The King was sitting by Shangguan Yun’s bedside. The Little Princess had already gone to trick Little Shiyi with Xiaojingkong. In the room, besides him, there was only Shangguan Yun pretending to be dead with her eyes closed and Xiao Hen accompanying her.
One was unconscious, the other was not long for this world... none of them were outsiders.
The King sunk his face and asked, "What is it that you’re so flustered about?"
"It... it is..." Zhang Dequan was apprehensive about those words, unable to articulate them.
The King said in a deep voice, "I pardon you, speak!"
"Yes!" Zhang Dequan finally mustered up the courage and narrated the entire story.
It turned out that today the Sixth Prince was flying a kite in the Imperial Palace, and the kite string broke, causing it to fly into Han Guifei’s Sleeping Palace.
The Sixth Prince went to retrieve his kite.
Being a prince, he naturally couldn’t just stand at the door. He went inside to pay respects to Han Guifei.
Afterwards, as the Palace maids were searching for the kite, they unexpectedly found a strange object in the bushes.
The Sixth Prince, being young and curious, ran over and asked the Palace maids to dig it out.
Much to everyone’s surprise, it was a doll filled with silver needles!
From the situation on the scene, it seemed that the doll was buried underground, but due to the heavy rain days ago, the soil had been washed away, causing the doll to be exposed.
A doll filled with needles...
A dangerous gleam flashed in the King’s eyes. "Return to the palace!"
Xiao Hen stood up and looked at the King with concern, "Grandfather, I will accompany you to the palace to investigate."
The King thought for a moment and did not refuse.
"Take care of the Little Princess," the King left Zhang Dequan behind and led Xiao Hen back to the palace.
The matter had escalated significantly. The scene had been cordoned off by Wang Xianfei and her party. While Han Guifei held the Phoenix Seal, Wang Xianfei, concerned about her future, directly summoned people from Duwei Prefecture.
Duwei Prefecture is the most special office of the outer court, directly under the King’s command. Though usually not permitted to intrude into the Imperial Harem, if the Emperor’s safety is threatened, they are allowed to act first and report later.
With the arrival of the King, some concubines who came to watch the excitement had gathered at the scene.
Xiao Hen did not bow to these concubines. Regardless of whether Shangguan Yun was the Princess, he was now the only royal grandson of Xuanyuan Empress and did not need to bow to anyone except the Emperor and Empress.
"Where is it?" the King asked.
Wang Xianfei signaled Liu Mama, "Mama, present the item to His Majesty."
"Yes," Liu Mama held a square cloth with both hands, on which lay the doll dug out from the bushes.
The Sixth Prince, frightened, clung to Wang Xianfei. He didn’t understand how simply searching for a kite led to such a ruckus.
Father looked very displeased.
"Mother, I am scared," he whispered.
"Don’t be afraid," Wang Xianfei stroked his head and softly comforted him.
Thinking inwardly, fortunately, she had picked Shangguan Yun. With the Sixth Prince being so timid, he would ultimately be unfit for major responsibilities.
Of course, she did not dislike the Sixth Prince either, after all, she had no sons herself, and having a compliant Sixth Prince to raise would be a good thing.
Xiao Hen directly took the doll.
"Your Highness Changsun!" Liu Mama exclaimed in surprise.
The King also frowned, "Don’t touch such an ill-omened object."
"It’s no matter," Xiao Hen said nonchalantly.
"Huh?" Pretending to be careless, he turned the doll over, revealing a line of characters on the fabric at the back. He asked in confusion, "Grandfather, are these not your birthdate characters?"
The King had naturally seen them.
His face sank to the extreme, "Where was it found? Who discovered it?"
Liu Mama pointed to the grass surrounded by Wang Xianfei’s people not far away, respectfully saying, "It was found there! The Sixth Prince’s kite fell there. Zhang En by the Sixth Prince’s side and Li Xiaosheng from Guiyi Palace went together to find the kite. They discovered it together."
One was Wang Xianfei’s person, the other was Han Guifei’s person.
There was no possibility of the scene being manipulated by anyone.
The King coldly looked at Han Guifei, "Guifei, do you have anything to say?"
Han Guifei, who had her foot stomped on by Xiaojingkong a few days ago and had yet to recover, limped to the King, knelt to pay respects, and said, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I had no knowledge, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Hen did not rush to speak.
Because he firmly believed in his royal grandfather’s ability to imagine twists and turns. His imaginations would surely be more brilliant than his own interventions.
The King looked at her with a frosty gaze, "You mean someone snuck into your Sleeping Palace and framed you with witchcraft?"
Han Guifei gritted her teeth and glanced at Wang Xianfei, "It must be!"
Wang Xianfei raised her hand to protect the frightened Sixth Prince who was trying to snuggle into her arms, calmly saying, "Guifei, why are you looking at me and the Sixth Prince? Do you think it was me framing you?"
Han Guifei coldly responded, "How coincidental! The Sixth Prince’s kite flew to my palace! Even more coincidental, the Sixth Prince’s kite broke in my garden!"
Wang Xianfei’s attitude was exceptionally good, showing no signs of guilt on her face, "Everyone knows your Guiyi Palace is heavily guarded. Even if I had the intention, I wouldn’t have the capability! Guifei, I advise you to confess promptly. There are so many people in your palace, they can’t all be unyielding. Eventually, someone will be questioned. Rather than suffering in the Sky Prison, it would be better to confess willingly. His Majesty might show leniency and be more lenient in the punishment."
As she spoke, the King’s gaze unintentionally swept over, catching sight of a trembling figure hidden among the people.
The King raised his hand and pointed, "Bring him to me!"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Prime Minister's Darling