Chapter 102 Behind the Facts

Yunying ran back to Xiangmu Xiaozhu in one breath.

When Ruan Chi saw her return alone, tears streaming down her face, he naturally understood the outcome and wasn't surprised. He coldly said, "What are you crying for! I knew she had a heartless and ungrateful soul. It's been so long since the prince was assassinated, and I heard his two concubines have been crying every day, almost to the point of going blind. Have you seen her shed a single tear? Every day she still fawns over the old woman, showing not a trace of sadness."

Recalling Ruan Bi's frosty face and the talkative parrot, Yunying felt a tightness in her chest and felt sorry for Prince Jin. Wiping away her tears, she said, "What can we do? The prince is still waiting for her."

"We need to go there and give them an explanation."

"Wouldn't that disappoint Your Highness?" Yunying frowned reluctantly.

"Then what do you suggest? We can't force her to go. Since she has no intention of going, it's better to let the Prince know sooner rather than later, so that he will give up on the idea." Ruan Chi said stiffly, hoping that she wouldn't go and that the Prince of Jin would be completely disappointed.

Yunying remained silent for a moment, unable to think of any solution, and fearing that the Prince of Jin would grow impatient, she washed her face, rinsed her eyes with cold water, smoothed her skin, and changed into appropriate attire for receiving guests. Ruan Chi ordered a carriage to be prepared, exited through a side gate, boarded the carriage, and drove east past several main streets before the carriage suddenly stopped.

"What happened?"

The coachman said, "Third Master, I don't know. The carriages have all stopped. There seem to be a lot of Imperial Guards in front of us."

Ruan Chi climbed out of the carriage and stood on the carriage shaft, gazing into the distance. Sure enough, he saw banners waving in the distance, stretching endlessly, which were the duty numbers of the various shifts of the Emperor's personal guard. He suddenly realized that the Emperor must have come to visit Prince Jin in person.

He wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't entirely right either. This time, it wasn't just the emperor who came, but also the empress dowager.

A long procession of honor guards and personal guards automatically lined up on both sides of the gate of the Prince of Jin's residence, waiting for the jade carriage carrying the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to stop. The officials of the Prince's residence hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to welcome the imperial procession, their voices booming. A group of eunuchs carried two palanquins forward, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor each boarded one. Other eunuchs and palace maids helped them, some following behind… Although there were dozens of people, not a single cough was heard, and not a single person stood out of line. Their movements were swift yet unhurried, proceeding in an orderly fashion.

The palanquin stopped at the fourth gate. The Emperor and Empress Dowager alighted and, supported by eunuchs, walked further inside to the Prince of Jin's living quarters. The palace was packed with people, coming and going. The Empress Dowager, anxious, entered the bedroom before the Emperor. The bedroom was filled with people: maids carrying spittoons, maids carrying tea, eunuchs holding whisks, eunuchs carrying chamber pots… and mostly imperial physicians, surrounding the bed.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived! His Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone knelt down, finally revealing Prince Jin lying on the bed. He had lost weight, his cheekbones were prominent, his head was wrapped in bandages, his eyes were slightly closed, and his beard was unkempt. Because of his deathly pale face, his eyebrows appeared particularly dark, each hair distinct, making him look rather unsightly. The Empress Dowager, without even telling them to rise, rushed to his bedside and sat down, softly calling, "Xi'er, Xi'er..."

A royal physician with bloodshot eyes and a tired appearance said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Prince has had a long journey and has just taken medicine. He has probably fallen asleep by now."

The Empress Dowager nodded, ceasing her protests, and took his hand in hers. She noticed bandages wrapped around his hand as well, and pink welts marred his exposed skin. A lump formed in her throat, and tears welled in her eyes. This son, so spirited and dashing from childhood, was now covered in wounds, barely alive. All because of her—thinking of Ruan Bi, the Empress Dowager gritted her teeth in hatred, a flash of murderous intent crossing her eyes. But in a moment of remorse, she had to let it go. Her son was injured like this for her; clearly, his love was deep. If he knew she was dead, who knew how mad he would go?

Alas, this is truly karma.

The emperor summoned the imperial physicians to a side room and inquired in a low voice about the Prince of Jin's injuries. Then he called in his personal guards and asked him why he had gone to Yanzhou, how he had encountered the Northern Rong assassins, and how he had escaped danger. He asked about every single detail from beginning to end.

An hour and a half passed, and the Prince of Jin still hadn't woken up. The Emperor was very worried and asked the imperial physician, "When will my sixth brother wake up?"

The imperial physician respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the prince is seriously injured. In addition to external wounds, his internal organs have also been injured. Therefore, he spends most of his time in a coma, and I am not sure when he will wake up."

The Empress Dowager glanced at the water clock and saw that it was getting late. She said, "Your Majesty, you should go back now. I will not return to the palace tonight; I will stay at the Prince's residence."

A mother's heart is always with her son. The Empress Dowager hasn't slept well these days since Prince Jin was so badly injured. Although the Emperor was worried that she was too upset, he knew that it was unlikely to persuade her to return to the palace, so he simply stopped trying and nodded, saying, "Alright, I will come again tomorrow morning to visit my sixth brother and then come to take Mother back to the palace."

