sbdcsierra Chapter 831 Your Majesty, please make a decision for the late Empress
Chapter 831 Your Majesty, please make a decision for the late Empress
Duke Xiao was caught off guard.
Originally, it had been discussed with the Third Prince and close court officials that the plot to harm the Tenth Prince was ultimately carried out by Consort Xu. As for the instigation by Granny Zhuang, even if it was really pinned on Consort Xiao, it would at most be a crime of lax governance. Even if Consort Xiao was punished for this, she would at most be reprimanded by His Majesty and confined to her quarters for a while, and then the matter would be over.
However, Consort Duan is now His Majesty's favorite, and evidence has been found in Consort Xiao's palace. If His Majesty intends to support Consort Duan, he will surely use the Tenth Prince's case as an excuse to make a fuss. At that time, Consort Xiao will definitely not fare well.
Consort Xu's plot to murder the Tenth Prince was ultimately due to her own insatiable greed, and there was no evidence that Consort Xiao directly instructed her to do so.
If it were just this one case, Duke Xiao would have his own way of getting Consort Xiao out of the mess.
But now Consort Duan is involved, and the evidence is conclusive. His Majesty cannot easily let this matter pass in front of all the civil and military officials.
Moreover, Consort Yu has the Shen family behind her. The Shen family and the Xiao family originally had a good relationship, and the two families were even related by marriage. Although the Shen family did not openly support the Third Prince, they were biased towards him.
But now that the Tenth Prince is dead, and Consort Xiao is also involved, it can be said that they have completely broken ties with the Shen family.
Duke Xiao was genuinely curious to know which fool had given Consort Xiao the terrible idea to harm the Tenth Prince. The Tenth Prince was nothing but a mere child; even if he entered court next year, it would take him several years to establish himself. Did they really think everyone was Zong Que? Zong Que was raised by His Majesty, held on his lap and taught by hand. He was brought to court to listen to government affairs even before he could speak. The Tenth Prince was merely a little better at studying; was he really worth her rushing to attack him? It was utterly womanly!
As expected, before Duke Xiao could come up with a solution, the Shen family had already stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine first instigated Consort Xu to murder the Tenth Prince, and then used the Tenth Prince's death in Consort Duan's palace to murder Consort Duan. It is truly a clever scheme to kill two birds with one stone! With such actions, how can the harem be stable in the future if she takes control of it! I hope Your Majesty will investigate this matter thoroughly and uphold justice for the Tenth Prince and Consort Duan!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The safety of the harem is not only related to the safety of the ladies and princes, but also to Your Majesty's safety. If the harem is not rectified and stabilized, how can the court be stabilized, Your Majesty!"
Even ordinary officials would be impeached by censors if their own household affairs went wrong, let alone the inner palace. Since the late empress passed away, Consort Xiao has been in charge of the inner palace. Now that such a big mistake has occurred, even if it is not related to Consort Xiao, she is still to blame!
As soon as the Shen family members stepped forward, officials from the Censorate followed suit.
The emperor listened to the uproar below, but showed no reaction on his face.
Lu Yangyang seized the opportunity and stepped forward as well.
"Your Majesty, I accused Consort Xiao of plotting to murder the late Empress, and she used this Ice Soul Poison."
As soon as Lu Yangyang said this, the court, which had been arguing like a raging fire, fell silent instantly. Even the Emperor's gaze toward Lu Yangyang became intriguing.
Lu Yangyang pulled out a stack of papers: "This is the pulse diagnosis record of the late Empress before her death, which I copied from the deposed Crown Prince. As a physician, I have studied many pulse diagnosis records, but this one of the late Empress's seems to have no problems on the surface. However, two of the medicines in it were used incorrectly. These pulse diagnosis records were all made by the Imperial Medical Academy, and the imperial physicians can verify what I am saying. The reason for the incorrect use of medicines is not the fault of the imperial physicians, but because the late Empress was poisoned, which caused an abnormal change in her condition. The imperial physicians had to adjust the prescriptions. One of the medicines was used to treat the symptoms caused by the Ice Soul Poison. This is evidenced by the medical classic written by the Medicine God Valley. Therefore, this pulse diagnosis record is sufficient to prove that the late Empress was murdered."
“Furthermore,” Lu Yangyang turned to Ying Xun, “when Ying Shaoqing interrogated Granny Zhuang, who served Consort Xiao, he obtained Granny Zhuang’s confession. It was Consort Xiao who personally poisoned the late Empress, taking advantage of the late Empress’s miscarriage to poison and murder her.”
"Your Majesty, please make a decision for the late Empress."
After Lu Yangyang finished speaking, Ying Xun immediately presented relevant testimonies and evidence. "Your Majesty, these are the testimonies of Granny Zhuang and the head maid in Consort Xiao's palace. The person who accompanied Consort Xiao in poisoning the late Empress was Consort Xiao's personal maid, Fangyi. Fangyi was silenced a few years later, but she left behind the nail guard that Consort Xiao used to poison the Empress. The poison was hidden in the nail guard, and she secretly administered the medicine while attending to the late Empress during her illness."
During the late empress's illness, all medications were used with utmost care. If it were an ordinary poison, it would have been discovered long ago. The reason this poison could be used so quietly was due to a clever trick.
After all, at the time, no one would have thought that someone would use such a vicious trick. They would only assume that the late empress had fallen ill and died because of her poor health.
The reason they were nowhere to be found was that those so-called secret medicines from the previous dynasty had long been banned, and no one expected that such things still existed.
Now that we have a direction, we can naturally follow the clues.
After Lu Yangyang found Ying Xun, Ying Xun obtained the evidence in just one night.
Instigating Consort Xu to murder the Tenth Prince and secretly drugging Consort Duan—if these are not enough to punish Consort Xiao, then adding the murder of the late Empress, Consort Xiao is doomed today.