Chapter 785 Clash - Fate Plays a Trick
"As for this token, you've used it more than I have, so you should know how to use it."
Consort Sun stroked the token that could grant freedom to anyone, took one last lingering look, and placed it in the hands of the two men.
"No, Your Majesty, we will not leave. We two swear to follow Your Majesty to the death."
The two shook their heads and pushed the things back, but how could Consort Sun agree to that?
"Now I am all alone and have no ties, but you still have parents and siblings. Alright, hurry up and take the token and leave, or it will be too late."
Consort Sun urged them on, and the two men couldn't help but shed tears as they looked at her.
Although they had served Consort Sun for many years, and this mistress was not easy to please, she treated them with genuine kindness.
The two turned and walked away, then exchanged a final glance before bowing to Consort Sun one last time, saying, "Your Majesty, take care!"
After saying their last words, the two pushed open the palace door and hurried towards the palace gate.
After watching the two leave, Consort Sun once again looked everyone over.
These people included her former enemies, her former allies, and, more importantly, her companions during those boring and slow years in the deep palace.
After all these years of enjoying the emperor's favor and defeating so many enemies, what have they all gained in the end?
Consort Sun walked step by step to the tea table, picked up the teapot that had caused everyone's deaths, and personally poured herself a cup.
"After years of fighting and struggling, I never imagined that in the end, I would have to walk this road to the underworld with you all."
Consort Sun raised her cup to the crowd and then drank the poisoned tea in one gulp.
The poison took effect quickly, and in her dying moments, Consort Sun saw a figure before her eyes. It was the man she had grown up with in her youth, her childhood sweetheart, and the one she truly loved.
But time plays tricks on people. She entered the palace and gained power and wealth that others could never obtain in their entire lives, but she also lost the man who loved her dearly.
The man's appearance remained the same, but Consort Sun was no longer the same as before. "Have you come to pick me up?"
Consort Sun asked, but the man did not speak. He simply smiled and slowly extended his hand toward her.
The news of the emperor's death spread throughout the capital that very night.
Because it was a time of national mourning, and the eldest and fourth princes had passed away on the same day, only the wise Prince Lu Hexuan could take charge of the overall situation.
However, to everyone's surprise, just as the Ministry of Rites received the news that Xiao Xin had prepared the coffin for the emperor, the head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department rushed over to request an audience.
Upon seeing the hall filled with people, the head eunuch immediately let out a wail and knelt down before Lu Hexuan, crying, "It's terrible, Your Highness! The Empress and all the other ladies have been poisoned to death in the Empress's palace!"
As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, Minister Liu of the Ministry of Rites plopped down on the ground.
Upon learning of the First Prince's death this morning, Minister Liu was quite pleased, as the Fourth Prince's throne would be more secure without the First Prince.
But starting in the afternoon, everything seemed to change. First, she learned of the emperor's death, and after entering the palace, she learned that the fourth prince had also died. Before she could recover from the despair of the fourth prince's death, even the concubines in the harem died.
As Minister Liu made his move, the entire hall gasped.
Yun Yichen was clearly not prepared for this. Looking at the kneeling eunuch, he hurriedly asked, "You just said that all the ladies have been poisoned?"
The eunuch nodded without thinking. Yun Yichen didn't have time to ask anything else. While ordering someone to call the imperial physician, he didn't care whether the officials from outside the palace could enter the inner palace. He hurriedly led the three officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Prefect of the Capital to the Empress's palace.
Upon hearing the devastating news, the others realized that the Zhou dynasty had fallen, and hurriedly followed after them.
When the group arrived at the Empress's palace, it was already dark. The entire palace was deserted and seemed very desolate. In particular, a cold wind suddenly blew by, and the group couldn't help but shiver.
"Is the person taking it?"
Yun Yichen frowned and looked at the eunuch. The eunuch was also very uneasy, but even so, he could only bite the bullet and point to a room not far away, and lead the way.
The moment the door was pushed open, Yun Yichen clearly heard a gasp.
Inside the room, the memorial tablet of the eldest prince, Lu Tianhua, was enshrined, while in front of it, the concubines and palace maids lay sprawled on the floor.
That's not the worst part. The worst part is that, because of the poisoning, their faces all turned bluish-purple, like demons.
"this……"
Even though the Minister of Justice had reached this position and held great power in the Ministry of Justice, this was the first time he had ever seen such a situation.
"It seems that the ladies have been dead for more than an hour, which should be close to the time when His Majesty and the Fourth Prince passed away."
Yun Yichen spoke slowly. As the highest-ranking minister, it was most appropriate for him to speak on this matter.
Upon hearing this, the Prefect of the Capital nodded repeatedly and echoed, "Based on my many years of experience in handling cases, the ladies have indeed been dead for more than an hour."
Even without their words, everyone felt a chill run down their spines; with their words added, the situation became even more bizarre.
Among so many ministers present, none dared to utter a sound.
Yun Yichen's gaze fell on the steward of the Imperial Household Department again. "After His Majesty's passing, I and Lord Gu immediately sent someone to inform Her Majesty the Empress. Why did you only discover now that such a serious matter had occurred in Her Majesty's palace?"
Although the palace was large, it only took half an hour to run from the front hall to the empress's bedroom. After another half an hour of discussion with the old eunuch by the emperor's side, the news of the empress's incident should have been reported to the court long ago.
The eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department panicked and immediately knelt down before Yun Yichen.
"Your Excellency is wise. The eunuch did indeed come to invite Her Majesty the Empress as soon as possible, but because he did not see her, he dared not enter the room on his own and went to find me. In the process of me going back and forth, the time was delayed."
Under immense pressure, large beads of sweat glistened on the eunuch's forehead, yet every word he uttered was true.
Yun Yichen stared at the eunuch with an inscrutable gaze; no one knew what he was thinking.
"Let the Ministry of Rites make preparations for placing the empresses in their coffins!"
Seeing Yun Yichen's state, Gu Jin was afraid he might do something rash, so he quickly smoothed things over for the eunuch.
The eunuch glanced at Gu Jin gratefully, then silently lowered his head again.
"Have someone prepare the bodies of the ladies first."
She was, after all, the emperor's woman; even in death, she still had to maintain the proper decorum.
After Gu Jin finished speaking, he pulled Yun Yichen and walked outside first, just in time to run into Lu Hexuan who had arrived shortly after.
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