Chapter 101 Guessing She Inadvertently Stumbled Upon the Emperor's Arrangement
"What's over?"
Qi Jingxuan asked, puzzled.
Shen Yan slowly turned her head to look at him, her lips moving for a long time before she finally murmured, "Yes... Your Majesty."
"Father, Father, he..."
Qi Jingxuan only realized Shen Yan's meaning halfway through his sentence, and he immediately stopped talking.
"You mean... Father Emperor ordered Qinghe to be killed?"
Shen Yan remained silent for a long time, sorting out her thoughts, and then spoke to Qi Jingxuan.
He Yuan is in charge of guarding the Prince's mansion. Although not all the people in the mansion were selected by him, it is no exaggeration to say that everyone has been screened by him several times.
Under such circumstances, committing a crime, especially poisoning someone, right under his nose would not be easy.
Moreover, whether it's a revenge killing or silencing someone, it would be best to kill them with a single blow. However, the person who poisoned Qinghe gradually increased the dosage, causing Qinghe to die as if from a natural illness.
This made Qinghe's death seem more natural and less suspicious, but it also greatly increased the difficulty for the perpetrator. To poison Qinghe regularly and in measured amounts every day without being detected, under the current tight security measures of the Prince's residence, was no easy feat.
Who could do that?
Shen Yan had been thinking about this question for a while, but at first she had no clue, until she thought of... He Yuan.
Just as it is always easier for someone who is in charge of the household to steal than for an outside thief, the person who knows the Prince's mansion best is also the easiest to do all this.
Of course, this isn't the most important thing. If one suspects another because of their identity, then the person most likely to be suspected is the royal physician. He simply needs to omit aconite from the prescription, secretly add some when dispensing the medicine, and then buy more aconite from outside to make up for the missing parts in the royal pharmacy. Anyway, he decides when to take inventory of the pharmacy, and aconite is rarely used, so there's no need to worry about being discovered.
However, the physician only examined Qinghe and did not prescribe any medicine for her, which greatly reduced his suspicion.
His suspicion has been reduced, indicating that the perpetrator had a better understanding of the Prince's Mansion.
The amount of aconite needed to poison a person is small; some can be obtained from the Prince's Pharmacy. This person must have known that the Prince's physicians regularly checked their medicinal herbs, which is why they dared not take it directly from the pharmacy but instead bought it from outside.
The fact that they could successfully bring aconite purchased from outside into the mansion and then add it to Qinghe's medicine in several installments further increased the difficulty of poisoning her.
Who knows the Prince's mansion so well, and could do all this so easily without being discovered?
Shen Yan habitually went through the possible candidates in her mind one by one, the first one that came to mind was the Chief Secretary, and then He Yuan.
But the two people only flashed through her mind briefly, and she had no doubts whatsoever.
These two were personally selected and transferred to the Prince's residence by the Emperor after the spring banquet at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence in March; they must be very trustworthy people.
After ruling out the two, she continued thinking. Just then, the image of He Yuan acting somewhat strangely when facing the physician earlier that day suddenly flashed before her eyes.
How come such a cautious person showed absolutely no suspicion towards the physician today, not even asking a single question?
Why did he directly say it was a revenge killing when she asked for his opinion, attributing it to someone's revenge against Qinghe, rather than a threat to the Prince's Mansion?
He is now in charge of guarding the Prince's mansion. How could he make such a whimsical guess after something like this happened? It's so different from his usual way of doing things.
Shen Yan didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, she felt that He Yuan had been acting strangely ever since he entered the room.
He was initially very nervous, but after hearing it was about Qinghe, he inexplicably relaxed. He even paused for a moment when she asked him to go to the palace to inform her…
Since the incident at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence, it had become commonplace for the Prince's residence to report matters to the palace. He was clearly already used to it, so why was he reacting this way today?
With many doubts coming together, Shen Yan suddenly remembered the most important question: Qing He came from the palace.
Her fear of returning to the palace must mean something bad happened there. Shen Yan had naively thought she had simply had some unpleasant experience, but after Qinghe's death today, she realized things might not be so simple. Perhaps she had stumbled upon some secret, caught someone red-handed, which led to her being silenced today.
But she's been out of the palace for half a year already. Why didn't the person who tried to kill her silence her earlier, instead of waiting until today?
Has anything happened recently that is related to Qinghe?
Shen Yan hadn't considered anything directly related to Qing He, but she thought of Prince Ning.
The Prince of Ning's rebellion uncovered many secrets. Some involved the palace, others the powerful clans, and so on. Even Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan were not fully aware of the whole story.
The emperor had Gao Zheng inform them of some inside information, but this information was something they were already close to discovering. The reason for telling them was not to let them know the truth, but to prevent them from continuing their investigation out of resentment and further escalating the situation.
What about the things they didn't know? Could anything in those stories be related to Qinghe? Could it be that when the Emperor was investigating Prince Ning, he realized Qinghe might know something, so… he had He Yuan silence her?
