As soon as Er Niu relented, Prince Lu was overcome with emotion. Amid his feelings of gratitude, he also felt proud of his cleverness.
“Seventh Brother, you see? I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Prince Lu said.
Yu Jin nearly burst out laughing at Prince Lu’s poorly concealed pride, but managed to keep a straight face and nod, “Fifth Brother truly has divine foresight.”
Prince Lu immediately found this younger brother very agreeable and laughed, patting Yu Jin’s arm, “Well then, let’s go.”
Yu Jin shook his head, “Is it appropriate for us to bring a dog when we go to see Eighth Brother?”
“How is it not appropriate?” Prince Lu was displeased upon hearing this, “Is Er Niu just an ordinary dog? It’s an official of the fourth rank in the imperial court. It’s most fitting for it to come with us to see Eighth Brother.”
The Seventh Prince was speaking without considering the situation. Couldn’t he see that in these circumstances, it was impossible not to bring Er Niu along?
If they left Er Niu behind, it would surely not let go of his trousers.
Seeing Yu Jin’s hesitation, Prince Lu began to persuade him earnestly. It took a full quarter of an hour before he finally got the other to nod in agreement.
“Since Fifth Brother insists, let’s bring Er Niu along,” Yu Jin said reluctantly.
Prince Lu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: Finally convinced the Seventh Brother. When we get to Prince Xiang’s residence, I must make him drink three cups of tea to make up for all this wasted breath.
The two brothers didn’t delay any further and set off towards Prince Xiang’s residence, accompanied by one large dog.
Jiang Si was stunned after hearing A Man’s report: “Prince Lu begged His Highness to bring Er Niu along?”
“Yes, first he begged His Highness to go together, then he begged His Highness to agree to bring Er Niu. He must have pleaded for at least half an hour. Even the sparrows on the branches got impatient and flew away,” A Man said with a smile, recounting the situation she had observed.
Jiang Si listened, feeling deeply impressed: She never imagined Prince Lu would be such a remarkable person.
She had originally thought it might be a bit abrupt for A Jin to bring Er Niu to visit Prince Xiang and worried it might arouse the Emperor’s suspicion afterward. Now, with Prince Lu being so considerate, they could rest easy.
The main gate of Prince Xiang’s residence had opened several times early that day. The first to arrive was Prince Qi.
Given Prince Qi’s caution, he had naturally considered whether it was appropriate to be the first to visit Prince Xiang’s residence.
It was well known that he and Eighth Brother had always been on good terms, and Father Emperor was aware of their brotherly closeness. Now that Eighth Brother had encountered a setback, coming early to comfort him would likely not be misunderstood by Father Emperor, but rather be seen as an act of kindness and fraternal affection.
Prince Qi’s eagerness was driven by a desire to resolve his confusion: Yesterday, they had planned to poison the Seventh Prince’s wine, so how did Eighth Brother end up being the victim?
Pondering this question, Prince Qi had tossed and turned all night, barely getting any sleep. His complexion looked hardly better than Prince Xiang’s, who had just suffered such disgrace.
Staring at the dark circles under Prince Xiang’s eyes and the stubble on his chin, Prince Qi sighed, “Eighth Brother, what exactly happened yesterday?”
Prince Xiang’s expression was numb: “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
Prince Xiang looked utterly dejected: “Being outmaneuvered by the Seventh Prince is inevitable, but I can’t figure out exactly what happened. I saw him drink that cup of wine with my own eyes—”
As he spoke, Prince Xiang became agitated.
Prince Qi patted his arm, “Eighth Brother, calm down. I remember yesterday the Seventh Prince offered you a toast in return. Could the problem have been with the wine he offered you?”
“Even if that were the case, could it be that the drug he prepared was the same as what Fourth Brother prepared? And how do you explain that he drank the drugged wine but was unaffected?” Prince Xiang retorted.
This was also the question Prince Qi had been pondering repeatedly last night.
Unable to figure it out—
Prince Qi had a sudden flash of inspiration: “Could it be that the Seventh Prince didn’t drink that cup of wine, but poured it back while he was offering you a toast?”
