Tangli Fried Snow

No one dared to cry out loud; they only looked at the Empress and the Empress Dowager.

The Empress shouted angrily, "Guards! The Crown Prince is plotting to poison His Majesty! Drag him out and throw him into the imperial prison!"

Before anyone could arrive, the Empress Dowager shouted, "Wait!"

"He Hua clearly had a miraculous elixir to prolong the emperor's life, so how can you accuse him of plotting to murder the emperor?"

"Now that His Majesty has passed away, the Crown Prince should succeed to the throne. If you imprison him, who will be the emperor?"

"Your eight-year-old third prince?"

Everyone's heart trembled at the sound of the two women arguing.

The Empress's beautiful eyes flashed with a chilling light: "Someone, remove the ring from the Crown Prince's hand and let the imperial physician examine it! Whether it's poison or a miraculous medicine, whether it's harmful or beneficial, he can discern the truth!"

Immediately, a eunuch came forward, removed the ring from the crown prince's limp hand, and handed it to a physician skilled in toxicology.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the old doctor.

If the crown prince really poisoned his father, his political future would be completely ruined.

The old physician tremblingly took the ring in his hand, first smelled it, then frowned and carefully dissolved the remaining bits of material on it in water. He then took a silver needle to test it, and the needle immediately turned into a multicolored, jet-black liquid when it entered the water.

The prince was horrified, trembling like a leaf as he muttered, "This is clearly medicine to save lives, this is clearly medicine to save lives."

The Empress Dowager understood immediately. This foolish grandson must have been tricked into bringing the ring containing deadly poison to the palace. His father, the Emperor, was already terminally ill and wouldn't live much longer; why would he need to poison him? He just needed to wait patiently for the Emperor to die, and the throne would most likely be his.

Now that the Empress has caught him in a fatal trap, he's not only going to lose the throne, but he's going to lose his life too.

The Empress Dowager was speechless for a moment. This grandson of hers is so foolish!

The emperor has passed away without issuing an edict to pass the throne to the crown prince. Now the empress controls the court and the harem, and I, as his grandmother, can't help him. To make matters worse, he is useless and was framed by those around him at a critical moment. What should I do?

Prime Minister Li took a big step forward, knelt down, and pleaded with the Crown Prince: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, His Majesty's condition was unstable this morning, and there were signs that he was about to die. The Crown Prince must want to save him, not poison him."

"He must have been framed, and the elixir that could save lives was replaced with poison."

"Please give the Crown Prince a chance to find out the truth and clear his name. The most urgent matter now is to handle His Majesty's affairs after his death as soon as possible. I urge the Empress and Empress Dowager to think this over carefully."

The Empress's phoenix eyes flashed with a complex light. She knew she had won this tough battle today. Even a god couldn't wash away the mud she had thrown at Zhao Hehua.

We've already won against the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li, half the battle is won. If we can just secure the coronation edict from the old woman and her son, then we'll be the final winner!

The most important thing now is to seize all power in my own hands and get my son on the throne as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, she coldly shouted, "Guards, throw the Crown Prince into prison. We can try him after the funeral arrangements for His Majesty are completed."

Two guards immediately came up and dragged the limp prince away.

It's unclear who started it, but at that moment, another earth-shattering cry echoed from the inner palace. The Empress and the Empress Dowager looked at each other amidst the cries. Shirley, wiping away her tears, stole a glance. A spark flew between the two women's eyes, the meaning of which could only be understood, not spoken.

As the palace bells rang, officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately stepped forward to begin preparing for His Majesty's funeral. The entire funeral was very solemn and complicated, and would be divided into three stages: the mourning period, the burial, and the post-burial period.

This is the first stage. His Majesty's personal attendants and palace maids will be there to help him wash, dress, and then the Ministry of Rites will proceed with the mourning ceremony step by step according to ancestral rules.

The Empress Dowager was clearly suffering a severe mental shock. She swayed and was quickly supported by Ruyi. The Empress said softly, "Quickly send the Empress Dowager back to the palace and send two imperial physicians to attend to her." Xue Li and the others hurriedly helped her onto the sedan chair and sent her back to Jingfu Palace.

As soon as the Empress Dowager left, the Empress, along with the concubines, princes, and princesses, cried for the Emperor for a while, performing all the proper courtesies.

After the first round of weeping, someone naturally brought out the white clothes and shoes that had been prepared in advance. Everyone dressed in mourning clothes, and the emperor's burial clothes were also put on neatly.

Shen Shibai took the opportunity to speak privately with the Empress for a while. The two talked for a quarter of an hour in a secluded corner. Shen Shibai said in a low, ingratiating tone, "To avoid any unforeseen complications, the Third Prince should ascend the throne as soon as possible. I will arrange for people to make preparations now."

"Where is the Second Prince...?"

The Empress glanced at him with her phoenix eyes and gave him a sharp look.

Shen Shibai respectfully prostrated himself and kowtowed three times, performing the grand salute of a subject to a ruler. "Your subject will certainly clear all obstacles for Your Majesty and the Third Prince."

He stood up and said softly, "I'll go arrange it right away..."

The sky outside the window was a scene of ever-changing clouds. The bright autumn sun was covered by dark clouds, and the world instantly darkened. A cold wind blew, making people shiver.

As soon as the Empress returned to her inner palace, a young eunuch ran over and whispered to her, "Your Majesty, the one in the Cold Palace also passed away this morning. Your Majesty has been busy here, and Eunuch Yin asked me to come and tell you."

The Empress snorted coldly, thinking to herself that Huang Wanqing was quite the infatuated one, actually choosing to die on the same day as the Emperor.

She said coldly, "Throw it in a mass grave."

The young eunuch accepted the order and left.

They were busy until nightfall. The palace lights snaked like dragons through every palace. With the emperor's death, a new emperor brought a new court, and officials everywhere became restless.

. . . . .

A few days later, the palace was filled with alarm. The emperor had died, the former imperial concubine had passed away, the empress dowager had fallen ill, the crown prince had been imprisoned for his lack of virtue, and the second prince had vanished without a trace, his fate unknown.

The Empress issued an edict establishing the third prince, Zhao Xi'an, as emperor, and she herself ruled from behind the curtain, causing an uproar throughout the land. In court, in front of all the officials, Prime Minister Li denounced the young prince as incapable of governing the country and argued that the throne should be passed to the crown prince as the rightful heir. The Empress immediately imprisoned him. The great Confucian scholar Wen Fengzhang refused to write the edict of Zhao Xi'an's accession and was sentenced to immediate execution and imprisoned in the imperial prison.

Just as the current prince's ascension to the throne was causing a great stir, the third prince suddenly fell ill again. He had not fully recovered from his illness a few days ago, and had only recently improved slightly. This time, his sudden illness was extremely dangerous, and he even suffered a high fever and fainted, losing consciousness.

The court and the country were thrown into turmoil. The empress stayed by his bedside without changing her clothes, and the fate of the entire Song Kingdom seemed to be like a leaf falling in the wind, hanging by a thread.