These are all things that require a lot of brainpower to guess.
Verification is not difficult.
Changyan followed behind the Fourth Prince, watching his barely perceptible limp, and suddenly stumbled and fell over.
The fourth prince quickly turned around, supported his frail younger brother with one arm, and complained, "How can someone so big still be so unsteady on their feet? Be more careful next time."
Chang Yan stood up with a shy smile, and when he lowered his eyelashes, he noticed that his limping movements were much clearer than before.
If he was close to a normal person before, he now seems more like a disabled person.
The two brothers parted ways at the crossroads. The personal guard, carrying the jade pendant he had painstakingly found, hadn't even had a chance to boast of his achievement when he heard his master order, "I need all the information about the Second Prince's birth mother."
Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle.
Chang Yan could guess that the Second Prince was hiding his true abilities, or that the Fourth Prince was deliberately limping, or even that the First Prince was deliberately feigning stupidity, but no matter which one it was, he, the Fifth Prince, had to remain invisible.
As the proverb goes, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
He has done all the necessary work and left no stone unturned. No matter who is competing with whom, he will be the one to reap the benefits.
The boy smiled, his androgynous face framed by indifferent eyes that revealed neither joy nor anger.
The guards beside him were terrified. They usually dared to say anything to the Fifth Prince, but now they felt they couldn't afford to provoke him.
He dared not hesitate and quickly spread the news that the Fifth Prince had been frightened and developed a fever.
Secrets, like snowflakes, fluttered down in the sweltering summer, scattering to every corner of the imperial city and into every household in Fengjing.
The Chengqian Palace was the first to receive the news.
In the relatively new palace lived Consort Ju, the most favored concubine of the imperial family, and the eldest prince, Zhu Changhong, who should have left the palace but secretly knelt before his mother.
His loss of composure in the Hall of Preserving Harmony damaged his long-cultivated reputation, and his withholding of his younger brother's monthly allowance made him even more despised.
Consort Ju was exasperated. Looking at her seventeen-year-old son, she said angrily, "You've caused this mess after only one lack of explanation. As the eldest son of the emperor, how can you not be calm and composed? How can you not think things through before you speak?"
"Mother..." The eldest prince said indignantly, "I was right. He could have mentioned it to me in private, but he insisted on pretending to be innocent in the Hall of Preserving Harmony. How could a prince not know about Yueyin? He was clearly conspiring with the Yang family to scheme against me."
From this perspective, he doesn't seem to be particularly stupid; he was able to see through the scheme.
Consort Ju was even angrier. "You knew it was a scheme, yet you still foolishly walked into the line of fire. Can't you come up with a reasonable explanation or say something convincing?"
“Mother, how can you believe me? It’s true that I took his monthly allowance. Anything else I say will only make things worse.” The eldest prince lowered his head. “And that Chamberlain Yang, he easily implicated me. We can’t let him get away with it.”
Consort Ju's vision began to blur, and she had to begged the head maid to help her up so she wouldn't fall to the ground. "You piece of trash, you piece of trash!"
"Whether you confess or not, Yang Zhanshi will die. If you don't care about your subordinates, who will want to work for you?" she gritted her teeth. "Now everyone sees you as having fallen out with the Yang family. You must do the opposite, make peace with the Yang family again, apologize to Yang Zhanshi, and win people's hearts."
"Me, a prince, apologizing to a mere Grand Tutor?" The eldest prince was astonished. Seeing Consort Ju's furious face, he reluctantly lowered his head. "Your subject will go, your subject will go right now."
"There will be a next time. You need to think twice before you act. If you really can't make up your mind, then shut up and don't act recklessly again." Consort Ju's expression softened. "Good child, get up. You are my only son. I can't live without you. I'm doing this for your own good."
The eldest prince was finally moved, solemnly kowtowed, and got up to leave.
The eunuch in charge of keeping watch rushed in, brushing past him, "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince fell ill after returning from the Baohe Palace. Several imperial physicians have been summoned, and they have all confirmed that he has a fever."
A cold is difficult to treat, and a fever is even more dangerous.
Consort Ju initially didn't believe it, thinking that this little rascal was playing tricks again. But when she heard that the imperial physician she trusted had also gone to treat him, she finally showed joy, saying, "If he really dies from the illness, it will save Hong'er a lot of trouble."
"Your Highness, should we call the First Prince back and give him any instructions?" the head maid asked cautiously.
Consort Ju paused, then gently swayed her hair ornament. "No need. I handle everything in the capital."
However, it was precisely because she was always around that the eldest prince became less composed and prone to panic in the face of trouble.
As our ancestors said, a weak mother makes a strong son, and a strong mother makes a weak son.
A careful observation of one's surroundings reveals that this statement makes a lot of sense.
Strong mothers often raise lazy children, while weak mothers tend to push out fiery and rebellious kids.
The First Prince's several exchanges with the Fifth Prince were all the result of prior instruction from Consort Ju or the Fang family's young master. Once faced with a new problem, he would panic and speak recklessly.
To say that the eldest prince is as stupid as a pig is perhaps not true; he simply relies on the protection of others and the shelter they have.
In the eyes of the aunt in charge, if you really want a child to mature, you must let him face setbacks, bear them alone, and survive the hardships.
Unfortunately, given the Empress's noble status, these servants could only swallow their thoughts, hold their mistress close, and disappear into the darkness of the palace.
The same message arrives almost instantly for those inside the palace, but takes half a day for those outside.
Fortunately, Zheng Ruqian had a few friends from all walks of life. Although their identities were not prominent, they were well-connected and could find out secrets that only aristocratic families could hear. They would then share these secrets with him and joke about them, saying things like, "I heard that the Fifth Prince in the capital is sick. He was angered by the First Prince withholding his monthly allowance."
"The eldest prince donated 50,000 taels of silver to the spring banquet, but he still wants to withhold 18,000 taels of silver from his younger brother. He's really shameless."
"Yes, otherwise how could the Fifth Prince have fallen ill? They say they've consulted many imperial physicians, and every single one of them has a fever. They're trying to find a way to save him."
He was ill with a fever and needed medical attention.
If Zheng Ruqian's earlier remarks could be taken as a joke, the tone gradually became serious.
He recalled the small banquet five years ago, where he was also rescued from the ashes. If it weren't for Jiang Sheng's insistence, Wen Zhiyun's skillful intervention, or good luck, he might have already fallen into a deep sleep.
Bringing down a fever is no easy task; even a cold can be fatal.
Most importantly, both he and Consort Ju trusted the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital.
If one person can fake it, two can lie, and three, five, or seven can all be bribed?
If not, then it's a real illness.
Xiao Wu is sick.
This realization made Zheng Ruqian restless. He hurriedly said goodbye to his friend, staggered into the courtyard, closed the door, and whispered, "Xiao Wu is sick. Xiao Wu has a fever. What should we do? What should we do?"
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