GBP Chapter 494: The Little Cannon Fodder in Ancient House Fighting Novels 53
Chapter 494: The Little Cannon Fodder in Ancient House Fighting Novels 53
When the emperor saw the evidence on the desk, he remained silent for a long time.
"Why? Why would you do this? You are already the Empress. When my legitimate son was born, I made him the Crown Prince. Your Ouyang family is the most powerful in the world. Whether it's you, the Crown Prince, or the Ouyang family, you are all second to none.
"Am I not good enough to you? I know you are sad about the death of the Crown Prince, and I am no exception. But even though I am the Son of Heaven, I cannot control human life! You should not bury the kingdom and century-old foundation built by your ancestors with your child!" The emperor muttered to himself, then coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood!
The emperor wiped the blood off the walls, refused to call for the imperial physician, and went to the empress's palace. No one except Cui Xiaoxiao knew what they talked about. The next morning, after the emperor's court meeting, he stayed with some trusted ministers to discuss the matter for a while. He then ordered a heavy garrison to surround the empress's Fengyi Palace, forbidding anyone to visit without an imperial decree.
But I don't know why she was not deposed.
The head of the Ouyang family and the officials in the court were detained for interrogation at the clan court, and the rest of the family was imprisoned! The Ouyang family had grown into a towering tree, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and roots spread far and wide. Now, the edifice was on the verge of collapse, and soldiers and soldiers hurriedly shuttled through the streets of the capital, causing panic among the people!
The emperor's wrath would result in the floating corpses of millions and the shedding of blood for thousands of miles. During this period, the bloodstains of the guillotine had never dried. The ministers also kept their tails between their legs, not daring to complain, and no one pleaded for mercy on the Ouyang family.
After all, any father would not be able to bear the fact that his children were assassinated and poisoned on such a large scale, resulting in heavy casualties among the royal heirs, let alone a father from an imperial family, who would wish to crush the culprit to pieces.
The emperor had to do this. He had to give an explanation to his son, and he also needed blood and lives to appease his anger at being almost exterminated.
Therefore, many people or officials often suddenly find that their neighbors have disappeared overnight.
There was chaos everywhere inside and outside the palace!
The place where the Tenth Prince was recuperating was peaceful and tranquil. The former residence of the princes was now occupied by the injured princes and nobles, almost turning it into a hospital. The imperial physicians came twice daily to check on the rooms, change the medicines, and boil the elixirs. The entire East Third Residence was practically permeated with the smell of medicine!
While Cui Xiaoxiao used her mental power to listen to the grievances and hatreds between the emperor and the empress, she took some poisonous blood from the tenth prince and took some bottles and jars of medicine, calling it an antidote!
They also received news that the assassination was carried out by the Queen and the Ouyang family!
"Achen, among so many brothers, why do you dislike the fifth prince alone? Is there any grudge between you?" Cui Xiaoxiao asked the tenth prince while trying many things!
"Huh? It's not that I can't stand him, it's obviously him who can't stand me, okay? When we were little, we competed for favors. He would be unhappy for a few days when my father praised me. Now that he's grown up, he doesn't compete for praise anymore, but for resources. Anyway, whatever I have, he has to fight for it.
Oh, by the way, it seems his crush is interested in me, but I suspect he's overthinking it! The Tenth Prince lay in bed, watching his girl diligently preparing the antidote. Her movements were so graceful and smooth, like brewing tea. He even had the urge to take a sip.
"So in your impression, does the Queen treat him in any special way?" Cui Xiaoxiao asked calmly!
"Queen Mother? I haven't paid much attention to it. Queen Mother seems to be rather cold towards us illegitimate children except the Crown Prince. There is not much difference! Why do you ask this?" The Tenth Prince fell into deep thought.
"Because I found that the fifth prince only had superficial injuries." Cui Xiaoxiao did not hide her suspicion.
"Really?" If she could figure it out, there was no way the Tenth Prince didn't know it.
"It's absolutely true. It just looks dangerous, but it's not actually fatal."
According to the assassin leader, the fifth prince might be the Ouyang family's child. She was curious about how a concubine in the harem could have such a relationship with a minister. Was she pregnant before entering the palace, or was it a case of a cat-and-mouse substitution?
However, the conversation between the emperor and the empress just now did not mention the fifth prince. Could this also be the empress's plan?
"You and your seventh brother are poisoned by the same poison. If I could find the antidote, would you choose to save him?"
"Of course I have to save him, but I still need to make some plans. Xiaoxiao, what do you want? Xiaoxiao, you came up with it so quickly? So amazing? Those imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital are really good-for-nothings. They are not even as good as you, a girl in the boudoir." Xiaoxiao's medical skills are much higher than he imagined. Is the person next to him a miracle doctor?
