Chapter 102: Mount Qishan Fengshan 9: Prince Chen's followers

The prince returned the "murder weapon" to Li Xuanhe, his gaze unfazed, as if the matter truly had nothing to do with him. Li Xuanhe was silent for a moment, then ordered Chi Xiao to put the sword away, his words unclear as to whether he believed him or not.

The tea in the cup had already gone cold. Li Xuanhe drank it all in one gulp and asked, "What did Your Highness do after arriving at the Zhai Palace yesterday?"

This is the beginning of the normal interrogation of the case.

The Crown Prince paused and sighed, "Yesterday, after arriving at the Zhai Palace, I met several people in this Qing Palace. Around 3:00 PM, I went to my father's palace and accompanied him in chanting sutras, returning only after dinner. When I arrived, the Emperor's uncle was also there, and nothing unusual happened. Later, the Imperial Preceptor came to see my father and presented him with an elixir, claiming it was a newly concocted elixir of immortality. Over the years, the Imperial Preceptor has presented countless elixirs, and I even teased him about where he got the recipe. The Imperial Preceptor was quite serious, saying he had accidentally discovered a snakehead fish and used its flesh to make this elixir. He explained that the Fengshan Ceremony was approaching, and that this elixir was a heavenly gift to my father. He instructed Your Majesty to take it before bed, when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is at its peak."

"After handing the elixir to Your Majesty, the Imperial Master hurried away, saying the alchemy furnace was still hot and perhaps another elixir of immortality could be refined. He also said he would give it to me once it was completed. How could I believe this? But I didn't directly reject his kindness. After that, several more people arrived in the palace, most of them from the Ministry of Rites, to discuss the rules of the grand ceremony with my father.

"After dinner, I returned to the Qing Palace and dealt with the memorials that had accumulated during the past few days on the road until midnight."

Xun Shu looked at the prince and felt that his expression seemed meaningful when he mentioned the elixir of immortality. Then she understood that the prince did not know that she also knew about Schisandra chinensis, so he only mentioned some things briefly and did not say more.

Speaking of which, when I met Wuweizi yesterday, he told me that the Crown Prince wanted to see him. I don't know why the Crown Prince wanted to see him. If I could see him again, I would definitely ask him about this.

"So, Your Majesty met with Prince Chen yesterday." Li Xuanhe seemed to be lost in thought. "Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've seen this uncle. If I had known this, I would have paid him a visit yesterday. But... well."

"I haven't seen this Imperial Uncle for years. I remember him as a cautious and quiet man, but when I saw him yesterday, I felt he had changed quite a bit. Perhaps it's because he's back in his fiefdom, where no one dares to mock his background anymore, that he's naturally more open-minded, and his eyes have become much sharper." The Crown Prince sighed and said slowly, "What a pity."

-

After leaving the Qing Palace, Xun Shu and Li Xuanhe heard news that His Majesty had ordered the entire Zhai Palace to be sealed off, with no one allowed to enter or leave until the murderer of Prince Chen was found. Later, His Majesty summoned Li Xuanhe, but Li Xuanhe was unable to take Xun Shu with him, so he sent her back to the courtyard and warned her not to wander around.

Xun Shu was reluctant, but she understood that Li Xuanhe was doing this for her own good during these troubled times. She stayed in the courtyard obediently, gazing at the square sky, which looked very much like the small courtyard at the Pingyang Marquis's residence. She suddenly realized what it meant to "make one wrong move, and all the rest will go wrong."

If she hadn't come with Liang Qiu to deliver food this morning, she wouldn't have met Li Xuanhe. If she hadn't met Li Xuanhe, she wouldn't have had the chance to sneak into the Zhai Palace. If she hadn't entered the Zhai Palace, she wouldn't have been trapped in this small square courtyard... Now, because of the death of King Chen, the security in the Zhai Palace has become even stricter. She didn't dare to move around casually, but she couldn't leave either. She really felt like a bird trapped in a cage, not knowing what to do.

