Chapter 483 Fragrant Warm Pavilion
Granny Wang said, "I have lived for more than 30 years and have never heard of drinking too much licorice soup being fatal. I do know that licorice can stop coughs and clear phlegm."
Lianye also said, "This servant doesn't know either. It seems that this servant will have to be more careful in the future. A little more or less of a single medicine can cause such great harm. A vibrant life was lost just like that. The Third Prince's future was originally bright, but I never expected that he would be gone in just a few months."
Granny Wang explained, "Imperial Physician Mei also said that an infant's body cannot withstand such a large dose of medicine, which is completely different from that of an adult. That's why the Third Prince had a full-body convulsion and died before he could catch his breath."
Imperial Physician Mei also concluded that the Third Prince died from consuming an excessive amount of licorice soup, so there was no other cause.
Jiang Fenghua said, "If someone finds out, that person deliberately lured the wet nurse and Tang Qianran to increase the dosage."
Lianye asked, "Who is that person? Everyone in Changchun Palace has been questioned, but there is no one suspicious."
"If someone wanted the Third Prince to get sick and cough, and then used the most common licorice soup to stop the cough, and then induced the wet nurse and Tang Qianran to increase the dosage to stop the cough, and unknowingly the Chinese medicine would gradually worsen the illness, who would be this person?" Jiang Fenghua asked again.
Granny Wang said, "It's still Granny Zhang and the wet nurse. They both want to take care of the Third Prince in order to get a big reward from Consort Tang. They can't stand each other and take it out on the Third Prince. Consort Tang even handed them knives. In the end, it was the Third Prince who was harmed."
"A knife?" Lianye asked, puzzled.
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "The knife that Granny Wang mentioned is the 'silver' in Tang Qianran's hand. She never imagined that her generosity would make people jealous and harm her own son. So, people's greed can never be satisfied."
Suddenly, another thought flashed through Jiang Fenghua's mind: perhaps someone was taking advantage of Tang Qianran's generosity to make Zhang Mama and the wet nurse compete for favor, and Tang Qianran was only interested in showing off her child, ignoring the child's illness.
There really is such a person. This person must know Tang Qianran very well, and even know that she is generous. Everyone in the palace knows that she is generous.
Or perhaps they have a grudge against Tang Qianran...
The person with the biggest conflict with Tang Qianran in the harem is Song Qing. Song Qing is also the mother of the child. She is usually very carefree, and Jiang Fenghua has excluded her.
Song Qing now has a son of a high rank, and her uncle is a general. Why would she dirty her hands? Besides, everyone in the palace knows that Song Qing and Tang Qianran are enemies and never get along. If the Third Prince is murdered, the first person suspected will be Song Qing. But the person who killed the Third Prince is obviously Tang Qianran and her servants.
There's no reason for HD pupils to be involved.
Jiang Fenghua thought: Could it be that I'm overthinking things? There aren't that many conspiracies at all; she's being too cautious.
Jiang Fenghua returned to Chenxi Palace and took a nap, not waking up until the afternoon.
When she came out of her bedchamber, the main hall of Chenxi Palace was full of people, all of whom were concubines of the harem.
Led by Song Qing and Gao Qingtong, everyone bowed in unison upon seeing the Empress arrive, saying, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Jiang Fenghua sat in the main seat and said, "No need for formalities!"
Once everyone was seated, Song Qing was the first to ask, "We all know what happened at Changchun Palace. We are truly heartbroken for the Third Prince. He was so young when he passed away."
Gao Qingtong's eyes were also red, clearly from crying. "The Third Prince and the Second Princess are the same age. He didn't even have time to grow up. His life hadn't even begun before it was frozen in time. God is really unfair to him."
Zhang Jingjing also felt sorry for the child, "Back then, I lived in the same palace as Consort Tang and watched her child being born. How could such a lovely child just be gone like that?"
Helan Yanran also said, "That day, Consort Tang talked with me for a long time, and I even hugged the Third Prince. She was perfectly fine."
The other concubines expressed their condolences, lamenting that the concubines who entered the palace had finally conceived the emperor's child, but Consort Tang obtained it easily without cherishing it, and ended up losing the prince.
Jiang Fenghua knew that the matter concerning the Third Prince could not be kept secret. Once the coffin was carried out of Changchun Palace, everyone knew about it.
"The next forty-nine days are fasting days. The entire harem must pray for the Third Prince. I hereby inform everyone that after you leave, each of you should copy some scriptures for the Third Prince. After forty-nine days, take them to the Huguo Temple to burn them, so that the Third Prince may ascend to the Pure Land as soon as possible," Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.
The concubines replied, "Yes."
That evening, Aoxue returned, and she was injured.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Who hurt you?"
“A group of men in black. Last night, after I followed Qin Yunyan out of the palace, I found her lingering outside a brothel. I waited for a long time but she didn’t go in. After a while, a group of men in black attacked me. Fortunately, Ayu came with people to save me. Later, Qin Yunyan suddenly disappeared, and we are not sure if she went into the brothel. Ayu originally wanted to sneak in to check the situation, but I stopped her. I thought I should come into the palace first and report to Her Majesty.”
Before Aoxue left the palace, Jiang Fenghua had someone notify Lin Yu to meet her outside the palace, but unexpectedly, something almost happened.
"What's the name of the brothel?" Jiang Fenghua asked.
"Xiangnuanlou," Aoxue said.
Jiang Fenghua pondered for a moment before saying, "I have some impression of it."
Aoxue explained, "Your Majesty has forgotten that a year ago, when we appeared on Baihua Lake, the flower boat of Xiangnuanlou was also there, and those people spent a fortune on Xiangxiang, the girl from Xiangnuanlou."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Qin Yunyan was going to Xiangnuanlou, but you were injured by the men in black, which means that the other party knew that she was being followed."
Hongxiu said, "This servant knows about Xiangnuanlou. It's been popular in Shengjing City for over a year. Miss Xiangxiang is very popular, attracting many young masters from the Shi family. It has even surpassed the business of Yichunlou..."
Aoxue didn't ask Hongxiu why she knew about Xiangnuanlou. It was only after Lin Yu took her to Yichunlou that she learned that Lin Yu was the person in charge of Yichunlou, and the real person in charge behind the scenes was actually the Empress. The same was true for Xiangyalou and some other businesses. They were directing things behind the scenes, and even the shopkeepers didn't know who the real owners were.
Hongxiu manages these ledgers; they're actually quite wealthy! They don't have to worry about making a living at all.
As Jiang Fenghua listened to their conversation, she recalled what had happened a year ago. The courtesan Xiangxiang always wore a veil, but she was certain that she was neither Qin Yunyan nor Su Qingqing; their demeanor was different.
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