Chapter 56 The Conspiracy Succeeds

Everyone immediately followed the Empress Dowager to the scene of the crime.

There, they found the Prince of Jing's heir holding the already lifeless Prince of Jing in his arms and wailing bitterly.

A hairpin was plunged deeply into the Prince of Jing's chest, and blood continued to pour out, staining a large area of his clothes.

In the far corner of the room, the Princess of Chu was clutching the infant in her arms, shivering uncontrollably, completely paralyzed with terror.

Her clothes were in disarray, with much of her body exposed. Yet, even as the crowd rushed in, she remained curled up in the corner, staring blankly ahead, completely silent!

A scene like this made the truth instantly clear to everyone.

Yet, countless doubts lingered in every mind:

The Prince of Jing was a renowned military general; how could he possibly have been killed by the frail Princess of Chu?

Furthermore, he was notoriously indifferent to women; why would he harbor malicious desires toward his brother's wife?

And why had the heir, Ning Feng, arrived at the scene so early?

...

This series of questions left everyone almost speechless. When a few of the royal relatives instinctively tried to speak out, they were immediately silenced by the feudal princes.

For a moment, the entire room was filled with a deathly, oppressive atmosphere, and every face betrayed shock, doubt, anxiety, anger, and panic...

Ning Chen remained silent as well. He knew that, ultimately, everything was already too late.

The dignified Prince of Jing of Great Ning, who had guarded the southeastern coast for over a decade, had met a tragic end at the hands of a woman!

And he knew clearly that this was all the Empress Dowager's conspiracy!

Has she lost her mind?

Has she completely gone mad?

How dare she directly murder the Prince of Jing—who commanded tens of thousands of troops—right inside the imperial palace?

Was she truly not afraid that the feudal princes would unite and rebel because of this...

He glanced secretly at the Empress Dowager’s seemingly shocked face, watching as she slowly walked over to the Princess of Chu, took off her own outer robe, draped it gently over the princess, and comforted her with apparent tenderness: "It's all right, it's all right!"

Ning Chen's gaze followed the Empress Dowager's figure to the Princess of Chu, but suddenly, his brows twitched, and his eyes instantly filled with suspicion: How could this be?

Could it be that...

Following a murder—and the victim being none other than the Prince of Jing—the entire imperial palace went into a state of strict lockdown.

The Empress Dowager naturally arranged for all the feudal princes to remain within the palace grounds, and Ning Chen was likewise sent back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Soon, the official verdict was reached. Just as Ning Chen had anticipated, the story went that Prince Ning Xuanwu of Jing had drunk too much, been overcome by lust, and attempted to force himself upon the Princess of Chu. During the ensuing struggle, the Princess of Chu had accidentally stabbed the Prince of Jing in the chest with a hairpin.

Intoxicated as he already was, the Prince of Jing had thus lost his life.

However, that very night, news broke that the Princess of Chu had hanged herself.

Ning Chen did not know what else had transpired in the interim, but he heard from Xiao Anzi's report that the Empress Dowager had summoned everyone individually in rapid succession.

Upon hearing this news, Ning Chen felt as though facing a formidable enemy. He immediately instructed Xiao Anzi to place the entire Eastern Depot on constant alert and ordered Cao Dahai to stand by for commands at any moment.

For he knew very well: if the Empress Dowager summoned the Prince of Jing's heir, Ning Feng, and Ning Feng revealed the warning about the danger facing the Prince of Jing that Ning Chen had previously given him...

Then he himself would inevitably be driven into a desperate plight!

If it truly came to that, he would have no choice but to confront the Empress Dowager head-on and force a palace coup!

Notifying Ning Feng was the decision he now regretted the most!

Yet at the time, the situation had been urgent, and the Empress Dowager was present. He could not stand by and watch the Prince of Jing fall victim to the Empress Dowager's plot, nor could he allow the balance of power between the Prince of Jing and the Empress Dowager to tilt entirely in her favor.

Yet, judging by the outcome, he had indeed taken a wrong step here!

Fortunately, for some time thereafter, everything seemed remarkably peaceful.

The feudal princes successively left the imperial palace and returned to their respective fiefs, and the Prince of Jing's heir, Ning Feng, safely returned to his territory as well.

The death of the Prince of Jing and the suicide of the Princess of Chu seemed to have been completely suppressed, appearing as though they had never happened at all.

In the imperial court, the Empress Dowager announced the establishment of the Imperial Academy, and all the feudal princes fully cooperated by sending their offspring to the capital.

The Prince of Jing's heir even sent his younger brother, Ning Yong, to the palace.

At this, Ning Chen's heart finally settled somewhat, though he knew that the Empress Dowager's conspiracy had ultimately succeeded!

During the morning court session that day, the Empress Dowager publicly announced that she would adopt the infant son of the Princess of Chu as her own, raising him in place of the late princess.

She assumed the flawless posture of a benevolent and virtuous empress dowager!

After the court session adjourned, Ning Chen immediately had Xiao Anzi send a message to Elder Master Kong, and a few days later, he met with the scholar once again.

"Master, looking back now, I am so glad I didn't force a coup back then!" Ning Chen said, a chill running down his spine as he thought of the implications.

The elder master asked in confusion, "Why does Your Majesty say that?"

