The Crown Prince’s left hand was crippled.

No one knew who first spread this news, but when two officials met, they would often hesitate to speak, testing each other. Only after confirming they both knew the same gossip would they freely exchange information.

The Crown Prince was the heir to the empire and its foundation. Though a crippled left hand didn’t greatly affect things, having a physical disability was still unseemly!

For a time, people were in a state of anxiety, the air flowing with indescribable restlessness.

Lin Hao heard this news from Qi Shuo.

The two hadn’t seen each other for some time. Their most recent contact had been when Prince Jing’s Manor enthusiastically invited Imperial Physician Qian to treat Lin Chan. Lin Hao immediately guessed it was Qi Shuo’s idea and quickly sent Baozhu to quietly tell him the truth.

That was when Lin Chan was “gravely ill.” To be safe, Lin Hao hadn’t stepped outside the General’s Manor to avoid arousing suspicion.

With their young lady gravely ill, the General’s Manor proactively proposing to break the engagement showed they were sensible, sparing the Prince of Wei from gaining a reputation for being fatal to wives. If the Emperor learned it was a feigned illness, that would be courting death.

Qi Shuo stared intently at Lin Hao for quite a while before saying, “I didn’t expect the General’s Manor would break off this match with the Prince of Wei.”

A family that acted so contrary to convention—he suddenly felt the difficulty of marrying A’Hao had increased somewhat.

Lin Hao smiled. “Grandmother and Mother are indeed different from other family elders. What they care about more is our peace and happiness, not power and wealth.”

Qi Shuo coughed lightly. “My father and mother are the same way.”

Lin Hao glanced at him, her expression somewhat odd. “The main thing is, the Prince’s Manor already has sufficient power and wealth.”

To go any further, there would only be that position.

Qi Shuo drank tea to mask his heartache.

So in the General’s Manor’s view, his birth was also a disadvantage—the road ahead truly was long and arduous.

“Was it the Heir Apparent who spread the news about the Crown Prince’s crippled left hand?”

Qi Shuo nodded. “Yes. The Crown Prince’s scheme against the Prince of Wei failed, which already put him in a gloomy mood. I heard his most trusted eunuch Wang Gui died. Spreading this news at this time is adding frost to snow. The Crown Prince has been accustomed to smooth sailing and being supreme—when encountering setbacks, he won’t reflect but instead will make more mistakes the more he does.”

“Basically courting death, right?” Lin Hao continued.

Qi Shuo nodded with a smile. “Right, courting death.”

“That Wang Gui—how did he die?”

“The news that came out was suicide, but I deduce the Emperor ordered someone to do it.” Qi Shuo picked up the teapot to pour tea for Lin Hao. “The Crown Prince now favors a young eunuch named Wang Fu. This eunuch rose to prominence very quickly, happening to seize the opportunity of Wang Gui’s death. I think he’s not simple.”

Lin Hao’s heart stirred. “The Heir Apparent’s information network is quite well-informed.”

Qi Shuo’s hand paused as he lifted his teacup, but his expression remained unchanged. “With an unvirtuous heir apparent, one must take precautions for self-preservation.”

He drew a plain pouch from his sleeve and pushed it toward Lin Hao.

“What’s this?” Lin Hao’s attention was successfully diverted.

“The restaurant’s dividend.”

Lin Hao opened the plain pouch with great interest and fished out a tiny silver ingot.

After a moment of silence, she sighed. “Earning money really isn’t easy.”

It was thoughtful of the Prince Jing Heir Apparent to specially prepare a pouch for this.

Though it was the dividend from her own investment, despite her disdain, Lin Hao still carefully put it away.

Seeing her tuck away the plain pouch, the corners of Qi Shuo’s mouth couldn’t help but lift. He suggested, “Would you like to go see our business?”

The corner of Lin Hao’s mouth twitched.

A business that paid out ten taels of silver as dividend…

“Let’s go take a look.”

From the evasive gazes of his ministers, Emperor Tai’an sensed something was wrong. After questioning Jinlin Guard Commander Cheng Maoming, he learned the news of the Crown Prince’s crippled left hand had leaked.

