When Jing Huaixu's men arrived, they only saw Zheng Yutong's corpse. Having been accustomed to the ways of the eunuchs for many years, they couldn't imagine what good Zheng Yutong's death in the Eastern Palace would do for the Eastern Palace, and they dared not use their power to question him.
He glanced at Zheng Yutong's corpse with a troubled expression and gave Jing Yan a bitter smile.
"Your Highness, Empress Dowager Zheng is worried about Princess Jing. His Majesty sent this old servant to find her. What is Princess Jing doing...?"
Jing Yan: "Prince Jing pitied Princess Jing's frail health and brought her to the East Palace to seek treatment from Shang Yu. However, Princess Jing had been drinking excessive amounts of medicine for years, and her body could not withstand it, so she has passed away."
“Grandmother Zheng, if Father Emperor is not afraid of offending you, I can send Princess Jing there right now.”
He waved to his eunuchs, and three or four people came out and carefully lifted Zheng Yutong onto the stretcher.
Those around Jing Huaixu thought it best for the Crown Prince to personally explain.
So the group went to Jing Huaixu's study. On the way there, news of Zheng Yutong's death quickly spread throughout the palace. Later, Empress Ye and Empress Dowager Cheng also went to the study one after another.
When Empress Dowager Zheng, who had been waiting for a long time, saw Zheng Yutong's body, she rushed forward and burst into tears.
“Yutong, what happened to you? You poor girl, how come you were fine when you left, but now you’re like this in front of your great-aunt?”
Jing Shuo knelt beside Zheng Yutong's body. Empress Dowager Cheng glanced lightly at Empress Dowager Zheng, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and asked indifferently.
"Jingshuo, what was the reason for Yutong's departure?"
Jing Shuo himself was not afraid, with Empress Dowager Cheng around, and the Crown Prince had ordered him to bring the person out. But no matter how stupid he was, Zheng Yutong died at such a "good" time.
Jing Shuo knew he had been tricked, so his words became less respectful.
"Shang Yu said that Yu Tong was weak and often drank too much calming soup, which caused poisoning and led to her death. Who knows who prescribed the medicine and took such good care of her?"
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Zheng pointed at Jing Shuo and scolded, "What do you mean? Do you think I'm the one who harmed her? Yu Tong grew up by my side since she was a child. If I wanted to harm her, would I have waited until today?"
She looked up at Jing Huaixu angrily, her words full of reproach: "Your Majesty, does it mean that without Lu'er, I can be bullied by anyone?"
Jing Huaixu had no regrets about ordering Jing Lu to commit suicide. As a son, he felt immense guilt for causing Empress Dowager Zheng to bury her son.
Even if Empress Dowager Zheng had been biased in the past and had argued with him many times, Jing Huaixu did not want to hold it against her.
He knelt down to help Empress Dowager Zheng up, and comforted her, "Mother, what are you saying? With me here, would I let you be bullied?"
As Jing Huaixu helped Empress Dowager Zheng up, he glared at Jing Shuo and questioned, "Why did you disturb Yu Tong?"
Jing Shuo owes his current success to Jing Yan, who will surely plead his case later. He cannot act like a petty person, so he lowered his voice.
"Your subject misses the Princess Consort, can't I even see her? The Princess Consort left so suddenly, I am also very confused."
"Shang Yu is right in front of me. Is it what he told me, or was it my doing?" He glanced impatiently at Empress Dowager Zheng and respectfully addressed Jing Huaixu.
"I beg Father Emperor to make a fair judgment."
Before Jing Huaixu could speak, Jing Yan stepped forward and said, "Father, what my second brother said is all true. My second brother has turned over a new leaf and wants the family to be lively, so he brought Princess Jing to my palace to seek treatment from Shang Yu."
“Princess Jing drank too much medicine, and the residual toxins in her body accumulated. She died before she could be treated. It has nothing to do with my second brother.”
Zheng Yutong knew something, but she didn't finish asking at the last moment, so it was all without evidence. Jing Yan couldn't possibly push Yue Jiang out.
Jing Shuo's explanation was reasonable, so he continued to refine it.
The cause of Zheng Yutong's death is clear, and Jingyan doesn't believe that Empress Dowager Zheng's tears will persuade her father to make arbitrary decisions.
After Jing Yan finished speaking, Empress Dowager Zheng snorted coldly: "If the Crown Prince says that, then it was my fault. I overlooked Yu Tong's health and made her drink medicine until she died?"
Jing Yan faced Empress Dowager Zheng humbly and said, "Your grandson dares not."
“Mother, the Crown Prince didn’t mean that,” Jing Huaixu had complete trust in Jing Yan, but also needed to explain to Empress Dowager Zheng.
Between the two sides offering their own versions of events, Jing Huaixu summoned several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to take turns examining Zheng Yutong to determine the cause of her death.
After half a cup of tea, the four imperial physicians said exactly the same thing as Shang Yu.
Now that it has been determined that the overdose of the medicine was the cause, Jing Huaixu will investigate the palace maids who took care of Zheng Yutong in the Longevity Palace.
After several rounds of torture, the palace maids said that Zheng Yutong was difficult to care for after she went mad, and that she was always making a ruckus day and night.
Empress Dowager Zheng was heartbroken over Jing Lu's affair and was bedridden, unable to bear any noise.
The palace maids had no choice. They wanted to make things easier for their masters and didn't want them to think they were neglecting their duties, so they increased the dosage of the calming medicine when they were preparing the medicine, since there was no shortage of calming medicine in the Longevity Palace anyway.
Upon learning the reason, Jing Huaixu breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze to Empress Dowager Zheng.
"Mother, you have wronged the Crown Prince and Prince Jing."
Empress Dowager Cheng said with a touch of sarcasm, "Alas, my poor granddaughter-in-law. If I had known that Sister Zheng was unwell and unable to attend to others, I would have brought her here long ago."
Empress Dowager Zheng ignored Empress Dowager Cheng's words. To show her sympathy for Zheng Yutong, she personally issued an edict to order the deaths of those palace maids.
She immediately took out her handkerchief and cried with self-reproach: "It's all my fault. What did I do wrong in my past life that I have to bury my child one after another, Yutong."
Jing Huaixu couldn't bear it and said, "Mother, you are not well, you can't cry like this. Yu Tong is a pitiful child, I will give her a grand funeral."
After he said this, Empress Dowager Zheng stopped crying. She looked at Jing Huaixu, then at Empress Dowager Cheng and Jing Shuo, and finally looked around at everyone in the hall.
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