The princess regretted it.

Chapter 398: Licorice Asks Your Majesty to Make a Decision for the Empress

"Your Majesty, she's gone to look for Aunt Zhao!" Jin An had completely recovered by now. Upon hearing his father's question, he quickly stood up and replied. "She should be back soon."

The emperor didn't think much of it after hearing this, thinking that Jin'an had asked her to go back to Feiyu Palace and ask Madam Zhao to arrange for a sedan chair to pick him up. So he just nodded slightly.

After a while, several other imperial doctors and midwives came out of the delivery room, except for Doctor Fang. Seeing that the emperor and Princess Jin'an were still waiting outside, they all came forward and knelt in respect.

The Emperor inquired and learned that Concubine Chun had stabilized and was now waiting for her to regain consciousness. However, Concubine Chun's vital energy and blood were severely depleted, so recovery might not be that fast. Nanny Su, along with the maids Yue'er and Xing'er, were caring for her inside, and Imperial Physician Fang was waiting inside. The young prince was already being cared for by a wet nurse.

The Emperor had been through a lot today, and now, feeling a little relaxed, he didn't want to say much. He simply waved his hand, signaling them to leave. The doctors and midwives kowtowed and bowed before leaving.

As soon as the imperial doctors left, Han Shuang pulled open the curtain and walked in, followed by Zhao Ma and the limping Gan Cao.

Licorice had changed his clothes at this time. Compared with the solemn expressions on the faces of Han Shuang and Zhao Ma who came in with him, Licorice's eyes were red and swollen, and his face showed obvious anxiety and worry, as well as anger that had not completely dissipated.

As the three of them entered, Madam Zhao and Han Shuang glanced at Jin An simultaneously. Their gazes met, and Jin An realized that Madam Zhao must have grasped something. She half-closed her eyes briefly, then turned her gaze towards the Emperor.

When the three of them came in, the emperor had already noticed Licorice, and his eyes finally fell on her legs.

Han Shuang and the other two walked forward to kowtow to the emperor. The emperor raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities! Stand up!" After saying that, Han Shuang and Nanny Zhao thanked him and stood up. Only Gan Cao knelt without moving.

"What is the meaning of your action?" The emperor asked slowly in a voice as deep as a bell.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to make the decision for the queen!" Gancao knelt on the ground and hit his forehead with a "dong".

"What happened?" The emperor's face darkened, his eyes filled with worry. When Han Shuang went to find Eunuch Fuquan, she simply told him that Concubine Chun had suffered a seizure and wasn't feeling well. She didn't say that the seizure was caused by a fall.

"Your Majesty, someone is trying to harm the Empress and the little prince!" Gancao's voice trembled. "The Empress suffered a seizure due to a fall, and this was not an accident."

"How dare you!" The emperor erupted in anger and shouted harshly. "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Your Majesty, I was injured yesterday when I stepped on ice in the corridor when I came back." Gan Cao raised her body slightly and replied sobbingly, "After I fell, Madam Su notified everyone downstairs to clear the snow from the corridor and aisle and wipe away the water stains.

Who would have thought that Her Majesty would have stepped on the ice in the corridor today and fell, which led to Her premature attack."

The emperor's expression grew even darker. "Who is responsible for cleaning? Such carelessness! Take him down and have him beaten to death!"

"Your Majesty, it's not that the cleaners were careless, but someone did it on purpose." Gancao's voice was filled with resentment.

"Who is it? Who is so bold and presumptuous?" The emperor's voice was cold and stern.

"Your Majesty, I got some clues when I visited Gancao earlier." Nanny Zhao stepped forward and knelt down to reply.

"Speak!" The emperor looked at Zhao Ma with a serious gaze, raised his eyes and glanced at Jin An beside him with an unclear look, and said in a cold voice.

Madam Zhao took a deep breath, her voice steady yet tinged with gravity. "Your Majesty, I have questioned the palace maids in charge of sweeping the snow, and they did indeed clear the snow as per custom. However, someone saw a palace maid in green sneaking around that corridor before dawn this morning, and she was even seen throwing something into the corridor."

The emperor's fingers tightened on the armrests of the dragon throne, his knuckles turning white. "Can you see who it is?"

"The palace maid said..." Madam Zhao hesitated, "The maid was wearing the uniform of a maidservant in the palace. She also avoided people and kept her head down when she came and went, so her face was not clearly visible."

The emperor had a sullen face and said nothing. He had already set up defenses in the Lanxin Palace. If it was a new face, he would definitely have noticed it. It seemed that he must be someone from the Lanxin Palace.

"Father!" Jin An suddenly spoke up, and the Emperor glanced at her. "If someone really did this on purpose, we just need to gather everyone in the palace together and investigate them one by one. We'll definitely find out."

Before she arrived, Jin An had already considered the possibility that someone had done this intentionally, and that after the deed was accomplished, the person would either be silenced or have already managed to leave. So, upon her arrival, she had Madam Zhao go find Gancao, hoping to have her take charge and lock everyone in Lanxin Palace down, preventing them from leaving. Now, regardless of whether the person had left beforehand, gathering everyone together for an investigation would reveal the truth.

After hearing Jin'an's words, the emperor turned his head and gestured to Fuquan. Fuquan bowed and then quickly retreated.

"You guys get up first!" The emperor raised his hand towards the two people kneeling below.

After Zhao Ma and Gan Cao kowtowed to express their gratitude, Zhao Ma stood up first and reached out to help Gan Cao up. The two of them bowed and stepped aside.

The atmosphere in the palace was so solemn that it was almost suffocating. At this moment, Nanny Su suddenly called out in surprise from the delivery room: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you're awake!"