Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

On a stormy night, the wind howled, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, as if the world had come to an end. The atmosphere in the palace was tense and oppressive, a dead silence reigned. Suddenly, a suppressed cry of pain shattered the tranquility, awakening the slumbering residents. They scrambled from their beds and looked in terror in the direction of the sound.

After some inquiries, people learned shocking news—the Second Prince had died of smallpox! This sudden change shocked everyone. Smallpox has always been a serious disease, difficult to cure once contracted, and can even be fatal. However, now the First Prince has miraculously recovered. So how could the Second Prince die?

The news spread quickly throughout the palace, causing an uproar. People began to speculate about the cause of the Second Prince's death. Some said it was a blessing from heaven, some said the imperial physicians had found a miraculous cure, and some believed it was the eldest prince's own strong vitality that overcame the illness. The prince was so frail and young that he didn't survive.

Regardless, this incident became a major mystery within the palace, and it also filled people with anticipation for the future. Everyone hoped to find the answer and unravel this mystery.

A group of palace maids and eunuchs held the agitated Qiao Xinran tightly, fearing she would impulsively rush forward to embrace the Second Prince and contract the dreaded smallpox. They tightly grasped the hem of Qiao Xinran's clothes and tugged hard, trying to prevent her from getting any closer. However, Qiao Xinran's strength was far inferior to theirs, and she was dragged back a few steps, still struggling unwillingly to break free.

Finally, Qiao Xinran collapsed helplessly beside the Second Prince's bed, staring blankly ahead, as if she had lost all hope. Her emotions were like a pot of boiling water, churning and tumbling, scalding her heart. Her heart was filled with pain, anger, and despair, a tangled web of emotions that made it impossible for her to calm down.

Qiao Xinran sat helplessly beside the bed and cried. Qian Huang hurried to Qiao Xinran's bedroom. Seeing this scene, he felt extremely depressed. His son was gone, and his most beloved second prince did not survive. How could this be possible? He had given the best. If the great emperor could survive, how could he not?

When Qiao Xinran saw Emperor Qian walk in, she turned around and threw herself on him, sobbing and saying, "Emperor Qian, our son, our emperor is gone. We will never see our son's happy smiling face or his affectionate voice calling him mother and father again."

Emperor Qian hugged Qiao Xinran, his face full of heartache, "Xinran, don't be like this. Hua'er never wants to see you so sad for him again. Our prince has been so sensible since he was a child, he won't want to make you so sad."

Qiao Xinran felt a mixture of emotions when she heard this. Yes, Huang'er was so sensible and obedient, how could he leave me alone? It's not certain it's fake. Thinking of this, Qiao Xinran excitedly grabbed the hand in front of her and said anxiously, "Emperor Qian must have thought that these doctors were not attentive enough, so they killed our prince." "The prince was so considerate, how could he die from such a minor illness?"

How could this minor illness not be cured? These doctors must have accepted bribes and deliberately failed to cure our son, Your Majesty, you must take charge of our son!

Emperor Qian looked at the way Qiao Xinran was looking at Fengmo, and his heart was extremely sad. He held Qiao Xinran's hand back. Tian Kuang looked at the way Qiao Xinran was looking at Fengmo, and his heart was extremely sad. He held Qiao Xinran's hand back and said with certainty: Xinran, you are right, I will definitely investigate it carefully. No matter what, I will definitely give our son justice and will not let him die inexplicably.

The imperial physician kneeling on the ground trembled when he heard this. They felt so wronged. They had tried their best to treat the second prince. Even if they had no credit, they had worked hard. But just because he died, people accused him of being incompetent and put the blame on themselves. There was no way they could be reasonable.

Qiao Xinran felt a little relieved after hearing Qian Hong's assurance. She turned to look at the emperor lying on the bed and reluctantly followed the palace maid out of the bedroom. Emperor Qian watched Qiao Xinran walk out and his face immediately turned dark.

The eunuch with good sense hurriedly brought a chair for Emperor Qian and asked him to sit down. Emperor Qian looked at the imperial physicians kneeling in front of him, prostrating themselves at his feet. He felt extremely sad and said mercilessly, "Tell me, what's going on? The eldest prince can be cured, but the second prince can't be cured. What kind of imperial physicians are you?"

Upon hearing this, the imperial physicians' faces lit up with fear, and they all knelt down, begging for mercy, "Emperor Qian, spare my life! Emperor Qian, spare my life!" Their voices trembled, filled with fear and despair. They knew in their hearts that this incident was a huge test for them. If they could not obtain Emperor Qian's forgiveness, their future would be bleak. They might even face death.

"We really tried our best..." the imperial physicians muttered, their eyes filled with helplessness and sorrow. They knew that even the most advanced medical skills could not save a life from a terminal illness like smallpox. They had tried their best to save the two princes, but the result was heartbreaking.

