From cute to empress

Chapter 167 The secret message

"The prince of the neighboring country?" I stood up suddenly, and the teacup in my hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. The tea splashed on my skirt, but I was completely unaware. "What is he doing here?"

Doctor Sun also looked surprised. He looked at me and then at the guard. No one spoke for a moment.

"Did he say it was a misunderstanding?" After a long silence, Zhen Youcai was the first to ask.

The guard shook his head. "General, His Royal Highness the Prince simply said he wanted to clarify things with His Majesty and you in person."

"Hmph, just trying to be mysterious!" I snorted, anger rising in my heart. The prince of the neighboring country must have bad intentions when he came here. Maybe he has some conspiracy!

"Your Majesty, calm down," Divine Doctor Sun said soothingly, "Since His Royal Highness the Prince specifically requested to see you and General Zhen, it must be something important. Why not listen to what he has to say first?"

I took a deep breath, tried to suppress the anger in my heart, turned to the guard and said, "Let him in!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, the prince of a neighboring kingdom entered the hall, flanked by a group of guards. He was dressed in finery and had an extraordinary demeanor. His features bore a striking resemblance to Zhen Youcai.

"Your Majesty, the Empress, is here to pay his respects. May Your Majesty be blessed with good health and good health." The prince of the neighboring country bowed slightly, his tone humble and polite.

"Your Highness, please excuse me," I replied calmly. My gaze lingered on him for a moment, then turned to Zhen Youcai. "Your Highness said he wanted to resolve the misunderstanding between the two countries. I wonder what that misunderstanding is?"

The prince of the neighboring country did not directly answer my question. Instead, he turned his gaze to Zhen Youcai, a meaningful smile on his face. "General, do you still remember me?"

Zhen Youcai frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with his lukewarm attitude. "Your Highness, you have come all the way here. What brings you here?"

The prince of the neighboring country remained unperturbed and continued to smile, "General, why are you so cold? Perhaps there is a deeper relationship between you and me."

"What do you mean?" Zhen Youcai's heart trembled, and he subconsciously tightened the sword at his waist.

The prince of the neighboring country ignored his vigilance and turned to look at me. He slowly said, "Your Majesty, to be honest, I came here to reveal a huge secret, a secret about General Zhen's life experience."

My heart was pounding. Could Dr. Sun's suspicions be true? Was Zhen Youcai's background truly connected to a neighboring country?

"What exactly do you want to say?" I stared at him closely and asked word by word.

The prince of the neighboring country took a deep breath and his tone became serious, "General Zhen, he is not the long-lost prince of our neighboring country..."

I was stunned, wasn't I? Then who was he?

"...but was deliberately framed by a powerful official and ended up here!"

The hall was utterly silent, a pin drop audible. I almost suspected my hearing was faulty. Zhen Youcai wasn't a prince from a neighboring kingdom, but was framed by a powerful official? How could this be possible?

I subconsciously looked at Zhen Youcai, only to see that he was also shocked, and was obviously unprepared for the words of the prince of the neighboring country.

"What evidence do you have?" After a long silence, Zhen Youcai was the first to break the silence, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

The prince of the neighboring country seemed to have anticipated his question. He calmly took out a jade pendant from his bosom and handed it to Zhen Youcai. "General, please take a look. Do you recognize this?"

It was a piece of fine white jade, carved with a lifelike flying dragon. In the dragon's mouth was a night-shining pearl, emitting a bright glow in the dim hall.

Zhen Youcai took the jade pendant, looked at it carefully for a moment, and his face suddenly became very ugly.

"This is……"

"This is a token of the royal family of our neighboring country. Only kings and crown princes of all generations are qualified to wear it." The prince of the neighboring country explained, "Back then, my father gave this jade pendant to my brother, your biological father."

"My...biological father?" Zhen Youcai muttered to himself, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"That's right," the prince of the neighboring country nodded. "Back then, in order to usurp the throne, a powerful official framed your father and killed his entire family. You were still an infant at the time, but loyal guards risked their lives to rescue you and sent you to the border..."

The prince of the neighboring country recounted everything that had happened that year. He said that he had been secretly investigating the crimes of the powerful minister for years and now he finally had solid evidence, so he came here specially, hoping that I could help him overthrow the powerful minister's rule and restore peace to the neighboring country.

"Your Majesty, every word I say is true, not a single lie!" the neighboring prince said, kneeling again. "I know this matter is too incredible to believe, but it concerns the future of both countries. I beg Your Majesty to understand!"

I looked at the prince of the neighboring country with a sincere face, and then at Zhen Youcai with a complicated expression. For a moment, I didn't know how to decide.

"Your Majesty," Divine Doctor Sun, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up, "I believe that the Prince's visit this time may not be groundless."

I turned to look at Doctor Sun and motioned for him to continue.

Divine Doctor Sun stroked his beard and said slowly, "I have been studying General Zhen's condition these days and have discovered that he seems to have a very special toxin in his body. This toxin is extremely rare, and even in my many years of medical practice, this is the first time I have seen it."

"Oh?" I thought, "What Dr. Sun means is..."

"I suspect this toxin is likely related to a neighboring country."

I immediately understood what Dr. Sun meant. If Zhen Youcai was truly a prince from a neighboring country, then he'd lived in the palace since childhood, making him more likely to have been exposed to this particular toxin.

"Your Majesty, I have a copy of the autopsy file from that year, which may be able to prove the innocence of His Royal Highness the Prince." Coroner Zhao, who had been standing silently by the side, suddenly spoke up.

