King Liang said, "Father, the Yilan Palace has been dug up. In the backyard of the Yilan Palace, many corpses were dug up. Preliminary estimates show that there are more than ten bodies. The corpses are incomplete. The meat should have been chopped up, the bones cut, and then buried in the ground. When they were dug up, a pile of rotten meat was found. They must have died not long ago."
"It's Concubine Zhao, right?" The emperor's head slowly relaxed, but his eyes were always fixed on Prince Liang.
"There's no way to know." King Liang looked sad.
A strong sense of disappointment surged in my heart and slowly turned into despair.
It was Sun Fang'er. He searched the entire capital and blocked the city gates. If Sun Fang'er was still alive, it would be impossible for him not to find her.
The person has long turned into meat paste, no wonder he can't be found.
The emperor murmured, "In the past, my ancestors always told me that women are the most vicious. At that time, I laughed at her and said, "You are also a woman, why do you say that?"
He looked at King Liang and asked, "Guess what the ancestor said to me?"
King Liang's eyes tightened, "My son is stupid."
The emperor sighed and stretched out his hand, trying to grab something, but his hand reached halfway into the air and then slowly dropped. "She said that women's viciousness is mostly hidden in their hearts, and they are good at disguising themselves. A tear or a glance can make a man open his heart and trust him completely. I have been following my ancestor since I was a child and grew up listening to her words. Therefore, I have not been completely open with women, even with the one I like the most, I would rather not have it, because I don't want to be confused by a woman and make the wrong decision. But I didn't expect that the one hiding beside you, silently, is the most poisonous snake."
As the emperor spoke, he slowly closed his eyes. He looked very tired and his breathing became difficult.
"Imperial Physician, how is our father?" After all, they are father and son. Although Prince Liang despises what his father has done, he can never sever the ties of blood between them.
The judge pulled Prince Liang out of the palace and said softly, "Your Highness, the emperor's old illness has recurred, and there is poisonous blood surging in his body. He will slowly develop hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, mental confusion, and nonsense. I just saw him talking all the time, so he must be suffering from the disease. If there is no good medicine, I am afraid..."
King Liang felt a pain in his heart, "How?"
"I'm afraid you won't last more than a month." After the judge said this, he immediately knelt down and pleaded guilty.
King Liang rubbed his face with his hands and couldn't help but shed tears.
After a moment, he pulled up the judge and asked, "Is there no solution at all?"
The judge said, "I am incompetent, but I don't know if the princess has any other solution."
King Liang remained silent. Zi'an was pregnant now, so naturally she could not enter the palace.
Moreover, the emperor didn't have the face to summon Zi'an into the palace again.
According to what he just said, he should know that he did something wrong.
If you know you are wrong, you will feel ashamed.
The emperor was sometimes conscious, sometimes unconscious, and sometimes talking nonsense.
Sometimes, he would pull Eunuch Lu to talk about past events, sometimes, he would pull King Liang to talk about his future plans for governing the country, sometimes he would denounce treacherous ministers and rebels, and sometimes, he would sit quietly, thinking, with a fierce look in his eyes.
Many things are a cycle. He seemed to have returned to the time before Sun Fang'er entered the palace, or perhaps the situation was even worse.
The public's voices condemning Zi'an are becoming louder and louder.
Ever since the Imperial Master opened the altar, the palace has been attacked several times. Not many people knew about Zi'an's presence in the West Garden at first, but the news gradually spread, and the West Garden was repeatedly attacked by mobs.
However, when Concubine Mei was in trouble, Zi'an had actually been secretly sent out of the city and was living in Bao'an Temple.
So, when the mob finally broke through the defense line of Xiyuan and went in shouting and killing, they did not find Zi'an.
The capital was plunged into unprecedented chaos.
Finally, the emperor issued an edict, summoning the imperial teacher to the Xiwei Palace for an audience.
The story of the fox spirit originated from Cizhou, and of course, it was also designed by him.
What he wanted was to destroy the popularity of Murong Jie and Xia Zian.
In order to create this nationwide panic, he prepared for a long time and even placed many people in the capital to spread rumors.
But only now did he realize that he had been shooting himself in the foot by doing so many things.
"Think of a way to calm the people's resentment and clear the princess's name."
The emperor was in better spirits today because the judge began to give him the medicine that the princess had left behind.
The hallucinations became much less and I felt much more energetic. The effect took effect after only three doses of the medicine.
He no longer has Sun Fang'er, so if he wants to survive, he can only rely on Xia Zian.
However, he could not summon a vixen into the palace to take care of his illness. Xia Zian had to remain the Doctor Xia who treated the people and saved them from suffering.
"Your Majesty," the Imperial Master didn't know the situation, and when he heard the Emperor say this, he disagreed. Although this scene was planned by the Emperor, he had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes. As long as the mob attacks again, Xia Zian can be killed. "We have done so many things. If we correct our mistakes now, it will be a waste of effort and a waste of time."
The emperor gave him a cold look and said, "Just do what I tell you to do. Why are you talking nonsense?"
The Imperial Master was shocked when he saw his majestic expression. Although he was unwilling, he did not dare to act rashly. "Yes!"
The Imperial Master slowly retreated, and the hot blood in his body slowly cooled down.
I was feeling upset and couldn't calm down.
When he was practicing, he did not pay attention to the wealth and glory of the world and was able to keep his mind calm.
However, since he was named the Imperial Master, many princes and marquises visited him every day and were courteous to him. He began to feel the power and imperial favor.
Amitabha!
The Imperial Master opened the altar once again. That day, the sky was cloudless and as clear as a piece of jade.
The imperial teacher announced to the world that the fox spirit had been found and killed.
The vixen was Concubine Yi from the Xianbei, and on the altar, all of Concubine Yi’s crimes were read out one by one.
She forged her background, deceived the emperor, murdered palace concubines, poisoned palace maids, dug out the hearts of people in the Yilan Palace and ate them, ground their bones into ashes, framed the Regent Princess, and even cut Concubine Zhao into pieces. There were no less than a hundred crimes she committed. Even the death of Empress Dowager Sun was related to her.
The Imperial Preceptor also said that the reason he had not proven the princess' innocence before was because he did not want to alert the vixen and thus be noticed.
After suffering injustice, the princess still endured it silently. Her loyalty is evident to all. Therefore, the emperor specially conferred the title of first-rank princess on her to commend her loyalty and love for the people.
The common people are the easiest to deceive. Moreover, before the national teacher opened the ceremony, news had already come from Cizhou that the fox spirit came from the Xianbei.
Before that, it was revealed in the palace that many corpses were dug out from the Yilan Palace. All the flesh was gone, leaving only white bones. It was also said that Concubine Zhao and the baby in her belly had their bone marrow sucked out by a fox spirit, and died in a miserable way.
The rumor was reversed within a day.
The common people who had followed the mob in the attack also tried to distance themselves from the incident, saying that they had been deceived by a fox spirit and committed such a foolish act.
Murong Jie heard the news after he had settled Sun Fang'er and returned to the palace.
He smiled indifferently, "How can you be so willing to work so hard for nothing?"
This was part of the strategy, and when the incident with the vixen started, he did not try to calm it down, but instead, kept making it worse.
He wants those in high positions to reap what they have sown.
And he doesn't need to do anything, just wait quietly.
However, looking back on the entire plan, Concubine Mei really made an indelible contribution.
(End of this chapter)