Chapter 416

Chapter 416 Prince Wei seemed possessed by madness, reaching forward with both hands raised. "Mingyi lay in my arms like that, writhing in pain, and still wouldn't let me summon the imperial physician... In the end, he bit down until he spat out a mouthful of blood." "He's nothing but an animal!" "Sixth brother... thanks to you, I was able to take revenge." Prince Wei looked toward the Emperor, trembling as he spoke: "To help you ascend the throne, your elder brother helped you plenty. Now, in the end, I ask only one thing of you." The Emperor: "What is it?" Prince Wei: "Bury me beside that animal. Even as a ghost, I won't let him go. I'll make sure he knows no peace for lifetimes upon lifetimes!" Having said this, Prince Wei suddenly stood up. Jing Wu thought he meant to make an offense and was about to draw his sword to protect the Emperor. Then he saw Prince Wei swiftly crash into a pillar. A tremendous bang sounded, and Prince Wei fell to the ground, his head covered in blood! The hand Jing Wu used to grip his sword trembled slightly. He immediately stepped forward and raised his hand to Prince Wei's breath. Looking at Prince Wei, whose skull was already deformed, there was really no need to check—even if he were still breathing, he couldn't survive. Jing Wu: "Your Majesty, Prince Wei has passed." The Emperor's face showed no expression: "As he requested, arrange for him to be buried beside the Retired Emperor." Jing Wu: "Yes!" The Emperor turned to leave, then suddenly stopped and said: "Announce to the outside that Prince Wei was tricked by Xia dynasty spies and mistakenly poured the medicinal wine meant for the Retired Emperor, and has now taken his own life out of remorse." Jing Wu was somewhat surprised. He had thought His Majesty was furious at Prince Wei's actions. Just as he stepped out of the Hall of Peace, the Emperor heard Eunuch Shian's joy-filled voice: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the birth of your Tenth Prince." The Emperor's expression relaxed slightly. "Has Noble Consort Zhao given birth?" Eunuch Shian smiled: "Yes, she has given birth to a prince, ranked tenth by order." The Emperor nodded. Though not as visibly delighted as on ordinary days, his pleasure and relief were still plain to see. After leaving the Hall of Peace, the Emperor went to the Retired Emperor's mourning hall and offered three sticks of incense. The Emperor performed the rites with full respect, then unhurriedly placed the incense into the burner. The Emperor lowered his eyes and spoke slowly: "Imperial Father, Elder Brother Prince Wei felt deep shame before you, and thus begged your son to bury him by your side. Your son has agreed." "You wouldn't be angry, would you?" "With Elder Brother Prince Wei's company, I imagine Your Majesty won't be lonely in the underworld." Having said this, the Emperor turned and left the mourning hall. Xie Run learned of Prince Wei's death that very evening. Upon hearing that Prince Wei had mistakenly served the poisoned wine that killed the Retired Emperor and had ultimately taken his own life out of guilt, everyone could only sigh in lamentation. "These days, there have been no shortage of matters in the palace." "In a single day's time, the Retired Emperor, Prince Wei, and Consort Hui are all gone..." Yueya made the remark and received a fierce glare from Xiaoshu. She quickly shut her mouth. Xie Run was amusing the child. Though she hadn't raised her head, it seemed she could see the two's exchange. "Xiaoshu, don't frighten her. She was only speaking casually." Xiaoshu felt distressed: "Niangniang..." Xie Run: "Has someone in the palace been saying something?" The maids all lowered their heads, not daring to speak. Xie Run remained composed: "Even if you don't tell me, Ben Gong can guess." "Three people died on the day the Tenth Prince was born—it's inevitable that some inauspicious talk would arise. The harem stirs up waves even when there's no wind; how could those fond of gossip keep their mouths shut now?" "Ben Gong can even imagine what they'd say about this child." Dantao and Xiaoshu's expressions turned grim: "Niangniang, our Tenth Prince is a prince, blessed by His Majesty's protection. He will surely be filled with fortune!" "Of course." Xie Run's tone was resolute, her gaze steady: "Ben Gong usually treats those below with gentleness, but