Fangzhi's face was deathly pale, and she stood there swaying precariously.
She did not try to stop them. The Crown Prince's men were numerous and powerful, while she was just a weak woman. Her efforts to stop them would be futile and would only make her a laughingstock.
She could only keep herself standing, preserving her last shred of dignity.
But how could Ye Jingchen let her off so easily?
"Do you know why Jinghe suddenly went berserk in the Imperial Garden yesterday?" Ye Jingchen asked her.
Fangzhi closed her eyes, refusing to look at him or anyone else.
"This servant does not know," she said coldly.
"No! You know! It's musk." Ye Jingchen revealed the answer himself.
"This servant girl—"
Ye Jingchen interrupted her before she could finish speaking, "Even if you really didn't know before, I've now clearly told you that Jinghe's poison will be affected by musk. You often make perfume for the palace concubines, so you should know how to minimize the harm to Jinghe in the future."
Fangzhi bit her lower lip hard, drawing bright red blood, but she felt no pain whatsoever.
"A mother who truly loves her child will not deliberately cause her child pain in order to achieve a certain goal," Ye Jingchen said.
"I'm only doing this for Jinghe's sake. It's best for the child to stay with his mother!" Fangzhi said loudly.
"No one would willingly raise someone else's child. Consort Shu is like that, and so are all the other concubines in this palace!"
"But now, isn't it you who has hurt Jinghe the most?" Ye Jingchen asked casually.
This question completely devastated Fangzhi, who was on the verge of collapse, and she began to speak recklessly.
"Your Highness only pretended to be nice to Jinghe for a few days, and you think you have the right to criticize me? If you and your brother hadn't been so intolerant of my son and me, would Jinghe have been taken away by Consort Shu from birth? Isn't his suffering in Changchun Palace all thanks to Your Highness and the Princess?!"
"How dare you! Zhi Ying, watch your words! Don't forget your place!" Before Ye Jingchen could say anything, Fangfei scolded him first.
"Status? Haha! Even if I am just a lowly concubine, I am still the emperor's woman and the birth mother of a prince. My status is a hundred or a thousand times more noble than yours, a mere palace maid. What right do you have to rebuke me? You are nothing but a dog relying on its master's power!" Fangzhi laughed loudly, seemingly on the verge of going mad.
“If you go mad now, I will report everything you’ve done to Father,” Ye Jingchen said quietly.
Fangzhi's laughter stopped abruptly. She glanced indifferently at Ye Jingchen, picked up the water ladle she had dropped earlier, and continued watering her flowers.
Her movements were leisurely and carefree, as if the group of people in the courtyard did not exist.
Ye Jingchen admired her for maintaining such composure even now.
Unfortunately, she was too selfish and didn't deserve to be a mother.
Ye Jingchen brought enough people with him this time. This side hall, which was very close to the Cold Palace, was not only dilapidated but also small in size. Soon, Fang Rong led the people to search the entire place inside and out and found more than a dozen identical small bottles. Some of the bottles had been opened and emitted the same scent as the previous perfume.
"Because it's difficult to distinguish the scent of sealed perfume, this servant dared to open all the perfumes I found, and thus discovered the pattern of how Consort Zhi stored the perfumes. If I'm not mistaken, these bottles all contain the same perfume. As for the few bottles that were opened, please punish me, Your Highness!" Fang Rong knelt before Ye Jingchen to plead guilty.
"You've done well. Take your things and return to the East Palace," Ye Jingchen commanded.
"Your Highness, what should be done with Consort Zhi?" Fangfei asked.
"Don't worry about it, her retribution will come later," Ye Jingchen said coldly.
In the novel, Ye Jinghe is a very important supporting character, but Fang Zhi, his biological mother, is not even worthy of having a name. It seems that she had already received her retribution at that time.
When they arrived, Ye Jingchen held Ye Jinghe's hand; when they left, he carried him back.
Ye Jinghe is so intelligent. Although he is still young and does not understand what happened, he will understand everything when he looks back in the future. At that time, he will definitely be very sad!
He carried Ye Jinghe all the way back to the East Palace. Although he had only been recuperating for a few days, Ye Jinghe had been too thin before. Even though he had only been recuperating for a few days, he had gained several pounds, which really exhausted him.
However, he could not relax yet, because before he even reached the East Palace, he saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth in front of the palace gate.
Zhang Shunde, the chief eunuch, was the emperor's spokesperson.
Ye Jingchen sincerely hoped that Zhang Shunde was just there to convey the emperor's imperial edict or something.
Unfortunately, his hopes were soon dashed.
When he saw Zhang Shunde, Zhang Shunde also saw him. He jogged towards Ye Jingchen, shouting as he ran, "My Highness—His Majesty's entourage has long since arrived at the East Palace. Where have you gone with such a large group of people?!"
Ye Jingchen: ...
Theoretically, upon hearing that the Emperor had arrived at the Eastern Palace, he should have walked faster, but he was simply too tired to walk any further, especially after hearing Zhang Shunde say that the Emperor was waiting for him at the Eastern Palace, he became reluctant to return.
He slowed his pace and lingered as he walked toward the East Palace.
The rest of the way, which he could normally walk in three minutes, took him ten minutes this time. And from the East Palace gate to the main hall, he dawdled for another fifteen minutes, making Zhang Shunde sweat profusely.
"My lord, aren't you afraid the Emperor will be angry?" Zhang Shunde was so anxious he was about to cry.
"I want to walk faster, but Jinghe and my younger brother are too heavy, I can't walk!" Ye Jingchen said helplessly.
"Then why don't you put the Fifth Prince down and let him walk on his own!"
"No! I said I would take him back to the East Palace. A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. He must do what he says. Do you want me to be seen as a treacherous person who breaks his word?!" Ye Jingchen asked with an unfriendly expression.
"This old servant wouldn't dare! This old servant was just worried for Your Highness. His Majesty has been waiting for you in the Eastern Palace for half an hour!"
“Since my busy father is already willing to wait for me for half an hour, he probably won’t be angry if I wait a little longer, so Eunuch Zhang, there’s no need to worry!” Ye Jingchen said insincerely from outside the main hall.
"You know I'm busy with countless affairs of state, yet I've wasted half an hour here just waiting for you. Why don't you hurry up and come in? What are you dawdling about outside for?!" The emperor's powerful voice echoed from inside the hall.
“Waiting for others is definitely not an option, but isn’t your son Father’s favorite child? Can’t Father wait for his son for half an hour?” Ye Jingchen said, panting, as he carried Ye Jinghe across the threshold of the main hall.
"Jinghe doesn't look like he's made of any meat on his bones. You're so tired after carrying him for a while? Your health is really too poor." The emperor looked Ye Jingchen up and down and said with disdain.
"Father, have you forgotten that I just nearly drowned and had a high fever? I'm still recovering from a serious illness, so it's understandable that I'm a bit weak," Ye Jingchen said as he put Ye Jinghe down.
“Brother, you’re not underestimating me. It’s just that Jinghe is too heavy,” Ye Jinghe said earnestly to Ye Jingchen, looking up at him.
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