Chapter 75 The murderer who killed the young prince
Luo Xifeng's black sleeves rolled up like dark clouds, and three silver needles had already pierced into Bai Yingchun's Tiantu and Tanzhong points.
The medicine powder from the wound covered the curled skin and flesh.
Li Rongjing grasped the Crown Princess's cold fingertips and watched the bloodstains on her heart slowly spreading as the medicine powder solidified.
Bai Yingchun suddenly choked on a mouthful of blood foam, which splashed onto Luo Xifeng's jade wristband. The blood droplets were still warm, "Rui'er, Rui'er, how is Rui'er?"
Li Rongjing wiped the blood from the corner of her lips and comforted her gently, "Rui'er is fine, you should take good care of yourself first, I will take good care of him."
When Luo Xi was threading the needle, he caught a glimpse of the blood splattering on the gilded pillar. The angle of the knife blade entering the flesh was half an inch off than he expected.
He was very careful and used the mulberry thread to penetrate the texture.
An hour had passed after Bai Yingchun's wound was sealed.
"Your Highness, I will go and make some medicine for the young prince first."
Soon, Luo Xifeng brought the antidote.
Luo Xifeng dripped the blood from the porcelain bowl into the medicinal soup. After the Crown Prince drank it, in just half a cup of tea, the purple color on his lips faded away.
Li Rongjing immediately showed a look of joy, "Youan, has Rui'er been detoxified?"
Luo Xifeng nodded, "The snake venom in your little prince is under control. I will boil a few more potions and your little prince will be fully recovered."
"Very good, thank you, Youan." Li Rongjing finally felt relieved.
Seeing that Bai Yingchun and the young prince were both feeling better, Chu Yangyang slowly spoke, "Your Highness, don't you think that all this coincidence is too weird?"
Hearing this, Li Rongjing paused.
"Princess, what do you mean by this?"
Chu Yangyang analyzed, "The poison your young prince was poisoned by was from a rare venomous snake found in Western Xinjiang. The poisoning occurs through food, and requires chrysanthemums as a lure. It just so happens that there are tribute chrysanthemums given by the Empress in Her Majesty's courtyard at this time. This is just a coincidence."
"Secondly, the antidote for the young prince's poisoning requires the heart blood of someone with a Pure Yin constitution. And it just so happens that the Empress has that constitution. It's as if this was known in advance. Who would have thought that the Empress would be the one with that rare Pure Yin constitution? This is the second coincidence."
"From what I see, this matter is directed at Your Majesty."
Li Rongjing frowned, "Are you saying that someone is using Rui'er to frame Chun'er?"
Chu Yangyang nodded, "I can't rule out this possibility."
At this moment, the beaded curtain was suddenly drawn aside, and Zhang Liangdi rushed in in a panic, with the golden hairpin in her bun askew. "Your Highness, my Rui'er, my Rui'er, what happened?"
Zhao Liangdi, who was following behind her, also stepped into the room and comforted her gently, "Don't worry, Sister Zhang. His Highness will definitely find a way to treat the little prince."
As soon as I entered the door, I saw everyone was there.
Zhang Liangdi finally managed to suppress her panic and quickly greeted them, "Greetings to Your Highness, Your Majesty, Lord Luo, and the Princess."
"When something happens, you get flustered and panic. It's unbecoming."
Li Rongjing said angrily without even raising his eyelids.
After being scolded like this, Zhang Liangdi shed two lines of tears silently, but she lowered her head, twisted the handkerchief with her hands, and dared not say a word.
Zhao Liangdi hid behind her and whispered, "Your Highness, Sister Zhang was just overly nervous when she heard that the young prince was unwell. Please forgive her."
"Shut up. It's not your turn to make comments when His Highness is speaking."
Qiutang stood beside Bai Yingchun and said angrily.
Zhao Liangdi's mother's family was Zhao Yanhu, the Minister of Rites. She was originally a daughter of an official, although she was only a concubine of the prince, equivalent to a slave.
But after all, her status was different, she was not a slave, and when Qiutang scolded her, she burst into anger.
She grabbed Zhang Liangdi's hand and knelt down, "I beg Your Highness to intervene. Sister Zhang is the young prince's biological mother. It's natural for her to worry about her son. Mother and child are connected by heart. Please understand."
Zhang Liangdi knelt on the ground and wiped her tears quietly, still not daring to speak.
Li Rongjing's eyes swept across the back of Zhao Liangdi's drooping neck. "Zhang, have you brought food to Rui'er recently?"
Zhang Liangdi was stunned, not knowing why Li Rongjing suddenly asked this.
"I, I have only given you milk soup..." Zhang Liangdi dug her nails into the back of Zhao Liangdi's hand, leaving a crescent mark on her plain sleeve.
"Have you ever been to the Crown Princess's courtyard?" Li Rongjing narrowed his eyes at her.
"No, no. Ever since the little prince was raised by the Empress, Your Highness has issued an order that I am not allowed to see the little prince without your order. Even though I think about him day and night, I have never broken the rules. Please understand, Your Highness."
Zhang Liangdi burst into tears, as if she had suffered great injustice.
Zhao Liangdi raised her head abruptly, the pearl tassels on her temples gleaming coldly. "Your Highness, you ask why? Didn't the young prince catch a cold and become bedridden?"
"Humph." Li Rongjing snorted coldly, "Rui'er was murdered."
Zhang Liangdi was shocked, her eyes filled with fear. "Your Highness, who wants to harm Rui'er? What happened to him? How is he now?"
When Zhang Liangdi heard that someone was trying to harm the young prince, she became anxious.
Li Rongjing was very annoyed. He slammed the teacup down, sending shards of porcelain flying across Zhao Liangdi's knees. "Search the entire Eastern Palace for me! I want to see who's behind this!"
About a quarter of an hour later, a guard came running over with a blue cloth package in his hand.
"Your Highness, I have found something."
Luo Xifeng took the blue cloth bag from the guard and opened it, revealing a booklet titled "A Study of Poisonous Substances in Western Xinjiang".
He opened the book and saw dried snake vines between the yellowed pages.
Luo Xifeng handed it to Li Rongjing, "Your Highness, please take a look."
Li Rongjing was immediately furious when he saw the contents. "Tell me, where did you find this filthy thing?"
The guard knelt and reported, "Your Highness, I found it in Zhao Liangdi's bedroom!"
Zhao Liangdi's eyes suddenly widened. She had been kneeling on the ground, but suddenly stood up. "This is not mine! Nonsense! This is a false accusation!"
Qiutang pushed Zhao Liangdi to her knees, "So it's you, this vicious woman, who harmed my queen!"
Zhao Liangdi broke free from Qiutang's hand and crawled on her knees to grab the hem of Li Rongjing's clothes. The jade bracelet on her wrist hit the blue bricks and broke in two. "Your Highness, please understand. This thing does not belong to me."
Li Rongjing was furious, but he pursed his lips and suppressed his anger.
Chu Yangyang pulled out the book and ran her fingertips over the cinnabar annotation on the "Snake Vine Poison Solution" section. The handwriting was thin and powerful.
Luo Xifeng saw what Chu Yangyang was thinking. He took the book from her and said to Li Rongjing, "Your Highness, this book has detailed annotations. You might as well have someone compare it with Zhao Liangdi's handwriting to determine its authenticity."
Upon hearing this, Li Rongjing immediately ordered someone to fetch the letter paper that Zhao Liangdi usually wrote.
Soon, two handwritings appeared in front of Luo Xifeng.
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