Chapter 67 In her heart, it seemed that nothing was more important than…
Pei Heng found the body of the King of Song at the foot of the cliff; the body was still warm.
He ordered his men to examine the body and then brought it to the palace to meet the emperor.
“Your Majesty, the body of the Prince of Song must have been moved.” Pei Heng reported to Xiao Xu, “My men searched at the foot of that mountain several times but could not find it. It must be that someone took the Prince of Song from there first and then dumped him there after his death.”
"Is that so?" Xiao Xu lay on his side on the dragon bed, coughing occasionally.
After arranging his words, Pei Heng continued, "King Song fell off a cliff at Yuqing Temple. I have never understood why he would flee to Yuqing Temple. After he fell, I checked the route around the cliff and found a carriage traveling from the bottom of the cliff into Yuqing Temple. I suspect that the person who took King Song's body is hiding inside Yuqing Temple. I wonder if we can enter the temple to search?"
Xiao Xu took a couple of sips of the herbal medicine, calmed his cough and said, "No need. You don't need to investigate this matter concerning the Prince of Song anymore."
Pei Heng looked up at the Emperor in surprise, but the Emperor simply waved his hand, dismissing him: "I am tired, you may go back."
He could only retreat from the bedchamber.
Outside the palace, wind and rain raged. He looked at the thick, dark clouds and frowned deeply. The King of Song must have seen someone before he died.
Why did His Majesty suddenly stop rushing to order him to investigate the Prince of Song? It's as if he was relieved after learning of the Prince of Song's death...
He didn't understand. Did His Majesty not intend to investigate Xiao Dao's background? And what did His Majesty intend to do with Xiao Dao?
No sooner had Pei Heng left the palace in the rain than Xiao Xu ordered a eunuch to summon Song Jie to the palace from the Prime Minister's residence. He could roughly guess that the person the King of Song had seen before his death was Song Jie, so it seemed that Song Jie's plan had succeeded.
It was almost dawn, and the rain was still incredibly heavy, with dark clouds obscuring the sky and not a ray of light showing through.
Pei Heng returned to the Pei residence soaked to the bone. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Zhao Mingzhao came to report to him.
"General, Madam Pei has left the mansion." Zhao Mingzhao handed him a dry blanket: "Someone from Yuqing Temple said that Madam Pei's mother suddenly fell ill, so Madam Pei hurriedly left the mansion. We couldn't stop her."
"Yuqing Temple?" Pei Heng took the blanket and wiped his face and hair haphazardly, frowning. He had indeed heard that her mother had become a disciple of Yusu Nu Temple, but why was she suddenly sick tonight? Was it just a coincidence?
He then asked Zhao Mingzhao, "Did you send someone to escort her to Yuqing Temple?"
“Yes.” Zhao Mingzhao replied immediately: “Four brothers were sent to follow Madam Pei’s carriage to escort her there. However, Yuqing Temple is a place of practice for the Yusu Nu Temple. Without the Emperor’s order, they could not go in. So they stayed outside the temple and waited for Madam Pei to finish taking care of her mother before bringing her back.”
Pei Heng nodded, which meant that she had indeed gone to Yuqing Temple to see her mother. Yuqing Temple was really lively tonight.
He then asked Zhao Mingzhao, "Have the people sent to the Prime Minister's residence returned? Is Prime Minister Song truly ill?"
Song Jie was absent from the celebration banquet tonight due to illness, which is not a big deal. He had fainted in the alchemy room that night, so how could he have recovered overnight?
However, an incident occurred at the victory banquet. The Emperor's summons to Xie Yushu was a sudden event, yet Song Jie's man, Cang Shu, was able to arrive at the palace gate immediately, making him somewhat suspicious that Song Jie was watching the victory banquet.
"He's back. He didn't go into the Prime Minister's residence, but he did see a Taoist physician enter it," Zhao Mingzhao replied. "Song Jie has always trusted only Taoist physicians, so he must really be seriously ill."
Pei Heng responded, thinking that he might be able to use the excuse of picking up Xie Yushu to go to Yuqing to take a look.
He hurriedly took a shower and changed his clothes, only to find Xiao Dao had come to his room.
"Why haven't you rested yet?" Pei Heng asked him. "You should rest more now so your injury can heal faster."
Xiao Dao couldn't wait to ask, "How is the Prince of Song?"
Pei Heng hesitated for a moment, then told him, "The King of Song is dead."
Xiao Dao stood there stunned, his face not showing much sadness, but he asked again, "The King of Song is dead, so is there anyone who can prove my origins?"
Pei Heng was at a loss for words. The King of Song was dead, and the trail had gone cold. The Emperor had ordered him not to investigate any further. He didn't know how to tell Xiao Dao that perhaps his true identity could never be proven in this lifetime.
