Chapter 406 The Holy Son of Miao Territory Was Bewitched by the Villainous Cult Leader (44 pages)

At the third quarter of Hai hour, everything proceeded quietly in the darkness.

Suddenly, a scream rang out from the Eastern Palace: "It's terrible! His Highness the Crown Prince has vomited blood—!"

The young eunuch hurriedly tried to run out to call for help, but almost everyone in the East Palace was fast asleep. The young eunuch was very flustered, and in his panic, he knocked over a candlestick.

By the time the young eunuch realized something was wrong, the fire had already spread. The servants of the East Palace were awakened from their sleep and found that the East Palace was engulfed in flames.

"Fire! His Highness the Crown Prince's palace is on fire!"

The group was busy putting out the fire and didn't notice that a young eunuch was missing from their side.

The little eunuch grew increasingly panicked and staggered away from the East Palace, fearing that people would discover he had caused trouble.

He hurried toward Consort De's palace, when he suddenly overheard palace maids and eunuchs discussing the emperor's deteriorating condition.

What a coincidence!

The young eunuch dared not think too much and hurriedly went to Consort De to seek refuge with his godfather, Eunuch Li.

And Eunuch Li happened to be the chief eunuch in Consort De's palace.

The fire in the East Palace burned for a full half hour before being extinguished. The palace servants stared blankly at the charred corpse in the Crown Prince's bedroom, their hearts sinking.

A bold palace maid approached and turned the charred corpse over. The jade pendant that the crown prince often wore on the body clearly indicated the charred corpse's identity.

The matter concerning the Eastern Palace had already been reported to the Emperor and Empress.

Unfortunately, the emperor suddenly fell seriously ill, and only a eunuch came.

As for the Empress, it is said that she has fainted from crying, and the imperial physician is on his way there.

Consort Shu swaggered in with Elder Yun and others, and as soon as they entered, they had Consort De's palace surrounded.

"Consort Shu, what do you mean by this? You just dealt with the Crown Prince, and you're already planning to kick me while I'm at it?" Consort De looked coldly at Consort Shu and Elder Yun, her eyes devoid of any warmth.

Consort Shu snorted coldly, "Shouldn't you be asking me that, sister? The plan only involved putting a curse on Ji Jingchi, so why did you also have someone set fire to the East Palace? And someone saw it. Are you trying to kill us?"

"What, arson?" Consort De was somewhat bewildered.

Although she had considered it, she really hadn't set fire to anything!

"I didn't do it!"

"How could it not be you who did it? Your chief eunuch Li's adopted son was planted in the East Palace by you. He rushed here from the East Palace in a panic. How could it be a fake?"

"Someone, summon Eunuch Li!"

When Eunuch Li and his godson were called over, they were still a little confused.

"Your Majesty, what...what's wrong?"

Consort De stepped forward and slapped Eunuch Li, saying, "Look at what your godson has done! He set fire to the East Palace and was even seen coming this way."

Eunuch Li kicked his godson to the ground. "You little brat! No wonder you rushed over here tonight. You've done something bad and even harmed the Empress. I should have beaten you to death!"

"Your Highness, please spare me! I didn't mean to! I saw His Highness the Crown Prince vomiting blood, and the people in his palace weren't awake. In my panic, I accidentally knocked over the candlestick. I really didn't mean to!"

The young eunuch knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

When I looked up, the blood on my forehead flowed into my eyes, which was terrifying in the darkness.

Even Eunuch Li couldn't bear to look at it.

He can barely take care of himself now, let alone this godson he picked up for free.

He can have many godsons, but he only has one life. When it comes to his own life, everything else has to take a backseat.

"So, you weren't in the East Palace at Hai hour (9-11 PM)?"

Elder Yun suddenly spoke up, and the little eunuch looked up and cried, "This servant had an upset stomach, so I went to the outhouse. On my way back, I heard some commotion in His Highness's palace. I looked closely and saw that His Highness was vomiting blood, and it seemed that..."

He seemed a little scared, but still choked up as he said, "It seems he's already stopped breathing."

Elder Yun frowned. Is that really the case?

Why does she always feel like something's wrong?

All of this was too much of a coincidence, and it deviated too much from her original plan, especially for Yu Sheng.

