Reborn, I was pursued by the Prince of the Broken Sleeves

It all happened so suddenly.

"mother……"

"Old lady..."

"aunt……"

"Great-aunt..."

The scene suddenly descended into chaos.

Zhou Hongzheng picked up the old lady, and the second and third masters helped carry her, quickly putting her into the room and onto the bed.

A short while later, Li Yuan and the Wu family father and son also arrived in a hurry.

Su Manman told Tao Hong to take good care of her mother, and was about to follow her inside when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a purple robe flashing past the corner of the corridor.

She stood there stunned, watching him stride towards her. On his right thumb, which was exposed outside his sleeve, a jade thumb ring gleamed with a faint light, the same color as the scalpel he used in his previous life.

"Master..." she murmured unconsciously, her throat filled with an overwhelming sorrow.

In her previous life, before she was crowned empress, it was the last time her master saw her.

At that time, he said he longed for freedom and wanted to roam the world freely.

As he left, he seemed hesitant to speak. She sensed something was amiss but didn't ask further.

Just consider that time as an ordinary farewell.

Soon after, he will come back to find her and tell her about the latest happenings in the martial arts world.

Unexpectedly, half a month later, she received his blood-stained clothes.

Tao Hong cried so hard she could barely breathe: "Mr. Xiao was shot to death by a hail of arrows and his body was thrown into the river. In the end, only this piece of clothing was found."

She held the blood-stained clothes and cried for five days and five nights.

Ye Zhi came to keep her company every night, cheering her up, and even sent people out to look for her.

He said, "Whether he is alive or dead, we must see his body. Before the results are in, Master Xiao will be blessed by the heavens."

At that time, she believed him.

With the empress's investiture ceremony imminent, he wanted her to become his empress.

She braced herself to deal with the tedious procedures, but little did she know that she would be burned alive less than a month after the investiture ceremony.

Her death was a conspiracy.

There must be some hidden reason behind Master's death.

"Master..."

In this life, she will definitely protect him well.

"Miss Su, be careful!"

Ye Mo suddenly grabbed her.

Su Manman then noticed that a porcelain vase by the door had been broken in the chaos, with shards scattered all over the ground.

Her skirt was brushing against it; if she took another step forward, she would step on the shards and get hurt.

"Thank you, Your Highness." She replied in a deep voice, then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What exactly happened?"

Ye Mo glanced into the courtyard.

Following his gaze, Ye Zhi and her guards stood under the peach tree, also looking in this direction.

The two said nothing more.

Su Manman frowned slightly, wondering to herself.

A joyous birthday banquet was suddenly disrupted, and no one was in the mood to eat anymore.

Feng Jinglan, Zhou Zhenghong's wife, was pregnant and moved clumsily. She made an appearance at the banquet, but went back to her room to rest early.

Upon receiving the news, she, heavily pregnant, forced a smile and saw off the unrelated guests one by one.

Su Tinggui wished he could sprout wings and leave, but since this matter was caused by Aunt Liu, he had no choice but to stay.

Aunt Liu was also scared. She wanted to leave, but was stopped by Chen Mama and other servants who wouldn't let her go.

She trembled with fear, muttering repeatedly, "She had a seizure on her own, it has nothing to do with me. She had a seizure on her own..."

Su Jiaojiao, standing to the side, looked pale and was filled with regret.

I shouldn't have let my aunt come today.

The fact that Madam Zhou fell ill prematurely meant that the blame didn't fall on the Lin mother and daughter, but instead fell on them.

The tightly closed door was finally opened.

Li Yuan led the way out, his face grave.

Zhou Zhenghong strode forward, "How is my mother?"

Several sons and daughters-in-law gathered behind him, all looking on with eager anticipation for an answer.

Li Yuan shook his head and said regretfully, "The old lady suffered a stroke due to a moment of emotional distress and has fallen into a coma..."

"I'll use acupuncture to alleviate the symptoms," he sighed, his voice filled with sorrow, "but I'm afraid the old lady won't last much longer..."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard could not hide their grief and indignation.

"Mother...she..."

"My mother has always been a kind person, how could this happen?"

"Our mother..."

Su Manman stumbled and almost lost her balance.

She foresaw what would happen and tried to stop it, but it still happened anyway.

but……

The incident happened so suddenly that she didn't have time to think it through. Now, upon reflection, she realizes there are many flaws in the matter.