Shen Yan felt a chill run down her spine at the thought, because it meant she had inadvertently stumbled upon the emperor's plan, and what would the emperor do to her?
“I shouldn’t have called it out on the spot,” Shen Yan said, her face pale. “I was so startled by the matter of Prince Ning that I instinctively felt that there might be some thief in the mansion, and I couldn’t immediately figure out the reason.”
"This is clearly a very simple thing, easy to figure out, how come I didn't think of it back then?"
She tapped her head in frustration, but Qi Jingxuan grabbed her hand and said, "It's not your fault, Aci. It's already amazing that you figured it out so quickly. If you hadn't told me, I would still be a confused person."
"But...this might implicate you."
Shen Yan said.
“Qinghe was someone I kept. She later came to the Prince’s Palace with me. His Majesty might think that she has already told us everything, and that we know everything.”
But they actually knew nothing about Qinghe's experiences; Qinghe never revealed a single word until her death.
Qi Jingxuan laughed upon hearing this, but there was a bitter taste in his mouth: "Actually, there's no difference."
"If it was really Father who did it, then he already had suspicions. Just because I am his son and you are his daughter-in-law, he only killed Qinghe."
"This has nothing to do with whether you stumbled upon Qinghe being poisoned today. It was already destined from the moment I entered the palace to ask my father to leave Qinghe in the Shen family."
Back then, who could have imagined what would happen today?
Shen Yan was taken aback, and after a long while, she said, "Yes, it was destined long ago."
She lowered her eyes and murmured softly, "Should I have...?"
“You did nothing wrong,” Qi Jingxuan interrupted. “Aci, didn’t you tell me before that I shouldn’t take the blame for things that weren’t my own? How come you can’t understand that now that it’s my turn?”
"You did nothing wrong, and neither did I. If anyone should feel guilty about this, it should never be us."
He held Shen Yan's hand, his expression resolute and his tone firm.
Shen Yan was momentarily dazed. The face opposite her was completely different from her own, yet she inexplicably felt like she was looking in a mirror, as if she were talking to herself.
She felt inexplicably relieved and gripped Qi Jingxuan's hand tightly: "Yes, it's not our fault."
Now, let's wait and see how the palace plans to deal with them.
…………
There was no action taken in the palace, as if nothing had happened.
Qinghe's death was ruled a revenge killing. The maid who was responsible for preparing her medicine during her illness stepped forward and confessed to the crime. She was taken out of the mansion by He Yuan, and her fate is unknown.
After that, the matter seemed to end. Shen Yan and the others didn't know why Qing He died, nor did they know whether the emperor really intended to let it go.
But as long as this matter remains unresolved, it's like a sword hanging over their heads, a constant fear that it will fall down.
Even before the Emperor's decision came the news of Consort Shu's serious illness. When Qi Jingxuan heard it, he thought the Emperor was angry with Consort Shu because of him and had done something to her. He practically scrambled into the palace. But when he entered, he found that Consort Shu was only a little pale and was otherwise fine.
Why are you here?
When Consort Shu saw Qi Jingxuan and Shen Yan, she smiled and waved to them, "Come, sit down."
Qi Jingxuan stumbled over, sat down beside her, and grabbed her hand, almost bursting into tears: "Mother, you...you're alright?"
What could possibly happen to me?
Consort Shu looked somewhat surprised, glancing at him and then at Shen Yan.
Shen Yan said, "Just now, someone from the palace came to tell us that you are seriously ill. The prince was terrified and rushed to the palace to see you."
Consort Shu chuckled and patted Qi Jingxuan's hand to comfort him: "Isn't that how the imperial physicians in the palace are? They have to exaggerate every little ailment into something serious, otherwise they won't be able to show off their skills."
Seeing that she did not seem seriously ill, Qi Jingxuan finally felt relieved and said with dissatisfaction, "I wanted to visit you a few days ago, but the palace said that the case of Prince Ning had not been cleared up yet, and I could not enter the palace for the time being. I could tell that this was clearly an excuse, that Father Emperor did not want me to see you."
But he didn't know why his father had suddenly forbidden him from seeing his mother. Was it because his father suspected he had learned something from Qinghe and was afraid he would tell his mother?
But what's the use? Unless he dies, he'll be entering the palace sooner or later. If Father Emperor is truly so worried that he knows something, he should have made a decision sooner rather than preventing him from meeting Mother.
Consort Shu replied, "This isn't directed at you. The palace has indeed been under strict control lately. Prince Jing'an has tried to come in several times but has been stopped."
Qi Jingxuan looked suspicious: "Really?"
He wasn't asking whether Qi Jinghong had been stopped, but rather whether the palace restrictions had become so strict recently that even he was no longer allowed to enter.
After all, it was common for Lao Liu to be stopped, but it was unprecedented for him to be obstructed.
Consort Shu chuckled: "Would I lie to you?"
Seeing that she was calm and composed, and that her tone was as relaxed as ever, Qi Jingxuan reluctantly believed her.
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