Chapter 144 Yongning's Curiosity

Now that the two are married and have even had a child, Du Zhengming has gradually let go of the past.

Seeing Xiao Ling now, with nothing to hide, he naturally wasn't intimidated.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Prince of Shou'an."

The crown prince said kindly, "No need for formalities."

Xiao Ling sat to the side with a cold face, drinking tea without saying a word.

The Crown Prince assigned the task to Du Zhengming, who gladly accepted the order.

He first went to see Princess Yongning.

After two days of recuperation, Yongning's body had been mostly detoxified, and he lay on the couch looking haggard.

Upon hearing that the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was requesting an audience, Yongning was momentarily dazed.

Then she had a maid help her to get up and sit down.

After Du Zhengming entered, he first paid his respects, and then, upon looking up, he saw Princess Yongning's pale smiling face and couldn't help but feel worried for a moment.

"Princess, are you alright?"

If I am truly unwell, I will not disturb you any longer.

Yongning gently waved his hand that was hanging down.

"I am unharmed. Du Shaoqing, please ask whatever you wish."

Princess Yongning answered weakly.

Just as Yongning finished speaking, a nanny entered, carrying a bowl of medicine.

"It's time for the princess to take her medicine."

Upon hearing that he needed to take medicine, Yongning immediately frowned.

"Let's leave it for now and drink it later."

The old woman advised, "Princess, this medicine has already been heated once. Heating it again will affect its efficacy."

He then placed the medicine on the small tea table next to Princess Yongning.

They stood by, waiting to be served.

Du Zhengming couldn't bear to see the little girl's face turn pale and her refusal to take her medicine, so he spoke up to persuade her:

"The princess should prioritize her health."

I have heard that Your Majesty's illness has flared up because of your poisoning.

If you refuse to take the medicine properly, wouldn't His Majesty be even more worried if he found out?

Yongning looked at Du Zhengming, who was speaking, and sighed:

"How could I not know that I need to take medicine when I am sick? It's just that this medicine... is too bitter."

Du Zhengming laughed upon hearing this: "I lost my father when I was young, and I often have nightmares."

For a period of time, I often took medicine to treat my nightmares.

In my experience, when taking medicine, it's much easier to swallow if you gulp it down quickly than if you sip it spoonful by spoonful.

Yongning frowned and asked doubtfully, "Really?"

"If the princess doesn't believe it, she can try it. After drinking the medicine, she can eat a plum candy."

Du Zhengming, unusually, started to coax the child.

The old woman handed the bowl to Yongning, who took it with some doubt and then drank it down in one gulp.

The nanny quickly put a plum candy into her mouth.

Princess Yongning frowned, but then, upon tasting the sweetness in her mouth, her brows gradually relaxed.

"Hmm...that makes sense. It's better to have a short pain than a long one."

Du Zhengming looked at Princess Yongning's childlike face and smiled faintly.

After a while, Yongning came to his senses and looked at Du Zhengming, asking:

"Du Shaoqing, ask whatever you want to ask."

Du Zhengming then asked several questions related to the case in detail.

"Your Highness, did you see anything suspicious yesterday?"

Yongning thought for a moment and shook his head.

Du Zhengming then asked, "Did Your Highness's sudden decision to sit at the same table as the Crown Prince come of your own volition, or did you do so after being advised or instructed by someone?"

Yongning thought for a moment and said, "This was a spur-of-the-moment decision; no one advised me."

Du Zhengming then asked, "Between you and His Highness the Crown Prince, who prefers osmanthus cake?"

"My brother, the Crown Prince, loves osmanthus cake the most. I like it too, but not as much."

Princess Yongning answered slowly and deliberately.

Du Zhengming nodded.

"Did the princess eat anything else before eating the osmanthus cake?"

"No."

Princess Yongning shook her head.

After asking questions for a while, Du Zhengming seemed to have something on his mind before taking his leave.

Before leaving, he also instructed Princess Yongning:

"If Your Highness remembers anything, you may send someone to tell me."

"Your Majesty has ordered me to enter the palace to investigate this matter."

