Chapter 223 Regarding the matter of identity, no one in the court or among the people could say anything more.
In the Taiji Hall of the Great Wei Imperial Palace, the atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet became subtle from the moment Li Jin stepped across the threshold.
Look at Prince Jing, who stands in the center with a smile, and the Crown Prince, who holds a wine cup with a blank expression.
The senior officials present had a lot of interesting expressions in their eyes. After exchanging a few glances, they had already declared the situation of the crown prince's absolute power to be a thing of the past.
A few years ago, even Li Yi had to consider the overall situation and think things through again and again when dealing with his son, due to the pressure from the Crown Prince's maternal family.
The ministers, who had long harbored resentment towards the Crown Prince's tyranny and ruthlessness, saw a glimmer of hope at this moment.
Li Yi stared intently at the scene before him, pondered for a moment, and ultimately chose to remain silent.
The Crown Prince, who had waited in vain for Li Yi to come to his rescue, stood in the hall, looking at Li Jin's smiling face. After a long while, he turned around and said his second sentence to everyone: "This second cup is to all the ministers and the people of the world. I thank the court and the people for their concerted efforts and for the people for their dedication to farming, which has brought us this prosperous and peaceful world."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Li Jin and drank it all in one gulp.
Staring at the empty cup in the prince's hand, Xu Weiyou, sitting below, turned pale with fright, his lips trembling, too nervous to know what to do.
When Li Jin filled the Crown Prince's cup for the third time, Li Jing stared at his face and smiled, a rare occurrence for him.
"This third cup is offered to Prince Jing."
Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
"Thanks to Prince Jing's great help, I have the strength to keep moving forward."
Li Jin smiled slightly, filled his wine cup, and drank it down with Li Jing in front of everyone.
The hall was completely silent.
The slow, rhythmic clapping of Li Yi broke the eerie atmosphere.
The music started again, and the singing and dancing resumed.
Li Jin, back in her seat, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and spat out the cup she had just drunk.
Li Qian looked at him with admiration and gave him a thumbs up under the table: "Amazing!"
Seeing that he didn't seem to care, Li Qian moved closer to him: "Oh right, what if the Crown Prince doesn't drink?"
“Someone will come to his rescue,” Li Jin replied calmly.
"Huh?" Li Qian asked, puzzled. "Then why didn't he hold out a little longer? Was it really worth taking such a big risk to drink it?"
The music was gentle, the chimes rang out, and each sound was pleasing to the ear.
Li Jin glanced at the curious Li Qian out of the corner of her eye, chuckled softly, and did not answer her question.
He knew that the Crown Prince would absolutely not choose not to drink unless he reached his limit.
That was tantamount to announcing to the world that Prince Jing, Li Jin, had something unclear in his wine pot that only he knew about.
If the Crown Prince hadn't poisoned the wine pot, he would have taken a gamble, betting that Li Jin wouldn't dare kill him in front of everyone.
Therefore, if the prince had not poisoned the wine, he would drink it. If the prince had indeed put something in the wine, he would stall for time.
In the main hall, Li Yi, who had a clear view of everything, looked at Li Jin's profile with one eyebrow raised and the other lowered.
After a while, he informed Eunuch Chen, "Take him there."
Eunuch Chen was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly beamed and replied, "This servant obeys the decree."
Li Jin, who only appears at the Grand Court Assembly and the New Year's Palace Banquet every few years, was summoned to the palace by an empty imperial decree this time. It was definitely not just for a simple meal.
He followed behind Eunuch Chen, passing through the Imperial Garden and heading towards the Cold Palace.
"Her Majesty's health has been deteriorating lately," Eunuch Chen said, glancing cautiously around. "His Majesty has secretly had trusted imperial physicians examine her..."
He looked troubled as he said this, and after a long pause, he continued, "This disease is difficult to cure."
Li Jin's heart immediately jumped into his throat.
He didn't say a word and walked very fast.
"It's hard to say what the illness is right now. His Majesty thinks it looks like poison, but it's just a coincidence that we haven't been able to contact Lord Yan lately. The imperial physicians don't know much about poisons, so it's not appropriate for them to make a definitive diagnosis."
He started running as he spoke.
Only in this way can I keep up with Li Jin's pace.
"Who did it?" After a long silence, Li Jin asked in a deep voice, his voice laced with suppressed anger and his eyes filled with rage.
Eunuch Chen shook his head, panting, "His Majesty's stance cannot be investigated."
Li Jin stared at his face, clenched her fists, pressed her lips into a line, and took a deep breath.
He nodded angrily, his neck turning red from holding it in.
Seeing Eunuch Chen standing before him with his hands clasped and bowing, looking as if begging for his understanding, he swallowed back all the words he wanted to say.
He flicked his sleeve, turned around, and walked away even faster.
After several months apart, Consort Xiao's complexion had worsened, and she had become even thinner.
She sat on the bed, glancing at a half-finished embroidery face in her hand, her face etched with exhaustion.
Li Jin walked straight over, disregarding etiquette, and sat down by the bedside, looking at her with concern: "How is Mother today? Did you take your medicine on time?"
Consort Xiao was stunned for a moment, looking at Li Jin in front of her, somewhat incredulous.
"Look at me, Jin'er has come, and I'm still looking like this, disheveled and dirty."
Li Jin placed her hand in his own: "Mother, you are always the most beautiful."
Upon hearing this, Consort Xiao regained some color in her face and smiled, "If you were to use your sharp tongue on Jin Shu, perhaps I wouldn't have to worry about your marriage every day."
At this point, noticing the hint of embarrassment flashing across Li Jin's face, Consort Xiao raised her hand and used her withered fingers to tuck the stray hairs at his temples behind his ears.
Granny Xi brought over a cup of warm tea and quietly stepped aside.
Inside the room, Consort Xiao smiled gently and patted Li Jin's hand as she slowly said, "Jin Shu, I've heard a lot about her from Li Qian. It's your good fortune to have such a talented and capable girl who can lend you a helping hand."
As she spoke, she took out a letter from under her pillow: "I know you're worried about her background. Before Xiao Chen leaves, have him take this letter back to your grandfather."
Consort Xiao smiled faintly: "If Jin Shu is the child of my deceased cousin, then no one in the court or the public can say anything about her identity."
Sunlight streamed in through the dilapidated window frame. Li Jin sat there blankly, staring at the handwritten letter that Consort Xiao had placed in his hand.
As he opened and closed his lips, gazing at her still elegant and expectant smile, a great pang of sorrow welled up in his heart.
Li Jin forced a smile, but was too heartbroken to speak.
"When will you bring her again so I can see her again?" Consort Xiao laughed. "She looks so dashing in men's clothing. She must be stunningly beautiful when she returns to her female form. Jin'er is so lucky."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin smiled casually, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons as usual: "Just like Mother Consort, stunningly beautiful." He said, "It won't be long, I'll bring her back soon so Mother Consort can have a good look at her."
He will bring Jin Shu over as soon as possible, not to chat, not to listen to trivial family matters.
Instead, it was Consort Xiao's withered lips, sallow complexion, visible papules on her neck, and small bumps at the base of her fingers.
Li Jin recalled that Jin Shu referred to this as a characteristic of chronic arsenic poisoning in her medical records.
This is the common cause of death for all the victims directly related to the Crown Prince.
Li Jin needs Jin Shu to give him a definite answer.
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