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In order to make the plan successful, Princess Xinyang sent Long Yi away beforehand. She had no choice but to extinguish the large fire herself and ended up getting injured. Afterward, she carried the unconscious Xiao Heng out of the Imperial Academy.
She initially thought that the matter had come to an end, but to her surprise, the next day, news spread that Xiao Heng had died in the fire at the Imperial Academy.
But Xiao Heng was obviously lying right in front of her...
She clearly remembered extinguishing the fire. Then, someone started another fire after that? Who?
She couldn't help but think of the moment when Xiao Heng had been drugged and fallen to the ground, watching the fire encroach in through the window. When she revealed his background to him, despair had already eaten his entire being, yet in that moment, his eyes were filled with struggle and pleading.
It was as if he was begging her for mercy.
It was only much later that she realized he might not have been pleading for himself but for that innocent youth.
He knew there was another youth hidden at the Imperial Academy.
Clearly, someone had come after she left.
She couldn't remember Xiao Heng having a friend of similar age to him. For a moment, she couldn't guess the identity of that youth.
Ning Wang’s people had only been there once. The oil and candles the first time had been prepared by Ning Wang. But the fire that ultimately killed that youth had been started by that group of people.
The actions of that group were very mysterious, and they knew how to avoid Long Yi.
She looked at Xiao Heng on the bed, and she suddenly came up with a plan.
……
"Y—Young Master?"
Suddenly, a startled voice of a servant came from outside the door.
Yu Jin turned her head toward the direction of the door and saw that Xiao Liulang had entered the courtyard at some point and was standing less than ten steps away from the window.
Yu Jin looked at Xiao Liulang in surprise and then at Princess Xinyang, who was passed out drunk on the table. She didn't know what to say.
She didn't know if Princess Xinyang's words from earlier had been heard by Xiao Liulang. Just as she was about to ask Xiao Liulang, a young eunuch suddenly rushed in from outside, exclaiming, "Not good, not good! Something has happened!"
Long Yi was in trouble.
He had accidentally caused the Crown Princess to miscarry. Empress Xiao had received two earth-shattering pieces of news in quick succession. The first was that the Crown Princess was pregnant, which had filled Empress Xiao with extreme joy.
Despite the unclear relationship between the Crown Princess and Ning Wang, Empress Xiao had carefully investigated and determined that the child belonged to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was twenty-three years old now, and he was finally going to become a father! Empress Xiao was finally going to have a grandchild!
But her happiness was short-lived as she received the devastating news of the Crown Princess's miscarriage shortly after.
Empress Xiao almost fainted on the spot!
It was Long Yi who had caused the incident.
To be honest, even Gu Jiao hadn't anticipated Long Yi's actions. Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely Long Yi's fault. The Crown Princess had repeatedly emphasized that she carried a death-free medallion in her belly, so Long Yi genuinely believed there was a medallion inside.
As far as Long Yi was concerned, he had only accidentally damaged the medallion.
He couldn't understand why everyone wanted to arrest him.
Long Yi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small golden token, offering it to the Crown Princess.
It was as if he was saying:
Here, compensation.
The Crown Princess was so infuriated that she nearly fainted on the spot!
With Gu Jiao and Long Yi together, it was inevitable that people would think Long Yi was acting under Gu Jiao’s orders.
Even the Crown Princess firmly believed this.
She wouldn't believe that Gu Jiao wasn’t targeting her, especially since Gu Jiao was always present whenever Long Yi was being rude to her. This inevitably made her suspect that Gu Jiao had been instructing Long Yi in secret.
While she spoke righteously in public, she was secretly having Long Yi act on her behalf. It was truly devious and malicious!
When Empress Xiao arrived at the imperial garden, the imperial physician had also arrived.
The imperial physician examined the Crown Princess's pulse, wearing a grave expression.
Empress Xiao hurriedly asked, "Imperial physician, what happened?"
The imperial physician bowed and lamented, "Your Majesty, the child is gone."
"That's impossible! Imperial Physician Luo, didn't you just say that my pulse was good? Wasn't this pregnancy stable?" Otherwise, how could she have had the courage to get out of bed and find Empress Xiao?
The imperial physician thought to himself: That doesn’t mean you can court death, right? Why did you have to come out? Even if you were carrying Nezha, you'd still lose it after being struck by a dark guard!
However, he didn't dare to say such things out loud.
Empress Xiao, consumed by anger, glared coldly at Wen Linlang and said, "You can't even keep a child!"
This wasn't like the situation with Ning Wangfei, who had a weak constitution. She had been in excellent health during this pregnancy! Losing this child was truly infuriating!
Empress Xiao had the heart to kill Wen Linlang!
Of course, in the past, Empress Xiao wouldn't have been so ruthless. However, now that the truth about Wen Linlang and Ning Wang had come to light, Empress Xiao wished she could have her executed!
Wen Linlang was right. This child was indeed her death-free medallion. For the sake of this child, Empress Xiao would have protected her from the Emperor no matter what.
