Chapter 801: Using Death to Cast Suspicion on the Eastern Palace
By now, he should have set sail to sea.
Did he know that barely after his departure, someone couldn't wait to scheme against her?
She wanted to see who was cowardly hiding behind the scenes!
"Duanming..." Shen Xihe often enjoyed stroking Duanming's fur while deep in thought. Only when her fingertips met empty air did she remember she had secretly sent Duanming away, instructing others to deliver the pet to Xiao Huayong so it could keep him company and provide some lively distraction.
She only hoped he would recover soon, always remembering that someone far away was waiting for his return.
Shen Xihe stood silently for a long time until the Youning Emperor, Empress Dowager, Noble Consort Rong, and Shu Fei arrived together.
"Your daughter pays respects to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager." Shen Xihe first bowed to the Youning Emperor and Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager stepped forward ahead of the Emperor to support Shen Xihe who was about to kneel: "You're with child, be careful."
The Youning Emperor didn't mind these formalities and went straight to the point: "The palace servants reported that you poisoned Li Yanyan?"
"Your Majesty must not believe such slander." Shen Xihe remained composed, speaking unhurriedly. "This is the Eastern Palace. Since Beichen..." She paused before continuing, "Today is especially the day of Beichen's burial. Your daughter has been unwell and couldn't see him off, so I've been resting in the Eastern Palace. For some reason, Li Yanyan rushed into the Eastern Palace, first drawing a dagger to assassinate me. Fortunately, my maid has some martial skills, so I escaped unharmed.
After failing to assassinate me, Li Yanyan appeared maddened and then drank poison to end her own life."
"Liu Sanzhi, bring her up!" ordered the Youning Emperor.
Liu Sanzhi dragged forward a maid—the very one who had accompanied Li Yanyan and run out earlier.
"You were just panicking and shouting throughout the palace that the Crown Princess poisoned Li Yanyan, yet the Crown Princess claims Li Yanyan drank the poisoned wine herself!" The Youning Emperor stared at the maid kneeling and trembling on the ground.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty! My mistress... my mistress was indeed poisoned by Her Highness the Crown Princess, poisoned by Her Highness the Crown Princess..." The maid repeatedly kowtowed, repeating these words, clearly terrified out of her wits.
Everyone's gaze shifted between the calmly standing Shen Xihe and the terrified maid. The Youning Emperor ordered Doctor Huang to examine Li Yanyan's pulse, confirming she died from poisoning.
He then interrogated Li Yanyan's two other maids, whose accounts matched the reporting maid's. When questioning the Eastern Palace servants, their statements naturally aligned with Shen Xihe's version.
Both sides insisted on their own stories. The doubt lay in Shen Xihe's lack of motive for murder, and if she truly wanted to kill Li Yanyan, she wouldn't have done it in the Eastern Palace. Moreover, Li Yanyan had come voluntarily, and previously the Eastern Palace had no interactions with Li Yanyan and her husband.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." the reporting maid trembled as she spoke, "My mistress only charged into the Eastern Palace after meeting with Second Miss Yu..."
Shen Xihe subtly raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Yu Sangning to be involved.
Had Yu Sangning grown tired of living, daring to provoke her?
Clearly, the Youning Emperor also hadn't anticipated his former daughter-in-law's involvement. He held extreme disgust for Yu Sangning.
Not to mention the matter of Bu Shulin and Xiao Wenxi that led to the death of the Yu family daughter, just Yu Sangning's role in Xiao Changmin's affairs was enough to disgust the Youning Emperor.
With a darkened expression, the Youning Emperor commanded: "Summon the Yu daughter."
Yu Sangning had always yearned for wealth and admired the imperial palace, but this was the one time she most resisted setting foot in this place.The imperial palace, majestic and solemn, loomed larger as one drew near, its upturned eaves refracting a dazzling, sacred light under the sun that was too brilliant to behold directly.
This was the most exalted place in the world, where every resident lived in gilded luxury, capable of deciding life and death with a mere snap of their fingers.
