Heavy object fell into the iron pot, splashing a large amount of oil,
At that moment, Xiao Jingheng and Consort Hui were closest to the iron pot, and both were splattered with oil.
Xiao Jingheng had some martial arts training and reacted fairly quickly. In the split second of the incident, he immediately used his sleeve to shield himself, only getting a few oil stains on the back of his hand.
But Consort Hui wasn't as lucky,
Being petite in stature, the oil splattered onto her face, leaving behind dense red spots.
She screamed, covering her face and backing away repeatedly,
And the "heavy object" that fell into the pot, perhaps unable to withstand the high temperature, woke up from unconsciousness at this moment,
After yelling twice in agony, he fell silent in the boiling hot oil.
Someone in the crowd shouted in horror,
"It's the Third Prince!"
In the pot, Chengjing... [For the sake of sensitivity, I won't go into detail]
Consort Hui's body trembled violently, she screamed frantically,
"Help! Someone, help!"
Xiao Jingheng was also shocked beyond words, his blood surged for a moment, choking him into silence.
The scene here was like a hellish nightmare,
The oil pot was scalding hot, who would dare to help?
Let alone rescue, most people didn't even have the courage to watch.
Zhao Hua stood far away from the iron pot, but she was also petrified with fear,
She quickly covered Ruo Xin's eyes, turning her own face away, unable to bear witnessing this cruel and horrifying scene.
In the end, it was Prince An and Prince Qi who first regained their composure, Prince An shouted for everyone to step back, while Prince Qi stepped forward quickly, using a thick stick to prop up the bottom of the iron pot and tip it over.
The iron pot toppled to the ground, and the hot oil flowed out like a torrent,
Chengjing lay face down, motionless, already still.
He was severely injured, with not a patch of unharmed skin left on his body.
The palace servants cushioned him with wet cloths, enduring the high temperature as they rescued Chengjing and placed him on a palanquin, carrying him to the side hall to fetch the imperial physician.
Consort Hui's heartbreaking cries sent shivers down everyone's spine,
The areas of her face scalded by the hot oil were already blistering rapidly, resembling a mass of smallpox,
But she didn't feel the pain at all, just clutching onto Xiao Jingheng's robes tightly, crying out,
"Your Majesty! Our son..."
Before she could finish her sentence, overcome with grief, she collapsed in Xiao Jingheng's arms from exhaustion.
The lively and cheerful Tong Hua Terrace from a moment ago was now in chaos, cries filling the air,
Ruo Xin was also terrified by the scene just now, hiding in Zhao Hua's embrace, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
But Xiao Jingheng had no time to spare for them at the moment,
He ordered people to also carry Consort Hui down for proper medical treatment, then hurried to the side hall to check on Chengjing's condition.
Seeing this, Zhao Hua quietly instructed Yun Shan, "You take Ruo Xin back first to comfort her, I'll go see what's going on."
And it wasn't just her, when the heir to the throne was harmed, even if the consorts were pretending, they still had to show superficial concern,
So by the time Zhao Hua rushed over, the side hall was already crowded with people,
She glanced over and saw Xiao Jingheng pacing anxiously in the hall, while the concubines kneeled and prayed, and others chanted scriptures with folded palms. It seemed that this child was receiving a lot of attention.
After about a quarter of an hour, Guo Yuan, the judge of the court, staggered out from the inner chamber. The court physicians followed and knelt before Xiao Jingheng, their faces filled with sorrow.
"Your Majesty... the Third Prince... has passed away!" they mournfully exclaimed.
As soon as the words fell, cries of grief erupted in the hall.
Xiao Jingheng also covered his tear-filled eyes with his palm, pressing it against his forehead.
"How could the people in Zhaochun Palace be so negligent? How did Chengjing end up in that iron ball?"
In his anger, he ordered the immediate execution of the palace attendants responsible for preparing this performance, as well as all the palace attendants serving in Zhaochun Palace.
The two little palace maids who had accompanied Consort Hui to the Tong Hua Terrace for the banquet today were pale with fear upon hearing this.
