Chapter 84 The Prodigal Brother (Twenty-Four): A Merchant's Son's Counterattack Against a King of a Different Surname...

At this moment, in the Eastern Palace.

His Highness the Crown Prince was quite pleased to learn that Song Ce would be rewarded at the morning court the next day. He said to the palace attendant beside him, "Doctor Song's medical skills are superb, and his reward before the court is well-deserved. Go quickly and prepare a congratulatory gift for me. After the morning court tomorrow, I will personally congratulate Doctor Song."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The next morning, as dawn broke, the palace servants in the Eastern Palace began their busy work.

His Highness the Crown Prince was well aware of the intricate and complex etiquette within the palace, and feared that the young and skilled physician Song Ce might make a mistake that would displease His Majesty. Therefore, he quickly summoned his trusted chief eunuch and ordered him to explain to Song Ce in detail the rules and etiquette for walking in the palace and when addressing His Majesty in front of the Emperor. His concern for Song Ce was evident in his words.

At the same time, civil and military officials, dressed in their court robes, filed into the court.

Emperor Hongjing sat upright on his dragon throne, his expression quite majestic. Upon hearing the bells outside the hall cease, Yang Yan immediately declared solemnly, "Stop playing the music! The court assembly begins!"

As soon as Yang Yan finished speaking, all the civil and military officials immediately knelt down, performed the three kowtows, and shouted, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Emperor Hongjing smiled faintly, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "All of you, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"At today's court assembly, I wish to commend one person." After saying this, Emperor Hongjing looked at Yang Yan beside him.

Yang Yan understood and immediately announced loudly, "His Majesty has decreed that Song Ce be summoned to the palace!"

At this moment, Song Ce, dressed in a simple long robe, stepped steadily into the court hall under the guidance of palace servants. He knelt down respectfully in the center of the hall and said loudly, "This humble subject, Song Ce, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Seeing this, Emperor Hongjing's gaze softened, and he said, "Song Ce, your medical skills are extraordinary. You not only cured my headaches but also healed the Crown Prince's leg injury. You are truly a meritorious subject of our Great Qi. Today, I issue a decree exempting your family from all miscellaneous corvée duties and bestowing upon you the title of Physician Immortal. Although this title has no real fief, you will enjoy the salary of a third-rank official. In addition, I bestow upon you two hundred bolts of Shu brocade, fifty yi of gold, and a plaque, allowing you to enter the palace and receive imperial homage without being named. I hope that you will continue to uphold this original aspiration and serve our Great Qi in the future."

Upon hearing this, Song Ce immediately prostrated himself in respect, his voice choked with emotion: "Your Majesty's great kindness is beyond my ability to repay. I can only use my medical skills to benefit our dynasty and live up to Your Majesty's expectations and bestowal of honor."

Emperor Hongjing was so moved by Song Ce's words that he almost cried, and nodded in satisfaction. Then, his gaze swept over the civil and military officials in the court, and he said loudly, "All of you should take the Immortal Physician Song as your role model, be wholeheartedly devoted to the country, and never hold back your own interests!"

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"

However, amidst the congratulations, one gaze was filled with resentment. Prince Ding stood to the side, his face slightly pale, his hands unconsciously clenching in his sleeves.

He never expected His Majesty to bestow such an honor upon a commoner. Even as a prince of the highest rank, he had never enjoyed such privileges of being praised and honored without being named. It seemed that after returning home from court, he would have to quickly recall those who had gone to Wenyuan County to investigate Song Ce's background. This man was currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, and he absolutely could not act rashly at this time and incur His Majesty's wrath.

No ministers made any reports at today's court assembly, so it was declared over early.

As Song Ce followed the palace attendants out of the court, Gao Yu, the Crown Prince's trusted eunuch, was already waiting outside. Upon seeing Song Ce, he hurried forward to congratulate him, saying, "Congratulations, Physician Song! Congratulations, Physician Song! His Highness the Crown Prince is currently waiting for you at the Eastern Palace!"

Upon hearing this, Song Ce quickly replied, "How could I trouble Your Highness to wait any longer? Let's hurry to the East Palace!"

"Oh! Physician Song, please come in!" Gao Yu said warmly. Soon, the two arrived at the Crown Prince's palace one after the other.

The Crown Prince was currently reclining on his bed, his spirits much better than they had been in the past few days. He smiled and said, "Immortal Physician Song, I must congratulate you properly today! I just heard from the palace servants that you stole the show in court today!"

After saying this, the Crown Prince gestured slightly to the palace servants beside him and presented Song Ce with a three-drawer medicine chest made of rosewood that had been prepared beforehand. The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Immortal Physician Song, this is a congratulatory gift that I specially prepared for you to express my feelings."

Seeing this, Gao Yu spoke up at the right time: "On the second day after Physician Song moved to the East Palace and treated His Highness the Crown Prince's leg injury, His Highness noticed that the drawers of your medical kit seemed to be difficult to open and close. He immediately instructed me to go to the palace's craft workshop and order Master Craftsman Liu, the most skilled craftsman in the workshop, to make a medical kit for you for this trip."

Upon hearing this, Song Ce immediately bowed and expressed his gratitude, saying earnestly, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful. It would be impolite of me to refuse your offer today."

When His Highness the Crown Prince saw that Song Ce did not refuse but gladly accepted the gift, he smiled and waved his hand, saying, "There's no need for such formalities, Physician Song. You saved my life, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

As the two were talking, a guard-like man hurried in and whispered a few words in the Crown Prince's ear. The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. He glanced at Song Ce and then instructed Gao Yu, "Gao Yu, take Physician Song to rest!"

Seeing this, Song Ce tactfully bowed to His Highness the Crown Prince, and then left the Crown Prince's palace with Gao Yu.

