Chapter 282 Wen Xiurong is still as cruel as ever
Inside Wencui Palace.
Wen Wanqin leaned on the warm couch and listened to the detailed report from the secret guard.
She supported her graceful chin with one hand and fell into deep thought.
The candlelight danced on her quiet profile, reflecting the flickering light in her eyes.
As expected... there is something fishy about the Second Prince.
No matter how good a person is at disguising himself, there will always be flaws in his emotions.
The queen showed great care for the second prince in front of everyone, but the disdain she inadvertently revealed was too unbelievable.
What exactly is the problem?
She had sent people to investigate secretly. The queen had used dishonorable means to conceive the dragon seed, but the pregnancy was absolutely true.
When the queen was first pregnant, He Yuanpan personally took her pulse, so it couldn't be false.
After becoming pregnant, Xie Zhenrong regarded the fetus in her womb as more important than her own life. She took good care of the baby and even skipped the daily greetings from the concubines in the harem.
Later, she gave birth to a prince smoothly. The only problem in the whole process was that the second prince's delivery date was about half a month earlier than expected.
That day, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother returned from worshipping Buddha at the Huguo Temple. The Emperor led the concubines to the palace gate to welcome them.
The queen wanted to go despite her big belly, but the emperor did not allow it.
The queen waited at the gate of Fengyi Palace for a long time, caught a cold, and stood for too long, which caused her miscarriage and led to premature delivery.
In addition, during the morning court session that day, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory happened to report an auspicious sign: "The Purple Star shines in the east, and the Holy Lord is coming to the world."
With both factors corroborating, everyone simply said that "the Holy Lord sensed the celestial phenomena and hurried down to the mortal world." No one investigated whether there was any other hidden reason behind the premature birth.
If there really is something wrong with the Second Prince, then that means...
The prophecy of "the coming of the Holy Lord" did not refer to the Second Prince at all, but to the Third Prince who was born to the Imperial Concubine later!
After all, according to the time calculation, Wen Li'er was pregnant at that time.
Based on the clues currently available, the identity of the Second Prince is in doubt. There are only two most likely scenarios:
One is that Xie Zhenrong gave birth to a princess. In order to become the crown prince, she brought a baby boy from somewhere and staged a "substituting a cat for a prince" drama.
Another theory is that Xie Zhenrong was indeed pregnant with a boy, but the baby died during childbirth. In order to consolidate her favor and seize the throne, she also adopted a baby boy to pass off as her own.
Only these two explanations can reasonably explain why the queen has such delicate emotions towards her "own son".
As the second prince looks quite similar to the queen, Wen Wanqin guessed that this child is most likely of the Xie family's bloodline!
The secret guards' investigation results also pointed to the Xie family.
During the time when the queen was giving birth, the only female member of the Xie family who was pregnant was the queen's sister-in-law, Mrs. Xie Si.
But the record of her delivery date clearly shows that it was more than twenty days after the Queen gave birth.
When Wen Wanqin thought of this, her eyebrows slightly frowned, and her fingertips unconsciously pressed on her throbbing solar plexus.
I always feel that some key information has been missed, like scattered beads, just missing a thread to string them together.
She was thinking in her mind: the due dates of the two pregnant women were more than twenty days apart, so how could the children be exchanged?
Unless they were born on the same day!
This thought flashed through the fog like lightning! Wen Wanqin suddenly stood up from the couch, and her movement was so big that Su Yi and Su Jin, who were standing beside her, were startled.
Wen Wanqin's beautiful eyes were surprisingly bright at this moment.
What if the day the Queen gave birth was also the day Madam Xie gave birth?
Mrs. Xie Si gave her newborn son to the queen, while she pretended that she had not given birth yet and continued to "nurture the fetus".
Just put on a fake belly and walk around in front of people a few times, and no one will suspect anything.
After more than 20 days, she could just pick up a newborn baby from somewhere and claim that it was her own. Wouldn't that allow her to conceal the truth?
Once this line of thought is opened up, everything becomes clear.
Having a baby is a big deal. If you want to hide it from everyone, you must make careful plans in advance.
The premise for making arrangements in advance is that there was already a problem with the baby in the queen's belly before she was born!
Wen Wanqin made a prompt decision and gave the order quickly:
"Immediately arrange for a focused investigation into whether any unusual incidents occurred in Fengyi Palace before the Empress gave birth. For example, was there a sudden increase in the frequency of Imperial Physician Luo's visits? Were there any 'accidents'? Were there any unusual transfers or dispositions of palace staff?"
"Go check the midwife who delivered Fourth Madam Xie and the maids who served her closely. Don't leave any of them out. Also, where was Fourth Madam Xie on the day the Queen gave birth? What did she do specifically?"
The secret guard who had been standing by like a shadow immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.
He moved slightly and was about to slip away.
"Wait!" Wen Wanqin suddenly called him again.
The secret guard paused and looked at her again.
"Wen Xiurong, do you have any other instructions?"
Wen Wanqin clasped one arm across her chest and lightly tapped her chin with the other hand. She paced back and forth in the bedroom covered with soft carpet, still lost in thought.
After a while, she stopped and added:
"Imperial Physician Luo also sent someone to keep an eye on her! He was responsible for the Empress's pulse diagnosis during her pregnancy and delivery. He must know the inside story."
As soon as she finished speaking, she shook her head.
"Just watching him is too slow. So, have someone pretend to be the assassin sent by the Queen to kill him and silence him. Then send someone else to act chivalrous and rescue him. Make sure he feels the threat of death, then lure him into telling the truth. If he refuses, have the 'Queen's men' kill his entire family."
Secret Guard: “…”
Sure enough, Wen Xiurong is still as cruel as ever.
The secret guard clasped his fists in response and slipped away.
After the secret guard left, Su Xin came forward with a cup of freshly brewed hot tea and gently placed it on the small table next to Wen Wanqin.
She looked at her master's slightly tired face and couldn't help but asked softly:
"Master, didn't the Emperor already promise to release you from the palace after the Lantern Festival? What have these palace secrets and dirty plots got to do with you? Why bother investigating them? It's a waste of time and energy."
Wen Wanqin picked up the warm tea and took a sip. The warmth slid down her throat, dispelling some of her fatigue.
Only then did she look up at Su Xin, a smile of understanding and deep meaning appeared on the corner of her lips, and she slowly shook her head.
"Suxin, you don't understand. Our emperor is a man of deep thoughts, yet he values friendship and loyalty, and he clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. If I can help him uncover this profound secret that has muddied the royal bloodline before I leave the palace, I will have performed a great service. He will remember this favor."
She put down the teacup, her eyes seemed to penetrate the palace walls and look into the distant outside of the palace.
"Jinxiu's foundation as an official in the court is too shallow. With the emperor's favor, no matter what troubles he encounters in the future, it will be a talisman for him. Why not do something that has only one benefit and no harm?"
Su Xin suddenly understood, her eyes full of admiration.
"Master, you are thoughtful and far-sighted, and you are very kind to Master Gu."
When Wen Wanqin heard the words "Master Gu", her originally calm face instantly became like the surface of a lake where a stone was thrown, with ripples spreading out.
Thinking that they would be together soon, an unconcealable blush crept up her cheeks, and even her ears were stained a faint pink.
She lowered her eyes slightly to hide the tenderness flowing in her eyes, and only said "hmm" softly without saying anything more.
…
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