“Who spread it?”

Cheng Maoming didn’t dare look at Emperor Tai’an’s furious face. “This subject is incompetent. Such rumors are truly difficult to trace to their source…”

Emperor Tai’an slammed the table but swallowed his rebuke. After dismissing Cheng Maoming, he ordered Liu Chuan to summon the Crown Prince.

“Your son pays respects to Father Emperor.” After the blow of Wang Gui’s death, the Crown Prince had holed up in the Eastern Palace without going out and hadn’t yet heard the gossip outside the palace.

And this news would reach the Crown Prince’s ears sooner or later.

Emperor Tai’an had already observed that the Crown Prince couldn’t withstand pressure. Rather than wait for the Crown Prince to act rashly after hearing it, it was better to tell him himself.

As expected, after hearing it, the Crown Prince couldn’t maintain his composure. “Who spread it?”

Looking at the Crown Prince’s expression, twisted like a cornered beast, Emperor Tai’an frowned deeply. “You’re not a young child anymore. Can’t you show some composure?”

“Father Emperor, everyone knows your son is crippled!” the Crown Prince shouted.

How could he maintain composure? From now on, whenever people saw him, they would think of his defect!

“It’s merely that your left hand can’t exert strength. If you act with propriety and display the bearing of an heir apparent, no one will care about this minor flaw.” Emperor Tai’an urged in a deep voice.

This was both advice to the Crown Prince and self-consolation.

The heir he had decided on for over twenty years—of course he didn’t want to replace him unless absolutely necessary. He hoped the Crown Prince would give him sufficient reason to persist, rather than disappointing him time and again.

Emperor Tai’an looked at the son he had doted on for many years, his heart feeling hollow.

He knew this stemmed from a lack of confidence.

“In some time, the Yuliu envoys will come to pay their respects. You must not appear before foreign envoys looking so dejected.”

Yuliu remained neutral between Great Zhou and the State of Qi, submitting to whichever side was stronger—typical fence-sitters.

Yet Emperor Tai’an took Yuliu’s stance very seriously. Though Yuliu was small, it had been developing well recently. If it truly devoted itself to helping the State of Qi, that would break the current delicate balance.

“Your son understands.”

Though the Crown Prince had a violent temper, he still restrained himself somewhat before Emperor Tai’an. Only after returning to the Eastern Palace did he vent.

Once again, the heart-stopping sounds of smashing echoed through the hall.

At times like this, only Wang Fu dared approach and speak. “Your Highness, please have some tea to soothe your throat.”

The Crown Prince raised his hand and knocked over the teacup, his pent-up fury having nowhere to vent. “Lately I’ve been thoroughly unlucky!”

“Your Highness, the more things go poorly, the more you must maintain a good mood. Only then will your fortune turn.” While others could only speak tremblingly when the Crown Prince was enraged, Wang Fu’s tone was calm and gentle, inexplicably possessing a power to soothe hearts.

Thus the Crown Prince listened somewhat. “Maintain a good mood? With so many vexing matters, how can I maintain a good mood?”

Wang Fu glanced left and right. Seeing the palace servants all standing far away, not daring to raise their heads, he said quietly, “This servant knows of a kind of immortal medicine called ‘Five-Colored Powder.’ After taking it, one’s spirit becomes clear and open, and one’s mood becomes joyful. Would Your Highness like to try it?”

“There’s such an immortal medicine?”

Receiving Wang Fu’s affirmative answer, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but be tempted.

He truly had had enough of feeling terrible—it simply made him unable to catch his breath.

And Wang Fu’s recent performance had long since earned the Crown Prince’s trust. After a moment’s hesitation, the Crown Prince nodded. “Then I’ll give it a try. If it has no effect, I’ll make you pay!”

Wang Fu smiled broadly. “Your Highness will know once you’ve tried it.”

With Wang Fu’s offering of medicine, the Eastern Palace finally regained its calm, while various government offices became busy with the arrival of the Yuliu envoys.