She sat on the steps with her chin in her hand, watching the sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting mottled shadows, watching the migratory birds, and the spiders weaving webs under the eaves, and she felt increasingly melancholy.

She had originally infiltrated the Zhai Palace hoping to find an opportunity to meet the people at the center of power. Now, the living had met the Crown Prince, and the dead had met Prince Chen, yet she hadn't seen anything. Or was Prince Chen's death also part of this celestial phenomenon, a plot she needed to decipher?

And then there is Li Xuanhe——

Xun Shu shook her head, controlling her ever-increasing thoughts and trying not to think about the relationship between her and Li Xuanhe, which was a mess and she didn't know how to solve it.

It is better to wait until the phenomenon of Mars in the heart is resolved before thinking about these trivial matters.

Li Xuanhe was gone not long. When he returned, he saw Xun Shu leaning against his master under the eaves, looking drowsy. He asked, "Do you want to go to the house and rest for a while?"

Xun Shu instantly woke up and shook his head: "What does His Majesty want to see you about? What should we do now?"

Li Xuanhe paused, but he didn't intend to hide it from her: "His Majesty has handed the case over to me and ordered me to find the murderer before the Fengshan Ceremony."

Xun Shu took a deep breath. "That only leaves two days. Do you have a direction now? Where do you plan to start?"

Xun Shu looked anxious and serious, as if he was worried about him. Li Xuanhe was delighted and whispered, "Are you worried about me, Shu?"

Xun Shu turned his head and looked at the spider weaving a web in the corner of the wall. He said in a dissembling manner, "I'm not worried about you. I just want to know when I can leave the Sai Palace. Now that I'm trapped here, my friends must be very worried. Can you help me pass on a message to them?"

Li Xuanhe snorted coldly: "Your friends are good at predicting things, so why would they need you to pass on information?"

"Mystical techniques can't reach the heavens. After all, we are just mortals." Xun Shu said gently, "Besides, the news I need to convey is not just my own safety, I need to inform them of everything that happened in the Zhai Palace."

Li Xuanhe frowned, thinking this man was completely crazy. "Do you know that His Majesty sealed off the Zhai Palace today because he didn't want the news of Prince Chen's death to spread?"

"I know, but I still have to find a way to do it."

Xun Shu's eyes were more resolute than Li Xuanhe had ever seen them. He looked like a soldier about to go to the battlefield, ready to charge forward without hesitation. He opened his mouth, unable to utter a rebuttal. After a moment, he resigned himself to his fate: "Okay, I'll help you think of a solution."

Xun Shu was stunned. She didn't expect him to help her. She whispered, "Thank you."

It was apparently a thank you, but it seemed to have invisibly distanced the already icy relationship between the two.

Li Xuanhe disliked this kind of politeness and distance. Just as he was about to say something, someone arrived at the door to announce that Prince Chen's personal attendant had been brought in. Li Xuanhe paused, then ordered the attendant to be taken to the east wing. Then he returned to the room, retrieved something, and slipped it into Xun Shu's arms. "This is a candy cake I bought a few days ago. I wanted to give it to you last time, but I didn't find the opportunity. You didn't have breakfast today, did you? You can eat this to fill your stomach."

After saying this, Li Xuanhe walked towards the east wing without looking back, as if this was just a casual thing, except for his red earlobe, which quietly gave away his thoughts. Xun Shu stared blankly at the oil-paper package in his hand, then gently opened it after a while, picked up a small piece and put it in his mouth.

The sugar cake is soft, glutinous and sweet. If you hold it between your lips and tongue for a while, it will completely melt without leaving any trace.

Xun Shu lowered his eyes, but his heart was filled with sorrow and he didn't know what to do.

-

Xun Shu had just begun questioning when he entered the east wing. Li Xuanhe sat at the front of the room, and King Chen's attendant stood in the middle. He was a teenager, trembling and with a mournful look on his face.

According to Chi Xiao, this man's name is Qi Zijin. He usually follows King Chen around. Not only does he protect King Chen's safety, he is also responsible for running errands.

