Chapter 626: Taking Them Down Together
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The Great Empress Dowager and Yuwen Guang’s mother, Consort Xu, breathed a sigh of relief. The Great Empress Dowager asked again, “What about the Emperor? Is he also on his way back?”
Mei Yuxi frowned and said, “Although His Majesty is heartbroken over County Prince Sien’s accidental death, the sacrificial ceremony cannot be delayed. So he endured the grief and insisted that Wangyes and ministers complete the sacrificial ceremony before returning to handle this matter.”
The Great Empress Dowager’s heart turned cold. His younger brother had died in an accident, yet he still cared so calmly about the sacrificial ceremony. Was he still human? She looked at Yuwen Fu’s body, unable to bear looking at it anymore, and choked out, “Take County Prince Sien to the rear hall first, tidy him up, and change his clothes.”
Consort Li’s cries came from afar, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Fu Er died wrongly! You must avenge him, or he won’t rest in peace! He won’t rest in peace!”
The Great Empress Dowager instructed Fu Zifei, “You go with them. Fu Er was usually close to you. Comfort him and let him go peacefully. Tell him that his grievances will be avenged by his grandmother. Watch over them and dress Fu Er neatly.”
Fu Zifei couldn’t help shivering. She wanted to find an excuse to refuse but didn’t know what to say. She could only pretend to be extremely grief-stricken, crying so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath. Suddenly, Mei Yuxi said, “There’s still a brocade chicken from County Prince Sien caught on the way. He said he wanted to give it to Miss Fu for her to raise.”
Fu Zifei shuddered and blurted out, “I don’t want it!” Seeing Mei Yuxi and Mu Gugu looking at her in surprise, she continued, “Whenever I see it, I will think of County Prince Sien. How can I live with that?” Then she covered her face and cried bitterly.
This morning, she had put the medicine given by Yuwen Bai in the lamb soup she made for Yuwen Fu. To coax him into drinking more soup, she told him that it would warm his hands and feet in the cold weather and prevent him from catching a cold. Then Yuwen Fu happily finished the bowl of soup she brought him.
As for that medicine, she had previously experimented with it in cat food. She had seen the cat gradually become dazed and lose control of its movements after eating it, suddenly falling to the ground and taking a while to wake up… So Yuwen Fu falling off the horse wasn’t because he was startled by Ying Wang’s horse, but because of the effect of the medicine given by Yuwen Bai. As for why Huayang Wang’s horse went mad, although she didn’t know the details, she could guess that it was also arranged by Yuwen Bai.
She became afraid. Although the Great Empress Dowager seemed to accept the explanation that Yuwen Fu died from being trampled by a horse, Ying Wang was such a shrewd person. Would he notice anything suspicious about Yuwen Fu’s death and demand a thorough investigation? She had heard that some poisons could be detected by coroners. Would they find out from Yuwen Fu’s body that he had taken that kind of medicine?
The more Fu Zifei thought about it, the more scared she became. Suddenly she thought, what if Yuwen Fu’s body didn’t exist? Then no matter how skilled the coroner was, they wouldn’t be able to find out anything, would they? She immediately stood up, crying, “Grandmother, please take care. I’ll go and take care of County Prince Sien. I’ll make sure he’s taken care of well and neatly dressed. Please rest assured.”
The Great Empress Dowager was too grief-stricken to pay much attention to her demeanor, nodding and saying, “Good, make sure you take good care of him, poor child…” More tears flowed.
“Grandmother, please don’t cry anymore. You’re the pillar of our family. If something happens to you, we’ll all be lost.” Fu Zifei wiped away the Great Empress Dowager’s tears and asked Mu Gugu, “Please take care of Grandmother more. Her health isn’t good.” After speaking, she directed the palace attendants to take Yuwen Fu’s body to the rear.
Mu Gugu thought she was acting normal and assumed her previous abnormal behavior was due to the young girl’s fear, so she didn’t pay much attention to it and instead focused on how to reconcile the conflicts between the Great Empress Dowager and Mingzhu.
County Prince Sien was already dead, so they couldn’t push Yuwen Guang down the same path again, could they? In her view, it was already a dead end, there was no more room for contention, so why not just comply? It would be much better for everyone to align with the Fu family and collectively support Ying Wang than the current situation. No matter how Ying Wang acted, he couldn’t be more cruel than Yuwen Bai, right?
But the Great Empress Dowager had already taken a strong stance, not only increasingly resenting Ying Wang but also subtly competing with him. Whatever Ying Wang wanted, she would oppose, and whatever he disagreed with, she would agree with. Even Mingzhu was now seen as a traitor and ungrateful by her.
However, before Mu Gugu could come up with a solution, Empress Dowager Min suddenly issued a challenge, “Linan Wang! Take down Wangfeis of Ying Wang and Huayang Wang together!” She then glanced coldly at Imperial Consort Min and Funing, “As for Imperial Consort and Funing, you can temporarily go to the Zhaoyang Palace as guests?”
With a loud clang, the swords of the Longlin Guards, who had previously carried Yuwen Fu in, were unsheathed. Yuwen You looked coldly at Mingzhu, “Are you coming with me willingly, or do I have to do it myself?” He gestured outside, “I have my men outside. You and these people are no match for me. Besides, your maidservants are unarmed, and if I act, accidents might happen to the Imperial Consort, Funing, and even Huayang Wangfei.”
Mingzhu had a feeling that Yuwen You probably wanted her to resist so that he could personally take action, right? It would be easy for her to run away, as long as Su Momo and the others protected her, but it might not be the case for Imperial Consort Min, Funing, and Huayang Wangfei. Yuwen You and Empress Dowager Min hated them so much that they could easily cause an accident and kill them. How could she explain to Yuwen Chu then? So she could only bear with it for now.
Imperial Consort Min’s eyes turned red with worry, tightly holding Mingzhu’s hand and not letting go. Mingzhu whispered softly, “Mother, remember what I told you before.”
Imperial Consort Min refused loudly, “Great Empress Dowager, with the truth still unclear, are you really going to let them do as they please and imprison your own niece?”
Empress Dowager Min retorted, “Mother, His Majesty has already found out that Ying Wang and Huayang Wang conspired to harm County Prince Sien, so Wangfeis of Ying Wang and Huayang Wang must not be let go! Mother, you must think twice!”
Mu Gugu became anxious, “Niang Niang!”
The Great Empress Dowager remained silent, and Mingzhu felt extremely disappointed. Indeed, Empress Dowager Min and her son had calculated accurately. With Yuwen Fu’s death, the Great Empress Dowager would completely become their enemy. There was nothing more to say. Since she dared to enter the palace, she wouldn’t be completely unprepared. She would play it by ear and seize the opportunity once she left this place.
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