The Crown Prince frantically dispatched Fu Youde to gather intelligence, terrified that Huangjue Temple would reveal their collusion with Fan Liangdi—though as Fan Liangdi had said, Huangjue Temple had no real evidence. But in these times, what need was there for evidence? Elder Chen’s case of leaking examination questions likewise had no evidence, yet didn’t he still lose his position as Elder? Since ancient times, three men make a tiger—such rumors are the hardest to defend against.
Fu Youde coughed several times. As the Eastern Palace Chancellor and an official serving the Crown Prince, he had always been utterly devoted to His Highness. Seeing him in such a panic now, he was rather puzzled: “The Imperial Grandson is blessed with great fortune and has emerged unscathed. I’ve heard he’ll arrive in the capital in three or four days at the latest. Rather than personally petitioning His Majesty to go welcome the Imperial Grandson, Your Highness, why are you worrying about the assassins first?” He paused, then continued: “This incident has caused such an uproar that His Majesty flew into a rage and ordered both the Imperial Guard and the Palace Guard to spare no effort in capturing everyone from Huangjue Temple. All hundred-some monks from Huangjue Temple are now imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. I hear that people wail day and night in the Northern Pacification Office, with corpses dragged out through the back gate every day, taken by Shuntian Prefecture officials to mass graves at night. With such pressure applied, no matter how tight-lipped those monks are, they probably won’t hold out much longer. We all know what the Imperial Guard is capable of—what is there left for Your Highness to worry about?”
The Crown Prince’s complexion grew even worse. A metallic sweetness surged in his throat again. Covering his chest, he struggled to suppress the urge to cough and sighed: “Where is there precedent for a father to go welcome his son? Even though he has achieved merit, we shouldn’t set this precedent.” He was already anxious enough worrying that Huangjue Temple might expose Fan Liangdi—hearing Fu Youde’s words only intensified his concerns. How could he have the mind to petition to receive his son?
Fu Youde frowned and earnestly counseled him: “Your Highness speaks incorrectly. Setting aside that the Imperial Grandson’s suppression of the rebellion this time was a great achievement, even just to demonstrate the father-son affection between you and the Imperial Grandson, you going to welcome him after his attempted assassination would be entirely appropriate. His Majesty has been having the Ministry of Rites draft a list of officials to go out in welcome that day. As his father and as the Eastern Palace, how could you not go?” In his view, this was precisely the time to go!
The Crown Prince nodded as if agreeing, then asked him: “How goes the Imperial Guard’s interrogation?”
Fu Youde stroked his beard and let out a cold laugh: “That Master Yuanhui from Huangjue Temple who died long ago was actually a subordinate official of Prince Duan’s when he was in Zhangzhou, Fujian, many years ago. Because he made a name for himself leading monks from Fujian’s Shaolin Temple in fighting off Japanese pirates, Prince Duan invited him to train his guards. After returning, he even secretly helped Prince Duan train death warriors, plotting treason.”
The four words “plotting treason” settled the matter, essentially confirming the charges against Prince Duan, whose death had been somewhat unclear. Though the Crown Prince should naturally be pleased that the troublesome prince couldn’t rest easy even in death, he couldn’t feel joy now. He nodded absently and asked: “What about the Jinling case?”
Elder Chen had countless threads of connection to the Eastern Palace after all, so the Crown Prince’s inquiry wasn’t out of place. Fu Youde raised his eyebrows and said: “The matter of Elder Chen’s spring examination isn’t even finished yet. To this day, scholars still spit at the Examination Hall when his name comes up. His Majesty spared him once, but rather than cultivating himself and properly reflecting on his errors, he inexplicably went after the Earl of Changning’s household, committed murder to silence witnesses, and tried to frame others. Then he was caught red-handed by that fool Imperial Censor Shi. He’ll likely not escape calamity this time. Your Highness must absolutely not be soft-hearted and extend aid to him for old times’ sake. His Majesty is certainly furious with him.”
The Crown Prince was so worried he didn’t know what to do. After thinking it over, he finally lowered his voice and revealed everything to Fu Youde. When he finished and saw Fu Youde unable to come to his senses, he pressed his lips together: “If this matter gets out now…”
Fu Youde leapt up in shock, wanting nothing more than to curse Fan Liangdi as a hen crowing at dawn. Unable to restrain himself, he burst out: “Your Highness has been far too careless! How could you take inner household matters so lightly?! From the start, we all felt it was highly improper when Your Highness favored the Liangdi over the Crown Princess. We advised Your Highness many times, but Your Highness paid no heed and has now indulged Fan Liangdi to such audacity…”
So after all this, the one who wanted the Imperial Grandson dead wasn’t Prince Duan’s remnants at Huangjue Temple, nor was it the Yangquan bandit chief Ma Yuantong—it was Fan Liangdi! This truly was trouble arising from within one’s own walls. Fu Youde’s brow furrowed deeply. Even knowing he shouldn’t say more, he couldn’t help himself: “This is absolutely disastrous! Disastrous! Once someone from Huangjue Temple leaks this information, Your Highness’s position as Crown Prince will be in jeopardy!”
Having said this, ignoring the Crown Prince’s ugly expression, he immediately asked: “The Imperial Guard captured living members of Huangjue Temple in Tianshui Town and surely interrogated them at the time. Does the Imperial Grandson know of this matter now?”
The Crown Prince shook his head: “The accompanying officials and advisors number over ten. Since arriving at Tianshui Town, there have been no letters sent back.”
Fu Youde’s frown deepened further. He thought his master truly ridiculous—his legitimate son goes out to suppress a rebellion, earns merit, and returns home, yet he hasn’t even sent anyone to inquire or transmit messages—they as Eastern Palace officials had all reminded him of these things!
There was no point dwelling on this now. Fu Youde stroked his beard, pulling out several hairs, and sighed: “I have some connection with Commander Lai’s in-law, the Li family. I’ll ask him to inquire what they’ve actually interrogated out of them. Though the Liangdi says she left no evidence, even the rumor alone would be unseemly. Your Highness must be more attentive to family matters from now on.”
The Crown Prince’s face flushed at being lectured, but he still nodded. He had always maintained the image of an exceptionally tolerant and benevolent Crown Prince before others, so Fu Youde now only felt that his leniency had spoiled Fan Liangdi rotten.
Fu Youde shook his head and sighed: “Additionally, Your Highness must personally petition His Majesty to go welcome the Imperial Grandson at Desheng Gate. You two are father and son—your glory and ruin are intertwined. The Imperial Grandson surely understands this principle.”
The Imperial Grandson was exceptionally intelligent. Even if he knew the assassination was connected to Fan Liangdi, he wouldn’t say anything about it. A smart person would naturally bury this matter completely—otherwise, if it got out and the Eastern Palace became unstable, what benefit would there be for the Imperial Grandson as the future heir of the Eastern Palace? But understanding people aside, the Crown Prince as a father still needed to act the part properly, or how heartbreaking would that be?
Earlier, when the Crown Prince’s officials had taken sides, choosing to stand with Zhou Weizhao, the shrewd and calculating Fu Youde had never declared his position. Now he was even more determined to avoid both sides—the Imperial Grandson wasn’t favored, and Prince Dongping paled in comparison to the Imperial Grandson. He would rather remain a pure minister and wait for them to determine a victor in the future before deciding.