The Crown Grandson’s sudden remark drew everyone’s sidelong glances.
Ling Jingshu remained composed, neither overwhelmed with flattered surprise nor nervous and flustered. She curtsied and said, “This servant thanks Your Highness the Crown Grandson for such kind regard. But it is far too early to speak of such things now — what matters most at present is His Highness the Crown Prince’s health.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the Crown Prince, lying on the ground, suddenly let out a soft groan.
That faint sound, to everyone’s ears, was nothing less than the music of heaven.
The Crown Grandson’s eyes lit up, and with trembling hands he gripped the Crown Prince’s icy-cold hand, his voice brimming with overwhelming joy. “Father has woken up!”
The Emperor’s face also lit with delighted surprise, and he turned his gaze toward the Crown Prince at once.
Unfortunately, after that single low groan, the Crown Prince fell silent once more. The Emperor immediately turned to Wei Yan. “Imperial Physician Wei, didn’t the Crown Prince just wake up? Why is there no movement now?”
Wei Yan crouched down and examined him carefully for a moment, then said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the acupuncture this humble servant performed to drain the poisoned blood from His Highness appears to have taken effect. I shall now remove all the golden needles and have His Highness carried to a bed to rest properly.”
The Emperor nodded his approval without a second thought.
Wei Yan worked swiftly and skillfully, removing every golden needle from the Crown Prince.
Two guards stepped forward to lift the Crown Prince, but the Crown Grandson stopped them. “Step aside, all of you. I will carry Father in myself.”
With that, he carefully gathered the Crown Prince into his arms and walked steadily into the bedchamber.
The storm had already arrived! He would stand tall and face it head-on!
…
Everything that followed was a nightmare for everyone who had witnessed the events in the hall that day.
The Emperor’s fury erupted like thunder, and he showed no mercy whatsoever.
Everyone who had been in the main hall was detained and interrogated individually, only released once cleared of any involvement. The eunuchs and maids who had served in the hall were subjected to repeated torture, suffering greatly in the process — nearly half of them died under interrogation.
The women who had taken part in the sword dance endured even harsher torture; two of them, unable to bear it any longer, finally broke down sobbing and confessed who was truly behind it all.
The female assassin had, in fact, been acting on the orders of Li Shufei within the palace!
The eunuch who had already died from poison was also thoroughly investigated, and his background was uncovered. Before serving at the Emperor’s side, this eunuch had once worked under Prince An.
Upon learning this, the Emperor was so enraged he nearly fainted on the spot.
This Li Shufei had served at his side for many years, her seniority by age and tenure even surpassing that of the deposed Empress Xu. The son she had borne, Prince An, was of mediocre temperament and given to lechery, never gaining the Emperor’s favor. For this reason, he had long ago sent Prince An off to his fief.
Over the years, he had shown Li Shufei little favor, yet had never mistreated her either. He had granted her the rank of Shufei, along with fine clothing, fine food, and a life of luxury and glory. In turn, she had always behaved honestly and dutifully, keeping a remarkably low profile.
After Empress Xu was deposed, he had Li Shufei and Wei Xianfei jointly manage the palace affairs. Li Shufei had always conducted herself with humility and gentleness, beyond reproach. On this trip to the temporary palace, he had brought Wei Xianfei along and deliberately left Li Shufei behind in the palace.
Who could have imagined that the seemingly modest and dutiful Li Shufei had secretly been plotting such a grand scheme of assassination?
Had Li Shufei succeeded, both he and the Crown Prince would have lost their lives this very day. The imperial court would have plunged immediately into chaos, and Prince An would have had a perfectly legitimate reason to return to the capital for the funeral. The young Prince Yan and the Crown Grandson might well not have been a match for Prince An and his mother.
“Good! What a Li Shufei! What a Prince An!”
The Emperor ground out the words through clenched teeth, his gaze sharp and merciless, his face contorted with a terrifying killing intent:
“For the sake of the throne, you dared to assassinate me, and the Crown Prince besides! What fine judgment I have — to have kept, right at my side, a venomous woman with a heart like a scorpion’s, who has spawned such a treasonous wretch of a son!”
In the span of barely three days, the Emperor visibly withered before everyone’s eyes. He had grown noticeably thinner, his whole body radiating a violent aura that struck fear into all who saw him.
Wei Xianfei, watching this, felt waves of cold dread rising within her, and didn’t even dare summon the courage to offer comfort.
These past few days, no one had had an easy time of it. Even she, Her Ladyship Xianfei, was no exception.
After this incident, the Emperor refused to trust anyone. The way he looked at those around him always carried a measure of scrutiny and a measure of icy coldness, enough to make anyone shudder.
Upon learning that Li Shufei was the mastermind behind this assassination, the Emperor’s fury reached its peak.
After a moment of silence, Wei Xianfei finally spoke up, trembling. “Your Majesty, it would be unwise to remain at this temporary palace any longer. Perhaps it is time to return to the palace.”
News of the Emperor’s brush with assassination at the temporary palace had already reached the capital, stirring up an enormous uproar. In these past few days, countless officials had hurried to the temporary palace to pay their respects to the Emperor.
Given Li Shufei’s caution and sharp instincts, she had surely already taken precautions.
Forcing down the fury inside him, the Emperor said coldly, “That won’t be necessary. Prince Yan is gravely wounded and should not be moved right now. The Crown Prince’s condition is even worse — he keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, and the lingering poison in his body has not yet been cleared. He simply cannot endure the strain of travel.”
“I will remain here at the temporary palace. We will return to the capital only once the two of them have recovered.”
“As for Li Shufei, I have already ordered men to return to the palace and ‘bring’ her here. At the latest, she will arrive at the temporary palace tonight.”
What?
She had been at the Emperor’s side this whole time, yet had known absolutely nothing of this.
Startled, Wei Xianfei instinctively raised her head, only to meet the Emperor’s gaze, brimming with murderous intent.
A fresh chill ran through Wei Xianfei’s heart, yet she dared not let even a trace of it show on her face, and meekly replied, “Your Majesty is wise!”
The Emperor was entirely consumed by an uncontainable fury, desperate to do something to vent the rage within him. It seemed Li Shufei’s fate was all but sealed for the worse.
…
Wei Xianfei trudged back to her chambers with heavy steps.
Ling Jingshu and Xinyun came forward to greet her, one on each side. Seeing Wei Xianfei’s grim, troubled expression, Ling Jingshu’s heart skipped, and she asked in a low voice, “My lady, has the mastermind behind those two assassins been identified?”
Wei Xianfei let out a long breath. “It has.”
Ling Jingshu’s heart tightened. With Xinyun present, it wasn’t appropriate to press for details, so she simply held her tongue.
Her thoughts in turmoil, Wei Xianfei wanted to discuss the matter with Ling Jingshu. She waved a hand, signaling Xinyun to lead the other maids away. Once only the two of them remained in the room, Wei Xianfei quickly whispered, “I had originally assumed the mastermind behind this assassination was Prince Yan. Who would have thought that the result of the Emperor’s brutal interrogation pointed instead to Li Shufei and her son, Prince An!”
What?
Ling Jingshu nearly thought she had misheard. “How could it possibly be them?”
It was clearly Prince Yan who had secretly orchestrated all of this — how could it be Prince An and his mother?
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
Wei Xianfei gave a bitter laugh and sighed, “When I first heard this, I was even more shocked than you are now. But this is the result extracted under brutal interrogation. The Emperor believes it without a shred of doubt, and has already ordered men to secretly bring Li Shufei here.”