Lin Qinghe knelt down with a thud and kowtowed heavily to the emperor, crying out, "Your Majesty, please uphold justice for this concubine and His Highness! We were almost killed today, especially His Highness... sob sob..."
The emperor suppressed his anger and personally reached out to help Lin Qinghe, "Consort Rong, please rest assured, I will not let the assassins go unpunished! This matter will be thoroughly investigated!"
Lin Qinghe raised her head, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and continued to cry, "The assassins are here, I implore Your Majesty to discern the truth..."
The emperor turned to look at the assassin, who was writhing in agony from the poison administered by Ye Qingyan, hovering between life and death. The emperor walked up to him, kicked him hard, and angrily questioned, "Speak! Who ordered you to assassinate them?!"
The assassin vomited a mouthful of blood, his body aching as if it were being torn apart. He felt he was about to faint, yet he couldn't.
He struggled to open his eyes and met Lin Qinghe's gaze behind the emperor. His body trembled, and he said with difficulty, "It was... it was Noble Consort Xiao who ordered me, commanding me to take the lives of Prince Rong... and his consort today..."
As soon as these words were spoken, You Jing's face changed drastically, and he immediately rebuked, "Nonsense! Mother Consort is in the palace, she has never left. How could she have ordered you to assassinate them! You villain, how dare you slander her, watch as I kill you!"
You Jing drew his sword, intending to kill the assassin. Lin Qinghe quickly blocked him, her words laced with coldness, "Why is His Highness the Crown Prince in such a hurry? The truth has not yet been investigated, and the Crown Prince is already eager to silence the witness?"
You Jing tightened his grip on the sword and glared at Lin Qinghe, "Consort Rong, do not speak nonsense! This is clearly the assassin spouting lies. I merely cannot stand him framing my mother, where does the talk of silencing witnesses come from?!"
"Oh? Is that truly the case, Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Lin Qinghe asked with a half-smile.
"You..." You Jing's heart was in a panic. "What? Does Consort Rong also suspect Mother Consort! Believing this villain's words and wanting to slander Mother Consort?"
"This concubine has not said any of that. It is Your Highness the Crown Prince who is speculating. This concubine believes in His Majesty and will leave everything to His Majesty to investigate thoroughly; the truth will surely be revealed!"
"You..."
As You Jing was about to argue further with Lin Qinghe, the emperor's gaze deepened, and he sternly shouted, "Enough! You step aside. I will decide how this matter proceeds, and it is not your place to speak!"
You Jing was unwilling, but seeing the emperor's anger, he could only cup his hands and retreat to the side, "Yes, Father Emperor, your son obeys."
The emperor stood with his hands behind his back before the assassin, his expression stern, deep in thought. You Jing's heart was in his throat, fearing that his and Noble Consort Xiao's plot would be exposed to the emperor.
The emperor was silent for a long time, then suddenly turned to look at You Rong and asked Lin Qinghe, "I heard all the accompanying soldiers were killed. How did Consort Rong and Prince Rong escape? And you managed to capture this assassin alive?"
Lin Qinghe feigned wiping away tears and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is all thanks to His Highness. At the critical moment, this concubine thought both His Highness and I would not survive... It was His Highness who suddenly picked up a sword and killed the remaining assassins. This captured assassin was injured, and this concubine, seeing he was not dead, endured her fear and tied him up..."
The emperor and You Jing were both shocked. The emperor grabbed You Rong's shoulder abruptly, "You Rong, you've recovered? You remember?"
You Rong swallowed nervously, secretly glanced at Lin Qinghe, and upon receiving her affirmative look, he spoke as she had instructed, "Father Emperor, your son... your son knows nothing. Your son doesn't know why he picked up the sword, doesn't know..."
The emperor, not caring about anything else, urgently called out, "Guards! Summon the imperial physician! Quickly! Summon the imperial physician!"
The emperor's excitement was palpable. You Jing, standing nearby, clenched his fists, a hint of hidden malice in his eyes that others failed to notice.
The imperial physician rushed in, too busy to bow to the emperor. The emperor urged him to quickly examine You Rong and asked if he had recovered.
After a thorough examination, the imperial physician stammered in response to the expectant emperor, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Rong has likely not recovered. It was merely a surge of survival instinct at the brink of death, coupled with His Highness's past martial arts training, his body remembered those moves... Moreover, the blood clot in Prince Rong's skull shows no sign of dissipating. It should be, it should be..."
The emperor seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water. The excitement on his face slowly turned to complexity as he gazed fixedly at You Rong. Upon hearing this, You Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone in the tent dared not make a sound. After a long while, the emperor said tiredly, "You all may withdraw. The assassin will be handed over to the Dali Temple for thorough investigation. After the investigation is complete... I will give an account."
"Father Emperor..."
"Your Majesty..."
Lin Qinghe and You Jing spoke at the same time. As soon as they opened their mouths, the emperor waved his hand, saying without further ado, "Enough, you all withdraw!"
Lin Qinghe frowned slightly. Having no choice, she curtsied and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Lin Qinghe pulled You Rong out. At the entrance of the tent, You Jing stared coldly at You Rong. Lin Qinghe, pulling You Rong along, walked away without even glancing at him.
Back in the tent, Lin Qinghe pondered the emperor's strange reaction with a furrowed brow. Before she could figure it out, she heard news from outside that the assassin had committed suicide due to guilt.
The assassin suddenly committing suicide due to guilt was clearly not a simple matter. Lin Qinghe was not foolish; she understood that the assassin had been forced to commit suicide, and that it had the emperor's tacit approval.
Lin Qinghe suddenly understood the emperor's complex gaze at You Rong just now.
She looked at You Rong and sighed softly. It seemed that as long as You Rong did not regain his senses, and with the emperor behind Noble Consort Xiao and You Jing, she would not be able to overthrow Noble Consort Xiao and You Jing.
After all, if You Jing were removed, they couldn't possibly make a two-year-old child and an idiot the Crown Prince.
However, the emperor's anger at the assassination attempt on You Rong was genuine. Noble Consort Xiao's failed attempt had alerted the emperor, and they would not dare to harm You Rong again in the short term. She could have a period of peace and had to find a way to heal You Rong quickly.
Due to the appearance of the assassin, the emperor's enthusiasm for the spring hunt was completely extinguished, and he immediately led his entourage back to the palace.
Three days after the emperor's return to the palace, news spread that Noble Consort Xiao had violated palace rules and was demoted to Consort Xiao. The emperor's decree did not specify which palace rule she had violated.
This further confirmed Lin Qinghe's guess from the previous days.
The emperor actually knew everything that Noble Consort Xiao and You Jing had done, but he had chosen to turn a blind eye.
Lin Qinghe couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards You Rong. She rubbed his little head and said, "Let's go. We'll go out of the mansion to find Divine Doctor Feng. We need to quickly cure you, my little fool, otherwise you'll be bullied every day..."