Chapter 22 Cold Evening (Part 4) "I never imagined he would be in such a miserable state..."

With the Crown Prince's confinement lifted, everything returned to normal. The officials of the Crown Prince's palace breathed a sigh of relief. In this round, it seemed that the Crown Prince was being punished and confined, but in fact, it was Prince Xin who was at a disadvantage.

The Crown Prince's eloquent words before the Emperor not only did not cause her to lose face, but also won her praise from a group of officials.

As a result, Imperial Censor Xu Zhen made a special request to see the Crown Prince, admitting his mistakes and expressing his gratitude. Before leaving, he also took the opportunity to impeach Lan Huaien.

He wasn't targeting Lan Huaien all the time; it just so happened that an opportunity arose. Lan Huaien had just offended the Crown Prince, and the treacherous eunuch had added another crime to his list. If he could rid the country of this scourge as soon as possible, everyone would surely be eager to do so.

Upon hearing this, Yan Chao replied, "I have already dealt with the crime he committed in the Eastern Palace according to the palace rules. Moreover, His Majesty has already given an oral order that he should return to serve before the Emperor after the festival."

Xu Zhen was displeased and had no choice but to give up.

In his heart, Lan Huaien had committed numerous evils, wreaked havoc on the court, and was a treacherous eunuch who flattered the emperor and deserved to be killed by everyone. Yet, this man had deceived the emperor and acted arrogantly for so many years. The emperor favored him, and the ministers were powerless to do anything about it.

The confinement of the Crown Prince to his residence caused quite a stir in the court at the time, but now that the dust has finally settled, many officials have keenly grasped the implications and have no choice but to make a statement.

Prince Xin naturally noticed these fluctuations and realized that he should adopt a certain attitude at this moment. Even if he was filled with dissatisfaction, he should at least appear sincere on the surface.

He adopted a posture of feigning remorse and wasn't afraid of how the Crown Prince would treat him, after all, the Emperor was openly and secretly favoring him. As for losing face, the Crown Prince was probably going to lose more than him.

Yan Chao listened to his apology without changing his expression, and said calmly, "This matter is nothing more than a conflict arising from the difference of political views between me and Father Emperor. I was wrong to speak and act rudely. If Fourth Brother feels guilty, he should go and apologize to Father Emperor."

Prince Xin said, “I have already apologized to Father Emperor. It is because of my poor thinking that my sixth brother has suffered such a great injustice, and I feel really bad about it. My sixth brother was confined to his quarters before, so I was unable to apologize to him in person. Therefore, I have come today and have prepared some gifts to express my apologies.”

"Fourth Brother, you're being too polite."

Prince Xin ordered someone to present the gift, and opened the box in front of her: "This secret-recipe wound medicine contains one ingredient made from the five-colored dragon bone of Shanzhou, which is extremely rare and has a remarkable effect on promoting tissue regeneration and healing wounds, even better than the medicine from the Imperial Hospital. I wanted to send it to my sixth brother before, but the eunuchs of the Eastern Palace stopped me, and I only have the opportunity to make up for it now. I thought that although my sixth brother has now recovered, it wouldn't hurt to keep this good stuff; who knows when it might come in handy."

"There are still a few ink sticks left. I heard that my sixth brother loves painting. This ink is made by refining tung oil into soot, and the ink is black and glossy and lasts a long time, making it most suitable for painting."

"Although this gift is small, I hope my sixth brother will not find it offensive."

Yan Chao glanced at the porcelain vase, secretly suppressing the impulsive anger in his heart, and nodded softly, "Fourth Brother is very thoughtful."

Prince Xin smiled gently and was about to take his leave when she added, "I just don't know where Fourth Brother heard that? I don't like painting."

.

After Prince Xin left, Xiao Jiu was ordered to put away the gifts, and couldn't help but complain, "Sending medicine and ink, Prince Xin is clearly trying to mock Your Highness..."

Liang Lu frowned, about to rebuke him, but Yan Chao spoke first: "Knowing it in your heart is enough, why say it out loud? Trouble comes from the mouth." He then asked: "During my confinement, was it you who stopped Prince Xin?"

