Chapter 29 She is like that, and the desserts she makes are just like that too…
The accountant wandered around the kitchen for a while before realizing that Yun Kui wanted to make the desserts herself.
Who could she possibly cook this for? Without even thinking about it, it would undoubtedly be His Highness the Crown Prince.
This person, who serves His Highness, is naturally better able to understand His Highness's preferences than she is. The accountant glanced at the unfinished warming soup she was making and decided to give up for the time being. When no one was looking, she secretly took a few water chestnuts and hid them to the side. She washed and peeled them and quickly put them in a pot to boil.
While Yun Kui was still placing the pressed water chestnut cakes into the steamer, Si Zhang hurriedly poured the boiled water chestnut soup into a soup bowl, sprinkled some dried osmanthus flowers as garnish, and a bowl of water chestnut and osmanthus soup was ready.
In the Chongming Hall, where the Crown Prince held state affairs, the Crown Prince summoned his Junior Tutor, Junior Preceptor, and officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to discuss matters.
The Crown Prince had a general understanding of the personnel changes in the court over the past few years. The Junior Grand Tutor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Left Imperial Tutor had both been demoted and exiled from the capital due to their own mistakes. The Junior Tutor Pei Zhi and the Junior Preceptor Cai Heng were regents entrusted with important responsibilities by the late Emperor and the late Empress Dowager before their deaths. Emperor Chunming did not dare to suppress them openly, but instead focused on supporting his own trusted ministers and relatives of the empress. As a result, Pei Zhi and Cai Heng had never been given important positions.
Both were upright and outspoken ministers who did not blindly protect the crown prince, but they wholeheartedly assisted Emperor Jingyou's lineage, advising him on good and correcting his mistakes, and doing their utmost to serve him.
After the meeting, the Crown Prince returned to Chengguang Hall and happened to see the accountant standing in the corridor, holding a tray and waiting.
Upon seeing him arrive, the accountant quickly bowed and greeted him, "Your Highness, may you be well."
The crown prince frowned and pondered for a moment before finally remembering this person. "Why are you still here?"
As far as I can remember, of the four beauties who served him in bed, he only kept that girl. One of them was returned to the Marquis of Ningde today, and the other two should have been sent back to the Imperial Household Department.
The accountant was confused. This was her first time delivering soup to the Crown Prince at Chengguang Palace. Why was she told "it's still here"?
De Shun whispered to the Crown Prince, "Since you did not give any instructions that day, I kept her and Miss Yun Kui together."
Accountant: "..."
It turns out that the Crown Prince had forgotten to keep her here, thinking that she was no longer in the Eastern Palace!
"Your Highness, I am willing to serve you. Please do not send me away!" She gripped the tray in her hand and forced a smile. "I am skilled in cooking. This water chestnut and osmanthus soup was made by me personally. Would Your Highness like to try some?"
The Crown Prince did not glean any suspicious information from her thoughts; she genuinely just wanted to gain his favor. However, the next moment, he overheard her true intentions.
"His Highness the Crown Prince probably doesn't favor her that much, otherwise why would he punish her by making her stand at the palace gate? Today she specially made some pastries, probably to please His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Once Your Highness has eaten my soup, you will certainly not eat hers again..."
As the thought left his mind, footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, and the Crown Prince saw Yun Kui carrying a tray as she walked over.
Yun Kui and the steward who came to deliver the soup exchanged a glance, their thoughts flowing between them.
Yun Kui: "You insist on delivering food before me, which means I have to wait in the cold wind for another half an hour."
The accountant said, "I knew she made this for His Highness the Crown Prince, yet she insisted it was for herself. With this kind of cooking, it's hideous! How could His Highness possibly eat it!"
Upon hearing the sound, the Crown Prince glanced at the plate of plump white pastries in Yun Kui's hand, but his dark eyes involuntarily lifted, noticing her alabaster cheeks and the full, rounded breasts beneath her fair collarbone.
She is like that, and the desserts she makes are just like her.
Hearing the Crown Prince's cold snort, Yun Kui looked sheepishly at the pastry in her hand. Water chestnuts are white, and milk is also milky white, so the steamed milk water chestnut cake is white, soft, and tender. She cut it into large pieces, so it didn't look as exquisite as those colorful carved pastries, but it melted in her mouth, sweet, fragrant, and soft, and was by no means unpalatable.
The accountant tried his best to promote the dish: "Your Highness, please have some of the water chestnut and osmanthus soup that I made to warm yourself up."
Yun Kui muttered to herself, "In this cold weather, the water chestnut and osmanthus soup must be cold by now."
