The Twelfth Prince's crime was... having an affair with a consort of the inner palace. After being discovered by Emperor Chu, he ultimately died unjustly in prison.
According to Xia Jingzhi's account... the Twelfth Prince had no connection with Consort Xuan.
Xia Jingzhi had refined a secret medicine for the Third Prince and hidden it in incense. It was addictive; after prolonged use, it would make people dizzy and delirious, causing hallucinations.
The consort carefully chosen by the Third Prince was a neglected concubine in the inner palace... Consort Xuan.
That day.
The Third Prince had Xia Jingzhi disguise himself as an accompanying guard. After secretly entering the imperial palace, he went to pay a visit to Consort Xuan.
At the time, after the First Prince and Second Prince had died, the Third Prince was the most powerful and influential among the princes. When the Third Prince came to visit, Consort Xuan had no reason to refuse him.
After Consort Xuan received the Third Prince, he gave her the incense Xia Jingzhi had refined.
Just as Xia Jingzhi had confessed... the incense he had refined did more than retain its fragrance for a long time. It was also soothing and intoxicating, with an exceptionally pleasant scent.
Most importantly... the incense was addictive.
After using it twice, Consort Xuan became enamored with the incense. Moreover, because of it, Emperor Chu came to her palace several times to favor her.
Consort Xuan grew increasingly aware of the incense's allure, so she repeatedly invited His Highness the Third Prince to her palace to purchase more incense from him.
After a year or two, the incense had poisoned Consort Xuan to the very marrow. She had become alluring to the bone and had also won Emperor Chu's deep favor.
The Third Prince saw that