She never expected that Yu Sheng would actually be willing to give up the other half of the imperial decree. Now that there are some deviations on the Eastern Palace side, Elder Yun feels that something is wrong, but she can't quite put her finger on what it is.

"Let's go to the East Palace and see if it's really Ji Jingchi who died."

Consort De and Consort Shu naturally had no objections.

Before leaving, Consort De gave Eunuch Li a wink, and Eunuch Li immediately understood.

He killed all the palace maids and eunuchs who knew about the crime, leaving only the young eunuch who had escaped from the East Palace.

Li Gonggong's men dragged the young eunuch to the East Palace. After arriving at the East Palace, Elder Yun looked at the charred corpse in the center of the ruins, walked closer, cut his finger, and placed it under the charred corpse's nose.

After a while, a plump, black worm was attracted by its master's blood.

No one saw Elder Yun's actions. She quietly retrieved the Gu worms and shook her head at Consort Shu and Consort De.

The chief eunuch from the emperor's side had been itching to ask, "Your Majesties, who is this...?"

He was asking about Elder Yun, of course.

Consort Shu replied naturally, "This is a female physician that I specially invited from among the common people to help me recuperate. As you know, I injured my body when I gave birth to Prince Qi, which is why I invited this female physician."

I just heard that a fire had broken out at the Eastern Palace, so I came here with the female physician, hoping to save the injured. But now it seems that…”

Consort Shu gave an awkward smile, "I never expected His Highness the Crown Prince to actually..."

If the head eunuch hadn't been of such low status, he really would have rolled his eyes.

Who doesn't know that you ladies are vying for power? Why are you coming to visit the Crown Prince? Are you here to see if he's really dead or not?

Ji Jingchi: It is still the eunuch who understands my pain.

"Since there is an eunuch here, I will take the lady-in-waiting to see His Majesty. I heard that His Majesty's condition has worsened, and I am very worried about him."

Consort De nodded. "Then I will accompany my sister. It's been a long time since I've seen His Majesty."

The head eunuch stopped the two, saying, "Your Highnesses should return to your respective palaces first. His Majesty is being cared for by imperial physicians."

Although the two nodded, they did not change their minds.

After leaving the East Palace, Elder Yun finally spoke, "It was indeed the Crown Prince who died; perhaps it really was just a coincidence."

"Since it's a coincidence, there's no point in keeping him around." Without any mercy, Consort De ordered Eunuch Li to kill the young eunuch. Even in death, the young eunuch never imagined that things would turn out this way.

"Doesn't Consort De plan to return to the palace? I think you're going to His Majesty's place?"

"Otherwise what? Aren't you the same? The Crown Prince is dead, and His Majesty is also nearing his end, so it's time to re-establish the heir apparent. I think Consort Shu thinks the same way as me."

Consort Shu shook her head, a smug look in her eyes. "Sister, you might not know, but His Majesty has already passed away. However, his court is full of my people. Your people have all been replaced by me."

"I forgot to tell my sister that the position of crown prince probably has nothing to do with Prince Yun."

Consort Shu took out the bright yellow imperial edict from her bosom and waved it in front of Consort De, looking quite pleased with herself.

Consort De was also surprised that Consort Shu had already received the edict of succession.

She glared angrily at Elder Yun beside her.

She naturally knew that with Consort Shu's intelligence, she couldn't possibly do that, so the one who came up with the idea must be Elder Yun.

"Elder Yun is truly shrewd. I hope the Yun family can withstand the double attack from the General's Mansion and the Commander of the Imperial Guards."

"That's none of Consort De's concern. Consort De probably doesn't know yet, but the commander of the Imperial Guards has already defected to us."

"What?!"

Bai Jinjun and Bai Yue'er actually betrayed her?!

"Sister, have you forgotten that Miao Jiang is skilled in using Gu poison? If Bai Jinjun is poisoned, she will naturally obey me. So, sister, you have lost this time."

Consort De's face turned ashen.

She underestimated Elder Yun's cunning; otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Guards, take Consort De away. I want her to watch my son, Huang'er, ascend the throne, and then watch her own son die in front of her."

—(I still can't write anything too intellectually demanding. This part of the plot is as it is. I'll wrap it up tomorrow, and maybe I'll write a chapter about the new world.)