Chapter 308 Closing the Net Part 2 (Two Chapters Combined into One)
When Emperor Yongjia arrived at Wuji Palace, the retired emperor was breathing out more than breathing in, and was obviously dying.
"How did the emperor get poisoned?" Emperor Yongjia asked in a deep voice.
Wang Daban said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Retired Emperor was meditating when he suddenly stumbled. I was serving him at the time and rushed forward to support him. His condition was the same as it is now."
In other words, once the poison in the retired emperor's body broke out, it was incurable.
Emperor Yongjia's gaze was like a knife, sweeping across everyone's faces, finally landing on Zhao Guanyue: "Guanyue, where were you at that time?"
Zhao Guanyue hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I was still in the incense room at the time. Wang Daban sent someone over, and I hurried over."
As soon as he finished speaking, an exasperated voice rang out from outside: "Zhao Guanyue, you are lying!"
The frown on Emperor Yongjia's face moved slightly. This was the voice of the Third Prince.
The Third Prince walked in quickly and bowed respectfully to Emperor Yongjia. "Father, I just searched Zhao Guanyue's incense room and found this!"
As he spoke, he waved behind him, and a eunuch walked in tremblingly, holding a rosewood tray in his hand.
Emperor Yongjia's eyes fell on a porcelain jar and asked, "What is this?"
The Third Prince glared at Zhao Guanyue fiercely and said to Emperor Yongjia, "Your Majesty, this was found in Zhao Guanyue's incense room. I've already asked Chief Physician Jiang and Old Imperial Physician Han to identify it. They both confirmed that it's Ghost Flower Seed, a highly toxic substance imported from Japan. Those who are poisoned by this will experience symptoms similar to those of the Supreme Emperor. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, please summon Chief Physician Jiang and Old Imperial Physician Han and they'll tell you the truth."
Emperor Yongjia nodded slightly, and Shi Daban went out immediately. Doctor Jiang, old imperial physician Han, and a dozen other imperial physicians were waiting outside the door. When they heard the announcement, Doctor Jiang and old imperial physician Han walked in.
Emperor Yongjia pointed at the porcelain bottle and asked, "Do you recognize this poison?"
Doctor Jiang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although this poison originated from Japan, it's not uncommon in Dayong. Over twenty years ago, there were numerous cases of people being poisoned with it along the southeastern coast. Elder Doctor Han and I were ordered to travel to the southeastern coast to assist the local authorities in solving these cases. We witnessed numerous victims poisoned by this poison, and their symptoms were identical to those of the Emperor. The cases were eventually solved, the culprit apprehended, and we followed the clues to a Japanese merchant. A large quantity of ghost flower seeds was recovered from his home, and the color and scent of the seeds were identical to those in this porcelain vase."
Doctor Han added, "When I was here, I tried this poison. Alas, the poison takes effect slowly, usually seven to ten days, but once it does, there's no cure."
Emperor Yongjia frowned and asked, "Is there no cure?"
Doctor Jiang and Old Doctor Han had heavy expressions on their faces: "I am incompetent..."
Emperor Yongjia looked at Han Yuanshi who was guarding the retired emperor. Han Yuanshi was the cousin of the old imperial physician Han, and his medical skills were better than those of the old imperial physician Han.
"What about Han Yuanshi? Can't he solve the problem too?"
Han Yuanshi lifted his robe and knelt down: "Your Majesty, please forgive my incompetence. I still don't have a way to detoxify."
Emperor Yongjia sighed to the sky, covered his face with his sleeves, and was in so much pain that he could not speak.
The Third Prince said anxiously, "Father, it was Zhao Guanyue who poisoned Grandfather. You must avenge Grandfather and cannot let him go!"
Emperor Yongjia sighed again, and looked at Zhao Guanyue with a look of reproach: "Guanyue, the retired emperor has treated you well, why did you want to murder him?"
Zhao Guanyue pursed her lips and said nothing.
Emperor Yongjia hated him for not fighting back, and shook his head helplessly. He asked the Third Prince, "Do you know how he poisoned the Emperor?"
The Third Prince looked at Wang Daban and said, "Daban, where are the incense beads?"
Wang Daban waved his hands hurriedly: "I have put that string of incense beads away. I dare not take it out. What if it hurts His Majesty?"
Hearing this, Doctor Jiang said, "Soak the fragrant beads in water. As long as no one accidentally consumes the water, it won't harm anyone else."
The Third Prince said, "Wang Daban, why don't you quickly fetch the incense beads?"
Wang Daban agreed and walked away in small steps. After a while, he came over with a big bowl. In the bowl was a bracelet made of eighteen fragrant beads.
The incense beads were made of sandalwood, but as soon as they were immersed in water, the water turned pink, a color so bright that it was disturbing.
The Third Prince saw the basin of peach-colored water and gnashed his teeth, "Zhao Guanyue, this is your evidence of guilt. You dipped the incense beads in the ghost flower seeds, and the incense beads absorbed the ghost flower seeds' deadly poison. Seven days ago, you presented this string of incense beads to the Retired Emperor. The Retired Emperor wore the incense beads and played with them every day. The toxins in the incense beads entered the Retired Emperor's body, and on the seventh day, which is today, it finally took effect!"
