Zhaohua suddenly noticed something was wrong with the flowerpot next to his bed. He walked closer and found some residual powder inside! He immediately realized that something was wrong and quickly and carefully wrapped the powder in scraps of paper. Then, he hurried to see Doctor Li with the paper bag, hoping to get an answer.
Doctor Li took the paper package and carefully examined the powder inside, sniffing it gently. After studying it for a while, he said to the Crown Prince with a serious expression, "Your Highness, I can be absolutely certain that this is a powder made from Artemisia selengensis. This poison is extremely powerful and extremely toxic."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince's face darkened. He slammed the table in anger and stood up. "Outrageous! Zhaohua, immediately summon everyone who has entered the inner hall today. I will personally interrogate them to find out who was so bold as to murder my Crown Princess."
At that moment, the Emperor and Empress also arrived in a hurry. Upon learning of the Crown Princess' poisoning, they were distraught. The Emperor walked into the inner hall with a solemn expression and said sternly, "Crown Prince, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. No suspect can be let off the hook. To dare to murder the Crown Princess and her unborn child is a tantamount challenge to the dignity of our North Vietnam. Whoever is implicated must be apprehended and rigorously interrogated. No leniency will be shown!"
When the Crown Prince heard the Emperor say this, he understood. He must have known that this matter might involve someone in the royal family, but he didn't know if he would be partial. The Crown Prince frowned slightly, speculating secretly in his heart.
At this time, Zhao Hua stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the people entering the room today also include the wife and the second daughter of the Marquis of Jianing's mansion."
The prince said expressionlessly, "Send someone to invite them over for questioning."
"Yes, I'll do it right away." Zhao Hua turned around and walked over to instruct his servants.
"Wait, Zhaohua, after all, that's the Crown Princess's family, you should go there in person." The Crown Prince warned.
"Yes, I obey your command." Zhao Hua immediately turned around and walked out.
The queen sat down beside the bed and wiped her tears gently with her handkerchief: "Yu'er, you must wake up soon. You scared your mother. You were fine a few days ago. How come such a big thing happened today?" She gently stroked the Crown Princess's hand, her eyes full of worry and heartache.
"Crown Prince, I see that there are not enough people protecting Yu'er. I will send you ten more secret guards to command and arrange the protection of the Crown Princess." The emperor said with concern.
"Yes, thank you father." The prince said without much expression.
At the same time, Zhao Hua had arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Jianing's mansion. He bowed and said to the servant at the gate, "I am a subordinate of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has asked me to invite the Marquis of Jianing to the Eastern Palace for a meeting. Please pass on the message."
Xiao Si immediately trotted in to report to the Marquis of Jianing, who had just finished dinner and was attending to some matters in his study. He was deeply puzzled by the servant's report. He knew full well that he didn't normally interact with the Crown Prince. Despite his eldest daughter marrying him, the Crown Prince had always maintained a cold attitude towards him. Now that someone had suddenly sent someone to invite him to the Eastern Palace for a meeting, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Marquis Jianing put down his work and hurried to the gate of the mansion. When he saw that the visitor was the Crown Prince's guard, his doubts intensified. He forced a smile and invited Zhao Hua in. However, Zhao Hua remained serious and said, "Marquis, it's not necessary. I am here on the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to invite you and your family to the Eastern Palace."
Upon hearing this, Marquis Jianing's heart tightened, his expression changing slightly. He didn't know what the Crown Prince's intentions were, why he had invited his entire family to the Eastern Palace? Could something major have happened? But since it was the Crown Prince's order, he had no choice but to obey.
"Please don't delay, my lord. If I go too late, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself to my subordinates." Zhao Hua said expressionlessly, and bowed to Marquis Jianing.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Jianing's face flickered with displeasure, wondering what kind of trouble Su Hong and her daughter had stirred up again. He secretly suspected that Su Hong and her daughter had done something in the Eastern Palace today that had displeased the Crown Prince and Jiang Meiyu. Thinking of this, Marquis Jianing grew increasingly furious. He turned and summoned the butler, barking, "Butler Lin, quickly go get the Madam and the Second Young Miss and tell them we're going to the Eastern Palace!"
"Yes, Master." Steward Lin responded and left immediately. He guessed that something might have happened in the palace, so he didn't dare to delay and rushed all the way to the courtyard where Su Hong was.
"Madam, the master asked you and the second young lady to dress quickly and go to the palace." Steward Lin said to Su Hong with a heavy breath
At this moment, Su Hong was still dressing herself up carefully, looking forward to serving the Marquis of Jianing well tonight. When she heard that they were about to enter the palace, she hurriedly said, "Go and tell the master that I will bring the second young lady out right away."
"Yes, ma'am, please do it as soon as possible, otherwise the master will be angry." Butler Lin reminded again.
"Okay, I get it." Su Hong thought to herself, "Why are we allowed to enter the palace at this time? Is it because of the favor I asked the Crown Princess to give me today? It was done so quickly? The Crown Princess clearly didn't want to help at the time, but I didn't expect that she would help us in the end for the sake of our family, and it was done so quickly." Thinking of this, Su Hong became more and more excited, and she couldn't help but hummed as she put on her clothes. After she was dressed, she hurried to Jiang Shanshan's yard and shouted excitedly, "Shanshan, Shanshan, it's great! Today, the favor I asked your sister to help me with has been done! Although your sister didn't agree at the time, she was actually willing to help us in her heart. Look, it was done so quickly, and now we're allowed to enter the palace!"
When Jiang Shanshan heard that she had to enter the palace, she immediately became panicked. She didn't think Jiang Meiyu would be so kind as to help her. She couldn't help but think to herself: "Could it be that what happened today has been discovered? That shouldn't be the case. I have been very careful. I was thinking of going to find Brother Chao Yan tomorrow to tell him that I had succeeded..." Jiang Shanshan became more and more scared as she thought about it, and her hands and feet began to tremble involuntarily.
Seeing Jiang Shanshan's abnormality, her mother Su Hong hurried over to hold her hand, but was surprised to find that her hand was unusually cold. She anxiously asked, "Shanshan, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Jiang Shanshan suppressed her inner fear and anxiety, and replied weakly, "Mom, I have a severe headache. I really don't have the strength to go into the palace. Just let me rest at home!" At this moment, Jiang Shanshan only hoped to stay away from the palace and find an opportunity to see her brother Chao Yan.
However, just then, news arrived that her father, Lord Jiang's carriage, was ready to depart for the palace. Upon hearing this, Jiang Shanshan grew increasingly anxious, but dared not show it. Helplessly, Su Hong went alone to the Marquis's residence and explained the situation to Lord Jiang, who had been waiting for her.
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