He didn't speak, but Xiao Dao understood the meaning behind his silence: "There isn't any, right?"
Pei Heng wanted to comfort him, suggesting that perhaps there was still a chance if the investigation continued.
But then Xiao Dao asked, "So, am I free now?"
Pei Heng was stunned for a moment, and saw Xiao Dao sitting calmly at the table, neither sad nor disappointed, just wanting an answer.
"If they can't find out my background, can I go back to being Yu Shu's servant?" Xiao Dao asked him.
It was only at this moment that Pei Heng realized that Xiao Dao didn't actually care whether he was a prince or not. The reason he cooperated and stayed here was for Xie Yushu's sake, and what he really wanted to do was still to be Xie Yushu's attendant.
#
Under the torrential rain, Xie Yushu first went to her mother's bedroom in Suxinzhai and explained to her mother that she had come tonight under the pretext of her mother's sudden relapse of an old illness.
Although Qiao Bao'er didn't know what Xie Yushu was going to do, she did her best to cooperate with her.
Xie Yushu went out through the side door of Suxinzhai and went around to the pilgrims' quarters in the temple. Cangshu, who was waiting there, led him into a shrine where he saw the unconscious Song Jie.
Song Jie was soaking in the bathtub, his body was ice cold and had no warmth at all, and his face was ashen from illness.
Xie Yushu went over and touched his chest, and sure enough, it was stiff and cold again.
"Your Excellency has already taken an overdose of medicine today, and I dare not give you any more." Cang Shu was extremely anxious. "That's why I dared to come to you in your mother's name."
"I know." Xie Yushu didn't mince words when he asked Cangshu, "Where is the King of Song?"
"Ginger flower?" Xie Yushu turned around in surprise. The cook in Song Jie's mansion was also the only woman in the Song family.
Cangshu nodded and said, "Before the Prime Minister fell into a coma, he was in a room with Yu Su Nu Guan and the Prince of Song. I don't know what happened in the room. What did it mean when the Prime Minister called Jiang Hua's name before he fell into a coma?"
Xie Yushu, however, realized that Song Jie wouldn't call out a cook's name for no reason, unless that cook was the person they were looking for.
Could Jiang Hua be the midwife from back then?
She immediately asked again, "Does the Jade Maiden Temple know about ginger flowers?"
Before Song Jie fell into a coma, he was in a room with Yu Su Nu Guan and Song Wang. She was worried that Wan Su Su also knew about this.
If Wan Susu also knew, she might tell Xiao Zhen directly, which would be very bad.
She immediately decided to go find Wan Susu first.
Xie Yushu withdrew her hand and instructed Cangshu to continue heating water to warm Song Jie. She would be back soon.
Cangshu stopped her for the first time, almost pleading, "Miss Yushu, could you please save the Prime Minister first? I'm afraid he won't make it... I can go and keep an eye on the Yusu Nunnery for you."
Xie Yushu hesitated for a moment, but she thought, Song Jie survived until the palace chaos several months later in the original drama, so he shouldn't be dead now, right?
It's no use for Cang Shu to keep an eye on Yu Su Nu Temple. What they should do now is to restore Xiao Dao's prince status before Xiao Zhen reacts. Otherwise, once Xiao Zhen realizes that he and the female lead have joined forces, the plot might change.
"I'll be right back." Xie Yushu pushed his arm away and strode out of the room.
Amidst the rumbling thunder, Cang Shu turned to look at Xie Yushu, who was walking with her maid through the lightning-stirred corridor without looking back or hesitating.
In her heart, it seemed that nothing was more important than the Prime Minister's life.
#
A bolt of lightning struck.
Wan Susu was so frightened that her soul almost left her body, and her face turned deathly pale.
"What's wrong, nun?" Her personal maid wrapped her in a blanket and asked, "You've been like this since you came back from the hermitage. Has something happened?"
Something has happened.
Wan Susu stared blankly at the thunder outside the window, her mind a complete mess. Even if she were stupid, she could understand what the Prince Song meant by those words. The Prince Song was telling her that Zhen'er was not her biological son...
How could this be? This is impossible. Zhen'er was raised by her side since he was a child. How could he not be her biological son? If Zhen'er isn't, then her biological son...
She couldn't even imagine that Zhen'er wasn't her biological son; just thinking about it made her feel like the sky was falling.
Zhen'er must be her own son. She cannot doubt Zhen'er based on a single sentence from an assassin. She absolutely cannot.
She was restless and covered in cold sweat. A maid wiped her sweat and touched her forehead, exclaiming in surprise, "Why is your forehead so hot? Are you sick? I'll summon Master Yu Miao to examine you..."
“No, don’t disturb Yu Miao.” Wan Susu grabbed her hand: “I want to see Zhen’er…” She would feel at ease once she saw her Zhen’er.
