Chapter 38 Who did it?
A fast horse galloped toward the imperial city, and the eunuch on horseback jumped off as soon as he reached the palace gate.
After showing his palace token to the imperial guards at the gate, the eunuch ran frantically toward the Hall of Diligent Governance...
"What did you say? The young master of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion is dead?"
At Shou Kang's birthday banquet?
"What exactly happened?" Emperor Xiao Xuan hurriedly put down his imperial pen.
"Your Majesty, please do not worry. This old servant will send someone in to report immediately." Eunuch Xue immediately called in the eunuch who had returned with the news.
...
"This servant is stationed outside the Xiaoyao Terrace."
Everything was fine until suddenly there was a commotion. People said that the young marquis was foaming at the mouth, convulsing, and his eyes were wide open.
Then... it went silent in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The imperial physicians who went with him couldn't save him no matter what they tried.
Later... the imperial physician said that the young marquis's symptoms seemed to be caused by poisoning.
Knowing the situation was urgent, Master Yue immediately sent a servant back to report the matter. The young eunuch bowed and said.
Emperor Xiao Xuan's heart tightened.
"Poisoning? How could someone be poisoned when they were perfectly healthy? How are the others? How is the Crown Prince? How is Prince Qi? How are Princess Shou Kang and Prince Zhao?" Emperor Xiao Xuan asked anxiously.
"The Crown Prince is unharmed! Everyone else is unharmed! Only the young marquis is..."
The Imperial Guards have now completely surrounded the villa.
"Master Yue sent me back to report that he requested the palace to send someone to thoroughly investigate this matter," the eunuch continued.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince and the others were unharmed, Emperor Xiao Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi are alright...
After his heart calmed down a little, Emperor Xiao Xuan's eyes grew even colder.
How dare someone poison someone?
They even did it openly at Shou Kang's birthday banquet.
Is this person's target really Cai Boju? That can't be!
If you want to kill Cai Boju, you'll have plenty of opportunities!
Could the target this time be the Crown Prince...?
What audacity! How dare they set their sights on the Crown Prince?
After all, the Crown Prince is heavily guarded and rarely goes out for social events. Shou Kang's birthday banquet... this is a perfect opportunity!
"Someone, summon the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Minister Ye of the Ministry of Justice, and the Palace Attendant to go to the Princess's villa in the suburbs of the capital."
"This matter must be thoroughly investigated! I order them to find out who did it as quickly as possible!" Emperor Xiao Xuan immediately issued the decree.
Soon, Emperor Xiao Xuan was the only one left in the Hall of Diligent Governance.
He had no interest in reading the memorials at that moment.
Today should have been a good day, but such a big thing happened.
Emperor Xiao Xuan felt a chill of fear; what if it had been the Crown Prince who was poisoned today…
After pacing back and forth in the Hall of Diligent Governance twice, Emperor Xiao Xuan suddenly spoke.
"Go and arrange for two teams of men to protect the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi!"
A person immediately jumped down from the roof beam of the Hall of Diligent Governance, bowed respectfully, and then quickly left.
Emperor Xiao Xuan's mind was in a bit of a mess.
Poisoning? Then it couldn't have been done by the Crown Prince's men.
If the Crown Prince wanted to harm Cai Boju, he wouldn't use poison. Didn't that Seventh Prince already make arrangements outside the villa?
Who could have done it?
That girl?
That's impossible. He knows that girl's personality and temperament. She openly told him that she wanted to kill Cai Boju.
Furthermore, she agreed to wait until after the memorial service for the old Marquis Wu'an in the north was completed before taking action, which would prevent her from making any further moves.
Someone else must have done it!
Shou Kang? She had no desire to marry Cai Boju. If it weren't for the Imperial Concubine keeping her in check, she wouldn't have given Cai Boju a second thought...
However, no matter how much Shou Kang disliked Cai Boju, she wouldn't have taken his life; she could still distinguish between what was more important and what was less.
It's even less likely that he would make a move at his own birthday banquet...
So who exactly is it?
Who else would want to kill Cai Boju...?
Or is someone trying to take this opportunity to muddy the waters and profit from it?
...
Waves of people rushed toward the princess's villa on the outskirts of the capital, and a temporary martial law was imposed in the capital.
The city gates were tightly closed, and anyone entering or leaving the city was subject to strict inspection.
Similarly, news of the young master of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion being poisoned at Princess Shou Kang's birthday banquet also spread throughout the capital...
Upon receiving this news, the old lady of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion immediately fainted.
Consort Wu of Ronghua Palace accidentally broke a jade cup.
She couldn't believe that Cai Boju had been poisoned.
Who did it? Was it the Crown Prince's men or someone else...?
Or perhaps someone wanted to muddy the waters, fish in troubled waters, and ultimately throw the dirty water on King Zhao...
Consort Ruan of Qianfu Palace was so frightened that her legs went weak.
The King of Wu, who had been his lifelong confidant, was also at that birthday banquet. Would he be implicated in this matter?
Ye Yunshu, who was reviewing the account books in the Supervisory Department, was also taken aback when she received this news.
Cai Boju is dead?
Does this mean you don't have to do it yourself?
Who's so kind as to get rid of Cai Boju before they have to worry about this?
The Crown Prince or His Majesty? Neither seems likely!
Although Ye Yunshu was happy and ate an extra bowl of iced food, she was also thinking about something.
Who on earth could kill Cai Boju so precisely and without leaving a trace...?
She absolutely must find this person!
...
The people of the capital were also shocked when they heard the news.
However, it seems that everyone has more ideas.
"They say the young master of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion was poisoned, but I feel there's definitely more to it than that."
"Why isn't it simple!"
"Think about it, the birthday banquet of the most beloved princess of the imperial family is for the purpose of killing a mere marquis. Do you think that's normal?"
The banquet was attended by the Crown Prince, princes, dukes, princesses, and young masters and ladies from various families.
Perhaps the person who poisoned him wasn't actually after the young marquis.
"But it's people of higher status..."
“That seems to make sense! The young marquis acts eccentrically in the capital, so there are many opportunities to run into him.”
If someone really wanted to harm him, there was no need to choose such a place.
Perhaps... those people actually wanted to...
"We can't say! The imperial family has many sons, each one a dragon among men, and they all have their own ideas... right!"
Let's see! The imperial family has sent so many people; they're sure they can get to the bottom of this."
"That's not necessarily true. What if the person involved is of high status?"
The Marquis of Wu'an's family line has ended!
"No descendants? That's not necessarily true. The young marquis is quite the ladies' man, and he has quite a few concubines in his household. Perhaps some of his bloodline has been passed down!"
...
Song Zhimian stood next to Master of Ceremonies Yue, while Lian Qiao stood behind Chief Pharmacist Li and another imperial physician.
The two men glanced at each other, said nothing, and just looked at Cai Boju, who was still lying on the ground, but had already died.
Dead! Finally dead!
The rest is up to us to see what the palace can find out...
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