Chapter 63: Poisoning “No one would have thought of faking death, it’s all leftover…”

She basically made it clear, but she didn't know if Xie Jing listened to her or not.

His Royal Highness Prince Jing was wearing formal court robes today, with a golden crown inlaid with pearls and a jade belt hook hanging from his waist, making him look much more imposing.

So when he sorted out documents for Yu Qing and showed her the newly drafted order as usual, Yu Qing would always look sideways - having a prince of a wealthy family as his deputy was indeed a luxury that most people could not enjoy.

However, when Yu Qing returned from his afternoon patrol, she discovered that Xie Jing had changed from his court attire into casual clothes. Yu Qing asked him why he had changed his attire, and Xie Jing replied, "It's too heavy. It's tiring to wear."

Yu Qing sighed, this person is still as delicate as ever.

She also wondered, "Then where did you get this from?"

Xie Jing said, "Oh, I brought seven or eight sets of clean ones from the palace and put them next door."

Yu Qing: “…”

Not only the clothes, but perhaps even the golden crown seemed too heavy for him. He removed it and replaced it with another, deftly re-tying his hair in front of the mirror. A piece of hair slipped from his shoulder, and Yu Qing's first thought was: I wonder what it would feel like to touch it.

Her throat moved and she looked away.

·

Since Xie Jing met with the Queen, the Chen family has contacted him several times, but Xie Jing has not given in.

In the past few days, an old account of the Chen family happened to be brought up again in the court. The family officials began to run around asking for help, but there was no response. Finally, they could not sit still any longer and sent people to the Jingwang Mansion to inform His Highness the Ninth Prince that the Chen family and the Queen were willing to form an alliance.

Xie Tingxuan was a useless son who could never seize power again, so the Chen family heartlessly abandoned him. As to whether the queen did so voluntarily or under duress, it is unknown, but she ultimately failed to withstand the pressure from her family.

In a few days, it would be the birthday of the deposed Crown Prince Xie Tingxuan. The Chen family had promised King Jing that they would poison Xie Tingxuan on that day.

"Very good," Xie Jing said, "After my third brother's birthday, I will bring gifts to the palace to meet the Empress and ask her to adopt me as her son."

The plan went very smoothly, but he found that Yu Qing seemed to care a lot about his dealings with the Chen family.

Xie Jing didn't realize that it was Yu Qing's subtle reminder and concern. Instead, he wondered: Could it be that the Yu and Chen families also had a grudge? Well, let's vent our anger together for her.

·

Mid-June, Yongping Lane, Beijing.

In the dim and simple main room, Xie Tingxuan looked listless, leaning back in a chair. His expression sometimes sinister, sometimes desolate, and finally staring blankly at the beams.

When he was first deposed, he still had a glimmer of hope, but now, after being imprisoned for several months, his spirit has been completely worn out.

There was a noise outside the door. He slowly turned his head and heard someone seem to have passed through the blockade of the guards outside the courtyard and came to his door. The voice was shrill: "Your Highness."

Xie Tingxuan was stunned when he recognized the eunuch, then stumbled to open the door: "Someone from the palace? To take me out?"

But there was only one person he recognized as a eunuch from his mother's palace, who was holding a food box.

"Today is your birthday, and Her Majesty has specially asked for grace to allow me to bring you some delicious food."

"Birthday...? Ha, I forgot about it." Xie Tingxuan let go of his strength and sneered, "What's the use of a bite of food..."

"As long as there is green, there will be no shortage of firewood. Your Highness, this is also the Queen's heart," the eunuch said sadly. "The Queen is telling you to take good care of yourself and wait for the future. There will always be a turning point in the future."

At the entrance of Yongping Lane, Chen Wenhua glanced inside the courtyard gate and thought that nothing unexpected would happen.

At this moment, the sound of wheels rutting could be heard outside, stopping at the entrance of the alley. Chen Wenhua's eyelids jumped.

Then, a cloaked man came over, accompanied by guards.

"Oh, Master Chen is here too."

Chen Wenhua was surprised when he heard the voice: "...Your Highness? Why... did you come here in person?"

He couldn't see King Jing's expression beneath his cloak, but his voice was gentle: "I heard that my brother is leaving today, so it's only natural for me to come and see him off."

