Chapter 546 Seeking Death
In the study, Prince Yu was wearing a white robe and holding a soft silk cloth in his hand. He was wiping a gilded Buddha statue in the shrine with his brows lowered, and his expression was very pious.
Only at this time, his heart was at peace.
As he expected, Tan Rui was removed from his post.
Emperor Jing'an was warning him and also warning the ministers who supported him.
But Tan Rui's fate made the ministers who followed him panic.
Those ministers who supported him ignored his instructions and sent a letter to Prince Yu's Mansion, saying that someone had heard rumors that Emperor Jing'an was secretly investigating those ministers who supported him, intending to slowly seize their power and replace them with others.
They asked him what to do.
If Emperor Jing'an removed all their powers and completely destroyed his power, they would be unable to overthrow the Third Prince in the future.
Prince Yu wiped the Buddha statue clean, but he still couldn't calm down and became more and more agitated.
He knew what these ministers meant; they wanted him to strike first.
Prince Yu picked up a stick of incense and prepared to light it.
With a "snap", a stick of incense in his hand broke.
At this time, the voice of the secret guard came from outside the door: "Master, Madam Ling said that something happened to the queen."
Prince Yu's eyes flashed with terrifying hostility: "Bring her here."
"yes."
The secret guard went to the front hall and carried Madam Ling to the study, then left.
Mrs. Ling's face was pale, the phoenix crown on her head was askew, the shawl on her shoulders was gone, and her straight collar and double-breasted clothes were in disarray, as if she had just experienced a fatal disaster.
She looked at Prince Yu's expressionless face and felt inexplicably frightened.
Because she arrived at Prince Yu's mansion, as soon as she entered the gate, a secret guard stabbed her chest with a sword. If she hadn't said that something had happened to the Imperial Concubine and asked her to pass on a message to Prince Yu, the sword would have pierced her chest long ago.
It was at this moment that she realized that Prince Yu's warning was not just talk, but that his patience with the Ling family had really reached its limit.
Thinking of this, Madam Ling was terrified. She knelt on the ground and said in a mixed tone, "Your Highness, you sent someone to the Ling family to tell us that your uncle and I obeyed your orders and returned all the orders we had."
"But two days before you sent your messenger, several large ships had already set sail. We wanted to stop them, but we couldn't. Your uncle and I have carefully inspected the cargo on board several times, and we found nothing that violates the laws of the Great Zhou."
"I never expected the Third Prince to be so cunning and treacherous. He bribed the officials of the coastal garrisons beforehand and slandered us for carrying weapons on board. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is clearly aimed at you."
"Having suffered such a great injustice, we dared not conceal it. We immediately sent a letter to the Empress, urging her to ask the Emperor for permission to allow me to come to the palace today and explain this injustice to her in detail. This will allow her to make a plan to extricate the Ling family from this disaster and prevent you and the Empress from being implicated."
"Who would have thought that Xiudong, this traitor, was bribed by the Third Prince to poison the Empress?"
"I was afraid something might happen to the Empress, so I shamelessly went to the Gu family and begged Master Gu to give me a pill that could cure all poisons."
At this point, Madam Ling pulled out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve pocket with shaking hands: "Your Highness, please quickly deliver this detoxification pill to the Empress."
Prince Yu looked at the porcelain bottle in Madam Ling's hand, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he stared at her face.
Under Prince Yu's gaze, Madam Ling trembled uncontrollably. Just when she was about to collapse, she saw Prince Yu reaching out his hand. Before Madam Ling could breathe a sigh of relief, that hand suddenly grabbed her neck.
"Well--"
Madam Ling's neck seemed to be twisted off by Prince Yu. She was completely unable to breathe and struggled desperately.
Prince Yu looked at Madam Ling with a cold gaze, as if he were looking at a dead person. "Gu Zongci is no longer in the capital. If you dare to tell a lie again, I will go to the underworld and seek justice from the King of Hell."
Madam Ling was terrified: "I...I will say..."
Prince Yu let go.
Madam Ling coughed violently. When she recovered, she caught a glimpse of Prince Yu's stern gaze, which contained a terrifying murderous intent. She did not dare to hide anything and told him everything.
At the end of her speech, her face was bleak. "The Empress wanted to keep you in the capital to help the Ling family resolve the disaster. I thought that only if the Empress fell ill would the Emperor let you stay in the capital. I was confused for a moment and asked Xiudong to poison the Empress."
Before entering the palace, she had made two plans. If Concubine Ling refused to listen to her words and was determined to leave the Ling family, she would have Xiudong drug Concubine Ling.
Madam Ling was also afraid that Concubine Ling would become ill with the poison while she was still in the palace, and that someone would surely suspect her. So she specifically selected a slow-acting poison and mixed it with lily powder. This way, even if the imperial physician took Concubine Ling's pulse, they would only diagnose that she had been poisoned by food.
At that time, she would present the antidote to Prince Yu, save Concubine Ling's life, and let Prince Yu accept her favor and help the Ling family.
Unexpectedly, Prince Yu saw through her thoughts.
She hurriedly explained: "If you give the queen the antidote in time, she will be fine."
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