Chapter 324 Death
After Xiao Yuan learned that the emperor was not seriously injured, he planned to leave the palace and go to Langyue Lake.
He asked Wen Yin to stay in the palace for the time being to guard the emperor in the palace. As for the previous dynasty and the handling of the fifth prince's party, he sent someone back to the Shen Mansion to call Shen Wen to take charge for the time being.
"Where's Li Huaiyan?"
Qing An frowned, "I heard that Duke Li was assassinated in the mansion before he came. The Duke's wife was seriously injured while blocking the knife for the Duke. Duke Li has returned to the Duke's Mansion."
Xiao Yuan frowned upon hearing this, "Ask Zhang Yuanpan, the judge of the Imperial Hospital, to go and make sure the Duke's wife is cured."
After arranging everything, Xiao Yuan left the palace.
——
The emperor's breathing stabilized under Wen Yin's treatment, but was still a little weak.
Wen Yin worked for half the night to pull the man back from the brink of death. Adding to the torture he had suffered previously, he was already exhausted and now it was even difficult for him to stand.
"Master, please go to the side hall and take a rest first. The emperor will be guarded here by us."
"Okay." Wen Yin couldn't hold it in any longer. "I asked the imperial kitchen to make some medicine. When the emperor wakes up, please feed him. If there is any change, come to me immediately."
Eunuch Liu said with a gentle face, "It's only two steps away, don't worry, Master."
Master Wen Yin yawned and walked into the side hall tiredly. Eunuch Liu glanced around and then walked into the palace.
The emperor on the dragon couch was still asleep. He walked forward quietly and stood aside, waiting quietly.
The emperor did not sleep well that night. He frowned and relaxed, as if he had encountered something terrible in his dream.
Cold sweat slid down his temples and soon covered his face.
"I didn't mean it, Concubine Shu, please don't leave and don't hate me."
He murmured and suddenly opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty, you are awake." Eunuch Liu immediately took a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat off the emperor's forehead. "Did you have a nightmare?"
The emperor was stunned for a while, took a breath, and then calmed down, "Where is Yuan'er?"
"The Fourth Prince has left the palace to go to Langyue Lake to pick up the Fourth Prince's wife."
"Yeah." When mentioning Shen Anan, the emperor remembered Xiao Yuan's words that Shen Anan was pregnant, and his brows immediately relaxed.
It’s just a pity that the brat didn’t say whether it was a boy or a girl.
While he was in a daze, Eunuch Liu knelt down beside the dragon couch with a plop and lowered his head deeply.
"What are you doing?" The emperor frowned. "Are you afraid that I will hold you accountable for betraying your master?"
It is a taboo for people around the emperor to be bribed, but at this critical moment, it was Eunuch Liu who took the risk and saved him repeatedly, so his merits and demerits offset each other.
"No." Eunuch Liu shook his head. "It's just that this old servant has something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."
The emperor frowned, "Speak."
Things have come to this point, there is no secret that he cannot bear to hear.
“Yes.” Eunuch Liu kowtowed heavily before saying, “When I was imprisoned with Master Wen Yin, I accidentally heard Master Wen Yin say that the Fifth Prince…the Fifth Prince…is not your son!!”
There was a deathly silence in the hall at first. The emperor suddenly bent over and stared at Eunuch Liu, his face as pale as paper due to the tearing of his wound.
"What did you say?"
"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince is not your prince, but the one who is with Lord Shen. Do you still remember that year, Concubine Shu accompanied that person to Xiangjue Temple every month, and the Fifth Prince was conceived at that time. The horoscope and age are not wrong, Master Wenyin said it himself."
The emperor stared at Eunuch Liu in a daze, feeling a suffocation in his chest that made his face pale.
How could that be? Rouer clearly admitted that the child was his.
"Your Majesty, think carefully. Was the woman who was pregnant with the fifth prince during that period? And you have already had the intention to kill Lord Shen. Even if it was for the sake of the unborn child, she would never dare to admit that it was not yours."
So, Rou'er was lying to him back then. Xiao Tian was also the bastard of her man. They...they...
Eunuch Liu's eyes were red. "The Concubine Shu was kind-hearted. She must have known that the Fifth Prince was not the Emperor's, so she helped that woman escape from the palace. I never thought that she hated the Emperor so much that she turned the tables and said that the Concubine Shu ordered the Qi family to kill her. Your Majesty, think about it, if the Concubine Shu wanted her dead, wouldn't the countless days and nights in the palace be the best opportunity?"
puff--
The emperor suddenly leaned forward and a mouthful of dark red blood spurted out, splashing on the ground, the dragon couch, and Eunuch Liu's robe.
"So, for that bastard, I almost killed my own son and almost destroyed the Xiao family's kingdom!!" the emperor murmured, and spit out blood several times.
He fell weakly on the dragon couch, his dragon eyes wide open, "My Yuan'er~"
"Shu...Shu Fei, I'm sorry for you."
Eunuch Liu knelt quietly on the ground in silence until the emperor's whispers gradually faded away. Then he raised his head. His eyes, which were full of humility, were now filled with a cold calm.
