Chapter 968: 449 Thorough Investigation of the Truth (Three Updates) Chapter 968: 449 Thorough Investigation of the Truth (Three Updates) King Ning remained silent, so the Emperor had no choice but to send for the Crown Prince from the East Palace.

Not long after Gu Jiao left, the Crown Prince woke up. He didn’t make a sound, just blankly stared at the canopy above him.

“Is it you? You really came back… You came back to find me.”

“Why won’t you speak? Are you angry with me?”

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional…”

“… I’ve only now realized that you were always the one in my heart. I regret so much that I didn’t marry you.”

“Don’t love someone else, don’t love her, she doesn’t deserve you.”

“You look so good lying there; never leave me again.”

“Can we never part again, please? Let’s live well together from now on, alright?”

The Crown Prince tried to remove Wo Linlang’s voice from his mind, but found he simply couldn’t do it.

Those words echoed over and over in his head like a knife, piercing his heart until it was riddled with holes.

The Crown Princess knelt by the bedside, her arms resting on the edge of the bed as she looked at him.

This pose, had their love been flourishing, would have been remarkably affectionate and intimate; but at this moment, it signified her lowering herself.

Ever since she married the Crown Prince, she had been pampered. The Crown Prince never allowed her the slightest inconvenience, always concerned whether the floor was cold, if her knees were tired, if her arms ached…

But now, she had been kneeling and leaning against the bed for nearly half a 2-hour period, and the Crown Prince had not uttered a single word.

“Your Highness,” she finally couldn’t help speaking. She grabbed his cold and numb hand, pleading, “Believe me, I was framed. It was Gu Jiao, she drugged me… That’s what made me spout such nonsense.”

In the relationship between her and the Crown Prince, it seemed like the Crown Prince was the honored one, but in reality, she had always had the control. The Crown Prince was very obedient to her, always easily mollified by her.

However, this time the Crown Prince did not react immediately.

He was like a puppet with its soul sucked out, staring blankly at the canopy above him.

“Your Highness…” The Crown Princess raised her hand to stroke his cheek. He used to love holding her hand against his face, smiling and calling her Linlang.

Some things are believed to be unlosable for a lifetime.

Once lost, it’s thought they can be easily retrieved.

The Crown Princess couldn’t truly believe that the Crown Prince would stop paying attention to her.

“Your Highness,” she took the Crown Prince’s hand again, and said to him, “I really was drugged, I had actually gone out to buy pastries for Your Highness. Do you remember Qinghe Building, Your Highness? You really like the pastries from Qinghe Building, especially their Lotus Fragrance Pastry…”

In truth, the Crown Prince didn’t like Lotus Fragrance Pastry; it was merely the pastry he had eaten the first time he met Wo Linlang, and ever since, the pastry and the woman had entered his heart together.

From the age of thirteen until now, a full ten years, his affection from young naivety had turned into enduring deep love. The one constant was that this woman had always been in his heart, becoming an ever-greater weight within it.

The Crown Prince once felt that even if Wo Linlang asked for his life, he would willingly give it.

He had sensed since the first day he married her that she did not love him, which often made him insecure, but he never gave up. He was convinced that as long as he was good to her, one day she would give him her heart.

But unexpectedly, she had given it to King Ning instead, and not to him!

Choking back tears, the Crown Princess said, “Your Highness, believe me, I really was drugged! I didn’t even know what I was saying… We grew up together since childhood, don’t you understand what kind of person I am by now?”

Indeed, they grew up together, and hence he understood all too well.

Smart, with a cunning mind; had she not intentionally allowed it, how could she have let King Ning draw close to her?

What chilled the Crown Prince’s heart was not her earnest and passionate words – those could indeed be dismissed as the effects of being drugged or such. But King Ning holding her hand gently, saying he would take care of the aftermath – that was the real knife that had pierced his heart through and through!

“Your Highness, are you doubting my relationship with King Ning? Yes, I indeed had some interactions with King Ning, but I was coerced… I have no powerful maternal family to back me, no authority, no influence. All I could rely on was Your Highness’s affection. But he even used Your Highness to blackmail me…” The Crown Princess’s tears fell drop by drop, each one landing on the Crown Prince’s cold hand, “He said he would kill Your Highness, kill me…”

The Crown Prince’s throat moved slightly, and finally he spoke weakly, “In your heart, do you truly hold Ahen… or King Ning?”

The Crown Princess froze abruptly.

Eunuch Wei came from the East Palace to summon the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince turned over, “I do not wish to see anyone.”

The usually weak Crown Prince now dared to defy the Emperor’s decree after being hurt; Eunuch Wei did not know whether to be happy or concerned for him.

With such a major event, neither Kunning Palace nor Yongshou Palace could keep it a secret. Worried about her son, Empress Xiao came to the East Palace first.

Empress Xiao said, “Eunuch Wei, please convey to His Majesty that the Crown Prince is too injured to leave his bed. After I get a clear account from the Crown Prince, I will personally explain the situation to His Majesty at the Huaqing Palace.”

That was the only thing to do.

Eunuch Wei looked pityingly at the Crown Prince, who seemed to have had his soul sucked out. With a heavy sigh, he returned to Huaqing Palace.

Empress Xiao tucked in the Crown Prince’s blanket. Presumably, the Crown Prince did not want Empress Xiao to see his disgrace; he felt ashamed, deeply pained, and aggrieved.

He remained facing inward, burying his head into the pillow as deeply as he could.

