Chapter 926: Chapter 926: Chaos Erupts
"Impossible, weren’t those the invigorating medicines I had the Imperial Medical Bureau prepare just a few days ago? How could they have such a strong effect?" The old Emperor, despite his calculations, would not joke about Prince Jing’s health.
The attending Imperial Physician, startled, knelt on the ground immediately. "Spare my life, Your Majesty. I can swear by my life that the medicine Prince Jing took was absolutely not dispensed by the Imperial Medical Bureau."
"What do you mean? I personally gave the orders. Could it be that someone dared to switch the medicine..." Before the old Emperor could finish, he realized it himself.
Someone had indeed switched the medicine, and it wasn’t impossible.
The old Emperor now had an idea in mind and asked the Imperial Physician, "Can Prince Jing’s health be restored?"
"Yes, Prince Jing’s depletion is quite severe, but with proper care and restraint from indulgence, he can recover. However, there might be some harm concerning heirs." The Imperial Physician provided a careful answer, leaving some room for maneuver.
Generally speaking, with a common family, he might have predicted a complete loss of heirs.
Even so, it was enough to break the Emperor’s heart.
Although Prince Jing was not short of sons, nobody would complain about having too many sons in this world.
Now, with Prince Jing just over thirty, the line of succession was severed—a direct consequence of the Emperor’s meddling—which deeply pained him.
"Prescribe some medicine for Prince Jing’s health, and make sure he takes it diligently. If not, bring your head to me." The old Emperor commanded.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Even under such threats, the Imperial Physician dared not utter a single unnecessary word.
The old Emperor waved his hand, allowing the Imperial Physician to withdraw.
After entering the inner room and seeing Prince Jing’s state, the Emperor couldn’t bear to look and had to turn aside and leave.
When the guards returned from their investigation, the old Emperor hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
"Your Majesty, yesterday the Prince favored the secondary princess, then left. Late at night, the Princess Consort suddenly sent someone to fetch Princess Changfu. It’s said the Prince’s condition was already bad by then. Princess Changfu came to prepare a medicine for the Prince, which he took before improving. Subsequently, the Princess Consort had the secondary princess captured, and now she is confined in the dungeon of Prince Jing’s residence."
"Was it discovered who switched the medicine in Prince Jing’s wine?" the old Emperor asked again.
"It was swapped by the maid Chuntao, serving the secondary princess. The secondary princess is now in the dungeon, and we have taken Chuntao into custody."
After the old Emperor interrogated Chuntao, the anger on his aged face could no longer be contained.
What a crafty secondary princess, so young yet so malicious, to replace the ordinary Joyous Union Wine with the ferocious Spring Scattering!
The old Emperor initially intended to align the Wang Family with Prince Jing, planning to back the latter after he ascended the Crown Prince’s position. However, this move had utterly ruined Prince Jing.
Once everyone had vacated, the old Emperor sat back in his chair with a heavy heart, feeling as though his entire being had been emptied, and seemed to age several years in that instant.
After Prince Jing returned to the Royal Residence, an imperial decree followed.
At the same time, the Crown Prince Residence also received a decree, but it was a mandate to depose the Crown Prince.
As for the reason, the matter of the Third Prince should have been made public long ago, but the lack of a suitable successor allowed the old Emperor to tolerate the Crown Prince repeatedly. Now, with Prince Jing emerging, there was no further reason to tolerate the Crown Prince.
With the deposed Crown Prince now confined to the deposed Crown Prince Residence, the Wang Family was thoroughly thrown into chaos.