No one spoke in the room for a moment, and the atmosphere became completely cold, so cold that it was a little scary.
Old Madam Wei held the cane tightly in her hand, frowned and glanced at everyone, and after a long while she said, "Your Majesty is coughing up blood, don't Empress Defei and the others know about it?"
In addition to Concubine Peng De, there was also Concubine Lin Shu in the palace.
Although Concubine Peng De was the mother of the crown prince, for some unknown reason, Emperor Longqing refused to make her empress, and even assigned part of the palace affairs to Concubine Lin Shu.
She was far from having the ability to control the palace and prevent the news from leaking out. Concubine Lin Shu was completely in a position to compete with her. Logically speaking, if Emperor Longqing had coughed up blood, Concubine Lin Shu would not be able to hide it.
The relationship between Concubine Lin Shu and Prince Linjiang is needless to say. If she knew, there was no reason not to inform Prince Linjiang - this was too important. No matter what, Emperor Longqing's health was directly related to Prince Linjiang's future.
But Concubine Lin Shu did not respond and did not send any message.
Even Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu, who were in the capital, didn't get any news about it. This was too strange.
Gongsheng Kong's face turned pale. He looked at Old Lady Wei and smiled bitterly, "Old Lady, you don't know that those Taoists told His Majesty that coughing up blood is the toxins in the body being discharged... Plus we tried our best to prescribe medicine for His Majesty, so His Majesty's symptoms have not been very serious..."
Shen Chen keenly heard the hidden meaning and asked abruptly: "If that's the case, Lord Kong, can I ask you a question? According to what you said, shouldn't His Majesty have reached this point so quickly?"
Kong Gongsheng frowned and thought carefully, then nodded cautiously: "Although the pills given by the alchemists are harmful to the body, it is not right to do so..."
Wei An, who had been silent the whole time, asked at this moment: "What if His Majesty is like this because he took too much medicine?"
Everyone looked at Wei An.
Old Madam Wei was in an uneasy state of mind. The situation had finally become more stable. If something unexpected happened at this moment, all previous efforts would probably be in vain. When Emperor Longqing dealt with Prince Linjiang, it would be difficult to avoid involving Prince Zheng and the Wei family, and Mingjing and the others would suffer as well.
She was really anxious and her mind was in a mess.
Wei An knocked on the table slowly and low, and said in a cold voice: "Those Taoists are not stupid, they should know the principle of gradual progress. Since the prince has not given any order, they are not crazy. They will not suddenly increase the dosage, because if something goes wrong, they will be the one to blame, and they will die the fastest. To be trusted by the emperor, they are already the smartest of the smart, and they will not make such a stupid mistake. It should not be their mistake that caused the accident. I think it is more likely that someone suddenly took a risky move and had ulterior motives..."
Shen Chen and she had the best tacit understanding. As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Chen immediately reacted and asked, "You mean, someone in the palace is plotting against the emperor?"
"It's not impossible." Wei An was very rational, tapping the table with his slender fingers. "You just met His Majesty today, and you didn't notice anything unusual at the time. A person who is seriously ill can't have no signs at all. Rather than saying that he was poisoned by taking too much elixir, I think someone is using this as an excuse to kill His Majesty."
Mr. Kong was so frightened that his face turned pale. He sat in the chair for a long time without coming to his senses.
Even the usually calm Madam Wei widened her eyes and suddenly said, "Princess Peng!"
Everyone was silent for a moment.
If there is someone who has the ability and the reason to take action, then that person can only be Concubine Peng De.
Recently, Emperor Longqing's favor towards Concubine Lin Shu has reached a new level. He would discuss many things with Concubine Lin Shu directly without going through Concubine Peng De. As for matters such as rewards to the Wei family, he directly delegated power to Concubine Lin Shu and let her make the decisions directly.
What does this mean
Although Concubine Peng De was not the legitimate queen or the master of the harem, the problem was that her son was the real prince. Originally, she should be the one to reward and receive the ladies of honor.
But Emperor Longqing gave them all to Concubine Lin Shufei.
This made her even more angry in addition to her already panicked state. After all, she was the one who snatched these things from Empress Fang, and no one knew Emperor Longqing's suspicion and fickleness better than her.
It was indeed the best time for her to take action now - Prince Linjiang was far away in Fujian, and Prince Zheng and his men had not yet returned to the capital. If Emperor Longqing died now, it would be perfectly legitimate for the Fifth Prince, who was the crown prince, to ascend the throne.
Even if the King of Linjiang and his men did have ulterior motives later, the overall situation had been decided. He had no legitimate reason and was only committing treason.
When everyone thought about the deeper meaning behind this, they couldn't help but feel a chill down their spine.
If it was Consort Peng, then...
Then Emperor Longqing would be in danger.
Because Concubine Peng De must have hoped to hit the target with one blow, no wonder so many imperial doctors were kept in the palace late at night. It seems that Emperor Longqing’s condition must be extremely critical.
Old Madam Wei immediately felt a little dizzy. They didn't know the specific situation in the palace yet, but once this speculation became a fact, there would be no room for recovery, and it would be too terrible.
She held on to her body, endured the cold sweat, looked at Shen Chen, and said word by word without hesitation: "We have to go and get the news first. There should be cabinet members on duty in the palace. If something happens and the situation is extremely critical, according to the rules, the news should be sent out."
But what if Concubine Peng De blocked the news? ----- This is not impossible. You know, it is indeed difficult for things in the inner palace to be leaked to the outside world. Behind the palace, many things can be manipulated.
Sometimes wasting a night means wasting a lot of time on other things.
But it was already very late and the palace gates were locked. If something really happened, none of them could break into the palace without orders from the palace.
No matter how much speculation and worry there is, there is nothing we can do but wait outside.
Old Madam Wei was sweating more and more. After a while, she sighed and said, "Tomorrow... we will know the outcome."
Emperor Longqing had to attend court, otherwise how could he explain to his ministers? With so many imperial doctors watching over him for a whole night, Concubine Peng De should not act rashly again after she had done it, otherwise she would be discovered by the imperial doctors and her plan would fail.
It’s better to wait until tomorrow. After tomorrow, we will know what the situation is like and can make more accurate judgments and responses.
She glanced at the gloomy sky and said, "Wait."
We can only wait until tomorrow morning to find out what is going on.