Emperor Jingming was somewhat surprised and looked towards the Empress.
The Empress explained, “While trying to save the Fourteenth Princess, I suddenly remembered that Jin’er had once saved the drowned Chun’er, so I ordered their couple to be summoned to the palace.”
Emperor Jingming suddenly understood, “Right, right, quickly call the Seventh Prince and his wife over!”
He remembered that when Chun’er had fallen into the water at Jingyuan, it was said he had already stopped breathing, but the Seventh Prince had saved him. Now with the Fourteenth Princess in this state, the Seventh Prince must have a solution.
Soon, Jiang Si and Yu Jin were led in by a eunuch.
Jiang Si immediately saw the Fourteenth Princess lying silently on the bed. Her heart sank, and she momentarily forgot to greet the Emperor and Empress.
Through her control over poisons, she could no longer sense any life force from the Fourteenth Princess.
Yu Jin pulled Jiang Si to greet the Emperor and Empress.
Emperor Jingming pointed at the Fourteenth Princess and said to Yu Jin, “Don’t bother with these formalities, quickly look at your Fourteenth Sister.”
Yu Jin walked to the bedside, only glancing at the Fourteenth Princess for a few moments before turning to Emperor Jingming with a surprised look.
Emperor Jingming glared, “Why are you looking at me?”
Yu Jin thought for a moment, then carefully asked, “Father Emperor wants me to look at Fourteenth Sister because—”
“Didn’t you save the drowned Chun’er before? The Fourteenth Princess drowned, see if you can save her.”
Yu Jin was silent for a moment, then said, “Father Emperor, the Fourteenth Sister has been gone for some time. I am powerless to help.”
He had been killing on battlefields since he was just over ten years old and had seen more dead people than some had seen living. One glance was enough to tell that the Fourteenth Princess already had the face of a dead person. There was no way to save her.
Emperor Jingming, however, found this hard to accept and asked reluctantly, “At that time, didn’t Chun’er also stop breathing, but you still saved him in the end?”
Yu Jin explained helplessly, “Chun’er had only temporarily stopped breathing and his heart had stopped beating. Because the rescue was timely and done correctly, he was fortunate to wake up. But the Fourteenth Sister is different—”
“How is it different?” Emperor Jingming pressed.
When he had heard about Chun’er being saved by his Seventh Son, he thought it was a divine skill. Could it not work on the Fourteenth Princess?
Yu Jin glanced at the Fourteenth Princess again and sighed softly, “The Fourteenth Sister has already passed away. The dead cannot be brought back to life. I am powerless to reverse this…”
If he could bring the dead back to life, he would be a god. Why would he be fighting for the throne then?
Emperor Jingming moved his lips and sighed dejectedly, “Enough.”
He looked at the Fourteenth Princess, grief welling up inside him.
The repeated blows had made this emperor look increasingly old.
“Empress, how did Fuqing and the Fourteenth fall into the water?”
The Empress’s expression darkened as she said through gritted teeth, “Your Majesty, they were pushed into the water!”
“What?” Emperor Jingming’s face was filled with shock and disbelief.
The Empress carefully recounted what Princess Fuqing had said and what she had learned from the palace servants. With a grim face, she said, “I’ve already ordered people to guard Bibo Lake. I request Your Majesty to seek justice for Fuqing and the Fourteenth.”
Emperor Jingming’s face was extremely dark as he angrily said, “How outrageous! The villain is truly audacious. When we catch him, I will have him torn to pieces!”
“Your Majesty, should we send someone to inquire with the Empress Dowager?” the Empress asked calmly, though her heart was filled with resentment.
She shouldn’t have concerned herself with the Emperor’s filial piety. Knowing that there were issues with Cining Palace and even the Empress Dowager, she hadn’t arranged for someone to secretly follow Fuqing and the others, which led to today’s tragedy.