He walked into the yard and the guard on duty at the door let him in without even looking at him.

·

Inside the room, Xie Tingxuan listened to the eunuch's advice, his mind in turmoil. Finally, he opened the food box. It was indeed filled with his favorite dishes. It was definitely arranged by his mother.

At this time, there were footsteps at the door again. It was Xie Tingxuan, and the eunuch was also stunned.

Two guards pushed open the door and were greeted by a tall man whose true face could not be seen.

"Who are you?" Xie Tingxuan asked.

"My name is Xie Tingye." The other party's voice was unfamiliar and soft.

"Thank you... Tingye?"

This was clearly the title of a prince, but Xie Tingxuan had never heard of it.

"I just returned to the capital this year, so it's normal that you don't recognize me. The Empress is about to adopt me as her adopted son," Xie Tingye said, "Actually, I should call you stepbrother."

Xie Tingxuan went to see the eunuch, who was pale and silent. He immediately understood.

...The Queen Mother wants to adopt a new prince.

He thought this might be a way for his mother and the Chen family to get back on track, so he endured the other party's provocation and said through gritted teeth, "I see... Then, please take care of my mother for me."

Xie Tingye said: "I will. After all, you won't be able to see her again in the future."

"……What?"

The other party said slowly: "My mother promised me that she would get rid of you before adopting me."

"How is that possible?" Xie Tingxuan's eyes widened. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Seeing him rushing towards him, Xie Jing took a half step back, and the guards on both sides pinned the deposed prince to the ground. Xie Tingxuan gasped and struggled in vain. After a long time, he came to his senses and looked up at the untouched food box and the eunuch shaking like a sieve.

Xie Jing said, "Eunuch, tell me, what's in here?"

The eunuch knelt down and trembled, saying, "The Empress ordered someone to put... medicine in it..."

Xie Tingxuan couldn't believe it.

I am the Queen Mother's biological child, yet she is... so cruel?

His eyes were red as he finally realized his situation. He looked at Xie Jing and said in a hoarse voice, "I... won't hinder you, and I won't move your position! Please... let me go, I can do something for you..."

Xie Jing asked doubtfully, "Are you begging me?"

The desire to live overcame his dignity. Xie Tingxuan knelt on the ground, kowtowed several times, and said in a piteous voice, "Please, spare my life."

Xie Jing smiled, looked down at Xie Tingxuan, and took off his cloak.

The light was dim, and Xie Tingxuan looked at the young man in a trance, unable to remember where he had seen this handsome and delicate face before.

"Don't you recognize me?" Xie Jing asked.

Sweat dripped down Xie Tingxuan's forehead, he really didn't know.

"Do you remember how you became the crown prince?" Xie Jing asked. "Your uncle framed me, and you wrote a letter to accuse my grandfather. My mother was imprisoned, and my brother spent three months in the Heavenly Prison."

Xie Tingxuan struggled to recall the past, then looked up at Xie Jing's face, dumbfounded.

"You are... Concubine Rong's child? No wonder you look like her... But, that's not right. When did Concubine Rong..."

"We've known each other for many years," Xie Jing said calmly. "Not long after I arrived at the Central Palace, you brought your cousin in. He took advantage of the fact that no one was around and held me, so I jumped into the pond. You covered up for him. Princess Yongkang felt that I was unworthy of being your mother's child, so she used medicine to lure a snake into my bedroom, poisoning a maid. You had someone collect the body. The year of your wedding, you felt that my illness would hinder your joy, so you moved me to the temporary palace for the winter..."

Xie Tingxuan was stunned, and finally remembered where he had seen this pair of deep eyes before - the little girl in the empress's palace who was always quiet, gentle, and lowered her eyebrows.

"...Qingjia?" Xie Tingxuan said, "This is impossible. Isn't Qingjia dead? No, are you a man or a woman... What kind of monster are you? Are you here to take revenge on us...?"

The cousin the other party mentioned was exiled and died in a foreign land last year, and his sister Princess Yongkang had been depressed since the fall of the Eastern Palace. Later, she became insane and was tied to the bed and fed water and food every day.

"You've done so much to me, yet you can't even recognize my face. Luckily, you've never taken me seriously, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come back so easily," Xie Jing said. "Of course, in my eyes, you've already been dead."

