As soon as the noble concubine had this thought, she hurried out.
After a moment, she came back, her eyes had become more sinister.
The news of Murong Jie's death spread quickly, and no matter how hard Prince An tried to block the news, he could not do so.
Because the concubine did not cooperate, and after the imperial physician said there was no other way, she actually asked the Taoist priest to perform a ritual in a big way.
Xiao Tuo also found out the origins of the Taoist priest and ordered someone to notify Prince An to move over to meet him, because under the strict order of the Concubine Dowager, he could not enter the palace.
Prince An left the Regent's Palace, and Xiao Tuo was waiting in the carriage at the entrance of the alley.
He got on the carriage and lowered the curtain. Xiao Tuo hurriedly said, "We have already checked it out. This charlatan is called Tao De. He is the head of Fude Temple. He started to contact the concubine before the prince became regent. When the emperor was seriously ill, the concubine went to Fude Temple several times. There was news that the concubine wanted Tao De to perform a ritual to make the emperor seriously ill and pray for the prince so that he would have a chance to succeed. So Tao De set up the formation for seven days and seven nights. Sure enough, a few days later, the seriously ill emperor ordered the prince to be regent. The concubine believed in Tao De without a doubt. When the prince was in trouble, Tao De happened to be a guest in the mansion. It was the concubine who invited him to the mansion to talk about it."
Prince An was shocked. If this was true, then the noble concubine had used the art of aversion on the emperor. This was a capital crime punishable by death.
Prince An thought about the attitude of the noble concubine towards the Empress Dowager. It seemed that she had long wanted to seize power for Ajie, but Ajie didn't know it.
If I am not mistaken, besides this tactic of exorcism, she must have other plans.
"Who does this person interact with most?" asked Prince An.
"I have never had any contact with the Crown Prince. However, someone saw Liang Qi, the eldest son of Master Liang, go to Fude Temple once. However, this is not enough to prove that Tao De is the Crown Prince's man."
Prince An shook his head and said, "I think that Tao De should be someone of Grand Tutor Liang. It's not such a coincidence that he just happened to be a guest in the palace. Also, why did Ni Rong's wife suddenly go to the palace to look for the concubine? It's not the first time that Ni Rong has been on a mission. Sometimes he hasn't come back for a month, and she hasn't been seen looking for him. What's even more coincidental is that the wife of the chief physician of the Huimin Bureau also happened to be in the palace. One coincidence is a coincidence, two coincidences can also be explained, but so many coincidences piled together, it's not a coincidence, but someone did it deliberately."
"I thought so too. Where is Xia Zian? Can we meet him?" Xiao Tuo asked.
Prince An shook his head: "There is no other way. The Concubine does not allow anyone to visit or contact her."
"Is it not possible to use force?" Xiao Tuo asked anxiously, "If we allow that charlatan to continue the treatment, something bad will happen to the prince."
"I have already planned to use force." Prince An opened the curtain and got out of the car, with a look of desperate determination on his face, and strode away.
Xiao Tuo was extremely anxious, but there were people sent by the concubine to guard the door, so he could not go in at all. Thinking of the charlatan saying that he had a strong evil spirit and would harm the prince, he was so angry that he wanted to twist off the charlatan's head and kick it like a rattan ball.
A small carriage with a green tarpaulin roof drove out from the back door of the palace. There were three people sitting on the front of the carriage, one was the coachman, and the other two were apparently guards.
The driver was very sneaky. He looked around before quickly driving away.
Xiao Tuo suddenly became suspicious, but did not investigate further.
The person in the carriage was Zi'an. She had been trapped in the prison for two days. There was not a single ray of sunlight in the dark and damp prison. She had forgotten to press the button to charge the Soul Ring, and now the Soul Ring had almost no power left.
She was tied up, her mouth sealed, and thrown into a carriage. Even if she thought on her knees, she knew that the concubine was going to deal with her secretly.
