Eight Treasures Trousseau

70

Chapter Seventy: Death of the Crown Prince

Even though the national banquet had been cancelled, no one dared to leave Chao Yang Hall without a decree from the Emperor. They could only sit in the hall and engage in verbal conflict with each other as well as use their acting skills. At this time, Hua Xi Wan was not fighting alone because the person beside her also showed a terror as though the sky was falling.

"How can it be like this? May the Heavens bless the Crown Prince to become well, and have good fortune."

"The Heavens bless; the Crown Prince has good fortune and nothing will happen."

Even though these people were going overboard in acting their grief, Hua Xi Wan could feel a kind of heaviness from them. It was not that they were worried about the Crown Prince himself but they were worried that, if the Crown Prince really died, it would cause the entire court to destabilize. She looked downwards and saw envoys from subordinate countries sitting together. The envoys were talking among themselves and were clearly shocked at the news.

The Crown Prince was the heir to the country. What was tragic was that Qilong Emperor only had this one son. If the Crown Prince passed away, then the Great Zhao Dynasty would face a situation where there was no heir. When the time came, Qilong Emperor would have to pick a nephew out of his pile of nephews. This would cause conflict and competition.

At this time, people in the hall were starting to think. If the Crown Prince really passed away, if the babe inside the Crown Princess was not male or could not grow to adulthood, who was the better choice for them to support?

Yi'an Marquis Hua He Zheng and Lu shi listened to the discussion around them and felt anxious inside. The couple couldn't resist glancing up at Hua Xi Wan who was sitting deeper in the hall. They only saw Hua Xi Wan having a fearful expression, and Yan Jin Qiu with his head lowered as he comforted her.

If the Crown Prince passed away, Xian Wang Fu would be pulled into the conflict. It was not important if Xian Wang had the ambition or not; what was most important was that Xian Wang's status meant that he could not avoid the conflict.

"Aiya, what to do? Please, nothing should happen to the Crown Prince." Jing Ping Baroness had a frightened expression. She was truly afraid and there was no acting. The house of Jing Ping Baron had been slowly declining. They had finally managed to ally themselves to the Crown Prince after many years, but now something had happened to the Crown Prince. They really were unfortunate.

"The Emperor has spoken, the Crown Prince is dangerously ill. All people are forbidden to leave the imperial palace and are to pray for the Crown Prince."

When the second decree came, some smart people detected the strangeness of the matter. The Emperor's actions seemed to intend to imprison them all in the palace. Was the sudden occurrence of illness in the Crown Prince deliberate on someone's part?

Ever since the Crown Prince had been poisoned, Zhu Que Palace had been surrounded by the Imperial Guard. What the Crown Prince ate, wore, and used was only delivered to the Crown Prince after it was inspected by the grand doctors. His food and drink would have poison testers. Yet under such tightly guarded circumstances, the person responsible had managed to get through. The culprit really had great power. No wonder the Emperor was so wary.

If the Crown Prince passed away, then the ones who would benefit most were the imperial nephews in Jing who were the most respected. No wonder the Emperor would act like this.

After this pronouncement came, all the people in Zhao Yang Hall were anxious. Some of the more timid womenfolk changed expression and were even unable to speak properly. No one dared to guarantee that the Emperor would not lose control because of losing his only son, and vent on the innocent people.