Xie Anfeng's three questions were aimed at the heart of the matter.
The crown prince immediately knelt down, too terrified to look up at Emperor Hui.
That damned Xie Anfeng, he's really vicious!
Three questions were raised: one said he was as stupid as a pig, another said he was weak-willed, and the third directly accused him of having ulterior motives and being despicable.
Now that the Empress Dowager has passed away, the Emperor, without the restraint of filial piety, will not give him and his mother any face at all.
"Father, I too fell into Gu Chengyan and that woman's trap..."
Heaven and earth can bear witness that he was truly deceived. He was on guard at the time, but he didn't expect that after being shot by Prince Qi's men, he would take the pill only when he was in extreme pain and become addicted.
As for giving the Panacea to His Majesty, it was that wretched concubine Yue who insisted on giving it to Father Emperor.
But he couldn't say it; such things couldn't be explained!
Duke Xun immediately echoed Xie Anfeng's words: "His Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent, while Gu Chengyan is just a lowly concubine. You would eat whatever she gives you. Such gullibility is truly worrying."
Would you eat shit if I told you to?
The old man's disdain was too obvious, and the Crown Prince was very annoyed: "I only trust Gu Chengyan. He was originally the heir of a marquis's mansion."
"Didn't the eunuchs around His Highness test for poison in the food he ingested?" Duke Xun said in anguish. "Your Majesty, the eunuchs around His Highness should be killed!"
The Crown Prince immediately retorted, "Shi Xiu tested the poison for me before I believed him. In this world, one can be vigilant, but it's impossible for everyone to be distrustful. Shi Xiu has been by my side for twenty years; how could I have imagined that he harbored malicious intentions?"
Since Shi Xiu is dead, let's pin the blame on this lackey.
The Empress, her face dark with displeasure, said, "Is this the point right now? Duke Xun is being far too unjust."
Prince Jing was Emperor Hui's uncle, so he was definitely a staunch royalist.
He questioned, "Since the Crown Prince knew it was poison, why did he offer His Majesty nine pills at once? Was he afraid His Majesty wouldn't be poisoned?"
The Empress angrily retorted, "How dare you sow discord between His Majesty and the Crown Prince? How could the elixir of immortality that the Crown Prince gave His Majesty, and the pills he took, be poisonous?"
The crown prince immediately knelt down, pointed to the sky and swore: "Your subject would never poison Your Majesty. That longevity pill is truly a precious item for prolonging life."
Princess Yu Rong chimed in, "If Father Emperor were poisoned, wouldn't he have already succumbed to the poison?"
I wonder if Shen Su went to Nanzhao Kingdom to find Gu Jiaojiao?
Once we got the raw materials, we made some more and fed them to the old emperor. Yes, we also fed them to Wei Jingzhong, forcing them to pass the throne to us.
She wanted to be the supreme empress, to build Da Gan into the most powerful empire in ancient times, and to be forever recorded in history!
Emperor Hui sneered: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. I've been reluctant to take those pills because of the Crown Prince's filial piety. Hua Zisheng, go and fetch them for the Empress. Perhaps her legs will be able to walk like the wind again."
Hua Zisheng immediately went to the storeroom and retrieved the elixir of immortality that the Crown Prince had presented.
Three exquisitely crafted boxes were opened, and inside each box were three black pills sprinkled with gold powder.
It remains untouched and unopened.
Emperor Hui looked at it and said to the Empress, "This is the gift box that the Crown Prince presented to me. I'm giving it to you now. Since the Crown Prince said it's not poisonous, you should eat it now."
Hanako Katsutoku went to the Empress, and the Empress looked at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince knew this in his heart. He knelt before the Empress and said, "I beg Your Majesty to bestow this upon your son."
The Empress dared not let the Crown Prince take it again, so she grabbed one and gritted her teeth to swallow it.
Princess Yu Rong cried out, "Mother, no..."
Emperor Hui chuckled and said, "It seems my children are very filial to me. They are eager to give me such good things, but they are reluctant to let the Empress eat them."
Upon hearing this, the Empress steeled herself and began to chew vigorously.