When the carriage went out of the side door, she saw Xiao Tuo through the gap in the curtain, but was unable to call for help. In desperation, she lay on her side, stretched her bound feet out from the side curtain of the carriage, rubbing her shoes against the ground, hoping to attract Xiao Tuo's attention.
The moment Xiao Tuo's shoes hit the ground, he just lowered the curtain and returned to the carriage.
There was sunlight outside, and Zi'an tried hard to spread his legs apart, attempting to let the sunlight in so that the Soul-Snatching Ring could absorb the solar radiation and increase its energy.
However, she was soon discovered by the guards, one of whom entered the carriage, grabbed Zi'an's hair with one hand and dragged him up, punched Zi'an on the head, and angrily said, "Want to call for help? Are you too late to die?"
Zi'an had been locked up for two days and had not eaten a single grain of rice. She was very weak, and this punch made her faint.
Prince An went to rescue Zi'an by force, but found that Zi'an had been taken away. He rushed out of the house and lifted the curtain of Xiao Tuo's carriage. "Zi'an was taken away. He must have been secretly dealt with by the Concubine Dowager."
Xiao Tuo jumped down suddenly and said, "A carriage came out just now. I wonder if someone from the mansion took her away!"
Prince An looked back and saw something on the ground, so he walked over.
Xiao Tuo also followed and asked in surprise: "Embroidered shoes? How come there is a pair of shoes at the gate of the Regent's Palace?"
Prince An said in a deep voice: "It's Zi'an's."
Xiao Tuo cried out secretly, "Not good!" He ran back quickly, got on the carriage, and said to the driver, "Let's go and chase the carriage we just saw."
Prince An also wanted to get in the car, but Xiao Tuo lifted the curtain and said, "Go back and look after the prince, and do your best."
Prince An stopped, a trace of anger flashed in his eyes, he unclenched his fists, and returned to the palace.
As soon as I stepped into the yard, I heard the concubine's heart-wrenching cry.
Prince An's heart sank and he walked in quickly. He saw the judge and the imperial physician both kneeling on the ground, and the noble concubine throwing herself on Murong Jie, crying loudly.
Murong Zhuangzhuang was also crying nearby. When she saw Prince An coming in, she rushed over and hugged him, "Old Seven is gone."
Prince An swayed for a moment and looked at Murong Jie's pale and bloodless face on the bed. A strong feeling of powerlessness rose from his heart. In the end, he could do nothing.
Just like how he watched his father leave back then, he was just a useless waste.
He closed his eyes for a long while before suddenly opening them and issuing strict orders, "Block all news. Tell everyone that the prince is still receiving treatment. No one is allowed to enter or leave the palace, and the imperial doctors are not allowed to leave. Any news here cannot leave the Regent's Palace, and even this courtyard."
He looked around, but he couldn't find the Taoist Todd. He said angrily, "Come on, bring that Taoist back to me."
The guard took the order and went after Todd.
After giving all these instructions, he stepped forward and pulled the noble concubine away, hiding the grief in his eyes, and said to the noble concubine: "Now is not the time to be sad, noble concubine, please accept my condolences."
The noble concubine was so grief-stricken that she actually felt resentful and punched Prince An, "It's all your fault. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you ask Xia Zian to treat him? He is a troublemaker. You are the one who killed Ajie."
Prince An grabbed her wrist and wanted to scold her, but when he saw her face full of tears and snot and her heartbroken look, he couldn't bear it, so he let her go and walked out.
If I'm not mistaken, someone will come to spy on us tonight.
We must catch that Taoist and not let him leak the news.
Moreover, if I am not mistaken, it must be someone belonging to Taifu Liang.
The news of Ajie's death must not be spread, otherwise, Taifu Liang will definitely use the prince to control the princes.
The crown prince is not a threat; the real big tiger is Taifu Liang.
Once the crown prince becomes regent, the country will fall into the hands of Taifu Liang.
(End of this chapter)