Chapter 1083 Dig up the Past, the Deceased Emperor’s Death

After returning from Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, Shao Wanru immediately sent someone to invite the chief supervisor.

When the chief supervisor sat down, she immediately told him what she had seen in the Duke Cheng’en’s Mansion and asked for his advice.

The chief supervisor tightly frowned when listening to Shao Wanru’s detailed account of the painting. His face changed as he listened to her. When Shao Wanru stopped, he asked hurriedly, “Was the Empress Dowager… Was the mother in the painting feeding the eldest son medicine?”

“It should be like that. The child was lying in bed with a towel covering his forehead. His face was pale, and the medicine in the bowl was black. It didn’t look like the ordinary drink at all.” Shao Wanru thought about it carefully and said. At that time, she deliberately saw it clearly because she wanted to come back and tell the chief supervisor about it.

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Since the chief supervisor had served in the Palace, he might know something.

Compared with others, the chief supervisor was most likely to know about this kind of thing. Her grandmother acquired many messages merely by relying on hearsay, which she could not take seriously.

“That… that bowl… what did it look like…” The chief supervisor’s face turned dreadfully pale. His lips trembled twice as he asked in a low voice.

Shao Wanru couldn’t remember what the medicine bowl looked like. At that time, she didn’t pay attention to the bowl but only observed the appearances, manners, and other things related to the figures and their movements. However, she overlooked the medicine bowl. When she thought of it, it seemed that the patterns on the bowl were very clear. She just cast a glance at it and didn’t watch it closely.

Seeing that Shao Wanru couldn’t come up with an answer, the chief supervisor reminded her, “Was the bowl… with a bright red pattern on a white background… and with a pearl-playing pattern?”

Even though so many years had passed, when the chief supervisor mentioned this matter, he still felt that his throat tightened and his back was sweating.

Hearing his descriptions, Shao Wanru thought for a moment and recalled something, “Yes, the background was white because white could set off the patterns. The bright red pattern was very conspicuous. This was the first thing I saw. Were there any beads? Yes, there were, and they were also very eye-catching.”

Shao Wanru said, recalling little by little.

The chief supervisor nearly collapsed and reached out his hands to steady himself against the table. Then he looked at his trusted subordinates in the room and waved his hand, motioning for them to leave. At this time, even his henchmen couldn’t hear this highly confidential thing.

Seeing the chief supervisor do that seriously, Shao Wanru also ordered the few trusted maids to leave with a wave of her hand. They closed the door slightly, leaving only the chief supervisor and Shao Wanru in the room.

After everyone left, Shao Wanru whispered to him, “Sir, is there anything wrong?”

“Your Highness, there are some things that I don’t dare to say, and I don’t even know if they’re true. It was just that the former empress was also there at that time, so I followed her and had a look.”

Speaking of this, the chief supervisor paused and hesitated. Honestly, he didn’t want to mention this kind of thing. Or even if he had to mention it, he should say it to his master instead of Princess Chen. But his master was not in the capital, and Princess Chen was brilliant. In addition, the Empress Dowager’s birthday was around the corner. If anything happened and Princess Chen was not in the know, he was afraid she would fall into someone’s trap.

“Sir…” Shao Wanru urged him in a low voice.

“Your Highness, it’s inconvenient for me to say anything about it, and I may omit something. I’m worried that you may get it wrong,” the chief supervisor looked up and said with a pale face.

“Rest assured. I know what’s important. Anything related to Her Majesty can’t be a small matter.” Shao Wanru said calmly.

Of course, she knew how to handle it well. She still had a lingering fear about what had happened in her previous life. Even the Empress Dowager and the Empress were involved, so how could it be a trivial matter?

Even if she didn’t know the exact details, she wouldn’t act rashly or tell anyone about it.

Although there was a nervous look in Shao Wanru’s eyes, she maintained her composure. What she was going to know was a huge secret in the Palace, yet her face didn’t turn ashen with fear.

The chief supervisor gently exhaled and said slowly, “I don’t know all the things that happened back then. I only remembered that the deceased emperor was seriously ill, and his condition was getting worse. The Imperial Institute of Medicine had sent someone to inform the former empress and the Empress Dowager of this. That day, the Empress Dowager personally fed the former emperor the medicine, but before he finished drinking the medicine, he died… and the medicine bowl rolled to my feet…”

At this point, the chief supervisor couldn’t finish what he was saying. Even though many years had passed, he still remembered the scene clearly.

No one had expected that the former emperor would suddenly pass away. Many people in the hall subconsciously looked toward the Empress Dowager. Only he lowered his head because he noticed the medicine bowl under his feet. Then these people were all found guilty of ignoring their masters’ majesty. Later on, all of them met a violent end.

The former emperor had passed away, and the whole country was in mourning. Who would care about the death of a few servants in the Palace?

The chief supervisor stayed alive. He didn’t look at the Empress Dowager, so he didn’t irritate her. Besides, he knew the former empress must have done something in the Palace to keep him alive.

He buried the event deep in his heart after the former empress died. It had never occurred to him that this matter would be brought up again. His lips trembled a few times, and it took him a long time to calm down. “Your Highness, it’s all in the past. But the appearance of this painting proves that someone must have also known what happened that day. The person wants to hurt the Empress Dowager…”

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The chief supervisor stopped there, but Shao Wanru understood what he was referring to.

