Chapter 237: Palace Nightmare (1)

In early spring, the capital was full of spring, and people were coming and going in and out of the city gates early in the morning. A black-covered carriage entered the city from the North Gate. The driver raised his waist token to the city gate guard. The guard, who was originally going to step forward to check, immediately retreated respectfully, and the carriage rushed toward the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Inside the carriage, Gu Yun looked at Su Ling leaning beside her and advised in a low voice, "I'll go see her myself, you go back to the mansion to rest." She wanted to return, but Su Ling insisted on coming with her, even saying the doctor in Mao Cheng had poor medical skills and he had to return to the capital for treatment. After being tossed around for these few days, the wound was already a bit inflamed. This man was stubborn; eight cows couldn't pull him back.

The days and nights of rushing were indeed exhausting, but Su Ling still perked up and asked, "Do you want me to arrange for you to enter the palace?"

After thinking about it, Gu Yun shook her head and replied, "Not yet, I'll ask clearly what happened first."

The carriage suddenly stopped. Gu Yun lifted the window curtain and saw that the carriage had stopped in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Su Ling understood that she was anxious to know what had happened, so he didn't say much more and said in a low voice, "Go."

Lifting the door curtain, Gu Yun didn't forget to explain before getting off the carriage, "After returning to the General's Mansion, immediately ask a doctor to treat your wound, you know?"

Su Ling nodded with a smile, and Gu Yun got off the carriage with peace of mind.

Gu Yun walked to the main gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. A man dressed as a servant greeted her. Gu Yun said, "I want to see my sister."

"Miss Qing, please come in." He didn't even need to report and invited her in, which showed that Qing had already given instructions, which also explained the urgency of the matter.

The servant took her to Lanyue Lou. Upon entering the courtyard, she saw Zhuo Qing sitting on a stone stool by the lake, her eyes looking at the distant horizon, as if she were in a daze, or as if she were thinking about something.

Gu Yun walked behind her and didn't exchange pleasantries, opening with, "What exactly happened?"

Zhuo Qing was startled and looked back, seeing Gu Yun standing behind her with a cold face. Yun's complexion was very poor and she looked exhausted; the journey must have been very hard. She patted the stone stool beside her to signal her to sit down, and Zhuo Qing replied in a low voice, "The news from the palace is that the child started running a fever the day after the full-month celebration, the fever didn't subside, and he died of illness seven days later."

Sitting down beside Zhuo Qing, Gu Yun asked in a deep voice, "Did he really die of illness?" There must be something suspicious; if he had died of illness, Qing wouldn't have been in such a hurry to call her back.

Zhuo Qing shook her head helplessly, "I don't know. The most common cause of high fever in infants is pneumonia. The medical conditions of this era are too poor, and death from acute respiratory failure caused by pneumonia is not impossible. When I arrived, the body was already cold, the complexion was dark red, and the lips were dark purple, which indeed looked 70% like symptoms of death from acute respiratory failure. However, I also found that the child's hands were naturally hanging on both sides of the body, and according to the palace maid who was by the child's side at the time, she didn't hear the child breathing rapidly or crying, and the child just died silently. This is too wrong. Death caused by acute respiratory failure is very painful; the child should have struggled and cried desperately, not been so calm."

"You mean, the child might not have died of illness!" Sure enough, there was a problem.

Zhuo Qing shook her head helplessly, "I don't know. The child was too young, and it could also be death caused by other complications. I can't do pathological tests in this era, and I can't dissect the body, so I can't determine the cause of the child's death."

"Where is the child's body now?"

"It's been more than half a month, and the funeral for a child who died prematurely wouldn't be held grandly. He was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum five days ago."

Gu Yun frowned, "The matter hasn't been investigated clearly, how could the child be buried so hastily?"

Zhuo Qing rubbed her forehead, which had been aching for the past few days, and sighed, "All the imperial physicians said the child died of illness, and the child did indeed have a continuous high fever for those few days. Countless infants die of high fever in Qiongyue every year, and in their view, this matter is already very clear."

Knowing that Zhuo Qing was under great pressure, Gu Yun softened her voice and asked, "Were there any other findings on the body?" Currently, there was no evidence, and she only hoped that clues could be left on the body.

"I only had time to do a preliminary examination before the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress, and the concubines all came, and I had no chance to get close to the child's body again. If it weren't for Qingfeng sending someone to notify me immediately after discovering the child's death, I wouldn't even have been able to see the body. In fact, even if the examination were more careful, it wouldn't be of much use, unless I were allowed to perform an autopsy." But this was impossible. Not to mention that she didn't have any evidence, even if the child's cause of death was really suspicious, the royal family wouldn't allow an autopsy on a prince.

The child died so suddenly, and Gu Yun's heart felt blocked when she heard the news. Thinking of the person in the palace who was most heartbroken, Gu Yun asked worriedly, "How is she now?"

Zhuo Qing shook her head and sighed, "Very bad." She had become thin to the point of being unrecognizable in half a month.

"I want to see her."

