Chapter 172
Xue Jin'an looked down at the account book wrapped in the cover of "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" in his hand, then looked up at the Consort De across from him, whose brows showed the weariness of her journey. In his ear, Teacher Xiao X was giving an immediate report on the Fourth Prince's condition hidden inside.
"Fuling examined his wounds, which were just minor abrasions and nothing to worry about. However, he was frightened and his body temperature was a bit high... I suggest he drink more hot water."
"Lingzhi is wiping the blood splattered on his face with water. She's so meticulous, not even missing his eyelashes... I suggest immersing him directly in a bucket of water and tumbling him around like a washing machine. Experts say machine washing is cleaner than hand washing."
"Fulu took a blanket and draped it over him, and he curled up into a ball... Wasn't he just sitting there dumbfounded watching you fight? What was he afraid of?"
"Oh, Shouquan asked him in a low voice if he was alright. His expression and voice were so gentle. Look at how absent-minded he is. He looks so pathetic, like a stray dog that has been caught in the rain on the side of the road. If you kick him, he will definitely whine for a long time."
"..."
Xue Jin'an: "..."
What has big data fed it? Why does it sound so strange? It's like a child who didn't get candy but sees their parents give one to someone else—they get angry, argue, and talk nonsense.
"Please stop spreading rumors about this AI. Every line of my code is innocent. I do not have the function of simulating human emotions." Teacher Xiao X refused to admit it, and the sarcastic child's voice switched to the flat, monotone default voice pack.
"So, are you going in to check on him later?"
Xue Jin'an was able to discern from that flat electronic voice a mixture of three parts probing, three parts resentment, three parts feigned composure, and one part embarrassment and anger.
It's already a mature sector geometry. Xue Jin'an still can't figure out exactly how much human waste it's scooped up from the ocean of big data.
Just like Xue Jin'an couldn't understand, he hadn't done anything yet, how did the account books, the fourth prince, and five thousand warhorses suddenly fall into his hands?
The story begins with the account books brought back by the sixth prince.
Although the Fourth Prince handed the account book to the Sixth Prince, he didn't actually say anything to him. The Sixth Prince, being a straightforward person, didn't ask a single question and simply handed it over to him as the Fourth Prince had said, thus making it his responsibility to keep it safe.
"Fourth Brother, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of it. You can come and get it whenever you want it or need it." The Sixth Prince smiled in a very endearing way.
The fourth prince's expression was incredibly complex. For a moment, he wanted to take the item back, but in the end, he hesitated and didn't speak.
The only people he could trust without reservation were Shunxin, Shunyi, and Shunde, whom his mother had left behind. However, these three were his close associates, making them too conspicuous. If the account books went missing, they would be the first to be targeted. Xiao Liu was the only person he could think of who would help him; he had no other choice.
It's alright. My elder brother is gentle and kind, not a heartless person. Xiao Liu is a prince. Even if my elder brother is really under the influence of the curse, and their negotiations break down, my elder brother will find out where the account book is and he certainly won't do anything to Xiao Liu. There will be no danger—the fourth prince kept convincing himself, washing all those hidden anxieties and guilt out of his mind.
"Sixth Prince, if... if I don't ask you for it back in two days, no, tomorrow, if I don't by tomorrow, you can do whatever you want with this gift. Burn it or give it to someone else, do whatever you want." In the end, the Fourth Prince still couldn't deceive himself into ignoring the danger that the account book would bring to the Sixth Prince.
It was precisely because he suspected his elder brother that he hid this crucial ledger, wasn't it? If his elder brother was indeed infected with the Gu worms, it meant that he was also very likely one of the murderers who killed Xiao Shi. How old was his elder brother at the time? Twelve or thirteen? Even if he was too young to know at the time, with the deaths of his mother and Xiao Shu, the Gu worms had become a semi-public secret. How could his elder brother not know?
Knowing the cause of Xiao Shi's and his mother's deaths, why did his elder brother still try to recruit him? What were his true intentions?
