Madam Bai immediately looked at Nanny Li in disbelief, clenching her handkerchief tightly with her right hand. "The Third Prince has rebelled? Where's the Marquis?"
This matter must have been sent by the Marquis through Nanny Li. Presumably, he had already rushed to the palace with his troops.
Fu Zhen quickly supported Madam Bai, her mind racing as she recalled what had happened in her dream.
She was confined to the inner chambers and rarely heard such important news. She only vaguely remembered that there was a period of panic in the capital, and Madam Bai had told her to stay in the courtyard and not go out on the streets.
Could that period of panic have been because of the Third Prince's rebellion?
Nanny Li lowered her voice and said, "For some reason, the matter of Concubine Li's falling into the water was traced back to Concubine Su, the Third Prince's birth mother. The Emperor was furious and ordered to execute Concubine Su. The Third Prince shouted his innocence and went to plead for mercy, but the Emperor kicked him. He vomited a mouthful of blood on the spot and fainted."
"By the time he woke up, Concubine Su's body was almost cold. When the Third Prince found out, he went crazy on the spot. He grabbed his sword and rushed into Concubine Li's palace."
Hearing this, Madam Bai suddenly frowned. "So it's not a palace coup?"
Nanny Li nodded seriously. "It was only the Third Prince alone, and he was bent on killing Concubine Li to avenge his mother. Who would have thought that the Emperor blocked it, and the sword stabbed..."
Nanny Li didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but everyone present understood the unspoken meaning.
If the sword had injured Concubine Li, the Third Prince might still have a glimmer of hope. But now that he had injured the Emperor, the Third Prince was probably doomed.
Fu Zhen lowered her eyes, her expression changing slightly.
No wonder she vaguely remembered that the Third Prince had never appeared in her dream. Even at the palace banquets, no one ever mentioned him. She had originally thought that the Third Prince had died young because of his congenital frailty.
"Since it's not a palace coup, there's no need to be too nervous," Madam Bai patted Fu Zhen's hand and looked at her seriously. "Once you know this matter, keep it to yourself. The affairs of the royal family are not something we women can discuss."
"For these days, just stay in the courtyard obediently."
Fu Zhen knew that the following words were not suitable for her to hear. Although she was still curious, she obediently nodded and retreated.
As soon as the courtyard door closed, Madam Bai immediately lowered her voice and said to Nanny Li, "The matter of Concubine Li is really strange. Concubine Su and the Third Prince have always been cautious and low - key. The Third Prince has a disability and rarely participates in court affairs. How could he have tried to harm Concubine Li?"
Nanny Li remained silent. Although she knew these things clearly, as a servant, she couldn't say anything.
Madam Bai didn't expect a response either. She just murmured to herself, "There must be someone behind this. Concubine Su might just be a pawn... Who could it be?"
Suddenly, a light flashed in her mind. She grabbed Nanny Li's hand tightly and stared at her intently. "The Second Prince!"
Nanny Li was stunned for a moment and then immediately understood. She frowned deeply. "Then the Heir Apparent..."
Madam Bai had been a bit flustered before, but when she heard Nanny Li mention her son, she suddenly seemed to understand something. She sat back down on the chair.
She pursed her lips. "Since he got involved, he must have anticipated this."
From the incident of Concubine Rou to the Third Prince's palace coup, if she didn't believe that Chen Tingfeng had played a role in it, she would never believe it.
Such scheming was not like that of a young man in his twenties. It was more like that of an old fox in his fifties!
Even her husband, Chen Xuan, might not have been able to calculate this far.
Thinking like this, Madam Bai suddenly sneered. "When the Heir Apparent comes back, tell him to come to the main courtyard!"
In the palace.
The Emperor had been stabbed and had taken a sedative. He was now sleeping soundly on the dragon bed.
The Third Prince had been imprisoned. The Emperor was extremely angry and ordered that no one was allowed to visit him or give him any food. He wanted to starve his son to death.
Outside the imperial bedroom, the Prime Minister and Marquis Chen Xuan were whispering to each other. Their conversation was all about how to deal with the Third Prince.
After discussing for a long time, they still couldn't reach a conclusion. They just felt sorry for the Third Prince in their hearts.
Since it was discovered that the Third Prince had a disability in his right leg at birth, the Emperor had treated this son coldly and regarded him as non - existent.
The Third Prince and Concubine Su had depended on each other and suffered a lot of hardships and disdain in the deep palace. With great difficulty, he had grown up and was about to move out of the palace and establish his own residence. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen.
Not to mention that the Third Prince had gone crazy. If it had happened to Xie Yan, he might have gone even more crazy.
Xie Yan stood outside the dungeon, frowning tightly. "I clearly remember that it was the Queen who did this. How did it become Concubine Su?"
Thinking of the Third Prince's crazy appearance, he felt extremely tortured. He had never intended to harm the Third Prince.
Chen Tingfeng's expression was calm. He looked at the dark dungeon, his eyes deep. "Since things have come to this, let's go and see the Third Prince first."
Xie Yan couldn't figure it out, so he had to follow his words and walked towards the dungeon. He showed his token.
When the guard at the door saw the Second Prince, his expression immediately changed. Then he said embarrassedly, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to let you in. It's just that the Emperor has given a strict order that no one is allowed to enter!"
The Second Prince took off the jade pendant from his waist and said with a faint smile, "If you don't say and I don't say, who will know? Don't worry. If you let me in, I will surely keep you safe."
The guard scrambled to hold the jade pendant. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes and immediately flattered, "Yes, yes. No one has been to this dungeon today!"
The Second Prince didn't bother with him anymore. He flicked his sleeves and walked into the dungeon. The smile on his face disappeared.
The dungeon was damp all year round. Occasionally, one could see mice scurrying across the ground. A stuffy stench filled the air everywhere.
The Second Prince walked in with a frown. After a while, he stopped in front of the last cell.
The Third Prince had struggled fiercely when he was captured. Now his clothes were in disarray, and the crown on his head was long gone. His hair was messily scattered.
He was sitting cross - legged in the corner, with his head down, quietly looking at the messy straw on the ground. His eyes were as dead as still water.
Hearing the sound, he looked up. When he saw the neatly dressed Second Prince, he suddenly laughed, his words full of mockery. "You've come to see me, my good second brother."
The Second Prince couldn't help but take a step forward, but Chen Tingfeng pressed his shoulder. He turned his head and met Chen Tingfeng's calm eyes.
After a while, he turned to look at the Third Prince on the ground and said in a low voice, "I didn't mean to harm you."
"Haha," the Third Prince laughed sarcastically, looking up at the sky. He slowly got up from the ground. "I wasn't in your plan, but my mother was, wasn't I?"
He slowly approached Xie Yan and stared at him fixedly. "Concubine Li harmed your mother, and you hated her to the core. But you had to maintain your kind - looking facade, so you diverted the disaster and planned to let someone else do it. But you didn't know where something went wrong, and finally this disaster fell on my mother, didn't you?"
"You killed my mother! You!" He suddenly rammed into the cell and roared at the Second Prince. His hands were gripping the wooden bars of the cell, rubbing until they were bloody, but he seemed not to feel the pain and still stared at Xie Yan fixedly.
His eyes were blood - red, like a demon from hell!