Chapter 289: The King's Heart is Hard to Predict
The heavy rain will stop. It rained all night last night.
The bluestone slabs at the entrance of Changqiu Palace were washed clean by the rain.
In the courtyard, all the servants in Changqiu Palace were kneeling outside the palace.
They knelt in a huge crowd, filling the entire yard.
I don’t know how long these slaves knelt, and some of them have fainted on the ground. The servants all lowered their heads and no one dared to look up.
As soon as Xiao Yu walked into Changqiu Palace, he smelled a strong smell of blood.
The pungent smell made him frown subconsciously.
Lin An leaned forward, leaned close to His Majesty, and whispered, "Since her return, Concubine Xiang has punished all the servants who were looking after the Third Prince."
The palace maids, eunuchs, and even the maid who had been with the Third Prince since he was a child were all beaten with a stick, and no one was spared.
There were a few weak people who couldn't make it and died before the beating was completed.
"Drag all of them to the Ministry of Punishment." His Majesty glanced behind him, his dark eyes filled with the ruthlessness of an emperor.
There is something fishy about the death of the third prince, and we cannot help but investigate this matter.
When His Majesty thought that someone in the harem was pointing a knife at his offspring, his eyes became colder than ever before.
He had few children, and the Third Prince was raised with great difficulty to adulthood, but was brutally killed by these people.
Now in the entire palace, there is only one heir, the Fifth Prince.
If anything happened to his child with Shen Fu. His Majesty opened his eyes, filled with the solemnity and solemnity that had come since the storm.
"Drag all these slaves to the Ministry of Punishment and torture them severely. I want to find out who murdered the Third Prince."
Outside the yard, the servants were dragged away by the guards, each of them begging and wailing for mercy.
Inside the hall, it was a mess, with countless broken porcelain pieces scattered all over the floor.
There was no place to stay in the entire Changqiu Palace.
Xiao Yu walked closer and scanned the room with his sharp eyes.
Concubine Xiang is not here.
Lin An also followed and searched throughout the main hall of Changqiu Palace. Finally, Lin An heard some noise in a side hall.
"Your Highness." Lin An pointed towards the side hall: "There."
That was the house where the third prince grew up.
Xiao Yu walked over and just as he reached the door, he heard soft singing coming from inside.
It was Concubine Xiang who was singing a nursery rhyme.
Xiao Yu tightened his hands on the door frame, waited for a moment, took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The door was pushed open, and the dim room instantly became bright.
A ray of light fell on the ground, and deep inside the palace, Concubine Xiang was seen sitting in a corner, holding the Third Emperor in her arms and coaxing him gently.
He patted the third prince's back gently and hummed a nursery rhyme to comfort the child.
"The wind doesn't blow, the trees don't shake, Rui'er wants to sleep."
"Youyou, ba, ba, go to sleep, Youyou baby." (1)
Xiao Yu stood at the door, looking at the person in the corner.
This was the first time that Concubine Xiang had been so embarrassed since entering the palace.
She had lost her former elegance and looked extremely disheveled. All the makeup on her face was gone, revealing her original beauty.
Her hair was in a messy bun, and her hairpins and hairpins were inserted diagonally on her head, swaying.
She was still wearing the same dress she had worn last night. Because she had been kneeling on the ground for so long, the hem of her skirt and the cuffs were all covered in mud.
Concubine Xiang was sitting on the ground in such an awkward manner, revealing a pretty and simple face.
He lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms, his eyes full of love and tenderness:
"Rui'er, go to sleep quickly. Sleep on mother's body quickly."
"You won't feel any pain if you fall asleep. You won't feel any discomfort. Go to sleep quickly. Go to sleep quickly."
Xiang Guipin's voice was full of tenderness, and her tone was even more gentle and loving when she was coaxing people.
Just like when she first entered the palace.
At that time, she would often coax the third prince in this way.
This is also the reason why Xiao Yu liked to come to Changqiu Palace before.
Concubine Xiang had always treated the Third Prince with tenderness and kindness, and she would often hold him in her arms and sing nursery rhymes to lull him to sleep.
Xiao Yu had met her twice and knew how difficult it was for her.
Therefore, even if Concubine Xiang continued to have a bad temper, Xiao Yu would turn a blind eye to it because of this.
This is also the reason why he likes to ask Xiang Guipin to sing.
He often came to Changqiu Palace and asked Concubine Xiang to sing nursery rhymes.
Concubine Xiang thought she was favored and that the Emperor liked her voice, but in fact it was not the case.
Xiao Yu just wanted to know because he had seen her singing nursery rhymes to the third prince.
The reason why I dote on you is just for this reason.
But later, Concubine Xiang's mind gradually stopped focusing on the third prince.
