Cui Fu noticed Cui Xingzhou frequently glancing towards their carriage, seemingly with something on his mind. She urged Li Guangcai to stop fussing over her and check what Xingzhou wanted.
When Li Guangcai approached, Cui Xingzhou finally revealed the hidden map in the paintings and showed him the tracing Mian Tang had made.
Li Guangcai was astonished, marveling at the prince’s astuteness. Cui Xingzhou shook his head, explaining it was Mian Tang who had first noticed and recounted how Liu Yu had used a similar method to learn about their grain transport routes at Yangshan.
Li Guangcai’s expression turned grave. According to the prince, even the emperor might be involved. If true, when the ruler wants a subject dead, the subject has no choice but to die.
Mian Tang asked from the side, “Brother-in-law, how skilled are you in painting?”
Li Guangcai was startled and then shook his head vigorously. “Princess, you’re perceptive. While I dabble in writing and calligraphy, I couldn’t create such intricate hidden paintings.”
Cui Xingzhou naturally trusted Li Guangcai. If he were an opportunist, he wouldn’t have endured years of being overlooked by the court.
Seeing him break out in a sweat, Mian Tang giggled, “These paintings use unusual pigments. The reddish-brown color comes from imported cochineal insects, with even a small box being quite expensive… Even if you had the skill, you might not afford such precious pigments. I meant to ask if you, being skilled in painting, have noticed anyone close to the prince with such talent through your interactions with fellow enthusiasts.”
As she finished speaking, the three instinctively glanced towards the Marquis of Zhengnan at the front of the caravan.
If anyone close to the prince excelled in painting, it would be Zhao Jiayu.
Finally able to leave the barbaric North Sea and return to see his mother, the Marquis had lost all composure. He rode at the front, wearing a bamboo hat, loudly reciting homecoming poems from horseback.
After observing the Marquis’s undignified state, the three tactfully averted their gaze.
Li Guangcai pondered, “Few in the Armory would know cannon-making secrets. It shouldn’t be difficult to find the source of the leak once we’re back in the capital. But we can’t return immediately, and that person, knowing about the Takatsuji’s failure, might destroy evidence. Moreover, this person harbors deep enmity towards our Zhenzhou. If we don’t identify them before reaching the capital, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”
Mian Tang said, “If this person deliberately conceals their skills, they’d be hard to detect. However, knowing your grain routes at Yangshan then and cannon secrets now suggests connections to both Zhenzhou and the capital’s military offices. They must be in a crucial position, likely high-ranking. Starting from there should narrow our search.”
Li Guangcai worried for the prince. A mess of court affairs awaited him, but with the Empress Dowager gravely ill, the prince was forcibly pulled away. Who knew what traps their hidden enemy might set by the time they returned to the capital?
Upon reaching Zhenzhou, Cui Xingzhou went directly to the suburban villa instead of the prince’s mansion.
When he and his mother had parted, Mian Tang had considered various scenarios. She had instructed Steward Gao to move to the villa if anything happened to the Empress Dowager, avoiding contact with outsiders until their return.
So when Empress Dowager’s condition worsened, Steward Gao moved her to the suburban villa, bringing only a few trusted maids, servants, and loyal palace guards, leaving others at the prince’s mansion.
Steward Gao personally bought new bedding and furnishings, replacing everything in the villa with new items and refusing all visitors.
However, the Empress Dowager’s condition continued to deteriorate. A few days ago, she could still get up slightly, but now she had become delirious.
As Cui Xingzhou approached the villa, he saw his aunt, Lian Chushi, standing at the gate with several maids and servants, loudly berating Steward Gao as a disloyal dog for daring to make decisions on his own and refusing her entry.
“You mongrel! My sister is so ill, and you’re still tormenting her. You even dare to prevent the clan elders from seeing the Empress Dowager. Is it because you think your prince is away in the North Sea and can’t return soon, so you’re trying to seize the master’s property? Are you finding my sister an eyesore and plotting to kill her for money?”
Just as she was ranting, the main gate opened, and Steward Gao rushed out with the villa’s few guards.
Aunt Lian thought Steward Gao had realized the gravity of the situation and was coming to apologize. She stood with a haughty expression, waiting for the dog servant to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
Instead, Steward Gao and his men swept past her like a gust of wind, heading straight for the main road.
Only then did Aunt Lian belatedly realize that a caravan was hurriedly approaching the villa.
Steward Gao had received word from the relay station earlier, knowing the prince was rushing back from the North Sea.
The Empress Dowager had been bedridden for over a month and seemed near the end. As a loyal servant, he had no authority to make decisions and could only follow the princess’s earlier instructions, enduring the blame from the Cui clan elders while silently praying for the masters’ swift return.
Now that the prince had finally returned, Steward Gao heaved a sigh of relief, finally able to unload his heavy burden.
