Despite the combined attempt by both palace masters to resuscitate the baby, he was beyond rescue.
"This subject is deeply sorry, esteemed Palace Masters," the royal physician shook his head full of regret. "The little prince has moved on to the afterlife."
Mingyu broke into tears as soon as she heard of the little prince's death.
"Nooo, Little Prince," she wept. "Why must you follow your mother to the underworld? Noooo..."
Midwife Chen shed tears in silence. In her old age, she witnessed the death of a lot of babies, but it never got easier to process.
Both Lady Song and Zhang Fengxi were numb with sadness.
Jiang Muchen was barely able to function at the most basic level. He gazed at the baby's blue complexion for a long time before he asked in a hollow voice, "Why is the baby's face so blue?"
The royal physician bowed and gave his reply, "Reporting to Shuiran Palace Master, the little prince passed away due to poisoning."
The word "poisoning" made all three adults snap back to reality.
"What do you mean, 'poisoning'???"
"What poison? How???"
The royal physician could not help but feel intimidated by the three people who surrounded him as if he were the villain who personally poisoned the baby.
"This subject said that it was poisoning, but to tell the truth, it was not a potent poison at all. Most babies fall sick with fever for days upon contact with the poison, but they eventually recover. Only one of a million babies would end up dying from..."
"I don't care about the statistics!" Zhang Fengxi grabbed the front side of the royal physician's collar.
"I want to know where the poison came from!!!"
The royal physician blubbered in fear, "That... it is a common pigment that is used for ceramic painting..."
"Nonsense! How can it turn poisonous???" Jiang Muchen snapped.
"As this subject said, it is usually relatively harmless..."
"But every residence has painted vases and pots!" Lady Song exclaimed.
"Yes, and the little prince just happens to have a weak body," the royal physician explained. "It was unavoidable. It was fate."
Fate.
Lady Song trembled from head to toe.
"Royal Physician, can you please..."
She showed the man both of her palms.
"I was the last person who touched him. Can you please check..?"
The royal physician did as the lady requested. When he found traces of the same poison on Lady Song's hands, he fell to his knees and said, "Yes... the poison that killed the little prince is the exact poison that laces Lady Song's hands..."
Eyes widened in horror, Lady Song fell to the ground and started to howl from despair.
"Oh no, my grandson," she lamented as she took the baby and held him against her chest. "My poor, poor grandson. I am so sorry... Your grandmother is so sorry..."
"Lady Song, please be brave," her maids said as they tried to coax Lady Song.
"Lady Song, please don't be too sad..."
"Lady Song, the baby was born weak and fragile," the royal physician tried to comfort the brokenhearted lady. "Please, don't blame yourself too much."
Having solved the mystery of the poisoning, neither Jiang Muchen nor Zhang Fengxi felt any better.
The baby's tiny life had been snuffed out so easily, just like a candle that tried its best to maintain its flame in the middle of a strong, windy night.
In the end, it did not matter how he died.
He fought bravely to stay alive, but he did not make it.
Jiang Muchen raised his chin and tried his best to blink his tears away. When he thought that he had enough self-restraint to prevent himself from breaking down in tears, he gave the tiny baby the first and last pat on the head.
"Goodbye, little one. I hope that you will be happy by your mother's side. Please send him my greetings and tell him that his good friend, Jiang Muchen, misses him very much."
He then raised his reddened eyes and stared at Zhang Fengxi.
"Do you know how I really got the crown prince position, Zhang Fengxi?" he asked with a trembling voice.