Chapter 110

Qi Xiao wasted no time. He had Qi Hua's body tidied up slightly and immediately sent people to deliver the news to the imperial clan members. The group had just arrived at the side hall of Haiyan Palace and hadn't even had a chance to warm their seats when they heard the news. Disregarding everything else, they rushed over in a hurry.

Old Prince Hui was at his wit's end. If Empress Feng's incident could be considered a coincidence, surely this time couldn't be a coincidence too? Was Qi Xiao some kind of soul-reaping demon? He went to see Empress Feng, and as soon as he left, she hanged herself. Now he came to see Qi Hua, and this time, before Qi Xiao even left, Qi Hua had passed away!

Qi Xiao listened with a cold and indifferent expression as the imperial physician explained the cause of Qi Hua's death to everyone. Before long, people from the Imperial Clan Court arrived.

After a brief investigation, Prince Ming shook his head at the crowd and said in a low voice, "There are no external injuries on the body. The medicine he took earlier and the porridge he had a few hours ago were all fine, we just checked... Perhaps it was because he couldn't bear the news of Empress Feng's passing, so he..."

Everyone couldn't help but look at Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao's face remained unmoved as he calmly said, "Go investigate who let the news slip carelessly. When you find out... execute them on the spot."

Old Prince Hui staggered slightly, barely supported by the eunuch accompanying him. Qi Xiao raised his eyes to look at him and asked, "What's wrong with Old Prince?"

"Nothing..." Old Prince Hui took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat and said with difficulty, "I'm old... I can't bear to see such things... I've made a fool of myself in front of Your Highness."

Qi Xiao lowered his gaze. "The imperial family has suffered misfortunes, with such incidents happening one after another... I implore you uncles to come up with an explanation. Dawn will break soon, how should we explain this to the world?"

Prince Shou hesitated, "Empress Feng's death was unfortunate, surely we can't be frank about it..."

Qi Xiao turned to look at Prince Shou with a faint smile. "Prince is right. There are quite a few in the imperial family who didn't die a good death. How can we make everything clear to the people?"

At these words, everyone couldn't help but think of Empress Xiaoxian... If anyone still claimed that Qi Xiao was completely unaware of past events, that this wasn't revenge, no one would believe it. What everyone feared most at this moment wasn't the inability to explain to the world, but rather...

Old Prince Hui's heart was filled with unease. When Emperor Wu passed away suddenly, although the crown prince had already been established, for some reason many in the court said the country depended on the eldest prince and that it was inappropriate for Qi Xiao to ascend the throne. Just as things were in chaos, Empress Xiaoxian went to join Emperor Wu.

Emperor Wu and Empress Xiaoxian had always been extremely affectionate with each other, so it could be explained away. But Old Prince Hui knew in his heart, even if the bond between husband and wife was deep, could it compare to one's own infant son?

The imperial clan members had their suspicions about the events that day, but few stood up to speak for Qi Xiao. Old Prince Chun did say a few words of fairness, but what was the result? Qi Jing turned around and had the censors impeach Old Prince Chun on the charge of colluding with frontier officials. The imperial clan was silenced in an instant, not daring to say more.

There were considerable objections in the court, especially in the military. But those who took the lead were all found guilty by Qi Jing one after another under various pretexts. Those vibrant lives were lost one by one due to some trumped-up charges. Even now, thinking about it made Old Prince Hui's heart turn cold! Qi Jing merely appeared kind on the surface, but his methods were actually more vicious than anyone's!

They were all people with families, wives and children. Aside from those loyal to the death to Emperor Wu, who would be willing to risk the lives of their entire clan to fight head-on against Qi Jing after seeing those lives lost?

Moreover, at that time, the male members of the Empress's maiden family had all died on the battlefield. With no biological mother to care for him internally and no maternal clan to support him externally, unless a miracle happened, how could Qi Xiao ascend the throne? Although everyone felt uneasy in their hearts, they could only respect Qi Jing as the Emperor.