After he left, the Empress Dowager waved her hand, dismissing all the standing eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial physicians. She sat by the bedside, looking at Prince Jin, occasionally shedding a few tears. She didn't know how long she sat there, but it was already dark when Prince Jin let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes.

The Empress Dowager wiped her eyes, bent down, and called out joyfully, "Xi'er, Xi'er."

"Mother..." the Prince of Jin called out weakly.

The Empress Dowager's tears immediately streamed down her face and fell onto the bed. "You foolish child, how could you run around without any guards? And even to the northwest border, weren't you courting death? The Northern Rong people hate you to the bone, you know that. If you ever act so recklessly again, you might as well kill me first."

The Prince of Jin took her hand and whispered, "Mother, please don't cry. It was my fault."

“You know you were wrong, and you must never do anything reckless again. Why go to such lengths for a woman…” Suddenly, the Empress Dowager felt the Prince of Jin’s hand tremble, and she stopped speaking and looked at him.

"Mother, I love her."

The Empress Dowager's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "Haven't you read your father's notes?"

The Prince of Jin remained silent, watching her intently, his dark eyes devoid of any emotion. After a long while, he said, "Does Mother know why I went to Yanzhou?"

“If you have doubts, go find evidence.” The Empress Dowager said, releasing his hand, standing up and walking to the window, looking at the exquisitely carved diamond pattern on the window frame. “If I remember correctly, one of his important advisors was from Yanzhou, I think his name was Dong Congqing. Before the scandal broke, he returned to his hometown to observe mourning for his father, and then we lost contact with him.”

The Prince of Jin nodded and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I'm going to see him."

"You found him?"

The King of Jin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, I have found him."

"Oh?" The Empress Dowager turned to look at Prince Jin, asking meaningfully, "What did he say to you?"

The Prince of Jin met her gaze and hesitated again.

That day, upon seeing the letter, he felt an overwhelming sadness, his mind reeling. All he wanted was to run to Xingping City, far away from this filthy and corrupt capital. He ran three hundred li in one breath before his mind gradually calmed down. Once calm, however, he was filled with unfounded doubts. Especially, how could his mother possibly tolerate his elder brother's bloodline remaining in the world? Even if she was kind-hearted and spared his life out of consideration for his child's ignorance, how could she possibly agree to let him marry Gu Xiaobai? It should be known that the Gu family was no ordinary family of merit; the Duke of Dingguo had risen through the ranks from a young age and held considerable prestige in the army.

But she was, after all, his mother, and he also possessed his father's handwritten notes, clearly recording the cause and effect of this matter… Unless he found conclusive evidence, Ruan Bi could only ever be his niece. So he thought of Dong Congqing and rushed to Yanzhou, only to find an assassination attempt awaiting him…

Seeing that he remained silent, the Empress Dowager pressed him again: "Xi'er, what did he say to you?"

Prince Jin's eyes flickered, his mind racing with various thoughts. One thought was to trick her, but another immediately popped into his head: she was his mother, how could he do such a rebellious thing? Just as this thought subsided, another one emerged: she asked twice, her tone was a little strange, and her eyes were a little strange as well.

She lowered her eyes and made a decision in the blink of an eye. "Mother, I found him, but he is already dead. There is only a lonely grave overgrown with weeds."

The Empress Dowager was not surprised at all. She let out a long sigh, walked back to the edge of the bed and sat down, saying, "Xi'er, I was so worried just now, worried that you would lie to me."

Prince Jin suddenly realized that Dong Biqing must have been killed by someone she had sent. She had known all along, which was why she had been pressing him for answers. She had even killed Dong Congqing, so how could she have spared "her elder brother's daughter"? Ruan Bi was definitely not her. He felt both happy and sad—happy that she wasn't her, and sad that his mother had lied to him.

"I will not lie to Mother, and I hope Mother will not lie to me."

"How could your mother lie to you?" The Empress Dowager gently patted his hand and said tenderly, "What your father recorded in his notes is all the truth." Seeing the Prince of Jin lower his eyes in disappointment, she added slowly, "At least it's the truth that everyone believes. It is because of this truth that our family of three has been able to live to this day. It is because of this truth that your third brother was able to ascend the throne, that you were able to become a general in the Xingping Army, that you were able to fight on the battlefield like the Marquis of Champion, and that you were able to enjoy wealth and honor as the Prince of Jin. If it weren't for this truth, we, the three of us, would probably be the ones drinking poison, going mad, being imprisoned, or having our bones crushed to ashes."

She spoke very slowly, almost uttering each word slowly and deliberately, her tone even gentler and more refined than usual. The Prince of Jin, however, felt a bone-chilling wind blowing from an unknown corner, cold and damp, enveloping him completely. The cold seeped into his body through his pores, freezing everything in its path.

It's cold, very cold.

Although she didn't explain exactly what happened back then, he already understood that his family's wealth and power were all built on Ruan Bi and her daughter; the more prominent they were, the more unfortunate they were. How could he face her after this?