They suppressed the astonishment in their eyes and looked in the direction of Duke Dingguo.
If the Ninth Prince died of poisoning, then everyone who handled the drug, including Ge Hanzhang, would be suspected...
Although it is not known whether this matter was authorized by the emperor, Gu Shichong must be the mastermind. He wanted to attack the Ge family on the grounds that Duke Dingguo poisoned the prince.
Xue Zhiyi felt a chill down her spine. It seemed that in her previous life, Gu Shichong's betrayal and exploitation of her without hesitation could actually be considered merciful. After all, the Ninth Prince was his brother, yet he could poison him so easily.
But Ge Hanzhang seemed to have noticed something. After looking at the medicine for a moment, he picked up the bowl without hesitation and drank it all!
"Duke!" Mrs. Ge was shocked.
Ge Hanzhang's eyes were a little red. He chuckled, held Mrs. Ge's hand that was trying to stop him, and looked calm.
Not only was Madam Ge surprised, but Little Weizi was also stunned where she stood, and the Ninth Prince was also confused.
Looking at the inconspicuous scene in the bustling Linhua Palace, Xue Zhiyi's mind was working fast.
Chuizhu had already lingered in front of their seats for too long, and any further delay would be inappropriate. She said, "Tell Ge Yuanhui that Gu Shichong poisoned Duke Dingguo."
Chuizhu was startled and looked at Huo Wuyou.
Huo Wuyou also understood her meaning in an instant and said, "Do as I say."
Chuizhu nodded slightly and left Linhua Palace with other eunuchs.
Although Xue Zhiyi remained calm, she felt her hands were a little cold and sweat was oozing out of her palms. She reached out to Huo Wuyou and was caught by his broad palm.
The warm and rough touch made her feel a little relieved... She admitted that there was an element of gambling in her behavior, but some things were imminent, and she had to spare no effort to prevent Gu Shichong from ascending the throne.
Over there, Duke Dingguo waved the empty medicine bowl in front of the Ninth Prince and said, "Your Highness, look, this isn't bitter at all. It's just a bowl of medicine. Your Highness is already a grown-up boy. You should be braver."
The Ninth Prince stared blankly, and finally smiled after hearing what he said: "Uncle is right, Ying'er will definitely take medicine well in the future!"
Little Weizi was already in a state of panic. The medicine hadn't been swallowed by the Ninth Prince, but had ended up in the mouth of Duke Dingguo instead. What was going on? How was he supposed to report this?
Just when he was at a loss of what to do, he heard a high-pitched voice from a eunuch: "His Royal Highness Prince Gong has arrived!"
Now that Prince Sheng was gone, Prince Gong's family was the most powerful among the princes. Everyone in the court was speculating about when His Majesty would appoint a crown prince, so no one dared to be disrespectful and they all stood up to pay their respects.
Gu Shichong glanced at the guests, his eyes passing over the empty medicine bowl on Ge Hanzhang's table and the Ninth Prince who was smiling at him beside Ge Hanzhang. Gu Shichong's heart tightened, and then in an instant, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know for a moment whether he was more heartbroken or more secretly happy this time, but he didn't notice Xiao Weizi, whose face was full of worry at the moment.
After Gu Shichong took his seat, the formalities were waived and the guests began to talk in low voices with their acquaintances again. Many court officials also came to Gu Shichong's seat to pay him respectful flattery.
Among those seated, only Ge Hanzhang's gaze lingered on Gu Shichong from beginning to end, like a vulture eyeing rotten meat.
Xiao Weizi tried to find an opportunity to tell Gu Shichong about this, but soon the emperor, empress and queen mother arrived and the banquet began, so he had no chance to act rashly.
It turned out that the emperor was just as Huo Wuyou said. Under Sui Yunlang's care, he finally looked less like a dying man. However, his hair had suddenly turned a lot whiter and seemed to have fallen out a lot. He looked more than ten years older than before he fell ill. He seemed to be the same age as the empress dowager. Although he was in good health, he always gave people the impression that he was weak.
As the emperor raised his glass and made his speech, the guests shouted "Long live the emperor!" and the New Year's Eve dinner officially began.
Delicacies were brought in like water, and the singing and dancing never stopped. Some court officials even performed songs and dances to curry favor with the emperor.
Xue Zhiyi only noticed that Ge Hanzhang's complexion was becoming increasingly pale, but he was still forcing himself to drink and chat with other court officials, and his face gradually showed an unnatural blush from drinking.
Not long after the banquet began, the empress dowager felt tired. She was already in poor spirits and disliked such noise. Huo Zhiyu was at the age when she loved lively atmosphere, so the empress dowager kept her and took her group back to Jianzhang Palace.
After respectfully bidding farewell to the Queen Mother, the banquet continued with singing and dancing.
Xue Zhiyi didn't realize that in the middle of the hall, among the dozen or so veiled dancers, there was a pair of eyes watching her, like a venomous snake waiting to strike...
Fu Rongxin did not stop dancing, but her face under the veil was almost distorted by hatred. Her eyes followed Xue Zhiyi intently, as if she wanted to bite her to death like a wild beast.
All the misfortunes in her life were because of Xue Zhiyi. It was because of this bitch that her originally bright and brilliant life was ruined to this point!
After being kidnapped from the Fu family, the criminals, seeing that she was a living dead who had long lost her official status, openly sold her. After several twists and turns, she was sold to a brothel...
How ridiculous! She was born with the fate of a phoenix, so even if she had to commit herself to someone of high rank, she should have committed herself to a noble family! But she never thought that one day she would be reduced to the same low status as Xue Zhiyi in his previous life, reduced to a lowly body that only prostituted herself to ordinary people and peddlers!
And Xue Zhiyi, who was supposed to bear all of this, was sitting here perfectly still, looking so superior, every inch of her body noble... Why? Why did Xue Zhiyi deserve this?
A few days ago, she learned that an official was looking for dancers to perform for the emperor. She was chosen for her dancing skills that she had practiced hard for two lifetimes. Otherwise, she would not even be worthy of being a dancer in front of Xue Zhiyi... The boundless jealousy made her throat smell bloody, and even her chest felt a sharp pain.
In this lively and peaceful atmosphere, suddenly a cry came from somewhere.
"Who is crying?" asked the emperor.
Peng Hui waved her hand, signaling the singing and dancing to stop. All the dancers in the hall stopped. Fu Rong was preoccupied with something and almost lost her balance. In order to avoid being noticed, she quickly lowered her head and knelt on the ground with the other dancers.
Everyone looked in the direction of the crying sound and saw that it was the usually dignified Ge Hanzhang who was crying uncontrollably.
Madam Ge stood up and apologized: "My husband lost his temper after drinking and disturbed Your Majesty's leisure. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"
She lowered herself so low that the sound of her head hitting the ground was clearly audible, and her crouching back was filled with fear... Who didn't know that the Ge family had lost the emperor's favor? The Duke of Dingguo's mansion had long lost its former high spirits, and every word and action seemed to be afraid of angering the emperor.
Ge Hanzhang, reeking of alcohol, staggered to his feet and, ignoring Madam Ge's dissuasion, sank to his knees. "Your Majesty! I know I was wrong. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for my years of loyalty!"
He looked so fearful and terrified, like a general who had fought all his life but failed to have a good end. It made people feel a bit tragic.
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