bookrebus Chapter 385 Even in death, he wanted to drag others down with him.
Chapter 385 Even in death, he wanted to drag others down with him.
The Emperor waved his hand coldly: "Take him away."
Consort Liang trembled, only now truly realizing that disaster was imminent.
This time, I fear I will never see the Emperor again.
She suddenly fell to the ground, her forehead slamming heavily against the floor: "Your Majesty! I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit!"
She pointed tremblingly at Murong Xiao beside her, "But Xiao'er is your own flesh and blood! Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cub..."
Murong Xiao struggled to sit up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth: "Mother... Consort..."
Consort Liang crawled a few steps on her knees, embraced her son tightly, and cried out in tears, "Your Majesty, please understand! I orchestrated everything! Xiao'er... he knew nothing!"
She suddenly looked up, a glint of malice flashing in her eyes: "Doesn't Your Majesty suspect that the Crown Prince is truly as loyal as he appears? Is he truly content to have waited in this position for so many years?"
The Crown Prince sneered, "You wicked woman! Even on the verge of death, you still try to sow discord!"
He turned to the emperor, "Father, you are wise and sagacious; how could you be fooled by such a clumsy trick?"
"Guards!" the crown prince roared. "Take them away immediately!"
Just as the guards were about to step forward, the Emperor slightly raised his hand, signaling them to stop.
Seeing this, Consort Liang's eyes ignited with hope: "Is it provocation or the truth? Why doesn't Your Majesty let me finish speaking? If the Crown Prince has a clear conscience, why should he be afraid of me saying a few more words?"
The crown prince, enraged, laughed coldly: "The ravings of this shameless scoundrel are not worth listening to at all!"
Consort Liang stared intently at the Emperor: "Does Your Majesty know that the Crown Prince actually knew the truth about the late Empress's death all along?"
Her voice grew increasingly shrill, "He can even suppress the hatred of killing his mother, don't you find that terrifying?"
The Emperor suddenly raised his eyes, his sharp gaze piercing the Crown Prince: "You... knew all along?"
The crown prince, his face contorted with pain, knelt heavily on the ground: "Father! If I had known this earlier, would I have allowed this poisonous woman to live to this day?"
Tears welled in his eyes. "I never imagined that Father would suspect me based on such a baseless accusation from this wicked woman..."
The Emperor's eyes flashed with a dark light. "I do not doubt you, but I would also like to hear what Consort Liang has to say."
The crown prince lowered his eyes and clenched his fists.
The Emperor said to Consort Liang, "Continue."
Consort Liang's lips curled into a smug, cold smile.
She knew she was doomed to die today, but even in death, she would drag the Crown Prince and the Lu family down with her!
"The Crown Prince and Lu Jiangnian, the heir of the Marquis of Zhongyong, are merely friends. In fact, the two have been secretly colluding for many years. It was Lu Jiangnian who exposed the death of the late Empress."
Consort Liang's voice suddenly rose, sounding particularly jarring in the silent hall: "Now that things have come to this, I have nothing left to hide!"
A mad glint flashed in her eyes. "Last year during the autumn hunt at the imperial palace, my niece, Liang Yusong, used Lu Jiangnian's elder sister, Lu Wei, to administer the Lianzhi Gu poison to Lu Jiangnian."
She stared intently at the emperor's expression and continued, "Who knew that Lu Jiangnian would follow the clues and find out about my son and me."
At this point, she suddenly turned to the Crown Prince, a malicious smile playing on her lips, "And at that time, the Crown Prince already knew that I had killed the late Empress! Yet he remained silent, secretly finding this 'Tang Bo' to fan the flames!"
The hall was deathly silent; even breathing could be heard clearly.
The emperor slowly turned to the crown prince: "Do you have something to say?"
The crown prince twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile: "Nonsense, a string of lies."
He straightened his back, his gaze unwavering as he looked at the emperor. "Father is the ruler, and I am the subject. If you wish to believe her, then I... have nothing to say."
The emperor narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze piercing the crown prince like a knife.
