12dz Chapter 179 The Death of "King Li"
Chapter 179 The Death of "King Li"
Consort Yi felt utterly disgusted by their scheming and backstabbing.
When will she be able to have a peaceful life? She just hopes this palace banquet will end soon. Instead of spending time here drinking and pretending to be friendly, she would rather go back and check how the Seventh Princess is doing with her studies.
Thinking of this "daughter" she had gained for free, the corners of Consort Yi's mouth turned up slightly. She hadn't raised a child in a long time and didn't know that raising a child would be so heart-wrenching.
Therefore, thinking of this, my heart, which was originally hard as stone, softened considerably.
But not everyone has the same state of mind. At the palace banquet, everyone drank to their heart's content, and there were plenty of songs and dances. However, compared to those that were gorgeous and complicated, this time He Lingyi specially chose some that were more about reunion and homesickness, which had a unique elegance.
King Le sat to the right of the emperor, appearing to be watching intently.
But only he knew that he was panicking about the situation. Just as he was wondering when the palace banquet would end, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest. He frowned and grabbed his left side, intending to take a few deep breaths to calm down.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, he felt a metallic taste in his throat and couldn't hold it in. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. Before he could say anything, blood flowed from his seven orifices. He stared in terror at the palace maid beside Consort Tong, opened his mouth and made two "ah ah" sounds before dying.
The sudden death startled the Duke and his wives sitting nearby, causing them to scream.
Haiyu and Qiao Er were still enjoying their drinks when they suddenly rushed to the emperor and shouted, "Protect the emperor!"
He then stared intently at everyone present, trying to find some flaws.
He Lingyi appeared frightened, and the emperor immediately pulled her into his arms, shouting sternly, "Martial law!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Soon the main hall where the palace banquet was to be held was completely closed, and several guards rushed in from outside. They were all dressed in black armor, and it was clear at a glance that they were the emperor's trusted confidants who had been cultivated since he was still the Crown Prince.
Those who have a clear conscience can breathe a sigh of relief; their safety is now assured.
Those with guilty consciences were in a panic, especially Consort Tong, who immediately looked at the palace maid beside her, clutching her belly in a flustered manner, wishing she could leave as soon as possible!
"King Li" is dead, so how will he regain this identity in the future?
She couldn't stay by his side as a palace maid forever, so her eyes showed both fear and worry. The palace maid, disguised as King Jin-ri, was also somewhat confused.
Poisoning King Le?
What kind of scheme is this?
Could it have been an accident?
With these thoughts on his mind, he didn't show excessive fear about the death of "King Li," and Haijin immediately noticed this.
Originally, I had just followed the gaze of "Prince Li" and focused on the group of imperial concubines, but now I'm directly targeting Consort Tong and this suspicious palace maid.
After what happened to Mei Gu, Hai Jin became suspicious of everyone.
It's possible that this palace maid is actually King Li himself, so he already had a hunch.
Pushing aside the still terrified crowd, he walked towards the gruesome body of "King Li." Marquis Haibo and his wife, Lady Qin, called out from behind, and Haijin turned around and said...
“Father, Mother, your son is the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Since a murder has occurred, it is only right that I investigate it.”
That makes perfect sense. The Dali Temple is where these kinds of things are handled, so the powerful figures from other factions made way for him. Some were too scared to watch, while others, though suspicious, kept their eyes glued to Haijin, wanting to see how he would handle the case.
Haijin walked up to "King Li" but did not immediately touch him. Instead, he carefully observed his condition before looking at the small square table in front of him.
He then took out a small box from his pocket, which contained some strange things. He quickly found a retractable silver needle and examined the wine and food on the square table one by one.
Beverages, no problem.
The food is fine too.
So he spoke loudly to the emperor.
“Your Majesty, Prince Li died of poisoning, but I have examined the food and wine and found nothing unusual. So it is very likely that he was poisoned before entering the palace. It’s just that the poison took effect later. This way, people will misunderstand that the poison was administered in the palace, thus sowing discord and leaving outsiders confused.”
Upon hearing this, the astute Duke immediately understood Haijin's intentions.
This was a palace banquet specially prepared by Her Majesty the Empress. If something went wrong, wouldn't it be a slap in the face to the royal family? So someone immediately echoed this sentiment.
“Young Master Hai is right! We ate these things and drank wine, and there was nothing wrong with us. Someone must be trying to frame us, so they did it on purpose.”
The death of an insignificant Prince Li would be of no benefit to such a ducal family. On the contrary, offending the Empress would be tantamount to offending His Majesty and the rising Qiao family and the Marquis of Haibo's mansion. Nobody is stupid.
One person spoke up, and everyone else chimed in.
Consort Liang watched from the sidelines, feeling it was a real pity. If it had been nailed down, the responsibility of the Empress would have been hard to erase. If she had worked her way up, perhaps the power to manage the harem could have returned to her.
That Consort Qin is quite the good person. She forced me to hand over power, and then she and the Seventh Prince disappeared without a trace. Humph, leaving those annoying concubines of the late emperor to continue fighting in the palace!
Meanwhile, Consort Yi maintained her indifferent attitude, while Consort Tong, feeling guilty and overly fearful, and knowing that her pregnancy had been forcibly saved, began to experience intermittent abdominal pain.
With a grim expression, he grabbed the palace maid beside him and said...
"I have a stomach ache……"
At this moment, leaving was the only chance. The palace maid disguised as Prince Li didn't care whether Consort Tong was in real pain or not. As long as she had a reason to leave the main hall, that was the best thing. So she quickly helped Consort Tong up and shouted.
"Your Majesty has been frightened; she may be about to give birth!"
At this shout, everyone looked over. Consort Tong's expression clearly wasn't right, but no one suspected anything. After all, she was already a few months pregnant, and it was normal for her to be frightened and go into premature labor.
Compared to the palace maids, the most nervous person was probably Consort Liang.
That was the "child" she had been longing for, and it couldn't possibly get into trouble! So she joined in the shouting, her attitude quite sincere, but unfortunately, in the eyes of others, it only further confirmed her true intentions, so no one sided with her.