Imperial Noble Consort passes away
After conferring with Ju Yue and emerging from the inner hall, Xiao Yan'an flew into a rage, "I've raised a bunch of you worthless people for nothing! All the imperial physicians, go to the Emperor's and Empress's Palaces and thoroughly investigate the poison that has infected the Imperial Concubine! Anyone who devotes their energy to treating my beloved concubine and finds the antidote will receive a golden medal of immunity from death! I order the Dali Temple to immediately track down the person who poisoned my beloved concubine, and anyone implicated will be executed on the spot!"
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, outside the palace, the entire streets of the imperial capital were filled with officers and soldiers from the Dali Temple. The sound of horse hooves could be heard one after another. Everyone was in a panic and worried, fearing that the sound of the horses' hooves chasing after their lives would stop at their main gates.
Inside the palace, everyone in the Imperial Hospital put down their work and carefully searched every corner of the Emperor and Empress's palace, fearing that they might have missed something.
Until, Imperial Physician Zhao found a cake of tea and insisted that it had been repeatedly soaked in Luohui. He also claimed that the poison was a chronic poison, with slow but deadly signs of poisoning. After taking it, the patient would become unconscious and weak, until he fell into a coma at the last moment, and there was no way to save him.
However, few people in the Imperial Hospital understood Luo Hui, and no one could create an antidote.
After hearing this, Xiao Yan'an immediately collapsed in rage, drove everyone out, knelt in front of her bed, kept calling her, and cried heart-wrenchingly.
Yuanli forced herself to wake up, held his hand back, and said, "It seems that in this life, I will also go before Your Majesty..."
"Don't be afraid, Jiahe. This is all temporary. I will definitely find you a new body as soon as possible. Wait for me. We will definitely be reunited again. I have once again failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a husband and failed to protect you. You can blame me when you come back, okay? You must wait for me."
Yuanli tried her best to act reluctant, shaking her head and refusing, "Your Majesty, this time you brought me back from the dead, which is against the will of Heaven. I only lived for less than a month. Even if I am lucky enough to be resurrected again, I don't know what my fate will be. Going against Heaven's will will bring me punishment. I have suffered so much, but Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, so you should obey Heaven's will and live a long and healthy life. If Your Majesty is well, I will be better off in the underworld."
"Be it a month or a day, it's better than being separated by life and death, isn't it? If there is any retribution or punishment from heaven, I will take it."
"But Your Majesty has never asked me if I want to live. Just like Your Majesty spent a lot of money and effort to build a prosperous temple for me, but turned a deaf ear to my last words. Xiao Yan'an, please don't resurrect me again. Don't let me become the source of a stain on your path to becoming a wise ruler. There are many women in the world who are better than me. You should move on."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan'an knelt beside her bed and sobbed, "No, it's not like that... Without you, I'm sitting here alone in this world, feeling very lonely..."
"Xiao Yan'an, let me go, and let yourself go. Let's both relax a little. Isn't that better?"
"But I don't want to." Xiao Yan'an showed his usual sick and crazy expression, wiped away his tears, forced himself to smile and comfort her: "Jiahe, I will let you return to my side again. When you come back, I will take you back with the same appearance as when I asked for your hand in marriage in Liangzhu Kyoto when I was young. I will marry you again and make you my empress. I will never change my name, and I will never let any other woman share me with you..."
Xiao Yan'an continued to talk non-stop, but her body was growing weaker and weaker, and she was gradually losing control of it. Looking at her condition, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. At this moment, trying to correct Xiao Yan'an's thoughts was impossible.
Yuanli had no choice but to obey him and said with all her might, "Your Majesty, I am about to leave..."
As expected, Xiao Yan'an quickly grasped her hand tighter and leaned in closer to hear her words more clearly. Even though he knew Ju Yue could revive her and that they would eventually rekindle their past relationship, Xiao Yan'an was still overwhelmed with grief, unable to accept the thought of watching her die before his eyes once again.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead and smoothing her frown, he mustered up the courage to say through a sob, "If it hurts too much, just leave. I will do whatever you ask of me, and I will never break my promise this time."
"Okay. First, I hope Your Majesty will be a wise ruler who cares about the people and the world. Second, when you bury me, you must not bury any living people with me. Let my three concubines return home safely."
"Okay, I promise you, I will do it."
After hearing Xiao Yan'an's agreement with her own ears, Yuanli let out the last breath she had just held on to and fell asleep peacefully.
Feeling that the hand he was holding had no strength left, Xiao Yan'an reached out tremblingly to check for her breath. After confirming that she had passed away, he finally collapsed to the ground, covering his face and crying bitterly. He sobbed so hard that his breathing became a little difficult and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
After spending a long time alone with her, Xiao Yan'an forced his tears back, gently wiping them away with his hands and fanning them dry. After tidying up his demeanor, Xiao Yan'an took off his dragon robes and court clothes, covered her body, and left the hall.
When the people outside the palace saw him like this, they immediately realized that the imperial concubine had passed away, and they immediately started crying.
Xiao Yan'an publicly ordered: "Give the Imperial Concubine a proper burial and abolish the custom of burying people alive with the dead. Ah Jin, Ah Xun, and Wang Yue, the three of you must set off for home immediately. No delay is allowed."
