"Tao is dead..."

Song Yaozhu's mind went blank for a moment. "How did he die?"

"Yuwen Wuji deposed the crown prince and ordered the Eastern Palace to be sealed off. Yuwen Tong disobeyed the order and refused to comply. He seized the sword of the imperial guard and stabbed Tao Shi to death during the argument."

Song Yaozhu blinked a few times, stunned. She had assumed the other person had died in a scheme within the inner quarters, and felt a lingering fear, since she was the one who had stirred up those resentments within her. But she never expected that she would die like this.

She died by her husband's knife, taking nothing with her, not even a shred of dignity or emotion.

"What did the Tao family say?"

"The Tao family said that since it was an accident, Yuwen Tong should not be blamed for it. However, the youngest son is still young, and they hope to choose someone from the clan to be his second wife, since only a biological aunt can be good to the child."

For some reason, Song Yaozhu burst out laughing.

Whether the Tao family truly couldn't bear to part with the child, or simply couldn't bear to part with all the money they had invested in Yuwen Tong, she didn't know. But the fact remained that Tao Shi's body was barely cold before she became a bargaining chip for her relatives.

In the future, she will be mentioned only briefly in history. She will be the crown princess of the deposed crown prince and become the "Tao" of the Yuwen family. No one will remember that she also had a name, Tao Pei.

Not long after Tao Pei's death, the Tao family arranged for one of her cousins ​​to enter the Jing Prince's residence, the residence of the deposed crown prince. Although Yuwen Wuji had deposed him as crown prince, he had not stripped him of his princely title. Therefore, after moving out of the Eastern Palace, he returned to the Jing Prince's residence.

Back at Prince Jing's residence, he spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol, wallowing in the grief of defeat. He simply couldn't accept this reality. Just that day, he had so confidently climbed the tower and lit the sky lantern amidst the admiration of the people, only to have it explode, injuring his face and causing him to be impeached by his ministers and lose his position as crown prince.

The newly arrived Lady Tao was too young to handle such a heavy burden. Looking at the chaotic inner quarters, her young, orphaned nephew, and her husband who was utterly hopeless...

Lady Tao soon fell ill. Seeing that she was no longer of any use and that Prince Jing himself was also incompetent, the Tao family gave up on supporting him.

After Prince Jing was deposed, the call for the fifth prince to succeed him grew louder in the court, since Yuwen Wuji only had a few sons.

It was at this time that news of the death of the Prince of Yong arrived from Xuzhou.

Although Yuwen Wuji did not like his son taking away his power, he was still his son. Therefore, when he heard the news of the death of Prince Yong, Yuwen Aimin, he immediately became emotional, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.

This happened during the grand court assembly. Xie Liwei was standing in the square outside the main hall, getting chilled by the wind. If Yuwen Wuji hadn't been so petty, Xie Liwei, with his rank as a prince, might have been able to stand inside the hall without being exposed to the cold wind.

During the grand court assembly, all the civil and military officials in the hall witnessed this scene: the emperor's blood splattered a distance of ten feet, and even the face of the minister standing at the front was splattered!

"Your Majesty! Quickly summon the imperial physician!" Li Wei's shrill voice echoed in the hall.

Grand Secretary Wang Xuan, however, calmly took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the blood from his face, and then pretended to be very concerned about the Emperor, saying, "Quickly go and invite Master Qingxu! Isn't the Master the one who is taking care of the Emperor's health?"

Li Wei glanced at Wang Xuan, then said to the eunuch beside him, "Hurry up and go invite the Taoist priest!"

The little eunuch left in a panic.

The imperial physicians arrived before Master Qingxu, but having heard that the emperor's health had always been maintained by the master, they dared not prescribe any medicine after their diagnosis.

"We'd like to hear what the Taoist priest has to say when he arrives." Several imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy gathered together, none of them daring to make a decision, and decided to wait for the arrival of Master Qingxu before making a decision.

Unexpectedly, the eunuch who went to invite Master Qingxu rushed back and said, "Sir, Master Qingxu's disciple said that the Master's soul has left his body and ascended to heaven. Only his physical body remains, and he cannot return!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent.

Upon hearing the news of his elder brother's collapse and vomiting blood, the lame Prince Xuan rushed to the palace. He had originally intended to use his still-healing leg as an excuse to stay home and sleep in on this cold spring day, but he hadn't managed to escape.

When King Xuan entered the palace, he happened to meet Yuwen Xian. King Xuan felt quite awkward every time he saw this younger sister who was even younger than his own daughter.

He was a little unsure of his position. If he called her his sister, she was younger than his daughter and might be even less sensible. If he treated her as his daughter, she was still his sister, and there were many things he couldn't say, such as the fact that she kept male lovers, which he found difficult to bring up.

"Third Brother." Yuwen Xian greeted him, and the two walked side by side toward the Qiankun Palace.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Qiankun Palace, the two overheard the eunuch spouting nonsense about Master Qingxu's soul ascending to heaven. Yuwen Xian sneered, glancing at the crowd inside who seemed unsure of what to do, his anger rising.

"Imperial physicians, why aren't you prescribing anything! Are you doctors waiting for a sorcerer to save your emperor's life?!" Yuwen Xian shouted, and only then did the imperial physicians seem to wake from a dream and begin to move.

"Where are the Imperial Guards!" Yuwen Xian called out again. Cheng Cheng stepped forward. "With so many people in the room, it's a mess. How can my brother rest peacefully?"

As a result, all the cabinet ministers, led by Wang Xuan, were "invited" out.

After leaving the house, Wang Xuan and Yue Bufan exchanged a glance. The Emperor's current state was exactly what they had expected. They probably knew more about Yuwen Wuji's health than even the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital.

After the grand court assembly ended, the officials returning to their respective offices were filled with unease. They were worried that the emperor might die right after the crown prince was deposed, leaving them without a new crown prince!

Although the Fifth Prince was quite talented, he was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir. Although the Prince Jing had been deposed, he was the eldest son, giving him an advantage in every way.

Despite being in charge of the inner palace and acting as the Empress Dowager, Consort Shu was still stopped by the Imperial Guards outside the palace.

Chengcheng stood firm, like an impenetrable wall, insisting that the Emperor needed to rest and refused to let her in.

Consort Shu was furious. She knew the Emperor had a loyal dog by his side, but she didn't expect that even Yuwen Wuji was like this, and this dog didn't understand what it meant to assess the situation.

"Can't the Fifth Prince at least go in and see the Emperor? He's the Emperor's own son!"

Before Consort Shu could finish saying "my own son," the deposed Crown Prince Jing had already arrived at the entrance of Qiankun Palace. He was still reeking of alcohol, and his face was flushed red from the alcohol.

He was helped to the entrance of the main hall by two eunuchs, where he plopped down on the ground and cried out like a rogue, "Father! You mustn't get hurt! If something happens to you, how will I live! Waaah!"

Chengcheng looked at him, then glanced at Consort Shu, and said firmly, "No one is allowed to disturb His Majesty's rest, not even the princes!"