When Gu Jiangli returned to Jinghe Palace, the emperor was sitting on his bed reading memorials.
His expression was calm, but there was always a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
Gu Jiangli stepped forward, snatched the memorial from the emperor's hand, and placed it aside.
"Physician Lü said that His Majesty needs more rest."
The emperor was not angry at her rude behavior.
His nose twitched slightly, as if he had caught something. "You went to the Heavenly Prison?"
Gu Jiangli was taken aback, then raised her hand to smell her own scent.
"Is it that obvious?" The prison was dark and damp, and indeed had a musty and sour smell.
She hadn't expected that the smell would still be there after she'd traveled all that way.
The emperor frowned, and asked with a hint of worry, "You went to see Fang Xun?"
Gu Jiangli paused for a moment, then did not deny it, "Yes, actually, Your Majesty..."
"I understand." The emperor suddenly interrupted her abruptly, as if he didn't want to hear her continue.
He held Gu Jiangli's hand, his eyes flashing, "Actually, you don't need to go to him. You're heavily pregnant, and that place, the prison, is... very unlucky."
Gu Jiangli couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
The emperor rarely used the word "bad luck".
Aside from dead people, she couldn't think of anything else worthy of being described with those two words.
She hadn't said anything, yet the emperor seemed to know everything.
"Does Your Majesty not ask me why I went to see Fang Xun?"
"You have your own reasons for everything you do, and I don't want to ask any more questions. Alright, go take a hot bath first. We'll talk about Fang Xun later."
The emperor smiled, but his eyes were clear and lucid, as if he had seen through everything.
"Your Majesty has guessed it. I killed Fang Xun. He is already dead."
Either way, the emperor would find out, so it's better for her to tell him herself than for the princess and the empress dowager to come and complain to the emperor soon afterward.
She expected to see a surprised look on the emperor's face, but he only paused for a moment before quickly regaining his usual smiling expression.
He spoke in a very gentle tone, "I understand. Go change your clothes first, we can talk about this later."
Gu Jiangli was surprised, but she could tell that the emperor didn't want to talk about this matter.
She stood up and said seriously, "Your Majesty, please rest. I will explain this matter to you properly later."
The emperor smiled faintly and watched her leave.
As soon as the door closed, he called out, "Liu Feng."
Liu Feng came in from outside the door.
The emperor's expression suddenly turned icy cold. "Summon Chu Tan'er to come to the imperial prison to collect the body. Only have her come alone."
Liu Feng's eyes widened, and he immediately nodded in acceptance of the order.
————
Outside the palace.
Fang family.
A loud shout echoed through the sky.
"Collect a corpse?!" Chu Tan'er's face turned pale. "Collect a corpse for whom?! Say it again, who is collecting a corpse for?"
Liu Feng's collar was grabbed by Chu Tan'er, and he almost lost his balance.
He swallowed hard, then calmly said, "His Majesty said it's best not to make this public, as it's not a very honorable thing. You can just come with me."
"Bullshit! Even if I'm not the best princess, I'm still the eldest princess of the dynasty. What do I need to do that requires secrecy?! Liu Feng, don't think you can be so arrogant just because you're the eunuch by the emperor's side. I'm not someone to be fooled! Tell me, what's wrong with my Xun'er!"
Seeing Chu Tan'er's unreasonable behavior, Liu Feng decided to stop showing her respect.
He raised his hand and forcefully flung Chu Tan'er's hand, which was gripping his collar, away.
Just as Chu Tan'er was shocked by his rebellious actions, he lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear:
"His Majesty said that if you resist, he will have me tell you that the young prince confessed very clearly in prison to the plot to murder the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince. If you are unwilling to collect the remains of this criminal, you can order me to throw the young prince's body into the mass grave."
"Aaaaah, I'll kill you! Stop spreading these lies! How could Xun'er possibly die?! How could he possibly die?!"
Chu Tan'er screamed hoarsely.
Liu Feng stood five steps away from her, coldly watching her go berserk.
Chu Tan'er's eyes were bloodshot as she gritted her teeth and shouted:
"lead the way!"
————
The Heavenly Prison.
The foul odor made me feel uncomfortable all over.
The emperor sat in the chair that Gu Jiangli had once sat in. His face was pale, his lips were bloodless, and he looked coldly at the corpse covered by a white cloth in front of him.
He gripped his sleeve tightly and waited motionless.
Not long after, Chu Tan'er's screams came from outside the prison.
"Ahhh! My Xun'er! What happened to my Xun'er?!"
Standing outside the cell, the moment she saw the white sheet on the ground, she seemed to lose her mind.
Stumbling and crawling, he entered the cell and knelt down beside the corpse.
Chu Tan'er's trembling fingertips slowly lifted the white cloth, revealing a familiar face that had turned blue and purple, with black lips and black blood still clinging to the tip of her nose.
She saw her child, but it was a lifeless corpse.
"Impossible! Xun'er! How could he be dead! Impossible, Uncle clearly said he would arrange for someone to take good care of him! How could he be dead!"
Tears streamed down her face, and in her grief, she suddenly noticed that there was someone sitting next to her.
Chu Tan'er slowly raised her head to the side, her eyes bloodshot, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Royal brother, you couldn't have killed him! Was it Gu Jiangli? Did she kill Xun'er?"
The emperor remained unfazed and said lightly, "It was my order."
"Why!"
“Fang Xun attempted to use theology to murder the Imperial Noble Consort and her unborn child during a priestly ceremony. This crime alone is enough to warrant his death.”
"What does a child know about theology?! Your Majesty, you have completely disregarded blood ties and become utterly incompetent!"
Chu Tan'er's chest heaved, hatred seeping through her teeth: "He's so young! He doesn't understand anything! Is my brother so cold-blooded that he can't even spare the life of a child!"
The emperor met her gaze without flinching.
"He knows everything because you and the Empress Dowager teach him everything. Including letting him covet the throne and letting him harm people."
Chu Tan'er kept shaking her head, her face covered in tears.
The rage in her chest was constantly eroding her remaining rationality. Looking at her son's bruised and purple face in her arms once again, she finally began to go mad.
"Emperor! What's wrong with coveting the throne? Who doesn't want to be the ruler of the world?! Who doesn't want to hold power firmly in their hands! You are destined to die young, what's wrong with me planning for my own future? What's wrong with me planning for my son's future?"
She screamed hoarsely, her frenzied state resembling that of a starving beast.
"Emperor, don't think that just because you're the emperor you can dispose of Xun'er's life at will. I can't deal with you, but the Empress Dowager can! Your uncle can! Just you wait!"
Chu Tan'er suddenly stood up and strode out.
But the emperor followed closely behind her and called out, "I can wait, but Xun'er can't wait any longer."
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