Contract Marriage: Rewritten - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Translator: Yonnee
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The imperial palace was thrown into chaos.
Imperial guards stood watch at every corner of the palace, their faces tense.
Whenever two or more people gathered, they whispered, trying to make sense of what had happened.
“When the court physician examined the three princes, there were already dark red marks on their skin…”
“Does that mean it was poison?”
“All three of them at once? But they were all in different locations, weren’t they…?”
Ominous rumors spread like wildfire.
In the meantime, news came that the empress had screamed and fainted multiple times.
Amid the tense atmosphere in the palace, Laniakea could only hold her breath.
‘The princes are dead? And all three at once?’
It was something she had never even considered.
Even if one of them were to die due to an accident or illness, there were still two other princes left.
Technically, three, but Hyperion was always excluded from discussions about succession.
Laniakea herself hadn’t even thought of him.
And now, all three heirs to the throne had died at the same time.
As a result, all the staff of the second, third, and fourth princes’ palaces were immediately rounded up for questioning.
The princess consorts were no exception.
In the midst of this storm, the staff of Laniakea’s detached palace quietly observed the situation outside.
Fortunately, there were so few staff members, and they had so little interaction with the outside world beyond necessary communications, that they were relatively untouched.
Still, an investigation was unavoidable, and Laniakea, along with Lucy, represented her palace during the questioning by the imperial guards.
The investigation was over in less than an hour.
After all, the first imperial princess consort, who had gone three years without making any impression and had no connections with anyone, had no plausible ties to the incident.
Moreover, an overwhelming amount of evidence had emerged from the staff of the second, third, and fourth princes’ palaces.
“His Highness the Second Prince said that if this plan succeeded, we wouldn’t have to worry anymore! H-He also gave us the poison himself…”
This was the testimony of a servant from the second prince’s palace, accused of poisoning the third prince’s food.
“His Highness the Third Prince told me to mix it into the tea leaves. I didn’t know it was poison!”
This was the testimony of a maid who had received money from the third prince’s palace to tamper with the fourth prince’s tea leaves.
“His Highness the Fourth Prince was always mocked and belittled by the Second and Third princes! They constantly ridiculed him! I just wanted to help him. He even promised to make me Empress if this plan succeeded!”
This came from a maid who had been having an affair with the fourth prince.
The empress personally interrogated all the suspects, nearly torturing them, and the findings were both horrifying and baffling.
The second, third, and fourth princes had all poisoned one another.
What’s more, all of their plans had coincidentally been carried out on the same day.
They had each taken precautions, consuming neutralizers or antidotes in advance to counteract the poisons they had used.
However, those measures only worked for their own poisons.
Ingesting two different types of poison, combined with the ingredients of their own, had left all three of them dead before anyone could intervene.
Their motivations were understandable: with the first prince essentially out of the picture, they each believed that if the others died, they would inevitably become the next emperor.
Even if the truth were revealed later, by that time, they would already be emperor and could bury the incident.
Without any other heirs, even the court officials would be powerless to do anything.
The problem, however, was that all three princes had the same idea.
The funeral preparations, which had been underway for the ailing emperor, now shifted to accommodate the princes.
Suddenly, two more ornate coffins had to be prepared, throwing those in charge into a flurry of activity.
But that was hardly the main concern.
“This can’t be! Impossible! How can all my sons be dead?!”
The empress raged like a madwoman—or perhaps she had already lost her mind.
The once dignified and untouchable empress, who always looked down on others with an air of superiority, was now a disheveled mess.
Her hair was unkempt, and she hadn’t even managed to properly don her mourning attire as she collapsed to the floor, wailing.
The princess consorts of the second, third, and fourth princes were in similar states.
The third and fourth princess consort had fainted, leaving only the second princess consort to remain present.
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