frightfiction Chapter 576 Making Early Plans 1
Chapter 576 Making Early Plans 1
After the Empress left, Li Fuguo tiptoed into the palace, careful not to wake Emperor Suzong who was resting. However, as if sensing something, Emperor Suzong slowly opened his eyes, looked at Li Fuguo, and asked softly, "How is Consort Xiao now?"
A trace of undisguised sorrow appeared on Li Fuguo's face. He lowered his head and replied in a heavy tone, "Your Majesty, the Empress just came by. She told me that Consort Xiao suffered a postpartum hemorrhage and unfortunately passed away shortly after giving birth to the little princess. The little princess also died because she stayed in the womb for too long. The Empress also said that she would personally handle Consort Xiao's funeral."
Upon hearing the news, Emperor Suzong's body trembled slightly, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from his heart. He let out a long sigh, but a barely perceptible tear welled up in the corner of his eye. After a moment of silence, he said to Li Fuguo in a slightly hoarse voice, "Li Fuguo, go and draft the decree. Posthumously confer upon Consort Xiao the title of Empress Shude, bury her in the imperial mausoleum, and conduct her funeral according to the rites for an empress. Also, have someone investigate why Consort Xiao had a premature birth. I... am tired, you may leave now."
After saying that, he closed his eyes again. However, this time, he did not actually fall asleep. Instead, he kept thinking about why Consort Xiao would betray him when he loved her so much.
After receiving the order, Li Fuguo silently withdrew from the hall. The sorrowful expression on his face vanished the moment he turned away, replaced by indifference and mockery. After all, he knew about the tricks Emperor Suzong had played: outwardly showing favor, but secretly eliminating him as soon as possible. Truly, the imperial family is the most ruthless.
However, all of this was unnecessary for him. He first drafted the edict according to Emperor Suzong's instructions, and then quietly sent a trusted confidant to the Zilan Palace to deliver the letter to Consort Du.
Consort Du was also awake, waiting for news of Consort Xiao's delivery.
Not long after, someone came with a message informing Yu'er that Consort Xiao and the little princess had both died. Consort Xiao was posthumously honored as Empress Shude, and Emperor Suzong was to investigate the matter of Consort Xiao's premature birth.
Upon receiving the news, Yu'er immediately went to report to Consort Du. Consort Du couldn't help but scoff, "Ha, the person is already dead, and they only bother with these empty titles. It's just for show for the living." Then she looked at Yu'er and asked, "How is that person?"
Yu'er bowed and said, "Don't worry, Master, he has already committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
Consort Du nodded in satisfaction and said, "Tell that person tomorrow that I want to see Prince Zhao, and make sure she comes to see me." After saying that, she yawned and went to sleep.
Because Consort Xiao finished giving birth in the middle of the night, it was difficult to get the news out.
It wasn't until the next morning, when all the court officials came to the morning court session, that Li Fuguo read out the decree he had prepared earlier, and then said, "My lords, Empress Shude has suddenly encountered a misfortune, and His Majesty is deeply grieved and unwell. Therefore, today's morning court session will be cancelled."
The ministers looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this. Of course, the most shocked was Li Xi, who had just learned that his mother and his newborn sister had died. He felt dizzy and fell backward.
Fortunately, the minister behind him reacted quickly and supported him, comforting him, "Your Highness, please take care of yourself and don't harm your health."
Of course, besides Li Xi, another person who almost fainted was Consort Xiao's brother, Li Xi's uncle. Yes, he was able to climb to his current position because of Consort Xiao's favor, and now that the Xiao family is in trouble, Li Xi is probably the only one they can count on.
Li Xi realized what was happening and immediately ran to Lingxiao Palace.
White banners were already hung in Lingxiao Palace, and the eunuchs and maids had all changed into plain clothes. Inside the palace, a coffin was prominently displayed, with a memorial tablet in front of it that read "Memorial Tablet of Empress Shude, née Xiao".
Li Xi stumbled to the coffin, tears streaming down his face, and looked inside the coffin at Consort Xiao—no, it should be Empress Shude.
She had been dressed in the empress's robes and had makeup on her face; if she weren't lying in a coffin, one might think she was just asleep.
Li Xi said in a trembling voice, "Mother, how could you leave your son like this? Get up and look at your son! I will definitely come to see you often from now on, and I won't find you nagging anymore! Please get up!"
Seeing Li Xi's tearful and hysterical state, Consort Xiao's maid and Li Yuan stepped forward and took him away from the coffin.
The old woman, surnamed Gao, said, "Your Highness, please accept my condolences. Childbirth is a life-or-death experience for women. Her Highness was just unlucky."
