Yuwen Wuji watched the ministers arguing below, and thinking of his previous idea, he also wanted to see how capable the crown prince was, so he did not speak up to stop them.
“Your Highness, I am merely reporting in accordance with the law. If Your Highness desires evidence, Your Majesty may grant it. Although much time has passed, it is not impossible for me to investigate.”
If the Emperor permits it, then it depends on the public disclosure of the Emperor's health condition.
The crown prince sneered. His father would never agree. An emperor's health condition was a secret. If it were made public easily, who knew what kind of sensation it would cause?
"Does Your Majesty intend to have the Imperial Medical Academy release Father's medical records? This matter is of utmost importance. If it causes turmoil in the court, what will you do?"
The two argued incessantly. Yuwen Wuji sighed, thinking that the Crown Prince was still lacking in experience. Such matters should be discussed by those below.
The morning meeting was turned into a huge argument because of this. Most of the people in the Censorate agreed with Prince Xuan and wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly, but most officials chose to remain silent. After all, this involved royal secrets, and they would be asking to die too slowly if they expressed their opinions.
Yuwen Wuji stormed out of the court, and the matter was dropped, but it soon spread throughout the city.
So it turns out that the reason the Emperor has had no children all these years is because the Consort poisoned him with a curse!
Yuwen Wuji sat on the dragon throne in the Qiankun Palace, looking at the kneeling Prince Xuan, and said angrily, "What's wrong with you today! Why didn't you tell me before making this public! You should know that this matter concerns the very foundation of the country!"
King Xuan prostrated himself on the ground, offering no defense, and said, "Your Majesty, I acted impulsively. Please punish me!"
"A moment of impulse! You're not that kind of person. Tell me, what were you doing this for!"
"This morning, I received Mo Yu's confession and it reminded me of my sister-in-law... I have always admired my sister-in-law and cannot bear to see her in the afterlife bearing the infamy of plotting to harm the imperial heir!"
King Xuan's words knocked Yuwen Wuji off the dragon throne, and old memories flooded back.
At that time, Xie Wanqing had been unable to conceive and was taking medicine every day. He disliked the strong smell of medicine in her palace, and he was also angry that she used contraceptives without consulting him, so he deliberately ignored her.
But as time went on, he realized something was wrong.
Xie Wanqing's inability to conceive was due to her own misuse of contraceptives, which damaged her health. But why, despite having slept with so many concubines, has there been no news of her?
So he called the doctor to treat him, and after several rounds of treatment, he learned that he was poisoned by a Gu poison that could make him infertile.
He then “coincidentally” saw a medicine box that could preserve Gu worms in Xie Wanqing’s palace. He was furious and accused her of being vicious and that she wanted him to be childless because he couldn’t have children!
He confined her to the Phoenix Palace to reflect on her mistakes.
Such matters could not be made public. If the news of her infertility were to spread, her half-brother, who held considerable military power, and her younger brother, who was highly regarded by the court officials, might become interested in her. Therefore, the court officials were puzzled as to why the emperor had confined the empress and submitted memorials to plead for Xie Wanqing.
The memorials, overflowing with praise, were presented to him like snowflakes. He realized once again that in the hearts of these officials, the Empress held more sway than he, the Emperor.
He thought, "The Empress dares to target me and try to control the imperial heirs; it's truly despicable."
With Gao Ping's slander and the combined attacks, he decided to kill her.
This was the trigger for his desire to kill Xie Wanqing. Now that the truth has come out and the old story has been brought up again by Prince Xuan, his heart, which had been corrupted by lust for power, is gradually filled with a sense of loss.
Ah... he killed the wrong person.
That damned Gao Ping! It's Gao Ping who's caused him to have no children all these years.
He and Xie Wanqing were a young couple, and her feelings for him were so genuine, yet he thought she was such a cruel person.
As Yuwen Wuji sat on the dragon throne, he thought of Xie Wanqing when she was alive, and how he had pulled her to sit on this very throne with him. She giggled and said, "The dragon throne belongs to His Majesty; I cannot sit on it."
She was such a sensible person, so he lifted her onto his lap and had her read the memorial to him.
The sweetness of that time is something he can never have again.
No matter how many women there are in the harem, none of them are Xie Wanqing!
"Please, Your Majesty, punish me!" King Xuan spoke again.
Yuwen Wuji snapped out of his daze, looking at the prostrate Prince Xuan in the hall, speechless for a moment. He waved his hand, "Step down."
King Xuan was taken aback, but still withdrew.
Meanwhile, outside the palace, the Crown Prince knelt, begging to see Yuwen Wuji. He couldn't allow his father to sentence his mother to death by a thousand cuts. Even if the crime wasn't proven, it would be an tacit admission of guilt. As the son of a disgraced concubine, how could he possibly secure his throne in the future?
Thinking of this, he wondered if he should remind his father, the emperor, about the real culprit who killed the empress.
But he dared not, fearing that Yuwen Wuji might kill him and Gao Ping in a fit of rage.
He needs to gradually replace Yuwen Wuji and seize all the power before he can break ties with his father, the emperor.
Inside the Qiankun Palace, Li Wei hid in a corner and saw the Emperor take out the portrait of Empress Jingxian again and examine it closely.
This time, however, his gaze towards the portrait held much more genuine emotion.
His fingers traced the canvas as he murmured, "I was wrong... I was wrong..."
His youthful love was like a dying ember reignited, a blaze that swelled and tightened his heart. But the person he loved was gone, and he was the one who set that fire!
"Wanqing...why did I only learn the truth now?"
Li Wei was picking at the sole of his shoe with his toes in the corner when his young apprentice whispered a few words in his ear and then brought the judge in.
"Your Majesty, this is the medical record of Empress Jingxian from back then."
Li Wei presented the booklet to the Emperor, and the physician said, "Her Majesty is very cooperative with the treatment. No matter how unpalatable the medicine is, she will drink it without hesitation. Her Majesty longs for a child with the Emperor. Whenever I take her pulse, she asks me if her health has improved."
These words pierced Yuwen Wuji's heart like countless fine needles. He looked at the medical records on the table, but didn't even have the courage to turn to the first page.
How could someone who so longs for children possibly poison him?
He didn't believe her!
No, no, it was Gao Ping! It was Gao Ping who whispered in his ear that Xie Wanqing was jealous of her having a prince, that she pinched the child behind his back, and that the way she stared at the child was frightening.
Over time, he came to believe that Xie Wanqing was jealous and had become obsessed.
It was Gao Ping's fault! She bewitched him into killing the woman he loved most!
"Guards!" Yuwen Wuji's eyes were bloodshot as the assassin Chu Wei appeared before the hall. "Go and cut out Gao Ping's tongue for me!"
He wouldn't let Gao Ping die so easily; she ruined her own happiness!
He should have had a child with Xie Wanqing, and they would have lived a harmonious life together!
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