“We don’t need to overthink anything. When the Emperor arrives later, we’ll simply answer whatever questions he asks.” Huo Ningyu naturally sensed something amiss.
But this wasn’t something for either of them to concern themselves with.
In her previous life at this time, she had just married into the Xie Family and had only heard snippets of many events.
She wasn’t clear about the specific details.
After hastily washing up and changing clothes, she emerged.
The Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and Crown Princess had all arrived.
The Crown Princess was wiping her tears while feeding the child spoonfuls of ginger soup.
“Ningyu, you should also drink a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold.” Rong Huazhi personally brought a bowl to her daughter.
Earlier, she had been accompanying the Empress in her palace, chatting and laughing, when she was badly frightened upon hearing that her daughter had entered the water to rescue the Third Imperial Grandson.
She immediately followed the Empress to Linshui Palace.
Only after learning that her daughter was safe and bathing did she finally set her worried heart at ease.
At this moment, children from several families knelt before the emperor, along with their parents.
With such a major incident occurring, these children bore the primary responsibility.
“Lingyi, you speak first.” Emperor Qiande directly called on him.
Zhao Lingyi was the Second Imperial Grandson, the second son of Chen Wang Manor, aged seven and a half.
Chen Wang was precisely Da Huangzi (First Prince), Zhao Yunchen.
As Huo Ningyu drank her ginger soup, her gaze turned gloomy while watching Prince Chen kneeling in the middle of the hall.
It was him—the one who caused her entire family to be executed, not even sparing the children.
But today, she had saved the Third Imperial Grandson. Unlike her previous life where she nearly drowned and fell seriously ill, the Crown Prince wouldn’t become gravely ill due to anger over his child’s condition.
Things had changed. She had been reborn for less than ten days, yet everything differed from her previous life.
She would succeed. The Huo Family would survive.
But Prince Chen must never ascend the throne. He was her enemy.
Jiang Ning and the Xie Family were merely weapons in his hands.
Given any opportunity, she wouldn’t let them off.
Her slightly narrowed eyes were noticed by Rong Huazhi, though she couldn’t tell what her daughter was thinking. This wasn’t the appropriate occasion to ask.
She only gently nudged her daughter.
Huo Ningyu then snapped back to reality and continued drinking her ginger soup.
“Imperial Grandfather, your grandson was merely playing Cuju with my two younger brothers and several study companions.
We were having great fun initially. Younger brother Ling Zhe hadn’t played like this for so long that he became very enthusiastic, always eager to retrieve the ball.
The last time, the ball rolled to the water’s edge. He crawled through the railing to grab it, but lost his balance while standing up and fell into the lake.” Zhao Lingyi briefly described what happened.
The other children nodded repeatedly.
“Father Emperor, children’s playfulness is common. Fortunately, the young lady of the Huo Family rescued him promptly. This was simply an accident.” Prince Chen wanted to hastily conclude the matter.
Emperor Qiande merely glanced at him.
“Who kicked the ball to the lakeside last?” Emperor Qiande asked.
“It was your subject,” one child murmured in admission.
It was Kong Jiayi, grandson of the Dingyuan Marquis, barely over six years old.
“Why did you kick the ball toward the lake?” Emperor Qiande’s gaze turned sharp.
“I beg Your Majesty for mercy, your subject didn’t do it intentionally.” Kong Jiayi trembled with fear.
“We beg Your Majesty for mercy.” The Dingyuan Marquis’ Shizi and his wife pleaded together.
Emperor Qiande couldn’t discern anything from the children.
But why such a coincidence—the Dingyuan Marquis’ grandson happened to be the study companion of Prince Chen’s Second Imperial Grandson.
And the Dingyuan Marquis was precisely Prince Chen’s father-in-law.
Was there any connection here?
Emperor Qiande turned these thoughts over in his mind several times. Without evidence at present, he couldn’t draw conclusions yet.
“Father, your son implores Your Majesty to uphold justice for Ling Zhe. Someone must have intended harm against Ling Zhe. He is my only child. Should anything happen to Ling Zhe, I would have no heir left.” Crown Prince Zhao Yunxi knelt before the Emperor, pleading earnestly.
Everyone could discern the implication in his words.
If the Third Imperial Grandson were gone, the Crown Prince would have no successor, and given his frail health…
His position as Crown Prince would exist in name only.