Li Xi sniffed, then grabbed Granny Gao's arm and asked, "Granny Gao, you've always been with Mother Consort, why did Mother Consort have a premature birth?"
Granny Gao also had her doubts, but there were too many people around, so she said to Li Xi, "Your Highness is too grief-stricken. Why don't you go to the side hall to rest for a while and calm down?"
After calming down, Li Xi understood Gao Mama's intention and said with a sob, "Alright, Gao Mama, I will offer incense to my mother and then go to the side hall to rest."
Outside the palace, at the Chu King's residence, as the palace gates opened and officials went to court, someone also sent a message to the Chu King's residence.
Upon hearing this, Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. It wasn't that they felt sorry for Consort Xiao, since she was clearly pregnant and not carrying Emperor Suzong's child. But a child is a life, and it was lost just like that.
However, since they both knew the details of the matter, they could roughly guess that the deaths of Consort Xiao and her daughter were somewhat related to Emperor Suzong. After all, no man, especially the emperor, could accept that his woman had committed adultery and was pregnant with an illegitimate child.
This method is the least likely to arouse suspicion and will not tarnish the dignity of the royal family.
However, Gu Jingyao was a little puzzled and asked in a low voice, "Donglang, I'm just wondering, if Father Emperor really hates Consort Xiao, he could have just killed both mother and daughter, instead of making her give birth prematurely."
Upon hearing this, Li Chu also vaguely sensed that something was amiss: "Does A Yao suspect that the premature birth was related to Father Emperor's intentions?"
Dugu Jingyao nodded first, then shook her head and said, "Yes, I suspect that Consort Xiao's premature birth was also intentional, but not at the Emperor's behest, because there was no need for it and it would be easy for others to notice. But I don't think it was an accident, because from what I heard, Consort Xiao slipped on the ice when she went out, which caused her to have a premature birth."
Li Chu nodded slightly and said, "So there are other people in the palace who don't want Consort Xiao to give birth to her child safely."
Not long after, the two said in unison, "Du Jieyu!" After saying that, they smiled at each other, but then their expressions became somewhat serious.
Dugu Jingyao was puzzled: "If it really is Consort Du, it doesn't make sense. What would she be after? Besides, Consort Du doesn't know that Father Emperor already knows she is infertile, so how could she know that Father Emperor wants Consort Xiao and that child to die?"
After a moment's thought, Li Chu considered a possibility: "Perhaps she really didn't know, but only wanted Li Xi to lose his beloved mother, and then guide him to say that it was his father who wanted Consort Xiao dead, so that Li Xi would hate his father even more, and he wouldn't have so many concerns when he took action?"
Dugu Jingyao also thought this explanation made sense, so she said, "Then we need to make preparations as soon as possible and protect our Prince's Mansion and the Yunnan Prince's Mansion."
Li Chu said, "Yes, I can wake up as scheduled the day after tomorrow."
After returning to Wangyue Pavilion, Dugu Jingyao had Shijian invite Murong Linzhi over. She said to Murong Linzhi, "Linzhi, I have something to tell you. Consort Xiao in the palace had a difficult childbirth, and both she and her daughter died."
Murong Linzhi was taken aback for a moment, then said, "So, both mother and daughter are dead?"
Dugu Jingyao could only offer a small consolation: "Lin Zhi, Consort Xiao committed adultery, this is probably her retribution, it's just a pity for the child. But there are more important things to do now."
After regaining his composure, Murong Linzhi asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
Dugu Jingyao said, "The prince and I suspect that the Li family and Consort Du are not far from forcing the emperor to abdicate. So the day after tomorrow, we plan to release the news that the prince has regained consciousness, which will probably throw them off balance. So when that happens, you can say that the prince has regained consciousness and that as long as he takes the medicine on time according to the prescription, he will recover to normal within six months. Then you can go back to your residence."
Murong Linzhi nodded slightly and said, "Alright. But should I leave directly instead of staying a few more days until the situation stabilizes?"
Dugu Jingyao smiled and said, "Don't worry, we still have the family physician, right? We can't let him take the money for nothing, can we? Besides, although he said he wanted you to go back to the manor, you still have a mission."
Murong Linzhi asked with some curiosity, "Is there anything else I can do?"
Dugu Jingyao held Murong Linzhi's hand and said, "Go back to the manor for a few days first. Later, I will have Shijian pick you up and take you to the Yunnan Prince's Mansion so that she can stay with you there. My sister-in-law is about to give birth, and I'm a little worried. After all, this is Pearl's first child, and my brother is also very nervous. You were with me during my childbirth, and I trust you the most. With you by Pearl's side, I can worry less."
Murong Linzhi turned around and took Dugu Jingyao's hand, saying, "Okay, I will definitely be there for Pearl's safe delivery." After saying that, the two smiled at each other.