As King Chen's close bodyguard, he ended up protecting his master to death. No wonder he was trembling.

"...Last night, after leaving His Majesty's palace, His Highness Prince Chen returned to his residence. The maids helped him wash and get ready for bed. Then, His Highness drove us out of the courtyard and forbade us to stay there."

Li Xuanhe asked curiously, "Kick them out of the courtyard? Aren't you going to leave someone to guard the palace?"

Qi Zijin shook his head. "For the past six months, Your Highness has been traveling back and forth between his fiefdom and Mount Qishan. Due to excessive fatigue, he suddenly developed a sleepwalking disorder. After falling asleep, he would shout and scream in his bedroom, walk around, and talk about secret things. Perhaps it's because the feng shui of Mount Qishan conflicts with Your Highness's horoscope, this sleepwalking disorder only occurs when he sleeps in the Qishan Zhai Palace. Since then, Your Highness has not allowed anyone to keep watch in the bedroom or courtyard whenever he stays in the Zhai Palace."

"Have you ever seen His Highness sleepwalking?"

"I saw him once. It was four months ago, at the beginning of spring. That day, His Highness came to the Zhai Palace to handle official business. Since the Imperial Preceptor was also there, His Highness invited him to the courtyard for a drink during dinner. The banquet ended near midnight. I was already exhausted by the time it ended, and almost as soon as the Imperial Preceptor left, I retreated to the backyard to rest. Unexpectedly, I had barely lain down when I heard loud shouting coming from His Highness's room. I hurried to the palace where His Highness lived, but the door was locked. Fearing something was wrong, everyone gathered together to force the door open, only to find His Highness pacing around with his eyes tightly closed, dancing and shouting as he walked. He looked terrifyingly hungry. The next day, when His Highness woke up, he had no memory of the incident. Not long after that, he stopped allowing anyone to stay in his courtyard after dark."

Li Xuanhe frowned: "Have you asked the imperial physician to come and see?"

"There was no imperial physician in the Zhai Palace at the time, but the next day I went to Anle Town and asked several doctors to examine His Highness. They all said it was sleepwalking, but they couldn't explain how it occurred or how it could be treated. Later, His Highness decided that since the sleepwalking only occurred in the Zhai Palace, it wasn't a big deal, so he stopped worrying about it."

Li Xuanhe wrote down everything he said, and then asked, "Where did you all go yesterday? Did anything different happen?"

"Your Highness arrived at the Sai Palace the day before yesterday and arranged everything in advance. After the emperor's arrival yesterday, Your Highness has been with His Majesty the entire time. The two brothers haven't seen each other for many years, and they have been chatting about interesting childhood memories."

"Anecdotes from their childhood?" Li Xuanhe raised an eyebrow, his expression normal. But what he was thinking was, these two brothers share the same father but different mothers. The prince's mother was a lowly palace maid. Even in their youth, they probably rarely spent time together. What amusing stories could they possibly have? He rubbed his forehead. "Did they chat until after dinner? Did they meet anyone in between, or what incidents occurred?"

Qi Zijin looked embarrassed. "Not only was His Royal Highness Prince Chen accompanying Your Majesty yesterday, but later that evening, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also arrived at the palace. How could I possibly serve him up close? I could only wait outside. Your Majesty had just arrived at the Zhai Palace yesterday, and he met many people coming and going, but I have no idea if anything happened."

What Qi Zijin said was not much different from what the prince said.

Li Xuanhe's mind flashed back to the nightgown on Prince Chen's corpse, and he asked, "How is your Highness Prince Chen's kung fu?"

"Your Highness's Kung Fu is average, but his Qinggong is decent. I heard that when he was young in the palace, no one paid attention to him, so he secretly learned Kung Fu from an old eunuch." Qi Zijin suddenly remembered something, looked hesitant, and said softly, "Actually, I've always had a suspicion in my heart, but I didn't know whether to express it."