When the Xuanwu Emperor returned to Hexi Palace, his mood began to sink. Even the thick-skinned Xi Que noticed his unhappiness and kept her distance.
If anyone in the palace was most likely to become the emperor's punching bag, it would undoubtedly be Xi Que. After all, she had once driven the emperor out of Hexi Palace and even slammed the door on him.
Jiang Xinyue personally brought him a bowl of ginger soup: "Your Majesty was also caught in the rain. Please drink this hot ginger soup quickly. I had Xi Que add some brown sugar to it, so it won't be spicy."
She remembered that the Xuanwu Emperor couldn't handle spicy food very well.
The emperor took the ginger soup and drank it in one gulp. After putting down the bowl, he tightly embraced Jiang Xinyue.
He didn't say anything, but Jiang Xinyue felt a warm, damp sensation on her shoulder.
The emperor... was he crying?
At times like these, no words were needed. Simply being there was the most sincere expression of love.
Jiang Xinyue's body stiffened at first, then she raised her hand in bewilderment and gently patted his back.
The Xuanwu Emperor's offspring were not abundant. The third prince was the oldest among the living princes, and the one on whom he had lavished the most attention.
Years ago, when the Empress's two princes passed away one after another, the fourth prince fell out of favor, and the fifth and sixth princes had not yet been born.
He had been emperor for some years now, and among the princes and princesses who had survived in the palace, there were only four in total.
Over the past many years, only the fifth prince and the sixth prince had been added.
Those concubines who became pregnant either died along with their children or simply couldn't give birth.
The Xuanwu Emperor had investigated, but no matter how much he looked into it, he could never find the real culprit.
He controlled the entire harem and understood the true personalities of all the concubines, but he could never uncover the identity of the harem's "abortion expert."
Although Consort De was two-faced, she had invested even more effort in the third prince than the emperor had. She shouldn't have taken such drastic action against the third prince.
Who on earth wanted to harm the third prince and then frame Jiang Xinyue?
In Yanqing Palace—
Consort De looked at Ning Feixiu, who lay on the ground. She had been slapped fifty times, was still spitting blood, and her body was convulsing.
For the first time, that dignified face showed a terrifyingly gloomy expression. She took several deep breaths to suppress the violent emotions that were about to burst forth: "Didn't I tell you to stick to your story about Senior Concubine Xian? Why did you change your statement at the last minute?"
Ning Feixiu had been beaten to the point of confusion, but she still struggled to get up. Swaying unsteadily, she knelt on the ground and looked at Consort De with eyes so swollen they could barely open: "My lady, I... I don't know why. Senior Concubine Xian's... her gaze was... too... too frightening. I forgot all the words I had memorized beforehand."
As she spoke, blood continued to flow from her mouth. Her tongue licked the back of her molars, and four large teeth fell out at once.
Saliva mixed with blood became a viscous, filthy liquid that dripped onto the carpet.
Consort De frowned and gave Luyin a look. Luyin immediately came forward and called two old women to drag the half-unconscious Ning Feixiu away.
The third prince needed to be looked after. The imperial physicians were taking his pulse while preparing herbal medicines on the spot.
Consort De walked over quietly: "How is it? Any progress?"
The physicians all stood up to bow to Consort De. Unnoticed on the ground, Luyin opened a bottle hidden in her palm and poured a transparent liquid into the herbal medicine, stirring it.
Then she squeezed the small bottle back into her palm.
After doing all this, she nodded to Consort De, who then called out: "There's no need for such formalities, physicians. Can the third prince's poison be neutralized?"
The physicians looked at the bottles and jars on the table and said uncertainly: "We have tried all the herbs suitable for the third prince's poison. This is the last dose."
In other words, if this last dose didn't work, then the third prince couldn't be saved.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Consort De picked up the wooden mortar on the table and handed it to Luyin: "Quickly boil it into a medicinal drink for the third prince."
She was so anxious because she was the third prince's mother. The physicians could understand this and didn't feel any resentment towards Consort De's sudden action.
The Consort De that the emperor knew was only part of who she really was.
Before Jiang Xinyue came into favor, indeed no one could have made her risk the third prince's life.
No!
To be precise, if Jiang Xinyue hadn't interfered, Consort De would have been the biggest winner in the harem.
So, she was desperate to get rid of Jiang Xinyue.
But she had underestimated Jiang Xinyue's importance in the emperor's heart, and overestimated her own and the third prince's importance to the emperor.
One wrong step leads to a hundred wrong steps...
It seemed that the golden book of the Empress title might not be secure anymore.
She had schemed against Senior Concubine Xian like this, and Senior Concubine Xian would surely retaliate.
The two of them could be considered to have completely fallen out now.
What a pity...
She had nearly sacrificed the third prince and still hadn't managed to harm Jiang Xinyue in the slightest.
The Xuanwu Emperor hadn't left Hexi Palace all day, only occasionally sending people to Yanqing Palace to check on the third prince's condition.
Call him weak or say he was avoiding the situation if you will, but he didn't want to watch his beloved son pass away before his eyes again.
For him, that would be no different than death by a thousand cuts.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... The third prince has woken up! The third prince has woken up!"
In the evening, while Jiang Xinyue was nestled in the Xuanwu Emperor's arms reading a book on scenic landscapes, the eunuch who had gone to check on the situation came running back with good news.
"Chief Physician Lin from the Imperial Hospital has concocted an antidote. The third prince has awakened."
Jiang Xinyue felt the emperor's tense body suddenly relax, and his chest let out a long sigh of relief as he truly showed a smile of unburdening.
He wanted to go see the third prince, but he was afraid of angering Jiang Xinyue, looking restless.
"Doesn't Your Majesty want to go see the third prince?" Jiang Xinyue gave him an out: "Even if you don't consider that Consort De has been frightened today, Your Majesty should think of the third prince's feelings. He has suffered innocently, and if Your Majesty could comfort him, he would feel warmth in his heart and surely recover faster."
The Xuanwu Emperor kissed her forehead gratefully: "Then I'll go see him."
Jiang Xinyue nodded. With Consort De's appearance - she wasn't very pretty to begin with, her age was catching up with her, and today she had upset the emperor - even if the emperor stayed the whole night in Yanqing Palace, there was nothing to worry about.
He was staying in Yanqing Palace to accompany the third prince.
"My lady, you're too generous. How could you send the emperor to Consort De's palace? She treated you so badly today," Xi Que complained on Jiang Xinyue's behalf.
"I'm just going along with the emperor's wishes. Even if I hadn't said those things, he would have gone in the end," Jiang Xinyue replied.
What was the point of stopping him?
A self-important man like the Xuanwu Emperor liked it when others went along with his wishes.
"Who could have poisoned the third prince?" Xi Que wondered.
"It can only be one of two people: the Empress or... Consort De herself."
As for who would ultimately be found guilty, that depended on who was one step ahead in the game.
