The concubine is extremely cautious

Chapter 216 The Crown Prince Controversy 2

The eldest prince was poisoned, and the whole palace was shocked.

The emperor brought the eldest prince to Qianxin Palace and immediately sealed off Qilin Palace to search for poisonous substances.

A number of concubines came forward to express their greetings.

Kangpin was so anxious that tears kept falling, "President Zhao, how is His Highness...how is he now..."

"Fortunately, it was discovered in time and the poison has not yet invaded the heart and lungs, otherwise even a god could not save him." said Zhao Yuanpan.

After inspection, it was discovered that the handkerchief used by the eldest prince to bandage the wound on his palm had been soaked in poisonous water.

If the poison only comes into contact with the body, it will not cause any harm. However, if it is ingested or seeps through a wound, it can quickly enter the internal organs.

Helian Qi's face was as dark as water, "Where did Xiupa come from?"

The eldest prince, lying on the sickbed with a weak face, looked at Concubine Rou in shock.

Concubine Rou was even more shocked than him. She knelt down in disbelief and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. This is the handkerchief that my maid used to bandage the eldest prince's wound... But I absolutely do not have the intention to murder the eldest prince!"

Hong Er, who was accompanying him, also knelt down and kowtowed hurriedly:

"I would never dare to murder the eldest prince! I don't know how this handkerchief could be poisonous."

Helian Qi's eyes fell on the palace maid, his eyes were cold. He said coldly:

"Send him to the Criminal Department. Wu Mi, investigate thoroughly."

Wu Mi took the order and went forward to drag Hong'er away.

Hong Er desperately shook her head and cried, "This slave did not murder the eldest prince... This slave was wronged... Madam, Madam, this slave was wronged..."

When Concubine Rou saw this scene, she was frightened.

She knew that someone must be targeting her.

Although Hong'er was not a servant girl she brought from home, she was also a servant girl she personally selected from the matchmaker.

When I was in the palace, I had been serving her. Now Hong'er's handkerchief is poisonous...

Even if Concubine Rou said it had nothing to do with her, who would believe it? Would the emperor believe it?

"Your Majesty, I really did not murder the eldest prince. I was wrongly accused..." Concubine Rou looked at Helian Qi earnestly, tears falling from her eyes.

When the concubines saw this scene, they all had different expressions.

Wen Shutang thought about it and realized that Concubine Rou was the adoptive mother of the second prince, so she should come out and say a few words to support him. As for whether the emperor believed it or not, that was the emperor's business.

"Your Majesty, Sister Roupin has always been gentle and kind. I don't think she would do such a vicious thing... There must be something fishy about this matter." Wen Shutang said softly.

Yao Jieyu was enjoying the fun and said sarcastically, "Madam Roupin treats the Second Prince as her own son and loves him very much. I'm sure she will love the First Prince as well."

She didn’t say…

But the implication is obvious enough.

Concubine Rou dotes on the second prince. If the first prince dies, the second prince will become the eldest prince.

Some time ago, the court was discussing the issue of establishing a crown prince...

It is possible that Concubine Rou attacked the eldest prince for the sake of the second prince's future.

Roupin did have a motive for committing the crime.

"How could someone poison someone and send their own maid? Sister Roupin must have been wrongly accused." Jingpin chimed in. She had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

Xue Jinshu took over the conversation lightly, "Everything still requires evidence. Otherwise, if you want to harm someone in the future, just send your own maid and say it was murdered."

Although Roupin's maid took direct action, it made people feel that there was another murderer.

But Concubine Rou could indeed send palace maids to do the deed and then put the blame on someone else, saying that she was framed.

So, in the end, it all comes down to evidence.

Kangpin didn't say anything, she just sat beside the eldest prince and cried silently. She had a good relationship with Roupin, but she didn't dare to trust anyone...

soon……

The residence of the palace maid Hong'er was turned upside down, and the palace servants who were on good terms with her were also investigated and interrogated one by one.

Hong Er was stubborn at first, but after the punishment...

Unable to bear it any longer, she let out a sigh of relief: "It was Concubine Rou who ordered me to do this. Concubine Rou said that only if the eldest prince died, the second prince would have hope..."

Wu Mi brought back the blood-stained Hong'er to report.

The concubines looked at him sideways.

Roupin couldn't believe it. "Impossible, I didn't do that. This is a false accusation..."

She never expected that the personal maid who served her in the palace would frame her.

But then...

