Chapter 420

Xiao Yin has been unconscious from poison for several days already; Emperor Longqing sent many imperial physicians to Rui Wang Fu to treat Xiao Yin, but there has been no improvement.

Later, he had no choice but to grant marriage to Princess Consort Yuan Qing and his own third son; this marriage alliance finally gave him an explanation.

Both Bei Di and Southern Qi placed great importance on this grand wedding; although the schedule was tight, both sides still began preparations.

On Bei Di's side, they were even more urgent—Princess Consort Yuan Qing did not need to return to Bei Di, but instead resided directly in the Bei Di Yi Guan, under the supervision of Tuo Ba Yu.

Bei Di dispatched an envoy, bringing the dowry and ceremonial guard.

When the time came, Princess Consort Yuan Qing would leave the Bei Di Yi Guan and marry directly into the third prince's residence.

The wedding banquet would be held at the third prince's mansion; to show his favor toward the third son, the emperor also personally hosted a feast at his suburban estate.

In short, both inside and out, every courtesy was extended to the third prince, with the demand that after marriage he quickly take his new wife to his fief in Quzhou, live as an idle prince, and hand over his military authority.

Everything proceeded smoothly; even amid the palace's hustle, Empress Dowager Ning'an personally came to Rui Wang Fu with the palace physicians and several senior consorts to inquire after his illness.

These years, Empress Dowager Ning'an rarely left the palace; she is old, devotes herself to Buddhism, pays little attention to palace affairs, let alone matters concerning Rui Wang.

This time, Empress Dowager Ning'an arrived with the palace's ceremonial guard in a mighty procession.

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This caused an uproar throughout Shang Jing, with the common people praising Empress Dowager Ning'an.

Although Xiao Yin is not her biological son, she has treated him with care everywhere, regarding him as her own child.

Ling Feng conveyed the news to Xiao Yin, who was in the warm pavilion pondering the map that Gu Jiu Ling had previously found for him.

"Your Highness! Empress Dowager Ning'an has arrived! She has already passed through the first gate."

Xiao Yin's face changed instantly; he had not expected that woman to come see him, and his expression became extremely complex for a moment.

When he was young, he truly regarded her as his own mother, constantly heeding her teachings and orders.

He regarded Empress Dowager Ning'an as his mother and Emperor Longqing as his elder brother, never imagining that in the end he was merely a tool for her rise to power.

He never thought that later she would not even leave him a shred of affection, casting him into the purgatory to be tortured.

After the Qi Sha Gu incident, the two sides completely turned against each other; aside from maintaining the outward appearance of motherly kindness and filial piety when they met in public, in private there was not even a shred of warmth or dignity left.

This time, Empress Dowager Ning'an arrived with great fanfare and a large entourage; Xiao Yin did not believe she had truly come to visit his illness, suspecting she was after his life.

"Ling Feng, issue the order: the entire Wangfu, inside and out, is on high alert—highest level!"

"Yes!" Ling Feng was also somewhat flustered; this time Empress Dowager Ning'an completely disregarded convention, making things very difficult.

How could she suddenly bring people without a sound? Fortunately, today the Prince did not go to see the Princess Consort, staying in the mansion; otherwise, if Empress Dowager Ning'an noticed anything, it would be disaster.

He responded, turned, and hurried out.

Xiao Yin, however, opened a jade bottle, tipped out a pill, shoved it into his mouth, and then collapsed onto the bed.

These days he has been tormented enough; his complexion truly shows a touch of exhaustion.

These pills were prepared by Gu Jiu Ling for him; in fact, they still follow the principle of using poison to counteract poison, clearing the gu poison that Empress Dowager Ning'an has long been administering to him.

On the contrary, each time the palace physicians came to take Xiao Yin's pulse, they showed signs of poisoning, thus managing to deceive everyone.

Unbeknownst to them, these days happened to be when Xiao Yin could finally calm down and properly recuperate his body.

Xiao Yin planned to wait until Princess Consort Yuan Qing and the third prince Xiao Wei were married, the marriage alliance settled, and then announce his recovery.

After all, feigning illness for so long has made his person less free, and many things cannot be done.

He also intended to observe, through his feigned poisoning, what the Duan family would do next in the court.

The Duan family has already been driven to a dead end; they will certainly act in the military, and Xiao Yin is waiting for that move.

At this moment, Xiao Yin's feigned illness is also an act put on for the Duan family to see.

The Duan family's rebellion is inevitable, yet they still fear him.

The commoners of Shang Jing and the influential figures not in the military likely look down on Xiao Yin; probably only the Duan family fears this good-for-nothing.

Since that is the case, he will play the role of the good-for-nothing to the very end.

He did not expect that at this moment, Empress Dowager Ning'an would suddenly appear.

Lying on the bed, Xiao Yin slowly closed his eyes, yet his heart sank a little.

Regarding Empress Dowager Ning'an, he truly fears and treats her with solemnity.

After all, all his misfortunes in this life are due to her; his descent into hell is also her grand scheme.

Back then, the Duan family was merely a small clan; she, from the position of a talented lady, unknown how many she killed, how much blood she trampled, before reaching today's position as Empress Dowager.

This woman's methods are simply endless.

Xiao Yin slowly closed his eyes.

Footsteps approached from outside, followed by Empress Dowager Ning'an's icy cold voice.

"You good-for-nothings!"

"You've been ill for so many days, yet there isn't even a sign of improvement?"

"What use are you physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau?"

"Now, unfortunately, Gu Jiu Ling has died, and that Left Divine Physician is not in the capital either; you physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau don't even have a single person capable of treating poison—damn them!"

Zhang the Physician and the other imperial physicians fell to their knees, begging forgiveness.

Princess Consort Ning'an gave a cold snort and entered Xiao Yin's warm pavilion; the two attendants hastily drew back the curtain.

Princess Consort Ning'an entered wearing a deep purple robe, its collar and cuffs embroidered with phoenix patterns in silver thread.

Her aura grew more imposing, and everyone in Xiao Yin's warm pavilion, inside and out, knelt in a dark mass, too afraid to speak.

The whole courtyard fell dead silent, save for Princess Consort Ning'an's voice, icy as the depths of hell.

Princess Consort Ning'an sat slowly beside Xiao Yin, questioned the few attendants serving him, then reached out and seized his hand.

Xiao Yin could barely hold himself together; as a child, to please his father, Princess Consort Ning'an had once, in the emperor's presence, held his small hand, cradled him in her arms, and told him those hackneyed tales of the Twelve Filial Deeds.

Later, when he grew up and went to the frontier, he could no longer attend to Princess Consort Ning'an in filial duty.

After the Qi Sha Gu incident, the two sides tore apart, and they no longer had such intimate gestures.

This time Xiao Yin felt as if he had been targeted by an old, sinister, cunning poisonous snake; waves of chill and numbness ran through his body, and his scalp gradually tightened.

"My child! When will you get better?"

Empress Dowager Ning'an gripped Xiao Yin's hand and couldn't help but sigh.

She then ordered Imperial Physician Zhang and the others to continue taking Xiao Yin's pulse, which still showed symptoms of poisoning.

Imperial Physician Zhang has nearly gone mad from Xiao Yin's condition.