She began to turn her gaze to herself.
She no longer cared for the third prince as much as before, nor did she love him as much as before.
It got more and more excessive afterwards.
She no longer treated the Third Prince well, and even used the little Third Prince as a tool to win favor.
Xiao Yu was disappointed many times, so naturally he went there less often.
But now I hear Concubine Xiang singing nursery rhymes here again.
Xiao Yu closed his eyes for a long time, and then he opened them again: "Xiang Guipin."
His Majesty's tone sounded a little heavy, but Concubine Xiang in the corner pretended not to hear it.
She still held the Third Prince in her arms, her palms resting on his back, coaxing him with loving intent.
"Xiang Guipin, Rui'er has left."
No matter what His Majesty said, Concubine Xiang still held the Third Prince's body.
Ignore nothing and don't give any answer.
After Xiao Yu warned him several times, he completely lost his patience. With his brows knitted tightly, he ordered: "Go and bring the third prince here."
After hearing the order, Lin An immediately went to do it.
But just as he placed his palm on him, Xiang Guipin seemed to have her lifeline grasped by someone and held the Third Prince tightly, refusing to let go.
"Go away, go away." Concubine Xiang held the third prince tightly in her arms and did not allow anyone to get close to her.
The third prince has been dead for a whole day, and his body has long become stiff. If it is dragged on like this, the body will probably start to stink.
Lin An held the third prince in his arms, trying to take him back from Concubine Xiang's arms.
But Concubine Xiang was extremely resistant. She grabbed Lin An and scratched and beat him, leaving several bloody marks on his body.
He was trying his best not to let anyone get close to him.
Lin An was at a loss and could only look helplessly at the Emperor behind him.
Seeing this, Xiao Yu walked forward with a frown on his face, "Xiang Guipin, Rui'er is already dead. If you continue to be stubborn, I will call the guards behind me."
“No, no…” Concubine Xiang shook her head vigorously, hugged the Third Prince and knelt in front of His Majesty, kowtowing desperately.
"Your Majesty, please don't, please don't." Xiang Guipin pulled the dragon robe and said, "Look, Rui'er is not dead yet, not dead yet."
She held the Third Prince's body and wanted to place His Majesty's palm on it.
Xiao Yu looked at the person in her arms and felt a dull pain in her heart.
From the time he learned of the Third Prince's death until now, he has not been given any chance to breathe.
Even if you are an emperor, you will feel extremely sad when you see this scene.
"Lin An!"
Xiao Yu tightened his palms and shouted.
Lin An quickly snatched the third prince from Concubine Xiang.
He didn't dare to stay and walked out holding the third prince.
"Child, my child!" Concubine Xiang cried out in grief behind him.
She lay on the ground, screaming heartbreakingly, but could only watch as several people left with the third prince's body.
Concubine Xiang was so angry that she closed her eyes and fainted.
*********
The third prince's body was placed in the mourning hall.
Because he was young, the Emperor did not issue an explicit order for anyone to attend the vigil. However, the concubines knew that the Emperor was grieving over the death of the Third Prince, so they volunteered to go one by one.
Except for Chen Fu who was still in confinement, all the concubines in the palace had been there.
I heard that Concubine Rong endured the torture in front of the Third Prince's mourning hall for three days in a row, and finally passed out due to not eating or drinking.
When Xiao Guizi came over and said this, Shen Fu could only sneer.
"Noble Concubine Rong has done a good job in this drama."
She had raised the third prince for a few months, so she could be called the third prince's adoptive mother.
Now the third prince has died in Changqiu Palace, and he has no direct contact with her.
Crying in the mourning hall was like a loving mother.
"You don't know, madam." Xiao Guizi bent down beside Shen Fu and said, "Right now, the good reputation of Concubine Rong is being spread all over the palace."
"They said that Concubine Rong had a kind heart and that she was the one who took care of the Third Prince. They also said that the Third Prince was already dead because he was raised in Changchun Palace since he was a child."
"The entire harem is talking about this matter, and they are just short of directly describing Concubine Rong as a savior."
"How is Concubine Xiang?" Chen Fu was too lazy to listen to Concubine Rong's nonsense.
These cheap little tricks are not worthy of being mentioned in public. But those servants seemed to have seen a savior, but they didn't know that this man had a heart of a vicious snake.
Chen Fu was too lazy to listen to her made-up story. Concubine Rong was just afraid that her status would be damaged after she gave birth to the fifth prince, so she came up with these inferior means to gain fame.
"Where is Concubine Xiang? Is she awake?"
Concubine Xiang Guipin has never woken up since she fell into a coma that day.
This is also strange. The third prince clearly died in Changqiu Palace. If it were the emperor's temper in the past.
