After dawn, the news of Concubine Xian's confession spread throughout the palace like wildfire.
Concubine Ning had not slept for half the night because she had eaten a roast chicken. She finally fell asleep and was sleeping soundly when the palace maid woke her up.
"My lady, wake up, something happened!"
Concubine Ning opened her eyes with great difficulty, burped with a smell of roasted chicken, and woke up with a start: "What's the matter?"
The maid was delighted: "The Concubine Xian has admitted her guilt. She was the one who killed the princess—"
"Wait a minute, Concubine Xian has admitted her guilt?" Concubine Ning rubbed her temples and hurriedly asked for details.
The maid said with great joy, "It is said that Concubine Xian talked in her sleep in the middle of the night and told the emperor about how she harmed the princess. The maid on duty heard it and reported it to the emperor..."
Concubine Ning was stunned when she heard this.
Confessing guilt by talking in sleep? Why does this sound a bit weird?
Thinking about how she was determined and willing to eat roast chicken last night, Concubine Ning stroked her bloated stomach.
As expected, life is unpredictable, fortune and misfortune are unpredictable, and people have to live in the present.
"Help me wash up." Concubine Ning felt refreshed and told the maid, "For lunch, remember to tell the kitchen to add a plate of roast goose for Chunhua Palace."
The palace maid quickly responded: "Yes."
Last night, when she saw Her Majesty eating roast chicken, she thought that Her Majesty was under too much pressure and was a little scared. Now, she thought that it was fortunate that Her Majesty couldn't sleep because of eating roast chicken. Otherwise, if she had said something inappropriate in her sleep like Concubine Xian did, the consequences would be disastrous!
After washing up, Concubine Ning hurried to Kunning Palace to pay her respects to the Empress (to gather intelligence).
When Prince Qi received the news, he was completely stunned and followed the eunuch into the palace in a daze.
Entering the Yangxin Palace, Prince Qi greeted Emperor Jingming woodenly: "Son has seen the emperor——"
Disgusted with the house and the crows, Emperor Jingming was too lazy to even look at the Prince of Qi. He turned his back to him and said coldly, "Go and see Ji Shi, then leave the palace quickly and don't stay for long."
King Qi shuddered, lowered his head and said, "Yes."
Prince Qi followed the eunuchs and headed for Yuquan Palace. It was a road that was extremely familiar to him, but it felt a little strange.
The huge Yuquan Palace was almost deserted with only the blowing wind and swaying shadows of flowers.
This palace, which was once full of flowers and splendor, seemed to have suddenly become dead silent and lifeless.
The Prince of Qi opened his mouth to ask the eunuch, but the eunuch who was leading the way had his head half lowered and didn't seem to want to say anything more.
He had no choice but to swallow all his doubts and finally met Concubine Xian in a more remote room.
This is a temporary morgue.
Concubine Xian was lying straight, looking haggard and pale, and she was no longer alive.
"Mother..." Prince Putong of Qi knelt down and reached out to hold Concubine Xian's hand.
That cold hand made King Qi realize that his mother, who had always protected and loved him, was really gone.
Staring at Concubine Xian's face, King Qi murmured, "Mother, what happened? Why did you leave so suddenly——"
Naturally, no one answered him.
The eunuch reminded: "Your Majesty, please hurry up, Ji will be sent out of the palace later--"
The King of Qi suddenly looked at the eunuch and angrily asked, "Who can you call Ji Shi?"
The eunuch lowered his eyes and explained: "Your Highness may not know yet, because Ji Shi plotted to murder Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess, she was demoted to a commoner and was not allowed to be buried in the imperial mausoleum—"
He was allowed to explain these words to the King of Qi.
"What?" King Qi was shocked and looked at the lifeless Concubine Xian in astonishment.
That face was still a familiar face, which represented kindness and meticulous care to him since he was a child. But at this moment, King Qi felt that it was a little strange, and then a trace of resentment grew in his heart.
Is mother crazy? Why would she harm the thirteenth and fourteenth sisters for no reason?
They were just two princesses. What good would it do him to harm them?
Mother's behavior will only make father hate him even more and he won't have any chance at all.
Not being favored by the emperor was a heavy blow to a prince who aspired to be the crown prince but was not the legitimate heir. This was also the reason why many ministers who were ready to take sides chose to wait and see after the ministers close to the Prince of Qi were successively angered by Emperor Jingming.
If you are not the legitimate prince, there will be no ministers to argue with the emperor to support the orthodoxy. If you do not win the emperor's favor, the ministers will support you only if they have eaten too much.
It was for this reason that Concubine Xian took the risk and was willing to be used by the Queen Mother, hoping to survive from the brink of death. Because she knew that her son, who was abandoned by the Emperor, would not have another chance unless he relied on a huge external force.
But Prince Qi did not understand, and at this moment he only felt confusion and resentment towards Concubine Xian.
"Is this a mistake? My mother is kindhearted. She wouldn't even step on an ant to death. How could she harm someone?"
The eunuch laughed in his heart.
Kind-hearted? How many kind-hearted people can survive in this cannibalistic harem? Thanks to these slaves, they thought that Concubine Xian was a good person, but now it seems that there is no exception.
"Your Majesty, this was acknowledged by Ji himself."
The Prince of Qi looked at the eunuch in bewilderment, and after a while he covered his face and cried, "Mother, you are confused. It is my fault. If I had come to see you more often, you would not have had such misconceptions..."
The eunuch waited for a while and reminded, "Your Highness, it's time for you to leave."
The King of Qi kowtowed to Concubine Xian several times while crying, then he stood up and left.
After leaving Yuquan Palace, Prince Qi did not follow the eunuchs, but went to apologize to Emperor Jingming with red eyes.
"Your Highness, you'd better leave the palace as soon as possible. The Emperor is in a bad mood at this time——"
Prince Qi insisted, "Father has every reason to punish me. If it helps Father vent his anger, then I'll do whatever it takes."
Emperor Jingming was in no mood to deal with complicated government affairs today, and hid in the back hall of the Yangxin Palace in a daze.
Jixiang seemed to sense that his owner was in a bad mood, so he stayed far away and ate dried fish.
Emperor Jingming took a look at the white cat that was becoming increasingly plump, and his mood became even worse.
This cat is a waste. He is in such a bad mood that he doesn't even come over to smooth his fur.
Staring at the dried fish in Jixiang's mouth, an idea came to Emperor Jingming's mind: Perhaps in Jixiang's heart, he, the master, is not as important as the dried fish.
Pan Hai came over and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Qi is here."
Emperor Jingming raised his eyes, his gaze cold: "Don't you want him to go back?"
"King Qi has come to apologize after seeing Ji Shi, and is kneeling outside now."
"Then let him kneel down."
The King of Qi knelt for more than an hour.
Pan Hai approached Emperor Jingming again and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother wants you to come over."
Emperor Jingming nodded slightly, walked out of the bedroom, and saw Prince Qi kneeling outside.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the King of Qi knelt under the sun, his face flushed and his thin shirt soaked with sweat.
Emperor Jingming glanced at Prince Qi and walked towards Cining Palace.
Prince Qi shook his body and lowered his eyes to hide the despair and resentment towards Concubine Xian.
When Emperor Jingming rushed to Cining Palace, he saw the empress dowager's haggard face.
"Mother, did you not sleep well last night?"
The Queen Mother smiled bitterly: "Such a big thing happened yesterday, how could I sleep well? Today I heard from the Queen that it was Ji who killed Fourteenth..."