Chapter 1396: War Drums Beat 217

eads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Feng Lingxi walked to her side, a silver needle from her sleeve flew into the coffin. Feng Ce Fei, who had been closing her eyes, suddenly opened them. The coro...The Prime Minister's face changed drastically. He looked at Dugu City, who was staring intently at him, and asked in a deep voice, "What does Prince Chen mean by that"

“Your prime minister needn’t misunderstand, this king was merely curious. It’s understandable that you worry for your wife and eldest son who are far from home, coming to Xixian County is not out of the question.” However, as the prime minister holds a high position of authority, he wouldn’t be able to leave the capital so casually.

Dugu Cheng looked at the increasingly gloomy expression of the Prime Minister, but the coldness in his eyes became heavier and heavier.

The Chancellor's face grew even more displeased. "This minister had already obtained an imperial decree to come here, but I never expected such a thing to happen. I thought that my son brought his wife here to seek treatment from the Princess Consort of Chen for her illness, but I never imagined that after only a few days, she would die from poisoning."

Upon hearing the prime minister mention Xi'er, Du Gu Cheng's handsome brows twitched slightly.

"Since the Chancellor has brought up my Queen, I would like to ask you something. It is said that a few days ago, the Chancellor sent someone to my Chen Wangfu to take Xi'er away, claiming it was for interrogation at the inn, saying she was suspected of poisoning the Madam. But in the end, she was taken out of the city. Chancellor, how do you answer this"

When the chancellor heard that Dugu City was asking about this, he pretended to be confused.

"When did this happen How could I not know"

Nan Gong Huashuang whispered beside him, “Father, these are all the foolish subordinates doing this. They say they want to speak up for Big Brother and bring the Princess Consort of Chen out to see you. Unfortunately, she was seen through by the Princess Consort.”

"Ridiculous! These scoundrels, how could they do such a thing Why didn't you tell me"

The chancellor sternly reprimanded, washing the charges clean.

Dugu City couldn't help but want to applaud their father-son performance.

"Father, please forgive me. I saw that you were saddened by the passing of Mother and your elder brother, and I feared you might be overcome with grief and anger. So I took it upon myself to deal with these foolish subordinates in private. I have punished them severely."

"A bunch of scoundrels, daring to use my name to harm the Crown Princess! Kill them all, I absolutely won't allow them to insult the Crown Princess like this."

Looking at the prime minister's furious reprimand, if Du Gu Cheng hadn't investigated beforehand, he would have truly believed this wonderful speech and that this matter was truly unrelated to him.

When the Grand Minister finished speaking, he rose and bowed to Duke Gucheng, "Your Highness, this minister failed to properly discipline his subordinates. This incident occurred, and we have offended Your Highness's wife. Please forgive us, Your Highness."

"The Prime Minister said he knew nothing about this, and as the saying goes, 'those who know nothing are not guilty.' How dare I blame the Prime Minister for this Though these subordinates acted excessively, they did so out of a desire to speak up for their mistress. However, my wife has always been dedicated to healing and helping others. When she arrived at the inn that day, she saw the mistress had already passed away from poison. I know this, but I didn't expect Master Hua Yun to withhold the truth and be silenced as well."

When it came to Nangong Huayun, the Prime Minister's face was etched with sorrow, his eyes welling up.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her travel so far, and now she's met with such a tragic end. I, as the prime minister, will investigate this thoroughly and find the mastermind behind this. I will avenge my wife and eldest son, Huayun."

"As for this matter, this King is also investigating and willing to assist the Prime Minister in his investigation."

Dugu Cheng's attitude was refreshing. This chancellor was indeed clever, quickly passing the buck.

"Father, I will do everything in my power to assist Prince Chen in finding the murderer who killed Mother and Elder Brother. I will make sure he pays for what he did. Please, Father, mourn with composure and take care of your health."

Nan Gong Hua Shuang comforted her father, every word in her voice filled the Chancellor with relief.

