"Yes." Xiao Huaijin answered crisply, his dark eyes filled with boundless indifference.
Consort Shu was stunned for a moment, then laughed self-deprecatingly, "You are very clever. You deliberately let the emperor lock you in the East Palace to make us lower our guard and lure us into a trap step by step. You have been planning this for a long time, and this is the day you have been waiting for, right?"
"If you didn't harbor evil intentions, you wouldn't have been deceived by me." Xiao Huaijin looked at Consort Shu. Her appearance hadn't changed much in over a decade, but her mind was a thousand times more ruthless than when they first met. "Your Highness, who's to blame for our falling out, mother and son?"
Whose fault is it?
Is it the fault of the deranged Emperor Zhaowu? Or is it her ever-expanding ambition?
Consort Shu knew that she had chosen this path herself.
But now, she is already at her wit's end.
"Guards, take Consort Shu away from me," Xiao Huaijin ordered coldly. "Interrogate her thoroughly and make her confess all the bad things she has done over the years."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Xiao Huaijin's words, Consort Shu did not shout or scream. Instead, she rushed to the dragon-head table, picked up the poisoned wine on the silver plate, and drank it all without hesitation.
"Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine!" Shen Zhizhang's eyes widened, a chilling coldness seeping into his very bones. "Zheng Yuanyuan!"
Ignoring everyone's gaze, Shen Zhizhang ran to Consort Shu's side.
Zheng Yuanyuan's red dress was disheveled, and she collapsed weakly into Shen Zhizhang's arms. Her slender white fingers gripped Shen Zhizhang's sleeve tightly. The sharp pain in her chest made it difficult for her to speak, and then her whole body floated away as lightly as a leaf in the autumn wind.
Life is like a dream, Zhuangzi was drunk.
As its name suggests, the poison caused Consort Shu no pain whatsoever.
She would rather die than be imprisoned in a dark, sunless jail and subjected to torture.
Zheng Yuanyuan knew that she had done many things that violated her conscience.
She originally wanted to say a proper goodbye to the man she had loved for so long, but then she thought better of it; she was tired.
Since we're all going to die eventually, we might as well die a quick and painless death now.
Shen Zhizhang looked down at Zheng Yuanyuan. Her gaze was calm yet mocking, as mischievous as when she had successfully teased him before.
A moment later, her gaze became increasingly unfocused, and her body temperature gradually dropped.
Shen Zhizhang called her name repeatedly with heartbreaking cries, but the person in his arms had closed her eyes forever.
The palace lanterns in Feihua Palace swayed silently at this moment, and only the heartbroken cries of the once spirited prime minister could be heard inside the palace.
"Your Highness, Prime Minister Shen and Consort Shu are birds of a feather. Why not imprison him as well and interrogate him thoroughly?" The Prince of Runan gritted his teeth, staring intently at Shen Zhizhang. "Judging from his appearance, anyone who didn't know better would think his wife had died!"
Xiao Huaijin's eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously looked at Shen Zhizhang. After a long while, he said calmly, "Take Lord Shen to the side hall and lock him up. I will interrogate him personally."
“Your Highness, but he…” The Prince of Runan wanted to persuade him further, but Xiao Huaijin’s tone was firm and left no room for argument. After thinking for a moment, he agreed, “I will listen to Your Highness.”
Shen Zhizhang was pulled up by two guards. He looked dejected and sad, and there was no light in his eyes.
“Young Master Pei.” Shen Zhizhang suddenly spoke, his gaze falling on Pei Zhixuan, who had been standing with his hands behind his back beside Prince Rui.
"Wait a minute, let's see what Prime Minister Shen has to say," Xiao Huaijin commanded, raising his hand.
The two soldiers escorting Shen Zhizhang stopped. Shen Zhizhang turned around, gave Pei Zhixuan a deep look, and slowly said, "Take good care of Yun Jiao."