Wu Mi also reported: "I investigated the palace maids who were on good terms with Hong Er and found that she was secretly in close contact with Xiao Guizi from Yonghe Palace. The two met in private and were witnessed by the palace maids."

Xiao Guizi, who was following Ning Wanyin, felt her legs go weak immediately.

He knelt on the ground with a thud and said hurriedly: "I am innocent. I am just familiar with her, but I didn't know she dared to do such a thing..."

He had a bad feeling ever since Hong'er was taken away.

There were some maids and eunuchs in the palace who were "in touch" with each other privately. He was now the eunuch Gui of Yonghe Palace, and there was no shortage of maids who would please him. This Hong'er was the one he had fallen in love with last year...

He never expected that something like this would happen...

Jingpin's eyes lit up instantly. So that's how it was. This game seemed to be done by Roupin, but it was actually a hint at Ning Wanyin.

"Could it be that Hong'er was instructed by outsiders to deliberately frame Concubine Rou?" Upon seeing this situation, Concubine Yao immediately threw dirty water on Ning Wanyin.

Wen Shutang, Jingpin and others all had the same idea, but they just wouldn't say it out loud.

Ning Wanyin said calmly:

"Yao Jieyu's guess is correct, and this palace thinks so too. Xiao Xiazi——"

Xiao Xiazi stepped forward and said, "Two days ago, the palace maid Hong'er and Nanny Mei, who is beside the eldest prince, met privately."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Only Helian Qi looked calm and not surprised at all.

That day, Ning Wanyin came to see him with ginseng soup and asked him to send more people to secretly look after the princes.

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, but I am worried that the people in the palace are unstable and will hurt the crown prince." Ning Wanyin said earnestly:

"I think it is necessary to secretly dispatch personnel to protect the safety of the crown prince."

"The telescope developed by Ying Zhaoyi is worth using."

The emperor had been planning this since the previous dynasty proposed to establish a crown prince.

He himself had ascended to the throne in a bloody struggle for the throne, and now that the previous dynasty was raising the issue of establishing a crown prince, the eldest prince was immediately pushed to the forefront. Who knows what the families or mothers of the other princes think.

Ning Wanyin's proposal was exactly what he wanted.

The only thing that surprised him was that Ning Wanyin was really protecting the crown prince. If anything happened to the other princes, it would actually be beneficial to her.

But thinking back, Ning Wanyin had never attacked the Crown Prince...

Helian Qi couldn't see through her thoughts for a moment.

Who wouldn't be tempted by the position of crown prince?

If Ning Wanyin said that she had no interest in the position of Crown Prince, he would not believe it. How could a person not have selfish motives? Who would not be partial to his own son?

"Wanwan, what do you think about the issue of establishing a crown prince?" Helian Qi looked at Ning Wanyin and asked casually.

There was a hint of surprise in Ning Wanyin's beautiful eyes, as if she had not expected His Majesty to ask her this question.

But actually...

She had considered the matter of appointing a crown prince before she became pregnant.

If she gave birth to a prince, and if the competition for the crown prince became fierce, how would she dispel the emperor's suspicion of her?

She got pregnant only after she had thought of everything.

If the emperor said that a mother didn't want to fight for the best position for her son, would he believe it?

Especially in a place like the royal family where the winners are kings and the losers are bandits. If you are the loser, it doesn't mean that you are willing to give in, and the winner will leave you a way out.

Ning Wanyin had thought it through very clearly from the beginning.

Her son must be the next emperor.

She would not entrust her life and the life of her child to the kindness of the next emperor.

However, the more you want something, the more patient you need to be.

Moreover, what Ning Wanyin wanted was for her son to become emperor, and she was not in a hurry whether he could become the crown prince.

If you appoint a crown prince too early, you will become the target of public criticism.

Who said that becoming a crown prince would definitely lead to the throne? The crown prince died first.

Ning Wanyin thought it was too early to prepare these things now.

Unless the emperor is about to die, the crown prince or anyone else who has been decided now will all be subject to change.

"I don't understand state affairs. Your Majesty will make the arrangements." Ning Wanyin answered in a proper manner, but she knew that these excuses that everyone would say were useless.

What comes next is the key.

Ning Wanyin looked at Helian Qi again, looking a little shy:

"If I were to say what I think in my heart, it is that Your Majesty has always favored me. I know that no matter what decision you make, you will make sure that Xi'er and I are properly settled."

"With you here, I don't need to worry about these things. I just want to stay with you forever, and watch you achieve your ambitions, and watch Dayan prosper under your governance. In this prosperous and peaceful era, we will grow old together and live in peace."