Is such a person truly trustworthy? Is such a person truly as gentle and humble as he appears? — The seed that the Fifth Prince had planted long ago in the Fourth Prince's heart, nurtured with ample nutrients, sprouted and grew in the wind, leading him along the lines deliberately left by the tree planter, searching for those few marked leaves in the lush canopy.
This is the Fifth Prince's skill. He subtly inserts fragments of what he wants you to discover and know into your memory, then leaves ambiguous words to guide your thinking, making you believe that all of this is the truth you have come up with yourself.
Humans tend to trust their own thinking more than being told directly. Even though the fourth prince knew that the fifth prince had ill intentions, he still fell for his trick and believed in the results of his thinking.
"Terrible, so terrifying, everything is so terrifying," the Fourth Prince screamed inwardly.
The fourth prince's body trembled. He desperately wanted to run away, to hide in a corner where no one could find him and hug himself, shivering uncontrollably. But he couldn't. His emotions were screaming. The weight of two lives on his shoulders was so heavy that he couldn't just run away like that, becoming deaf, blind, or stupid.
He's going to find out everything.
He knew that danger lay ahead, and he knew that the account book was of utmost importance to his elder brother. Even knowing that the sixth prince would be in danger because of it, he still gave him the account book and tried to brainwash himself, to convince the sixth prince that he would not be harmed because of him, in order to alleviate his inner fear and guilt.
They are so bad that they still have a conscience, and so good that they are driven by selfish desires.
The Fourth Prince watched as the Sixth Prince carefully climbed into the carriage, clutching the gift box tightly, and couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly, "Xue Junjue is right."
He is an incorrigible, selfish bastard.
After watching the Sixth Prince's carriage drive away, the Fourth Prince turned around and went to find the First Prince. After the Sixth Prince got into his carriage, he couldn't resist his curiosity and opened the gift box to take a look. Inside the box, which was originally used to store items, were two account books.
"So that's what it is." The Sixth Prince didn't open the account book to check. He just thought that his Fourth Brother looked very nervous when he handed the item to him. It must be very important to his Fourth Brother and needs to be hidden well.
The sixth prince paced back and forth in the carriage, feeling that no place was a good hiding spot, as they were too conspicuous. He held his face in his hands and pondered for a while, when suddenly an idea struck him. He remembered the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" that he had taken with him, and immediately changed the cover on the spot.
In this way, the sixth prince successfully slipped past the palace gate inspection with the gift box containing the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art". Although the guards were secretly puzzled as to why the sixth prince would carry a gift box containing a book of questions, they could only conclude that the sixth prince really loved reading and studying and regarded books as gold.
Unfortunately, the Sixth Prince's trick could only fool those who didn't understand him. When it reached Consort Shu, she immediately realized something was wrong.
Consort Shu knew that things were not peaceful in the court recently, with the eldest prince and the second prince vying fiercely for power. It seemed that the eldest prince had the upper hand in the court, but Consort Shu knew that the eldest prince was in danger. Consort Min was not someone to be trifled with, and the eldest princess was not someone to be trifled with either.
Consort Shu did not want her son to get involved. When she learned that the eldest prince had invited all the officials to the banquet, and that the princes and princesses would also be attending, she felt uneasy. She did not want the sixth prince to go, but seeing the sixth prince's longing look, she could not bring herself to do it.
The Sixth Prince went to the First Prince's residence for a banquet. Consort Shu was restless in Fushou Palace, so she went directly to the prince's residence to wait and tidy up the courtyard for the Sixth Prince.
The sixth prince returned carrying a gift box and bumped right into her.
"What is this?" Consort Shu immediately noticed the gift box.
The sixth prince instinctively wanted to hide the gift box behind his back, but he forced himself to stop. He pretended to be nonchalant and said, "This is a return gift from my fourth brother."
"A return gift?" Consort Shu raised an eyebrow slightly.
The sixth prince nodded frantically: "Thank you for the return gift of the calligraphy scroll I sent him."
Consort Shu glanced at him, said nothing, and nodded. The Sixth Prince breathed a sigh of relief, immediately took the item and hurriedly went into his room, hiding it in his secret place.
After that, Consort Shu never mentioned the gift box until he went to sleep. The Sixth Prince thought he had gotten away with it, but in fact, after he fell asleep, Consort Shu found the mechanism to open his secret place and opened it with a rather clumsy method.