The crown prince neither flinched nor avoided him, meeting his gaze without a trace of guilt in his eyes.
Upon seeing this, Consort Liang suddenly let out a sharp laugh: "Your Majesty! Don't be fooled by the Crown Prince's appearance!"
She struggled to crawl forward a few steps, "Lu Jiangnian's wife, Madam Yuan, is a master of poison and witchcraft! We've fallen for her tricks several times, Xiao'er..."
Her voice suddenly choked with emotion, "Xiao'er was poisoned by her, and to this day... to this day he can't have sex!"
The Emperor was unaware of this matter before, but during this period of investigating Murong Xiao, he has learned about the situation.
"So, this poison was indeed administered by the Yuan family?"
Consort Liang was heartbroken: "She admitted it herself. If she had been concerned about getting her to help Xiao'er detoxify, Yu Song wouldn't have died in vain."
Thinking of all this, the hatred in her heart grew wildly.
"Can you really trust someone like that? If the Crown Prince develops disloyal intentions in the future, the Yuan family could easily produce any kind of poison..."
She deliberately left things unsaid, leaving room for endless imagination.
Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes.
He knew all too well the weight of those words—every single one was touching the emperor's most sensitive nerves.
"Father!" The Crown Prince kowtowed heavily. "Whatever your doubts may be, please investigate thoroughly before making a decision."
He raised his head, tears welling in his eyes, "Consort Liang is cunning and treacherous. She killed my mother back then, yet she can still put on a loving mother's face and stay by my side for more than ten years. She is shameless and extremely vicious."
The Crown Prince's voice trembled slightly: "Your Majesty, I implore you not to readily believe this wicked woman's one-sided story."
The emperor's gaze shifted back and forth between the crown prince and Consort Liang, his expression unfathomable.
Tang Bo, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke: "This humble subject has a question that I do not understand."
He slowly raised his head, a look of confusion on his face. "Since Consort Liang says that Madam Lu is so skilled in using poison and witchcraft, may I ask how old this lady is?"
A glint of light flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes, but his face remained impassive: "Lu Jiangnian, my study companion."
He paused deliberately, "Doctor Tang should still remember, right? His wife was a few years younger than him."
Upon hearing this, Tang Bo suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, his laughter filled with sarcasm: "Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!"
He turned to the emperor, "Wise judge! This wicked woman fabricated lies without even bothering to draft them!"
The emperor frowned slightly: "What do you mean by that?"
Tang Bo straightened up, his eyes gleaming with the dedication of a healer: "The path of medicine is all about accumulating knowledge over time. Let alone advanced techniques like using poison and venom, even ordinary medical skills require twenty or thirty years of hard work to become a master."
"How could a teenage girl possess such skill? This completely defies common sense!"
Consort Liang shrieked sharply: "Just because you, a quack doctor, can't do it doesn't mean others can't!"
Tang Bo didn't even glance at her, and continued to say to the emperor, "Back then, this humble subject studied medicine with my late master, and only after ten years of arduous training was I allowed to practice medicine alone."
A look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes, "Even so, my late master often praised my talent, saying it surpassed that of Gao Peng."
At this point, he deliberately put on an incredulous expression: "I wonder which reclusive master this Yuan family member studied under? How can someone so young be so proficient in both poisons and Gu techniques?"
He kowtowed heavily, "I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly! Such absurd words are clearly a malicious accusation by Consort Liang on her deathbed!"
The emperor fell into deep thought.
Taking the opportunity, Tang Bo added, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may summon all the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy for questioning. The path of medicine is no child's play. It is impossible for a teenage girl, even if she began learning medicine in the womb, to be proficient in it."
"enough!"
Consort Liang suddenly interrupted, her face contorted with rage, "Your Majesty! Tang Bo is clearly in cahoots with the Crown Prince! Yuan Wanru herself admitted to using poison! The poison in Xiao'er's body is irrefutable proof!"
Tang Bo sneered, "Since you insist, why not ask His Majesty to immediately send an imperial physician to treat the Second Prince? If it truly is a rare poison, the physicians of the Imperial Hospital will surely be able to discern the cause."