They immediately knelt before Xiao Jingheng and pleaded, "Your Majesty, we are innocent... Since the Third Prince unfortunately developed paralysis, Consort Hui was anxious to help him recover as soon as possible. So every day, she would make the Third Prince endure the pain and practice walking for two or three hours."
"The Third Prince was really scared, so he would often hide in the wardrobe or iron chest, and we would have to search for him. But today... when we woke up in the morning, we couldn't find the Third Prince again. Consort Hui was worried that it would delay the birthday congratulations to Your Majesty, so she ordered the palace attendants to search the palace. No one expected that the Third Prince would crawl into that iron ball for the auspicious offering..."
Upon hearing the words of the little palace maids, the concubines finally realized how harsh Consort Hui had been towards Chengjing.
Someone cried out, "Consort Hui really pushed the Third Prince too hard. Such a young child, how could she bear to do that?"
"It's chilling to think about it. If Consort Hui had been more patient with the child and not put too much pressure on him, the child wouldn't have constantly hidden in those dark and cramped places, and today's tragedy wouldn't have happened..."
Indeed, how could anyone intentionally have put Chengjing inside the iron ball?
Firstly, the iron ball had always been kept in Zhaochun Palace.
Secondly, apart from Chenghuan, no one had visited Zhaochun Palace recently, let alone had the opportunity to harm him.
In the end, it was Consort Hui who brought this upon herself.
Xiao Jingheng was heartbroken. He expressed his desire to be alone for a while.
Since Consort Hui was still unconscious, the matter of Chengjing's funeral arrangements was entrusted to Ning Wanshuang.
When Zhao Hua returned to the palace that day, she found that Ruoxin had indeed been frightened. Even though it was a cool autumn evening, she was sweating profusely and had developed a high fever for no reason.
Zhao Hua was extremely worried and immediately called for Zhang, the imperial physician, to diagnose and treat Ruoxin.
Fortunately, after Zhang administered acupuncture and medicine to Ruoxin, the child's condition gradually stabilized.
"The Third Princess was frightened and shocked. I gave her acupuncture and an herbal tonic to calm her down. She will soon be well again. However, for the next few days, the Empress should take good care of her. After all, such a young child witnessing such an event may leave a lasting impact on her."
Zhao Hua nodded in agreement but also felt that today's incident was too suspicious. So she asked again:
"Zhang Imperial Physician, why did Chengjing appear to be unconscious when he fell from the iron ball? Is there a hidden truth behind this incident? Is it possible that someone drugged and put the child in the iron ball?"
Zhang Imperial Physician helplessly shook his head, "Your Majesty, you saw it today as well. The Third Prince rolled in the oil pot and was almost cooked through. There's not much we can discern from examining his pulse. Even if there is a hidden truth, it's impossible to investigate. However, considering the airtightness of the iron ball, it's also possible that the Third Prince fainted due to lack of oxygen from being trapped inside for too long."
As they were speaking, Xiao Fuzi entered and whispered to Zhao Hua:
"Your Majesty, Consort Shun has arrived."
Zhao Hua said, "Please let her in. I can see that it's about to rain outside. Take an umbrella and escort your brother back to the Imperial Hospital."
After everyone had dispersed, Zhao Hua and Rongyue remained alone in the side hall, guarding Ruo Xin's bed.
Rongyue looked at Ruo Xin with pity in her eyes and said with concern, "Poor Ruo Xin, witnessing such a thing. But if we are to speak of it, it's Consort Hui's retribution."
She looked up at Zhao Hua, her voice becoming deeper, "She suggested burying Chengyu alive to the Emperor. She should have realized that her own son would also have a day of misfortune!"
Upon hearing these words, Zhao Hua's heart trembled.
She recalled that in the past, she had angrily told Rongyue that if Consort Hui treated Chengyu in such a way, then her own son deserved to be thrown into the fiery pits and cooked in oil.
Thinking that Rongyue might have changed her mind, she held Rongyue's hand and asked in a low voice,
"Sister Rong, is this matter related to you?"
"Me?" Rongyue's eyebrows suddenly showed a look of surprise, not inferior to Zhao Hua's.
She was stunned for a while before responding somewhat bewilderedly, "Isn't it you?"