"The eldest prince has a strong constitution and a good immune system, so he might be able to survive this disaster. But the second prince has been frail and sickly since childhood, and with smallpox, a deadly disease, there's really no way he can be saved..." lamented a royal physician. He knew full well that the second prince's frail constitution would make him vulnerable to the smallpox virus. Despite their best efforts, they ultimately could not save the second prince's life.

"The Second Prince was too weak to resist the smallpox virus. We've tried our best, but fate is so cruel that we can't change this outcome..." another imperial physician said painfully. His eyes revealed deep remorse and helplessness, as if his own incompetence had led to the Second Prince's death.

When Emperor Qian heard this, he was so angry that he trembled all over and roared, "I don't want to hear your explanation! You have killed my second prince, and you must all be buried with him!" His voice was deafening, as if it would overturn the entire palace.

Several guards then appeared behind the Emperor. They knelt respectfully at his feet, awaiting his orders. The Emperor angrily pointed at the doctors and roared, "Take all these incompetent doctors to jail and execute them tomorrow!"

The imperial physicians were terrified and knelt down to beg for mercy, but Emperor Qian remained unmoved. The imperial guards quickly stepped forward, pulled the imperial physicians to their feet, and dragged them out of the Second Prince's chambers.

When being dragged out of the Second Prince Qin's Palace, the imperial doctors shouted: "Emperor Qian, we are innocent! Emperor Qian, we are innocent! Please give us a way to live!" However, Emperor Qian turned a deaf ear to their cries, with only grief and anger in his heart for his son's death.

Emperor Qian ordered the imperial doctors to be dragged out, but looking at the empty room and the lonely figure of his own son lying on the bed, he felt infinite anger in his heart. How could this be? How could his own son die and they still live peacefully here? This couldn't be possible. How could they be fine?

Emperor Qian ordered the palace maids who served the Second Prince to tidy him up and place him in the coffin that was made overnight by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I sat on a chair and put my hand on my forehead, gently rubbing the blue veins on my forehead. Then I made up my mind and ordered my men to bury the Second Prince according to all the rites of the Crown Prince.

The most trusted eunuch around Emperor Qian wanted to speak out a warning when he heard this, but he moved his mouth and swallowed the words. He could only turn around and arrange the funeral for the second prince according to the etiquette of the crown prince.

The next day, when Emperor Qian attended court, he was met with a relentless barrage of accusations from his ministers and censors. They pointed out that the Second Prince was not a crown prince and should not be buried according to the Chu army's standards. Furthermore, the Second Prince was merely a prince and did not deserve the lavish and lavish funeral treatment.

Faced with all this, the Emperor Qian was furious and had everyone dragged away and beaten with sticks, and they strongly opposed his decision to bury the Second Prince with great honor. However, the Emperor Qian was not swayed by these voices and he firmly suppressed all the opposing voices.

Emperor Qian used the ministers and the doctors of the Imperial Hospital as an example to scare the monkeys, and all the maids who served the Second Prince were imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. That night, the maids of the Yihe Palace were given a cup of poisoned wine and sent on their way to be buried with the Second Prince.

Emperor Qian would not let off anybody who had any connection with the Second Prince or the Imperial Physician. He ordered the commander of the Imperial Guards to investigate how the Second Prince contracted smallpox and to report all the clues.

The Former Dynasty was plunged into a bloody storm, and everyone was in danger. In this atmosphere of no good news, the Former Dynasty was in chaos, and the ministers were uneasy, fearing that if they said the wrong thing, they would be buried with the Second Prince.

Wang Yuyan couldn't believe that Qian would go to such lengths for the Second Prince and Qiao Xinran. Of course, in order to vent Qiao Xinran's anger, he disturbed the peace of the court and the harem. Since it was so dangerous, it seemed that Qiao Xinran could not be kept. Qiao Xinran also came to Nanny Li to ask him to clean up the matter. Since Qiao Xinran had been with the Second Prince for so many days, he also contracted smallpox. Isn't that normal?

Matron Li, send someone to the cold palace right now to take good care of Ma Xiuxiu. Let her know clearly the emperor's deep affection for Qiao Xinran. At the same time, reveal to her, intentionally or unintentionally, all the efforts the emperor has made to avenge Qiao Xinran's son. I believe this will drive Ma Xiuxiu crazy with jealousy.

Nanny Li looked at the decision made by Wang Yuyan and was also worried. Then she looked at Wang Yuyan anxiously, "My queen, we are afraid that if Emperor Qian knew about this, we would be in trouble." Wang Yuyan said indifferently, "You go and do everything cleanly and get rid of all the tails. Otherwise, if he is unkind, I will be unrighteous, and my wife's love will be gone. Then I have to make plans for my prince."

Nanny Li still had some concerns. Wang Yuyan looked at her with such a look on her face. "Let's do it. Since we've done it on the first day, we can't not do it on the fifteenth. Since we've taken action, we can't give him a chance to fight back, otherwise he will die." Nanny Li looked at Wang Yuyan's resolute expression and immediately made up her mind. "Isn't that what it means? I'll accompany the Queen wherever she goes. I can't let her be too lonely."