The accountant glared at her, then looked at the Crown Prince with unwavering determination: "This servant will go and reheat it for Your Highness."
Yun Kui smiled and said, "This servant also made milk and water chestnut cake, Your Highness..."
The Crown Prince disapproved of her fawning manner and said indifferently, "I won't eat. You may all leave." With that, he turned and went into the palace.
Yun Kui felt a little suffocated.
"Your Highness doesn't eat desserts? Is it because you loved sweets as a child, but now that you're older, you no longer like them?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince paused slightly.
When did he develop a sweet tooth? Could it be that Granny Yan told her?
The prince's brow was already furrowed.
Granny Yan wasn't one to talk nonsense before. Could it be that she was also completely fooled by this girl and spilled all the secrets of his childhood?
Outside the palace gate, the steward stomped his feet in anger.
But upon closer reflection, if the Crown Prince doesn't even eat Yun Kui's food, then not eating hers isn't so unpleasant.
Yun Kui snapped out of her daze and immediately glared at her: "You copycat!"
The accountant rolled his eyes: "What kind of clever scholar are you? You're allowed to make water chestnut cake, but I can't? What kind of logic is that?"
Yun Kui said, "But you didn't report it to Steward Zhang, so it counts as theft. Either you turn yourself in, or Steward Zhang reports it to Eunuch Cao. Then everyone in the Eastern Palace will know that the Accountant stole the horse hooves from the kitchen!"
"You..." The accountant's face turned red, and he was so angry that he couldn't speak.
De Shun followed the Crown Prince into the palace, carefully observing his master's expression, and said, "This Miss Lianrui is quite devoted to Your Highness. Since you have kept her here, why not let her and Miss Yun Kui take turns serving you in the future, so that Miss Yun Kui won't have to work too hard."
"Hard work?" The prince smirked.
She eats and drinks well in Chengguang Palace every day, sleeps soundly next to him at night, and still has the energy to chat with him when she wakes up. Is that what you call hard work?
Aside from the times he kissed her, it was always hard work and exhaustion for her.
The Crown Prince's face darkened. He thought to himself that he had been too indulgent with this girl and should find an opportunity to teach her a lesson to prevent her from becoming too arrogant.
De Shun couldn't immediately fathom the Crown Prince's meaning. "Your Highness, what about the accountant..."
As the prince walked, he said, "Didn't you hear her stealing ingredients from the kitchen?"
De Shun looked completely bewildered; he really hadn't heard it.
The prince, being a martial artist, had exceptional hearing; even from several meters away, he could clearly hear the rustling voices under the eaves.
"Let the Imperial Household Department handle it."
He didn't have much of an impression of the palace maid in charge of the accounts. There was already one in the room making a huge fuss. Did he expect there to be a few more to watch them bicker and fight?
Moreover, he was not Emperor Chunming, and did not have the same pleasure in creating children, nor could he bring himself to kiss anyone.
De Shun accepted the order and led two men to the side hall to carry out the task.
The accountant wept bitterly, fearing both punishment and the prospect of being banished from the Eastern Palace in such an undignified manner, leaving him with no future prospects and only the option of doing menial work in places like the laundry department. In desperation, he stuffed silver into De Shun's hand, hoping to be granted a meeting with the Crown Prince.
De Shun dared not accept her and immediately ordered her to be driven away.
Chengguang Hall.
Qin Ge and Cao Yuanlu came to report that they had found clues about the cattle, sheep, chickens and dogs that died before the New Year's sacrificial ceremony.
The sacrificial animals were all selected and transported by Cao Yuanlu from Qingfeng Division under the Imperial Household Department. The person in charge who handled the matter, the head of the stables who raised the animals, and the servants were all punished according to their crimes. Qin Ge could only start by checking the feed fed by Qian Yuantai, the doctors who treated the animals, and the details along the transportation route.
Upon learning that the physician who diagnosed the animal disease that day had left the capital and was now running a livestock breeding business on a farm in Henan, Qin Ge immediately sensed something was amiss and dispatched his secret guards to Henan to drag the man out for questioning.
"The physician insisted that the feed contained the droppings of diseased rats. However, Qingfeng Division and Qianyuan Terrace were extremely strict about the feeding of sacrificial livestock. How could cattle, sheep, chickens, and dogs be fed the same kind of feed? After a severe interrogation by my subordinates, the physician finally told the truth. It turned out that the claim of diseased rat droppings was just a cover-up. It did have an effect, but it was not enough to cause death in a short time. The real cause of death was another kind of snake venom called Baicaoming. These livestock had eaten feed soaked in the venom, which caused them to die overnight."
