The air was thick with fog.
The hazy atmosphere can make a beauty that is 70% to 100%.
Not to mention that Concubine Ling was already extremely beautiful, otherwise how could she have monopolized the favor of Emperor Xiaoming for so many years?
Looking at Concubine Ling, who is already quite old but still has the same graceful figure as when she was young, Emperor Xiaoming's eyes are filled with eagerness.
The warm pool water only reached his waist, but because he was walking too fast, he still stumbled accidentally.
Concubine Ling did not come forward to support him, but continued to sit on the shore, looking in the direction of Emperor Xiaoming with a frown.
Emperor Xiaoming thought that his beloved concubine was sulking, so he smiled nonchalantly and walked forward to grab Concubine Ling's calf.
Then he pulled the smooth and delicate legs into the water.
This was a trick that Emperor Xiaoming loved to play.
Concubine Ling let out a scream and then threw herself into his arms. Emperor Xiaoming showed an expression of success on his face.
But the next moment, he couldn't laugh anymore.
There was a sharp pain in the chest, as if something had pierced into the chest from Concubine Ling's hand just a moment ago.
My eyelids suddenly felt heavy.
In the last moment of his hazy consciousness, he seemed to hear Concubine Ling's cry, "Oh no! Someone come quickly!"
"Your Majesty is drowning!"
…
At midnight, everything is quiet.
A low and long bell sound came from the direction of the imperial palace bell tower.
The wealthy and powerful living in the mansions of Suzaku and Xuanwu streets were the first to be startled by the sound of the bell.
At the Ling family, Concubine Ling's brother had not fallen asleep yet.
In the master's study, all the leaders of the Ling family were sitting there. Although it was already late at night, no one suggested going back to rest, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
The moment the bell rang, the head of the Ling family straightened his back, then he let out a long sigh, and finally revealed a trace of relief. "It looks like it's done!"
The second master of the Ling family also relaxed, looked towards the direction of the imperial palace, and whispered, "I can finally wish the Second Prince to get what he wants."
Jinyang Marquis Mansion.
As the Marquis's wife and Mrs. Xue fell ill one after another, the inner house became less supervised, and the maids and servants began to slack off in their duties. Many times, even the Marquis's wife would be neglected by the servants.
Unfortunately, she was in poor health and was dizzy more often than awake, so it was of no use even if she was dissatisfied.
Xue Linglong's situation was even worse. After all, the Marquis's wife had an imperial decree, and no matter how negligent the servants were, it was nothing more than the tea not being hot enough or the meals and snacks not being delivered on time. They did not dare to make things difficult for her when it came to specific matters.
Xue Linglong is different.
Before the incident, she was under house arrest in Qifengyuan by the prince, and there were only two maids in the yard to monitor her. Now she has hurt her head and her qi and blood are depleted. The doctor came to see her and only said that she could use ginseng to keep her alive and recover slowly. She lay on the couch every day, but Chen Feng did not arrange any other servants for her, and she never set foot in Qifeng Courtyard again.
The two little girls thought that Xue Linglong was completely disliked by the prince, and they often secretly harassed her, until she even had difficulty speaking while lying on the couch.
The entire Jinyang Marquis Mansion was like a large ship that had come to a standstill.
The bell rang three times before the people in the mansion reacted.
In Qifeng Courtyard, Xue Linglong woke up from a half-sleep state and heard the bell that had not yet finished ringing.
After a moment's pause, I guessed the reason.
Someone died in the palace.
To sound the death knell at this time and inform the world.
The deceased person was of noble status, either the empress dowager or... the current emperor.
The sky in the imperial city is about to change.
In this chess game called power, they are not even qualified to be chess pieces.
Chen Feng, who was awakened from his sleep by the servant, sat on the bed for a long while, thinking pessimistically.
Prince Duan’s Mansion, Duke Xu’s Mansion.
The owners of the two mansions were awakened by the bell and realized what had happened at the first moment.
In fact, they had anticipated this matter a long time ago, so it was not too surprising now.
Prince Duan took a deep breath and ordered his trusted aides, "Hurry to Kanglefang and have someone report what happened in the capital to His Highness."
"The Second Prince is so impatient, which just gives Your Highness the opportunity to enter the capital earlier."
The Xuguo Mansion is even more deserted than the Prince Duan's Mansion, where the population is dwindling. Among all the masters in the mansion, only the Xuguo Prince is left.
When he heard the bell, he came to the courtyard, looked up in the direction of the imperial city's bell tower, and then looked back to the west.
He murmured, "Everything is finally coming to an end."
…
The people in the capital are in unrest.
There was panic in the palace and the atmosphere was heavy.
The Qionghua Palace was filled with the smell of blood.
Tonight, no less than a hundred people died in this dark and secluded palace. The hot spring pool in Qionghua Palace was filled with scarlet blood.
This is the result of the joint efforts of the Second Prince, Concubine Ling and the Empress Dowager.
However, the one who contributed the most was the Empress Dowager.
Even the corpse of Emperor Xiaoming was cleaned up by the Empress Dowager so as to erase all traces of the poisonous needle that Concubine Ling had stabbed him with.
"Mother, can I see His Majesty again..."
Concubine Ling came to the Empress Dowager for help. For some reason, she felt uneasy.
Perhaps, it was because the person who died was the one who had given him decades of glory.
Or maybe, it was because she had stabbed the poison needle with her own hands?
After all, she didn't want her son to be charged with patricide and regicide in the future, so this final and crucial move came from her hands.
After waiting for a long time, the Empress Dowager, who was sitting behind a screen, did not respond to her request.
Nanny Lian beside the Empress Dowager came out from behind the screen and reminded softly, "My Lady Concubine, please go back. You still have to help the Crown Prince with many things tomorrow. You don't need to worry about the aftermath. The Empress Dowager will take care of everything. No one will know about the needle you stabbed."
Nanny Lian was calm and composed, and Concubine Ling was persuaded by her and no longer insisted on the matter of Emperor Xiaoming's body.
The Queen Mother was right. She still had a lot of things to deal with and there was no need to waste time on a dead person.
She thought so, and the second prince Qi Yao thought so even more.
Unlike Concubine Ling, Qi Yao never thought of going to see his father again from beginning to end. There was nothing to see. After the body was kept for 49 days and all officials and people had paid homage to the emperor, the body of Emperor Xiaoming would be sent to the imperial mausoleum.
As for now...
The Empress Dowager drafted a will in the name of Emperor Xiaoming.
He holds the imperial edict in his hand and is the crown prince.
The second prince did not think that anything could stop him from succeeding to the throne smoothly.
That chair finally belonged to him.
He was smiling so happily that he didn't show any sadness at all as he should have since his father passed away.
…
Word got back to the west.
There was no trace of surprise in Qi Xu's eyes.
"I originally wanted to let the army rest for a while. But now it seems that we have to set off earlier."
"... Qi Yao killed his father and his king. He was very bold."
Qi Yao slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.
After calming himself down, he gave the order: "Pass on my order, assemble the entire army and set off tomorrow morning!"
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