Chen Qing did not return until nearly the second night watch.
“I was able to see Senior Official Wei. He seemed… as though he had been waiting for us to come.”
Hua Zhi gave a small nod. “Did he have anything to say?”
“Yes. He said that though it was the Fourth Imperial Prince who ordered people to attempt on your life, the one who truly wanted you dead behind the scenes was the Noble Consort of Yue. Furthermore, at a time when he still had the Fourth Imperial Prince’s trust, he once witnessed the Fourth Imperial Prince bring a packet of musk into the palace before one of his visits. He recognized the scent — it is distinctive. At the time he had assumed the Fourth Imperial Prince intended it for the Noble Consort of Yue. It was only after the assassination attempt on you occurred that he realized the two of them were not actually enemies, and this left him deeply uncertain for a long while: if it was not meant to counter the child the Noble Consort of Yue was supposedly carrying, what had the Fourth Imperial Prince brought musk into the palace for? If the use had been legitimate, there would have been no shortage of musk within the palace itself.”
Musk. Hua Zhi reacted to that particular medicinal ingredient rather strongly. In the theatrical stories of old, it was invariably the substance at the center of some scheme — and the fact that it had to be brought in from outside the palace told her plainly enough that nothing good was intended by it.
“Was there anything else?”
Chen Qing shook his head.
“Very well. There is still a little time — go and rest for a bit. Tomorrow will not be easy.”
“You should too.”
Even the darkest night will pass. Hua Zhi lay with her eyes open until dawn, her eyes threaded through with red. Ying Chun wrung out a warm cloth and pressed it to her eyes while murmuring a gentle scolding. “Please don’t push yourself this way — your body cannot take it. It’s been so long now without a break from the medicine. How can this go on?”
“Do you think I don’t want to sleep? I simply cannot.” Hua Zhi sighed. Her mind was so full of things that not a single moment of stillness could be found — it was beyond her control.
Ying Chun continued in a low mutter, “I do hope the Shizi can return quickly.”
“Better that he returns slowly.” Hua Zhi removed the cloth and blinked a few times — her eyes did seem to feel a little better. “Has the Elder woken?”
“Yes — when I came, the Divine Physician had just gone in to change the dressing.”
Hua Zhi gave a small nod, smoothed the front of her garments, and looked up. “Call Chen Qing in.”
Chen Qing had been waiting just outside the door. The moment he heard himself summoned, he pushed the door open and came in, not raising his eyes as he paid his respects. “I greet the First Young Miss.”
Hua Zhi looked at him, her expression composed and level. “Begin. Stir up the waters — make the waves as large as possible.”
Chen Qing bowed deeply. “I receive the order.”
Walking out the door, Hua Zhi descended the steps and raised her head toward the sky. The sky hung heavy and low, thick with moisture — it looked as though there would be more rain.
“First Young Miss.”
Hua Zhi turned at the sound. The Divine Physician was coming out of the room with his medicine case; she stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. “Is the Elder any better?”
“Not so quickly.” The Divine Physician looked at her. “The First Young Miss does not look well herself.”
Hua Zhi was aware enough that she probably did not look particularly well at this moment, but she climbed the steps and redirected the conversation as she went. “I was actually hoping to ask the Divine Physician something — what harm could musk be used to cause?”
The Divine Physician handed his medicine case to his attendant and clasped his hands behind his back, walking over to stand beside her and look out from the railing together. “Every medicine is a good medicine. It all depends on the intentions of the one using it.”
“I misspoke.”
The Divine Physician smiled slightly. “The thing it is best known for is probably its capacity to cause miscarriage in pregnant women — musk does indeed have that effect. Yet when used for difficult labors, stillbirths, or a retained placenta, musk has the action of moving blood, regulating the flow, hastening delivery, and expelling what needs to be expelled. In ordinary use, it is also exceptionally effective for clearing the mind, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. And it is a costly substance — only households of wealth and rank can afford it. In the palace, however, there is no shortage.”
“If there is no shortage in the palace, then why would the Fourth Imperial Prince bring it in from outside?”