Cao Yuanlu continued, "The physician has already confessed that the mastermind is none other than Deng Kang, the trusted eunuch of Prince Chen."
Qin Ge nodded. "I learned from the physician's brother and sister-in-law that this man received a large sum of money at the beginning of the year. He immediately resigned from his position as a veterinarian and bought several farms in his hometown in Henan to start a breeding business. His brother and sister-in-law had some conflicts with him over the division of the money. After I pressed him a little, his elder brother told me everything."
The crown prince's face was stern, and he asked only, "Where is that physician now?"
Qin Ge said, "He was still alive in the torture chamber."
“That’s enough,” the Crown Prince said, rising to his feet. “Take him to Yongyan Palace.”
Yongyan Palace was the residence of Prince Chen.
After coming of age, Prince Chen opened his own residence outside the palace. However, because he frequently entered and exited the palace to study, discuss matters, attend court assemblies, and pay his respects to the Empress at Kunning Palace every day, he simply stayed overnight at Yongyan Hall in the palace most of the time.
On this occasion, Cao Yuanlu's injustice was redressed, and His Highness even wanted to personally seek justice. Tears streamed down his face as he followed closely behind.
The Crown Prince walked to the corridor and saw Yun Kui, who was on duty outside the palace. He was silent for a moment and then said, "You come along too."
I don't expect her to be able to predict the Prince of Chen's next plan through dreams, but taking her out to see the world can also embolden her and let her know that he, as the crown prince, has ruthless methods and can kill anyone he wants with a flick of his finger. Before she acts recklessly in the future, she should think about how many lives she has.
Sure enough, as soon as the physician's blood-soaked body was pulled out, Yun Kui immediately turned pale with fright and froze.
The crown prince withdrew his gaze with satisfaction.
He personally led the operation, accompanied by his guards who escorted an official who had been severely interrogated. The blood-stained robes and shoes left a long trail of blood on the palace road, attracting countless stares.
Even though the palace servants were curious, they didn't dare to stare. They only dared to turn around frequently and discuss among themselves after the Crown Prince and his entourage had gone far away.
The palace servants of Yongyan Palace dared not stop the Crown Prince. They respectfully invited him in while secretly sending someone to inform Prince Chen.
The Crown Prince stepped into the hall, but to his surprise, the Sixth Prince was playing chess with Prince Chen.
The Crown Prince's face darkened further as he recalled how he had coveted his concubine in his dreams, and how that foolish girl had even seriously considered the possibility of being given to the Sixth Prince.
When Yun Kui saw the Sixth Prince, she felt an awkwardness as if they had once truly pledged their lives to each other but had been separated. The horrific scene below the cliff gave her goosebumps just thinking about it.
She didn't dare to look up, afraid of meeting the affectionate expression on the Sixth Prince's face in her dream.
The Sixth Prince also noticed Yun Kui, who was hiding far behind the Crown Prince. His gaze paused for a moment before the Crown Prince said coldly, "Since the Sixth Prince is here, then listen along with him."
The sixth prince immediately snapped out of his daze, realizing this was not the time to let his mind wander. He quickly bowed to the crown prince and followed Prince Chen to see the blood-covered man outside the palace gate.
Prince Chen did not recognize the physician and forced a smile: "What is the meaning of this, Crown Prince?"
"I suspected there was more to the case of the sacrificial animals dying at Qianyuan Terrace, and sure enough, I found out who was behind it."
The Crown Prince smiled and looked at Deng Kang, the eunuch behind Prince Chen, "This is the veterinarian from that day. Chief Eunuch Deng, do you still remember him?"
Deng Kang, who was still carefully observing the physician's appearance, was instantly shocked by these words, and his face turned ashen.
"How could it be him? How did the Crown Prince manage to trace it back to him..."
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have spared them in the first place!"
Deng Kang, completely unaware that his thoughts had been exposed, suppressed his panic and said, "Didn't he discover that the feed contained the droppings of diseased rats, which led to the death of the cattle and sheep from poisoning? I wonder what Your Highness's purpose is in subjecting him to such severe torture again today?"
Qin Ge then presented the physician's signed confession and the testimony of his brother and sister-in-law, saying, "A mere rat dropping wouldn't kill dozens of livestock. Under severe torture, this man has confessed everything. On that day, he conspired with Steward Deng to frame Eunuch Cao and drive him out of the Eastern Palace."
