YNRHPCYC Chapter 80

When the imperial physician arrived, Wen Linglong’s screams were already very weak, and blood foam kept coming out of her mouth, as if she were going to meet a violent death at any time.

Concubine Mei cried so hard that her whole body was almost convulsing. She held Wen Linglong tightly and refused to let go. There was no calmness on her beautiful face, and she looked like a ferocious ghost.

The emperor mercilessly ordered Concubine Mei to be dragged down, and even though Concubine Mei’s stern shouts echoed throughout the hall, his expression did not ease a bit.

Concubine Mei’s previous panicked behaviour, coupled with the jade engraved with the word “Zhong”, was enough to explain everything.

Even if it was in an ordinary family, this was an extremely embarrassing thing, let alone in the royal family. The emperor gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger to hold up his face, but when he met Zhong Guoyi’s eyes again, his eyes were no longer as kind as before.

The discussions in the palace hall faded, and everyone was watching Wen Linglong’s situation. Those who were a little smarter had already guessed something — — Someone was using this birthday banquet to cause trouble.

If the issue involved one of the concubines in the harem, it could be swept under the rug or blown out of proportion, depending on the emperor’s mood. But if it was related to the heir, the stakes were far higher.

Wen Linglong looked like this at the moment, it was obvious that she was poisoned.

On the surface, it was Wen Linglong’s poisoning, but on a deeper level, it was worth investigating where Wen Linglong’s poisoning came from.

Depending on whether it was from inside or outside the palace, the nature of the situation would be very different.

The most serious situation was if it was from inside the palace. All the food and drinks in this palace had been strictly inspected, and the things sent in were the same. If someone could poison Wen Linglong’s food, it was equivalent to poisoning the emperor’s food; it was just that the target of poisoning was different.

Sure enough, several imperial doctors worked together and quickly found out the reason why Wen Linglong suddenly vomited blood and had abdominal pain.

“Tell the emperor that there is something strange in the soup of the eleventh princess, and the princess was poisoned after drinking the soup.” The imperial doctor knelt on the ground tremblingly, “As for what it is, we need to check it more carefully to get the answer.” 

When the emperor heard this, his face, which could not be any darker, became completely hideous. He threw down the wine jar on the table in front of him and said angrily, “A bunch of trash! Execute all those dog slaves who delivered the soup!”

The Son of Heaven became angry, and the wine bottle fell to the ground with a loud noise, scattering into pieces, and the people in the hall did not dare to breathe.

When Wen Chan heard this, his first thought was that the emperor had been so angry about these two things that he had lost his mind and only wanted to execute the people who made mistakes.

But if that group of servants were really executed, his calculation would come to naught.

Wen Chan grew a little anxious, rubbing his hands nervously inside his sleeves as he struggled to find the right words. But when he looked up, his eyes met Liang Yanbei’s from across the room.

Liang Yanbei’s brow furrowed ever so slightly, and he gave the faintest shake of his head, as if he had seen through Wen Chan’s thoughts.

This was an extremely subtle hint, and if you didn’t look carefully, you couldn’t see it at all.

But Wen Chan understood what he meant instantly, and it was a sudden enlightenment.

The emperor was extremely shrewd, and he was not a fool who was easily swayed by emotions. The reason he spoke those words was because he had already seen through the situation. Someone had deliberately used this banquet as a stage to drag these hidden scandals into the light.

Although Concubine Mei was wrong, such an occasion and such a method did make the emperor lose face in front of the civil and military officials. The murderer of the poisoning had to be investigated, but the person who made him lose face had to be dealt with. What the emperor had just said was aimed at drawing out the mastermind behind it.

The emperor would cut off the clues as soon as he spoke. At this time, as long as someone stood up to stop him, then that person would definitely have nothing to do with this matter.

Because only the murderer behind the scenes would be most nervous about his plan at this time.

Wen Chan almost fell for it!

He was secretly shocked. He didn’t expect that his vigilance had dropped to this point since he hadn’t competed with others for so long. If it weren’t for Liang Yanbei’s quick reaction, he was afraid Wen Chan would have stood up and persuaded the emperor to leave the group of palace servants.

It was a close call!

Wen Chan suppressed his thoughts and slowly calmed himself down. After a while, he heard the emperor change his words, “Bring all the imperial chefs and the minions who delivered the food. I want to see who is so bold!”

