amaotonovel Chapter 358
Chapter 358
Yanxi Palace
Concubine Zhou sat high up on the main seat, looking anxious, her eyes occasionally falling on the thick door curtains.
Seeing this, Aunt Gui comforted her, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Someone has been sent to fetch the Prince. He will be here soon."
Concubine Zhou frowned and said, "How can I not be anxious? Then..."
Before he could finish his words, the door curtain was lifted and Xie Qian'an, dressed in a moon-white robe, walked in.
He walked in a hurry, and his shawl seemed to carry the chill of winter.
"Mother, what happened? Why are you so anxious?" Xie Qian'an said in a deep voice as he approached.
Xie Qian'an was originally going back to Prince An's Mansion after the court session. He had even seen the lintel of Prince An's Mansion when he was stopped by Concubine Zhou's men who caught up with him and asked him to come to the Yanx Palace immediately.
He said he had something important to discuss.
When Concubine Zhou saw Xie Qian'an coming, she felt as if she had found her backbone. She immediately stood up and said, "An'er, it's bad. Princess Pingning brought a traveling doctor from who knows where to treat the Fifth Prince. He has been detained by your father."
There was a sharpness in Concubine Zhou's voice when she said the last sentence.
Xie Qi'an subconsciously frowned and said, "How come I haven't received any news? When did this happen?"
"As for what happened just now, as soon as I got the news, I sent someone out of the palace to call you. Your father just left the fifth prince not long ago." Concubine Zhou said anxiously.
Seeing that Xie Qianan couldn't grasp the key point, he quickly added: "The important thing is not where the news came from, but that your father has already known that the fifth prince has been poisoned. I'm afraid he will soon suspect us."
Although the poisoning incident has been concluded, I am still worried that some details might reveal something.
Furthermore, that little bastard disappeared, and the Fifth Prince, a child, was poisoned for no reason. If you think about it carefully, you will know that the Fifth Prince's poisoning is related to the struggle for the throne.
Among all the princes, except for that little bastard, her An'er is the most capable and most likely to sit in that position, so naturally he is the most suspicious.
It would be fine if the fifth prince died of poisoning, but that little bastard and the fifth prince are both dead, and the eldest prince and the fourth prince are both incompetent. Even if the emperor finds out that it was An'er who did it, he cannot do anything to An'er for the sake of succession to the country.
But the fifth prince didn't die, he was really lucky.
At this point, Concubine Zhou couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have taken this risky move.
It’s all because of that little bastard. If there hadn’t been any news about him for a long time, the Fifth Prince would have died long ago. How could it have come to this?
"Mother, what are you talking about? That itinerant doctor discovered that my fifth brother was poisoned?" Xie Qian'an asked in shock. "How is that possible? My fifth brother's poison is so rare that even so many doctors in the Imperial Hospital haven't noticed it. How is it possible that they found a doctor who can detoxify him in such a short time?"
"It's true. How could Mother lie to you? Your father has already issued an order to have that itinerant doctor take over the Fifth Prince's body. I'm sure the entire harem will know about it soon."
"It's all that damned Princess Pingning's fault. Why is she meddling in other people's business? She met this itinerant doctor in the tavern owned by that bitch from the Shen family. It's said that this itinerant doctor cured the little bastard's poison, so she brought him into the palace..."
Before Concubine Zhou finished her words, Xie Qian'an's expression changed completely.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Shen Qionghua!"
Xie Qian'an didn't believe that such a coincidence could happen. It must be Shen Qionghua's doing.
She was able to find this itinerant doctor. Could it be that she was the one who asked this itinerant doctor to treat Xie Nanyuan?
Yes, this explains it. After Xie Nanyuan returned from the battlefield injured, his health had been taken care of by the director of the Imperial Hospital.
For nearly a year, Xie Nanyuan's health gradually weakened, and the emperor did not show any abnormalities. It was obvious that the director of the court did not realize that Xie Nanyuan was poisoned.
