Jiang Shi, who was being held down by the palace servants and looked disheveled, saw him, a glimmer of light finally appeared in her dull eyes.

At this moment, Song Xuan, who was standing in front of the ice coffin examining the late empress's spirit, exclaimed in surprise, "Qing Nian, what's wrong with you!"

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him, including Jiang Shi, who turned her head to look. She saw Song Xuan bending over, reaching his hand into the ice coffin, and when he lifted it up again, a face appeared in his hand...

Song Xuan's face was extremely gloomy. He held the face in his hand and looked directly at Shen Zheng, his tone chilling: "Prime Minister Shen, give me an explanation immediately."

Shen Zheng felt dizzy and the world was spinning. The next moment, he knelt down on the ground, while Jiang Shi, who was being held down by the palace servants, let out a scream.

On this day, Shen Zheng and Jiang were imprisoned in the imperial prison for their involvement in the case of the late empress. Shen Zheng was directly confined to the general's mansion and placed under the personal supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Shen family and the General's Mansion plummeted from their lofty positions to their current predicament overnight. Meanwhile, the Emperor began a thorough investigation into the case of the late Empress's death during childbirth.

From that day on, Song Xuan stayed in the Ice Palace every day, trying to find some clues. His temper became more irritable, and his body deteriorated due to the coldness of the Ice Palace.

The imperial physicians came and went, each time saying that the emperor was physically weak and should not stay in the Ice Palace every day. However, the emperor did not listen to their advice. In the past, the imperial concubine could say a few words to the emperor, but now the imperial concubine has fallen out of favor, and even the goddess no longer summons him. Apart from occasionally calling on Consort Shen to play the zither, the emperor has no one else who is close to him.

For a time, both the imperial court and the harem were keeping a low profile, and some of the more timid ones even wished they could resign on the spot.

Snowflakes fall in winter.

Inside the ice palace, which was piled with ice, people shivered from the cold. Shen Man sat stiffly inside the ice palace, playing the zither.