Zhou Xuance suddenly fainted, even the Empress was stunned. The Emperor then urgently summoned the imperial physicians: "What are you all standing there for? Quickly check on the Regent. If anything happens to him, I will have your entire Imperial Hospital executed!"
The guards helped him to a chair, and all the imperial physicians knelt at his feet, taking turns to take his pulse.
The mask covered half of her face, revealing lips that were a pale, crescent-shaped white.
Everyone was in a flurry of activity, while Shen Chongde led his daughter to the back.
"How is Xuan Ce?" Emperor Xiaoxuan asked anxiously.
Judging from his appearance, he seemed to dote on his younger brother.
"Your Majesty, the Prince has overworked himself, which has triggered a relapse of his old illness. His health is severely depleted, and I'm afraid..." The imperial physician stopped short of saying anything.
"We must save him no matter what!"
The imperial physicians could only do their best.
At this moment, the Empress, who was still kneeling on the ground, grabbed the hem of her yellow robe and said, "Your Majesty, Yuan Heng would never do such a treasonous thing. There must be a misunderstanding, and there are villains who want to harm him."
"We beg you to investigate thoroughly and clear his name!"
Emperor Xiaoxuan sneered: "Who harmed him?"
"Yes, yes..."
The Empress's gaze swept over the Crown Prince.
Before she could even speak, the Emperor seemed to have read her mind and raised his hand directly.
"Snap—"
The crisp sound of the slap startled everyone present, leaving them speechless.
Shen Zhiyi and her father knelt on the ground, remaining silent.
"What? Does the Empress still want to smear Yuan Bi?"
"He was injured in the last battle in the southern border region and has not yet fully recovered. Do I need to say more about who caused it?"
"It wasn't enough that he harmed the Crown Prince. Now the evidence is conclusive. If it weren't for that arrogant bastard, would Xuan Ce have been injured like this?" Emperor Xiaoxuan bent down, grabbed the Empress's clothes, and forced her to look at him.
"I have only demoted him to a commoner for now. If anything happens to Xuan Ce..."
"I will make this rebellious son pay with his life for Xuan Ce!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress and the Third Prince turned even more pale.
"You'd better pray he's safe and sound, or you might as well resign as empress!"
As Emperor Xiaoxuan spoke, he directly pushed the Empress aside, and she staggered and fell to the ground, looking disheveled and miserable.
Demoting the Third Prince to a commoner naturally meant being removed from the clan, so the news spread quickly. Even the Empress Dowager, who had already retired for the night, rushed to the Imperial Study to inquire about the reason.
"Grandmother, please save me, I beg you..." The Third Prince prostrated himself at her feet, pleading with red eyes, "I was just confused for a moment, I didn't really want to kill my uncle."
"Emperor," the Empress Dowager said, looking at Emperor Xiaoxuan.
"Mother, the imperial decree has been issued, and my mind is made up. You need not try to persuade me any further." Emperor Xiaoxuan's tone was resolute, and his expression was firm.
The Empress Dowager understood her son, and could only sigh as she looked at the Third Prince, "Yuanheng, people always have to pay the price for their mistakes."
The overall situation is settled.
The third prince collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale.
Emperor Xiaoxuan did not want to see him and instructed Gao Daban to have him expelled from the palace.
As he left the palace, the outer robe that only princes were allowed to wear was forcibly stripped off. It seemed that only then did he truly realize that he was about to be deprived of everything. He looked at Emperor Xiaoxuan and asked, "Father, are you really so heartless?"
"In your heart, your uncle has always been more important than us, right?"
"You put him first in everything? Just because he's in poor health? Yes, no matter how hard the Crown Prince and I try, we can't compare to him."
"Yes, you always say we are mediocre. Yes, looking at the whole of Daqian, who can compare to the Imperial Uncle? He is a natural-born general and has shown extraordinary talent since childhood. No wonder the Imperial Grandfather wanted to make him the heir apparent."
These words successfully chilled everyone present.
His next words were even more outrageous:
"Your grandfather favors him, and so do you. If he were healthy, would you give him the throne?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi's heart pounded wildly.
The Third Prince has truly gone mad.
How dare you utter such rebellious words?
Emperor Xiaoxuan tensed up, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
The Empress rushed forward and slapped him across the face to stop him from speaking further. "Zhou Yuanheng, shut up!"
"Mother, did I say something wrong? From childhood to adulthood, has he ever cared about us, his son and me? He only loves his uncle and the Crown Prince. But what can we do? They are all destined to die!"
"The poison is incurable!"
"Your Highness, do you think you can rest easy without me?"
"Look at the state of the Imperial Uncle now, how long do you think you can survive? Hahaha..."
"We'll all die, let's all die together."
The third prince laughed wildly. As a prince, he was always bound by rules and regulations, but this was the first time in his life that he had been so unrestrained.
Gao Daban had already ordered someone to quickly cover his mouth, while Emperor Xiaoxuan took a deep breath: "The third prince, Zhou Yuanheng, has lost his mind and is hereby permanently confined to the Imperial Clan Court."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince remained delirious, while the Empress, her face ashen, stared fixedly at the high and mighty Emperor before staggering out of the Imperial Study.
The Crown Prince stood to one side. After years of fighting, he should have felt relieved to see Zhou Yuanheng end up like this, but seeing his uncle in such a state, he felt as if a gaping wound had been ripped open in his heart...
The summer breeze blew in, and he should have felt hot, but instead he felt a chill all over his body.
He staggered, and if Shen Chongde hadn't caught him in time, he probably would have fallen to the ground.
"Your Highness? Is there anything wrong?" Shen Chongde asked with concern.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. I am fine."
How could it be harmless?
Birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural course of life, but knowing that one's lifespan is short, the feeling of waiting to die is comparable to being slowly sliced to death.
——
Zhou Xuance remained unconscious and was eventually moved to a side hall, where a group of imperial physicians surrounded him, all sweating profusely with anxiety.
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