I will not tolerate people bullying their way over my head." "In the future, when you walk outside and hear even a word of gossip about the Tenth Prince, just slap them. Ben Gong will back you up!" "Yes!" A capable general leads a capable army. As long as Xie Run held herself up, the entire Zhaohua Palace would not fear such rumors. But if Xie Run couldn't hold herself up, then in the future, a single mouthful of spit from each person would be enough to crush her and her child! The entire Zhaohua Palace had been worried that someone might gossip about the Tenth Prince's birth hour. Unexpectedly, that evening the Emperor personally issued an imperial edict, declaring that the Tenth Prince was born under the Retired Emperor's protection, blessed by the heavenly gods, and personally bestowed him the name Baozhen. According to the imperial naming conventions, the Tenth Prince should have used a name with the jade radical. The Emperor naming him Baozhen carried extraordinary significance. The Retired Emperor's full name was Xiao Zhen. The character Zhen used by the Emperor clearly came from the Retired Emperor, further confirming his words. From then on, no one dared to speak of the Tenth Prince's birth hour again. An invisible storm was quelled by a single imperial decree. In the first five days after Xie Run gave birth, rewards flowed into her palace like water, filling the main hall of Zhaohua Palace to the brim. All the other palaces came to offer congratulations in turn. Though Xie Run wasn't receiving guests, they still had to go through the motions. At the same time, the white banners and cloths that had just been taken down in the palace were hung up once more, and the maids and eunuchs changed into mourning garments. "His Majesty has promoted Zhaorong Huizhao to Consort Hui, with funeral rites conducted according to the Fei rank. But since it coincides with the Retired Emperor's grand mourning, and Prince Wei is also gone... Consort Hui's funeral can't be held too lavishly either." After all, one was the Emperor's own father, one was his own brother, and the other was merely one of the Emperor's many consorts. Xie Run was somewhat surprised. "Zhaorong Huizhao has been given a funeral?" Concubine Shen was taken aback, then nodded in slight confusion. "Why does Sister ask that?" Xie Run glanced at her. "Zhaorong Huizhao died a violent death in the Cold Palace—there must be a major reason behind it. If the Emperor is willing to grant her a funeral, he must have found something, which at the very least proves that Zhaorong Huizhao was innocent." If Zhaorong Huizhao had been involved in some sordid affair and was killed in the Cold Palace because of it, given the Emperor's temperament, how could he possibly grant her the title of Fei? He would likely have demoted her to commoner under some other pretext immediately. The Emperor cherished old ties and sentiment, but toward those who erred, he never showed leniency. Concubine Shen nodded along. "Zhaorong Huizhao not staying properly in her own palace but secretly going to the Cold Palace was already highly suspicious." "And the fact that she died in the Cold Palace made everyone suspect she was killed for colluding with outside forces. Some even said she had something to do with the Empress's death... but I don't think that's very likely." Just as Concubine Shen finished speaking, Xie Run's eyes lit up. She suddenly remembered something. After the Empress died, Zhaorong Huizhao refused to believe that no one from the harem was involved, and she even suspected Xie Run. It was precisely because of that suspicion toward Xie Run that she was punished by the Emperor with half a month of House Arrest. Afterward, someone tipped Xie Run off, saying that Zhaorong Huizhao had declared before the Empress's spirit tablet, in the presence of Consort Wen, that she would find out who had murdered Her Majesty the Empress. When Xie Run learned that Zhaorong Huizhao had died in the Cold Palace, her first reaction was to think that Zhaorong Huizhao's death might be connected to the Empress's death. Now, hearing Concubine Shen's words, she grew even more suspicious. The two had only chatted for a moment when Zihu entered the room carrying a bowl of medicine. "Your Ladyship, you have just given birth—you should rest and recover your health properly, not overthink things."