Shen Youying was startled and suddenly raised her head, her face as white as paper.
Xue Shen grasped her hand, turned his wheelchair towards the study, and gestured for Wang Deshun to follow: "Tell me in detail."
Once they reached the study, Wang Deshun recounted the entire incident.
The Crown Princess is pregnant with twins, and her condition has been quite poor lately. To be on the safe side, the Crown Prince has invited two imperial physicians to live in the East Palace and take turns watching over her.
But despite all the precautions, an accident still occurred.
Just last night, after the Crown Princess ate a bowl of nourishing soup, she suddenly felt palpitations and abdominal pain, and went into premature labor.
The midwives and imperial physicians of the Eastern Palace had been prepared well in advance. It is said that a baby born at seven months or eight months is unlikely to survive. The Crown Princess was exactly seven months pregnant, and although premature birth carries risks, it is not a death sentence. Originally, the Crown Princess was simply sent to the delivery room to await delivery. However, when the imperial physician came to take her pulse, he said that both fetuses in the Crown Princess's womb had stopped developing.
Upon hearing the devastating news, the Crown Princess nearly fainted, but refused to give up her unborn child and insisted on giving birth first. As a result, she suffered a difficult labor and postpartum hemorrhage due to her weakened state.
Wang Deshun said cautiously, "I heard that the Crown Prince has given an order that the child can be abandoned, but the Crown Princess must be saved. However, the Crown Princess's pregnancy was already difficult, and she was shocked by the bad news. She is already struggling to cope."
"What do you mean by poisoning and murder?" Xue Shen's face was ashen.
"It was discovered by the imperial physician when examining the tonic soup the Crown Princess had consumed. Because of her poor health, the Crown Princess frequently needed to take tonic soup. That scoundrel was insidious, adding two incompatible ingredients to the soup in extremely small doses. Such small amounts, if consumed separately, would not harm a pregnant woman, and even the imperial physician couldn't detect any problems. However, the Crown Princess was already weak, and the tonic soup she took daily contained two incompatible substances. Over time, not only did her own health deteriorate, but the baby in her womb was also affected. This sudden attack was because the newly changed tonic soup formula contained a rare and precious medicinal herb, which prematurely triggered the toxicity in the Crown Princess's body… Otherwise, if the poison hadn't manifested during the Crown Princess's delivery, we probably wouldn't even know how she died."
"Such insidious methods... Brother, is there anyone who suspects them?"
Wang Deshun glanced at him, his expression growing increasingly cautious: "The Crown Prince suspects... Prince Chen."
Xue Shen's eyes darkened, and he suddenly fell silent.
After a long pause, he said with difficulty, "Prepare the carriage, I'm going to the East Palace."
Upon hearing this, Shen Youying quickly replied, "I'll go with you."
Xue Shen glanced at her, but didn't say anything, and took her with him.
The Eastern Palace was indeed under strict security, and they only allowed people to leave after they saw that it was the King of Qin and the Queen Consort.
The one leading the way was a confidant of the Crown Prince, who whispered, "The Crown Princess is probably in bad shape. The child in her womb... she can't be saved either. His Highness the Crown Prince is so angry that he almost drew his sword and went to Prince Chen's residence. We subordinates dare not dissuade him at this time. It's good that the Prince has come. He can help persuade her. Going there without any evidence will only allow Prince Chen's evil plan to succeed, and it will only make our loved ones sad and our enemies happy."
Xue Shen's expression was cold and stern: "Without evidence, how can we be sure it's Prince Chen?"
“A cook in the kitchen was bribed, but when we went to investigate, the cook and his entire family had been murdered. We have dealt with Prince Chen’s men many times and are familiar with their style of doing things. In addition, Prince Chen’s remaining supporters are currently struggling fiercely in the court. This matter is most likely the work of Prince Chen.”
Xue Shen closed his eyes briefly. When he arrived at the entrance of the Crown Prince's palace, he pressed his fingers against the wheels of his wheelchair, feeling a sense of fear.
He remained silent for a long time, slowly inhaling a breath of chilly air, before laboriously turning his wheelchair inside.
Inside the palace, the palace servants stood with their hands at their sides, but there was no sound except for the slight creaking of wheelchair wheels rolling over the ground.
Turning past the screen, one could see the Crown Prince kneeling on one knee before the bed, his eyes bloodshot. He reached out to touch the face of the person on the bed, but hesitated to do so.
The two imperial physicians stood beside the bed, looking dejected.
"Life and death are preordained, Your Highness... Please accept my condolences."
Shen Youying was startled and looked abruptly at the Crown Princess lying on the couch.
The Crown Princess's belly was still swollen, her hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her face in a disheveled state... She looked alive, but the imperial physician said... "Please accept my condolences."
Shen Youying opened her mouth, her nose tingled, and tears fell.
She recalled the last time she saw the Crown Princess, when she spoke to her with a smile about Xue Shen's youth, her every smile and gesture revealing the joy and gentleness of a mother.
But in the blink of an eye, the person was gone.
She lost even her two most cherished children.
She bit her lip and silently shed tears.
Xue Shen looked at the grieving Crown Prince, turned his wheelchair forward, pressed down hard on his shoulder, and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother..."
The crown prince raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and grabbed his arm tightly: "Yuan Jin, everyone says the imperial family is heartless, I should have killed him long ago."
Xue Shen met his sorrowful eyes and after a long while said, "There is no evidence right now, so don't act rashly."
The crown prince shook his head, turned around and carefully grasped Jiang Yun's cold hand, saying, "Three lives. He will pay for this blood debt with his life."
*
The Crown Princess passed away, leaving three lives lost. The Crown Prince was overcome with grief, and the Eastern Palace was in complete chaos with no one in charge.
Finally, Xue Shen and Shen Youying helped sort out the trivial matters and sent someone to the palace to report the death.
On that day, Emperor Cheng'an issued an edict to appease the Crown Prince and give the Crown Princess a grand funeral.
The funeral arrangements for the Crown Princess were taken over by people sent by the Ministry of Rites, and Shen Youying and Xue Shencai returned to the Prince of Qin's residence.
The two remained silent on the way, neither showing any interest in speaking.
Shen Youying couldn't understand how someone who was perfectly fine just a few days ago could suddenly be gone.
This world is truly too unpredictable.
She glanced at Xue Shen, who was also silent beside her, and guessed that he had a close relationship with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and was probably not feeling well either, so she didn't say anything more.
But as he alighted from the carriage and went to his study, he said softly, "The deceased is gone, Your Highness, please don't be too sad."
Xue Shen stopped his wheelchair, turned to look at her, and nodded slightly: "Yes, I want to be alone. I'll stay in the study tonight."
He entered the study, but did not turn on the lamp, and ordered Wang Deshun to close the study door.
Knowing the inside story, Wang Deshun could only cautiously advise, "Your Highness, please don't blame yourself too much. No one knew that Prince Chen would do such a thing—"
"go out."
Xue Shen's voice sounded particularly deep and calm in the darkness. Wang Deshun sighed, closed the door, and left.
Sitting in the darkness, Xue Shen finally showed a look of dejection. He slumped weakly into his wheelchair, recalling the time long ago when Xue Heng secretly took him to stake out the Jiang family.
As the Jiang family's daughter came out of the mansion, Xue Heng pulled him aside and hid on the second floor diagonally opposite the Jiang family's residence, peering down. Pointing to the most gentle and outstanding woman among them, he said, "That's your future sister-in-law. I chose her myself. Isn't she beautiful?"
They were young then, inseparable, brothers who could entrust their backs to each other.
There was no court infighting or deep-seated blood feuds yet.
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