Even if Xiang Guipin did not do this, His Majesty would still be angry with her if Xiang Guipin's care of the Dragon Clan was damaged.
But this time, Concubine Xiang had been in a coma since that day. His Majesty, however, sent the imperial physician to look after Concubine Xiang.
Take care of Concubine Xiang until she wakes up.
This action left everyone in the harem unable to figure it out. They thought that Concubine Xiang Gui would be killed at least.
Unexpectedly, I won the sympathy of His Majesty?
All I can say is that the emperor's mind is hard to predict. What the emperor thinks of Concubine Xiang, probably only he himself knows.
"Not awake yet." Xiao Guizi shook her head.
“If he doesn’t wake up, it will be difficult to find out the cause of death of the third prince.” Shen Fu placed her hand on the center of his brow and squeezed it hard.
On the day the Third Prince died, Chen Fu was giving birth to a child and the imperial physicians were all in the Hehuan Palace. No one knew what the scene was like before the Third Prince's death.
Concubine Xiang is now unconscious, but no one knows what went wrong before she fainted. He actually beat to death all the servants who took care of the third prince.
There is no evidence now, and the cause of death of the third prince remains a mystery.
As long as this matter is not investigated, Shen Fu will never have peace of mind.
She pinched her brows and took a deep breath.
"Hasn't the nanny who takes care of the Third Prince been hired yet?" All the servants who took care of the Third Prince were dragged to the Ministry of Punishment.
All methods have been used, but no one has given in yet. If the Third Prince was really murdered by someone, the nanny who served him should be the closest person to him.
These maids will definitely know.
"Not yet." Xiao Guizi shook her head: "I will go to the Ministry of Punishment to inquire later."
At this time, Zi Su came over with the wet nurse holding the fifth prince and said, "My queen, the fifth prince has been crying since he woke up, and I can't comfort him no matter what I do."
Chen Fu was recuperating in the main hall, and she was worried about letting the fifth prince move to the inner room.
However, when His Majesty learned about this, he sent people to move the Fifth Prince out early in the morning.
The fifth prince was still young, and there were a lot of wet nurses and nannies taking care of him. There were people coming and going, and children liked to cry and make noises.
Being kept in the main hall, Shen Fu couldn't sleep well at all.
Xiao Yu felt sorry for Chen Fu and ordered people not to keep the fifth prince in the main palace.
Early in the morning, someone was sent to carry the fifth prince to the side hall.
Chen Fu didn't dare to disobey His Majesty, so she had to let Zi Su go and watch.
In the entire Hehuan Palace, Chen Fu believed no one except Zi Su and Xiao Guizi.
Zi Su came over with the wet nurse holding the fifth prince.
The little person cried so pitifully that the crying could be heard from far away.
Chen Fu felt distressed.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Chen Fu sat on the bed and couldn't get up.
He just stretched out his hand and quickly held the fifth prince in his arms. In the cradle, the fifth prince's black eyes looked at Chen Fu.
She pouted her lips and cried even more aggrievedly.
This time, he couldn't stop crying. Chen Fu held him in her arms and comforted him again and again, but the little guy was very irritable.
She kept crying in Shen Fu's arms.
The servants stood on both sides and no one dared to step forward. It was not until His Majesty came over that people in the house finally reacted.
"Why are you holding the baby yourself?"
Xiao Yu strode in, and when he saw Chen Fu holding the fifth prince, his face showed displeasure.
Chen Fu looked at His Majesty's tightly knitted brows, and her breathing became unstable.
"Your Highness..." Shen Fu spoke in a muffled voice, and the arm holding the Fifth Prince trembled.
Xiao Yu saw it, reached out his hand and took the fifth prince.
He held the swaddled baby in one hand and hugged Shen Fu's body with the other: "I have told you, your body is not well yet, don't overwork."
"Let the wet nurse take care of the Fifth Prince in the future. You just watch from the side."
His Majesty held the baby in his arms lightly with one hand.
The magical thing is that the little kid who had been crying just now stopped crying instantly in his arms.
Shen Fu rubbed her sore arm, glanced at the surprisingly well-behaved child, and couldn't help shaking her head.
Even a newborn baby knows this nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
"I understand." Chen Fu nodded obediently and agreed: "Your Majesty, why are you here today?"
Lin An came forward and brought a chair. Xiao Yu handed the fifth prince to the nurse behind him and said calmly:
"I brought someone for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure walked out from behind the screen.
The man walked lightly, had a thin and upright figure, and his face looked a little old, but his every move seemed extremely agile.
The man walked up to Chen Fu, half bent over, and said in a hoarse voice: "This old servant kowtows to the noble concubine."
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