Chapter 81
School.
"Xiao Qi is sick."
When Zhiyi arrived at the academy, she saw that the fourth, fifth and sixth princes were all looking behind her. "Stop looking. There's nothing to see."
Even Dahei didn't come today. He stayed at home with the two-legged animal cubs he raised.
The fifth prince became nervous: "Is it serious?"
Zhiyi greeted Yuan Jie'er who was sitting in the reading companion seat, took out the book, and thought for a moment: "Compared to the usual, this is just a minor problem."
They in Shunning Palace have extremely rich experience. Zhiyi feels that she is almost proficient in it. She has watched the imperial physician prepare medicines for many years and can memorize some basic prescriptions.
The fifth prince breathed a sigh of relief, but a sense of guilt rose in his heart.
If Xiaoqi hadn't come to see him last night and gave him his cloak and umbrella, he wouldn't have gotten sick.
He quickly arranged the writing brush, ink, paper, and books for the Sixth Prince, and then returned to his seat. Unlike his usual silence, he smiled a flattering smile.
Zhiyi saw this and sighed slightly.
After school, the fifth prince still followed the sixth prince closely.
The Sixth Prince turned around, a little impatient: "What on earth do you want?"
The fifth prince hesitated: "Sixth brother, can I follow you to Xiuxiang Palace? I have something I want to see the imperial concubine."
"Oh... I was wondering why you are so smart today. It turns out you have something to ask of me." The Sixth Prince patted him on the shoulder. "It's nothing. Let's go."
The fifth prince breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiuxiang Palace.
The fifth prince knelt before Imperial Concubine Lan, "Please, Imperial Concubine, save my mother!"
Concubine Lan tried to pull him up, but seeing it was useless, she didn't force it.
She sat on a stool, picked up a cup of tea and scraped off the foam with the lid: "Actually, your mother is not a concubine, so you shouldn't call her mother concubine. It's just that everyone tacitly agrees in private."
The Fifth Prince: “Yes.”
Concubine Lan: "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I am powerless. The cloth was given by her, and I just gave it to Ding Changzai, it has nothing to do with me."
The Fifth Prince: "But isn't your relationship with mother usually very good?"
Concubine Lan said earnestly: "It is precisely because of the good relationship that we have to avoid suspicion. Why don't you go ask your mother why she wants to harm Ding Changzai?"
This statement has already confirmed the crime.
The fifth prince raised his head suddenly: "My mother is definitely not the murderer!"
Concubine Lan: "You were not at the scene, so you naturally don't know the situation at that time."
The Fifth Prince grabbed her skirt and said, "My Lady Imperial Concubine, can you please ask for mercy for my mother? Don't let her stay in the inner prison, even if it's fine to have her confined to Changchun Palace! I, I will definitely listen to you and the Sixth Prince in the future!"
Concubine Lan: "You are also a pitiful person. How about this? I will not care about your mother's ill intentions. I will support you in the future. From now on, you will belong to my Xiuxiang Palace. What do you think, Fifth Prince?"
The fifth prince loosened his grip.
Concubine Lan said in a bored tone: "Lian Zhu, please send the guest away."
The fifth prince stood up in a daze and followed Lian Zhu out.
A conversation between Concubine Lan and the Sixth Prince could be heard from inside: "Mother, why don't you help him? He is usually very nice to me."
Concubine Lan: "Really? Then who is more important, him or the little eunuch who has been with you for many years?"
The Sixth Prince was conflicted: "It is more important to have someone accompany him." After all, the Fifth Prince couldn't be with him all the time.
Concubine Lan: "In your heart, he is not as good as a eunuch. Eunuchs are servants. Why are you helping someone who is not as good as a servant?"
The Sixth Prince: "Mother, you can't say that..."
Concubine Lan: "Alright, alright, be good, go study now."
The Fifth Prince did not turn around, and his expression did not show any strangeness. His fingers in his sleeves clenched silently.
He returned to Changxin Palace, and found a lot of valuable-looking jewelry in Rong Guiren's dressing box and his birthday gifts over the years, and then rushed to the inner prison.
