Chapter 150: The first one I'm anxious about is about to finish.
Prince Kang walked out of the imperial study with unsteady steps. The winter weather was bitterly cold, and his body was covered in cold sweat as if it had frozen, making him feel chilled to the bone.
He descended the steps one by one, his hands clenched tightly beneath his sleeves, almost making a cracking sound from his knuckles. Once he had walked a distance from the imperial study, a sinister look appeared on his face.
He glanced back in the direction of the Imperial Study, a strange smile playing on his lips. He walked a short distance further, then turned onto a path and stopped near a rockery.
After waiting for a while, a young eunuch came over. When he got closer, the young eunuch looked around carefully, and after walking behind the artificial hill, he immediately bowed to Prince Kang and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Prince Kang gave a faint "hmm" and asked, "Who had been to the Imperial Study before I came here?"
The young eunuch thought for a moment and said, "His Highness Prince An stayed in the Imperial Study for about a quarter of an hour."
Prince Kang narrowed his eyes and then asked, "Did you hear what he said to the Emperor?"
The young eunuch shook his head. "I serve outside the Imperial Study and cannot get close to it."
Prince Kang gave him a disapproving look, and the little eunuch lowered his head even further. However, Prince Kang did not reprimand him, but instead tossed him a sachet and turned to leave. The little eunuch opened the sachet, saw a silver ingot inside, grinned, and then quickly left.
After leaving the palace, King Kang hesitated for a moment and said to the sedan chair bearers, "Go to the Yafeng Tea House on Noble Street."
The sedan bearers responded, and Prince Kang then said to his attendants, "Go to Prince An's residence and tell him that I wish to invite my sixth brother for tea. Be careful not to be discovered."
The attendant responded and left immediately. King Kang got into the sedan chair, and a strange smile appeared on his face again.
Prince An's Mansion
Prince An was fiddling with the new bow and arrows made by Prince Rui in his study when a member of the Imperial Guard came in after announcing his arrival. The guard reported, "Prince Kang was summoned to the palace by the Emperor, but came out again after about half an hour. There was nothing unusual about his demeanor."
Prince An sneered, "He's always putting on an act. How can you read his mind from his face?"
Just then, another voice came from outside; it was the steward. Prince An let him in, and the steward reported, "Your Highness, Prince Kang's personal attendant has arrived, saying that His Highness Prince Kang wishes to invite Your Highness for tea."
Prince An was taken aback upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "It seems my dear elder brother is truly anxious!"
Otherwise, how could you make such a basic mistake?
“Tell the people of the Kang King that I am busy,” said the An King.
The steward acknowledged and left. Prince An thought for a moment, then took out a blank sheet of paper, picked up a pen, and wrote: "Father, my elder brother invited me for tea. I thought it over and decided not to go, but I fear he will resent me for not being brotherly. I don't know how to handle this, so I've decided to inform Father..."
After writing it, he put the letter in an envelope and handed it to the Imperial Guard, saying, "Send it to the palace."
After receiving the letter, the Imperial Guard left. Prince An then summoned another Imperial Guard and ordered, "Keep a close eye on Prince Kang."
"Yes." The Imperial Guard withdrew, and Prince An stood by the window, looking at the night outside. The moon was crescent-shaped tonight, but it still chased away the darkness, casting a cold light on the scenery outside.
“The first one who’s in a hurry is about to be finished,” Prince An said with a slight upturn of his lips.
Imperial Study
After meeting Prince Kang, the Emperor was extremely depressed, but he suppressed all his displeasure and sat behind his desk, burying himself in reading memorials until the second watch of the night.
Zhao Fuquan gently reminded him, "Your Majesty, it's time to rest."
The emperor stretched his aching shoulders, glanced at the stack of unread memorials, and was about to continue reviewing them when Zhao Fuquan quickly said, "Your Majesty, your health is important; you should rest."
The emperor grunted in agreement, stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said, "Prepare for a bath."
At his age, with seven sons, he had long since fulfilled his duty of fathering offspring, so there was no need for him to frequently visit the harem. Anyone who has worked all day wants to sleep and rest as soon as possible, even with three thousand beauties in the harem.
With a smile on his face, Zhao Fuquan helped the emperor toward his bedchamber. They had only gone halfway when a young eunuch appeared at the door. Zhao Fuquan helped the emperor into the bathroom and, while the palace maids were changing the emperor's clothes, came to the door.
The young eunuch presented a letter and whispered, "It was sent from the Prince An's residence."
Zhao Fuquan glanced at the letter in his hand, sensing that its contents wouldn't be good news for the emperor, but he had no right to decide whether or not to show it to the emperor. With a sigh, he took the letter into the bathroom.
The emperor was already lying in the bath, and two palace maids were massaging his shoulders and washing his arms. Zhao Fuquan walked over quietly and stood to one side, saying, "Your Majesty, Prince An has sent a letter."
The emperor frowned, and after a while said, "Read it aloud."
"Yes." Zhao Fuquan tore open the letter and read aloud, "Father, my elder brother invites me for tea..."
"What exactly does he want?" After hearing the contents of the letter, the emperor sat up straight and gritted his teeth, saying, "He really wants me to die so he can ascend the throne as soon as possible!"
Several palace maids were so frightened that they knelt on the ground. Zhao Fuquan stood to the side with his head down, not daring to speak. The emperor sat in the bath for a while with a tense face, then relaxed and leaned against the edge of the bath, saying, "Continue."
Several palace maids didn't immediately understand what "continue" meant and remained kneeling. Zhao Fuqiang quickly said, "What are you standing there for?"
Several palace maids hurriedly rose to continue attending to the emperor's bath, while the emperor kept his eyes closed, seemingly enjoying himself as if nothing had happened. Standing to the side, Zhao Fuquan sighed deeply; Prince Kang was truly doomed this time.
If the emperor had punished him after becoming angry, there might have been room for maneuver. However, the fact that the emperor became angry but did nothing indicates that the emperor no longer regarded Prince Kang as his son, and that the emperor was plotting how to eliminate Prince Kang without affecting the court.
After all, Prince Kang was renowned for his virtue, and many court officials held him in high regard.
Chu State Duke's Mansion
Around midnight, Jiang Yu had just finished bathing and lay down when she heard Liao Mama's voice from outside, "Miss, Steward Li has arrived."
Jiang Yu opened her eyes. The fact that Butler Li had come at this time meant something important was definitely happening. She sat up. "Have Butler Li wait in the study."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chunxue and Xiahe came in to help her get dressed. After a quick tidying up, she went into the study, where Li Zhong immediately bowed and said, "Miss, Prince Kang has been summoned to the palace and will be out in half an hour."
Jiang Yu sat in the chair in silence for a moment, then asked, "How's the investigation going?"
It has been found out that "Xiang Yonghe's wife is the illegitimate daughter of Consort Xian's cousin."
Consort Xian was the mother of the eldest prince, Prince Kang.
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