How had the deceased Seventh Princess managed to deceive everyone so flawlessly for the past decade? Xie Tingxuan would never figure it out. The guard had already placed the lunch box in front of him and was pressing down on his back.

Xie Jing leaned forward and smiled, "However, I can thank you for one thing. You found a good home for me."

·

The house finally returned to silence. After a long time, King Jing emerged from inside, glanced at Chen Wenhua with a half-smile, and then returned to the carriage.

Chen Wenhua looked through the gap and saw the corpse lying inside, and couldn't help swallowing.

This King Jing is more ruthless than imagined. It is not enough for him to just force others to do it, he has to come and confirm it with his own eyes.

The eunuch who had come out earlier also came out cautiously.

"Sir," the eunuch said, "I will return to the palace and report to the Empress."

·

The deposed prince committed suicide on his birthday. No one knew where he had hidden the poison, but when the person who delivered food to him found him the next day, he was already bleeding from all seven orifices and dead.

Yu Qing was quite surprised when he received the news.

"Xie Tingxuan is dead?"

She always felt that the deposed crown prince, a cowardly idiot who looked strong on the outside but was actually weak, probably didn't have the guts to commit suicide.

Xie Jing on the other side asked curiously, "Who is Xie Tingxuan?"

Yu Qing: “…”

She said, "He was the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace before, but he was deposed before you returned to the capital."

Xie Jing: "Oh, so that's it. I remember now. It sounds so familiar..."

Yu Qing said helplessly: "You should pay more attention to it."

Xie Jing said: "There are too many princes, how could I remember to come here. Besides, I have never seen him..."

Even if he was deposed, he was still the biological son of the emperor and empress. When the news of his death reached the palace, it caused quite a stir.

The queen fainted from crying in the palace, and she beat her chest and stamped her feet, crying like rain in front of the emperor who came to see her.

"Xuan'er was wrong, but...how could he be so stupid..." the Queen said, "After all, he is your majesty and I's biological child!"

The Emperor had not visited the Imperial Palace for a long time. Although they had had their differences, they had been together for many years. Now that the old man had sent his young son away, the Emperor could not help but feel moved. Initially, he had only confined Xie Tingxuan to the Imperial City, in fact, because he could not bear it. Now that he was dead, it was natural to think that it was all his good deeds and it was difficult to blame him for his mistakes.

"I had originally given him some leniency," the emperor said, "but I didn't expect him to be so persistent."

The Queen said, "Your Majesty, you've watched him grow up. He's not a bad person by nature. All those things back then were caused by my doting and poor parenting. He must have suffered immensely over the past year, which is why he's so depressed..."

The emperor also sighed: "I am also heartbroken."

"Even if I couldn't see him before, I still missed him," the Queen said infatuatedly, "Now, Xuan'er is gone, Yongkang is also ill, and I have no interest in life anymore..."

"Well," said the emperor, "let him be buried according to the proper rites."

The emperor finally gave in and gave Xie Tingxuan a funeral honor. He was buried according to his royal status, and his body was kept for three days before being moved to the imperial mausoleum.

Everyone in the palace was dressed in mourning, and the empress sat on a chair with a gloomy expression.

"His Highness the Ninth Prince said he's been very busy at the Beichen Division lately," the maid whispered. "He can't spare the time to come over. Please wait a little longer."

"He was so eager to take Xuan'er's life, but now he's dragging his feet," the Queen said. "...He will pay the price for his arrogance and disrespect one day."

At night, the queen was restless in her bedroom. Finally, someone rushed into the palace and knelt down.

"Is it done? Shouldn't we bring the person out?" the queen asked anxiously.

"Your Majesty, we brought him... brought him out," the palace attendant said with difficulty, "We took the Third Prince out of the coffin and moved him out of the imperial mausoleum according to the plan... but..."

"...But the Third Prince's body has already... decayed! Even after being given the antidote, he hasn't regained consciousness."

The queen stood up suddenly, and the teacup on the table fell to the ground and shattered.

·

Xie Jing picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"No one would have thought of faking their own death," he said. "It's all leftovers... This tea is quite fragrant."

Xie Tingzhao said, "I'll have someone bring you two packs later."

Xie Jing said, "Okay, it just so happens that Beichensi is short of good tea."