Deng Kang felt a chill run down his spine and was about to retort when Prince Chen spoke up: "Commander Qin is joking. Eunuch Cao was indeed borrowed by me to help. Why would I frame a mere eunuch from the Crown Prince's side?"
Cao Yuanlu cupped his hands in greeting, but his tone remained unyielding: "This servant truly does not know what His Highness Prince Chen's intentions are, but this servant knows how many spies have been planted throughout the Eastern Palace during the six months this servant has been away. During His Highness the Crown Prince's coma, how many people tried to take the opportunity to poison or assassinate him? If this servant had stayed in the Eastern Palace, the Eastern Palace would certainly not be in such a state as it is now."
Prince Chen's face turned pale, and he clenched his teeth inwardly.
He had discussed with his mother how to place people in the Eastern Palace, but the Eastern Palace was like an impregnable fortress. In particular, Cao Yuanlu was a shrewd and meticulous person who always put the Crown Prince first, so it was not easy to place his own people in there. That's why he devised this plan. It would not kill Cao Yuanlu and cause gossip, but it would send him away far away and remove an obstacle.
Now that the Crown Prince has come to his door in person, with witnesses and evidence to prove it, he is being forced to deal with Deng Kang himself!
Deng Kang collapsed to the ground, trembling all over: "Your Highness..."
Prince Chen glanced at him, his face calm, and said, "I asked you to ask someone for help, but I never expected you to act on your own and secretly frame me. Do you know your crime?"
When Deng Kang saw that Prince Chen had distanced himself from everything, he knew there was no way to reverse the situation. Although he was unwilling, he could only do his best to protect his master.
"Indeed, I and the physician rehearsed our story, but my intention was not to frame Eunuch Cao, nor was it to plant someone in the Eastern Palace. It's just that I have some old grudges with that head of the Qingfeng Stables... We were originally from the same hometown, and after entering the palace, we were each assigned good positions. His job was very lucrative, so he got into gambling and insisted on dragging me along. As a result, he owed me a hundred taels of silver and refused to pay. I was furious, but I was afraid of making a big fuss, so I didn't dare to openly demand payment. That's why I was blinded by greed and secretly poisoned the sacrificial offerings he was in charge of, which implicated Eunuch Cao..."
The Crown Prince smiled casually: "Let's save those words for the torture chamber. If you can still be so stubborn under torture, I'll grant you a whole corpse, how about that?"
Deng Kang was trembling all over. His eyes suddenly looked in one direction. He gritted his teeth, stood up abruptly, and was about to charge at the sword in Qin Ge's hand.
What good are irrefutable witnesses and physical evidence? As long as he commits suicide, the Crown Prince will torture him to extract a confession and force him to prove his innocence with his death!
Just as his neck was about to hit the sword blade, the Crown Prince kicked him, sending Deng Kang flying several feet away. His body rolled down the steps outside the palace gate, blood gushing from his mouth.
The Prince of Chen followed the scene closely, and upon seeing it, his body trembled slightly.
He didn't want Cao Yuanlu's life, but he was going to lose the life of his own trusted confidant because of it.
The crown prince said calmly, "Take him away."
Prince Chen suppressed his anger and closed his eyes.
Yun Kui watched all this with trepidation. She knew that Eunuch Cao had been framed and transferred elsewhere, but she never expected that His Highness would personally come to seek justice for him.
Seeing her blank expression, the Crown Prince pointed at the two people being dragged away and said, "Outsiders say that I am cruel and ruthless. What do you think?"
Yun Kui snapped out of her daze and habitually flattered, "This servant thinks Your Highness is wise, mighty, and full of domineering presence."
Crown Prince: "..."
"But Eunuch Cao is a loyal servant who has served His Highness for more than twenty years. How can someone like me, a newcomer, compare?"
"His Highness is willing to protect me, probably also to protect his dignity as the Crown Prince."
"As for giving me the antidote for the Seven-Day Powder, that was to test my loyalty first. Only after I passed the test at the last moment did they tell me I wouldn't die. Otherwise, if I had any improper thoughts, or if I hadn't seen Granny Qin's dream, and had just foolishly fed him the secret medicine, I might have lost my life long ago..."
Thinking of this, Yun Kui sighed inwardly.
"Little Sunflower, you've had a tough life!"
The crown prince's expression darkened upon hearing her thoughts.
What an ungrateful little wretch! He's saved her several times already, not to mention her outrageous acts. If she were any other master, she'd probably be reincarnated somewhere by now.
After a long silence, he smiled deeply: "I think the Sixth Prince is simple and kind. If the Sixth Prince were to ask me for you, would you agree?"
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