Chapter 578 - 170: The Real Culprit
News of Princess Yongning’s miscarriage eventually spread throughout the palace.
Empress Dowager Liu was furious upon hearing it and insisted on a thorough investigation. The Li Family agreed to cooperate as rumors abounded outside. People said that Princess Yongning’s joyful news had not been kept secret for the first three months, which was why King Yama had claimed the child. This was but a tale, and many no longer believed it. Moreover, Princess Yongning herself had said that she was victimized while at the Li Family’s residence.
The words "victimized" were no small matter; they implied that the princess had not lost her child due to carelessness, but through a meticulously orchestrated conspiracy. Even the emperor took the matter seriously and ordered the Li Family to identify the perpetrator at all costs.
In comparison, Prince Cheng, Yongning’s older brother, seemed to care little, not because he was indifferent to his sister, but because he was preoccupied with more pressing matters—pressuring the palace and instigating rebellion. Thus, the matter of Princess Yongning was temporarily set aside.
The Li Family, for the time being, became the target of public outrage, putting their all into discovering the assailant. Naturally, nothing was found in two or three days. But Princess Yongning, almost crazed with persistence, demanded answers from the Li Family from dawn until dusk. Unable to find the culprit, she vented all her anger on the Li Family. She looked less like the lady of the Li Family, more like their nemesis.
At night, Princess Yongning sat in her room, her expression restless.
Her recovery was swift; miscarriage, which usually sapped a woman’s strength, had seemingly left her unaffected. She was able to move about freely within a day, and if the Li Family had not known of her condition, nobody would have believed she had ever been pregnant.
Perhaps because of this, Li Xian did not anticipate Yongning’s rapid recuperation. His response to her pressing demand to find the murderer was somewhat panicky and haphazard.
Mei Xiang entered with the simmered medicinal soup.
"The Li Family has yet to give an account today," Princess Yongning said angrily, "This is simply outrageous!"