It was half an hour later when Xiaozhuang received the news.
When the old lady heard that the Fourth Prince had been murdered in her own Cining Palace, she was so angry that she immediately overturned the table.
"Come here, seal off the Cining Palace immediately and search it thoroughly for me now. I want to see who is so bold as to dare to extend their claws into the Cining Palace."
At this time, Kangxi was in the Yanx Palace with Wei. When he received the news, he was very angry and rushed to the Cining Palace with Liang Jiugong.
No one in the Cining Palace dared to breathe. No matter whether they were concubines or female members of the royal family, they all waited obediently and no one dared to make any noise.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager just sat silently beside Xiaozhuang.
Wherever the Empress Dowager appears, she doesn't need to stand out; she just needs to sit quietly.
When Kangxi arrived, he found that the two old ladies looked unwell.
"Grandmother, what happened to Xiao Si?"
Su Malagu immediately stepped forward to explain, "The Fourth Prince suddenly fell into a coma. The imperial physician said he was poisoned, but no trace of poison was found in his mouth."
Kangxi frowned. "Poisoned, but not from the food. What other ways could it have happened?"
The imperial physician knelt down and explained, "I have examined the Fourth Prince and found a small wound on his neck, as if he had been pricked with a needle. I have also examined that area and found that there is indeed toxin."
"What kind of poison is it? Is there an antidote?"
The imperial physician nodded. "This poison is quite common. Even if it's not discovered in time, it won't be life-threatening. It will just keep you awake at night. An adult poisoned by this poison might just have trouble sleeping, but if it lasts for a long time, they'll become less energetic. But if a child is poisoned by this poison, it will damage their brain to a certain extent."
Empress Xiaozhuang suddenly swept the teacup beside her to the ground. "How dare you, you bastard, start a fight in my Cining Palace? Su Ma, what did the wet nurse say?"
Su Malagu stepped forward and said, "To answer the Empress Dowager's question, the Fourth Prince originally had three wet nurses, but after he fell asleep, two of them went to the backyard to secretly watch a play. The remaining wet nurse stayed by his bedside and fell asleep for some unknown reason."
Seeing this, the imperial physician interjected, "I examined the nurse and found she was mildly drugged. This dose of drug can quickly knock someone unconscious, but the effect doesn't last long, only about two cups of tea."
Concubine Hui sneered, "It seems this person is quite calculating. He knows that if the wet nurse is unconscious for too long, she will be easily discovered."
The imperial concubine's expression darkened. "I heard that the two wet nurses who had gone out to watch a play returned early and discovered something was wrong with the nurse who was watching over them. This led to the discovery of the wound on the Fourth Prince's neck."
Rong Fei shook her head. "If these two wet nurses hadn't returned early, even if the Fourth Prince started crying, the wet nurses would probably just think the child was fussing over his sleep. Who would have thought there was something wrong with the child?"
"Yes, the person who did it is really vicious." Tong Jia also added.
Kangxi's expression grew increasingly gloomy. Seeing no one was speaking, Xiaozhuang snorted, "I promise. If the person who did this comes forward, I'll leave him an intact body and spare his family and nine clans. If I find the murderer, I'll exterminate all nine clans."
Framing a prince who is not the crown prince and exterminating his entire clan is indeed a bit excessive.
But daring to take action under the nose of the ancestor of the Cining Palace is an offense to the authority of the Empress Dowager.
It is not excessive to exterminate nine clans.
"After waiting for half a quarter of an hour, no one came forward."
Kangxi closed his eyes and said, "Su Malagu, now thoroughly investigate everyone who appeared here today, whether they are masters or servants. During the time when the two wet nurses were away, each of them must provide a witness who can prove that she was not with the Fourth Prince."
The Imperial Concubine took the lead and said, "I was sitting with Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong drinking tea."
After she said that, the other two didn't need to prove anything.
Tong Jia said, "I am sitting behind the three sisters, so I think they can see me.
The three imperial concubines looked at each other and nodded.
Following this order, after the concubines in the harem spoke, the dowagers spoke, followed by the female members of the royal family, and finally the palace servants looked for witnesses from each other.
It took two hours to question him carefully, but there was no flaw at all.
Everyone had witnesses at that time period to prove that they were not alone. If they were not alone, how could they appear quietly in the Fourth Prince's room?
Xiaozhuang frowned. How could this person be so meticulous in his work?
Kangxi suddenly remembered that Concubine Yi had been framed many times, and the murderer behind the scenes had not been found out until now.
The investigation lasted until late at night, and some of the older concubines could no longer bear it.
Seeing that there was no result, Xiaozhuang had no choice but to let the female members of the royal family go back first.
"Grandmother, it seems we can only investigate this matter slowly."
Kangxi whispered, and seeing him like this, Xiaozhuang naturally thought of something and tightened her grip on the teacup.
"He's truly a scourge that's been around for a thousand years. Could it be that the old man still has someone he can use?"
Kangxi also fell silent.
If it weren't for the people left behind by that person, he wouldn't have been unable to find the real culprit behind the scenes so many times.
"Forget it, everyone should go away."
With a wave of her hand, Empress Xiaozhuang dispersed the concubines in the harem.
Because of Emperor Kangxi's order, Concubine Yi did not need to leave the palace except on major holidays. She only needed to stay in the Yiku Palace to take good care of her pregnancy.
So it was already the next day when she learned about this.
Concubine Guo and Concubine Cheng gathered in the main hall.
"Sister, I heard that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor couldn't find the murderer last night."
Concubine Guo was sullen. "Why do I feel like my sister and I were framed by the same group last time?"
Cheng Guiren was puzzled.
"Since someone was secretly tampering with this, then what criteria did he use to choose his target? If he was targeting the prince, then my child is also a prince, so why is he fine?"
Concubine Yi was also confused. She had originally ignored this matter, but now that it was brought up, she couldn't help but become nervous.
This matter continued to ferment in the harem. Some concubines who had children took good care of their children, and there were not even children playing in the imperial garden.
Yinreng couldn't help but frown when he learned about this.
He thought carefully about his previous life, and it seemed that nothing strange or unsolvable had happened.
etc.
Yinreng's eyes suddenly widened.
He remembered that when he was a child, he always encountered some inexplicable small problems, although they were always discovered in time and he saved his life.
But after so many times, he couldn't help but get angry with the concubines in the harem.
I feel that those women only hurt me for the sake of their children.
Now that I think about it, was it possible that the other children in the harem also met with murder at that time, but he just didn't know about it?
If this is true, then who is the murderer?
Anyone who can act under the nose of the Empress Dowager without being discovered must be someone with equal strength to her.
Who could that be?
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