The King of Wu looked disgusted and felt nauseous; he was about to vomit.
Princess Wu's face was a little pale, but she still endured the discomfort and took a few steps forward to examine the corpse.
Then, her gaze paused.
"This person looks somewhat familiar..."
Just as they were wondering, the maids and servants from the carriage behind them caught up, and Princess Wu's wet nurse shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Your Highness, why did you stop here?"
This wet nurse was burly and didn't look like a wet nurse at all; she looked more like a martial arts expert.
She pushed past the guards and rushed to Princess Wu's side, her arms slightly outstretched, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, looking around warily.
Princess Wu pulled her aside, pointed to the corpse on the ground, and asked her, "Wet nurse, look who that person is?"
The wet nurse looked in the direction she was pointing and exclaimed in surprise.
"Isn't this Hongxiu? How did she die?"
Princess Wu took a deep breath and calmed down.
Although we don't know how Hongxiu died, the Crown Prince's mobilization of such a large force could not have been a whim.
Princess Wu pondered whether to pledge her loyalty to the Crown Prince and cooperate fully, or to try to go back and seek help.
She wasn't worried about what the Crown Prince would do to her, after all, the power of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was undeniable!
The Queen Consort of Wu hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the King of Wu.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the wet nurse's words, the King of Wu's expression suddenly changed, he staggered a few steps, fell to the side, and, leaning on the carriage shaft, began to vomit.
Princess Wu was furious and wished she could go over and kick him a couple more times.
Useless thing!
But in public, she still had to give face to the King of Wu.
With a sullen face, the Queen of Wu ordered her maids to bring water and handkerchiefs, cleaned up the filth, and then wiped the King of Wu's hands and face.
The crown prince watched quietly, neither urging nor stopping him.
After the pale-faced King Wu was helped to sit on a small stool, the Queen Consort of Wu carefully spoke.
"Your Highness, Hongxiu was a maid in our household. How could she have died on your estate?"
The crown prince gave a forced smile, but his gaze was fixed on the King of Wu.
“I would like to ask you some questions! This maid said she was ordered to deliver something, but there was something else mixed in that box of face powder. She also instigated the kitchen maid to pick poisonous plants and mix them into the food.”
Upon hearing this, both the King of Wu and his queen changed their expressions.
"How is this possible?!"
Princess Wu cried out in surprise and quickly explained.
"I did send something to Consort Liangdi through a maid, but it was just a small trinket, only about the size of one hand, a hollowed-out jade carving, not some kind of perfume!"
The wet nurse quickly chimed in, "Yes! Our princess would never do anything to harm anyone! That jade carving was part of our princess's dowry; the jade is rare, an extremely precious purple jade."
The person who helped prepare the gifts was the wet nurse; she knew it better than anyone.
Princess Wu's face was cold and angry: "Your Highness says that this maid was sent by me. Do you have any evidence? Although you are the Crown Prince, you cannot falsely accuse someone without reason."
The Crown Prince remained expressionless and did not respond to Princess Wu's words, but suddenly clapped his hands together.
Immediately afterwards, two guards led a slightly plump old woman over.
The old woman was brought before Princess Wu, and without daring to raise her head, she immediately knelt down.
"Take a look for yourself."
The guard nudged her.
The old woman raised her head slightly, her eyes scanning the surroundings before finally landing on the corpse with its face exposed, and she immediately screamed.
"It's her! It's her!"
Princess Wu's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively retorted, "You're talking nonsense! Her face is all swollen from being soaked in water, how could you possibly recognize her? How dare you slander me, Princess Wu? Have you no guts? Don't you care about the lives of your whole family?"
The old woman turned pale with fright, but still spoke firmly.
"It's her! Although I don't recognize her face, I remember clearly the scar on her hand!"
The guard stepped forward, grabbed both hands, examined them, and then revealed the scar at the base of the thumb.
The scar wasn't big, and its location wasn't conspicuous. It had also turned white from being soaked in water, so most people wouldn't even notice it.
Princess Wu still believed that this was a scheme devised by the Crown Prince. She wanted to refute it, but no matter what, Hongxiu was just a maid in the Prince's mansion, and her rebuttal was weak and useless.
The crown prince's expression never changed; it was unclear whether he believed it or not.
He didn't say anything, but instead turned his head and looked at the King of Wu.
"Third brother, what do you have to say?"
The King of Wu forced a smile: "What can I say about that question, Your Majesty? It has nothing to do with me!"
The crown prince suddenly walked up to him step by step.
"Don't pretend with me. Don't I know you? You may be a bit stupid, but you're not exactly cowardly either. How could you vomit at the sight of a corpse?"
The Crown Prince and Song Xibai shared the same thought: neither of them believed that Princess Wu would do such a stupid thing. After all, she came from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and was the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife. Her vision and methods were not bad. How could she do something so full of loopholes?
But his own foolish younger brother might be a different story.
The crown prince narrowed his eyes, a chill creeping into them.
If it's truly related to the King of Wu, then this brother is better off not being here! In any case, the Queen Consort of Wu has a son, and even if the King of Wu dies, the throne will be passed on to his legitimate son, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will have no objections.
The thought popped into the prince's mind, and his eyes flickered repeatedly.
The King of Wu trembled upon seeing this.
Just as the Crown Prince understood him, he grew up with the Crown Prince and understood him too! The Crown Prince's eyes clearly showed murderous intent.
The King of Wu swallowed hard and decided to confess honestly.
"Um, this maid, I just took her in as my concubine a few days ago."
As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of eyes immediately fell on him.
Princess Wu was somewhat surprised, but quickly regained her composure and looked away from him.
The wet nurse looked furious and angry, her fists clenched tightly.
The crown prince glanced at him indifferently.
“I don’t care about what happens in your room. Tell me everything you know about this maid.”
With so many guards surrounding him and the princess's wet nurse watching over him, the Prince of Wu dared not hide anything and honestly confessed.
Hongxiu was one of the first batch of maids assigned by the Imperial Household Department when the Prince's mansion was first built. She was not particularly outstanding in appearance, but she had a gentle temperament and a docile personality. At first, she was responsible for serving the Prince of Wu personally.
However, not long after the King of Wu moved into the palace, he got married. After the Queen of Wu entered the palace, she made sweeping changes to the palace, replacing the King of Wu's maids with servants, under the pretext that the King should not indulge in the pleasures of women.
King Wu was displeased at the time, but then Queen Wu selected two beautiful maids from among her servants, had their faces shaved, and sent them to him as concubines, at which point King Wu had no objection.
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