After saying this, both Xiao Huaijin and Pei Zhixuan had somewhat complicated expressions on their faces.
Pei Zhixuan glanced quickly at Xiao Huaijin, then nodded slightly. His thick, raven-wing-like eyelashes drooped, obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
"I will take good care of her, Lord Shen, please rest assured." Pei Zhixuan's voice was clear and cold, like a gentle breeze passing through a bamboo forest, cool but not sharp.
Xiao Huaijin did not move, his gaze fixed on Pei Zhixuan, deep and cold. In less than a second, he said indifferently, "Take Prime Minister Shen away."
The Prince of Runan immediately sensed that Xiao Huaijin's aura had turned several degrees colder.
Why were you not angry just now, but are you angry now?
The Prince of Runan was puzzled and could only mutter to himself.
Seeing that the situation was now stable, Prince Rui bowed to Xiao Huaijin and asked for instructions, "Your Highness, the Imperial Seal is here. I request that Your Highness summon the senior officials and ministers of the court tonight to discuss the matter of ascending the throne, so as to stabilize the court."
Xiao Huaijin nodded and said calmly, "Go."
The news that Consort Shu had been executed for plotting a coup and forcing the emperor to abdicate shocked the entire palace.
The veteran officials were summoned to the palace the night before to discuss the next steps with the Crown Prince and the Prince.
The veteran ministers were all clear-headed and had long been extremely disappointed with the incompetent and tyrannical Emperor Zhaowu. Now that the crown prince had ascended the throne, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
The atmosphere in the imperial court the following day was solemn and tense, with officials lined up, holding memorials in their hands.
Prince Rui and Prince Runan were the first to kneel before Xiao Huaijin and relinquish their military power to show their loyalty.
Even Yelü Qi and Helan, who should have been on their way back to Beihu, appeared in the court. They knelt on one knee, a rare occurrence, to pay the highest respect to the new emperor.
With the support of princes, veteran ministers, and even princes from neighboring countries, who would dare to stand up and say no to Xiao Huaijin's desire to ascend the throne?
So all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" to support the new emperor's ascension to the throne.
Only Shen Qinghuai's face was deathly pale, and his lips were trembling slightly.
He was suddenly summoned back to the palace when he was about to send the delegation out of the capital. Once inside the palace, he was locked in a dark, secluded room and has only been released now.
Shen Qinghuai was truly uneasy; the emperor had suddenly passed away, and he dared not investigate why.
Now that the new emperor has just ascended the throne, and his father is nowhere to be seen, Shen Qinghuai's throat is so tight he feels like he can't breathe.
It seems I'll have to secretly ask a palace servant about my father's whereabouts after court.
"Please affix your seal, Your Majesty." A high-pitched voice rang out.
Everyone held their breath and stared intently.
Xiao Huaijin took the jade seal handed over by Prince Rui and gently stamped it on the edict of accession to the throne.
The imperial edict was then read aloud by the chief eunuch, Xiao Linzi.
Xiao Huaijin's enthronement ceremony was quite simple. Now that he had to observe three years of mourning for the late emperor, nothing could be held in a grand manner.
Fortunately, Xiao Huaijin didn't care much about these things.
All he cared about right now was seeing Shen Yunjiao as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Emperor Zhaowu left behind too many messes; a single court assembly lasted almost a whole day.
When the court session ended, Xiao Linzi quickly walked to Xiao Huaijin's side, whose face and brows looked exhausted.
"Your Majesty, a guard from the Eastern Palace reports that Prime Minister Shen has committed suicide by running into a pillar."
"What?"
Upon hearing the news, Xiao Huaijin's eyes widened slightly, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
Prime Minister Shen had not yet been interrogated, yet he chose to commit suicide. Could it be that he died for Consort Shu?
"Xiao Linzi, call Shen Qinghuai over, and while you're at it, send someone to the Shen family to inform Prime Minister Shen's daughter to come to the palace to see her father one last time."
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