Zhao Guanyue, you are so vicious and cruel!
If it weren't for Doctor Jiang and Old Doctor Han having seen this poison before, you would have gotten away with it today."
In order to prove that the string of fragrant beads was indeed poisonous, the third prince had someone find a live chicken and poured the water soaked with the fragrant beads into the chicken. A moment later, the chicken flapped its wings and fell to the ground. Although it was still alive, it did not move.
At this point, there was solid evidence that Zhao Guanyue had poisoned the retired emperor.
Emperor Yongjia was furious: "Zhao Guanyue, you are so bold! Come, draft an edict. Zhao Guanyue is vicious and of low character. He is unworthy of being Emperor Xiaokang's heir. His surname is withdrawn and changed to Li. He is to be executed by slow slicing as a warning to others!"
"Where is the road?"
Lu Gan walked in from outside: "I am here."
"Lu Gan, investigate if Li Guanyue has any accomplices. Once discovered, all of them will be thrown into the imperial prison and executed immediately!"
Several Jinyiwei came forward and tied up Zhao Guanyue, no, now it was Li Guanyue.
Lu Gan led his men to search Wuji Temple, but they did not find Chen Wangxing and Niu Qiu. The Third Prince was secretly proud to see that he returned empty-handed.
Those two guys have already been bribed by this prince, otherwise where did the ghost flower in the incense room come from?
Wasn’t it put in there by those two guys?
Those two guys are greedy for money and have loose mouths. They can betray Zhao Guanyue to me, and they can also betray me to the Jinyiwei.
In this world, only the dead are the most reliable.
At this moment, those two guys must have become ghosts.
Although this is the order of the emperor, and Lu Gan is also his man, there are so many people in the Jinyiwei, and it is inevitable that some of them will not agree with Lu Gan, so we cannot be careless.
Unable to find Chen Wangxing and Niu Qiu, Lu Gan had to capture more than a dozen Taoist priests. Zhao Guanyue and the other two accompanied the emperor to live in the Taoist temple and had contacts with these Taoist priests. Maybe they knew something.
The retired emperor's condition remained the same. Emperor Yongjia looked at his pale face and closed eyes, and sneered in his heart.
You want to protect your grandson? Can you? You can't even protect yourself!
Now you can only lie here like a living dead, and let your grandson be changed to Li by me and expelled from the royal family.
Soon, he would be cut into pieces and sent to meet that idiot Zhao Xian.
I just don’t know, who will die first between you and your grandson, you or him?
By the way, when I see Zhao Xian in the underworld, I must tell him that I want him to have no descendants. No descendants!
At this moment, an eunuch came in from outside: "Your Majesty, Prince Fu and Prince Lu learned that the emperor was poisoned, and they all rushed here. They are now outside."
As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, another eunuch hurried in: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Weiguo have also arrived."
"Young Master Xiao from the Princess's Mansion has arrived!"
"Zhao Chen, the clan leader, has arrived!"
Emperor Yongjia frowned, they came so quickly.
Upon learning that the retired emperor had been poisoned, Emperor Yongjia did not order the news to be blocked. On the contrary, he wanted everyone to know that the retired emperor had been poisoned and the murderer was Zhao Guanyue.
"Let them in."
......
"Grand Emperor, my brother, please open your eyes and look at your younger brother. He is here, he is here!"
Prince Lu threw himself on the bed and burst into tears. His movements were so loud that he caused Prince Lu, who was supporting him, to fall. Prince Lu then knelt on the ground, opened his mouth wide, and cried loudly.
Prince Fu came alone. There was no prince in Prince Fu's mansion. His disappointing son was still farming in the farm. His grandson Zhao Tingluo was still young, so Prince Fu did not let him come with him. He was worried that the old man Prince Lu would find fault with him for this reason. However, when he saw that only Prince Lu's prince came, and not those two funny guys, Prince Fu felt relieved. We are indeed brothers.
Seeing Prince Lu and his son weeping bitterly, Prince Fu, without a word, hugged the Third Prince and said, "Third Prince, third prince, dear child, please tell me what happened. Your royal grandfather was fine, how could he become like this?"
The third prince was stunned. Why did this old man ask him?
He had no choice but to recount the entire incident. Upon hearing that it was Zhao Guanyue who had poisoned him, Prince Fu gnashed his teeth and rushed to fight Zhao Guanyue. The Duke of Wei, who had just arrived, held him in his arms, saying, "Your Highness, calm down. The Emperor has already sentenced him to death by slicing, avenging the Emperor."
Prince Fu looked at Emperor Yongjia and said, "Lingchi? Really?"
Emperor Yongjia nodded and said, "Yes, I have already made the judgment."
Prince Fu seemed to have finally let go of his worries, but the next moment, he started again.
"Where's Concubine Li? Why isn't she here? My brother's favorite is her, why doesn't she come to see him off for the last time?"
Prince Lu stopped crying when he heard this: "And Concubine Meng, let her come too."
