Chapter 77 Startled, Consort Jia shuddered and sat bolt upright…
When Shen Yan woke up the next day, she saw the person who had been sleeping on the daybed leaning against the footstool next to her bed, with his head resting on the edge of the bed. She didn't know how long he had been sleeping like that.
She helplessly nudged him awake: "Your Highness, Your Highness."
Qi Jingxuan grunted and groggily opened his eyes, feeling somewhat embarrassed after regaining his senses.
Last night, he went to Shen Yan's bedside again in the middle of the night to check on her. He watched her for a while and somehow fell asleep, sleeping until dawn when she found out.
Qi Jingxuan smiled awkwardly and was about to get up when he cried out in pain.
He slept with his neck crooked by the bedside for half the night and ended up with a stiff neck.
Shen Yan was both annoyed and amused, and ordered someone to summon the imperial physician.
The physician examined the patient but didn't have any good solutions, saying that all he could do was massage it and wait a couple of days until it got better.
Unfortunately, Qi Jingxuan was a fierce fighter, but he was also afraid of pain. As soon as the physician started to treat him, he let out a miserable scream, which was no less loud than the Prince of Ning's shouts yesterday.
He was shouting so loudly that the physician, wanting to treat him but not daring to exert any force, broke out in a sweat.
Seeing that Qi Jingxuan was about to lash out at the innocent physician, Shen Yan said helplessly, "I'll do it. In the past, when my father's neck was uncomfortable from studying at his desk, I was the one who massaged it for him."
The physician looked at Qi Jingxuan, and seeing that he had agreed, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After teaching Shen Yan some massage techniques, he hurriedly left with his medicine box.
Xu Jinyu had gone out on business yesterday and didn't return home until the evening. When he got back, he heard that Qi Jingxuan had gotten into a fight with Prince Ning. He was shocked and immediately thought of going to Prince Ping's residence to see Qi Jingxuan and ask him what had happened.
But it was already late, and curfew was approaching. The servants said that Prince Ning was more seriously injured, while Qi Jingxuan seemed to be fine and had not been punished, so he held back. But he was still worried about him, so he came to the Prince's residence early this morning without even having breakfast.
He never needed to send an invitation before visiting the Prince's residence; he would simply walk in. But things were different now. Qi Jingxuan was now married, so after arriving at the main courtyard, he didn't go in directly but waited for a servant to announce his arrival.
But before he knew it, he heard Qi Jingxuan shouting from inside.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! Ah Ci, be gentle, it hurts... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."
Xu Jinyu frowned, thinking to himself that the servants in his own household had clearly said that Qi Jingxuan wasn't seriously injured. He had also asked the servants at the Prince's residence after arriving, and they all said Qi Jingxuan wasn't hurt. So what was going on? Could it be that he had suffered some hidden injury from Prince Ning, and it was only discovered today?
He was worried, but fortunately he didn't have to wait long in the courtyard. The person who had gone to deliver the message returned shortly afterward and brought him into the house.
Xu Jinyu strode in and saw Qi Jingxuan tilting his head and looking at him sideways, while Shen Yan was massaging Qi Jingxuan's neck.
Xu Jinyu was shocked and rushed over, saying, "Prince Ning has broken your neck!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan was so angry he nearly jumped out of his chair, shouting, "Bullshit! Fourth Brother's fancy but ineffective moves couldn't possibly hurt my grandpa! He must be sleeping in the wrong position!"
"Slept...slept crookedly"
Xu Jinyu was surprised to hear such a reply. She subconsciously turned to look at Shen Yan, but then realized that this was inappropriate and quickly looked away, saying awkwardly, "Well... that's good. I thought... Prince Ning had injured you."
Qi Jingxuan snorted coldly: "I'm unharmed, but I beat the fourth prince into a pig's head. You should really go visit Prince Ning and see what a hideous sight he is now."
Xu Jinyu twitched the corner of her mouth: "I dare not go. You just beat someone up. If I go to his door now, he might take his anger out on me. Wouldn't that be unfair to me?"
He walked to the table and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea: "What exactly happened yesterday? Why did you all start fighting?"
Qi Jingxuan angrily recounted what happened yesterday, and Xu Jinyu hissed as she listened: "He's not even pretending anymore. But then again, we've been investigating for almost two months, unless he's an idiot, it's impossible for him to be completely unaware. So now... we're at a stalemate."
They knew that the Prince of Ning had orchestrated the March Spring Banquet, and they also knew that the Prince of Ning had an affair with the wife of a powerful minister, but they had no evidence.
Prince Ning knew what they were investigating, and he also knew that they knew he was the real mastermind, but they lacked evidence to prove it. However, Prince Ning also couldn't easily eliminate them.
Both sides are now fully aware of what the other is doing, and both want to kill the other, yet neither can do it.
"Even though we're at a stalemate, we still have the upper hand."
While massaging Qi Jingxuan's neck, Shen Yan said slowly and deliberately.
"After all, none of us died this time."
Xu Jinyu was puzzled by these words, but Qi Jingxuan understood and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
He only managed to utter one word before letting out a cry of pain, grimacing and swallowing the rest of his words.
…………
While Shen Yan and the other two were talking at the Prince Ping's residence, Consort Jia in Yongning Palace was also listening to a servant's report.
Yesterday, she sent someone to investigate what kind of contact Prince Ning had with Qi Jingxuan recently. She thought it would take some days to find out, but the servants came to report back today.
It wasn't that the servants were quick, but rather that there was really nothing to investigate, so it was easy to find out the truth.