Prince Xiang was stunned for a moment, then thought of something and turned his head to retch.
Prince Qi was initially puzzled by Prince Xiang’s reaction, but after a moment’s thought, he understood and smiled bitterly, consoling him, “Eighth Brother, you’ve misunderstood. No matter how capable the Seventh Prince is, he couldn’t possibly spit out the wine he had drunk right in front of you…”
Prince Xiang, pale-faced and weak, said, “Fourth Brother, say no more. In any case, this incident has made me see clearly that the Seventh Prince is far from simple!”
“Indeed, the Seventh Prince is not simple…” Prince Qi murmured.
The two brothers sat in silence for a while before a servant reported that Prince Qin had arrived.
Prince Qi smiled coldly, “Our eldest brother truly never steps out of line.”
He never falls behind in anything, nor does he stand out. He maintains such a low profile that he barely has any presence.
Prince Xiang, in his foul mood, snorted, “What could he possibly be thinking?”
He was just lucky enough to occupy the position of Father Emperor’s eldest son. If he hadn’t been adopted into Father Emperor’s name back then, he would now be nothing more than a royal clan member whose name Prince Xiang wouldn’t even remember.
“Eldest Brother has come with good intentions to see you. We can’t turn him away at the door,” Prince Qi reminded, worried that Prince Xiang might throw a tantrum.
It was understandable for him to be the first to visit Eighth Brother, but if Eighth Brother refused to see anyone except him, that would be problematic.
“Eighth Brother, don’t be too disheartened. A title that can be lowered can also be raised. A temporary setback is nothing,” Prince Qi said meaningfully.
Prince Xiang smiled bitterly and nodded, “In the future, Brother will rely on Fourth Brother’s support.”
After yesterday’s incident, although Prince Xiang was badly shaken, he hadn’t been thrown in prison or sentenced to death. He still had to live on bravely.
He realized it was useless to blame Fourth Brother for instigating him to take action. It would be better to wholeheartedly follow Fourth Brother’s lead.
As he lay tossing and turning in bed last night, the resentment he felt towards Prince Qi could only be silently suppressed. The only comfort now was that Fifth Brother was also a Duke, which made him feel less embarrassed.
“Please show Prince Qin in,” Prince Xiang instructed the servant, forcing himself to muster some energy.
Seeing Prince Xiang like this, Prince Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that Eighth Brother hadn’t become completely demoralized by this setback. Perhaps after getting through this period, he would become even more useful. When the right opportunity came in the future, he might be able to take a big bite out of the Seventh Prince.
By now, Prince Qi was extremely wary of Yu Jin, no longer considering him a brash fool with more courage than wisdom.
Prince Qin had not been in for long when a servant came to report that Prince Shu had arrived.
The reception hall of Prince Xiang’s residence suddenly became lively.
The various princely residences were not far apart. Yu Jin walked with Prince Lu on his right and Er Niu followed behind. They quickly arrived at Prince Xiang’s residence.
“Go tell your master that I and Prince Yan have come to see him,” Prince Lu instructed the doorkeeper unceremoniously.
With Prince Qi and others having arrived earlier, the doorkeeper was not at all surprised and quickly went in to report.
Prince Qi, worried that Prince Xiang might show an unusual reaction upon hearing of Yu Jin’s arrival, quietly nudged him and spoke up to break the momentary silence: “I didn’t expect Fifth Brother and Seventh Brother to come together.”
“They live across from each other, so they probably met on the way,” Prince Qin said with a smile.
Prince Xiang composed himself and said flatly, “Please show the two Princes in.”
The group in the reception hall momentarily lost interest in further conversation and drank tea while waiting for the two to enter.
Not long after, the servant standing outside lifted the door curtain, and Prince Lu and Yu Jin walked in one after the other.
The people in the hall began to greet them, but their greetings were cut short halfway as their eyes fixed on what was behind them.
What was that ox behind Fifth Brother and Seventh Brother all about?
Oh, my mistake, it’s Er Niu!