无翼乌工口里番无色无摭挡

Another soldier, shivering from head to toe, said in horror, “You, you weren’t poisoned, were you? Why is blood flowing from every orifice?”

Mao’er continued to clutch his stomach and cry out in pain.

As he cried out, his voice gradually lowered, eventually turning into disorganized groans and then finally disappearing, leaving no sound at all.

The other soldier watched helplessly as Mao’er’s blood flowed from every hole, dying with his eyes wide open.

Looking at this way of death, it must have been from poisoning.

The soldier’s gaze shifted to the basket on the ground.

There were still quite a lot of food and drinks in the basket, and the roast chicken had been reduced to bones.

He knew that it was the food here that had turned Mao’er into this state.

Fortunately, he didn’t eat any.

The soldier felt a moment of relief, but also a sense of fear.

This basket was sent by Concubine Xian to the Prince of Yu.

Could it be that Concubine Xian intended to harm the Prince of Yu?

The soldier swallowed dryly, looked ahead, and whispered, “Mao’er, Mao’er, people say that people die for money, and birds die for food. You’re a court palace guard with a bright future, but today you’ve lost your life for a bite of meat. I guess it’s just your fate!”

He didn’t dare to verify anything.

This was a grudge between the Prince of Huai and the Prince of Yu; as a small fry, he needn’t get involved, or else he’d end up like Mao’er.

The soldier quickly dragged Mao’er away and buried the food from the basket.

When someone finally noticed that Mao’er had disappeared in the afternoon, the soldier warned them, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t, don’t listen to what you shouldn’t, and absolutely do not take what you shouldn’t. Otherwise, even if you get it, you won’t have the life to spend it!”

Mao’er was the perfect example.

If he hadn’t been greedy and accepted Concubine Xian’s silver to let her in, and then been gluttonous and eaten the food from the basket, he wouldn’t have lost his life.

The soldier even suspected that this was the Prince of Yu’s punishment for Mao’er.

Mao’er dared to let people in casually and accepted Concubine Xian’s money; the Prince of Yu must have foreseen this.

At the same time, he must have also foreseen that a person as greedy as Mao’er would not be able to resist the delicious food in the basket, and would not truly follow the instructions to feed the food to the dogs.

Once he ate it himself, there was only one outcome – death.

In the end, it was all Mao’er’s own choices, and his greed that caused him to make one mistake after another, ultimately leading to his own demise.

On the morning of the fourth day, Li Hongyuan came out of the Ancestral Temple.

His slightly pale face looked translucent in the morning sunlight.

Sanli was standing not far away, holding a cloak, his expression excited, “Your Highness, I am here to receive you.”

He helped Li Hongyuan put on the cloak and handed him a water bottle.

Li Hongyuan took the bottle and chugged it down.

“Everything has been prepared in the mansion, including meals,” Sanli said softly. “Your Highness, you have been through a lot during this time. Also, the food sent by Concubine Xian yesterday was indeed poisonous. That soldier named Mao’er stole some of the roast chicken and died.”

Li Hongyuan replied with a nod, “I know. First, I must pay my respects to Emperor Father, Queen Mother, and my concubine mother.”

He headed for the Crystal Frost Hall.

The Empress was also there, holding the hand of the emperor’s eldest grandson, Li Tingqian.

Seeing his Fifth Imperial Uncle, little Xiaoqian, overjoyed, broke free from his great grandmother’s grasp and ran to hug his uncle’s leg, “Fifth Imperial Uncle, I’ve been missing you so much. Are you here to take me back to our home?”

Li Hongyuan patted his head, smiled and said, “Good, let’s go in a little while.”

He kneeled down and kowtowed to the Emperor and Empress..