Zhuo Qing nodded, stood up, and said, "Yan Hongtian said he sympathized with Qingfeng's grief over the loss of her child and allowed me to enter the palace once every three days to accompany her. Today happens to be the day I can enter the palace, let's go together."

"Good."

Zhuo Qing had Yan Hongtian's token, and the two entered the palace smoothly. When they walked into Qingfeng Hall, they saw a small baby cradle placed under a large tree in the courtyard. Beside the cradle, Qingfeng, dressed in plain clothes with her long hair uncombed, was half-kneeling by the cradle, her eyes staring straight at the small cradle, her expression dull. Only a maid named Fuling was accompanying her.

Seeing them come, Fuling bowed slightly, as if afraid of startling her, and said in an extremely light voice, "Your Highness, Prime Minister's Wife and Miss Qing are here to see you."

She was completely different from half a month ago. Her thin chin, dull eyes, pale complexion, and thin body made her look as if she could faint at any time. A wave of heartache surged in her heart. Gu Yun called out in a low voice, "Sister."

After a long while, Qingfeng turned her head slowly. Her blank eyes stayed on Gu Yun's face for a long time as if she had finally recognized who she was, and she said calmly, "You're back, sit down." The hoarse voice was very weak, almost blown away by the wind. She didn't cry or make a scene, but let herself fall into endless sorrow, ignoring everyone and everything around her. Gu Yun advised softly, "The dead cannot return to life, please restrain your grief and don't ruin your own body."

Qingfeng acted as if she hadn't heard, still staring at the child's small cradle, her eyes unblinking, and occasionally a smile would appear at the corners of her mouth, but that smile was full of bitterness.

A fire suddenly rose in Gu Yun's heart. Who was so vicious as to not even spare an infant?! Torturing a mother like this! If it was really murder, she would seek justice for that child.

"You come over for a moment."

Fuling didn't understand why Gu Yun called her, but Qingfeng didn't stop her, so she had to follow Gu Yun to the other side of the courtyard. When the two stood still, Gu Yun asked in a deep voice, "Who discovered the child's death first?"

Fuling was startled and replied in a low voice, "It was this servant."

"Tell me again what you know about the day of the incident. Think clearly before you speak, and don't omit any details."

Fuling hesitated for a while and turned slightly to look at Qingfeng not far away. Gu Yun blocked her line of sight and said in a low voice, "Tell the truth."

Gu Yun's voice wasn't high, but it had a momentum that made people afraid to disobey. After thinking for a long time, Fuling replied in a low voice, "After the full-month celebration, the Third Prince caught a cold and had been running a fever. The imperial physician would enter the palace every Si hour to diagnose and treat the prince. That morning, before the Si hour, Imperial Physician Hu came..."

"Don't say any more, withdraw." Fuling had only said one sentence when she was fiercely scolded by Qingfeng. Fuling's face changed slightly in fear, and she hurriedly withdrew.

Qingfeng's face was livid, and her expression was no longer numb, as if she were suppressing some kind of emotion. Gu Yun walked to her and asked, "Why didn't you let her speak?"

Turning her head to the other side, Qingfeng didn't dare to meet Gu Yun's eyes and replied in a low voice, "The prince has already gone, I don't want to mention these things again."

Her obviously evasive words and actions made Gu Yun feel even more suspicious. She probed, "If he didn't die of illness, you don't intend to pursue it?"

Lifting her head suddenly, Qingfeng glared at Gu Yun, her eyes full of deep pain. The hoarse voice sounded heartbreakingly miserable, "How do you want to pursue it? All the imperial physicians said the prince died of illness, who do I pursue it with? Even if he didn't die of illness, the affairs of the harem are not the concern of the Ministry of Justice, and in the end, it will still fall to Lou Suxin and Xin Yuening to investigate! People are dead, what's the use of investigating clearly!"

Being too excited made her weak body unable to bear it, and she coughed. She covered her chest, turned her back, and said firmly, "The child has already been buried, you don't need to worry about this matter anymore. I'm very tired, you go."

Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun looked at each other and didn't stimulate her anymore, leaving Qingfeng Hall together.

Gu Yun said solemnly, "Qingfeng should know that there is something tricky about this matter, and she must already have some clues, but she doesn't want us to participate."

Zhuo Qing clearly saw it too and sighed in a low voice, "This matter is very different from the cases you investigated before. It's not just a murder case; it also involves a lot of power struggles. Yan Hongtian is not a fool; he has already had two sons die prematurely, why hasn't he asked about it until now? The power checks and balances and interest entanglements are more complex than we imagine. In short, you must not act rashly."

Gu Yun naturally understood Zhuo Qing's implication and couldn't help but curse, "What a trouble!"

Zhuo Qing patted Gu Yun's hand and lowered her voice, "I know you are a person who distinguishes right from wrong, and nothing in your heart should be anything other than black or white, but the harem is a gray place where nothing can be too clear or too confused. When I first met Qingfeng, she was very fierce and stubborn, but now she has gradually learned how to live in the palace. We can't ignore this matter, but we can't manage it with great fanfare either. Since she doesn't want us to intervene, then we will observe in secret and find an opportunity to help her. With her temper, she won't let it go."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 238 =====