"This servant greets Your Highness Consort De!" Upon seeing Consort De, A Bao immediately stood up from his chair, knelt down, and kowtowed.
"Ah Bao, did you lose our bet?" Consort De said. "I have already heard about the rat incident."
"Your Majesty, my heart is broken beyond repair! I have lost. The deposed Crown Prince wants my life. He wrote all those things just to gain my trust so I would willingly eat those poisonous dishes that would rot my insides," A Bao said. As he spoke, his teeth chattered, and chills rose from the bottom of his body, making him feel cold all over.
Consort De looked at A Bao kneeling on the ground with pity and said to him, "A Bao, you have lost, but you must keep your promise and give yourself an explanation. I don't think you want to be killed in this deep prison for no reason. If you can expose the many wrongdoings committed by the Crown Prince in the past, I can let you leave the palace, take a sum of money, and live a peaceful life."
Ah Bao didn't want to live on his own, but the Crown Prince's "love letter" and the harsh reality finally hardened his heart, making him decide to no longer take responsibility for the Crown Prince. Those three days felt like three. Every day he thought about his moments with the Crown Prince, hoping he would come to save him, yet also not wanting him to come. Just when Ah Bao thought he hadn't misjudged the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince dealt him the heaviest blow, leaving him in unbearable pain.
"What, still haven't figured it out? Unless you're willing to give up your life, all that awaits you is to suffer endless torture in this Shenxing Division, and finally be thrown into a rotten graveyard," Consort De said coldly.
"No, this servant does not want such an ending. This servant is willing to speak. Since he is so heartless to this servant, what else is there for this servant to care about! Your Majesty, there is another person who also knows about the deposed crown prince, and that is the little prince who is currently favored by his side."
"Little Quanzi?" Consort De asked in confusion.
“Yes, that’s him. He was a plaything given to the Crown Prince by the deposed Crown Princess. He should know something about the Shi family,” A Bao said. Although Xiao Quanzi had saved him, he knew that Xiao Quanzi didn’t want to stay by the side of the deposed Crown Prince, so he simply dragged him out as well to point out some of the things the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had done.
"Very well, I will only bring him back for questioning. Abao, you must answer the questions I ask you truthfully. If you make any more false statements, I will not show you any mercy." Consort De said with an unusually stern expression.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I dare not remain silent any longer. Please have mercy on my lowly life," A Bao hurriedly replied.
"First, how did Prince Yong's third son, Hongjun, and Hongxi, fall into the water while playing at Jieyuyuan? Was it done by someone sent by the deposed crown prince? Second, when Hongli suddenly fell seriously ill in Qianqing Palace, was it done intentionally and related to the deposed crown prince?" Consort De asked.
A Bao felt a sudden tension throughout his body. He naturally knew about these two things, and the Crown Prince was afraid that he would reveal them, which was why he was so eager to kill him to silence him.
"Abao, you'd better think this through and answer me properly," Consort De said sternly when she saw a hint of hesitation on Abao's face.
"Your Majesty, both of these things were done by the deposed crown prince's men," A Bao said through gritted teeth.
Consort De's eyelids twitched, and she gave a wink to the fat eunuch beside her, signaling him to immediately send someone to record A Bao's statement.
"I want you to tell me the details in detail," Consort De said hastily.
"That day, the deposed crown prince had his men set up an ambush at Jieyu Abyss, sending two servants who were excellent swimmers to hide underwater. Then, the deposed crown prince cleverly tricked Hongxi into leading Hongjun there to play. When the two young princes weren't paying attention, the servants in the water reached out and grabbed their ankles, dragging them into the water. To avoid arousing suspicion, he even had Hongxi pulled into the water as well, but naturally, he survived. As for Hongjun..." Abao recounted this lamentable old story, "The deposed crown prince resented that the Fourth Prince was more useful to him in front of the Emperor, which is why he cruelly murdered Hongjun."
"He's utterly inhuman! To create a scandal, he even dragged his own son into it? I heard that Hongxi's mental state has been unstable ever since that incident?" Consort De said.
“Yes, Prince Hongxi must have noticed it too. In addition, seeing the deposed crown prince favoring eunuchs with his own eyes further agitated him, almost destroying his spirit. He refused to speak all day and became mentally unstable,” Abao said.
"What about Hongli's matter?" Consort De asked.
"It was also the work of the deposed crown prince. At the time, he used a eunuch serving the young prince who was the brother of another eunuch in the crown prince's palace to threaten and bribe the eunuch into giving the young prince clothes stained with smallpox. Unfortunately, the young prince did not have smallpox at all, which caused the plan to fail and almost brought trouble upon himself," A Bao said.
"Are the two people you mentioned still in the palace?" Consort De asked.
“They’re all still working in their original places. Your Highness can go and bring them here to question you!” Abao said.
"Alright, Abao, then I'll have to trouble you to stay here. Otherwise, I'll feel unsafe if you leave. Once I've captured those people you mentioned and confirmed the deposed crown prince's misdeeds, I will fulfill my promise to you," said Consort De.
After A Bao was taken away, Granny De sighed, "We finally got the evidence against the deposed crown prince. This time, the emperor will not show him any mercy."
"Yes. This Abao is the key," Consort De said.
"Your Highness is truly brilliant! You actually sent someone to imitate the Crown Prince's handwriting to write him this 'love letter,' otherwise, this A Bao probably wouldn't have confessed to the deposed Crown Prince," said Granny De. It turns out that today's whole thing was a well-orchestrated show by Consort De herself; in reality, the deposed Crown Prince never sent anyone to poison A Bao.
"Actually, he's not that smart. Considering the deposed crown prince is in dire straits, who would be willing to work for him? It was that incredibly realistic 'love letter' that broke down his defenses. I had no choice but to use this method to get him to confess. In fact, the deposed crown prince also wanted to kill him, but he just didn't have the ability to get close to him," Consort De said.
“Your Majesty, you have done the right thing. Now that A Bao has said this, it is clear that those evil deeds were indeed committed by the deposed Crown Prince. Therefore, your scheme to get A Bao to confess is not something shameful. Your Majesty need not blame yourself,” said Granny De.
"I know. This time, I will ultimately have to play the villain," said Consort De.
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