Chapter 196 No breath, no pulse
Upon learning that Xiao Xuanyou was going to perform a sacrificial ceremony, Jiang Zhi knew that someone was about to make their move.
Before leaving, Xiao Xuanyou specifically instructed Lan Ye to guard Qingfang Palace and also sent many guards to the backyard, telling Jiang Zhi to wait for his return with peace of mind.
He has already made up his mind.
After the sacrificial ceremony, he gave Jiang Zhi a new identity, officially recognized her by the Imperial Household Department, and made her the Crown Prince's concubine.
He had long ago sent his trusted physician, Li, to develop a contraceptive that would not harm the body. Once the finished product was completed in the next couple of days, he could make Jiang Zhi truly his.
Once his deal with Li Jinyan is finalized, he will make Jiang Zhi his only crown princess.
No sooner had Xiao Xuanyou left than Aunt Qingxuan arrived with two burly old women.
When the guards at the gate saw that it was Aunt Qingxuan, they knew that she was one of the Empress's people, so they did not dare to stop her.
"Lan Ye, I want to eat roasted chestnuts. Could you pick some from the tree outside the courtyard for me?" Jiang Zhi said to the void.
Lan Ye frowned and remained silent, but he couldn't stand Jiang Zhi's constant nagging. She even had a maid fetch a fox fur coat, intending to go over there herself.
Lan Ye had no choice but to agree.
He gave his two maids a look, signaling them to keep an eye on his mistress and not let her wander around, then flew off to the outside of the courtyard.
After sending Lan Ye away, Jiang Zhi waited in the room for only a short while before Aunt Qingxuan pushed open the door and came in, placing the brocade box in front of her.
"This is a gift from Her Majesty the Empress; please take it immediately, my lady."
She kept a straight face with no expression, but inside she felt only joy.
A woman should not serve two husbands.
This shameless woman should have died long ago.
*
Xiao Xuanyou never imagined that when he rushed back the next morning, he would find Jiang Zhi's cold corpse.
She lay there on the couch, her face lifelike, her hands folded over her lower abdomen, wearing the same clothes he had worn before he left, and even her expression was serene and calm.
It was as if she was just asleep.
Li Jinyan knelt beside him, her eyes red-rimmed, "I deserve to die. By the time I received the news and rushed to Qingfang Palace, she was already..."
"Imperial Physician Li, how is she?" He seemed stunned, not knowing how to react, and asked the imperial physician who was taking her pulse in a deep voice.
After a careful examination, Imperial Physician Li could only shake his head and sigh, "Your Highness, this lady has no breath and no pulse. She has been dead for more than five or six hours. I am truly powerless to help her."
Xiao Xuanyou almost lost his balance; his head was buzzing, and he couldn't hear anything.
He stared intently at the person in front of him.
A hint of relief lingered on her lips, overlapping with the image of her dying on a cold bed in a brothel in her dream.
No way, no way! He clearly changed her fate, so why did she still die in the end?
Xiao Xuanyou stepped forward and grasped Jiang Zhi's already cold hand, a suffocating panic rising in his chest.
His lips had lost all color, and his voice was even colder, "Where is Qingxuan?"
"Your Majesty, I have already sent people to detain them," Li Jinyan said.
“Kill her.” He said calmly, as if he were discussing the weather.
Li Jinyan hesitated, "In the end, Aunt Qingxuan was also acting on the Empress Dowager's orders. For the sake of the Empress Dowager, you can't..."
“I said, kill her,” Xiao Xuanyou’s voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.
Li Jinyan dared not persuade her any further.
Xiao Xuanyou's expression was off.
A dark storm, seemingly about to devour everything, was gathering in his eyes, threatening to engulf and destroy anyone who approached.
Aunt Qingxuan was gagged and pressed to the ground. Her once meticulously combed hair was now disheveled, making her look extremely embarrassed.
However, just as the knife was about to fall on her neck, a cold, sharp shout came from outside, "Is this the order from Your Highness? Do you intend to kill me as well?"
The Empress, dressed in palace attire, entered with a dignified and cold expression.
Xiao Xuanyou bowed listlessly and numbly, saying, "Your subject dares not."
The Empress raised an eyebrow and ordered the guards behind her, "Take her body away."
"No way!" Xiao Xuanyou suddenly became agitated, staggering a few steps to block Jiang Zhi's bedside, his eyes bloodshot. "Let's see who dares to do that?!"
The guards came forward to make a move, but Xiao Xuanyou kicked them away one by one.
He had just returned wearing the imperial robes for the sacrificial ceremony, but now he was disheveled and in disarray, hardly resembling the dignified image of a crown prince.
"Xiao Xuanyou! You are the Crown Prince, look at yourself now, what kind of state do you look like?"
The Empress finally couldn't stand it any longer and ordered everyone except Li Jinyan to leave.
"Mother, why are you treating me like this? Why?" Xiao Xuanyou seemed to have all his strength drained away, gripping Jiang Zhi's hand tightly. It was as if only by doing so could he give himself a sliver of strength.
"You are the crown prince, the future emperor. You should put the nation first. How can you indulge in personal feelings for your children?" The empress's majestic voice rang out.
Xiao Xuanyou pressed Jiang Zhi's hand against his face, gently stroking her lifeless face. "But all I want now is her."
"I have always listened to my mother since I was a child. In order to put my father and mother at ease, I studied hard and dared not slack off in the slightest. But my mother never seemed to be satisfied."
“When I was young, I played with eunuchs and palace maids in the marketplace. You said that as the crown prince, I was indulging in such lowly trades, which was beneath the dignity of the royal family. I love music, but you said that as the crown prince, I should be learning the ways of governing the world and should not be indulging in such things, neglecting my duties.”
"I will follow your advice and not touch anything, keeping myself bound by rules and regulations, striving to become the crown prince in the eyes of Father and you, and daring not to do or say anything out of line."
"But all I want now is Jiang Zhi! Why do you always take away everything I like? Why..."
Li Jinyan stood to the side with her hands at her sides, watching helplessly as a tear rolled down Xiao Xuanyou's usually dignified and jade-like face.
Her eyes widened.
The Empress stared at Xiao Xuanyou in shock.
This was the first time Xiao Xuanyou had cried since he was named Crown Prince.
She always taught him that as the crown prince, he should be dignified, calm, and never show his emotions.
But seeing his grief and despair, even her cold heart felt a little uneasy.
At this moment, Li Jinyan spoke up, "Mother, let me try to persuade the Crown Prince."
She slowly walked to Jiang Zhi's bedside, intending to pull Xiao Xuanyou's hand out of her grasp.
But Xiao Xuanyou seemed to have used all his strength, and he couldn't pry it open no matter what he did.
Li Jinyan lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, if you anger the Empress Dowager again, Princess Qinghe may not even be able to leave behind a whole corpse."
The light shooting from Xiao Xuanyou's eyes seemed to want to devour someone.
Despite feeling a chill run down her spine, Li Jinyan continued to persuade, "If this stalemate continues, Shen Shidu and the others will discover something amiss. They'll even try to take your body from you, and Princess Qinghe will have no choice but to be buried in the Shen family. After her death, she'll have nothing to do with you anymore."
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