“Your Highness, are you suggesting that I intended to harm Ling Zhe?” Prince Chen retorted immediately.
“Imperial Brother, I meant no such implication. But why did the stone Ling Zhe stepped on become loose? Don’t you find it strange? Cough…” The Crown Prince’s agitation triggered a fit of coughing.
It was evident how terrified he had been by his child’s near-drowning incident.
That child was his only hope.
He had been enduring his broken health, waiting for his son to grow older.
Years ago, he took an arrow for the Emperor, injuring his heart meridian, and had never fully recovered since.
As long as he remained Crown Prince, he could still protect his wife and child. But if he were to die, how could the Crown Princess withstand their wolf-like brothers while raising their young son?
“Your Majesty, I beg you to uphold justice for Ling Zhe.” Crown Princess Gu Jiayi immediately knelt beside her husband upon seeing him kneel, adding her plea.
When she heard about her child’s fall into the water, she hadn’t even attended to the fainting Crown Prince, single-mindedly rushing to see her child first.
Fortunately, the child had only swallowed some water. After personally bathing and changing his clothes, seeing that he was truly unharmed, she finally felt relieved.
But the shock lingered, her heart still racing uncontrollably.
“Huo Ningyu.” Emperor Qiande called.
“Your subject is here.” Having just finished her ginger soup, Huo Ningyu hurried to the center of the hall and knelt.
“Recount the entire incident in detail.”
“Yes. A few days ago, I made a great fool of myself, resulting in no young ladies being willing to accompany me today.
Only Miss Qingdai, daughter of Libationer Wan, did not disdain me and stayed with me.
But with just two people, it wasn’t very entertaining, so we chose to stroll by the lake, enjoying the autumn scenery.
From a distance, we saw several Imperial Grandsons and young masters playing Cuju. I noticed the Shizi from the Crown Prince Residence was the most enthusiastic, always chasing the ball.
However, their Cuju field was less than ten zhang from the lake, which immediately alerted me to potential danger.
I quickened my pace, intending to get closer.
Before I could reach them, I saw several attending eunuchs leave, leaving only two behind.
Just then, the ball rolled toward the lake. Ling Zhe, the Heir, chased after it swiftly and caught the ball just before it rolled into the water.
But unexpectedly, when he stood up, the stone beneath his foot loosened, causing him to lose balance and fall into the water.
Seeing the two servants who jumped in to rescue him spinning in place, I realized they couldn’t reach the Heir immediately, so I took the initiative to jump in and save him.
Meanwhile, Qingdai didn’t forget to shout for help, attracting Lord Zhao, who pulled us out of the water.”
Huo Ningyu recounted everything she witnessed in great detail.
She particularly emphasized that the stone was loose, that the two servants couldn’t rescue the Heir, and also credited Wan Qingdai for her assistance.
“Prince Chen, did you hear that?” Emperor Qiande looked deeply at Zhao Yunchen.
“Your son will investigate this matter immediately, ensuring it is thoroughly clarified and providing justice for my nephew.” Zhao Yunchen no longer dared to claim it was merely an accident.
At that moment, Zhao Bingyu entered.
“Your Majesty, I report that Ling Zhe the Heir’s fall into the water is suspicious.”
The place where the Shizi fell into the water had submerged branches that could entangle a person, preventing them from swimming.
The child was small and did not sink deep, but as he struggled, the branches’ rebound only pushed him farther from the shore.
However, an adult entering the water would inevitably become entangled.
Though the loose stone showed no fresh marks, the fact that it had not been repaired for so long indicated either negligence by the responsible official or deliberate tampering.
“I summoned the eunuch in charge, but the eunuch managing that area had passed away from illness five days ago.”
In the short time available, Zhao Bingyu had only uncovered this much.
“Investigate for me! Get to the bottom of this! No matter who it is, I will punish them severely,” Emperor Qiande nearly roared.
He wasn’t dead yet, and someone dared to plot murder right under his nose.
It wasn’t just the child’s life they wanted—it was the Crown Prince’s life.
If the child hadn’t been rescued in time today, the Crown Prince would surely have died from sheer rage.
The child would also have fallen seriously ill, possibly developing chronic health issues, forever dependent on medicine like his father.
A single move to take down two targets!