vstars Chapter 589 Poison upon poison, the emperor is in grave danger
Chapter 589 Poison upon poison, the emperor is in grave danger
Shipbuilding at Tongzhou Wharf is in full swing, while the atmosphere in central Beijing is becoming increasingly oppressive.
The reason was simple: the case of the emperor's poisoning remained unresolved, and no valuable evidence had been found.
Almost every official in the Court of Judicial Review had dark circles under their eyes, including the Minister of Judicial Review himself.
To make matters worse, the emperor was poisoned again during the detoxification process, but this time the perpetrators were caught.
The Imperial Medical Academy mistakenly added a certain herb to the antidote, which altered the medicine's efficacy. Not only did it fail to eliminate the remaining poison, it also worsened the poisoning.
The emperor vomited blood again in his bedchamber. This time, the empress was somewhat shaken. Could her previous guess have been wrong?
There really is a mastermind targeting the Emperor, but they are doing it very discreetly.
No wonder the Empress suspected him; Jiang Xiaoqi was completely baffled.
"Did I make a wrong judgment?"
No! Something must have gone beyond our control. Perhaps even His Majesty himself didn't anticipate this day?
Sigh~ He used himself as bait, and the play was actually performed quite well, but unfortunately there was a clueless Cheng Yaojin.
The meticulous planning of a clever person is no match for the quick wit of a fool; that's roughly how it is.
The imperial physician who prescribed the wrong medicine was taken to the Dali Temple and severely tortured.
The imperial physician's face was ashen, and he trembled all over.
There were no obvious injuries on his body, but his mental state was indeed on the verge of collapse.
The methods employed by the Court of Judicial Review are no less effective than those of the Ministry of Justice.
"Sir, I'm a little confused."
"Your Highness, please don't be confused. Have you been to His Majesty's place? Although he won't let you in, you still need to show some respect."
"Of course I went there. I went there immediately. My mother and grandmother have been there watching over him. My father is still unconscious. He is truly unconscious."
It's no wonder the Second Prince emphasized that the Empress had said last time that the poisoning might be fake, and His Majesty definitely had the antidote, so the previous coma was likely fabricated.
The fact that the Empress stayed by his side every step of the way this time confirms that he is definitely unconscious.
"Sigh~ It's not important whether His Highness is confused or not. The problem now is when His Majesty will wake up this time."
"The head of the Imperial Medical Academy is personally overseeing things, and he's living in a side hall with just his belongings. This time, he won't delegate anything from preparing the medicine to decocting it. There should be no problem, right?"
"This is just closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. He should have done this a long time ago. With more people, things get chaotic and it's easier for them to take advantage of loopholes."
The second prince nodded in agreement, which is why he never liked having too many palace servants around him. The nanny was in charge of internal affairs, and Chen Lin was in charge of external affairs; that was enough.
"By the way, sir, Princess Xuan Nan is coming to the capital soon, did you know?"
"Princess Consort of Xuan Nan? Coming to the capital at this time, is she going to spend the New Year with Prince Xuan Nan?"
"That's probably it. Rumors say that Prince Xuan Nan and his wife have a very deep affection for each other. After being separated for so long, they're probably lovesick."
Jiang Xiaoqi didn't care whether he was lovesick or not; what he cared about was whether the Second Prince knew about the relationship between the Princess Consort of Xuan Nan and the Empress.
Why does it sound like we're talking about someone completely unrelated? That's strange.
Isn't the Princess Consort of Xuan Nan the Empress's maternal aunt? That makes her the Second Prince's maternal great-aunt—a true relative!
The Second Prince didn't know, and he doesn't seem to be pretending. Heh, interesting.
Relatives may meet but not recognize each other, even though they are thousands of miles apart, they are still related by blood.
Especially since the Second Prince had no maternal relatives, this great-aunt seemed to be his closest maternal relatives.
Eh? The Prince of Xuan Nan is not only the Second Prince's great-uncle, but also his maternal great-uncle. This is practically a double marriage.
If the Second Prince doesn't know, then what about the Prince of Xuan Nan and the Empress? Surely they must know?
This is very interesting. If they knew each other, why did they never have any interaction?
Is it simply to avoid suspicion? Surely not?
Jiang Xiaoqi had a big question mark in her mind. Perhaps the truth would come out after the Princess of Xuan Nan arrived in the capital.
No rush. This turbulent time will eventually pass. Winter will come, and spring is not far away.
As the first snowflake fell from the sky, Princess Xuan Nan's entourage also entered the capital.
Since the emperor is currently recuperating, the Princess Consort of Xuan Nan came discreetly, and there was no banquet.
"Ahem, Aunt has come to the capital. The Empress can make the arrangements. She will stay with the Imperial Uncle in the Taiji Palace, and there will be plenty of people to serve her."
"Your Majesty, please don't worry. I will take care of everything. Your Majesty should just focus on your health and recover as soon as possible."
The Empress was speaking from the heart, as she could sense that the Emperor's body had been completely depleted by the prolonged detoxification process.
It's not that the people at the Imperial Hospital are incompetent; it's just that the two toxins have mixed to form a new toxin, for which there is currently no cure.
They can only rely on herbal medicine to keep them alive; every extra day they live is a bonus.
The emperor went from initial mania and anger to regret, loss, and despair, and finally to acceptance in just a few months.
Ultimately, humans cannot overcome the heavens or fate.
The position of Crown Prince has been vacant for many years, and now he's in this state. What will become of the Great Zhou Dynasty? Can his body even hold out until the earth awakens next spring?
"Cough, cough, cough, cough."
A mouthful of blood was spat onto the bright yellow brocade handkerchief, its vivid red color jarring.
The two were already used to it and simply threw away the handkerchief. The palace servants, well-trained, handed them mouthwash and another clean handkerchief, as if they had experienced this countless times before.
The imperial physician who prescribed the wrong medicine has already been beheaded, and his entire family has been implicated. This is already a result of His Majesty's benevolence.
Sometimes, this is the helplessness of human beings: you may punish the culprit, but you can't get back your own losses and life.
The emperor only punished three generations of the family, which was truly a show of mercy.
There is undoubtedly an element of regret about their initial decision; the poisoning incident was indeed staged at first.
During his "recuperation" period, he did indeed shut down several private army camps that were illegally stockpiling troops, but he was no longer concerned about which son(s) were responsible.
If you truly have the ability, then seize this empire. As long as you treat the people well and don't become a foolish or tyrannical ruler, that's fine.
"Your Majesty, you don't need to stay by my side all day. Go back to your own palace and rest. Look at you, you've become quite haggard these past few months."
"Your Majesty, I am worried about you. Please do not send me away."
"Go back and rest for a while, and come back later, okay?"
"Hmm, would Your Majesty like to take a nap?"
"Okay, go take a nap."
Upon arriving in the capital, Princess Xuannan went straight to the palace to see the Empress, leaving Prince Xuannan, who had come to the city gate to greet her, behind.
When the Empress saw her cousin whom she hadn't seen for decades, she was momentarily dazed.
"Qin'er!"
"Aunt Yun?"