Among the eunuchs around her, apart from Liang Lu, Xiao Jiu was the highest in status. Liang Lu was never one to act impulsively.

Xiao Jiu's heart tightened. She looked at Liang Lu pleadingly, then knelt down and explained, "Your Highness, please forgive me. At that time, you were still ill, and Prince Xin's men came to deliver medicine with glee. Besides wound medicine, they also brought some beauty powder, specifically mentioning that it would prevent Your Highness from having scars on your face... This servant was truly outraged, but fearing that you would be angered and harm your health, I took it upon myself to drive them away. I never expected that Prince Xin would use this to humiliate Your Highness today..."

At first, he was somewhat self-righteous, but later his voice lowered, and he was filled with shame, honestly admitting his mistake: "This servant knows he was wrong."

Yan Chao paused for a moment, then warned him, "This is a one-time exception. You are not allowed to make decisions on your own again."

Xiao Jiu nodded and thanked him.

Yan Chao then instructed, "Go and deliver those few ingots of Huizhou ink to the Shen family as a reward for Shen Wei, who is skilled in painting."

Liang Lu frowned slightly: "Your Highness, what if this gets to Prince Xin's ears..."

“Since he has given it to me, it is none of his business how it is dealt with. The ink is good ink and should not be wasted.” Yan Chao was walking out with his hands behind his back when he suddenly turned back: “Liang Lu, take the wound medicine to Physician Feng to take a look. If there is no problem, then give it to Lan Huai’en. He will return to the palace after the festival, and if his wound does not heal properly, he will not be able to perform his duties.”

Seeing that she had already left, Liang Lu opened his mouth, but didn't have time to say anything.

.

Duan Shou presented what he had found. Yan Chao glanced at it and frowned: he knew Lan Huaien had suffered a terrible fate, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.

The content was too much and too complicated, so she only flipped through a few pages before closing the book, intending to read it more carefully when she had time. But her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a few lines of text, and her gaze lingered for a moment.

Xu Fu was actually poisoned by his wife, Feng?

It was indeed rumored in the capital that Xu Fu died of poisoning, and the case was even brought to the yamen back then.

Feng accused Lan Huaien of assassination, and after investigation, there was indeed evidence pointing to Lan Huaien. However, the case was ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence. Everyone felt that Lan Huaien had a clear motive and speculated that the so-called lack of evidence was because Lan Huaien had bribed officials.

However, according to Duan Shou's investigation, after Feng poisoned Xu Fu, she attempted to frame Lan Huaien. However, because there might eventually be evidence pointing to Feng herself, she felt guilty and was forced to withdraw the lawsuit and use connections to suppress the matter.

Even after all these years, Lan Huaien is still suspected of patricide, and this stain has not been cleared to this day.

However, as his misdeeds accumulated, this crime no longer mattered.

Yan Chao frowned; indeed, none of his family members were easy to deal with.

Duan Shou then reported another matter: "Since Your Highness's confinement, Ji Weixian has had far fewer private contacts with Prince Xin."

Yan Chao turned around and put away the stack of secret reports, grunting, "Ji Weixian isn't stupid. He naturally knows to avoid suspicion, not to mention that he has Prince Xin and others guiding him behind the scenes."

"However, the Li family has been in close contact with Consort Xian. Our spies have received information that the Li family has their eyes on next year's silkworm-raising ceremony, but how they plan and prepare for it is still unknown..."

Yan Chao glanced out the window and thought he saw a figure flash by. He immediately felt a chill and shouted, "Who's outside!"

Duan Shou's expression froze instantly. He quickly turned around and darted away, but a moment later, he led in Ying Shi.

She brought in a bowl of porridge, lifted the curtain, and walked in with a steady gait. When she reached the desk, she softly called out, "Your Highness."

Ying's demeanor appeared flawless, but she seemed somewhat embarrassed and guilty as she explained, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I did try to walk quietly, but I still disturbed Your Highness."

A note from the author: