"What?!" The emperor's face changed drastically, filled with boundless panic and rage. "Are you injured? How dare someone attempt an assassination in the palace!"
Seeing that he was getting agitated again, Gu Jiangli immediately grabbed his arm and said, "No, no, Qi Jin is here, I'm not injured. A eunuch who called himself Ma Guang said he would take me back to Yongning Palace. On the way, he rushed out along with five men in black who were lying in ambush around us."
"Qi Jin quickly subdued them, but they had poison hidden between their teeth. Before he could get anything out of them, they committed suicide by poisoning themselves. Qi Jin said that they were all eunuchs in the palace."
The emperor was very flustered, as if he hadn't been listening at all.
He looked up and shouted towards the outside of the hall, "Let Physician Lin in!"
A moment later, a white-haired but steady-walking imperial physician came to Gu Jiangli.
Physician Lin instinctively wanted to take the emperor's pulse, but the emperor refused.
Without saying a word, he first had Physician Lin examine Gu Jiangli and instructed him:
"Consort Yun has been frightened. Let's check if she's alright first."
Physician Lin immediately noticed the bloodstains on the emperor's sleeve and then glanced at the emperor's face.
Compared to Consort Yun's rosy complexion, he secretly thought that His Majesty needed treatment more.
But he had no choice but to obey the emperor's orders.
After examining Gu Jiangli's pulse, Imperial Physician Lin gave a reassuring answer: "Your Majesty, although Consort Yun was frightened, she was fortunately unharmed. Both the child in her womb and the Consort are well. She only needs to take a few doses of medicine to prevent miscarriage."
"May this old minister examine Your Majesty's injuries?"
Gu Jiangli immediately added, "Let's treat His Majesty's injuries first."
She knew perfectly well that she was fine, but the emperor's injuries were very real.
This time, the emperor remained silent.
Before long, his arm was completely wrapped in white bandages.
Fortunately, the sleeves could cover it up; if the injury had been in another conspicuous place, it would have caused panic among the court officials tomorrow.
The emperor looked at his bandaged arm, his anger deepening.
Sitting next to him, Gu Jiangli could feel the anger emanating from him.
"Is Your Majesty thinking about Prince An?"
The emperor did not deny it, but instead asked, "Prince An, why do you believe that he sent someone to assassinate you?"
“I…” Gu Jiangli was speechless.
She did suspect it was Prince An, but she had no evidence.
Seeing her frown, the emperor asked again, "Is it because of the matter of choosing a crown prince?"
Gu Jiangli nodded slightly without saying a word.
She believed that the emperor was perfectly lucid at this moment and would naturally understand the reasons behind it.
The emperor continued, seemingly to himself, "Do you believe that Prince An was worried that the child in your womb would threaten his future ascension to the throne, and that he killed you to eliminate that threat?"
Gu Jiangli glanced at the emperor's face, trying to guess what he was thinking from his expression.
But she failed.
She couldn't see anything.
Gu Jiangli's silence did not arouse the emperor's displeasure. He continued, "Consort Yun, it's not that I don't want to believe you. If Prince An is really a person who covets the throne, then it is understandable that he would take action against you for that position."
"But he really didn't care about that position. Years ago, I thought I would never have children again, so I intended to make Prince An the crown prince, but Prince An refused."
“I have mentioned this to him more than once, but he always says that I will definitely have my own children in the future, and he can just be the Prince of An and live a carefree and leisurely life.”
“Consort Yun, I will definitely investigate the matter of your assassination thoroughly, but to say that Prince An killed you for the throne... that doesn’t make sense.”
Gu Jiangli listened quietly, then stood there stunned for a moment.
Why did Prince An refuse the position of Crown Prince several times?
Why?
If he hadn't refused the position of crown prince, then no matter how many children the emperor has now, it would be difficult for him to be threatened.
After all, once someone becomes the crown prince, they won't be easily deposed unless they commit a serious mistake.
Why did Prince An do that?
Gu Jiangli felt her mind was completely confused.
But she quickly remembered something else. "Your Majesty, whether the person who tried to assassinate me today was sent by Prince An is another matter, but Prince An must have ill intentions towards you. There's something wrong with the clothes he gave you."
"Clothes? What's the problem?"
“I haven’t found out the specifics yet, but I’m certain that there’s something wrong with the clothes that Prince An gave you on Your Majesty’s birthday. Your Majesty, I’m not asking you to believe me, but you must always be wary of Prince An. He’s really… very abnormal.”
After Gu Jiangli finished speaking, he added, "The torment His Majesty has suffered over the years must be inextricably linked to Prince An. You must be careful of him."
She said these words with almost reckless abandon.
Given the Emperor's current level of trust in Prince An, her words would undoubtedly be interpreted by anyone as an attempt to sow discord between the father and son.
But she couldn't just stand by and watch the emperor be harmed by Prince An; at least she could remind him.
She thought she would be furious and tell the emperor to shut up, but he wasn't angry at all.
The emperor's eyes were filled with deep affection, and a faint smile played on his lips as he softly asked, "Consort Yun, why are you so worried about me?"
Gu Jiangli: "?" Is that the point of the question?
“In the entire harem, everyone except you is afraid of me, fearing that I might go mad one day and suddenly kill them. When I kill people, everyone cowers in fear that they will be affected, and no one dares to step forward to stop me. But you are different. Not only do you dare to stop me, but you also care about the torment I have suffered over the years.”
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