Before the words were even finished, a maidservant announced from outside the door: "Miss Yushu requests an audience."
Jade Book?
Wan Susu looked over in surprise. Why would Yu Shu come on such a rainy night?
Before she could react, the door was gently pushed open, and Xie Yushu stood outside looking at her, his eyes shining brightly in the lightning and thunder: "Is Yusu Nu Temple feeling unwell?"
Wan Susu was startled by Xie Yushu's words, "Yushu, why are you at Yuqing Temple so late?"
"My mother is unwell, so I came to check on her." Xie Yushu pushed open the door and walked in, his eyes scrutinizing Wan Susu. Wan Susu looked terrible, as if she had been frightened. "What happened at Yusu Nunnery? Has something happened?"
Wan Susu avoided her gaze guiltily, "I'm fine, I was just startled by the thunder. How is your mother?"
“She was also frightened.” Xie Yushu leaned closer to her and said softly, “She said she heard a woman’s wailing tonight, like she was talking about a child or something.”
Wan Susu looked at her, her eyes filled with near terror. "A woman's wails? She... what else did she hear?"
Xie Yushu glanced at the maid beside her and said softly, "Master, may I speak with you alone?"
"What do you want to talk about?" Wan Susu clutched the blanket to her chest, her whole body tense.
She leaned close to Wan Susu's ear and whispered, "I learned something from Prime Minister Song that I'd like to talk to you about."
Wan Susu took a half-step back like a frightened bird, staring at her. Almost without hesitation, she ordered her maid to leave first.
As soon as the door closed, she asked, "What did Song Jie say to you? Wasn't he unconscious? Has he woken up again?"
"By asking this, isn't the lady implying that you saw Song Jie tonight?" Xie Yushu sighed softly. "Why would a reclusive imperial concubine meet with a young prime minister so late at night?"
Wan Susu's face turned pale and then red. Realizing she had said the wrong thing, she stepped forward and grabbed Xie Yushu's hand: "I treated you like family, so I spoke to you without any guard up. Yushu, would you repay kindness with enmity and harm me?"
Xie Yushu was taken aback by the question. Looking at Wan Susu's innocent and beautiful face, which was beyond her years, he slowly took her hand in return: "Of course I would not harm you. I will always remember your kindness to me and my mother. If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't be standing here now."
At that moment, she decided that she didn't need to use any tricks with Wan Susu, who was just an innocent victim.
“I did see Song Jie, but he is still unconscious and didn’t say anything to me.” Xie Yushu pulled her to sit down. “I came to confirm something important with you.”
"What's the important matter?" Wan Susu asked her anxiously.
Xie Yushu lowered his voice: "Have you ever considered that perhaps Xiao Zhen is not your son?"
Wan Susu's face turned ashen, and she trembled uncontrollably, her pale lips quivering slightly: "You said the same thing... Why did you say the same thing? What did Yushu tell you?"
“An assassin suddenly appeared at the palace banquet tonight. The assassin seemed to be called the Prince of Song.” Xie Yushu observed Wan Susu’s expression and said to her, “I was summoned to the Emperor’s bedchamber and overheard some things there.”
Wan Susu was so nervous that she couldn't speak. She held her hand tightly, waiting for her to continue.
Xie Yushu mixed truth into lies, telling her, "His Majesty seems to have ordered Pei Heng to investigate the matter of the prince being kidnapped when you gave birth. His Majesty seems to suspect that the prince was switched back then."
Wan Susu's entire body drained of color, her eyes wide with disbelief and tears streaming down her face. "Even the Emperor suspects Zhen'er isn't... How is that possible? How could my child be switched? Yushu, how could this be? There must be a mistake, it must be that assassin trying to frame Zhen'er..."
Her emotions were almost out of control; she kept denying things, trembling, and unconsciously shedding tears.
Xie Yushu reached out and hugged her trembling, stiff body, and said softly, "Please calm down. If you panic now, who will investigate this matter? If Xiao Zhen is your biological son, you should help him dispel this rumor and prevent the Emperor from doubting his identity again. If Xiao Zhen is not, you should calm down and find your child."
Wan Susu tried to calm down, but her mind was in complete chaos, and she burst into tears as if the sky were falling: "How could Zhen'er not be my child? I raised him from such a small child until now... How could he not be? If he isn't, where has my child been taken? All these years... Is he still alive? Where is he suffering?"
Xie Yushu really wanted to tell him about Xiaodao's existence, but he couldn't now.
She is still unsure whether Xiao Zhen, Xiao Dao, or Wan Susu will side with her.
She needed Wan Susu to stand firmly on Xiao Dao's side, she needed more people to support Xiao Dao, and she also needed to make the matter of the real and fake princes bigger and bigger.
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Author's Note: I'm here! Sorry to keep you waiting!
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