The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Soon, several Imperial Guards entered carrying a few brocade boxes salvaged from the fire in the side hall of the East Palace, along with some unburnt medicine dregs.

The imperial physician knelt on the ground and opened one of the brocade boxes.

Inside the box lay several pills, their surfaces slightly blackened by the fire, yet still possessing an unnatural oily sheen.

The imperial physician picked up a pill, brought it close to his nose to smell it, and then cut it open with a silver knife.

His face gradually paled, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Your Majesty..." The Imperial Physician knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling.

"Speak!" the emperor shouted sternly.

The imperial physician swallowed hard and answered in a trembling voice:

"These elixirs are extremely similar in smell and color to those that Consort Yu presented to His Majesty."

"Upon careful examination, I discovered that it contained an excessive amount of cinnabar, as well as several extremely potent medicinal herbs."

The imperial physician paused, not daring to look up.

"This medicine... when taken for a short period of time, can indeed make one energetic, restore one's virility, and seem to return to one's prime."

"However, if taken for a long time, the toxins will accumulate in the body and damage the internal organs."

"In mild cases, symptoms include trembling hands, palpitations, insomnia, and irritability; in severe cases... in severe cases, it can lead to sudden fainting and even death!"

A thunderous roar went through the emperor's mind.

My hands tremble! I can't sleep at night! I'm easily angered!

Hasn't that been exactly what he's been doing for the past two months?!

He originally thought it was because he was overworked due to the heavy burden of national affairs, but it turns out... it turns out it was this unfilial son who was harming him!

The emperor's eyes were wide open in anger, bloodshot and veins bulging on his forehead.

"Very well...you're so filial! Are you implying that I'm living too long and getting in your way, so you're eager to send me to my grave?!"

The crown prince was so frightened that he scrambled over and grabbed Emperor Zhaode's leg.

"Father! I didn't! I'm innocent!"

"Your Majesty, I was unaware that the medicine was poisonous! The prescription was presented by a Taoist priest, and I myself took it and indeed felt refreshed. That's why I thought of offering it to you, Father, to show my filial piety!"

"Get out of my way!" The emperor kicked the crown prince to the ground, then held his forehead, his vision truly going black.

Pei Yan hurriedly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. His Highness the Crown Prince may indeed have been deceived and may not have harbored any intention to murder the emperor."

"However, as the crown prince, he dared to send such potent medicine into the palace without having it verified by the Imperial Medical Academy. Moreover, he did not go through the Imperial Pharmacy, but instead used Consort Yu to privately present it to His Majesty."

"This action...is a grave taboo in the imperial court."

"In my opinion, this matter requires further investigation. Your Highness should not be so utterly depraved..."

Every word he uttered was in defense of the Crown Prince.

Every word he uttered was aimed at destroying the Crown Prince.

As the emperor looked at the crown prince on the ground, the last vestige of fatherly affection in his eyes was burned away completely.

"The Crown Prince has defiled the harem and poisoned me; his crimes are utterly heinous!"

The emperor raised his hand, pointed outside the palace, and spoke in a hoarse and furious voice.

"Issue my decree—"

"The Crown Prince has become immoral and unruly, plotting to harm his father. I hereby depose him today—"

"emperor!"

Suddenly, an old yet majestic voice came from outside the hall.

The eunuch Wang An's expression changed, and he hurriedly knelt down.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

The prince suddenly looked up, and hope instantly bloomed on his ashen face.

The next moment, the palace doors swung open.

The Empress Dowager was helped in by two elderly nannies, followed by several palace servants.

Although she was old, her back was still ramrod straight, and her phoenix-embroidered court robes made everyone in the hall afraid to look up.

She first glanced at the crown prince on the ground, then looked at the emperor with a face full of anger.

"Whom is the emperor going to depose?"

"Mother, this unfilial son—"

The Empress Dowager raised her hand to stop him.

"When I arrived, I had already heard about the matters concerning the Mianguang Palace and the Eastern Palace."

Her gaze fell on the Crown Prince. "The Crown Prince is absurd and should indeed be punished."

The prince immediately prostrated himself even lower.

"Grandmother, your grandson knows his mistake, your grandson knows his mistake!"

The Empress Dowager ignored him and simply watched the Emperor quietly.

"But has Your Majesty forgotten what you personally promised at the Empress's bedside before her death?"

The emperor's expression changed slightly.

The Empress Dowager said slowly, "The Crown Prince is her only remaining bloodline. As long as the Crown Prince does not commit any serious crimes that endanger the fate of the country or shake the state, you must not lightly suggest deposing him."

"Have you forgotten the oath the emperor swore to his ancestors while holding her hand back then?"

In the imperial study, no one dared to utter a sound.

The Crown Prince's birth mother, the deceased Empress Xiaoyi, was the Emperor's childhood sweetheart and the Empress Dowager's most valued daughter-in-law.

The emperor clenched his fists, his chest heaving violently.

"Mother, if I don't depose him today, who knows what even bigger trouble he might cause in the future!"

