Chapter 342 A Bold Conjecture

Prince Ning's body was sent back to the palace overnight and placed in the palace where he lived before leaving the palace. That night, the emperor sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to dig out the imperial physician who was good at examining injuries from under the quilt.

Also pulled out of their sweet dream in a confused manner were two old coroners in their sixties. They were experienced and had good character, and would never dare to play tricks in front of the emperor.

At the same time, the news that the emperor had brought back His Royal Highness Prince Ning, who had passed away for more than a month, was not hidden because it was late at night. Instead, it exploded over the imperial city like a firework.

The first person to get the news was the Queen!

When she heard the report from her spy, she was stunned. Everything in Yulin City was changing rapidly, and the development of everything was so fast that it was dizzying. If she was not careful, she would be destroyed!

As a queen, she is a person with ambitious goals and clear plans. Therefore, she only moves forward and never looks back, and she doesn't care whether those losers are dead or living a life worse than death.

So, to her, the things about Concubine Shu and Prince Ning were just like things from her previous life. She thought that she would never have to see or hear any news about the annoying mother and son again.

But Your Majesty, you are really playing a huge joke on me!

Even though he's dead, you still can't forget him, just because he's Concubine Shu's son? People's hearts are really biased!

"Empress, what should we do?"

"What should we do? The Emperor wants to enjoy the deep affection between him and Prince Ning, and he doesn't like outsiders to disturb him. We should just not disturb him. Prince Ning fell into the river and froze to death. What does it have to do with us?"

"yes!"

After hearing what the queen said, the people kneeling on the ground felt much more at ease.

Although falling into the glacier was an elaborate trap, Prince Ning was indeed frozen to death. Even if the emperor asked someone more powerful to investigate, it would be impossible to find any other clues from him.

At most, he was overwhelmed with grief and executed several personal guards who failed to protect Prince Ning in order to calm his inner anger.

The next morning, the queen acted as if she knew nothing and was leisurely doing everything as usual. However, the emperor, who had not slept all night, fainted during the morning court session.

This frightened all the civil and military officials.

After the guards carried the emperor back to the Qianqing Palace, all the doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau gathered together and cautiously treated the emperor.

After some research, they discussed with each other, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Prince Yi looked at the expressions of the imperial physicians and felt relieved. "What's wrong with the emperor? Have you found out anything?"

"Prince Yi, the Emperor is overworked and emotionally unstable, which has caused his heart to be unable to bear the strain. This has led to a sudden fainting due to insufficient Qi and blood. The most important thing right now is to get enough rest."

"Also, you must maintain a calm state of mind. Never get overly happy or sad, or be frightened or stimulated by anything."

After saying this, the imperial physician took out a bottle of small pills and handed them to the chief eunuch, Chen Xi. "Eunuch Chen, this is a secret medicine passed down from my ancestors, the Heart Protecting Pill. If the emperor ever experiences blacking out, chest tightness, or shortness of breath, take one pill immediately with warm water. It will keep him safe."

Chen Xi was overjoyed, and thanked him repeatedly, "I didn't expect that Doctor Chang had such a miraculous medicine. When the emperor wakes up, we will report it truthfully."

Doctor Chang's face was filled with shame. "Although this Heart Protecting Pill is miraculous, the most important thing is the Emperor's state of mind. Remember not to get upset. Otherwise, even this Heart Protecting Pill will be of little use."

When Prince Yi heard what Doctor Chang said, his face turned pale. "What do you mean, Doctor Chang? Are you saying that the Emperor is dying?"

Prince Yi's words frightened all the imperial doctors in the room, who all fell to their knees. "Your humble servant dares not do this. Your humble servant has absolutely no such intention. I am truly only concerned for the emperor's health. Prince Yi, please understand!"

"Alright! For the sake of the Emperor's health, you must truthfully report his physical condition. If you dare to conceal anything, watch out for your heads!"

"I obey your command!"

"Also, the Emperor's health is of paramount importance. To avoid causing panic and unnecessary unrest, the news of the coma in the imperial court today must be kept secret. No one is allowed to spread it. Anyone who disobeys this order will be charged with treason and severely punished!"

"yes!"

Although Prince Yi said this seriously, could the news of the emperor fainting in the court really be concealed? How could it be possible?

Although the common people had not heard about it, all the forces that should have received the news had already released the little carrier pigeon with important information tied to its leg.

In addition, Prince Yi's angry roar in front of the hospital bed, "The emperor is dying", was originally a question to the imperial physician Chang, but the word "ma" was omitted.

Coming from the mouth of a prince like him, and heard by countless ears outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, it was truly incredible.

When the Queen and the Crown Prince received this news, they simply kowtowed to the heavens and thanked God for His mercy!

