Harem Daily Life

Chapter 748: No Way Out Unless You Die

Tao Yanyan's eyes were red. After paying her respects, she said, "The children were almost in danger. Your Majesty, please help me!"

Under He Linzhang's shocked gaze, Prince Yong presented the testimony, including that of Censor Zhang, the person who poisoned the food, Eunuch Feng, and the owner of the pharmacy. He Linzhang read them one by one, his face filled with rage.

He Linzhang slammed the table angrily: "He Ye, you are so brave! How dare you attack children!" His voice echoed in the hall like thunder.

Tao Yanyan took the opportunity to cry, "Your Majesty, I never thought I had ever treated the eldest prince harshly. After learning what happened, I was truly heartbroken. I never thought he was so cruel as to want to kill several children. Xiaobao is only one year old. If Eunuch Feng hadn't changed the medicine, I'm afraid..."

Tao Yanyan cried as she spoke, burying her head in He Linzhang's arms, crying uncontrollably.

"I only ask Your Majesty to stop being so lenient and give the children justice."

He Linzhang's eyes flushed red as he thought of the Third Prince who had died young, the Fourth Princess who had fallen into the water, and the five children who had been poisoned. His eyes widened in anger, "I will not let him off lightly this time! Bring him here."

He Ye was brought to trial by He Linzhang, who first presented Censor Zhang's testimony, but He Ye denied it without a second thought.

"So, you will never admit it?" He Linzhang was very disappointed.

He Ye said, "What Censor Zhang said is slander against me. I deny it. He was dissatisfied with Empress Tao and harmed the heir. It has nothing to do with me. I hope your Majesty will understand!"

He Linzhang sneered: "Then the eunuch Feng beside you wouldn't be slandering you, right?"

He Ye was surprised to hear that Eunuch Feng had turned against him. He said with a hint of panic, "I'm usually quite harsh with my servants. I've punished Eunuch Feng before, so perhaps he's holding a grudge and is deliberately slandering me."

He Linzhang asked Eunuch Zhang to read Eunuch Feng's testimony, and He Ye became more and more frightened the more he listened.

"Father, this Eunuch Feng is a traitor and cannot be trusted. Perhaps he is a spy planted by Empress Tao to take advantage of this opportunity to drag me into trouble! Please investigate."

He Linzhang saw that even at this point, He Ye still refused to admit it. He closed his eyes and said, "Do you really think I can't see that you are lying? From the time you pushed Kang'er into the water to the time you framed He Xin, when have you ever been innocent? Your grandmother, seeing that you are a member of the He family, did not hold you responsible for He Kang's death. This was already a special favor to you. I didn't expect that after a few years, you would even go further and extend your hand to Changle Palace!"

"He Xuan and He Yue are princesses, yet you didn't let them go. Yu Cheng and Xiao Bao are legitimate princes, yet you cruelly poisoned them without regard for the bond between siblings! Yunuo usually eats the most and the most delicious food, yet this time she was the one most seriously poisoned! Yunuo, my beloved and cherished one, has suffered so much, you truly deserve to die!"

He Linzhang was extremely angry. His heart was broken when he thought of Xiao Yunuo suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.

"Come here, the eldest prince He Ye has no moral integrity, is cruel and ruthless, is unfaithful and unfilial, and is unkind and unjust. He is unworthy of being a prince. From this day forward, his status as a prince will be revoked, his name will be removed from the Jade Disc, he will be demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, where he will not be released until he is dead."

He Ye heard every word He Linzhang said. He looked at He Linzhang in disbelief and said, "Father, I am your eldest son!"

He Linzhang was too lazy to look at him anymore. He waved his hand and let the eldest prince be dragged away no matter how he cried and begged.

"Father, Father! I already have no mother, and I cannot live without you! Please give me one more chance. I know I was wrong, and I will never do it again. Aren't they all fine? The medicine has been changed, and they are fine now!"

He Ye was dragged by the guards and kept crying and begging, but it was pointless now.

The moment he took action, the current outcome was already determined.

After the hall quieted down, He Linzhang dragged his tired body and slowly sat down. With a "pu" sound, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Eunuch Zhang rushed forward in panic: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Quick, send for the imperial physician."

Eunuch Zhang wiped the blood from the corner of He Linzhang's mouth, feeling heartbroken.

He had served the emperor for more than twenty years, but this was the first time he had seen the emperor so angry.

Imperial Physician Li came hurriedly, followed closely by Tao Yanyan and Prince Yong.

He Linzhang lay on the couch with a pale face. Doctor Li felt his pulse and said, "Your Majesty, you are extremely angry and your blood is rushing up. You need to calm down."

Tao Yanyan sighed. She had originally wanted to handle the eldest prince's matter herself to spare him grief. Now that it was a foregone conclusion, she could only comfort and appease him, hoping to free him from his suffering as soon as possible.

"Your Highness has been busy all day. Please go back to your mansion and rest. Thank you for your help this time." With Prince Yong as a witness, Tao Yanyan would not be criticized so much for arresting the eldest prince.

Prince Yong lowered his brows and said, "Your Majesty is too polite. I will take my leave now. Your Majesty will still need your care."

After Prince Yong left the palace, Tao Yanyan held He Linzhang's hand and said, "Your Majesty, the rotten fruit in the basket must be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise, the other good fruits will be affected. The eldest prince has evil intentions. He has always regarded his half-siblings as thorns in his side and harmed them. Xing'er has been punished this time. If he is not found out as the mastermind behind this, I am afraid that my children will suffer from his cruel hands again in the future."

He Linzhang sighed softly, full of disappointment.

"Your Majesty has made this resolute decision to protect the other children. When they feel better in a few days, I will bring them to see Your Majesty. They have asked me many times how much they miss Your Majesty."

He Linzhang shook Tao Yanyan's hand and said, "Let's wait a little longer for Doctor Liu's news. I'm in this state now, don't scare the children."

Tao Yanyan leaned over and gently leaned into He Linzhang's arms: "No matter what your Majesty looks like, your concubine and the children love you. Your Majesty will definitely get better."

He Linzhang was not so confident. It had only been a few days, but he had already aged so much. Compared with Tao Yanyan's youthful appearance, the age difference between him and Tao Yanyan seemed like they were from different generations.

Holding the little queen in his arms, He Linzhang really hoped to wake up early tomorrow morning and receive the good news from Doctor Liu.

I didn't receive any good news, but I did get two pieces of bad news.

Because He Linzhang did not want the news of the eldest prince murdering his brothers to spread, the outside world did not know the truth.

This led to one speculation after another from outside, causing panic among the people.

First, at the Censorate, everyone learned that Censor Zhang had been imprisoned and would be executed in the autumn. The censors were all worried, thinking that the Empress was seeking revenge on them.

Another thing was that the eldest prince was demoted to a commoner. Except for Prince Yong, the other clan members were unaware of the situation, which caused quite a stir.

Tao Yanyan found excuses to explain, but everyone's thoughts were deeply rooted. Although they believed it on the surface, they still felt that there was something else going on behind the scenes, and rumors spread everywhere.

Tao Yanyan didn't bother to care what they said. She sent two teams to Penglai Island to look for medicine. This was what she cared about most.

It’s a pity that the Nether Grass is so hard to find. Doctor Liu has copied down the antidote prescription, but the Nether Grass is nowhere to be found.