But to Yu Sangning, the wide-open palace gates now resembled a grotesque, bloodthirsty maw that devoured bones without spitting them out—a pitch-black abyss with no end in sight.
Once she stepped inside, there would be no turning back.
She had always considered herself somewhat clever, yet in the eyes of those who could summon storms with a flip of their hands, she was nothing but an ant that could be crushed underfoot!
These individuals, wielding immense power, manipulated others at will, treating people as chess pieces and lives as pawns, leaving no room for escape. Even when facing certain death, their victims had no choice but to charge forward and offer up their lives!
“Lady Yu, what did you say to Lady Li? Did Li Yanyan trespass into the Eastern Palace with the intent to assassinate the Crown Princess?” the Youning Emperor asked Yu Sangning with a stern expression upon seeing her.
“Your Majesty, this humble subject was invited to the Third Prince’s residence by the Third Princess Consort,” Yu Sangning replied calmly, without a trace of panic.
In truth, it was not so. She had secretly used the men left behind by Yu Xiang to first send a message to Li Yanyan, claiming she knew the truth behind Xiao Changtian’s death, thereby forcing Li Yanyan to take the initiative and summon her to the Third Prince’s residence.
These men were the Yu family’s hidden trump cards. Back when Yu Xiang had secretly relayed the news of the death without detection, Yu Sangning was confident that even if the Emperor sent investigators, they would find no evidence. The fact that she had been invited to the Third Prince’s residence—not that she had gone of her own accord—was crucial to preserving her life!
“Why did Lady Li invite you to her residence?” the Youning Emperor pressed, having already dispatched men to verify the details.
Yu Sangning glanced swiftly at Shen Xihe before lowering her head and replying, “Your Majesty, the Third Princess Consort sought me out solely to ask me to serve as a witness. Should she die in the Eastern Palace, she wished me to truthfully inform Your Majesty that on the day the Eighth Prince attempted regicide, she had received an early tip-off warning her of his rebellious intentions.”
Shen Xihe lowered her head, adjusting the shawl draped over her arm, as if completely oblivious to Yu Sangning’s words.
Yu Sangning said no more, playing her role as Li Yanyan’s unwitting pawn to perfection, appearing utterly innocent.
Yet this was enough. Someone had incited Li Yanyan to suspect that the Eastern Palace had orchestrated the plot to assassinate the Emperor, leading to Xiao Changtian’s death.
Li Yanyan possessed a note—one whose paper and handwriting were untraceable. Had she rashly taken it to the Emperor to lodge a complaint, whether His Majesty believed her or not, he would not have pursued a deep investigation without solid evidence.
But if Li Yanyan were to die in the Eastern Palace and this note were then exposed, the implications would be entirely different. With a princess consort’s life at stake, the Emperor would have ample justification to launch a full-scale investigation.
Others might not know whether Xiao Changyan had truly attempted regicide, but how could the Emperor himself not know? If not for his desire to uncover the whole truth, why would he have adopted an attitude of deferring all matters to the Crown Prince’s funeral, keeping Xiao Changyan imprisoned without yet passing judgment or sentencing?
Because Xiao Huayong was “dead,” the Emperor had not suspected the Eastern Palace of foul play. But if Li Yanyan were to seek revenge and then be silenced by Shen Xihe, with this preemptive note to Li Yanyan brought to light, how could the Emperor not grow suspicious of the Eastern Palace?
And what would be the first course of action upon suspecting the Eastern Palace? Naturally, to open the coffin and verify whether the body inside truly belonged to Xiao Huayong!
If it was him, then there were other hidden circumstances at play; if not, then the Eastern Palace was undoubtedly the mastermind behind it all!Could Shen Xihe allow the Youning Emperor to open the coffin? Of course not. Xiao Huayong had already departed after the coffin was sealed. What was buried in the imperial mausoleum today was actually Xiao Juesong.
Years ago, Xiao Huayong had promised to let Xiao Juesong return to his roots and be buried in the imperial mausoleum, but he never agreed to have Xiao Juesong interred under his own name.
(End of Chapter)
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