This painting was meant to accuse the Empress Dowager of murdering the deceased emperor.

Shao Wanru suddenly saw the whole thing in a clear light when the chief supervisor’s words helped her solve many doubts. The three children were referring to the three sons of the Empress Dowager. Her eldest son was sick, her second son was close to her, and the third son was playing alone. When she was feeding the eldest son the medicine on the bed, the second son leaned on her. It seemed that the mother and the second son loved each other deeply, but this scene could also mean that the mother and the second son conspired to kill the eldest son.

The mother and the second son snuggling up together showed they were close, so they might gang up on the deceased emperor.

In this case, how could the Empress Dowager not be shocked and angry when she saw such a painting?

“Did the former emperor really… die because of this bowl of medicine?” Shao Wanru knew that she should not ask this question. Even if she had to know the answer, she should let Chu Liuchen do this. At this time, she swallowed hard, trying to make herself appear calmer. Her long eyelashes hid the panic in her eyes.

In her mind, the Empress Dowager was the only elder who sincerely cared about Chu Liuchen! She was Chu Liuchen’s grandma who loved him wholeheartedly. If Chu Liuchen learned about her false display of affection, it would be a great blow to him!

He had always been alone and had given up hope for many years. Shao Wanru didn’t know what would happen if he suffered such a fatal blow. She was panicked.

“The deceased emperor was seriously ill at that time. The Imperial Institute of Medicine stated that… At that time, the Empress Dowager would not… be so irrational,” the chief supervisor replied with an ashen face.

He had hidden these words in his heart for many years, and now he was still very nervous when mentioning this horrifying thing.

Shao Wanru breathed a sigh of relief, pinched the handkerchief in her hand hard, and felt that her hands were wet. Slowly, she put her mind at rest.

She knew what the chief supervisor meant. As long as the Empress Dowager was not stupid, she wouldn’t deal with and murder the deceased emperor at that time. Her eldest son was dying, so how could she plot against him? Even if she did nothing, the deceased emperor could only live for a few more days. Therefore, unlike what the painting suggested, the Empress Dowager had no intention of killing her eldest son.

That was to say, the Empress Dowager loved Chu Liuchen genuinely, and she didn’t do it because she felt guilty about killing his father.

The Empress Dowager was still Chu Liuchen’s Imperial Grandmother, who had been very affectionate toward him.

“Sir, were there any other people present at that time?” Feeling greatly relieved, Shao Wanru asked again, and the huge emotional burden in her heart was significantly reduced.

“The Empress Dowager and the former empress were both there with the deceased emperor’s trusted subordinates. Most of these people were dead. Even if some survived, I don’t know where they are now.” The chief supervisor forced himself to calm the turbulence in his breast. After composing himself, he could speak much more fluently.

“Is the Empress there?” Shao Wanru asked again. This matter should have something to do with the Empress. Otherwise, the Empress would not have been implicated later.

“The Empress was not there. Back then, she was just a princess and didn’t come to see the deceased emperor. The Emperor was also not there either. When the incident happened, he was not in the Palace. It was the Empress Dowager who invited him over. After the deceased emperor died of illness, the Empress Dowager and the former empress talked things over and asked the Emperor to go there. When they were discussing, I and the others all withdrew.”

The chief supervisor pieced together what had happened and said.

Back then, everything happened suddenly and came as a surprise to all.

“So, no one knows the conversation between the Empress Dowager and the former empress?” Shao Wanru said thoughtfully. Their conversation was the crux of the matter. In this conversation, they must have discussed who would ascend to the throne, Chu Liuchen, who was still a baby in swaddling clothes, or the second son, who was young and vigorous.

“No one knew it. At that time, only the Empress Dowager and the former empress were inside, but I felt their conversation was pretty short. It seemed they made the final decision in a few words.” The chief supervisor calmed down and said while recalling.

Did they choose the successor to the throne just after a brief conversation? Shao Wanru was stunned. Wasn’t they supposed to think about it carefully? Even if the former empress didn’t care about the throne, she had to fight for her son. How could she give the throne to the current Emperor without demurring?

This was truly puzzling.

A woman may be soft, but a mother should be strong. Why didn’t the former empress do something for her son?

In history, there was no lack of emperors ascending to the throne when they were still babies in their mothers’ arms. Why didn’t the former empress do likewise? She couldn’t understand the choice of the former empress. Something seemed to have been missing. As a result, she always felt that things that happened at that time were against common sense.

“Your Highness, who can dig it out? I think it’s most likely to be the current Empress. After all, she’s the only one who has the ability to dig up such a thing. And there must be someone behind the painting. Someone deliberately sent the painting to the Duke Cheng’en’s Mansion. If Duke Cheng’en presents it to the Empress Dowager before all the officials, something sensational will happen!”

The chief supervisor had lived in the Palace for a long time, so he had developed a keen insight into matters. After connecting the head and the tail of this matter, he immediately thought of the possible trouble. Then, he reminded Shao Wanru that something serious would happen if the painting were displayed at the birthday party before so many important figures.

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