The Divine Physician’s expression did not shift — he received the words as though they were entirely commonplace. “All musk used within the palace is recorded. How much was used, for what purpose, and for whose benefit — everything is clearly documented. If they wished to use it for something they did not want known, they naturally could not draw from the palace’s own stores.”
“Apart from inducing miscarriage — what other harm might it cause?”
The Divine Physician turned to look at her. “If the dosage is carefully controlled, it can drain the body from within — causing a person to feel a sudden, sharp surge of energy, after which poisoning or disorientation of the mind may follow.”
A sharp surge of energy. Poisoning. Disorientation of the mind… Hua Zhi’s thoughts branched in countless directions.
“There is one further possibility that few people are likely to know: musk and garlic are antagonistic to each other. If consumed together over more than three months, they will cause the internal organs to fail, resulting in death.”
Antagonistic.
Something in Hua Zhi’s mind gave a great, reverberating crack — and the point she had never been able to work out suddenly grew clearer. The Emperor must certainly be conscious. Hao Yue, if only to leave herself a way out, would never have administered poison to the Emperor — that would have been too easily traced. But what if the harm came not from poison, but from the interaction of foods taken together over time?
Hua Zhi gave a solemn bow. “I thank you for the guidance. I have a direction to pursue now. And I may need to trouble you further before long.”
She bowed once more, then returned inside, spread paper on the desk, took up her brush, and began to organize her thoughts, tracing out the full shape of what she had come to understand.
Meanwhile, the capital was becoming like water poured into a vessel of hot oil.
Early that same morning, someone went to the authorities with a report: they had discovered a household in possession of an enormous quantity of weapons and grain — and with breathtaking audacity, the people there had also prepared imperial ceremonial robes. As for how he had come to see them, the man was remarkably forthcoming — he admitted outright that he was a thief, originally intending to slip in and take something. He had never expected to stumble upon something this extraordinary. Though he was no model citizen himself, he had always hoped Daqing would remain at peace for another few hundred years — and so, come first light, he had gone directly to the authorities.
In the nearly two hundred years since Daqing’s founding, nothing with even a remote connection to rebellion had ever occurred. The common people murmured and gossiped openly and through whispers, speculating about who the mastermind might be, and news passed from one person to the next. If the citizens were in this state, the court officials were all the more so.
Prefect Wen Qing wasted no time leading men there in person. When he actually laid eyes on those imperial ceremonial robes, his eyes nearly fixed in place. This was — this was truly — unimaginable audacity! Right here, in the shadow of the imperial city!
Remembering the present situation within the palace, his heart went cold through to its core. He quickly sent word to General Zhou Jing of the central garrison, and when Zhou Jing arrived and saw those items for himself, he drew in a sharp breath. The two men looked at each other. A storm was rising.
“I will leave this to General Zhou. I am entering the palace now.”
“But at present, His Majesty…”
Wen Qing sent everyone else in the room away and stepped closer, lowering his voice: “Whatever the situation in the palace may be, this matter must be reported. I will also notify the Six Ministries and the ducal households simultaneously.”
Zhou Jing gave a nod. “That is the right course. This place I will hold. You go ahead.”
Wen Qing cast one more glance at those glaring imperial ceremonial robes, and could not help thinking: if only the Shizi were here. If only the Shizi were here — how could they be so completely unable to act?
As was to be expected, the palace made no response whatsoever. The court officials gathered once more; Duke Dingguo, as the most powerful of the dukes and the one responsible for the most critical duties, became the natural leader.
“If any among you has a proposal, please speak.”
The officials looked at one another. No one spoke. Though no one said it aloud, many harbored a suspicion in their hearts that the Emperor might have already met with misfortune. By the count of the days, the Emperor had not appeared for nearly ten days. With someone now coveting the imperial power, and still not a single word from him — no matter how one looked at it, something was not right. Yet however wrong things might appear, they could not be the ones to take the lead — their standing was not sufficient for that.
Almost simultaneously, every gaze turned toward the several imperial princes standing most prominently in the room. This day being a matter of such gravity, all four princes were present — including the Fifth Imperial Prince, who did not often show his face.