Chapter 439: Killing Several Birds with One Stone
The air seemed to solidify into a block of lead, weighing heavily on everyone's chest.
Only Princess Taiping's heart-wrenching cries, one sound after another, one knife after another, continuously tore apart the deathly silence in the courtyard.
Just as the suffocating silence and grief filled the air, Wu Junnian, who was packing his medicine box, suddenly stopped.
He noticed that Princess Jiahe's left hand was clenched tightly, and the knuckles had turned bluish-white from excessive force. Even after death, she still maintained this stiff posture.
Wu Junnian's heart moved, and he immediately whispered, "Your Majesty, the princess's left hand is clenched tightly, and there seems to be something wrong."
Upon hearing this, Yan Shixu cast a sharp gaze at Jiahe's left hand hanging on the ground.
In the shadow, one of her small hands was indeed clenched tightly.
Yan Shixu said in a deep voice: "Check."
Wu Junnian walked forward cautiously, avoiding Princess Taiping's tightly embraced arms, and used his skillful strength to little by little pry open Princess Jiahe's cold and stiff little hand.
Open your palms.
Inside was a small piece of crumpled rice paper.
An extremely faint and strange fragrance emanated faintly.
Wu Junnian held his breath and carefully twisted the rice paper with his fingertips.
Then, in full view of everyone, he slowly unfolded it.
The rice paper was blank.
However, Wu Junnian cautiously brought the piece of paper close to his nose.
When he confirmed it again, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"Your Majesty!" Wu Junnian's voice, with a hint of vibration, broke the silence.
"The writing on this piece of paper must have been erased using some special method. It's also... stained with the scent of 'Jingzhe Powder'!"
When everyone heard this, they suddenly looked up, with horror and realization flashing in their eyes.
Lord Liao, the Minister of Justice, took a deep breath.
Another Jingzhe fan!
So...Princess Jiahe's sudden fright was the trigger.
But this piece of rice paper, which might have once had writing on it, is now completely blank and stained with Jingzhe powder...
This is the fatal poison that triggered her heart disease!
How is this an accident?
This was clearly a carefully planned, interconnected, final kill that didn't even spare the little kids!
The air in the courtyard suddenly became even colder and more biting.
Yan Shishu's mournful accusations and wails were abruptly cut off by the blank rice paper soaked in "Qingzhe powder".
Her bloodshot eyes stared at the wrinkled piece of rice paper in Wu Junnian's hand, as if they wanted to burn through it.
"Who gave this to Jiahe?"
Her voice was hoarse like sandpaper, and her eyes were like ice-hardened blades, sweeping over the people in the princess's mansion who were kneeling on the ground.
Yan Shixu glanced at his elder sister and sighed deeply.
"Minister Liao."
"I'm here!" Lord Liao shuddered and banged his forehead heavily on the floor tiles.
"Immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the Princess's residence! All palace servants, eunuchs, guards, and maids, on and off duty, leave no one behind! Especially—"
Yan Shixu's gaze was also fixed on the group of palace maids around Princess Jiahe, who were already trembling with fear.
"All those serving the princess will be detained in solitary confinement and strictly interrogated!"
"I obey your order!" Minister Liao immediately waved his hand to signal the officials of the Ministry of Justice to take action.
The princess's mansion was instantly enveloped in even greater panic, with cries and pleas for mercy heard everywhere, but they were forcibly suppressed.
Yan Shixu's gaze finally fell back on Tiantian.
The young man's face was pale, his lips tightly pursed. Deep in those eyes that looked so much like his own was a trace of confusion and a hint of forcibly suppressed anger.
This is how a seven-year-old child should react in this situation.
Even though his current character is far inferior to Yan Xingtian's, it is still better than many children of the same age.
Yan Shixu extended his hand towards him: "Tiantian, come to father."
Tiantian nodded and once again glanced at her lifeless cousin lying in her aunt's arms.
I always feel like something is strange.
He found himself forgetting something very important again...
Unable to remember, Tiantian walked to his father's side and held his warm big hand.
"hiss……"
When he clasped his hands together, Tiantian was shocked to feel a piercing pain in his palms.
Seeing that his son's face was pale with pain, Yan Shixu turned over his palm to check.
The next moment, his eyes suddenly tightened and he suddenly wrapped his arms around his son's hand.
Tiantian gasped in pain after being squeezed so hard by his father.
Yan Shixu turned to Yan Shishu, who was slumped on the ground, hugging his daughter's body in a daze.
"Royal sister, I will investigate Jiahe's death thoroughly. But for now, please make sure Jiahe is properly placed."
His tone was also filled with sorrow.
Yan Shishu seemed to have lost all her strength and just hugged her daughter's cold body tightly.
She looked up and gave Tiantian a deep look, then allowed the palace servant to come forward, carefully help her and Jiahe up, and staggered towards her own yard.