"Not yet, but it will be soon." Cui Xiaoxiao touched her nose feeling a little guilty. Wasn't it because she had the antidote and the answer that she was able to solve the problem so quickly?
In reality, she was still inferior to the imperial physician. The Imperial Medical Bureau had already found four of the six mixed toxins, but the two were rarer and therefore elusive. Cui Xiaoxiao had found a number of herbal poisons in the cave that day, and she would need to find time to study them thoroughly.
"You can take whatever you want! I don't need anything!" She really didn't need anything, and she had almost spent all the banknotes in the space.
"Okay then, leave it to me!"
On the fifth day after they moved into the palace, the Imperial Hospital received news that the third prince had woken up. He had not become crazy or stupid, nor had he lost his memory, and he was still relatively lucid.
On the twelfth day, after day and night research by the Imperial Hospital, the antidote for the poison in the seventh and tenth princes was found, and the tension in the emperor's heart finally eased a little!
Actually, the results of the Imperial Hospital's research were not quite up to par. The final poison had not been determined, but time was running out. They had no choice but to find a similar medicine as a substitute. Although it might only be able to remove 80% or 90% of the poison, it would at least save his life.
In fact, the Tenth Prince had already delivered the real antidote to the Seventh Prince two days ago.
On the fifteenth day, good news came from the Imperial Hospital again. As long as the Fourth Prince diligently undergoes rehabilitation training, there is an 80% chance that he can return to normal.
On the same day, princes numbering thirty, fifty, or seventy were discharged from the hospital after recovering with the approval of the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau and returned home to recuperate.
The successive good news finally dispersed the dark clouds in the sky of the capital, and it was no longer as gloomy as before.
When the imprisoned empress heard the news, she said, "How can this be? Why can they recover even though their tendons and veins are broken or they are poisoned? We sacrificed our entire family only to kill a few shrimps. What a waste, what a waste." She also smashed a lot of antique porcelain.
Cui Xiaoxiao returned to Prince Jin's Mansion with her husband, son and a group of servants. Cui Xiaoxiao sighed that her own place was still comfortable after all.
The recovered princes began a new round of struggle for power.
After all, the fall of a behemoth gives life to many other people, which means that many official positions will be vacant!
The Tenth Prince was also visibly busy, and Cui Xiaoxiao received many visiting cards, ostensibly to visit the patient, but in reality to promote their daughters. Most of them were from powerful wives with beautiful daughters, after all, there were vacancies for the Tenth Prince's wife, concubines, wives, and concubines.
Cui Xiaoxiao watched them look down on her, yet simultaneously try to please her, and she felt awkward for them. The ladies ranged in style, from dignified to lovely, from coquettish to aloof.
Cui Xiaoxiao refused to agree to anything, pretending not to understand implicitly, and directly stated that she was just a concubine, and it was the wife's business to take a concubine for the master, she could not interfere and had no right to make the decision on her own.
If she and her family really wanted to move into Prince Jing's Mansion, they could negotiate directly with the prince. If the prince agreed, she would arrange to welcome all the sisters at the mansion.
Even so, she still had the reputation of being jealous, seductive and troublesome. In the end, she was so annoyed that she simply closed the door to visitors on the pretext of recuperating from illness, and only then did she have complete peace and quiet.
The emperor watched coldly as his son and his ministers jumped around, forming cliques, taking over private businesses, and calculating their own position. He wasn't dead yet! Could they be so impatient? He felt that they couldn't be left too idle, so he assigned various tasks to the princes, and they began to work tirelessly.
Cui Xiaoxiao, who has some free time, starts to concentrate on raising the cubs and preparing for the New Year. She also needs to settle the accounts at the end of the year and prepare various New Year gifts... Being the mistress of the house is not an easy thing.
We are busy all the time, but the closer it gets to the end of the year, the more we feel that a storm is about to come. It is said that the emperor is not in good health and even vomited blood a few days ago.
New Year’s Eve is coming soon!
The couple, dressed up, took a carriage to the palace. They did not bring their children today because the weather was cold and the palace banquet ended late, which delayed the children's rest.
The dinner hasn't started yet, so a few people went to the Imperial Concubine to wish her a happy new year.
"Yun Chen, Xiao Xiao, please be more careful tonight!" She always felt that something was wrong tonight, but she couldn't tell what was wrong.
"Mother, have you discovered something?" The Tenth Prince also had some feeling in his heart, but he was also more alert.
"No, it's just a feeling! Anyway, it won't be wrong to pay more attention." Several people ate something to fill their stomachs first. This kind of banquet would not let them get full.