Princess Yongning nodded after hearing this.

After Du Zhengming left, Princess Yongning asked her maid:

"Is Du Shaoqing the one who was rumored to be a jinx to his wives?"

Princess Yongning's head maid, Bai Zhi, said:

"Yes, Your Highness."

"However, I heard that the eighth daughter of the Wei family is fond of Du Shaoqing."

However, because of the rift between the Wei family and Du Shaoqing, she felt that she had no hope of marrying him.

So they figured out that if they couldn't get married themselves, they wouldn't let anyone else get married either.

He killed both of Du Shaoqing's fiancées.

They were still spreading rumors that Du Shaoqing was a jinx to his wives.

It's a real shame that Du Shaoqing, such a fine young man, is still unmarried.

Upon hearing this, Yongning was quite surprised:

"Huh?! Is that how it is?"

"That eighth daughter of the Wei family is far too ruthless!"

"That's right. After Du Shaoqing found out the truth, the eighth daughter of the Wei family confessed without hesitation in the main hall of the Dali Temple."

Then he smashed his head against the Dali Temple hall and died.

The Wei family, however, persisted in pursuing this matter relentlessly, forcing everyone in the Dali Temple to keep quiet about it.

Du Shaoqing is feeling very frustrated.

As Bai Zhi spoke, she pushed open the window next to her, wanting to dissipate the smell of medicine in the room.

Yongning then asked, "And what happened next?"

"Later, I heard that the Wei family had somehow offended the Princess, and the Princess sent people to impeach the Wei family in court."

The old tutor of the Wei family thus retired from officialdom.

As Bai Zhi spoke, she turned around and carefully lit the incense burner in the room.

"Bai Zhi, stop what you're doing and come over here to tell me about the Wei and Du families."

Seeing that Princess Yongning was unusually interested in these matters, Bai Zhi put down her work and turned to coax her.

"This matter all started with that Wei Shierlang..."

After Bai Zhi explained the entanglement between the Wei family and Du Zhengming, Princess Yongning listened with great interest.

"I can't believe that this handsome Du Shaoqing is still unmarried?"

"Oh, Princess, his reputation for bringing bad luck to wives is so great, who would dare to marry him?"

Yongning thought for a moment and nodded: "That's true."

Seeing that she was interested, Bai Zhi said:

"This Du Shaoqing lost both his parents when he was young and was raised by his grandparents."

After his grandparents passed away, he could no longer afford to continue his studies, so he sought out the head of the Du family in the capital.

With the help of the Lord, he was able to complete his studies.

Three years later, he passed the imperial examination with top honors and entered the imperial court, gaining the emperor's deep trust.

Because of his talent, he was appointed to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review at a young age.

"Yes, he's a talented person," Yongning nodded.

"Why has the princess been asking about Du Shaoqing all day?"

"If you're curious, just ask."

...

Xie Yunman and Xiao Ling were in the East Palace, looking at a large stack of palace servant files transferred from the Empress.

Xiao Ling took a deep breath and assigned tasks to his subordinates.

Xie Yunman supervised from the side, while he himself sat and drank tea.

In just one morning, the list of personnel to be selected before His Majesty's ascension to the throne was quickly compiled.

After crossing out the lists of both normal and abnormal deaths, a small number of people remained.

Xie Yunman and Xiao Ling each received a copy of the roster for this group.

Xie Yunman did nothing all afternoon but carefully studied the list.

Xiao Ling was watching too.

Xiao Ling started his investigation from the earliest people who entered the palace and are still serving there.

Many of them were elderly people from the Empress Dowager's palace.

Some of them had previously served the emperor.

Xie Yunman would occasionally ask the people sent by the Empress some questions.

The eunuchs all answered respectfully.

When the Crown Prince finished his work and came over, he saw the two of them still studying the register of names with great dedication.

"How was it? Did you find anything?"

Xiao Ling silently handed a list to the Crown Prince.

"These people are all quite old, and this is where they are now."

The Crown Prince would see that he was either in the harem with the Empress Dowager, the Empress, or several high-ranking concubines, or in front of the Emperor.