The Empress bestowed mooncakes and melons, but most people had no heart to taste them, instead still immersed in Lady Yun Fei’s sharp verbal exchanges from earlier. Song Yuning was not one who enjoyed verbal sparring. That she would today openly praise yet covertly criticize and mock the Chengyang Marquis residence and Lady Jiang Fei showed she was truly quite angry.

Song Wan recalled her aunt’s remarks about rising with the rooster and winding snake-like paths and couldn’t help but curve her lips. Thinking of how Jiang Xingjian had mixed with that flock of chickens, ducks, and geese at the Animal Breeding Office for many days, then exhausted his schemes only to enter the Divine Pivot Battalion, she wanted to sigh deeply at life’s impermanence.

Originally, if he had simply returned to the capital peacefully, relying on the old marquis’s border military achievements and Lady Jiang Fei’s maneuvering in the palace, he could have obtained an important substantial position. Now after going round and round, sullying the marquis residence’s century-old reputation and dragging down Lady Jiang Fei and the Fifth Prince’s reputations, only to obtain a position at the Divine Pivot Battalion—she wondered what it was all for.

Song Wan smiled faintly with pursed lips, mockery appearing in her eyes. Old Madam Jiang was far-sighted, but unfortunately Madam Jiang had never been patient with such calculations. Madam Jiang had an upright temperament with little deviousness in her heart. Since the old marquis had left the marquis residence with Jiang Xingjian, she had always been sheltered under the old madam’s protective wing, never experiencing wind and rain.

It seemed that before she herself had married into the marquis residence, with two people there to shelter her from wind and rain, this character flaw hadn’t been exposed. Song Wan looked up at Jiang Man, whose joy and anger were displayed openly on her face, and sighed inwardly.

Jiang Man’s temperament was seventy to eighty percent similar to Madam Jiang’s, but with a bit more boldness and viciousness than Madam Jiang. If Jiang Man had been raised by Old Madam Jiang, she would certainly be a hundred times more difficult to deal with than now.

Picking up a piece of mooncake bestowed by the Empress, Song Wan slowly placed it in her mouth. Today, her aunt’s words served to vent anger on her behalf—that was the first reason. The second was to inform today’s guests that with Jiang Man as his mother-consort, the Fifth Prince’s natural talents were likely limited.

This was also why the Empress had watched the show for so long without speaking to stop it. Setting down her jade chopsticks, Song Wan’s gaze swept over all the banquet attendees one by one, silently pondering in her heart the entangled power networks behind each family.

The Empress sat in the high position, taking in everyone’s every movement. “Empress…” A eunuch with a pale, pointed jaw leaned close to the Empress’s side: “It’s time.”

The Empress nodded, her eyes still as water: “Go see whether he’s dead or alive, whether he’s truly paralyzed, or has been playing tricks under my nose all these years. Also, later go investigate that rouge shop Lady Yun Fei mentioned. If there were no problem, she wouldn’t have mentioned it repeatedly.”

The eunuch nodded in acknowledgment, respectfully withdrew, then moved swiftly toward the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace was desolate and cold, a place of death for eight years, but recently the Crown Prince’s awakening was like a massive stone thrown into a lake, instantly exploding into sky-filling splashes.

Shen Qianyu’s face was somber as he relit the already-cooled clay pot and small stove. The boiling water bubbled up, rising in waves of steam. Hearing some unusual sounds outside, he turned and went back to the golden bed platform to lie down again.

“Eunuch… Eunuch Xun.”

“Where is the Crown Prince?”

The palace maid was so frightened she trembled, never having imagined that the head eunuch by the Empress’s side would suddenly appear in the Eastern Palace. The palace maid’s knees went soft and she knelt on the ground: “The Crown Prince… the Crown Prince is still paralyzed, in the sleeping chambers.”

Xun You strode into the Crown Prince’s sleeping hall, but just as he entered, his footsteps suddenly stopped. The entire Eastern Palace was filled with a rank stench, forcing Xun You to cover his nose and mouth with a handkerchief.

“Eu… Eunuch.”

A small eunuch with a severely hunched body walked out from the sleeping chambers. Xun You’s gaze swept from top to bottom but he paid no attention. He hurried to the Crown Prince’s bed platform and looked at the person on it with furrowed brows, saying nothing.

“Crown Prince, Your Highness?”

