I have traveled through time, who am I afraid of?

Chapter 1018 Receiving News of Death, Prince Yi Sheds Tears

Emperor Hongde hurried towards Fengyi Palace with light steps, wanting to enjoy the delicious fresh fruit that his beloved daughter-in-law, Ah Ying, had presented to them.

Xiao Jingyu was both anxious and overjoyed as he prepared to head to the Duke of Anguo's residence...

He was going to see his little Yue'er to discuss how to deal with the beasts from Dongwei... uh... and of course, as his father had said... to freeload a couple of meals!

However… Xiao Jingyu thought for a moment and realized that he needed to go back to the Prince Yu's residence first, as there were some things he needed to arrange with his subordinates.

Emperor Hongde and his son had both enjoyed themselves, but the Prince Yi's mansion was shrouded in dark clouds and the atmosphere was heavy.

The imperial edict of Emperor Hongde was delivered to Prince Yi's residence.

Prince Yi, Xiao Jingyi, along with Jiang Fang, Tong Lian, and Chang Gui, knelt down to receive the imperial decree.

The imperial edict was short, containing only a few sentences.

These few words left Xiao Jingyi breathless and stunned for a long time!

The one who came to deliver the imperial decree was neither Yu Feng nor Feng Guang, but a minor eunuch whose name Xiao Jingyi could not recall and who was usually not even in the running.

It is clear that sending this imperial edict to Xiao Jingyi was neither an indication of the edict's importance nor a sign of the emperor's high regard for Xiao Jingyi as the Prince of Yi.

However, what was delivered by this nameless eunuch was indeed an imperial edict... an edict ordering Xiao Jingyi to collect the bodies of the former Vice Minister Zhang Jinyan and his family!

Not answering... that definitely won't do!

Can I accept the order... to collect the body?

To collect the bodies of Zhang Jinyan and his family?

After being helped back to the study by Jiang Fang and Tong Lian and sitting behind the desk, Xiao Jingyi had been staring at the bright yellow imperial edict on the desk for a long time!

The sudden deaths of Zhang Jinyan's family were orchestrated by Xiao Jingyi's men!

When the update was scheduled last night, Prince Yi, Xiao Jingyi, received a report from his subordinates... The food from Xiaofeng Restaurant had been delivered to the Heavenly Prison and the Shuntian Prefecture Prison, and the poison had been successfully administered!

Now that the poisoning was successful, Zhang Jinyan and his wives, concubines, and children were doomed to die.

Know it and know it.

But when Xiao Jingyi actually heard the news of Zhang Jinyan's family's deaths, especially when he heard that his former princess Zhang Miaoying had decisively chosen to commit suicide by hitting her head against a pillar when she realized that she was about to be poisoned like her mother and sister, Xiao Jingyi lost his balance, swayed a few times, and almost fell over.

Chang Gui reacted quickly and caught Xiao Jingyi, preventing him from having a close encounter with the study floor!

Chang Gui gestured for the messenger to leave and helped Xiao Jingyi to lie down on the soft couch.

Lying on the soft couch, Xiao Jingyi's face was deathly pale, his eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched, and he remained silent.

Chang Gui was very worried when he saw his master looking like this.

After thinking for a moment, Chang Gui cautiously stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, shall I go and fetch the royal physician to examine you?"

The prince's complexion is... is... not good!

The only response Chang Gui received was a couple of barely perceptible shakes of his head from Xiao Jingyi.

The master forbade me from calling the royal physician because he didn't want others to see his current distraught state, and I dared not make the decision on my own.

Helpless, Changgui could only stand by anxiously.

Although Xiao Jingyi had his eyes closed, he still felt that Zhang Miaoying, dressed as a princess, was standing in front of him!

Zhang Miaoying looked at him with such cold and indifferent eyes, as if she were looking at a stranger, or as if she were looking at an enemy!

Blood was still streaming from Zhang Miaoying's head, staining half of her face red...

Whether it was guilt or fear, Xiao Jingyi dared not open his eyes.

Zhang Miaoying was, after all, his legal wife, whom he had married with great ceremony.

She was his wife of many years;

She is his own Princess Yi.

He married her, not because they were mutually in love and he wanted to grow old together;

Rather, it was because her father was the second-highest-ranking official in the cabinet, and her father was... useful to her.

But no matter what, he had married Zhang Miaoying with the respect due to a principal wife;

After marrying into the Prince Yi's mansion, Zhang Miaoying was somewhat vain and liked to put on airs as the Prince Yi's principal wife. However, she remained content in the inner quarters and was devoted to her husband.

To be honest... there were a few days of blissful newlywed bliss between me and Zhang Miaoying at the beginning, and a few years of mutual respect and courtesy!

Although I have never truly loved her, let alone doted on her, don't people say that "a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness"?

Couples who are united by mutual benefit are also couples who share the same bed!

Even though there isn't much romantic love, there seems to be a sense of familial affection between them!

But just yesterday, because of her order to kill and silence them, her parents and sister died in such a tragic way!

As for Zhang Miaoying... she probably didn't want to die like that...

So, she, who had always been strong-willed, chose a more dignified way to die—by striking her head against a pillar!

As Xiao Jingyi pondered, two lines of tears welled up in his eyes and slid down to his ears, only to disappear quickly...

Chang Gui, who had been staring intently at Xiao Jingyi, saw those two lines of tears…

Is our prince crying?

These tears... are they for the late Princess Consort?

Was it for the sake of the Vice Minister's family?

Before Chang Gui could figure it out, Jiang Fang and Tong Lian came to the study again.