When Shen Youying woke up, she found that it was still dark outside and there were no lights on in the room. She was so drowsy that she didn't know what time it was.
The seat next to him had gone cold, and Xue Shen didn't even know when he got up and left.
Shen Youying glanced at the water clock on the shelf in a daze and realized that it was already the end of the 9-11 PM. She was startled, got up, pulled the bell, and called Danzhu and Bailuo in.
The windows were closed, so she couldn't see outside. She asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why is it so dark?"
Bai Luo said, "Miss, you didn't see it. There was a huge snowstorm this morning. It was so dark that daytime was almost like night. The wind was strong and the snow was heavy. It was terrifying."
Upon hearing this, Shen Youying frowned: "With such a heavy snowstorm, where has the Prince gone?"
When there was nothing to do, Xue Shen would wake up first but wouldn't get up. He would always wait for her to wake up before they got up together to wash and eat.
Bai Luo shook her head and said, "It seems they went to the East Palace again. People from the East Palace came early this morning."
"Do you know what it's about?" Shen Youying pressed.
Danzhu and Bailu both shook their heads.
Seeing this, Shen Youying had no choice but to quickly do her hair and makeup before summoning Wang Deshun.
"Why are the people from the Crown Prince's Palace in such a hurry to find the Prince? Has something happened?"
Wang Deshun sighed, knowing he couldn't hide it from her, and said truthfully, "It was the Crown Prince who broke into Prince Chen's residence alone last night, nearly killed Prince Chen, and then set the residence on fire."
Shen Youying was shocked: "How could the Crown Prince...? Didn't anyone stop him?"
"The Crown Prince didn't tell anyone, and he kept it a secret from all his close confidants. Everyone in the Eastern Palace thought that the Crown Prince was guarding the Crown Princess's body, but who knew that he would silently take his sword and go to the Prince of Chen's residence."
"It was only after Princess Chen used her royal token to sneak through the palace gates at night to plead for help that the news spread. By the time the imperial guards arrived, Prince Chen's residence was already on fire, and the Crown Prince had Prince Chen hanged in the flames, intending to burn him alive..."
Shen Youying was horrified, but when she thought of the tragic death of the Crown Princess, she felt that the Crown Prince's trip was perfectly normal.
She vaguely remembered that the Crown Prince did not have any evidence that Prince Chen had poisoned the Crown Princess...
"How is the Crown Prince now?"
"When the people from the Eastern Palace came to report the news, they said that the Crown Prince had been taken into custody by the Imperial Guards. Upon receiving the news, the Prince also hurriedly went to the palace."
*
The palace was thrown into chaos because of the crown prince's act of setting fire to and killing people.
The Crown Prince was determined to torture the Prince to death. He was stabbed several times in non-vital areas and then hung upside down on the fire by the Crown Prince. When he was rescued, he was barely breathing and was being treated by the Imperial Hospital. However, his face and body were burned by the flames, and even though he was saved, he was disfigured and his life was over.
Upon receiving the news, Empress Zhou immediately removed her phoenix robe and crown, wearing only her undergarments, and knelt before the emperor, pleading with him to severely punish the crown prince.
When the Crown Prince was brought up by the Imperial Guards, he refused to admit any wrongdoing, insisting that the Crown Princess's death was murdered by Prince Chen. Only when he heard that Prince Chen was still alive did he coldly say, "Evil lives on for a thousand years."
The two sons had brought their feud into the open, a fight to the death. Emperor Cheng'an was so stressed that he didn't rest from the latter half of the night and even canceled the court session.
However, his absence from court did not mean that the well-informed officials would be at ease. Upon receiving the news, the Prince Chen's faction immediately launched a counterattack, kneeling outside the palace gates and demanding that the emperor depose the crown prince. The crown prince's faction, of course, refused, listing the crown prince's achievements and pointing out numerous suspicious points regarding the death of the crown princess to plead for the crown prince's innocence.
Now both groups are kneeling at the palace gate, arguing and spitting as they go, wishing they could fight on the spot.
At this moment, the King of Qin, having received the news, also entered the palace to plead for the Crown Prince.
Emperor Cheng'an felt a tightness in his chest and a splitting headache, but he had no choice but to force himself to take charge of the overall situation.
He looked at the Crown Prince, whose eyes were red and still filled with grief: "You say that the Crown Princess's death was murdered by Prince Chen, do you have any evidence?"
“Prince Chen had planned this all along. He bribed the cook and switched the medicinal herbs during his trip to the Western Hills Palace. When my men arrived yesterday, the cook and his entire family had already been wiped out.” The Crown Prince scoffed, “How could such a meticulous and thorough plan possibly leave any evidence?”
Upon hearing this, Empress Zhou disregarded her dignity as empress and pointed at him, cursing, "You dare to harm my son without any evidence? Do you even respect His Majesty? Do you even respect the law?!"
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she almost fainted: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, look at Zhan'er! The Crown Prince dared to torture him like that without any evidence. Is there any justice in this world? Your Majesty, you must do justice for Zhan'er!"
The Crown Prince scoffed at this: "Law? Justice? I used to value these things too much. If I had killed Xue Zhan earlier, how could my wife and children have died with such resentment?!"
"Xue Heng!" Emperor Cheng'an slammed his fist on the imperial desk as Xue Heng's words became increasingly absurd, and roared, "You show absolutely no remorse?"
Xue Heng stared directly at him, his eyes filled with deep-seated hatred and madness: "What did I do wrong in avenging my wife and children? My only mistake was that I didn't strike hard enough, letting him escape with his life by sheer luck. But it's not so bad. Looking at him, he'll only suffer in pain for the rest of his life. It's a consolation to A-Yun and the two children in heaven."
Emperor Cheng'an pointed at him with trembling fingers, so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time. In the end, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell straight down.
The palace servants who were serving him rushed forward in alarm, cushioning his fall to the ground with their own bodies.
Empress Zhou also scrambled to her feet and scolded the palace servants who were stunned with fright: "What are you all standing there for? Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
Only the Crown Prince and Xue Shen remained relatively calm.
The crown prince looked at the unconscious emperor, his hands trembling slightly at his sides, but he remained kneeling motionless.
Xue Shen wheeled himself over to him, pressed his shoulder and said, "Why do you have to go against His Majesty? If you just soften your stance a little, His Majesty will most likely take it easy."
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