"Your Majesty, you are injured. Don't be impulsive." He crawled forward on his knees and helped the emperor lie down. The emperor suddenly grabbed his hand tightly, but he was breathing out more than breathing in.
Eunuch Liu looked at him calmly. The emperor chuckled and then his head tilted completely and remained motionless.
Eunuch Liu closed his eyes, sighed, and covered the emperor with a quilt. "The Fourth Prince is soft-hearted. Even so, he has never thought of harming the emperor. But the Empress Shufei is such a gentle and kind person, but she died with a stigma. How can this old servant not seek justice for her?"
"Without Madam Shufei, I wouldn't be where I am today."
He tidied up the emperor, a look of panic appeared on his face, and he stumbled out, "Master Wen Yin, Master Wen Yin, something bad has happened, something bad has happened."
Wen Yin in the side hall was frightened by the sound and jumped up, rushing out like a gust of wind without even having time to put on his shoes.
Eunuch Liu's eyes were red, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... He won't move."
"How is that possible?" Wen Yin didn't believe it at first.
He worked hard all night to rescue the person, so he naturally knew the emperor's current condition. As long as nothing unexpected happened, there would be no problem in saving his life.
He walked into the palace without saying a word and went straight to the dragon bed. When he saw the emperor who was already dead, he was stunned for a moment.
"Master Wen Yin, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and save them." Eunuch Liu urged.
Wen Yin stood there, still not moving.
save? How to save? The person is already dead. He knows medical skills, but he is not the King of Hell.
Wen Yin had a look of deep confusion on his face. He had clearly saved the person, so how could he die while he was sleeping?
"The emperor...is no longer here. Let someone notify the Fourth Prince." Wen Yin sighed heavily, still puzzled.
"What?" Eunuch Liu's eyes widened and tears immediately rolled down his cheeks. He ran out without saying a word.
After a while, the dull and heavy sound of bells rang throughout the entire palace, and even could be heard from far away. When many officials in the palace heard the bells, their faces changed drastically. They immediately changed into court robes and prepared cars to enter the palace.
Xiao Yuan's carriage was about to leave the city gate when he heard the sound of the bells, and his expression changed slightly.
He suddenly lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked towards the direction of the palace.
The Jingyang Bell announcing the death can only be about the Emperor and Empress. Is it that my father is gone? How could that be? Wasn’t he fine when he left the palace? Wasn’t Wen Yin guarding him?
The expectant joy on his face turned into coldness, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings, and he couldn't tell what he felt for a moment.
Qing'an stopped the carriage and asked in a low voice, "Master, why don't we go back to the palace first?"
With the death of the emperor, the court must be in chaos. Lord Shen might not be able to intimidate the officials, and the master needs to be in charge. After all, the prince is gone, but the clan still has princes and princes. There must be no more complications and let those people have thoughts that they shouldn't have.
The bells continued to ring.
The back of Xiao Yuan's hand, which was gripping the armrest of the car, turned pale and blue, with veins bulging.
He glanced at the way out of the city and closed his eyes slightly, "Let Ling Chenyi take the princess back to the city."
"Yes." Qing'an breathed a sigh of relief and turned his horse's head to gallop towards the palace.
In the palace, ministers were crowded and crowded, and the place was already packed to the limit. Wen Yin and Eunuch Liu stood at the front, answering questions from the Xiao clan.
"The fourth prince."
When Xiao Yuan appeared, those people automatically made way for him and saluted him.
Even the people in the clan, after seeing Xiao Yuan, their arrogance disappeared without a trace.
Xiao Yuan stood in front of the dragon couch, quietly looking at the silent emperor, without any change of emotion and with an unusually calm expression. The ministers also subconsciously held their breath and dared not make any sound.
At this time, no one dared to say much. After all, in their opinion, the Fourth Prince was as scary as the Emperor, or even more so. Thinking that they would be serving this king in the future, they became nervous and alert.
After a long while, Xiao Yuan finally spoke, "My father has passed away. I have asked the Ministry of Rites to organize the funeral and bury him in the imperial mausoleum."
The Minister of Rites immediately stepped forward to respond and went to prepare.
Xiao Yuan issued the next order immediately after, "Sir Shen."
Shen Wen stepped out and said, "I am here."
"First, investigate and prosecute all officials involved in the Fifth Prince's group and those who violated the law, and put them in jail pending trial."
"Yes." Shen Wen agreed.
Among the many officials, some were horrified while others were relieved. The Fourth Prince's decision was very merciful as he only investigated and punished the officials who participated in the rebellion. If it were someone else, the Fifth Prince and his gang would have been wiped out.
For the court, it was a bloody storm, tantamount to a major blood transfusion.
However, although those lives were saved, his official career was probably going to end here.
"Fourth brother." An old prince from the clan stood up and said, "I know that you are the only prince left under my brother's paternal brother's paternal brother, but to inherit the throne, you must have a legitimate reason, with a jade seal and an imperial edict."
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