Chapter 60

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

A moment later, he once again placed his hand on the young princess's pulse, carefully examining the changes in her pulse condition. After confirming that the young princess's body was gradually recovering, Fang Tai Yi finally let out a breath of relief, turned, and reported to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the young princess is no longer in serious danger. Once the poison is completely cleared, she will naturally wake up."

An Wang, who had been waiting by the side, finally let his heart, which had always been suspended, completely drop upon hearing these words. He let out a long sigh of relief. Upon hearing that Qianqian was safe and sound, the Emperor also let out a long sigh of relief, murmuring to himself: "As long as she's fine, thank the heavens, thank the earth."

Immediately afterward, he frowned deeply and asked in a sharp tone: "Then why exactly was the young princess poisoned?" At this moment, images of what he had seen upon entering the room just now quickly surfaced in An Wang's mind—Qianqian lay lifeless on the ground, and beside her, on the small table of the small kang, sat a plate of exquisite pastries, one of which had clearly been bitten twice.

An Wang dared not delay and hurriedly told this important clue to Fang Tai Yi by his side. Upon hearing this, Fang Tai Yi quickly stepped forward, picked up a silver needle, and carefully inserted it into the bitten pastry.

After waiting a moment, he slowly withdrew the silver needle, only to see the originally bright and white silver needle instantly turn pitch black like ink. Seeing this scene, the Emperor's dragon countenance flew into a rage; he slammed the table and roared furiously: "Such audacity! How dare someone poison right under my eyes! Immediately investigate this plate of pastries—find out whose hands they came from, whose hands they passed through, and exactly which audacious person wants to harm me!!!"

Eunuch Sun, standing by the side, saw this and hurriedly bowed to receive the order, rushing to arrange the investigation matters according to the Emperor's will.

Seeing the situation temporarily under control, An Wang's heart settled slightly. He turned to look at the Emperor, whose anger had not yet subsided, and cupped his hands, saying: "Royal Brother, today's matter is indeed Qianqian's recklessness and rudeness; she entered your Yudi without announcement, which is truly a great disrespect. After she wakes up, I leave her entirely to Royal Brother's punishment, and I, your subject brother, will have no complaints. If there are no other matters here, I will first take Qianqian back to the Gong."

After speaking, An Wang quietly waited for the Emperor's response. The Emperor frowned and said with a stern face: "What are you talking about! If she hadn't accidentally eaten that pastry, then it would be me eating it right now! At the Imperial Banquet, I not only drank wine; if I had also eaten that poisonous thing, wouldn't I have died on the spot? What punishment is there to speak of!" After speaking, the Emperor slowly drew a dazzlingly golden token from his waist, its light blinding and hard to look at directly.

The Emperor handed this golden tablet to the person before him and said loudly: "This is what I bestow upon Qianqian. Quickly take her back to the Wangfu to rest. Be sure to let this child rest properly for a few days, take leave to recuperate at home. I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for this matter!"

Hearing these words, An Wang hurriedly bowed and said respectfully: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. This subject takes his leave first." After speaking, he was about to step forward and carry Qianqian away. However, before he could move, An Wangfei quickly stepped forward and tightly embraced Qianqian in her arms.

Seeing this, An Wang was first slightly stunned, then reached out and gently patted An Wangfei's shoulder, comforting her softly: "Do not worry, everything is over now; let's go home." At this moment, An Wangfei's eyes were red, tears welling in her eyes. Hearing An Wang's words, she only choked out a response: "Mm..."

Thus, several people filed out one by one, leaving the solemn and dignified Yudi. Those remaining at the Imperial Banquet looked at one another, gazing at the Emperor's hurriedly departing back, all completely bewildered, not knowing at all what had happened. For a time, various speculations surged forth; everyone had different thoughts, but none dared to speak recklessly.

Especially when they saw that the Emperor, upon leaving, even summoned An Wangfei's entire family, their curiosity grew even more, yet they could only bury these doubts deep in their hearts, secretly pondering that perhaps they would learn the reason by tomorrow. Thus, this originally exceptionally lively Imperial Banquet hastily concluded in such a strange atmosphere.

In the carriage on the way back, the Wangfei was full of self-reproach and regret, tears constantly welling in her eyes: "It's all my fault! If I had paid more attention and kept watch over Qianqian, she wouldn't have sneaked away while I was talking with Shuang'er." Saying this, the Wangfei gently stroked Qianqian, who was still unconscious in her arms, her eyes full of heartache and guilt.

Yan Shuang'er, sitting by the side, also had red eyes and choked out: "Mother, do not blame yourself too much; this cannot all be blamed on you. Before the banquet, you specifically told me to watch over my younger sister, but it is all my fault—I was careless for a moment and did not notice my sister was missing, which led to this happening..."

At this time, An Wang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke slowly: "You two are not to blame for this; after all, that girl ran around playfully on her own. Fortunately, she is now in no serious danger. After Qianqian wakes up, we will ask her properly why she sneaked out and whom she met on the way." After speaking, An Wang turned to look at Qianqian, who still lay asleep in the Wangfei's arms, and frowned slightly.

In another corner of the carriage, Yan Wang clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth: "Exactly who is so ruthless as to dare lay a hand on my younger sister! Once the true culprit is found, I will make him taste the suffering of poison and feel what it's like to wish for death!" An Wang patted Yan Wang's shoulder and comforted him: "Rest assured, this matter has alarmed the Sage; I believe the Emperor will investigate thoroughly and give us an explanation. I will also secretly send people to investigate these few days and will not let any clue slip by."

For a time, the entire carriage was filled with a heavy and oppressive atmosphere; no one spoke, only Qianqian lay quietly in the Wangfei's warm embrace while asleep, as if all the world's turmoil had nothing to do with her.

I do not know how long passed before the carriage finally arrived at the Wangfu. Everyone carefully got out of the carriage and then escorted Qianqian all the way to Wufangyuan to settle her properly. Upon receiving the news, Yan Xiner and Yan Si hurried over anxiously. When they learned the whole story of the matter, they could not help but tremble with fear and feel their hair stand on end.

Just as everyone was talking nervously, Qianqian, who had originally been lying quietly there, suddenly moved her finger slightly. This slight movement immediately drew everyone's attention, and everyone hurriedly crowded around like a swarm of bees.

Time passed second by second; not long after, Qianqian slowly opened her eyes, which had been closed for a long time. The Wangfei hurriedly asked with concern: "Qianqian, how do you feel now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Qianqian weakly replied: "Mother, I just have a little no strength; otherwise I'm fine." Hearing her daughter say this, the Wangfei let out a slight sigh of relief, but then immediately showed an angry expression and questioned Qianqian: "Qianqian, didn't you promise Mother to behave and stay put? How could you be so disobedient and sneak out?"

Qianqian blinked her lively big eyes and tried hard to recall everything that had happened before. After a while, she slowly said: "Mother, at that time I saw a strange person..."