Prince Fu glared at him, "What is Concubine Meng doing here? She hasn't given birth to a prince. We don't need her. Let Concubine Li come. There is no Queen Mother in the palace. Concubine Li is equivalent to the Queen Mother!"
Prince Fu then looked at Zhao Chen and asked, "Do you think this is true?"
Zhao Chen hummed, then looked towards Emperor Yongjia: "Concubine Li is virtuous and kind, and is the biological mother of Your Majesty. She should have been the Empress Dowager, but now she is the Emperor Emeritus... This old minister earnestly requests that Your Majesty confer the title on my father's behalf."
Consecrated on behalf of the father!
This kind of thing happened in the previous dynasty and in this dynasty, but the emperor could not bring it up on his own initiative. However, it became legitimate when two princes who were the emperor's uncles and Zhao Chen, who was the senior member of the royal family and the head of the clan, brought it up.
The emperor had been on the throne for many years, but his biological mother was only a concubine dowager, which was not a glorious thing for the emperor.
However, the retired emperor was still alive, and Emperor Yongjia could not confer the title on his biological mother without his permission. All he could do was to wait until Concubine Li died to confer the title posthumously. But even if he conferred the title posthumously, the retired emperor had to die before Concubine Li.
The retired emperor cultivates immortality. If he lives to be a centenarian, Concubine Li will only be a concubine until her death.
But now the opportunity has come.
Emperor Yongjia had an idea. Yes, since the retired emperor was going to die, why not make full use of him before he died?
There is a difference between posthumous titles and titles conferred during one's lifetime.
Although Emperor Yongjia also looked down on his biological mother, Concubine Li, he did not want to be recorded in history books in the future as having been emperor for many years while his biological mother could only be honored posthumously, which would only make her a laughing stock.
"Okay, come, go and fetch Concubine Li, and bring the little princes along as well."
Emperor Yongjia was talking about the young prince, not the other princes. After all, except for the third prince in front of him, the fourth prince and the fifth prince were still alive, but one was waiting to die in the imperial prison and the other was waiting to die in the mansion.
Cining Palace.
Ever since she learned that the retired emperor had died of poisoning, Concubine Li has been in a state of excitement.
She never dared to dream that the emperor would die before her.
Everyone said that the retired emperor had attained enlightenment. Concubine Li even dreamed that the retired emperor lived for two or three hundred years and outlived her, Emperor Yongjia, and all the princes.
After waking up from the dream, she was so scared that she drank a bowl of calming soup.
Now, the old man is finally dying, and he will never know the secret until his death!
After being happy for a while, Concubine Li started cursing again, saying that the old man was so bad that he never made her the queen until his death.
Thinking of this, Concubine Li became worried again.
At this moment, a eunuch came running to the Cining Palace, panting, and said to the eunuch at the door: "Quick, hurry and report to the Concubine Dowager, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty has sent someone to pick her up, she, she!"
Upon learning that Emperor Yongjia had come to pick her up, Concubine Li was stunned and subconsciously looked at Old Madam Wei who was resting with her eyes closed.
"Sister, should I go?"
Madam Wei snorted coldly, "That's your husband. You may be a concubine, but your husband is dying. Can you not go? Do you dare not go? If you don't go, will your son let you go?"
Concubine Li bit her lips hard to prevent herself from retorting.
That's it. This cousin has always been like this, always saying that I am a concubine.
I have become a concubine, but my cousin opens her mouth and says I am still a concubine!
After so many years, in my cousin's eyes, I am still the poor relative who has defected to the main branch, a side branch that is not worth mentioning.
In my cousin’s opinion, except for the queen, everyone else in the palace is a concubine, including the imperial concubine!
If I were the Queen Mother, she wouldn't dare to utter the word "concubine" even if she had the guts to do so!
Concubine Li gritted her teeth, but could only swallow the words back into her stomach.
She didn't dare to refute, for she was afraid that Madam Wei would bring up that matter again.
But she couldn't do anything to Madam Wei. If she died in the palace, someone outside the palace would spread the news, so she didn't dare and could only endure it.
Fortunately, Madam Wei was older than her and had been seriously ill before. The imperial physician said she would not live long.
"Someone, change clothes!"
Concubine Li didn't know that as soon as she left the Cining Palace, Zhao Tingluo brought a few people into the Cining Palace and walked in front of Madam Wei.
"Old Madam, do you still remember me? My name is Zhao Tingluo. I am the grandson of Prince Fu and the great-nephew of the retired emperor. I am also the true descendant of the Taizu, absolutely genuine!"
......
Half an hour later, Concubine Li, accompanied by the Queen, came to Wuji Temple in plain clothes.
Several little princes followed closely behind.
Emperor Yongjia did not order the eldest princess and other royal family members in Beijing to come, but the empress and Concubine Li saw a group of royal family members getting off the carriage in front of the Wuji Temple. Even the hostages of the eight kings in Beijing had arrived.
Concubine Li narrowed her eyes. Why were there so many people?
Suddenly, she saw a familiar face. She was startled, rubbed her eyes, and when she looked again, the person was gone.
Her heart was pounding, thinking that she must be dazzled and saw it wrong.
Otherwise, how could I see Xu Lang...
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