Wen Chan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Everything had gone smoothly so far.

Wen Linglong was quickly carried out for medical treatment, and everyone stayed in the main hall, quietly watching the next developments. The emperor did not dismiss everyone, indicating that his suspicion had expanded.

Then all the imperial chefs and palace servants, as long as they had handled the food at the birthday banquet, were escorted into the hall. They knelt in a dense mass, and the more timid ones were already crying in fright.

Wen Chan’s gaze swept over the crowd and paused when he spotted the palace maid he had praised before for having eyes like crabapple flowers. She subtly tilted her head.

The emperor was still full of anger and looked very terrifying, “My treasury is just feeding you bunch of trash?! Why can’t you detect the poison in the soup!”

“Your Majesty is accusing wrongly!” The head imperial chef kowtowed and cried, “With all the food served to Your Majesty and the masters, princes, and ladies, the temperature and heat have been strictly controlled, and it has been tested three times with drug tests, instrument tests, and human tests. We do not dare to neglect it! Only after repeated confirmation did we dare to let the palace servants bring it in. This minion really doesn’t know why it was poisoned!”

A royal chef next to him immediately continued, “Your Majesty! After the food leaves the imperial kitchen, it is no longer under the control of these servants! If anyone dares to do it halfway……”

He didn’t say the next words, but the meaning was already obvious.

The emperor also seemed to know that the chance of poisoning in the imperial kitchen was very small unless the entire imperial kitchen could be bribed. After listening to the two explanations, he immediately turned around and asked the palace servants beside him, “Who brought the eleventh princess the soup?!”

Among the group of people sitting and kneeling, a palace maid came forward a few steps, kneeling, her head on the ground and trembling, “Your Majesty! It was not this slave servant who poisoned it! How could this slave servant have the courage to plot against the princess’s life! I request the emperor to see it clearly!”

The emperor was so disdainful to listen to her plea for mercy, and he directly smashed a wine pot with his hands, “If it wasn’t you, could it be that the eleventh princess poisoned herself! Tell me! Who instructed you to do it!”

“Your Majesty! This slave remembers that when we were on the road just then, His Ninth Royal Highness had approached the vessel containing the soup!” The palace girl yelled.

As Wen Chan was named, he immediately showed a look of shock and said in horror, “Father, this son just slipped on the snow when I was passing by, and this son happened to bump into her, and I couldn’t have poisoned the imperial sister!”

“This slave has no grudges against the princess, and I will not follow the path to my own doom!” The maid took advantage of the opportunity and hurriedly followed.

The emperor glanced at Wen Chan with a gloomy expression and then said, “Do you want to say that Old Nine poisoned the eleventh princess and then framed you, a low, cheap palace girl? Are you a fool, or do you think I am a fool?”

“This slave dares not!”

“Speaking of it.” Wen Chan suddenly said again at this moment, “This palace girl is from this son’s palace.”

No one expected him to say this. Although the emperor did not choose to believe the maid, he would still have doubts about it. However, at this time, he suddenly took the blame on himself. What else could he be if not stupid?

Only to hear Wen Chan say, “I suspect that the poisoning in Xiyang Palace a few days ago was also done by this palace maid.”

A small uproar sounded, containing surprise and understanding.

Originally, there was no connection between the two poisoning incidents, but since he mentioned it and pointed at the same person, then these two things could be connected.

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the palace girl, and said calmly, “Continue.”

“Although this son was lucky enough to escape the poisoning that time, thinking that someone was trying to kill this son, this son had trouble sleeping and eating. So I had no choice but to investigate who had the evil intention.

On the night of the first assassination attempt, the palace servants in Xiyang Palace were drugged in their dinner, which caused no one to answer when this son called for help in the middle of the night. So this son suspected that there was an assassin’s accomplice in Xiyang Palace who tampered with the food.

Later, someone in the palace was poisoned to death. Only then did this son confirm my previous guess, and I quietly ordered someone to investigate. In the end, I suspected this maid and later sent people to search the place where she lived and found an indenture for sale of herself before she entered the palace.”

Wen Chan cast a look at Ah Fu. Ah Fu was ready. He calmed down, took out a yellowed paper from his sleeve, and handed it to the eunuch under the seat with both hands.

Wen Chan said, “It is the contract that brought her into the Zhong family as a slave. Although she has been redeemed, it also shows that this maid was a slave of the Zhong family before entering the palace.”

