Chapter 264 Death by Poison
Rong Que has always known that Su Qingqing would not stay in Kyoto.
But knowing is one thing, and hearing her talk about it in person is another.
Especially in Su Qingqing's plan, they were separated.
Su Qingqing wanted to leave him in Kyoto and leave alone.
This is a heartless person.
Rong Que smiled bitterly, "I will not ascend the throne."
Minglu's eyes suddenly widened, Rong Que said: "This world does not necessarily have to belong to the Rong family. The capable ones should be in charge. Do you think He Chao is good?"
Minglu looked at Rong Que in disbelief.
Rong Que said: "He Chao has both strategy and vision, and he knows everything about the court..."
Before Rong Que could finish his words, the door of the study was pushed open rudely.
It was He Chao who came in.
He Chao's face was filled with anger. "Your Highness, what are you talking about? I have always followed Your Highness and have never had any second thoughts."
Rong Que didn't expect him to come, and he just listened to what he said, "I didn't say you have two hearts, I just said..."
After a pause, Rong Que looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Don't you want to be the emperor?"
He Chao asked expressionlessly, "Why should I want to?"
Rong Que laughed at this question, "There are still people in this world who don't want to be emperor."
He Chao said, "Your Highness, don't you want to?"
"I'm different."
He Chao looked at Rong Que and said, "There is no difference. Your Highness has your reasons for not wanting to ascend the throne, and I also have my reasons for not wanting to be the emperor. I hope Your Highness will not make things difficult for me."
Rong Que laughed out loud, "What's wrong with the throne? Is it still hot? Is it going to fall into my hands?"
He Chao was also amused by this , he laughed a few times and sighed, "My long-cherished wish is to assist a wise ruler. If Your Highness ascends the throne, I will serve you till my death.
But I am not capable of doing this myself.
What's more, the world is now in turmoil. If someone of Rong family bloodline does not ascend the throne , Your Highness does not think he can appease the people.
All the people want is stability.
The existence of Prince Yu and Marquis Rong'an has brought order to this turmoil. At this moment, whether in the court or among the people, only His Highness' ascension to the throne is the most legitimate."
Rong Que looked at He Chao, "Is it legitimate? When the new emperor ascends the throne, he is considered the illegitimate son of my father among the common people. He is my brother.
It is legitimate for me to seize the throne from him?"
"The young emperor's abdication is legitimate and reasonable."
Rong Que shook his head, "If it was abdication, this position would have been given up long ago. The Queen Mother is reluctant to let it go."
He Chao said, "I'm afraid I have to give it up even if I'm reluctant."
Rong Que heard something behind his words, "What?"
He Chao looked at Rong Que and was silent for a while, "Before I came to see Your Highness, I got a piece of news..."
In the palace.
The young emperor sat on the Duke of Zhenguo's lap and hugged his waist, "Grandfather, when can we leave?"
The previous promise has now become an empty promise. The Duke of Zhenguo did not dare to look into the child's eyes. He just rubbed the back of his head and said, "Wait until you are well again."
The young emperor pursed his lips and said, "My illness has healed. I have been eating well these past few days, exercising every day, and I can run very fast now. Aren't we leaving yet?
Grandfather, I don’t want to be in the palace, I don’t want to be the emperor, I want to go home.”
He lay softly on the Duke of Zhenguo's chest and begged in a low voice, "I really want to go home."
The Duke of Zhenguo felt upset, but he didn't know how to respond to him. Finally, his eyes fell on a pile of sour jujube cakes on the table next to him, "Have a snack, isn't this your favorite?"
The young emperor rubbed his little head against the Duke of Zhenguo's chest, "Grandfather, you will really take me away, right?"
The Duke of Zhenguo endured the pain in his heart and said, "Yes."
He took the plate next to him and said, "Have a piece."
The young emperor blinked, his eyes curved, and leaned forward to kiss the Duke of Zhenguo on the cheek, "Grandfather is the best, I will eat more and exercise well, and then I will be able to run very fast."
He picked up a piece of sour jujube cake and took a bite.
His favorite sour jujube cake...
He swallowed it in one gulp and didn't even take a second bite. Suddenly, his whole body stiffened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He stared straight at the chest of the Duke of Zhenguo.
As soon as he opened his hands, the remaining sour jujube cake in his hand rolled directly to the ground.
The Duke of Zhenguo was so frightened that the blood in his body began to flow backwards.
"Xiao Li, Xiao Li! Someone come quickly, someone come, call the imperial physician!"
…
In the young emperor's bedroom, all the imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital were kneeling on the ground.
The director of the Imperial Hospital and the judges of the left and right courts gathered in front of the bed.
The young emperor had a dark purple complexion and black lips.
The director of the Imperial Medical Bureau took a few drops of blood from the young emperor's fingertips, analyzed it for a moment with the left and right judges, and then came forward with the sour jujube cake that the young emperor had just eaten.
The Queen Mother's expression was extremely ugly.
"It's arsenic. The amount in the sour jujube cake is not enough to kill you. It should be that your Majesty's food has been spiked with trace amounts of arsenic these days. The accumulation of small amounts has caused the poison to explode."
He lowered his voice and said, "There is no cure."
The Duke of Zhenguo felt dizzy and his legs went weak.
Just now, the child was sitting softly on his lap, begging him to take him away and begging him to promise that he would take him away.
Now……
Looking at the little thing on the bed, Duke Zhenguo's eyes went dark and he fell over.
Fortunately, the imperial physician next to him was quick to help him.
Zhen'an Palace.
study.
He Chao said calmly without any change of expression: "... Judging from the time, I'm afraid something has happened in the palace by now."
Rong Quehuo stood up from his chair.
He never thought of attacking a five-year-old.
Only five years old!
He didn't think about cutting the grass at its roots, but just because he didn't want to, it didn't mean that others didn't want to.
Marquis Rong'an!
He had always known that Marquis Rong'an had an insider in the palace, and he also knew that this person was working for the Queen Mother. After he came back, he gave orders to investigate this person.
But it was still a step too late.
The young emperor died of poisoning, and he had to bear the blame even if he didn't want to.
As they were talking, footsteps were heard outside. Minghe knocked on the door and came in. "Your Highness, there is an imperial decree from the palace that the emperor is critically ill. Your Highness is ordered to enter the palace immediately."
When Rong Que arrived at the palace gate, civil and military officials had already received the news and arrived one after another.
I don't know whose idea it was, but all the people who had arrived didn't go directly into the palace. Instead, they waited until Rong Que's carriage stopped, and then they went to greet Rong Que in a large crowd.
Their behavior made Rong Que feel very uncomfortable, but he had nothing to say.
After all, in everyone's mind, he is about to ascend the throne and he is the new ruler.
In the young emperor's bedroom, the queen mother stared at Rong Que with a fierce look on her face, "You didn't even let a five-year-old child go?"
Rong Que was not prepared to argue.
He couldn't explain it clearly.
However, Rong Que's silence did not mean that others would not speak up. Jingzhao Yin Huang Zhaozhong looked directly at the Queen Mother, "Your Majesty, do you have concrete evidence to prove that your Majesty's case is related to the Prince of Zhen'an? Solving a case requires evidence from witnesses and objects, not subjective assumptions.
Prince Zhen'an is not just any person. He is a hero who saved Kyoto from danger and he was also the legitimate crown prince during the previous emperor's time.
If Your Majesty convicts Prince Zhen'an based on your own speculation without any evidence , it would be a disservice to the late Emperor."