Old Madam Zhou was a devout Buddhist with a cold and aloof nature. Having witnessed the sordid ways of the inner quarters, she was utterly unmoved by Aunt Liu's tantrums and tantrums.

Something's not right!

As she pondered this to herself, Su Tinggui's slightly angry rebuke came from a corner of the wall not far away: "You slut, look what trouble you've caused."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he slapped Aunt Liu twice across the face with such force that she fell to the ground.

Her hairpins came undone, she covered her cheeks with her hands, wanting to cry but daring not to, letting out low, hesitant sobs.

Everyone watched coldly.

Throughout her life, Madam Zhou was strict with herself and her servants, but she was also understanding and kind to everyone.

A kind and loving old man was about to pass away because of the nonsense of his concubine.

The masters were heartbroken, and the servants secretly wiped away their tears.

The entire Duke's mansion was plunged into grief...

The crowd looked at Aunt Liu with such hatred that they wanted to tear her to pieces on the spot.

Li Yuan's eyes swept over everyone, and he said in a deep voice, "This morning, I just checked the old lady's pulse. She is in good health and would not suddenly fall ill. I suspect that this illness came about strangely."

Upon hearing this, the crowd was first stunned, then erupted in uproar.

Is someone trying to harm the old lady?

who is it?

Zhou Zhenghong's face turned solemn, and he looked sharply at Su Tinggui.

Su Tinggui was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly and stammered, "Lord Zhou, we...we are officials in the same court, I would never do such a wicked thing."

Zhou Zhenghong's eyes turned sinister: "Men, report to the authorities! Investigate! From the live fish bought this morning to the boy sweeping in front of the door, don't let a single one slip by!"

As expected of the Minister of Personnel, he acts swiftly and decisively.

What was originally a seemingly ordinary illness turned into a murder, and everyone was immediately filled with unease.

On the contrary, Su Tinggui harbored a sliver of hope.

If the old lady was indeed harmed by someone, then the Su family could easily get rid of the blame.

This is a good thing.

Aunt Liu, kneeling on the ground, was secretly delighted.

God, please bless us!

The old lady was poisoned by that vile woman.

It has nothing to do with her.

A moment later, Minister Cao of the Court of Judicial Review and Prefect Gu of Shuntian Prefecture arrived in haste with their soldiers. Li Yuan and several doctors also hurried over.

Behind them, two soldiers were escorting a flustered young maid.

“This person is…” Aunt Liu’s purplish-blue face turned completely pale.

She turned to look at her daughter, and they both saw fear and helplessness in each other's eyes.

Li Yuan bowed respectfully and said, "My lord, we have found poison during the search."

He glanced at Wu Xiaowen and said, "Doctor Wu, you discovered this matter, so you should speak about it."

Wu Xiaowen stepped forward, took out a piece of white paper, and unfolded it. On the paper were tiny specks of bright red powder: "Sir, look. This is powder scraped from between the tentacles of red coral."

"This substance is called Soul-Stealing Powder. It is not very toxic in itself, but once a person comes into contact with it and inhales its aroma, it can easily cause them to become moody and lose their spirit."

"Especially for the elderly, infants and pregnant women, long-term inhalation can easily lead to emotional instability, loss of consciousness, and eventually symptoms resembling epilepsy."

"Osmanthus wine can accelerate the onset of toxicity and make people fall ill faster," Wu Xiaowen explained solemnly.

"Today, the old lady was in a good mood and drank a few extra cups of osmanthus wine during the meal," Chen Mama interjected, sounding distressed.

At the banquet, everyone else drank Yichun wine, which is brewed from glutinous rice.

Only the old lady, being of advanced age, preferred osmanthus wine.

The old lady drank osmanthus wine, touched red coral, inhaled the scent of medicinal powder, and was also upset by Aunt Liu. These factors combined caused her to suddenly fall ill.

The old lady suddenly fell ill, arousing Li Yuan's suspicion. He followed the clues and searched the area, only to discover the poisonous powder on the red coral.

If it hadn't been discovered, the red coral, favored by the old lady, would surely have been kept in her bedroom. With the old lady inhaling it regularly, and with Madam Feng spending time in the room every morning and evening, she too would have been poisoned, and then the baby in her womb…

I don't dare to think about the consequences!

Zhou Zhenghong's face turned ashen, and the others also looked grim, filled with righteous indignation as they stared at Su Tinggui.