After saying this, he slowly let out a sigh of relief. At this point, his part in the plan was over.

It didn’t matter whether this slave contract was true or not; as long as it was handed over, the desired effect could be achieved.

He quietly glanced at Zhong Wenting. He had not looked at him before, but now he found that Zhong Wenting seemed to be sweating all over. He tried his best to suppress his fear, but as a result, his whole face was distorted, looking weird and ridiculous.

He stared at Wen Chan, and it seemed that he finally understood it at this time.

The same was true for Zhong Guoyi. Even though he was much more cunning than Zhong Wenting, his expression at this time was the same.

The emperor unfolded the slave contract, glanced at it, and became unable to restrain his anger in an instant. He then turned his gaze on Zhong Guoyi, his voice mixed with thousands of tonnes of boulders, and it came pressing down heavily, “Zhong Guoyi!”

Zhong Guoyi hurriedly got up and stepped forward, kneeling on the ground, “The old servant has been accused wrongly!”

Zhong Wenting couldn’t sit still either and knelt behind him. With his hands on the ground, it was obvious that his arms were shaking with fear.

Wen Chan only felt very happy. If it weren’t for the occasion, he would have laughed out loud.

“Accused wrongly? If you are really accused wrongly, then go to Gecha Mansion and talk about it!” The emperor said, slapping his palm on the table, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. “Send my order! Zhong Guoyi tried to murder the heir to the throne, so he is to be dismissed from his post and investigated. And together with his children, wives, concubines, servants in the mansion, and this lowly palace maid, they are all to be thrown into the Gecha Mansion!”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Zhong Guoyi screamed in horror, still trying to defend himself, but he was held by the guards and pulled away without stopping at all.

Zhong Wenting, on the other hand, completely confessed and didn’t shout a word to beg for mercy, staring at Wen Chan resentfully until he was pulled out of the hall.

“You slaves!” The emperor pointed to the people who were sitting down and said, “You’d better pray that the eleventh princess is fine; otherwise, you will all be buried with the eleventh princess!”

“Your Majesty, spare our life! Your Majesty, spare our life!” Those people knocked their heads so hard that some even bled, and it dripped down their faces, which was very tragic.

But the emperor turned a blind eye to it and left angrily.

A birthday banquet ended with such a bang before it was even started.

After all the concubines of the harem left the hall, the discussion in the hall gradually became heated, but due to the Zhong family’s faction, no one dared to take joy in calamity and delight in disaster openly. Only Liang Yanbei stood by the side and said silently, “The Zhong family is going to fall.”

Xie Zhaoxue tilted his head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

Although murdering the heir to the throne was a serious crime, the person who poisoned the heir was not anyone from the Zhong family. With only a contract of sale, it was easy for them to emancipate themselves. Coupled with the pressure exerted by the ministers from the Zhong family in the previous dynasty, the Zhong family can still keep the position of prime minister by giving up something.

However, Liang Yanbei made this conclusion.

He did not explain but just looked at Xie Zhaoxue and smiled, “Just protect Zhong Wenjin.”

If Zhong Guoyi falls, the first person to be implicated would be his son Zhong Wenjin. Fortunately, he was now a missing person in the Zhong family, and his mother, Xie Yilu, had also left the Zhong family six months ago and returned to the Xie family. So Xie Yilu wouldn’t be implicated in this investigation.

Wen Chan thought about all this before attacking the Zhong family and catching them off guard.

Such a sudden attack was the easiest to succeed and the easiest to cause injury.

After such a big incident, no one dared to stay in the palace. After a while, most of the people in the hall left.

In the sparse crowd, Liang Yanbei turned his head and glanced at Wen Chan before leaving and saw that he was still standing in his place, expressionless.

But very quickly, he came back to his senses and cast his eyes over to meet Liang Yanbei’s.

His eyes were slightly bent, with a smile.

Liang Yanbei smacked his mouth and unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth. He suddenly felt that being busy these days was quite worthwhile. After all, it was able to make His Royal Highness happy, wasn’t it?

And that was enough.

Translator’s corner

New chapters will be up every Tuesday and Wednesday. I pinky promise! 💖✨

Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.

KO-FI

Don’t feel shy to let me know in the comment section or in the discord of Knoxt if you find any mistakes~