But now, look at what Wen Linlang had done!
Wen Linlang couldn't bear to shoulder all the blame herself and let Empress Xiao detest her to the core.
She pointed to Gu Jiao and said, "Imperial mother, it's her! She's the one who had this dark guard hurt my unborn child!"
Little Jing Kong stomped his foot and exclaimed, "You're lying! JiaoJiao wouldn't do that!"
The commotion had alarmed the Renshou Palace, and Eunuch Qin arrived with a few palace servants in tow.
Gu Jiao instructed Fei Cui to take Little Jing Kong away and then turned to the Crown Princess, saying, "Do you have the courage to repeat what you just said to me in front of the Empress?"
The Crown Princess choked up.
Gu Jiao continued, "You don't dare say it? Well, I'll say it for you.
‘Physician Gu, this Crown Princess has advised you before, don't make an enemy out of me. You target me at every turn, but look who wins in the end? You say that this Crown Princess has an ambiguous relationship with Ning Wang, but how clean can you, Gu Jiao, be? This incident may have been initiated by the State of Chen's hostage prince, but this Crown Princess knows you had a hand in it too! You're already married, but you're still involved with the State of Chen's hostage prince. How much nobler are you than this Crown Princess?’
‘Stop scheming against this Crown Princess! The child in my womb is my death-free medallion. With it, even if I kill you, no one will question me!’”
Gu Jiao continued, "So, do you still think you're innocent?"
The Crown Princess's complexion changed suddenly.
Empress Xiao could tell from the Crown Princess's expression that every word Gu Jiao had spoken was true. She hadn't expected the Crown Princess to be so audacious and arrogant. From what she said, it seemed that there had been ongoing conflicts between Gu Jiao and her for quite some time. Despite this, she dared to confront Gu Jiao so arrogantly. Did she think her unborn child's life was long enough?
It was true that the person responsible for causing her miscarriage was the main culprit, but she wasn't entirely blameless when she actually gave the other party the opportunity.
Empress Xiao said to Gu Jiao, "Physician Gu, you may leave, but let this dark guard stay."
Out of respect for Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor, she temporarily believed the little guy’s words, that Gu Jiao hadn't ordered Long Yi to do it. However, this dark guard who acted on his own had caused the death of the Crown Prince's flesh and blood. She wouldn't let him off the hook.
"Empress..." Eunuch Qin tried to intercede.
He didn't actually know Long Yi, but Gu Jiao had spoken up for him, indicating that he was on their side.
Empress Xiao said coldly, "Eunuch Qin, even if this matter reaches the Empress Dowager's ears, this Empress will still demand his life!"
Eunuch Qin understood that Empress Xiao's request wasn’t unreasonable. As the Empress had said, even if this matter reached Renshou Palace, Empress Xiao was still in the right.
Gu Jiao wouldn't abandon Long Yi. She believed that with their abilities, they could use various strategies to escape.
Who knew Empress Xiao would directly summon the thousand imperial guards of the palace.
This——
Gu Jiao: Er… Is it really necessary to be so hardcore?
"Physician Gu, if you want to leave, this Empress will let you go. But if you want to stay with him and face death together, this Empress won't stop you." Empress Xiao told Gu Jiao, her gaze fixed on Long Yi's mask, "This man's fate is sealed!"
Empress Xiao was truly furious.
Long Yi could certainly escape, but what would happen after that? The Crown Princess knew he was Princess Xinyang's dark guard, and Empress Xiao could easily order the imperial guards to hunt down Long Yi on Zhuque Street.
Would Empress Xiao spare Princess Xinyang's feelings?
Gu Jiao suspected that she might not.
Princess Xinyang had a strained relationship with Marquis Xuanping, and her relationship with Empress Xiao was far from amicable as well.
This time, it seemed that no one would be able to calm Empress Xiao's anger.
Would they really have to let Long Yi escape the capital and never return?
Gu Jiao instinctively moved closer to Long Yi and looked at Empress Xiao. She began to say, "Your Majesty..."
But just as she started speaking, a familiar figure approached from nearby.
It was Xiao Liulang!
He was leaning on the cane she had made for him, limping slightly, with a sense of urgency in his steps.
The person who had been missing for so long suddenly appeared in everyone's sight. Except for Gu Jiao, Long Yi, and Eunuch Qin, who were aware of the situation, everyone else displayed expressions of incredulity.
Empress Xiao looked at this young man with a resemblance to her nephew and furrowed her brow, not saying a word.
She didn't even intend to acknowledge him.
"Kill him."
She was referring to Long Yi.
With that command, she turned and walked away.
However, Xiao Liulang quickened his pace to catch up with her.
He was stopped by Eunuch Su.
He gazed at Empress Xiao's cold departing figure, opened his mouth, and spoke, "Aunt..."
Empress Xiao felt her body tremble!
References
1. — "哪吒" (Nézhā) is a prominent figure in Chinese mythology and folklore. He is a deity or hero known for his bravery and magical abilities.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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