"You may all leave. No one is to disturb us without my permission," the Crown Prince said in a cold and stern voice.

"Yes, Your Highness." The crowd responded in unison and carefully withdrew.

Soon, only the guard remained in the crown prince's palace.

"Meng Liang, besides what you just mentioned, have you found any other clues at the deer farm on the outskirts of the capital?" the Crown Prince asked calmly.

"Your Highness, after the coachman confessed, he attempted to bite his tongue and commit suicide, but fortunately, we rescued him in time. However, we only managed to pry his mouth open last night, and when we went to check on him again this morning, the coachman had already been murdered," Meng Liang said, bowing his head.

"Good! Good! Good! Very good indeed!" The prince slammed his fist on the bedpost and roared, "Didn't you send anyone to guard that groom?"

"Your Highness, your investigation is brilliant! We carefully selected an eight-man team and surrounded the coachman from all sides. However, the attackers were highly skilled and extremely ruthless. The eight guards were killed without even making a sound. What's even more bizarre is that when we went to check, the guards had no wounds whatsoever! Therefore, I conclude that the perpetrators were not alone, but a group of top-notch experts hiding in the shadows!" Meng Liang hurriedly reported.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and asked, "Where is the coroner? Did he find nothing at all?"

"Your Highness, please allow me to recount the most bizarre and perplexing aspect of this matter. After the coroner examined the bodies, he concluded that all eight of them died from palpitations. We have pondered this for a long time, but we simply cannot fathom what method could have caused eight guards to die from palpitations without any external injuries. This matter is truly... perplexing," Meng Liang said in alarm.

"Meng Liang, there's definitely something fishy about this. The person behind that groom probably has an old grudge against me. Immediately send people to examine the bodies of those eight guards again to see if there are any clues we've missed. Also, have everyone re-examine the area around the deer farm on the outskirts of the capital, don't overlook any trace," the Crown Prince coldly ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After Meng Liang withdrew, the Crown Prince leaned against the bed, pondering to himself: "As the eldest son of the Empress, if something were to happen to him, the greatest beneficiaries would be his four younger brothers. The second prince, Prince Ji, has a mother of low rank, and he is obsessed with construction projects. He usually treats his elder brother with respect, so he shouldn't have any intention of harming him. The third prince, Prince Ding, although he holds military power, has been carefully raised by his mother since childhood, and the two brothers are quite close. If it were the third prince, he really couldn't believe it. The sixth prince, Prince Kui, is fond of pleasure and has countless concubines in his household. He usually stays at home playing with his concubines and rarely enters the palace except for festivals, so it shouldn't be him either."

His Highness the Crown Prince counted them all, and in the end, only the Ninth Prince, Jian Wang, remained... But the Ninth Prince is only seven or eight years old this year, so it's hard to believe that he was involved in the conspiracy...

By the time the Crown Prince snapped out of his reverie, it was already getting dark outside his bedchamber.

"Guards!" the Crown Prince called out loudly.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yu, who was waiting outside, immediately strode over and respectfully asked, "Does Your Highness have any instructions?"

"Go quickly and invite Physician Song here," the Crown Prince instructed calmly.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Before long, Song Ce, carrying a three-drawer medicine chest made of huanghuali wood for the Crown Prince, stepped into the Crown Prince's palace with a smile and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "This humble subject greets Your Highness."

"There's no need for such formalities between us," the Crown Prince said gently.

Upon hearing this, Song Ce bowed again before carefully changing the medicine on the Crown Prince's leg.

"Immortal Physician Song, I have something I'd like to ask you about." The Crown Prince pondered for a long time before speaking slowly.

"Your Highness, please speak freely," Song Ce's subordinate replied respectfully without stopping his work.

"Tell me, is there such a poison in this world that can kill a person silently and is extremely difficult to detect afterward?" The Crown Prince asked Song Ce with a deep gaze.

“This…” Song Ce frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said solemnly, “If we’re talking about medicine alone, this is extremely difficult. Whenever a poison is ingested, it will inevitably leave some traces. As far as I know, there is currently no poison that can achieve such an effect. Even the legendary Smile Powder has traces that can be found.”

"So that's how it is... How could someone who is usually skilled in martial arts and physically strong suddenly die overnight? Apart from poisoning, I really can't think of any other reason," the Crown Prince murmured.

Upon hearing this, Song Ce smiled and shook his head, "Your Highness, your words are somewhat biased."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince was taken aback. He quickly sat up and asked anxiously, "Oh? Is there another possibility? I hope Physician Song can enlighten me."

Song Ce stopped changing the dressing and said solemnly, "Your Highness, besides poison, there are many strange arts and methods in the world that can kill a person in an instant without leaving a trace. I once read in an ancient book that there is a mysterious Gu technique in the martial arts world called 'Heart Gu'. The person infected by Gu will initially show no abnormalities, but after the Gu worm takes effect, the person infected by Gu will die of heart palpitations in a short period of time. Ordinary coroners will not be able to detect that it is caused by Gu worms. However, this 'Heart Gu' is extremely difficult to raise. It usually takes more than ten years to barely raise one."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince slowly shook his head. "Such wondrous items are extremely precious, and I doubt they would be used so easily on a few ordinary guards."

Song Ce nodded slightly, took out a needle pouch from his medicine box, and said seemingly casually, "Then this humble subject has no idea... Surely there isn't a weapon in this world as delicate and exquisite as these golden needles?"

"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, the crown prince suddenly sat up.

"Your Highness? Have I said something wrong?"

The crown prince waved his hand without saying a word. He just stared intently at the needle pouch in Song Ce's hand, lost in thought.

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Author's Note: [Loud-eared bunny head] Little angels, can you guess who it is? [Thumbs up]