Later, he was suddenly sent by his father to the Ministry of War for training.
I believe the poison must have been cured by then, otherwise my father would not have allowed Xie Nanyuan to handle state affairs despite his illness.
This happened shortly after the Shen family came to Beijing.
It turns out that Shen Qionghua had already been hooking up with Xie Nanyuan so early on.
Xie Qian'an had long guessed that the poison in Xie Nanyuan's body had been cured, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago and would not have been able to go to the battlefield. However, he had never guessed that Shen Qionghua was involved in this.
It was a mistake to target the Shen family and let them move to Beijing.
Xie Qianan said in a deep voice: "Mother, the situation is far more serious than you imagined."
"If that itinerant doctor really cured Xie Nanyuan's poison, he would surely be able to cure Fifth Brother's poison as well."
"Besides, if I'm not mistaken, the Emperor probably didn't know that Xie Nanyuan had been poisoned before. Otherwise, considering the Emperor's love for Xie Nanyuan, it wouldn't have been possible for him to remain so calm."
"Now that two things have been revealed at the same time, first Xie Nanyuan was poisoned, and then my fifth brother was poisoned. Father must be extremely furious and order a thorough investigation."
"Even if we clean up the mess and don't let Father catch any trace, he will definitely still doubt me in his heart."
"If Xie Nanyuan died this time, it would be fine. But if he returned safely, with my father's love for him, his military achievements, the support of the Zhenguo Mansion, and my father's guilt towards him this time, I'm afraid the position of crown prince will belong to him."
"Xie Nanyuan and I have long been at war to the point of death. If he were to become the emperor someday, I would be stripped of my title and imprisoned."
Concubine Zhou gently covered her mouth, frightened by what Xie Qian'an said, and said: "No, An'er, there has been no news of that bastard for so long, he must be dead. Your father has no evidence, so even if he suspects you, he can't do anything to you."
Xie Qian'an shook his head slightly and said, "Mother, as long as Xie Nanyuan's body hasn't been found, we can't make such a hasty conclusion."
"Furthermore, if Xie Nanyuan really died this time, I'm afraid my father would feel even more guilty towards him. Then, how would he feel towards me, his son who might have poisoned Xie Nanyuan?"
"Then will it really be my turn to be the crown prince?"
"I'm afraid it will be just as Mother said before, and all our efforts will be in vain, and we will only be making wedding clothes for our fifth brother."
Concubine Zhou's expression suddenly changed. "Then this little bastard can't die, and neither can he live. Are we in a dilemma? No matter what we do, it's wrong."
If the fifth prince really becomes the crown prince and becomes the emperor in the future, then the queen will become the empress dowager, and she will only be a concubine dowager. Wouldn't the queen step on her head and humiliate her?
Seeing that Concubine Zhou was a little flustered, Xie Qian'an comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. I will make the decision myself."
Concubine Zhou sensed the meaning behind Xie Qian'an's words and asked, "An'er, do you have a way to escape this predicament?"
Xie Qian'an smiled contemptuously and whispered a few words into Concubine Zhou's ear.
Concubine Zhou's expression relaxed visibly.
He praised, "This is a very good plan. In this way, even if that little bastard comes back, it will be too late. With this stain, that little bastard will never be able to take the throne in his lifetime."
"If they're dead, that's even better. Sending them to the underground to reunite together will be a good deed for us."
"You can also use this opportunity to distract your father from the poisoning."
"As for the rest, we still have time."
Xie Qian'an nodded and said, "My mother is right. This is exactly what I intended."
"I didn't want to be so anxious, but they forced me to do so."
Concubine Zhou smiled and said, "Since you have already thought about it, then just go ahead and do it. Mother is waiting for good news from you, An'er, in the Yanxi Palace."
"Yes! I will not let my mother down!" Xie Qian'an said, turning around and leaving.
The thick door curtain was lifted, and the comfortable weather outside the hall was no longer there. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and it looked like a storm was about to come.