"Your Highness and Prince Ping have no dealings whatsoever. They've only met a few times in the palace, and like yesterday, they just exchanged greetings. I really don't know why Prince Ping went crazy yesterday and suddenly attacked Your Highness."
Consort Jia frowned: "Are you sure you've investigated and confirmed that they truly have no contact whatsoever?"
“No,” the servant said. “I asked them very clearly, including whether they had any contact with the people around them, and there was definitely no contact.”
"That's very strange," Consort Jia murmured. "Although the Seventh Prince has always been fond of causing trouble, he has never had any grudge against Hao'er. If that's the case, why did he take action yesterday?"
What exactly did Hao'er say to Lao Qi yesterday?
Consort Jia murmured to herself, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.
Prince Ning was so badly injured yesterday that he was sent out of the palace before he could stay with her for long. She was worried about him and barely slept a wink all night.
"What has the seventh brother been doing lately?"
Consort Jia asked casually.
The servant sighed, "What else can he do? He's just continuing to investigate the spring banquet at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence in March, just like before. If you ask me, almost half a year has passed, what else could he possibly find out? He hasn't suffered any losses anyway, so I don't know why he keeps holding onto this."
Qi Jingxuan has suffered countless losses, both overt and covert, since childhood, but he's never been this persistent. This time, for some reason, he's been investigating for so long and still hasn't dared to stop.
Consort Jia was completely unconcerned about Qi Jingxuan's matter. Upon hearing that it had nothing to do with her son, she did not ask any further questions and waved her hand to dismiss the servants.
Seeing that she looked exhausted, Granny Chang advised her to go back to bed and rest for a while. Consort Jia was indeed very tired, so she went to the bedside to lie down.
But as soon as she touched the pillow, she suddenly remembered something, jolted awake, and sat up abruptly in bed.
Granny Chang, who was about to cover her with a blanket, was startled and hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Consort Jia stared wide-eyed in the direction the servants had just left: "The seventh prince has been investigating the Cheng'an Marquis's Spring Banquet in March..."
Granny Chang was puzzled: "Yes, what does this have to do with us, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Granny Chang realized what she meant and was startled: "You mean...that matter...is related to the Prince?"
Consort Jia took a deep breath and exhaled after a long while.
She went through everything she knew about the spring banquet, and the more she thought about it, the more horrified she became.
The incident occurred at the Cheng'an Marquis's residence, implicating the Cheng'an Marquis, the Prince of Ping, and the Shen family. Later, someone was arrested, named… Lin Si. Lin Si died on the night of the Prince of Ping's wedding; it was done by Consort Hui's men. Consort Hui later also died, committing suicide in the palace, completely disregarding whether her family would be affected. Consort Hui's family was the He family, and after her death, the He family quickly split into separate branches, seemingly facing imminent disaster…
Yesterday, Prince Ning and Qi Jingxuan had an argument at the palace gate, during which Qi Jingxuan assaulted Prince Ning. Afterwards, the Emperor did not punish Qi Jingxuan in any way and ignored the injured Prince Ning…
Consort Jia's heart clenched with each passing moment. She gripped Granny Chang's hand tightly, her voice trembling slightly, "Granny, please send someone to inquire..."
"What are you asking?"
Seeing that she didn't speak again for a long time after saying half of what she had said, Granny Chang asked.
"Go ask Hao'er what he's been up to lately!"
Consort Jia gritted her teeth, her voice tinged with anger by the end.
Granny Chang hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, the Prince was injured just yesterday. If we ask him now, he might be displeased and won't say anything."
Having served Consort Jia for decades, Granny Chang also knew Prince Ning well.
This prince may seem mild-mannered, but he is actually quite opinionated. If you go along with him, he is very easy to talk to. But if you go against him, his temper can be even worse than that of the Prince of Ping.
Prince Ning was injured yesterday, and His Majesty neither punished Prince Ping nor showed him any concern. He must be extremely angry right now. If the Imperial Concubine were to ask him these questions again... he would probably be even angrier and wouldn't answer truthfully.
Consort Jia forced a smile, but it was more like a grimace: "Oh, right, I forgot, he's always been a man of his own mind."
"No matter how good his ideas are, I am still his mother! He should at least discuss things with me before acting! Why did he keep such a big mess from me and I was completely unaware of it until now, having to guess what he did!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Things aren't necessarily as bad as we think."
Seeing that she was very angry, Granny Chang quickly tried to comfort her by speaking to her and patting her shoulder and back to help her catch her breath.
Consort Jia said, "Yes, it's not too bad. The Seventh Prince hasn't been able to pinpoint the real mastermind yet, which means there's no concrete evidence. But I'm afraid he'll get carried away and do something foolish!"
"This...it shouldn't be."
"That's what Granny Chang said."
"If he really didn't, he wouldn't have provoked the Seventh Prince in front of the palace gate yesterday! Does this fool really think his father is an idiot who knows nothing?"
Consort Jia had always been proud of Prince Ning's intelligence, and this was the first time she had called him a fool.
Granny Chang didn't dare to reply and could only continue to soothe her.
Consort Jia had calmed down a bit by now. She knew that Granny Chang was right; if she sent someone to question Prince Ning now, he would certainly not say anything. So she pondered for a moment and said, "Send a message to Mu Kun, tell him to investigate. Make sure he investigates every single matter thoroughly!"
Granny Chang was startled and wanted to say something, but after glancing at Consort Jia's expression, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and only said, "Yes, this servant will go right away."
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