Ling Jingshu furrowed her brow slightly and said in a low voice, “Should this news be sent back to the capital?”
The temporary palace was heavily guarded, and as the Emperor’s personal physician, Wei Yan’s every move could easily fall under the watchful eyes of those with intentions. By comparison, Ling Jingshu sending word through Qiao Yun was far more discreet.
No one knew exactly what method Qiao Yun used, but in any case, messages were delivered both quickly and covertly. To this day, no one had discovered Qiao Yun’s true identity.
Setting aside the slight twinge of jealousy in his heart, Wei Yan said gravely, “Such an important matter must of course be reported to the Crown Grandson.”
Ling Jingshu agreed. “Alright, I’ll have Qiao Yun send the message back tonight without delay.”
Wei Yan made a sound of agreement, then after thinking it over added, “This longevity elixir is beneficial to the body in the short term—only with long-term use does the dependence form. From the looks of things, the Emperor will be staying at the temporary palace for quite a while longer. Since his mind is currently fixed on seeking the Dao and longevity, he has no interest in women, so you needn’t be too anxious. But to be safe, it’s still best to appear before him as little as possible.”
Ling Jingshu nodded with understanding. “Don’t worry, I know what matters most.”
That night, Ling Jingshu called Qiao Yun over again and handed her the letter she had written. “Have someone deliver this letter to His Highness the Crown Grandson tonight, without delay.”
Ever since arriving at the temporary palace, all the messages sent back had been written personally by Ling Jingshu.
Qiao Yun acknowledged this, quickly took the rolled-up letter, and tucked it into a specially made bamboo tube.
…
The letter was carried out of the temporary palace by Qiao Yun using some special method. The hidden guards stationed outside the palace took the letter and rode swift horses through the night to deliver it back to the capital.
At midnight, the city gates were tightly shut, and ordinary people could not pass through. Only a select few with special status could have the gates opened—such as the hidden guards carrying the Crown Prince’s residence’s identification tablet.
The next day, before dawn had even broken, the letter had already reached Lü Cai’s hands.
Not daring to delay, Lü Cai immediately delivered the letter before the Crown Grandson.
By that time, the Crown Grandson had already risen.
The Crown Grandson lived an extremely disciplined life, sleeping each night at the hour of midnight and rising before dawn, training for half an hour in his practice room before heading to the palace. Over all these years, there had been very few exceptions to this routine.
But the contents of the letter he had received so early this morning were no small matter. After reading it, the Crown Grandson’s expression turned grave; he had no desire to go to his practice room, nor did he have any inclination to feel quietly pleased about Ling Jingshu having written to him personally.
After dealing with the letter promptly, the Crown Grandson mounted his horse and rode into the palace.
Before the morning court session began, the Crown Grandson met with the Crown Prince.
“Father, your son has an urgent matter to report,” the Crown Grandson said in a low voice.
The Crown Prince knew his son’s temperament well, and seeing his grave expression, understood at once that the matter was no trivial one. With a single command, all the attending eunuchs withdrew.
“What happened?”
The Crown Grandson stepped close to the Crown Prince and spoke a few words in a low voice.
The Crown Prince’s brow twitched, a flash of coldness passing through his eyes. “So this is the scheme behind Prince Yan urging Father to go to the temporary palace.”
What a Prince Yan indeed! His ambitions were truly not small!
The Crown Grandson gave a cold laugh. “If Grandfather were in the palace, it wouldn’t be easy for those Daoists to even get in, let alone openly refine elixirs and beguile Grandfather’s mind. Prince Yan accompanying him to the temporary palace with such calculated scheming clearly has no good intentions. Yet Grandfather trusts him without the slightest doubt—not only favoring those Daoists, but also growing even fonder of Prince Yan because he volunteered to test the elixir.”
Even an emperor who had been wise and decisive in his youth could not avoid becoming muddled, incompetent, and easily swayed by partial accounts in his old age.
He and his father toiled tirelessly at court, working themselves to exhaustion, yet in the end it counted for less than Prince Yan’s eager flattery and ingratiation. It was truly disheartening!
The Crown Prince fell silent, his heart also far from at ease.
He had originally felt that simply letting things be would be somewhat unfair to the Emperor, but at this moment, he had no choice but to harden his resolve completely. “Since you’ve guessed Prince Yan’s scheme, what countermeasures do you have?”
A flicker passed through the Crown Grandson’s eyes, and he said lightly, “Respond to all changes by remaining unchanged.”
“Prince Yan hasn’t shown his hand yet, so for now we’ll let him have his moment of triumph. Once he can no longer hold back and makes his move, it won’t be too late for us to act against him then.”
The Crown Prince frowned slightly. “Isn’t this too passive an approach? What if Prince Yan suddenly makes his move and we don’t have time to respond?”
“Father, rest assured. I’ve already had people secretly keeping close watch on Prince Yan’s residence. Nothing that happens there escapes our notice. As for the temporary palace, those around Grandfather are all his own people, and I can’t get a hand in there for now. However, I’ve also stationed hidden guards outside the palace, and I have my own people inside as well. The moment there’s any sign of trouble, word will be sent back promptly.”
The Crown Grandson spoke confidently and at ease. “Although Prince Yan has his followers, he holds no real military power. The guards of his residence combined with his hidden guard corps number little more than a thousand men—not nearly enough to raise an army and rebel. He can only work on Grandfather. Thinking it through this way, whatever tricks he can pull are nothing too surprising.”
By contrast, the Crown Prince, as the legitimate eldest son, had held the position of heir apparent for many years and now governed state affairs on the Emperor’s behalf, having won both the support of the officials and the hearts of the people. Countless people stood behind him in support.
How could Prince Yan possibly shake such a foundation with ease?
…
Time passed swiftly, and another month or so went by.
On this day, the Crown Grandson’s consort Jiang Rongyue went into labor pains, and the midwives, who had long been on standby, immediately helped her into the birthing chamber.
Upon hearing the news, the Crown Princess rushed over at once, while also having word sent to the Crown Grandson and the Jiang family.
By the time the Crown Grandson hurried back to the residence, it was already late in the evening.
Men were not permitted to enter the birthing chamber, and though anxious, the Crown Grandson could only wait outside.
By midnight, the child still had not been born.
The agonized cries from within the birthing chamber gradually grew weaker.
The Crown Princess, too, could no longer sit still and summoned one of the midwives out to question her. “The Crown Grandson’s consort has been in the birthing chamber for so long now—why hasn’t the child been born yet?”
The midwife, her face troubled, answered tremblingly, “Reporting to the Crown Princess, every woman’s labor is different. For some, it goes smoothly and the child is born in under two hours. Others must endure two or three days. The Crown Grandson’s consort’s pregnancy was disturbed twice before, and her body was already weak to begin with. The child is also somewhat larger than usual, so the labor is naturally proving more difficult.”
She had stopped just short of saying outright that it might be a difficult, dangerous birth!
The Crown Princess, having gone through childbirth herself, understood the danger at once, and her expression changed immediately.
Hearing this, the Crown Grandson’s heart sank as well, and he glared coldly at the midwife. “Are you saying Rongyue is having a difficult labor?”
The midwife did not dare state it plainly and answered vaguely, “That’s hard to say for certain. We’ll just have to keep watching…”
Before she could finish speaking, another shrill, anguished scream rang out from the birthing chamber.
The experienced midwives felt a chill at the sound.
Looking again at the Crown Princess and the Crown Grandson, their faces, too, had turned grim.
The Crown Grandson pressed his lips together and moved to step into the birthing chamber, but the Crown Princess stopped him. “Wait outside. I’ll go in and check on Rongyue.”