With a solemn expression, Ning Chen replied, "Because I am certain that the Empress Dowager has informants planted around all eight princes, and among the eight princes, there are undoubtedly those who have sworn allegiance to her!"

"If I had launched a coup directly, even if it succeeded, her faction would surely have instigated the eight princes to rebel, and the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

The elder master frowned. "Why is Your Majesty so certain?"

Ning Chen recounted every single detail from the period of the Lotus Viewing Assembly.

Stroke his beard, Elder Master Kong wore a heavy expression as he said, "Indeed, Your Majesty is entirely correct!"

"If there were no informants around the eight princes, and if none of them had pledged loyalty to the Empress Dowager, the Prince of Jing could never have been so meticulously framed and murdered!"

"The death of the Prince of Jing would never have been hushed up so completely, nor would the other feudal princes have obediently sent their children to the Imperial Academy as hostages!"

At this, the elder master looked deeply at Ning Chen and said, "Therefore, Your Majesty!"

"You should realize by now that the Empress Dowager is far more formidable than what we see on the surface!"

"Back then, she was merely a minor palace maiden with no notable background. To climb step by step to where she is today proves she is anything but simple!"

Ning Chen frowned. "Yet I can feel that my time is running out!"

The elder master's expression changed instantly. "Does Your Majesty mean the poison the Empress Dowager gave you..."

Ning Chen nodded, offering a bitter smile. "Xiao Anzi and the others have tried their utmost to find an antidote for me, but to this day, there is still no result."

"I do not know how much time I have left, which is why I must accelerate my pace..."

The elder master looked with profound concern at the nine-year-old boy before him, momentarily at a loss for words.

Perhaps sensing the elder master's anxiety, Ning Chen's face broke into a naive, cheerful smile again. "Very well, Master, I did not summon you here to discuss this!"

The elder master blinked in surprise. "Then what is it that concerns Your Majesty?"

Ning Chen said solemnly, "The Princess of Chu!"

"The Princess of Chu? Didn't she... didn't she hang herself?" the elder master asked, thoroughly bewildered.

Ning Chen nodded. "Indeed, she did hang herself, but I hope you can find a way to investigate the Princess of Chu—especially her son!"

The more he heard, the more confused the elder master became. "Her son? Wasn't her son adopted by the Empress Dowager?"

"No, Your Majesty, what on earth are you suspecting?"

Taking a deep breath, Ning Chen said, "Master, if I recall correctly, when a woman bears a child, she generally develops stretch marks on her lower abdomen..."

The elder master paused, then asked dubiously, "Does Your Majesty mean striae gravidarum?"

Ning Chen nodded. "Precisely, those stretch marks. Yet when I saw the Princess of Chu at the scene that day, it appeared to me that she did not have any stretch marks!"

"That is hardly conclusive!" The elder master stroked his beard again. "Not every woman develops stretch marks."

Mid-sentence, the elder master suddenly experienced a flash of realization, then stared at Ning Chen in sheer disbelief. "Your Majesty, could you possibly be suspecting that the young heir of Chu was not actually born of the Princess of Chu?"

Ning Chen nodded once more, his fingers nervously rubbing against each other. "Master, don't you find it extremely strange that the Empress Dowager suddenly chose to adopt the Princess of Chu's child?"

"I refuse to believe she has such genuine kindness!"

His brows furrowed deeply, the elder master pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "It is likely not that complicated. She probably did it merely to project the image of a virtuous empress dowager."

"Besides, even if the child was not born of the Princess of Chu, it has little to do with the Empress Dowager."

"All she desires is absolute power. Once Your Majesty passes away from the poison, placing an infant whose father is dying and whose mother has committed suicide onto the imperial throne is the optimal choice for her."

"Therefore, she is likely simply selecting her next puppet..."

At this, the elder master looked at Ning Chen again. "Your Majesty, this old subject believes you may be under excessive pressure lately, leading to overly profound suspicions. This matter has entirely no connection to you..."

Ning Chen sighed. He knew himself that his hypothesis was far-fetched.

Whether the infant was biologically the Princess of Chu's child or not, what connection could that possibly have to the Empress Dowager's secrets?

That would merely be a secret between the Prince of Chu and the Princess of Chu!

Yet for some reason, Ning Chen still felt uneasy. As long as there was even the slightest possibility, he had to pursue it.

"Master, I know this matter may seem unrelated to me, but I must ask you to keep it in mind and investigate thoroughly whether that infant was truly born of the Princess of Chu!"

"I am counting on you!"

"Concerning the feudal princes, I cannot reach them directly at present, so I must trouble you with this..."

The elder master hesitated for a moment. Seeing Ning Chen's persistence, he finally nodded. "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, this old subject will uncover the truth!"

That night.

Lying in bed and gazing at the solitary moon outside the window, Ning Chen suffered from insomnia once again.

He had now witnessed the full extent of the Empress Dowager's methods. Through a simple Lotus Festival, she had not only eliminated the Prince of Jing but also successfully kept the heirs of the feudal princes as hostages in the capital.

Furthermore, she had selected the next puppet to succeed to the imperial throne!

And on top of all that, she had once again burnished her reputation as a virtuous empress dowager!

Brilliant, truly brilliant...