"By imperial decree, the Noble Consort Xian is stripped of all her titles and banished to the Cold Palace, never to leave it for the rest of her life! The Third Prince Yun Shao has defied the established order and disregarded etiquette; he is hereby imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court."
Consort Xian and Yun Shao were stunned at first, then knelt down and kowtowed to beg for mercy.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"
"Father, I am innocent!"
"The Duke of Jin has arrived!" came the announcement from a eunuch.
Duke of Jin, father of Consort Xian, had received a message from Consort Xian and rushed to the palace.
The Duke of Jin quickly walked up to Emperor Kangwen and knelt down. "Your Majesty, our Duke of Jin's family has been loyal and devoted to Your Majesty for generations. I do not know what wrong my daughter has committed to warrant being banished to the Cold Palace. Shao'er is single-mindedly searching for medicine for her father, and her filial piety is evident to all. Why should she be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court?"
Emperor Kangwen looked at the Duke of Jin with a sinister gaze. If it weren't for the fact that Consort Xian was backed by the Duke of Jin's mansion, he would have ordered her to be executed long ago, instead of just banishing her to the Cold Palace.
"What crime? To harm me under the guise of offering medicine, Duke of Jin, do you think I have sentenced you too harshly?"
Despite facing Emperor Kangwen's wrath, the Duke of Jin showed no fear, kneeling on the ground with his back ramrod straight.
"Your Majesty, even if the elixir of immortality is truly poisonous, Shao'er has still been deceived. Shao'er is not skilled in medicine; how could he possibly discern whether the elixir of immortality is poisonous?"
He had only heard that Master Tianyi could concoct divine elixirs, so he sought the medicine for his father and even tested it on himself before daring to present it to the Emperor. The imperial physicians had examined the elixir beforehand and found nothing wrong with it; everyone knew the effects after the Emperor took it.
If this elixir truly harms the Emperor's health, then Shao'er was completely unaware of it. Ignorance is no excuse; I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and not disappoint your child's filial piety.
After saying this, the Duke of Jin slammed his head heavily onto the floor.
Yun Shao cried out, "Father, I am innocent! I truly did not know that this elixir was poisonous. I even took it before, but I was unharmed, Your Majesty."
Emperor Kangwen had learned from Su Ruojin that if the elixir was taken in small amounts, the toxins could be eliminated from the body.
However, once this drug is taken, it can cause strong dependence in the body, and it requires a lot of willpower to quit.
Judging from Yun Shao's behavior, he seemed unaware of this situation.
That only proves that Yun Shao never took this pill!
Emperor Kangwen's gaze grew increasingly cold.
"Guards, take Tianyi away for questioning!"
Soon, guards came up and dragged Master Tianyi away.
Empress Sun smiled slightly. Although things had taken a wrong turn, they were eventually back on track as she had planned.
Sure enough, a short while later the guard returned to report that Tianyi had been captured.
It is said that the Third Prince threatened him with his life, forcing him to refine elixirs of immortality, and that the boys and girls who were to refine the elixirs were all captured by the Third Prince's men.
The Third Prince knew from the beginning that the elixir was poisonous; it was all arranged by the Third Prince.
After he finished speaking, the guard presented the draft document signed by Tianyi.
"What a filial son! Duke of Jin, this is the filial son you speak of!" Emperor Kangwen threw the straw in front of Duke of Jin.
The Duke of Jin, still expressionless, picked up the summons and glanced at it before calmly saying, "Your Majesty, this is clearly Tianyi deliberately framing the Third Prince."
After saying that, he looked at Yun Hao: "If this was really done by the Third Prince, would he be so foolish as to let someone find out so easily? May I ask, Second Prince, how did you know that the Immortal Pill was poisonous?"
Yun Hao knelt down. “I beg Your Majesty to punish me for deceiving you. Not long ago, I met a woman at Huan Yue Tower. She was Liu Yu, the daughter of the former Imperial Physician Liu. She told me that Physician Xie had been saying that the Immortal Pill was poisonous before he died.”
"I didn't believe it at first either, but Liu Yu remonstrated with her death, saying that her father would never deceive the emperor, and before he died, she entrusted me to restore her father's and the Liu family's reputation."
Yun Hao, as a prince, should not have gone to brothels, but as long as such things are not made public, who would care, especially a prince like him who is not valued?
After Imperial Physician Liu died, the men in his family were conscripted into the army, and the women were sold into brothels. It is reasonable that Yun Hao would encounter Imperial Physician Liu's daughter in a brothel.
"Your subject cannot bear to fail the entrustment of the Liu family's daughter, so I have made this suggestion to Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Jin sneered, "I didn't expect the Second Prince to be such a love-struck fool, believing the words of a courtesan?"
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