1626 Regent, the Shame of Dongling
The emperor immediately had a stroke.
When Feng Qingchen heard the news, he almost jumped up from his chair: "How is that possible? It's not even a month yet."
No matter how fiercely the emperor plays, it will take at least a month to cure. The medicine prescribed by the Valley Master and Guo Baoji is fine. If there was a problem, the imperial physician would have found it long ago.
Xia Wan hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard that a palace maid gave the emperor a strong drug."
"Palace maid? Did this happen when the emperor was visiting a palace maid?" Feng Qingchen's mouth twitched slightly. The emperor really had no scruples about food. There were so many concubines in the harem waiting for his favor, yet he still attacked a palace maid.
Xia Wan nodded and said, "After the emperor visited the concubine, he went to the hot spring to soak. After two incense sticks, a maid went in to serve her. The emperor took the maid and wanted to favor her. Halfway through, something went wrong. After the imperial physician examined her, it was found that the emperor had used strong drugs, which led to the accident."
Xia Wan was under tremendous pressure to tell Feng Qingchen the whole process. You know, the Ninth Prince had reminded Xia Wan in advance not to tell the girl about those messy things and pollute her ears.
After Feng Qingchen was stunned, he asked, "How is the emperor now? Is there any possibility of recovery?"
It is true that man cannot propose, God cannot dispose. When this man is unlucky, all kinds of bad things will happen to him.
This is a typical case of bad luck for the emperor.
"The emperor is still in a coma. The Ninth Prince has summoned the ministers to the palace. We will have to wait until dawn to know what happens next." The palace is under martial law at this time, so it would be difficult to get any news out.
"Got it, back off."
After Xia Wan left, Feng Qingchen began to wonder who was behind this incident?
If there was no one supporting her, how could a little palace maid get such strong medicine, and how could she avoid other servants and be alone with the emperor?
This plan doesn't seem to be a spur-of-the-moment plan at first glance. The palace maid must have been planning it for a long time, which allowed her to wait for such an opportunity. I wonder how this matter will be resolved?
However, this is not Feng Qingchen's concern; it is something the Ninth Prince should consider.
The Ninth Prince was interrogating the case in the palace. The palace maid involved committed suicide, and the Ninth Prince could not get a confession, so he had to start from other places.
Where does the medicine come from?
What about the other palace servants?
Where did this palace maid come from?
The Ninth Prince was certain that he would find nothing, but in order to pretend, he still had to investigate these things one by one.
The medicine was brought in from outside the palace. As for how it was brought in, the imperial physician who performed the autopsy has already given the answer: the palace maid hid the medicine in her lower body and avoided the inspection of the guards.
As for the other palace maids, they were easy to check. The emperor asked everyone to leave at that time, and they didn't notice at all that a palace maid slipped in.
In other words, the palace maid who intended to seduce the emperor entered the bathing pool without the emperor's order.
Based on this alone, everyone can conclude that this palace maid had planned to seduce the emperor, but was she doing it to climb the ladder, or was there someone behind the scenes directing her?
This requires investigating the background of this palace maid and the people she usually interacts with.
This palace maid was an orphan. All her family members died in a flood. She had no worries and no one could hold her against her. This kind of people were always favored by the imperial palace.
This palace maid has been in the palace for thirteen years and has gained the emperor's trust. She has been serving the emperor closely and is very low-key in her daily behavior. Her relationships with the people around her cannot be described as good, nor bad. She is considered a very smart woman in the palace and knows how to protect herself.
This palace maid lived an extremely ordinary life. She did not show any determination to climb up the social ladder. She was not the kind of woman who wanted to climb to the top.
From the confessions of the palace maids and eunuchs, it can be basically concluded that this palace maid did not want to marry into a wealthy family. Then why did she use strong drugs to seduce the emperor?
After much investigation, it was learned that when this palace maid first entered the palace, she received the favor of the former queen and always regarded the former queen as her benefactor. She was particularly respectful to the former queen in her words. When the former queen was executed, this palace maid cried bitterly.
A month ago, this maid went out of the palace. According to people who saw her that day, she was in a daze and kept mumbling something.
Well, the matter has been basically clarified so far. The Ninth Prince asked everyone to stop and not investigate further. With this information, it is enough to give it to the Emperor.
After the emergency treatment of the imperial physician, the emperor was still bedridden, but he was awake. When he learned that during his coma, Noble Concubine Xie, the woman with the highest status in the harem, not only did not cover up the news, but summoned the Ninth Prince and the Three Dukes into the palace, the emperor was so angry that he wanted to eat Noble Concubine Xie.
At the beginning, considering the stability of the imperial court and in order to reduce the impact of the Xie family incident, they had to let the married daughter of the Xie family go and only exterminate the Xie family.
According to etiquette and law, a daughter who married out was no longer a daughter of the Xie family. In addition, Xie family’s relatives were spread throughout Dongling, so even the emperor could not kill all of them.
Killing the girl from the Xie family is easy, but what about the girl’s child?
Because of this reason, Imperial Noble Concubine Xie escaped the disaster temporarily. The Emperor wanted to find an opportunity to settle accounts with her later, but he didn't expect that she would be attacked before he could make a move.
Hearing the Ninth Prince's flat description of how he was murdered, the Emperor was so angry that he trembled. If he believed the former Queen's people, he would be a fool. The Emperor wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth, white foam kept flowing from the corners of his mouth, his tongue curled, and he couldn't say a complete sentence.
“Ahhh…” The emperor struggled continuously, but his body was out of control. Half of his body was unable to move, and only his left hand could move.
"Ahhh..." The emperor kept screaming, his eyes full of fear and anxiety.
The emperor's current condition is even worse than if he had been poisoned. When he was poisoned, at least he could move, talk, and make plans secretly, but now he is a useless person and can do nothing.
"Royal brother, you are not feeling well. The imperial physician has asked you to rest. During this period, all official duties will be handled by me and the three ministers." The Ninth Imperial Uncle stepped forward to pick up the quilt on the ground for the emperor and gently covered the emperor with it. When he looked into the emperor's eyes, the Ninth Imperial Uncle saw the anger and fear in the emperor's eyes. The Ninth Imperial Uncle smiled gently and whispered in the emperor's ear: "Royal brother, you have been on guard against me all your life, but it's a pity that I have never thought of taking your life. Isn't it very uncomfortable to be secretly harmed by the person next to you?"
"Ahhh..." The emperor grabbed the hem of his ninth uncle's clothes in panic, a pleading look in his eyes: he wanted to know who had harmed him.
The Ninth Prince understood, but he had no intention of saying anything. He took his clothes from the Emperor's hand, his stern face expressionless, and he said stiffly: "Brother, you should have a good rest. I still need to discuss the matter of superintendent with the three ministers and the prime minister. After all, you are not suitable to appear in front of others in this state."
"Ah...ah." The emperor kept waving his hands, and white foam came out of his mouth. His body was completely out of control. Looking at the Ninth Prince who was walking away, the emperor was so anxious that blood rushed to his head, and even the palace people couldn't control him.
"Stop... stop." With a thud, the emperor fell headfirst from the bed. The Ninth Prince looked back, but did not stop, nor did he scold the palace servants for not doing their best. He just pretended nothing had happened and continued to walk forward...