Ling Jingyu really couldn't hold it back anymore recently. He really couldn't continue to suppress himself and play the role of a qualified crown prince and a well-behaved son in front of the emperor!

The old emperor has lived long enough and enjoyed all the wealth and glory he deserves. It’s time to make room for the younger generation!

The more time passed, the more tense and obvious the positions of the ministers in the court became.

No matter how anyone looked at it, if the Emperor fell ill and passed away, the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne would be a natural outcome. The Empress was naturally even more confident.

However, she had not been happy for two days when her subordinates came to report something that was like a bolt from the blue.

"You said someone died in the Prince's Mansion?"

"Yes, my subordinates and I have discovered that a large number of experts have recently been deployed outside the Crown Prince's residence to monitor him. We suspect that Prince Duan is still ruthless and is trying to find something to use against the Crown Prince to turn the tables."

"So we boldly sent people to the Prince's residence to take care of him. However, after just two days of our people being there, we discovered that the Prince was really..."

The queen sat on the throne, listening to the reports from her subordinates, her face pale and trembling.

"Prince, Prince, how dare he!"

"Empress, I and others, following the instructions of the guards in charge of handling the bodies at the Crown Prince's residence, rushed to the place where the bodies were buried, intending to completely destroy the evidence. However, the two bodies, except for Concubine Zhao, have already been dug up."

The queen felt a chill all over her body, thinking of the masters outside the prince's mansion, was there any need to tell who poached them?

“When was it dug out?”

"I don't know."

The queen took a sip of water and when she put down the cup, she felt dazed and almost dropped the cup to the ground.

"But if they were Prince Duan's men, why didn't they say anything after obtaining the evidence? Why didn't they come directly to the Emperor to report the Crown Prince, or spread the news?"

Once the people of the world knew that their prince was such a tyrant, the situation would be out of control and the prince would be doomed!

"Your Majesty, regarding this question, I have a bold guess."

"you say."

"I heard that Prince Ning's coffin was stolen at the Shili Pavilion outside Yulin City, and later it was Prince Wuling's Yanling Army that arrived and escorted it all the way back to the city."

"There's such a thing? Who would be so bored as to rob Prince Ning's body?"

"Those who tried to snatch the coffin didn't hurt anyone, but instead dispersed after their attempt failed. Therefore, I wonder if this incident was also the work of Prince Duan."

"Prince Duan, why is he trying to stop Prince Ning? If the Emperor could really find some clues from Prince Ning and implicate me, wouldn't he wake up laughing in his dreams? No matter how you look at it, it makes more sense for us to go and grab the body!"

The guard kneeling before the Queen continued, "The Emperor stayed awake all night, waiting for a result. His fainting in the court today is most likely related to his excessive grief after seeing Prince Ning's corpse."

"Does the Empress think that whatever evidence Prince Duan has that could bring down the Crown Prince, he would dare to produce it now?"

"You mean..."

"I suspect those people didn't kill him because they didn't want to harm Prince Ning at all. Instead, they wanted to delay his entry into the palace and seize the initiative by impeaching the Crown Prince in front of the Emperor. This would prevent the Emperor from being distracted by Prince Ning and losing his focus on dealing with the Crown Prince!"

Queen, "But didn't they dig up the body a long time ago? Why are they waiting now?"

"This is also what I can't understand. It's possible that they are afraid that the Crown Prince will not admit it, so they are collecting evidence that will make the Crown Prince unable to defend himself. It's also possible that they think these two concubines can't completely defeat the Crown Prince, so they are preparing other bargaining chips."

The Queen looked at the man kneeling respectfully on the ground before her, a smile of admiration appearing on the corner of her lips. "He truly deserves to be the commander of the Imperial Guard. I truly admire Lord Lu's meticulous thinking."

"Your Majesty, I am honored to serve you and your Majesty!"

The Queen nodded. "Don't worry, you have great talent and strategy. This palace and the Crown Prince both see it clearly. Keeping you trapped in the palace is a waste of your talent."

"When the Crown Prince inherits the throne, I promise that all the military power in the hands of that old man from the Gu family will be yours!"

"I bow to the Queen and thank her for her thousand years of life!"

The Queen held her head high with a look of pride, as if she had already seen Ling Jingyu ascend to the throne and wear the dragon robe.

"Commander Lu, I have something that I need you to do in person."

"At the Queen's command."

"Prince Ning has been back for two days. Since the Emperor can't find anything, he must be buried. I have a son myself, so I understand a mother's feelings best."

"Alas, I really can't bear to let Concubine Shu not even see her son for the last time. Commander Lu, would you mind going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple on behalf of the Emperor?"

"I'll do it right away!"