Chapter 486 Not a Single One Left Alive

Prince An watched as Physician Pang summoned another physician. After the two spoke in hushed tones, they scraped more powder from the paperweight and placed it into a cup of water...

Prince An's hands trembled slightly as he held them at his sides, and he clenched them into fists to hide his trembling. If the paperweight was indeed found to be poisoned, it meant that the Third Prince, Prince Rui, had committed patricide.

He stared coldly at the two imperial physicians, their faces solemn as they examined him, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him. He had lost his mother at birth, and the emperor disliked him. Although a prince, he had lived like a beggar from birth until the age of five.

He met his uncle when he was five years old. Because they were the same age, or perhaps because his uncle took pity on him, the uncle asked his biological father—the current emperor—to allow him to be his playmate, and his life improved. Even so, the emperor still did not like him.

This was his greatest pain, but when he thought of his uncle, he felt it was nothing; he wasn't without family. Even so, he never considered patricide, and because of his uncle, he even wished for the emperor's health and longevity.

Although Prince Rui was not the emperor's most favored son, he held a high position among the princes because of his mother's status. Even though Jiang Yu had mentioned in her letter that Prince Rui had sent a paperweight, and he had considered checking it when he had time, it was because Prince Rui was a rival, not because he genuinely suspected Prince Rui of patricide.

Thinking about it carefully, his biological father—the current emperor—is actually quite pathetic. He doesn't love any of his sons; in his eyes, they are potential threats to the throne, tools for maintaining order in the court. Now he's reaping the consequences, as his own sons may want to kill him.

Prince An's gaze drifted towards the imperial bedchamber, a mocking smile playing on his lips. If his uncle hadn't shown no interest in politics, would the Emperor have trusted him? Would he still have favored him so much?

"Your Highness." The imperial physician's voice interrupted Prince An's thoughts. He turned around and saw the two imperial physicians with solemn expressions, and his brows involuntarily furrowed again.

"How is it?" he asked.

Physician Pang's hand holding the cup trembled slightly, but he still said clearly, "The paperweight's engravings are filled with a large amount of a mixture of datura and agarwood."

Physician Pang glanced cautiously at Prince An, meeting his cold and stern gaze, and hurriedly continued to explain, "Datura can cause hallucinations, restlessness, and in severe cases, it can even cause a person to remain unconscious."

Prince An's clenched fists bulged with veins, and his aura was terrifyingly heavy. He stared at Physician Pang and asked, "This paperweight only took two days to reach His Majesty. Even if he played with it every day, it wouldn't have arrived so quickly."

“Yes, it wouldn’t normally take effect so quickly,” Physician Pang immediately explained, “but the datura here has been refined from a large quantity of datura. And…”

Physician Pang glanced cautiously at Prince An again, and continued, "Moreover... recently His Majesty has been having trouble sleeping, and the tonic he's been taking contains lily bulbs. Lily bulbs are known to have a calming and tranquilizing effect, but when combined with datura, they can quickly activate the datura's toxicity. This... this is why His Majesty, despite not having been in contact with this paperweight for long, has already been poisoned."

"Is there any way to solve this?" Prince An asked.

"This...this..." Physician Pang looked extremely troubled. Prince An clenched his fist and said, "Just say it."

"Yes." The imperial physician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said cautiously, "This poison... this poison has probably seeped into the internal organs and meridians, and is definitely not just staying on the surface of the body! In addition, His Majesty is old and has been in poor health lately, with deficiency of qi and blood."

"Your Majesty, I have tried my best, but I can only use herbal remedies to alleviate your dizziness and irritability, and keep your mind clear. However, to completely remove this toxin from your internal organs and achieve a full recovery, I am truly... truly powerless!"

After saying this, Physician Pang was covered in cold sweat. He lowered his head, even his breathing was cautious. But then Prince An's next words made him kneel on the ground with a thud.

Then Prince An asked in a cold voice, "How did word get out that the Emperor's tonic contained lilies?"

The two imperial physicians knelt on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Prince An's gloomy gaze lingered on the two physicians for a moment, then he shouted towards the door, "Guards!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two Imperial Guards strode in. Prince An looked at them and ordered, "Seal off the Imperial Hospital. Everyone in the Imperial Hospital must be examined."

"Yes." The two Imperial Guards left quickly, and Prince An looked at the kneeling imperial physician and said, "Come with me."

Two imperial physicians stood up shakily and followed Prince An to the front of the bedchamber. Zhao Fuquan, who was guarding the door, immediately went inside to report their arrival. Soon after, Prince Rui strode out and asked, "How is it?"

Prince An hesitated for a moment, then solemnly recounted the investigation results. Prince Rui's face also showed an unusual coldness upon hearing this. Like Prince An, when Jiang Yu recounted how Prince Rui sent the paperweight, although he said he would investigate, it wasn't because he suspected Prince Rui.

But now, Prince Rui had truly committed the act of murdering his father, and while he was filled with resentment, he also felt a pang of self-reproach. He should have immediately gone to examine the paperweight. Suddenly, his expression changed. The day after Prince Rui sent the paperweight, his affair with Jiang Yu was exposed. Whether it was him, Jiang Yu, or the Emperor, all their attention was focused on this matter, and naturally, the matter of the paperweight was overlooked.

At this moment, Prince An's voice rang out, "This was all part of their plan."

What Prince Rui thought of, Prince An naturally thought of as well.

Prince Rui clenched his fists tightly, took a deep breath to calm the surging anger in his heart, and said to the two imperial physicians, "Come in with me."

The two imperial physicians immediately followed him into the bedchamber. Prince An was about to step in as well, but Zhao Fuquan stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, the Emperor said before he went to sleep that no one except Prince Rui is allowed to enter."

Prince An frowned, retracting his raised foot. His face was unusually gloomy, but he said nothing, standing at the entrance of the bedchamber waiting. After the initial anger subsided, he understood the Emperor's actions. One of his sons had already poisoned him, so naturally he was wary of his other sons.

As for Uncle Wang, both he and the Emperor knew that Uncle Wang genuinely disliked court politics, so there was no suspicion of him seizing the throne.

Inside the imperial bedchamber, the imperial physician administered acupuncture to the emperor, and he awoke. Prince Rui did not conceal anything and recounted in detail the findings of Prince An's investigation. The emperor, however, was not particularly angry upon hearing this, and even said, "I had guessed it."

When he learned that Prince Rui was colluding with the Prince of Lingnan, and that he seemed to have been drugged, he became suspicious, but that didn't mean he didn't hate him.

He closed his eyes briefly and said, "The entire family of Consort De will be exterminated, including nine generations of her relatives. Prince Rui... give him a cup of poison, and leave him with a whole corpse. Prince Rui's residence and Consort De's Xiande Palace will be exterminated without leaving a single survivor."

This meant that even his grandson was no longer being spared, but Prince Rui's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, because even so, it could not quell his hatred for Prince Rui.