Not hearing Emperor Yuanhe speak, Si Yang continued to report: "Your Highness's body... has been pierced by dozens of silver threads. Your humble servant dares not move it rashly and can only wait for Your Majesty to make a decision... I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"Forgive me?" Emperor Yuanhe's voice was both sarcastic and cold. He suddenly pointed at Si Yang, his expression turning furious: "As the princess's husband, you should have protected her for life! When Father bestowed her upon you, you were obligated to bear the burden of her life! Now you have caused her death, and you are still kneeling here unharmed! How dare you ask me for forgiveness?"
Emperor Yuanhe gritted his teeth and roared, "Guards! Imprison the imperial son-in-law and order the Ministry of Justice to interrogate him thoroughly. If he cannot explain the whole story, then he and the princess shall be buried alive with him!"
The two soldiers who were knocking outside immediately got up and went inside. With a "Yes," they took Si Yang away.
Si Yang did not resist.
He never expected Xiao Chensheng to be so unscrupulous.
Emperor Yuanhe's anger is unlikely to subside anytime soon. With the death of the eldest princess, it is certain that he, as the princess's husband, will be implicated. There is no way he can escape this ordeal.
After Si Yang was taken away, Emperor Yuanhe roared again, "Guards!"
Immediately, two more soldiers entered and kowtowed: "Your Majesty."
Emperor Yuanhe took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil within him, and coldly said, "All the imperial physicians who accompanied the patients shall be beheaded! Before they die, the Jingzhao Prefecture shall be ordered to torture them severely, and they shall not make a single mistake, or the Jingzhao Prefecture shall also bring their heads to face us!"
Enraged, the two soldiers dared not delay: "Yes, sir."
"What about the Princess's male lovers?!" Emperor Yuanhe demanded angrily.
Immediately, a maidservant hurriedly crawled in and kowtowed, saying in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this morning I heard that the Princess... many people... took advantage of the chaos to run away, and the rest... led by Young Master Su, are still in the manor..."
"These cowardly scoundrels were treated well when the Princess was still alive, yet now they dare to betray her and abandon her!" Emperor Yuanhe's face turned red with anger: "Issue the order: anyone who leaves the palace without permission will be executed without exception!"
“Yes…yes…” the old woman replied repeatedly.
"Which male favorite did the eldest princess love the most during her lifetime?" Emperor Yuanhe asked patiently.
The old woman replied, "Yes...it is Young Master Su."
Originally, it belonged to Young Master Su, but ever since the Prince Consort rescued the Princess from the hunting grounds, Su He has not served her at her bedside for a long time. Apart from the Prince Consort, the Princess does not allow anyone to get close.
So, according to what the nanny said, Su He had already fallen out of favor. On the contrary, the prince consort who had just been taken away was the one the princess relied on and loved the most during this period.
But she dared not say it.
She was afraid that if she spoke, she would lose her head.
"At least he has some sense of loyalty and righteousness, and didn't leave the Princess's residence at this time." Emperor Yuanhe's eyes were icy, and he changed the subject: "Before the Princess was buried, he was the one who washed and dressed her, and he will accompany her to the burial!"
The old woman trembled; this meant that Su He was to be buried with the princess.
“Yes…” The old woman dared not refute, and crawled away as she answered.
The news about the Princess's residence spread throughout the streets and alleys in less than half an hour, leaving the people in disbelief.
Just a while ago, news spread that the eldest princess was recovering well, so why is it being said today that she has died?
At that moment, some people refused to believe it, thinking it was just a rumor. How could a princess of a country just disappear like that?
However, Emperor Yuanhe's series of actions forced the people of the capital to believe that the imperial son-in-law was imprisoned and interrogated, all the imperial physicians who accompanied him were beheaded, and the male favorites who escaped from the Princess's residence were also captured and killed without exception.
They practically made the entire Princess's household pay with their lives.
This confirms the fact that the eldest princess has passed away.
As soon as news broke from the Princess's residence, it also spread to the Prince Gong's residence.
Early in the morning, sounds of fighting could be heard from Prince Gong's Mansion, and even one of the courtyard walls was shaken open, leaving a large gap.
Upon hearing that Princess Gong had gone missing, Prince Gong went mad early in the morning when he could not find her. He went directly to the Second Prince and the Seventeenth Princess of the East Sea and severely injured them.
The people passing by Prince Gong's Mansion would keep their distance when they heard the commotion inside. The sounds of fighting were like thunder in the sky, making people tremble.
The common people had no idea what was going on, but in the blink of an eye, the palace sent the Imperial Guards to surround the entire Prince's Mansion.
Then the commander of the Imperial Guards, along with several soldiers, escorted the disheveled Yu Nanqing out of the Prince's mansion.
According to eyewitness accounts, Yu Nanqing's eyes were bloodshot, his expression was sinister, and he exuded a gloomy aura, as if he were about to slowly torture everyone present.
The commander of the Imperial Guards led several soldiers to capture Yu Nanqing.
The one carried out of the palace next was Princess Feng Yao, the seventeenth princess of the East Sea. She was covered in blood, her lips were pale, and she was already delirious.
Feng Lingxiao was in much better condition than Feng Yao, after all, he had fought against Yu Nanqing before. He was clutching his chest, with blood still trickling from the corner of his lips.
As soon as they came out, they were surrounded by envoys who had rushed from the inn.
The envoys from the East China Sea were furious to see their master so badly injured, and they formed a group to go to the palace to settle accounts with Emperor Yuanhe.
However, Emperor Yuanhe was still grieving the death of the eldest princess and had no time to recover, so he had no energy to deal with the envoys from the East China Sea.
Therefore, he dispatched Prime Minister Liu, along with the Minister of Rites and others, to negotiate with the envoy from the East China Sea.
Although it was called a negotiation, a war of words was inevitable.
The prince of the East Sea was injured in the Great Jin Dynasty. At worst, it would lead to war between the two countries. At the very least, a reasonable explanation would be required. As for what kind of explanation it would be, how could the East Sea not make exorbitant demands?
Therefore, a stalemate between the two countries is inevitable.
As Yu Nanqing was imprisoned, the court officials who had once tried to curry favor with him were thrown into a panic, especially those who had secret dealings with Prince Gong's mansion.
Although it wasn't much, they were still afraid that Emperor Yuanhe would investigate it thoroughly.
The only thing that could put their minds at ease was that the death of the eldest princess had left Emperor Yuanhe with no time to worry about so much, but there would always be a time when he came to his senses.
Therefore, these people were all secretly watching the movements of the Chang and Shun families, the two Duke families.
However, the Duke's mansion was not peaceful at this time either.
Upon hearing the news of Yu Nanqing's arrest, the Duke of Shun almost couldn't catch his breath.
Fortunately, the family members were all present and helped the old Duke Shun, who was about to faint, to his feet.
It's impossible for the old Duke of Shun not to panic. Just a few days ago, he staked everything on the Prince Gong's Mansion. If anything happens to the Prince Gong's Mansion, then the Duke of Shun's Mansion... will truly be finished.
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