After calling twice without receiving an answer, Xun You snorted coldly and reached out to pull back the bright yellow sleeping quilt on the Crown Prince. But though his hand was already extended, just as he was about to touch the Crown Prince, he abruptly withdrew it.

“Why does this room smell so foul?”

The small eunuch from earlier looked vacant: “Foul? This slave doesn’t know.”

“Hah, ‘Enter a fish shop and you cease to smell it’—the sage truly does not deceive me.”

Xun You pointed at the bright yellow quilt: “Pull it back.”

The small eunuch pulled up the quilt, pulling it straight up to the Crown Prince’s knees. “Pull it all back.”

“The Crown Prince has been paralyzed for many years. His daily eating, drinking, and relieving all happen here, so he couldn’t wear…”

“Enough, enough.”

Xun You covered his nose and lowered his head to look at the Crown Prince’s exposed legs. Those legs from feet to knees were covered in scars, with iron shackle marks about half a palm wide around both ankles. These marks were embedded deep in the flesh—likely from being constantly chained in one place during his time as a hostage.

As for the other scars, he could only make out some whip wounds and burn marks. The rest were old and half-healed—he couldn’t identify them. Xun Xu carefully examined the Crown Prince’s features and suddenly asked: “Since Chief Seal Holder Duan passed away, has the Crown Prince awakened again?”

“Once, but these past few days he’s been like before, with no response.”

Hearing this, Xun You’s eyes showed killing intent. He curled his five fingers and instantly reached toward the Crown Prince’s knees, but just as he was about to touch the Crown Prince’s flesh, he withdrew his hand again. He had always loved cleanliness, but really… it was too filthy. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Scanning the Crown Prince’s sleeping chambers, Xun You saw the boiling clay pot on the table, walked forward, picked it up, and poured it bit by bit onto the Crown Prince’s legs. Soon the man’s flesh was scalded blood red, slowly forming several blisters. Xun You’s gaze didn’t waver as he watched the Crown Prince, only to see this person remain as unresponsive as if dead, his legs not even twitching once.

Tossing aside the clay pot in his hand, Xun You said: “Take good care of the Crown Prince. If you care for him well, I shall reward you.”

Having said this, he covered his nose and mouth and quickly withdrew. Seeing the person leave, the small eunuch hurried forward: “Master, are you alright?”

Shen Qianyu laughed coldly: “I’m fine.”

He had experienced all manner of cruel tortures—knives, saws, cauldrons, and vats. Now being scalded with boiling water a few times—what did that count as to him? Getting down from the bed platform and half-squatting at the bed’s edge, Shen Qianyu reached underneath and pulled out a small bottle of sesame oil to pour on his legs.

“Master, this slave has medicine here.”

Using a bamboo stick to open the blisters on his legs, Shen Qianyu said: “The Eastern Palace isn’t safe recently. Don’t bring these things into the palace to avoid alerting the enemy.”

Roughly treating his wounds, he pulled out a set of eunuch’s clothes and, hunching his body, walked out of the Eastern Palace sleeping hall. The small eunuch from earlier took off his clothes and lay down on the bed platform instead.

“Ji Rong, stop right there.”

Shen Qianyu lowered his head and stopped. The small palace maid said: “Earlier when Eunuch Xun came, was it to see if the Crown Prince was dead?”

“The Eastern Palace isn’t peaceful anymore. I’m going to ask Aunt Qi to transfer me to another courtyard. Will you come with me?”

“Thank you, but no need.”

Regardless of the small palace maid stamping her feet and cursing, Shen Qianyu bowed and left. Duan Yiting’s sudden death was not within his expectations. He had thought he still had a year or half to carefully plan, but now things were somewhat troublesome.

Without Duan Yiting’s seal-bearing status, it wouldn’t be so simple for him to leave the palace again. Shen Qianyu sat in the shadows in a corner, chewing on a grass stem and clicking his tongue.

All the vast wealth Duan Yiting had accumulated was in his hands, and Dong Chang’s Wan Xiao was also his close confidant. Though he had recruited a few concubine-born sons from aristocratic families outside the palace, those who could truly support him in court numbered close to zero.

Spitting out the grass stem, Shen Qianyu furrowed his brows. Having only silver and a few eunuch subordinates, he couldn’t secure the Crown Prince’s position. This was truly… somewhat troublesome.