The banquet began, and everyone took their seats. This was Cui Xiaoxiao's first time seeing these princes since the assassination! On the surface, they all seemed to have recovered well and still had their aura. The only flaws were that one was in a wheelchair, and one had a large scar on his face.
The emperor came out to give a speech, summarizing the achievements of the year and his expectations for the coming year. He singled out his sons and ministers for praise, and encouraged those not mentioned to continue their efforts...
He spoke a lot in a very eloquent manner, and then toasted everyone.
Cui Xiaoxiao smelled the wine and carefully checked the dishes, but didn't find anything wrong. It seemed that it was not the wine, meat and food. She looked around and didn't see any incense burning.
Then they ate while enjoying singing and dancing, clinking glasses and toasting each other, creating a scene of great joy.
Not long after, an arrow was shot from outside the hall, directly towards the emperor. The emperor was pulled back by the eunuch beside him, and the arrow hit the dragon throne directly, right at his head.
Everyone was startled and immediately reacted. They shouted: "Protect the emperor, protect the emperor!"
"Quick, quick, protect the emperor."
"There's an assassin, everyone, protect the emperor."
"Hurry up and save the emperor, protect the queen."
"Ah, help, help, save me!"
"Don't kill me, don't kill me!"
Then came the second arrow, the third arrow, and many more arrows, which kept shooting towards the emperor. The eunuch beside the emperor automatically acted as a meat shield. The emperor was unable to dodge in time and was shot in the shoulder!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how are you?"
"The Emperor was shot by an arrow?"
"Quick, Doctor Xuan."
Everyone began to flee to avoid the arrows.
The emperor was escorted to the side by the eunuch, and more and more people gathered around him.
The dancing girls also started to move, taking out weapons from their legs and waists, and began to kill innocent people indiscriminately towards the emperor and those around him.
Soon there were screams, cries, calls for help, and the sound of swords cutting into flesh.
The tenth prince Cui Xiaoxiao stood up immediately and walked to the side of the imperial concubine. The two looked at each other and pulled the imperial concubine back.
After sending the imperial concubine to Cui Xiaoxiao, the tenth prince engaged in a fight with the assassin closest to the emperor. The first to arrive were the prince's guards who were waiting outside the palace, and the two sides began to fight.
Soon the palace guards rushed over and joined the battle!
More and more guards joined the fight. After all, the number of assassins was limited, and they were quickly captured, intercepted, or killed by the guards! However, the originally lively and warm banquet hall was now in ruins, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.
There are still a few lying on the ground!
"I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me, Your Majesty." The guards all knelt down to apologize.
"Oh no, the arrow is poisonous. Where is the imperial physician? Why hasn't the imperial physician come yet?" The young eunuch's voice trembled.
"Why are you panicking? What can a little poison do to me? I want to see who wants to take my life today." The emperor quickly calmed down.
"Fourth brother, take the men to be on guard. Seventh brother, you are in charge of the palace! The two concubines and the harem are left to you. The boss and his group of assassins are also left to you. Fifth brother, sixth brother, guard the palace gate. Third brother, tenth brother, the matters outside the palace are left to you! My dear ministers..." The emperor arranged things in an orderly manner.
"Your son/sovereign obeys your command!"
"Everyone go and do your work, I'm going to pull out an arrow first!" After saying that, he fell straight down.
At this time, the imperial physician also arrived and took the patient's pulse and examined him.
Cui Xiaoxiao was also stunned. Was this the end? Why did this assassination feel a bit frivolous? Were dancers not searched for weapons? Was this the end, or... just the beginning?
Cui Xiaoxiao said she remained skeptical.
The emperor then fell into a coma for half a month. The imperial physician said that the emperor had been poisoned by an unknown poison, but they had not yet identified the source of the poison. They would do their best to treat him.
For one, two, and three days, the princes remained composed and did everything they were told. But after four, five, or six days, things started to get a bit awkward. After all, a country cannot be without a ruler for even a day, and there were mountains of memorials waiting to be approved.
The fifth prince had no choice but to classify the memorials and discuss with the civil officials how to handle and send out the more urgent ones.
After seven, eight, and nine days, these people were already extremely worried. The civil and military officials still thought that the emperor had passed away and kept the news secret, quarreling with the princes.
On the tenth, eleventh, and twelveth day, the princes were in agony, and several began to stir. Civil and military officials began to push for a new monarch, and the daily court was like a market, with everyone taking their own stance.
Several princes were tempted and secretly prepared for a big move. If they won, they would become the ruler of a country and enjoy endless wealth and glory. If they lost their first life, they would be a hero again after 18 years.
On the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth day, it seemed like the situation was getting worse. Several princes lost weight. On the afternoon of the fifteenth day, the emperor opened his eyes.