The sky was turning pale as the Eighth Prince's family finally arrived at Shouning Palace.
The emperor glanced at everyone in the palace and fell into deep thought.
It's funny to say that there seemed to be some discord between the Eighth Prince and the late Emperor. The Eighth Prince repeatedly tried to please the late Emperor, but the late Emperor was so disgusted with the Eighth Prince that he didn't even bother to put in the appearance of being polite.
The previous emperor ascended the throne at a young age and ruled for decades without giving the Eighth Prince a title. The Eighth Prince's fiefdom was also the most remote and poorest.
But the Eighth Prince looked at it calmly, without any dissatisfaction.
It was also for this reason that after he ascended the throne after the death of the previous emperor, he did not take action against the Eighth Prince, and just kept him as an idle person.
But for some reason, the Eighth Prince, who had been peaceful for so many years, suddenly developed ambitions.
If he hadn't listened to Su Qiqi's reminder, he would probably have been deceived by the Eighth Prince.
It was just unexpected that the Queen Mother took action before he even started making arrangements.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please open your eyes and look at me! Don't leave me alone..."
The crying sound pulled the emperor back to his senses.
The Eighth Prince's wife knelt in front of the charred corpse and cried bitterly. If her two sons had not supported her, she would probably have fallen down and lay together with the Eighth Prince.
And everyone in the palace behind the Eighth Princess was crying.
"My father was so happy to attend the palace banquet, how could a healthy person turn into a pile of bones?"
The man on the left side of the Eighth Princess looked at the emperor with grief and anger, as if he was determined to get an explanation from the emperor.
He is the eighth prince's eldest son, Lu Zhiwen.
The emperor didn't blame Lu Zhiwen for his attitude. He just sighed softly and said with regret, "Eighth Uncle and Miss Lan Xin had an argument. Perhaps Miss Lan Xin has a bad temper and did something stupid when she was pushed too hard."
"Lan Xin? How could she be so cruel? And how could she die together with my father?!"
Obviously, Lu Zhiwen did not believe the emperor's words.
The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly. "I don't know. I was busy with other matters at the palace banquet yesterday. If you have any questions, please ask the maids and eunuchs on duty in Shouning Palace yourself."
Go ahead, he winked at Zhao Xu.
Zhao Xu nodded slightly and quietly walked out the door.
Immediately afterwards, several palace maids and eunuchs were brought in.
"Last night, Miss Lan Xin entered Shouning Palace with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother arranged a place for Miss Lan Xin to stay, and not long after, the Eighth Prince came to visit."
"The Queen Mother, Miss Lan Xin, and the Eighth Prince dined together. During the meal, the Eighth Prince and the Queen Mother talked about the past. The Queen Mother missed the late Emperor, so Aunt Wan Shuang helped the Queen Mother out."
"The Eighth Prince and Miss Lan Xin had a heated argument, and the servants were all driven out. Then, for some reason, Miss Lan Xin seemed to have broken something, and then the house caught fire."
"The door was tightly shut, and I couldn't get in to protect my master, so I immediately sent someone to put out the fire. Who knew..."
The palace maids talked to each other one by one, and in the end they all buried their heads and cried.
Lu Zhiwen angrily said, "How could it be possible! My father has been so kind to Lan Xin, and Lan Xin obeys my father's orders! There's no way the two of them would fight to the death! It must be that you servants failed to serve them well and caused such a disaster, and you're afraid of taking the blame, so you made up this story!"
"This servant is absolutely not lying!"
"Every word this servant said is true!"
"This is the truth. We servants did our best to put out the fire! Why does His Royal Highness insist on slandering us like this?"
The palace maids cried until their eyes were red and they looked pitiful, but they were still defending themselves.
Lu Zhiwen refused to listen and kowtowed directly to the emperor: "You lowly servants are capable of making up anything to shirk responsibility!"
"My Lord, you must provide evidence when you speak. Although I am of humble status, I work diligently and conscientiously, and never dare to be negligent! I refuse to accept your slander!"
"Last night, it was the Eighth Prince who locked the door and refused to let me in to serve him. Now the Crown Prince is blaming me again. I feel so wronged!"
"Your Majesty, I am not afraid of death, but I am unwilling to die in vain! I beg Your Majesty to make the decision for me."
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is heartbroken, but I am also innocent. I deny any false charges!"
The palace maids kept crying out for justice and cried even more miserably than the Eighth Princess.
The emperor frowned and said to Lu Zhiwen, "Although it's hard to believe, it's the truth. I don't know when the Eighth Prince had a niece, and I don't know what kind of grudges and entanglements there are between the Eighth Prince and Lan Xin. I have already sent people to investigate. Starting with Lan Xin's background, we should be able to find some clues."
"this……"
As soon as the emperor said this, the Eighth Princess became panicked.
After all, Lan Xin wasn't the Eighth Prince's niece. If they found out anything, I'm afraid the rest of the palace...
The Eighth Princess was at a loss. She turned around and looked at Lu Zhiwen as if asking for help.
Lu Zhiwen clenched his fists tightly, not daring to be presumptuous again.
He finally understood that the emperor was not the "incompetent man who relied on the empress dowager and the Shen family" as his father had described him to be.
The emperor was very wise and knew something a long time ago.
No matter who set the fire, the blame can only be placed on Lan Xin.
The fact that they were still alive was due to the emperor's great grace. If he didn't know what was good for him...
"My dear Jiang, you have just checked everything in the side hall of Shouning Palace and asked the coroner to perform an autopsy. Do you have any conclusion now?" the emperor asked in a deep voice.
The Junior Official of the Dali Temple walked to the center and knelt. "Your Majesty, the fire left nothing but ruins, and there are no clues among the charred corpses. We are incompetent, and we hope Your Majesty will forgive us."
Oh, of course there are no clues. Otherwise, wouldn't the Queen Mother's anger have been in vain?
Only when there is no evidence after death can we avoid future troubles.
After a moment's silence, the emperor spoke: "The dead are great, and they should be buried in peace. Bring the remains back and bury them properly. I will have the Dali Temple continue the investigation."
"Your Majesty, the prince's death was strange, he..."
"I obey your command."
Before the Eighth Princess could finish her words, Lu Zhiwen pulled her.
She was sensible. After Lu Zhiwen's reminder, although she was dissatisfied, she did not act presumptuously again.
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief: "Forget it, I'm tired too. You..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt dizzy and his vision went black.
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