The chancellor raised his hand, his voice filled with resignation.

"These days I've finally managed to pull myself together, I won't be falling apart again."

Nan Gong Huashuang turned to Dugucheng and Feng Aotiantian, explaining, “Your Highness, my father has been heartbroken for days and hasn't had a good rest. He truly didn’t know about the Duchess's situation. I hope Your Highness can forgive him.”

Nan Gong Hua Shuang's attitude was extremely sincere. Since this Dugu City asked, it was natural to make things clear.

"The Second Young Master's situation is serious. This King does not blame the Chancellor, I only wanted to understand the situation to avoid misunderstandings." Dugu City looked at the Chancellor silently, leaving everything to Nan Gong Hua Shuang to handle. It seemed that the Chancellor knew about the death of the Chancellor's wife and Nan Gong Hua Yun.

"The Crown Prince is right."

Nan Gong Hua Shuang's attitude was very sincere, "This time, my father hopes to find out the truth. The death of my mother and elder brother was too sudden. My father couldn't accept this blow. If there is any impropriety in his words, please understand, Prince Chen."

"This king also wants to catch this murderer. The cause of death for Lady Nán Gōng is known by the eldest son; it was due to years of poisoning. When the king and the eldest son went to the inn to visit her, she had already succumbed to the poison."

Dugu Cheng's expression grew serious as he looked at the Chancellor and continued, "The eldest son said that the Chancellor's wife fell ill when the eldest son was young. The Chancellor sought out famous doctors all over the world but couldn't cure her. Hearing about my queen's medical skills, he wanted to try her, but unfortunately, she had already succumbed to the poison by the time they met. It was a step too late."

The Chancellor, hearing what Dugu City said, felt deep sorrow. He covered his face and choked back tears, saying, “I told him not to bring his wife, but he wouldn’t listen! With this long journey, how could her frail body withstand it”

Upon hearing this, Dugu City's eyes grew colder. He had made it so clear, and yet this Prime Minister seemed to have missed the point entirely. Shouldn't his concern be the long-term poisoning

"Prime Minister, according to the results of the examination that Princess Chen gave to Madam, your wife was poisoned by a chronic poison, which led to this outbreak..."

Before Feng Aotian could finish his words, the Prime Minister interrupted him sharply, "How is that possible Although Madam's health has always been poor, her body is not poisoned at all. For so many years, it has been this minister who has had doctors check on her and sought out the best physicians in the land to treat her. Could it be that all the doctors in the world don't know if there is poison in Madam's body"

After finishing his speech, he continued to angrily rant for several more minutes, spouting nonsense and incoherent ramblings in a highly emotional state.

"My Prime Minister, please don't get agitated. This old minister is simply stating the situation."

Feng Aotian opened his mouth, "Does this chancellor mean that Xi'er is making random judgments"

Du Gu Cheng had naturally heard the meaning behind these words. The current Prime Minister’s statement refuted Xi'er’s judgment, clearly stating that the Prime Minister's wife hadn't been poisoned before coming here; it was only after arriving that she became ill and died. He had concluded that someone had poisoned his wife, killing her.

Now all the maids serving the Countess have died, except for Xi'er. Who else knows what happened to the Countess in her room after she was poisoned that day

"The prime minister means that this king's queen's medical skills are not refined, and her judgment was wrong. This king thinks that the only way at present is to find the body of the prime minister's wife to perform an autopsy, so as to prove it, and also to find out the murderer behind this."

Although I'm reluctant to involve Xi’er in this, the Prime Minister's words clearly contradict her judgment. And since the Prime Minister's wife died from poisoning, there's no other way but an autopsy.

"My lord, someone has come outside. He claims to know how the wife of the prime minister died." Dugu Cheng slept separately."Wan'er wasn't like this before, I don't know why she's excluding me like this."Huangfu Qingyun frowned, "It's only been a few months since we separated, I really can't un...