Prince Qi put down the book he had been holding for the show on his desk, striving to maintain his composure. “Wasn’t the Princess Consort going to offer incense today? What could have happened?”
The old woman fell to her knees with a thud, her body shaking like sifted chaff. Her face was terrifyingly pale as she stammered, “The horses were startled… The Princess Consort… The Princess Consort—”
“What exactly happened to the Princess Consort?” Prince Qi’s face darkened slightly.
Prince Qi was usually quite gentle with the servants in his household, so this harsh tone was uncommon.
The old woman’s face paled even further, and she cried, “The Princess Consort nearly fell off a cliff due to the startled horses, but was rescued by the guards—”
“What about Princess Yan?” Prince Qi blurted out.
The old woman’s sobs halted as she stared blankly at Prince Qi.
Had she misheard?
Prince Qi realized his lapse and silently admonished himself to stay calm. No matter how dire the situation, there was always room for recovery, but losing composure would only lead to chaos.
Taking a deep breath, Prince Qi stood up, displaying an appropriately worried expression. “Where is the Princess Consort?”
The old woman hesitated for a moment before replying, “The Princess Consort was taken to the palace by Princess Yan—”
“What?” Prince Qi interrupted again, the words escaping his mouth.
He thought he could remain composed, but the turn of events was beyond his imagination.
Hadn’t Lady Li said she would use this incense-offering opportunity to take Princess Yan’s life? How did it end up with Lady Li in danger and being taken to the palace by Princess Yan?
At this moment, Prince Qi felt a twinge of regret.
To keep his hands clean, he hadn’t inquired about Lady Li’s plan, leaving him now completely in the dark and at a disadvantage.
“Why did Princess Yan take the Princess Consort into the palace?”
“The Princess Consort was unconscious and injured. Princess Yan said she wanted to request the Imperial Physician for her…”
Prince Qi slammed his hand on the table, wanting to berate these maids and old women for their incompetence, for not bringing the Princess Consort back to the prince’s mansion. But reason stopped him from giving in to this impulse.
In that situation, these servants couldn’t easily disobey Princess Yan’s words.
“What about the others?” Prince Qi suddenly remembered something.
A maid, two old women, and two guards had gone along. Why was only one old woman back to report?
Where were the others?
As he pondered this question, Prince Qi had an ominous feeling.
The old woman continued, “Princess Yan said the incident with the startled horses was suspicious. Each princely mansion left one guard at the cliff… The other guard from Prince Yan’s mansion escorted our coachman to report to the Shuntianjing Yamen. Our guard followed them. The rest accompanied the Princess Consort to the Imperial City. This old servant thought to inform Your Highness, so I hurried back…”
Thunder roared in Prince Qi’s mind, almost splitting his head in two. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Why report to the officials?”
Terrified by Prince Qi’s ferocious expression, the old woman lowered her head and stammered, “Princess Yan ordered it… She said she had reported to officials before, and that Prefect Zhen of Shuntianjing Yamen was astute. She said he would surely investigate whether today’s incident was an accident or foul play…”
Prince Qi slammed the table again, his face even more grim than if his mother had died.
Well played, Princess Yan!
She had acted swiftly and decisively, taking control of both princely households while Lady Li was unconscious.
Looking at the trembling old woman kneeling on the ground, Prince Qi wanted to ask if she knew about Princess Qi’s plot, but he swallowed the words.
Since the plan had failed, he needed to distance himself even more, avoiding implication.
He had to do something.
Prince Qi’s first thought was to rush to the cliff immediately with some men. If there was any incriminating evidence left, they could find a way to destroy it. His second thought was to go to the Shuntianjing Yamen to stall Zhen Shicheng.
But after these two ideas, he sighed and quickly changed into different clothes to hurry to the palace.
With the Princess Consort in danger, it was only right for him to show concern for his wife in front of the Emperor, rather than busying himself with other matters.
Moreover, he knew nothing, so his first reaction upon receiving the news should naturally be to enter the palace.
The weather had turned cold, and at this time, Emperor Jingming wasn’t in his study but resting in the Palace of Mental Cultivation.
Sitting on the heated kang bed with a warm fire beneath, reading a book, was a rare moment of comfort in Emperor Jingming’s day.
Suddenly, his eyelid twitched, and the hand holding the book stiffened.
Fortunately, it didn’t happen again.
Emperor Jingming, still clutching the book, let out a small sigh of relief.
It must have been his imagination. The days hadn’t been peaceful for long; surely there couldn’t be more troublesome matters already.
Still uneasy, Emperor Jingming beckoned to a white cat lying at the end of the kang: “Jixiang, come here.”
After several encounters with Erniu, Emperor Jingming suddenly developed a fondness for such small creatures. Considering that a large dog like Erniu might frighten people, he settled for a cat instead.
Emperor Jingming greatly enjoyed stroking the cat’s fur, especially while calling it “Jixiang” (auspicious). It felt as if all ill fortune could be dispelled.
The white cat, eyes half-closed, lazily glanced at Emperor Jingming upon hearing his call. It straightened up, made a few leaps, and vanished from sight.
Emperor Jingming awkwardly withdrew his hand and sighed.
After all, it was just an ordinary cat, far from being as human-like as Erniu.
At this moment, Pan Hai approached, his expression unusual.
Emperor Jingming furrowed his brow upon seeing this. “Hmm?”
“Your Majesty, the Empress requests your presence.”
Emperor Jingming was taken aback.
The Empress wouldn’t summon him at this hour without good reason.
“Did the Empress mention why?”
Pan Hai quickly replied, “Princess Yan has brought Princess Qi into the palace and is requesting the Empress to summon the Imperial Physician for Princess Qi—”
Emperor Jingming interrupted Pan Hai: “Wait, what happened to Princess Qi? And why is it Princess Yan bringing her to the palace for medical attention?”
If his fourth son’s wife needed a physician, couldn’t one simply be called to Prince Qi’s mansion?
Emperor Jingming asked while striding out quickly.
Experience told him that some new trouble must have arisen.
“Your Majesty, your coat—” Pan Hai hurriedly followed with a cloak, draping it over Emperor Jingming’s shoulders.
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility was busy but orderly at the moment, with two Imperial Physicians already beginning to treat Princess Qi.
Emperor Jingming entered without waiting to be announced, immediately spotting Jiang Si not far from the Empress.
“Your Majesty has arrived,” the Empress hurried to greet him.
Jiang Si curtsied, “Daughter-in-law greets Father Emperor.”
Emperor Jingming nodded briefly to the Empress and approached Jiang Si. “Seventh son’s wife, what exactly happened?”
Jiang Si straightened up and explained methodically: “Today, my Fourth Sister-in-law invited me to offer incense at Baiyun Temple. On the way back, the carriage I was riding in broke down, so I shared one with my Fourth Sister-in-law. Unexpectedly, the horses were startled, and for some unknown reason, both my Fourth Sister-in-law and I were unable to move. We could only let the carriage carry us as it galloped away. Later, the carriage’s jolting threw me out… The daughter-in-law was fortunately not seriously injured, but the Fourth Sister-in-law nearly fell off a cliff. She was rescued by the guards but has remained unconscious since. Daughter-in-law felt the situation was unusual, so I brought Fourth Sister-in-law into the palace to seek medical attention and to report the situation to Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”
Emperor Jingming listened silently, raising his hand to press his eyelids. In his heart, he cursed: Even his eyelids had become lazy, twitching only once, damn it!