Before he could finish speaking, his voice suddenly caught in his throat, and his body swayed violently.

"emperor!"

Wang An screamed and hurriedly reached out to help.

The emperor tried to raise his hand, but could only lift half of his arm, his other shoulder stiffening terribly.

His lips twitched suddenly, tilting uncontrollably to one side, and he made a muffled sound from his throat.

The imperial physician's expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward to take the emperor's pulse.

"Your Majesty is suffering from a sudden onset of anger, and phlegm is rising in your throat!"

"Quickly! Help His Majesty lie down, remove the needles, and bring ginseng soup! We must not anger His Majesty again!"

The palace servants were immediately thrown into chaos.

The crown prince knelt on the spot, initially frightened, then quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He lowered his head, and a sinister look slowly emerged in his eyes, a look of someone who had survived a calamity.

Why isn't that old man dead yet?

Pei Yan stood there, his chest heaving with turbid air.

Just one step away.

The crown prince was just one step away from being deposed!

The Empress Dowager arrived at that exact moment.

She just received the news, or...

Pei Yan's eyes grew cold, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply turned and ordered Wang An to suppress the news.

The news that the emperor has suffered a stroke must not be spread immediately.

Otherwise, those wolves in the capital eyeing the throne would probably be on the move tonight.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor for a while, and seeing that he would not wake up for a while, she glanced at everyone in the hall.

"No one is allowed to divulge a single word of what happened today."

"Anyone who makes unwarranted comments about His Majesty's illness or spreads unauthorized secrets of the palace will be beaten to death."

Everyone knelt down.

"This servant wouldn't dare!"

The Empress Dowager looked at Consort Yu, who was huddled to the side.

Lady Yu's clothes were disheveled. She had been clinging to a sliver of hope, but now she suddenly understood something, and her face turned ashen.

She crawled two steps on her knees, crying in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I am innocent..."

"Your Majesty forced me into this; I truly knew nothing about the elixir!"

The Empress Dowager looked down at her.

"You don't know?"

Consort Yu nodded repeatedly, tears falling to the ground.

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you! I merely... merely wish for a way to survive..."

"For a concubine to have an affair with the Crown Prince is a grave crime." The Empress Dowager's voice was very calm, and there was even a slight smile on her lips.

"Now that His Majesty is ill, your presence in the palace will only fuel the rumors."

Consort Yu trembled all over, suddenly realizing what the Empress Dowager was about to do.

"Your Majesty! Spare me! I will never dare to do it again—"

"Give me a white silk ribbon."

The Empress Dowager's words cut off her remaining cries.

Two old women stepped forward and dragged Consort Yu up from the ground.

Consort Yu struggled desperately, her fingernails scratching at the gold bricks, leaving several messy marks.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Highness! Your Highness! You promised to protect me! And Your Majesty the Empress, Your Majesty the Empress can save me—I need to see Your Majesty the Empress!"

The sound of Consort Yu's cries grew fainter and fainter.

Until the palace doors closed again, only a deathly silence remained in the imperial study.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Crown Prince and shook her head.

"You have committed such a grave mistake. I have only temporarily preserved your position as crown prince. This does not mean that the matter is over."

"Kneel before the ancestral tablets! Do not rise without my imperial decree!"

The prince gritted his teeth and pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Grandson...accepts the decree."

As he stood up, his knees buckled and he nearly fell.

Wang An stepped forward with a cold face and led him outside the hall.

Before stepping out of the palace gate, the Crown Prince turned back and glanced at Pei Yan.

His eyes were so cold and sinister, like those of a demon.

Pei Yan remained motionless.

The Empress Dowager's gaze also fell on Pei Yan's face. After a long silence, she said slowly, "Minister Pei."

Pei Yan respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Your subject is here."

"His Majesty is seriously ill and should not exert himself in these days."

The Empress Dowager glanced at the unconscious Emperor behind the curtain, a hint of weariness flashing in her eyes.

"From today onwards, the Cabinet will continue to draft proposals as usual. Memorials from the Six Ministries and important matters in the capital will first be sent to the Grand Secretary for decision-making, and then presented to Your Majesty for review."

Pei Yan had already anticipated this.

"Your subject obeys Your Majesty's decree."

The Empress Dowager nodded, and then took a kingfisher feather and pearl hairpin from her hair.

The hairpin shimmered with light, the kingfisher feathers were a vibrant green under the palace lanterns, and the pearls hanging from the tassels were round and lustrous, clearly extremely precious and quite old.

The Empress Dowager handed the hairpin to Pei Yan and sighed softly.

"Your favorite concubine, Lady Jiang, was frightened. We both know the reason why."

She frowned and lowered her voice: "I know the Crown Prince is immoral, but he is, after all, the eldest son of the legitimate wife. I am unwilling to give him up unless absolutely necessary."

"There are some things we both understand but don't say... As the current Grand Secretary, you should prioritize the overall situation and think about the entire family behind you."

"This hair ornament is a gift for your concubine to calm her nerves."