"Oh?" My eyes lit up, "Bring it up quickly!"

Coroner Zhao walked quickly over to me and handed me a file. I took it and carefully read it. It detailed the circumstances of the murder of Zhen Youcai and his family, as well as the results of the autopsy.

"Your Majesty," said Zhao, pointing to a line on the file. "It says here that General Zhen's parents died not from a knife wound, but from poisoning."

I was shocked. Could it be that Zhen Youcai's parents were really poisoned to death by a powerful official?

"Your Majesty, the handwriting on this file..." Divine Doctor Sun suddenly pointed at a signature on the file and said, "It seems to be very similar to the handwriting on the secret letter that Your Highness showed me earlier..."

I immediately picked up the secret letter and compared it carefully. Sure enough, the handwriting on both letters was exactly the same, obviously written by the same person!

"This..." I raised my head and looked at the prince of the neighboring country, and I already believed it. "You mean..."

"That's right," the prince of the neighboring country nodded. "This secret letter was written to me by my father before his death. In it, he told me that the powerful ministers were plotting to usurp the throne, and he had already..."

The prince of the neighboring country suddenly stopped talking here, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

"What's happened to him?" I demanded.

"He has already..." The prince of the neighboring country took a deep breath and said word by word, "He has committed suicide by taking poison..."

"What?!" I exclaimed, the secret letter in my hand falling to the ground. My mind was in a state of confusion... The secret letter slipped from my fingertips, and I was completely stunned. Suicide by poison? A great king, such a fate! I couldn't help but look up at the prince of the neighboring country. I saw that his eyes were red, and he was fighting back his grief. My heart couldn't help but wrench in my throat.

"Your Majesty," Divine Doctor Sun's voice brought me back from my shock, "The poison in this secret letter and the toxin remaining in General Zhen's body must be from the same source."

Coroner Zhao echoed, "I have carefully examined the description of General Zhen's parents' death in the files, and it is consistent with the symptoms of poisoning. Moreover..." He paused, "The files also mention that the coroner who performed the autopsy died suddenly shortly afterwards."

I gasped. This was clearly a murder to silence the witness! Everything connected together, forming a vast web that tightly shrouded the truth. Now, the layers of mystery were finally lifted, and the truth surfaced.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I turned to look at Zhen Youcai. He was pale, his eyes complex, clearly still recovering from the shock. I held his hand, gave him a reassuring look, then turned to the prince of the neighboring kingdom and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, rest assured. I will seek justice for your father!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The prince of the neighboring country knelt down again excitedly.

"There's no time to lose," I decided immediately, "We must act quickly and bring the powerful official to justice!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to help you to eradicate the treacherous officials and restore peace and prosperity to our neighboring country!" The prince of the neighboring country stood up, with a determined light in his eyes.

We immediately began to discuss a specific plan of action, with Doctor Sun and Coroner Zhao also offering advice. Just as we were about to join forces, we heard hurried footsteps outside the palace. Then, a guard rushed in, fell to his knees, and said in a trembling voice, "Report... Report to Your Majesty... Something terrible has happened..."

"What happened? You're so flustered, how disgraceful!" I frowned and scolded.

"Neighboring country...the powerful official of the neighboring country...he...he..." The guard was so scared that he was incoherent.

"What happened to him?!" I felt an ominous premonition in my heart.

"He... he led a large army... and was at the gates of the city..."

"He... he led a large army... and is at the gate of the city..." The guard's words exploded like thunder in the empty hall.

"What?!" I stood up suddenly, a wave of shock surging in my heart. A powerful official plotting to usurp the throne, and even dared to openly provoke war?!

"What a wolfish ambition!" Zhen Youcai slammed the table and stood up, his eyes burning with rage. "Your Majesty, I will immediately mobilize the troops and march out to cut that traitor into pieces!"

I suppressed my rage and calmly analyzed the situation. The powerful minister had chosen this moment to attack, clearly well prepared. We must not lose our composure.

"Doctor Sun, you and the coroner Zhao must rush back to the Imperial Hospital and develop an antidote. Make sure to remove the remaining poison from General Zhen's body as soon as possible!" I made a prompt decision and gave the order quickly.

"We obey your order!" Doctor Sun and Coroner Zhao took the order and left.

I turned to Zhen Youcai and said firmly, "Youcai, the poison in your body has not yet been cured, so it is not appropriate to resort to force. Our only option now is to hold the city and wait for reinforcements!"

Zhen Youcai frowned, obviously unwilling, but he also understood the current situation and had to nod in agreement.

"Pass on my order, the whole city is under martial law, and all soldiers are to be on combat readiness immediately!" I shouted the order, my voice full of unquestionable majesty.

All of a sudden, the entire palace was in motion, with guards running back and forth, conveying my orders.

Zhen Youcai and I climbed up the city wall and looked into the distance. We saw a dark mass in the distance. The enemy army was coming towards the royal city with great force, like a black tide.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is coming with great force, I'm afraid..." The general beside him looked embarrassed.

I clenched my fists. Although I felt a little nervous inside, I kept a straight face. "What are you afraid of? We have high walls, deep moats, and elite soldiers and generals. How can we be afraid of a mere traitor like him?!"

"Your Majesty is right! We swear to defend the royal city to the death!" The generals were infected by my momentum and responded loudly.

I took a deep breath, looked into the distance with a determined gaze, and prayed silently in my heart: I hope everything will go well...

"Report—" At this moment, a scout hurriedly ran up to the tower, knelt down in front of me, and said in a hurried voice: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. The enemy army... the enemy army... a strange group has appeared..."