The pill was quite large, about the size of an egg yolk. The Empress found the smell rather strange; it was sweet but also had a strong oily odor.
However, after a while, the sesame seeds and walnuts had spoiled somewhat.
The empress was prepared to suffer greatly after eating it.
However, no obvious abnormalities were detected.
Emperor Hui did not wait for her reaction and said to everyone in the hall, "Today, Yu Rong accused the Marquis of Pingyang of harboring fugitives and poisoning the Crown Prince. The evidence is insufficient, and this matter should not be mentioned again."
The Emperor's word is law; he has rendered a final judgment on today's case concerning the appeal to the Emperor:
Princess Yu Rong's accusations against the Pingyang Earl's Mansion for harboring fugitives and poisoning the Crown Prince were full of loopholes, and all the documents were suspected to be forged by Princess Yu Rong. It cannot be ruled out that Princess Yu Rong was slandering the Earl's Mansion. Princess Yu Rong was sentenced to be severely beaten with forty strokes of the cane.
Whether Aunt Yue is dead or has escaped, once caught, she should be beaten to death immediately; there's no need to mention it again.
The matters discussed today are to be kept secret by everyone. No one is allowed to reopen old cases. Anyone who dares to bring them up will be executed without mercy.
In short: today's accusations and trial process must all be kept to yourself. Anyone who fails to do so will have their head chopped off and be silenced forever.
Gu Zheng, Gu Zhongyu, and Xie Zhaozhao all swore that they would never mention a word about what happened today when they left the house.
Princess Yurong was indignant and shouted, "Father, the Crown Prince was murdered by the people of the Earl's Mansion!"
The Empress angrily said, "Yu Rong's words and actions are inappropriate; gag her."
Since Xie Anfeng led a group of ministers into the palace, today's events were destined to never be mentioned again.
The people of the Earl's mansion should not be killed either.
Under no circumstances should anyone know that the Crown Prince is a severe drug addict and will not live long.
The people from the Earl's mansion were released on the spot, and the old ministers, including Xie Anfeng, were grateful for His Majesty's benevolence and knelt down to thank the Emperor for his grace.
Princess Yurong had already received twenty strokes of the cane. Another twenty strokes were to be delivered, each stroke delivered with full force. This time, Princess Yurong could not withstand the blows and fainted after ten strokes.
Who doesn't know that His Majesty is fond of Grand Secretary Gu?
Today, Princess Yu Rong slandered the Earl's Mansion. To put it bluntly, she wanted to kill Grand Secretary Gu and his wife (nobody thinks those people in the Earl's Mansion are worth scheming against!).
Therefore, she must be beaten until she is unable to take care of herself.
"The Crown Prince is unwell, so he will be treated for poisoning in his residence. You will have a year to recover before returning to court," Emperor Hui said calmly. "There must be no further trouble."
The Crown Prince has been confined to his quarters again, for a year!
The Empress's heart is bleeding; the Crown Prince is under house arrest again! He's been confined three times since the year before last, each time for six months to three months, and now it's been a year. How can the court be so far removed from its affairs?
Her beauty was ruined, her father lost his official position and title, and her nephews were also nearing the end of their lives...
The Empress seemed to see an undercurrent, coming suddenly and fiercely, swallowing up the entire Wei family bloodline.
The people of the Earl's mansion had escaped with their lives, and everyone left with weak legs.
As the old lady stepped outside, she suddenly remembered how the entire household had nearly lost their lives that day, and she became furious: "She's slandering the Earl's family like this..."
Without saying a word, Madam Lu covered her mouth, then quickly rolled the handkerchief into a ball and stuffed it into her mouth.
Gu Zhongyu and Gu Zheng carried her so fast that her feet barely touched the ground as they left the palace gates, stuffed her into a carriage, and hurried back to their residence.
Xie Zhaozhao left the palace with the people from the Earl's Mansion. For some reason, when she walked out of the main hall and saw Princess Yurong, who had been beaten and was covered in blood, she suddenly felt nauseous.
"Ugh~"
The food she ate in the morning was churning in her stomach, so Lu Feiyan immediately pressed her wrist to help her suppress the nausea and helped her quickly leave the palace.
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