The inner prison is close to the outer court, and further out is where officials work in the imperial city.
The area around here is empty and there is a team of guards guarding the door.
The fifth prince and his personal eunuch begged for a long time, but the leader of the guards refused to give in.
"Captain Wu?" A puzzled voice sounded, "You haven't left your post yet?"
The Fifth Prince, who was arguing with the Chief Guard, turned his head and saw a eunuch wearing the uniform of the chief eunuch. He had a handsome face and an inconspicuous scar at the end of his eyebrows.
Wen Xiaochun saluted: "Fifth Prince."
The Fifth Prince felt vaguely that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him for a moment.
The head of the Wu guards said with a smile, "Excuse me, Chief Manager Xiaochun. Is the Inspection and Transportation Department busy?"
Wen Xiaochun smiled and glanced at the jewelry and treasures that the Fifth Prince used to bribe the Captain of the Military Guards.
"We need to take a break. What's going on with you and the Fifth Prince?"
The head of the Wu guard said in embarrassment: "Your Highness the Fifth Prince wants to go in, but we have rules. You cannot enter the inner prison without orders from above."
Wen Xiaochun: "Sir Wu, we as clerks should not be too rigid sometimes. The Fifth Prince must have something very important to ask for. Aren't you going to be off duty soon? Just pretend you didn't see anything."
He gently pulled the head of the guard Wu over and whispered, "He is the prince after all, Sir Wu. For the sake of your promotion, you must not offend him."
Guard Chief Wu sighed: "Well, for your sake."
Wen Xiaochun: "We are family. I will be watching over the boy you sent to the inspection office. I will make sure he doesn't make any mistakes."
The chief guard Wu laughed.
When he turned around again, his appearance had changed. He waved at the guards and said, "It's worth it!"
The fifth prince was holding a box of gold, silver and jewelry and hadn't reacted yet.
Wen Xiaochun picked out a gold pendant from the box. It was the size of a palm-sized pig and was so heavy that he couldn't help but smile. This exaggerated yet familiar style was something he could tell who was behind it.
The fifth prince came back to his senses, "This, this is a birthday present from my seventh brother."
Wen Xiaochun: "Since it is a gift from His Highness's brother, we should keep it well. Wouldn't it be a waste of His Highness' sincerity to use it as a bribe?"
The fifth prince hugged the box tightly and said, "Thank you."
Wen Xiaochun bowed and said, "I just happened to pass by. I didn't see anything today, and I didn't say anything."
The fifth prince nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I know."
He hurried through the gate of the inner prison.
Wen Xiaochun then left, but not long after he left, he suddenly heard a chaotic noise coming from the door of the inner prison.
He looked from a distance.
A body covered with white cloth was carried out from the inner prison.
The Fifth Prince, who had just entered, staggered out with a pale face and panic in his eyes.
He knelt down in front of the corpse and tremblingly untied the white cloth.
Rong Guiren's face was exposed to the air, and the impact wound on her forehead was extremely glaring.
"Mother!" The fifth prince's voice was extremely shrill.
The low noise from all around reached the ears of the Fifth Prince, and Wen Xiaochun also heard bits and pieces of it.
"I heard that it was the maidservant beside Concubine Rong who confessed to the crime and pointed out that Concubine Rong had indeed framed the heir to the throne."
"Yes, and not long after that, Concubine Rong committed suicide by hitting her head against the wall."
"It is a great crime to frame the heir to the throne. I guess he did it to protect his family."
"Who knows..."
-
Purple Palace.
"This is the maid's confession."
Eunuch Yu presented two documents. "The following one is a copy. Concubine Rong wrote in blood on the wall. She requests Your Majesty not to involve her mother's family and to treat the fifth prince well."
Emperor Chongzhao flipped through it.
"Do you really think that it was all done by Noble Rong?"
Eunuch Yu couldn't help but protest. It must be tiring for him to always think about how to answer such a serious topic, right?
"Perhaps."
Emperor Chongzhao: "I have consulted the Astronomical Bureau to compare the horoscopes of the Second Princess and Xiaoliu, and they are not in conflict. Rumors are just rumors after all. But Imperial Concubine Lan didn't know that at the time. Out of love for her son, she may have taken action."