And now...

The few old princes looked at Qi Xiao's cold eyes, trembling in their hearts... Was Qi Xiao starting to settle scores one by one?

Qi Xiao looked at Prince Ming and said calmly, "What does Prince think is the best way to explain this?"

Prince Ming had been lost in thought just now. Upon hearing this, he immediately perked up. He bowed respectfully and cautiously said, "Your Highness, such matters... are really not suitable to be spread outside. This humble one has boldly... come up with an explanation. Would Your Highness like to hear it?"

Qi Xiao nodded. Prince Ming took a deep breath and said solemnly, "The previous mess in Fenghua Palace, all you uncles already know what really happened. The palace servants in Fenghua Palace have also confessed. It was indeed Empress Feng who wanted to poison the crown prince. Due to some mishap, the poison was accidentally consumed by the second prince.

"Afterwards, the second prince's life hung in the balance. Empress Feng took her own life out of fear of punishment. And when the second prince woke up and heard the news, he was overcome with grief. Coupled with the damage from the poison, he couldn't hold on and also passed away... This is the truth. When His Majesty wakes up, we must explain it to him clearly."

Prince Shou's heart stirred. Prince Ming continued, "But to the outside world... Why don't we say that a certain palace servant in Fenghua Palace had been reprimanded by the second prince before. Harboring resentment in her heart, she took this opportunity to poison him. As for that batch of chopsticks... Let's say the craftsman was greedy for money. He embezzled the silver meant for making the chopsticks and used something else as a substitute. That's why the second prince was poisoned. This way, we can gloss over the poisoning incident. The cause of the second prince's death... will be that he died from the illness.

"Both the Empress and second prince passed away on this night. Outsiders don't know the sequence. Why don't we change it to say the second prince passed first. Upon hearing the news, Empress Feng was overcome with grief and despair, so she hanged herself. This would make more sense. What do you all think?"

Old Prince Hui inwardly let out a bitter laugh. While he was still hesitating, the others had already seen which way the wind was blowing and changed course. Old Prince Hui looked at Prince Shou. Their eyes met and they understood each other. He lowered his gaze and said softly, "This is very good."

Qi Xiao looked at Prince Ming with satisfaction and nodded. "Then let's do as the elders say."

Everyone gritted their teeth. This was truly a brilliant move by Qi Xiao. First, he used Empress Feng's matter to draw everyone here. Who knew that before dawn broke, he would kill Qi Hua as well. Now he even had Prince Ming come up with this set of explanations, forcing everyone to nod in agreement. If someone were to bring this up in the future, everyone present would be Qi Xiao's witness!

Old Prince Hui took a deep breath. Unknowingly, Qi Xiao had pulled everyone onto his boat... But this was good. As long as they went along with him, perhaps he wouldn't make trouble for them regarding the past events.

After settling matters here, Qi Xiao couldn't be bothered to keep vigil over Qi Hua's body any longer. He said leisurely, "His Majesty hasn't woken up, it's not suitable to hold a funeral. For now, keep the body in his own palace. This prince... will go check on His Majesty."

The princes were greatly alarmed. Was Qi Xiao going to send the Emperor on his way too?!

......

"They think too terribly of me. Am I so cruel-hearted that I would send away their family of three in one night?" Qi Xiao smiled and shook his head, handing a bowl of bird's nest to Jiang Deqing.

His eyes rarely showed a few traces of warmth as he whispered in a low voice, "Have someone send it back to the manor to heat it up for him to eat. This is the first batch of bird's nest tribute this year. Because the quantity is too small, it is only for the Emperor's use. I have been wanting to get some for him but couldn't find the opportunity..."

Qi Xiao turned his head to look at the still unconscious Emperor in the inner room and chuckled lightly, "A dying man... doesn't need to use such good things. Just drinking some medicine will do."

