Items sent from the capital soon poured continuously into the Cui residence where His Highness the Grand Prince was currently staying. Surprisingly, even Little Xia, the disciple of Eunuch Feng who served by the Emperor’s side, personally accompanied them, busily arranging for Officiant Li and Imperial Physician Sun to examine the Grand Prince’s pulse and treat his injuries.
After settling Officiant Li and Imperial Physician Sun, Ye Jingkuan accompanied Eunuch Little Xia out of the corridor into the adjacent reception hall. Only then did Little Xia’s smiling expression completely fade away. With a stern face, he asked Ye Jingkuan: “Prince Consort, you know what I’ve come for this time, don’t you?” He paused, observing Ye Jingkuan’s expression before continuing: “His Majesty was furious upon hearing that His Highness was injured. He has already ordered me to deliver a secret decree to Commander Lai Chenglong of the Imperial Guard, instructing him to thoroughly investigate whoever harmed His Highness and get to the bottom of this matter. You might as well tell me now—is there truly not a single lead here?”
Ye Jingkuan’s heart sank—previously, Princess Rongcheng and Prince Father’s letter made no mention that Little Xia would also be coming to Jinzhong. Now Emperor Jianzhang had sent a close confidant from his side and urged Lai Chenglong to thoroughly investigate the matter. Was Emperor Jianzhang uneasy about Prince Duan’s remaining followers? Or did he, like everyone else, feel that this matter was somehow connected to that person from the Eastern Palace and wanted to bring the affair into the open?
If it was truly the latter, did that mean the Crown Prince had recently done something else to displease His Majesty, which was why His Majesty wanted to expose the Eastern Palace’s discord publicly?
Once news of the Eastern Palace’s internal discord spread and was laid bare before everyone, the Crown Prince’s reputation would plummet even further. Even the Grand Prince, as the victim, would gain nothing good from it—the Crown Prince would only hate this favored son of Emperor Jianzhang even more, this unfavored son who caused him to suffer collateral damage.
A thousand possibilities flashed through Ye Jingkuan’s mind, feeling that none of them were good. Yet his expression revealed nothing as he shook his head with difficulty: “We’ve already done everything possible to investigate. There was an informant among His Highness’s attendants who slit his own throat that very day, so nothing else could be learned from him. As for the rest, it was already reported to His Majesty in the urgent dispatch. These death warriors’ mouths were extremely tight. Even though Commander Lai racked his brains to keep a few alive, he still couldn’t prevent what happened.”
Ye Jingkuan felt deeply aggrieved. Clearly matters had reached such a point—Fan Liangdi and Zhou Weiqi had already raised the blade in their hands, ready to strike Zhou Weizhao’s neck—yet Zhou Weizhao still had to endure and even cover for them.
Little Xia stared at him meaningfully for a long while, then bared his teeth in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “Since even the Prince Consort says so, it seems we truly cannot find this perpetrator behind the scenes? This won’t do. The Grand Prince’s identity is precious and important—how can his safety be treated carelessly? Since I’ve come on imperial orders, I still need to go ask Commander Lai about it. I won’t exchange pleasantries with you, Prince Consort. Officially, you are His Highness’s right-hand man in quelling the rebellion; privately, you are His Highness’s own maternal uncle. There’s no reason to let His Highness suffer this undeserved disaster for nothing, is there?”
“Naturally not. Please, please.” Ye Jingkuan courteously cupped his hands, pretending not to understand the probing and warning implied in Little Xia’s words. Any eunuch who served before the Emperor was now addressed respectfully as an “inner noble.” Though no one truly respected these rootless men, no one dared offend them either. After all, they were the servants the Emperor couldn’t do without from morning to night. With the slightest carelessness, they might whisper in the Emperor’s ear.
After seeing off Little Xia, Ye Jingkuan stood pensively in the corridor for a while, feeling his head would split from these tangled threads of relationships. Seeing Officiant Li and Imperial Physician Sun emerge one after another, he hurried forward to ask them about the Grand Prince’s condition. Zhou Weizhao’s injuries were somewhat more serious than anticipated. Upon returning to Jinzhong, he had fainted and remained barely conscious for three or four days, mostly sleeping. Officiant Hu and Physician Yan said it might be residual poison that had spread because he had used his martial arts again, and they were helpless about it. His urgent dispatch to the capital requesting the Emperor send imperial physicians and officiants was not truly an exaggeration.
Officiant Li shook his head with difficulty, stroking his beard with a grave expression: “The pulse is rapid and chaotic, weak and insubstantial. The lung and heart pulses are especially weak. This is probably due to uncleared residual poison combined with forcibly using martial arts. I’ll prescribe a formula to nourish him first.”
Imperial Physician Sun also spoke with a worried expression beside him: “But we don’t know if it will be effective. What kind of poison His Highness was struck with isn’t important now. However, it may still require acupuncture with golden needles to force out the residual poison, just like last time. But His Highness’s body is currently weak and may not withstand such an ordeal.”
They still needed to discuss with Officiant Hu and that Physician Yan to decide on the proper treatment method before daring to determine how to proceed.
Ye Jingkuan exhaled heavily. This was the same as what Officiant Hu and Physician Yan had said before. He nodded, his expression grave as he looked at Officiant Li and Imperial Physician Sun: “Master Taibai has gone to Yangquan County. We’ve been sending people to search for him. When we find him, perhaps Master Taibai will have a solution. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to request Zhang Tianshi. During this time, I must trouble you two gentlemen to take great care. Once we get through this period, I expect he’ll be fine.”
He entered the inner chamber and saw Zhou Weizhao leaning against the pillow. Sitting down beside him, he asked: “Your Highness, you know what Little Xia meant?”
Little Xia’s words were full of attempts to extract information, wanting to hear from their mouths that the assassin was connected to the Fan family so he could report back. Zhou Weizhao’s lips twitched slightly. Imperial Grandfather was displeased with Father again—he wondered if it was because Father’s hand had reached too far once more.
The Crown Prince was too anxious, too insecure about his own position. Even though Prince Duan, who had once made his position as Crown Prince so uncomfortable, was already gone, he still couldn’t restrain his anxious heart. He desperately wanted to gather influence, but he forgot that although his father had once been a Crown Prince constrained by all sides and suffered countless grievances, he was now a true emperor who held the realm in his hands. How could he tolerate a son who reached out everywhere while he was still at the height of his power?
Ye Jingkuan fell silent, his handsome face showing both resentment and anger: “What’s hateful is that even though we know who did this, we still must cover for them.”
There was no helping it—Zhou Weizhao was also someone from the Eastern Palace, and the future master of the Eastern Palace at that.
“Are we just letting this matter end like this?” He felt somewhat unwilling: “The Crown Prince is no longer someone we can count on.” If they did nothing, would this incident simply end here?