“Empress Mother, your son…” Just as the Crown Princess was about to speak, Empress Dowager Xiao raised her hand, signaling her not to speak.

Empress Dowager Xiao went to the study room in the East Palace and solemnly said, “Bring the palace maids from the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s side here!”

Chun Yin and eight other palace maids were brought over, kneeling densely on the ground.

Before even asking a question, Empress Dowager Xiao’s first words were, “Apply the punishment!”

Eunuch Su raised his dust whisk, fetched the clamping sticks, and together with several Kunning Palace’s wet nurses and eunuchs, they clamped all eight people at once.

Among these eight, Chun Yin was the one with the most knowledge. Although the others had not participated in anything significant, once a person commits an act, it’s hard to leave no trace, and by piecing together bits and pieces, they indeed compiled quite a bit of information.

For example, the Crown Princess often left the palace alone.

And for instance, when the Crown Prince heard of the Crown Princess’s disappearance today, it was Chun Yin who reported it.

Empress Dowager Xiao’s gaze coldly fell on Chun Yin’s face, and Chun Yin trembled, her whole body shivering on the ground, “Empress… Empress….”

Empress Dowager Xiao had plenty of ways to pry open a palace maid’s mouth, and how could the daughters of the Xiao family possibly be pushovers? One only had to look at Marquis Xuanping to see–the fellow’s insides were all dark. How much better could his sister be?

Empress Dowager Xiao gave a look to Eunuch Su, who understood and dragged Chun Yin away.

Chun Yin confessed to everything within less than a quarter of an hour in Eunuch Su’s hands.

The Crown Princess had secret dealings with Prince Ning.

Chun Yin had been bought by Prince Ning.

This time’s incident was orchestrated by the hostage prince of Chen Country, and Chun Yin had also been bought by Chen Country’s hostage prince.

The original words of Chun Yin weren’t so clear and direct, as she was scared out of her wits, babbling nonsense, but had not Eunuch Su been serving by the Empress’s side for so many years? How could he lack the skills?

He distilled the key points perfectly.

Empress Dowager Xiao said, “So, you mean to say this time’s plot was designed by Chen Country’s hostage prince, but the relationship between the Crown Princess and Prince Ning is real?”

Eunuch Su secretly gave a thumbs up, worthy of the Empress, even more to the point than his summary!

The gaze of Empress Dowager Xiao was chilling cold, but, she did not lose her wits due to anger; she remained a dignified and elegant Empress of a nation.

She asked calmly, “This palace is wondering, why would Chen Country’s hostage prince do this? What benefit does it bring him?”

To expose royal scandals and shame the royal family?

Too simple.

It would not be strange if an ordinary person did this, but Yuan Tang is the prince of Chen Country; what he wants must be more than merely humiliating the royal family.

Even from a long-term perspective, pretending to be unaware, allowing Prince Ning to grow stronger, and letting Prince Ning continue his relationship with the Crown Princess is what truly pushes Zhan Country’s royal family into peril.

“It seems like vengeance, does Prince Ning have enmity with him?” Empress Dowager Xiao suddenly caught the key point, “Bring the sixth prince of Chen Country to the East Palace.”

Eunuch Su replied, “Yes!”

Yuan Tang arrived promptly.

In the meeting Flower Hall, he saw Empress Dowager Xiao seated.

Marquis Xuanping, acknowledged as Zhan Country’s number one beauty… ah no, most handsome man, naturally, his younger sister would not be lacking in appearance either.

However, speaking objectively, Empress Dowager Xiao still fell short of her brother’s beauty by a fraction.

So why does a man need to be so good-looking?

Yuan Tang touched his folding fan and, bowing to Empress Dowager Xiao, said with a smile, “Yuan Tang pays respects to Empress Dowager Xiao.”

Empress Dowager Xiao looked at Yuan Tang with an indifferent expression, “You don’t need to observe the formalities. You planned so much just to meet with this Empress, didn’t you? You and Prince Ning have a feud, and this Empress too wants to get rid of Prince Ning. If you have something to say, just speak plainly.”

“Well…” Yuan Tang touched his nose, smiled, and said, “Your forthrightness makes it somewhat difficult for Yuan Tang to start. Actually, there’s nothing special, just that Prince Ning and the Crown Princess’s affair were caught by Consort Xuanrui and a friend of hers. Prince Ning wanted to kill me and pin the blame on me, I nearly died at the hands of his assassin, and I couldn’t swallow this indignity. So, I used a little scheme to expose their relationship to the Crown Prince and His Majesty. I have no intention of being your enemy, Empress Dowager Xiao, and if I’ve offended you, I ask for your forgiveness.”

He didn’t breathe a word about Gu Jia’s involvement in the entire affair, and his reference to her was as distant as “a friend of Consort Xuanrui,” naturally omitting the incident of Liu Yisheng cutting off his finger.

Empress Dowager Xiao looked at him with an imposing non-anger, “Whether what you say is true, this Empress will verify for herself.”

Yuan Tang smiled, “Please, Empress Dowager Xiao, as you wish.”

Yuan Tang was not afraid of her investigation; he was afraid she would not investigate.

“Empress.” After Yuan Tang left, Eunuch Su spoke softly, asking for her instructions.

The matter of Wo Linlang and Prince Ning shook Empress Dowager Xiao deeply, she appeared tranquil on the surface, but beneath it, her heart was already tumultuous.

But since childhood, her brother had taught her not to panic in the face of events; she was Xiao Ji’s sister, she had to be stronger than most women.

Empress Dowager Xiao closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Consort Xuanrui.”