"Mr. Rong may have just been instructed."
Eunuch Yu asked cautiously, "What are your plans?"
Emperor Chongzhao: "The former dynasty and the harem are all involved. I will still be able to use Concubine Lan's father in the future."
Eunuch Yu understood his subtext and lowered his head: "Yes. Although Concubine Rong framed the heir to the throne, she has made great contributions in raising the fifth prince. I will take good care of Concubine Rong's funeral."
Emperor Chongzhao waved his hand.
"This matter ends here, and you are not allowed to mention it again. As for Xiaowu... let him move to the prince's residence in advance. He is almost ten years old now, and since he has left the harem, I will keep an eye on him in the future, and there is no need to look for his mother."
Eunuch Yu: “Yes.”
-
Changxin Palace.
Cai'er, the palace maid who served in the imperial court, told the Fifth Prince everything that Emperor Chongzhao had said in the Purple Palace.
Cai Er said nervously, "I just happened to go in to change the flowers in the vase outside, and I happened to hear the conversation between His Majesty and Eunuch Yu. Although it was behind a screen, I have had excellent hearing since I was a child, so I heard it clearly."
The fifth prince remained silent for a long time.
He seemed to have forgotten to breathe, and every inch of his body revealed a sense of numbness.
"It's up to you whether you believe it or not. I only dared to tell you this kind of thing because I was about to be transferred."
The fifth prince said hoarsely, "Thank you."
Cai Er shook her head: "I was almost beaten to death by Concubine Rong, and it was only because of your intercession that I was able to survive. If I can help you, it will be considered as repaying your life-saving grace."
She had deliberately taken over the task of Eunuch Bao to inform the Fifth Prince and prepare for Concubine Rong's funeral. Fortunately, Eunuch Bao felt that Changxin Palace was too far away and it was an unlucky job, so he was unwilling to come, so she had this opportunity to come here.
The fifth prince took out the small box containing the bribe again and gently pushed it forward.
"Since you're going to be transferred, just pick a few things. They're valuable after all."
Cai'er: "No, no, no, I can't have it."
The fifth prince: "What you returned to me is more than what I did." He picked out from the box a hairpin that Concubine Rong usually wore, and the little golden pig pendant that Qu Dubian had given him, and held the two things tightly in his palms.
"These two are all I need."
Cai'er didn't take his things after all. She said goodbye and left in a hurry.
The Fifth Prince suddenly laughed silently in the empty hall. As he laughed, tears began to fall one by one.
It turns out that my father knew that Concubine Lan was a suspect.
His mother's death was most likely caused by Concubine Lan, who wanted to get away with it. His father knew all of this...
But just because of the sentence "I can still use Concubine Lan's father", he can use the death of his mother to make up for the matter.
The fifth prince sat in the palace until dark, until his tears ran dry.
Something died in his heart instantly, and something else began to take root and sprout.
The eunuch outside the door finally couldn't help but come in and said worriedly: "Your Highness..."
The fifth prince stood up with the help of the table and walked to the door steadily.
"I'm fine. I still have mother's funeral affairs to take care of."
He put Concubine Rong's hairpin and the little golden pig pendant into his arms. Although they were obviously cold, he felt that these two things were the only things that could warm his body.
"Let's go."
-
After dealing with the funeral, the fifth prince moved into the prince's residence and subsequently fell seriously ill.
Ever since Qu Dubian learned that Concubine Rong had passed away, he had always wanted to meet the Fifth Prince, but the latter seemed to be avoiding him and did not allow anyone to visit him even when he was sick.
He saw the fifth prince again in the school ten days later.
The fifth prince has lost a lot of weight, but he still follows the sixth prince like a diligent and responsible little follower.
He raised his head and smiled gently at Qu Duanbian: "Morning, Xiao Qi."
He still looked the same, his facial features hadn't changed, his height hadn't changed, but he seemed to have grown up overnight. At first glance, Qu Watanabe even felt that he looked a little strange.
Qu Watanabe could only say as usual: "Good morning, Fifth Brother."
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