After saying this, Xiao Yan'an left the Emperor's Palace in a state of despair. He immediately summoned the newly appointed Dali Shaoqing, Chu Xiao, but Chu Xiao replied, "I am incompetent. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Xiao Yan'an said nothing, but extended his hand toward him, motioning him to kneel closer. When Chu Xiao was within a meter of Xiao Yan'an's legs, he pulled out a secret letter.
"Ever since the Shu family was destroyed, many people from their lineage have betrayed me, often colluding in secret, causing me quite a headache..."
Having followed Qi Heng in investigating cases for many years, Chu Xiao had a clear mind when faced with such obvious hints in His Majesty's words.
Seeing his reaction, Xiao Yan'an whispered again, "I want the real culprit of the Imperial Concubine's poisoning alive. Bring him secretly to the palace and hand him over to me. This letter is the diagnosis of the Imperial Hospital, which you will need in your investigation. I grant you the right to execute first and report later. You can report everything you need to the investigation. Please do not let me down and give an explanation to the world as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao took a gamble and said, "The true culprit in the Imperial Concubine's poisoning case is highly skilled, and the poison he used is rare. Former Dali Temple official Qi Heng has solved many extraordinary cases. I implore Your Majesty to grant Qi Heng, the former Dali Temple official, the opportunity to assist me in the investigation."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the imperial study became tense and quiet. Xiao Yan'an's expression was complicated and unpredictable, and Chu Xiao's heart instantly rose to his throat.
After a moment's silence, Xiao Yan'an spoke, "My dear minister, you have reminded me that the position of Dali Temple Minister has been vacant until now, and I have not found a suitable candidate, which has often troubled me. It seems that my dear minister Qi is the most suitable person to take this position. Then, my dear minister, please take the imperial edict immediately and go directly to the emperor's harem to start investigating the case with Qi Heng."
"I will obey the imperial decree!"
Chu Xiao suppressed his joy and replied calmly, watching His Majesty write the imperial edict with his own eyes. It was not until the moment the imperial edict landed in his hands that his heart finally settled.
Holding the imperial edict tightly, his excitement was no less than that of a young lady being selected as a concubine. But when he really saw Qi Heng, Chu Xiao stopped in his tracks, feeling incredibly distressed for this brother who had known him for a lifetime.
Qi Heng had lost a lot of weight, slumped on the ground, his clothes a little loose. Standing in front of him, Chu Xiao finally saw the dark circles under his eyes. Chu Xiao was puzzled. With the passing of the Imperial Noble Consort, he no longer had to be a concubine and could return to being the Supreme Court Minister. But he didn't seem happy at all. Instead, his face was covered in tears, and he looked lost, as if he had lost his soul.
Chu Xiao cleared his throat and began to read the imperial edict reinstating Qi Heng. However, even though Qi Heng saw him coming and understood the imperial edict, his emotions did not show any joy.
Seeing that he was unmoved, Chu Xiao could only take a few steps forward and tried not to move his lips but to remind him: "Master Qi, don't just stand there, accept the order!"
"Chu Xiao..."
"It seems that Lord Qi is still immersed in grief and can't get over it for the time being." Chu Xiao tried to smooth things over, and then reminded him as before: "Qi Heng! Take my orders! Are you going to die? Everyone in the palace is watching you! The Qi family and the Chu family..."
The mention of his clan brought Qi Heng back to his senses, and he stiffly saluted to receive the order. Chu Xiao helped him up, dealt with the situation, and then took the opportunity to investigate the case and brought him into the inner hall to talk.
"It was the emperor's concubine who died, not you! Qi Heng, you have to understand this. You've only been in the palace as a concubine for a few days! You're so desperate over the death of an imperial concubine. What do you think of Miss Chi Li? If you and I weren't brothers in life and death, I wouldn't bother to care about you when you look like you're dying!"
"Chu Xiao, A'li is really dead and will never come back to life." Qi Heng looked at him and said these words sobbingly, then he completely broke down and burst into tears in front of him.
Chu Xiao, who didn't know the truth, was completely confused and puzzled, secretly lamenting for Chi Li. It wasn't until Qi Heng suppressed his emotions and told him the whole truth that Chu Xiao finally understood.
"Is it really that similar? Is it worth His Majesty being willing to give himself up to criticism? But who exactly wants to harm Miss Chi Li? Outsiders may not know, but the defenses of the Empress' Palace are so strict that we are already astonished by what we know. Who on earth has the ability to go to such great lengths to harm Miss Chi Li?"
"I don't know. But there aren't many people who can get past this line of defense and choose to use a slow poison to harm her and still succeed."
Chu Xiao took out the secret letter from the emperor and repeated the emperor's words to Qi Heng. When he opened the letter, there were only some names written on it.
Chu Xiao whispered in his ear, "His Majesty mentioned that he's troubled by the people who have been fighting for the Shu family recently. When he said that, I guessed what he meant... But there aren't many people in the upper echelons who have such a close relationship with the Shu family and are willing to stand up for them."
"So His Majesty wants you to connect them together."
Before seeing these names, Chu Xiao knew what the emperor meant, but until he saw the people in the names clearly, he began to doubt whether he had guessed wrong.
After all, the most eye-catching name, but...
"I really have to rely on you for this case. I've looked it up, but I have no clue. This Luohui is unique to the country of Gujia."
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