The hem of the goose yellow skirt dragged across the cold floor tiles, leaving a trace that was enough to cut through the darkness.
Yan Shixu quietly watched Yan Shishu's dejected back as she left. After a while, he ordered:
"Return to the palace."
He took Tiantian's hand and left the princess's mansion.
Prince Lin, Prince Cheng and others also looked solemn and left immediately after him.
After everyone left, everyone in the princess's mansion was taken away by people from the Ministry of Justice for interrogation.
But in Yan Shishu's yard, the wall next to the bed opened silently.
A slender figure slowly walked out.
The other person was wearing a moon-white brocade skirt and a scarf of the same color on her face. She had a thin figure.
Seeing the crying eldest princess and Princess Jiahe lying cold on the bed, the woman screamed and rushed over.
"How could this happen? Princess Jiahe..."
The woman's voice trembled as she knelt beside the bed, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to touch Jiahe's cold little face, but she didn't dare.
Yan Shishu closed her eyes tiredly and said in a hoarse voice, "Go back to the secret room first and let me and Jiahe be alone for a while."
The woman nodded, and as she stood up, her eyes quickly swept towards Jiahe's clenched left hand.
He quickly lowered his eyes and silently retreated behind the hidden wall.
The walls closed, as if they had never been opened.
…
In the imperial study.
When everyone gathered again, their hearts felt heavy as if they were being pressed down by a huge rock.
The mastermind behind this is so meticulous and far-reaching that every step is carefully planned.
Zhao Zhao got the pony;
Jiahe gave Zhaozhao the purse containing the Jingzhe powder;
Ten young princes from the Marquisate followed their father into the palace;
Horses startled at the racecourse;
The prince follows up on clues;
He used conflict scenes and poisoned notes to induce Jiahe's death from a heart attack.
If everything goes according to the plan of the person behind the scenes:
Zhao Zhao was probably killed by Crazy Horse;
Jiahe's death became irrefutable evidence to frame the Crown Prince, causing a complete rift between the Crown Prince and Princess Taiping, which in turn could have triggered a rift between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager.
If the Empress Dowager, in great grief, demands the dethronement of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince's position will inevitably be shaken, the court will fall into turmoil, and the foundation of the country will be shaken.
So, is Su Muyang bringing the child into the palace today a fixed part of the plan, or a variable that breaks the deadlock?
Everyone's eyes focused on Su Muyang at the same time.
Su Muyang's eyes were deep and his thoughts were racing.
He said in a deep voice, "Two days ago, I promised my eldest son that I would bring his brothers into the palace to play with the young princes. From this, it seems that his ten children are all part of this plan."
He paused and looked at Luo Yunzhen.
Luo Yunzhen's expression changed slightly.
He was supposed to go with them today, but he was inexplicably entangled by a girl who wanted to "commit herself to him", so he was too busy to enter the palace this morning.
But if there had not been this variable, he would have brought several children into the palace.
When the horse became frightened, his twelve-year-old eldest son Luo Shixiang would definitely be able to prevent the incident.
Although Shixiong was young, he was already an expert in riding and shooting.
Riding a mad horse is no problem at all.
Therefore, that girl was also a destined person specially arranged by the person behind the scenes.
In the side hall.
Yan Shixu bandaged Tiantian's palm himself and instructed:
"Father will bandage Tiantian. Tiantian, you can't let others see your palm. Do you understand?"
Tiantian looked at him and nodded thoughtfully.
Only then did Yan Shixu take Tiantian to the imperial study and hear the conversation between several people inside.
He continued, "Miaomiao didn't go to the stables today because the teacher kept her there. Mumu didn't go either because Miaomiao didn't go. This is a variable. Zhaozhao, a child over five years old, successfully subdued the mad horse. This is also a variable."
Everyone fell into deep thought again.
So, if there were no unexpected events today, Miaomiao, Zhaozhao, Mumu, and the ten children of the Su family would all appear at the horse farm.
Zhao Zhao was likely to go into the stable himself to choose a horse for Miao Miao.
The reason was simple: she always thought her sister was stupid and silly, and she would only feel at ease if she personally picked the most docile horse for her sister.
By then, the purse she was wearing would drive all the horses in the stable crazy, and the consequences would be even more disastrous!
If the Su family's children were to die, no matter whether Su Muyang had turned against the emperor or not, an unbridgeable barrier would inevitably be planted in his heart.
Just like Princess Taiping and the Crown Prince.
This plan kills several birds with one stone and is extremely vicious!
The more everyone thought about it, the more silent the imperial study became.
But in Pineapple Palace, Wen Li'er still doesn't know all this.
She stayed by Zhaozhao's side the whole time, comforting her daughter who was extremely frightened today.
…
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