Chapter 381

Xiao Juan reported Shen Rui’s death to the old emperor.

The old emperor felt as if he had been struck by lightning and he actually spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot! Finally, his eyes closed and he fainted.

This frightened everyone.

Even Empress Dowager Deng was alarmed and rushed to the bedroom to see the emperor.

After the emergency rescue of the Imperial Physicians, the old emperor quickly woke up from his coma.

But he still looked terrible and spoke weakly.

“Rui’er is… he’s really dead?”

Xiao Juan answered truthfully, “Yes, the Sixth Prince’s corpse has been sent to the Justice Department for further autopsy. Your Majesty, my condolences.” Among all the princes, the old emperor liked Shen Rui the most.

He even had the thought of making Shen Rui the Crown Prince.

Even though he was extremely disappointed in Shen Rui later, he had never thought of really taking his life.

After all, he was his flesh and blood and he had high hopes for him. How could he be ruthless enough to kill Shen Rui?

He originally wanted to lock Shen Rui up for a while and let him suffer.

If Shen Rui could sincerely repent, he would allocate a remote fief to Shen Rui so that he could live the rest of his life in peace. Unexpectedly, Shen Rui died just like that!

Empress Dowager Deng felt terrible.

She wiped her tears and asked.

“How exactly did Rui’er die?”

Xiao Juan said, “Based on the current evidence, the Sixth Prince should have hanged himself. There’s also a will of his here. Please take a look at it, Your

Majesty and the Empress Dowager.”

He pulled a letter from his sleeve and offered it with both hands.

Wei Huai’en stepped forward to take the letter and forward it to the emperor.

However, the vision of the old emperor and Empress Dowager Deng was not very good. It was very difficult for the two of them to read the letter. In the end, Wei Huai’en could only help read the contents of the letter.

When the old emperor heard this, he was both angry and sad.

“If he had realized his mistake earlier, he wouldn’t have come to this point!”

Empress Dowager Deng did not expect the usually obedient imperial grandson to do so many bad things in private.

She also felt that Shen Rui was too stupid. He gave up his bright future and actually asked the Ninth Prince of the Chen Nation for help.

However, he was already dead. Empress Dowager Deng could not say anything else about him. In the end, she could only say, “Rui’er is Noble Consort Shu’s only child. We have to inform her about this.”

The old emperor seemed to think of something and his expression changed.

He called Wei Huai’en to him and whispered instructions. Wei Huai’en’s expression did not change when he heard this.

“I’ll do it now.”

With that, he left.

Soon, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Seventh Prince arrived.

They were all here to visit their sick father.

Xiao Juan tactfully bade farewell.

Before he left, the old emperor handed him the case of the Sixth Prince’s death.

Xiao Juan accepted the order and left.

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The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince looked very anxious, and their footsteps were faster than the other.

Only the Seventh Prince’s eyes were red and his face was filled with grief.

He was in poor health and walked slowly, falling behind.

Xiao Juan stepped aside and waited for the three princes to walk past him before continuing to walk out.

There was a faint cry behind him.

“Wuwu, Father, are you alright? When I heard that you vomited blood, I was so frightened that my heart almost stopped.”

In the bedchamber, the old emperor looked at his three sons kneeling by the bed with an indescribable feeling.

These were his sons, so he naturally valued them.

However, there were still long and short fingers, let alone human hearts.

Among all the sons, the old emperor liked the Sixth Prince, Shen Rui, the most.

But the son who disappointed him the most was Shen Rui.

All the high hopes he had for so many years were in vain.

The old emperor spoke weakly. “You should know about Rui’er, right?” The Third Prince reacted the fastest.

He was the first to speak.

“Sixth Brother was too confused! As the Prince of Dayan, he actually dared to collude with external enemies and side with outsiders. The Chen Nation had always been ambitious. Sixth Brother was clearly inviting a wolf into his house. If it were me, I would never bow down to foreign enemies even if I died!”

The fourth prince regretted being a step too late. However, he did not dare to be distracted. As soon as the Third Prince took a breath, he continued impatiently, “Sixth Brother is young. In addition, he has been spoiled by Noble Consort Shu for so many years. It’s normal for him to be a little impulsive. However, his mistake this time was indeed too big.”

“What was even more hateful was that not only did he not repent after making a mistake, he even committed suicide? Didn’t he know how sad his father would be if he did this? Look at Father, he’s so angry that he’s vomiting blood. Unfilial thing, I really don’t want to admit that I have a younger brother like him!”

The old emperor listened quietly to them. His expression did not change. He looked at the Seventh Prince kneeling at the back and asked.

“Zhuo’er, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Seventh Prince Shen Zhuo raised his head slightly, revealing his pale face and already red eyes from crying.

He said hoarsely, “I feel terrible that Sixth Brother is dead.”

The old emperor said, “Don’t you think he deserved it?”

Shen Zhuo said, “Sixth Brother did make a mistake, but no matter what he becomes, he’s still my brother. I only hate myself for being too incompetent to stop Sixth Brother when he made a mistake.”

With that, he knelt on the ground. His thin body trembled slightly, and there were faint cries.

Seeing this, the old emperor could not help but be moved.

He got someone to help Shen Zhuo up.

“You’re a good kid.”

Although it was just a simple praise, it made the expressions of the Third and Fourth Princes change.

They had said so much just now, but Father had not even commented.

Shen Zhuo had only shed a few tears, but his father had praised him.

The gap between Shen Zhuo and the two of them widened.

Ever since Noble Consort Shu spoke to the emperor alone in Shang’s study, she had been grounded.

She had been locked up in the Startling Palace for the past two days and could not go anywhere.

All these years, although she did not have the title of Empress, she could manage the harem in place of the Empress. She could be considered to be glorious. Even if many new people entered the palace one after another, no one could overshadow her.

Every day, there were people who racked their brains to enter the Startling Palace, and there were countless people who ran to her to curry favor.

But things had changed.

The Startling Palace was cold. The usually attentive faces were all gone.

When Wei Huai’en led his men into the Startling Palace, the palace servants were very uneasy.

They did not know if Eunuch Wei had brought good news or bad news this time.

Liu Zhi helped Noble Consort Shu out.

Noble Consort Shu had not eaten or slept well for the past two days and looked very weak.

She was not even in the mood to dress up. She was wearing a loose dress. After sitting down, she glanced at Wei Huai’en and laughed at herself.

“In the past two days, you’re the only one who took the initiative to step into the Startling Palace..”