Aunt Lian, completely unaware of Cui Xingzhou’s return, quickly rushed over after a moment of shock, tearfully expressing her concern for her sister.
However, Cui Xingzhou, anxious to see his mother, couldn’t spare time for familial niceties.
Without waiting for Aunt Lian to finish her tearful complaints, he strode quickly towards his mother’s quarters. Cui Fu, supported by Mian Tang, also hurried to see her mother.
Aunt Lian tried to follow, but Steward Gao sternly blocked her, saying, “The prince and the Empress Dowager are reuniting after a long separation. They surely have much to discuss. Madam Lian, if you wish to visit the Empress Dowager, please come another day.”
With that, Steward Gao impassively ordered the doors closed in Lian Chushi’s face.
Everyone knew that Lian Chushi had seemingly offended the Prince of Huaiyang and was not favored by the new princess. Even her daughter, Lian Silan, had become distant since marrying the Cui family’s fifth son.
Only the kind-hearted Empress Dowager still occasionally took Lian Chushi to various tea parties, allowing her a taste of high society.
But if she hadn’t frequently enticed the Empress Dowager to go out, the Empress Dowager might not have caught a chill and fallen ill with this strange disease.
When the Empress Dowager first fell ill, Lian Chushi visited daily, constantly bothering her with trivial matters. Only when the Empress Dowager was moved to the villa did things quiet down.
Steward Gao was irritated just looking at Madam Lian!
Meanwhile, Cui Xingzhou entered the inner chamber to find the Empress Dowager sleeping fitfully. Her cheeks were sunken, her face lacked its usual luster, and she appeared gaunt and haggard, a far cry from her former regal self.
Even in her sleep, she seemed uncomfortable, her brows furrowed, occasionally turning over and making pained sounds.
Steward Gao explained, “After Your Highness, the Princess, and Young Miss left for the capital, the Empress Dowager was quite lonely in the prince’s mansion. The aunt often visited and invited her to various ladies’ gatherings. The Empress Dowager was reluctant, but the aunt’s persistent persuasion made her attend twice. A few days later, she felt chilled, and then experienced pain and discomfort in her chest and back. The doctor thought it might be a cold, but the symptoms were slightly different, so he couldn’t be certain. As the Empress Dowager’s condition worsened, I recalled the Princess’s earlier instructions. Fearing someone in the crowded mansion might have harmed the Empress Dowager, I moved her to this villa.”
Zhao Quan sat by the bedside, checking the Empress Dowager’s pulse. His frown deepened, and after a while, he stood and addressed Cui Xingzhou: “The Empress Dowager’s pulse suggests a deep-seated cold, but it’s not quite right. She’s been poisoned by gu.”
Cui Xingzhou’s expression changed as he asked, “Is there a way to save her?”
Zhao Quan replied, “I hadn’t heard of gu poison before, but I learned much during our North Sea trip. Shamanic medicine is prevalent among the local chieftains, and many are skilled in using gu. I met an extraordinary person while exchanging knowledge with local shamans and learned some things. Generally, those who use gu keep a mother gu to control the poison. Only by finding the mother gu can the poison be neutralized.”
Cui Xingzhou’s face darkened, his eyes flashing coldly. As he had suspected, his mother’s illness was deliberate, aimed at keeping him in Zhenzhou and preventing him from reaching the capital in time.
Zhao Quan continued, “While the mother gu can control the poison, it must be nearby. If the mother gu is too far away, the poison becomes dormant. I observe that the Empress Dowager’s nails have turned blue, indicating the poison has reached her internal organs. But because the mother gu is distant, the poison hasn’t activated, which is why the Empress Dowager remains in a deep sleep. From her pulse, I can tell the child gu has gorged on blood and energy, forming a cocoon. Once the mother gu comes near, the child gu will activate, bursting blood vessels in the brain. It would appear like an elderly person having a stroke, and any examination would conclude it was a natural death.”
Cui Fu’s face paled as she heard this, repeatedly exclaiming, “Who could be so malicious as to go to such lengths to harm a woman in the inner palace?”
Cui Xingzhou’s face turned ashen. He knew the person who had used the gu was targeting him, trying to delay his return to the capital. They had gone to extreme lengths, finally turning their poisonous hand towards his mother.
Mian Tang said, “If that’s the case, the person who used the gu must try everything to get the mother gu into the villa. Steward Gao, who has come to visit since you moved to the villa?”
Steward Gao replied, “I had earlier informed the ladies of various households that the Empress Dowager needed rest and shouldn’t be disturbed, so they haven’t come. On the first and fifteenth of the month, the Fifth Master and his wife came as usual to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, but they didn’t enter the villa, just kneeling outside the main gate before leaving. The doctor has been staying at the villa and hasn’t left. Only Aunt Lian comes frequently, sometimes bringing clan elders to make a fuss.”