Fu Hailu, who was tied up on the ground by Jiang Deqing, had his mouth sealed. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but wail loudly. Qi Xiao smiled, "He probably still has something to say to me, Jiang Deqing..."

Jiang Deqing understood and stepped forward to remove the cloth from Fu Hailu's mouth. As soon as Fu Hailu could make a sound, he immediately shouted loudly. Qi Xiao frowned, and Jiang Deqing directly slapped him a dozen times, making Fu Hailu see stars and instantly deflate, becoming much more honest.

Qi Xiao chuckled, "Outside, everyone is mine now. Even if you shout, it doesn't matter. It's just that I only want to hear people talk now, not the howling of pigs and dogs. If you have nothing to say, I will seal your mouth again."

Fu Hailu's cheeks were swollen from Jiang Deqing's beating, and he could hardly speak clearly. After a long time, he managed to say hatefully, "You... the Emperor is so ill, yet you won't let him eat! For two days... you only gave the Emperor medicine! Even this bowl of bird's nest you want to take away, you... you..."

Qi Xiao shook his head and laughed, "You misunderstood me... These past two days, I stopped your Emperor's medicine and started letting the imperial physicians treat him properly. You don't even appreciate it?"

Fu Hailu was shocked upon hearing this, "Medicine? What medicine?!"

Fu Hailu was not a stupid person. After thinking for a bit, he understood and exclaimed in shock, "The Emperor's illness was actually... actually you..."

Just as he was speaking, Xi Xiang came in from outside. Seeing Qi Xiao, he kowtowed and said respectfully in a low voice, "This servant pays respects to Your Highness. The commander of the Left Imperial Guards was just captured by Your Highness's men and is now locked up in the Judicial Office, awaiting Your Highness's orders. Also, all the other important places are guarded by our own people now, so there shouldn't be any chaos. Oh right, the rear palace is being comforted by Concubine Xue, who says there is nothing happening in the front and tells everyone to stay well in their own palaces."

Fu Hailu looked at Xi Xiang in disbelief and cried out, "When did you also collude with the Crown Prince?! You beast!! Hasn't the Emperor treated you well enough?! Back then, I should have..."

"Should have what?" Xi Xiang turned his head and grinned hideously, "Hehe... Speaking of which, I haven't thanked Steward Fu for his patronage over the years. But Steward Fu misspoke just now. When did this servant collude with the Crown Prince? Peh! Open your dog eyes and look clearly!

"I entered the palace before the age of ten. When I was twelve, I was bullied in the Imperial Kitchen and almost lost my life. If it weren't for Empress Xiaoxian transferring me to the Qianqing Palace and having my master take good care of me with food and drink, how could I have survived until now! Your wolf-hearted and dog-livered master is an ungrateful wretch, but I am not! Repaying the Crown Prince is my duty!"

Xi Xiang deliberately further provoked Fu Hailu, laughing, "You master and servant pair kept me in the dark! It allowed me to gain both prestige and handle matters for Your Highness, haha... Things without eyes! You deserve this fate!"

Fu Hailu was so angry that he wept and wailed, "Your Majesty! The Empress and Second Prince were both killed by the Crown Prince... Now the Crown Prince is also mmph... mmph..."

Xi Xiang was furious and quickly stuffed Fu Hailu's mouth again. Just then, there was suddenly some movement from the inner room. A hint of unusual color flashed in Qi Xiao's eyes as he stood up and entered the inner room. He saw that a small table beside the dragon bed had fallen over, and the medicinal soup was spilled all over the floor.

The Emperor, with a withered yellow face, was leaning on the small cabinet beside the bed, panting continuously. His chest heaved like a bellows, making unceasing wheezing sounds. The confused eyes looking at Qi Xiao were filled with fear and anger, apparently having heard the words just now. At this moment, the anger attacked his heart, and his cheeks flushed with an unusual redness.

Qi Xiao curled his lips in a smile, "Your Majesty is finally awake."