Originally, the Empress’s caution had been correct. When the two princesses went to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, if people were secretly sent to follow them and it reached the ears of the Emperor or Empress Dowager, it would have looked bad.
There was no reason to send protection when granddaughters were paying respects to their grandmother. Where would that leave the Empress Dowager’s face?
But now, the Empress only felt regret and fear.
The person hiding in the shadows harming Fuqing was becoming increasingly bold, to the point of openly attacking the route most familiar to Fuqing and the others in broad daylight.
It was simply unbelievable.
She had to find this person, or she wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep in peace.
Emperor Jingming immediately ordered Pan Hai, “Send someone to Cining Palace to ask the Empress Dowager if she had ordered an eunuch to call Princess Fuqing back.”
Pan Hai accepted the order and went to arrange it.
Emperor Jingming walked out, “Let’s go to Bibo Lake and take a look.”
The Emperor and Empress walked in front, with Jiang Si and Yu Jin following behind.
At the doorway, Jiang Si couldn’t help but look back one last time.
The Fourteenth Princess lay silently on the bed, as quiet as she had been in life, never raising her voice whether laughing or crying.
As the daughter of a criminal consort, she had always lived cautiously, hoping for nothing more than a peaceful life.
But even this small wish had become a luxury for her, born into the royal family.
Jiang Si pressed her lips together and said softly in her heart: Fourteenth Sister, Ah Jin, and I will find the person who harmed you and make them pay.
Rest in peace. In your next life, be the daughter of a small landowner. You won’t lack food or clothing, and you won’t need to scheme and plot. Find a man who truly loves you, grow old together, and have many children and grandchildren.
Many palace servants were standing at the edge of Bibo Lake. Seeing the Emperor and Empress arrive, they hurriedly bowed.
Emperor Jingming walked over with a grim face and, looking at the chaotic footprints along the lakeshore, spoke, “Seventh Son, see if you can find any clues.”
Yu Jin acknowledged and began to inspect carefully. He quickly discovered scattered blood drops on the ground.
He immediately asked, “Mother Empress, does Thirteenth Sister have any external injuries?”
The Empress quickly shook her head, “No.”
She was most attentive to her daughter and was very clear on this point.
“What about Fourteenth Sister?”
“Also none.”
The Fourteenth Princess’s clothes had already been changed, and the Empress had also inquired about any external injuries.
“This means the villain was injured,” Yu Jin pondered for a moment, then analyzed, “According to Thirteenth Sister’s account, she must have instantly lost her ability to resist. The villain’s injury must have been caused by Fourteenth Sister. Given the Fourteenth Sister’s small stature and weak strength, the most likely place she could have injured the villain would be at the beginning when the villain was attacking the Thirteenth Sister. She probably would have—”
Yu Jin closed his eyes, picturing the scene, and speculated, “Aimed for the back of the head!”
“Ah Jin—” Jiang Si’s voice came as she handed him a stone.
Yu Jin took it and saw the blood traces on the stone.
Jiang Si pointed, “It was found over there.”
The stone had fallen from the Fourteenth Princess’s hand and rolled to a hidden spot. Its quick discovery was due to Jiang Si’s keen sense of smell.
“Fourteenth Sister injured the villain with this stone. The most likely location of the wound is on the head or face, followed by exposed areas like the hands.”
At this moment, the person Pan Hai had sent came running back: “Reporting to Your Majesty, Cining Palace says they did not send anyone to summon Princess Fuqing back…”
Emperor Jingming’s face turned ashen as he ordered sternly, “Search! Even if you have to turn every corner of the palace upside down, you must find everyone with injuries and bring them to me!”
Yu Jin shook his head, “Father Emperor, there’s no need for such trouble.”
Emperor Jingming looked at him, his eyes showing confusion.
“Just call for Erniu. Since the villain left fresh blood traces, as long as they’re still in the palace, Erniu can find them.”
Emperor Jingming immediately said, “Pan Hai, summon General Xiaotian to the palace!”