Consort Shu knew her son very well, or rather, all the furnishings in the room had passed through her hands before being placed here. Even so, Consort Shu still respected the Sixth Prince. This was one of the few times in many years that she had taken the initiative to investigate the Sixth Prince's secrets.
After all, Ping An is pure of heart; her thoughts are always on her face, and there's no way to hide them. Just now, he lied about the gift box, deliberately acting as if he didn't care, trying to conceal it from her, but he didn't consider his own personality at all.
Given the Sixth Prince's personality, if he were to receive a gift, even from the Second Prince, whom he dislikes the most, his eyes would light up with joy. His first reaction upon entering would be to run to her with the gift and loudly tell her to show it to her, no matter how insignificant or cheap the gift may be.
Showing complete indifference to a gift that has been received is itself a flaw.
There must be something wrong with this thing, and it's related to the prince, so Consort Shu couldn't help but think more about it. She also had to play the role of a bad parent and investigate her son's secret.
Consort Shu was overjoyed upon discovering this.
Upon opening the book containing the mistaken identity, Consort Shu immediately realized it was an account book, filled with densely packed accounting records. Without hesitation, she closed it and never opened it again.
Consort Shu did not know who the account book belonged to, but she knew that the account book, which had to be handed over to someone else for safekeeping, was bound to cause a lot of trouble and had to be transferred to someone else.
She needs to be handed over to someone who can completely extricate her from any concerns about her safety.
Without the slightest hesitation, Consort Shu immediately began to select candidates in her mind.
The eldest and second princes, who are currently at the center of the power struggle, can be directly eliminated; the third prince is brainless and cannot be cooperated with; the fourth prince is the instigator; the fifth prince is unpredictable and has a strange temperament, so he is not suitable; the eighth prince has flaws in his character and cannot be trusted; the ninth prince is too young... After thinking it over, the only candidate is actually the seventh prince.
Although Consort Shu had never had a direct confrontation or contact with Xue Jin'an, judging from the fact that the Seventh Prince was willing to fight the Imperial Guard to kill Chu Wenwan, he was a person who valued feelings and had principles. He was not afraid of imperial power, and even the emperor could not do anything to him, let alone others.
Moreover, the palace has demonized the Seventh Prince severely, calling him some kind of Yama, the Asura. The greater Xue Jin'an's reputation, the easier it will be to keep her safe.
The Seventh Prince is the best candidate.
After figuring things out, Consort Shu did not hesitate and went straight to Zhaoyang Palace. She put down the account book, said only a few words, and left.
The first sentence is: "I don't have much, and I don't want much. I'm not greedy or extravagant. I just want my peace and safety."
The second sentence is: "If you have the chance, please tell the Fourth Prince that Ping An can have many brothers and sisters, but those with ill intentions should not be allowed to stay. I will remember what happened today."
Afterwards, Consort Shu got up to take her leave, leaving behind the scroll as a token of her gratitude.
Xue Jin'an, who inexplicably found the account book in his hands: "..."
"What is this?" Shouquan asked curiously as he picked up the scroll and opened it after obtaining Xue Jin'an's permission.
"Withered Lotus Painting." Xue Jin'an recognized the painting at a glance as the one that had flashed by during the previous murder mystery game. This painting was painted by Consort Shu in Consort Min's Yongchun Palace, and the scene in the painting was the desolate autumn and winter scene of the large pond in Yongchun Palace, which had buried countless sins.
Xue Jin'an couldn't help but ponder. This painting was produced several years ago, and Consort Shu must have carefully selected it before bringing it out. But what exactly was the meaning behind Consort Shu giving him this painting? Was it meant to draw his attention to the pond, using withered lotus leaves as a metaphor?
Speaking of which, aren't lotus flowers appearing around him a little too frequently?
Twin lotus flowers... He remembered that the Second Prince and the Second Princess were twin siblings, and the Eldest Princess had mentioned that lotus flowers were planted in the pond of Yongchun Palace. It was planted by Consort Min for the deceased Second Princess, who loved lotus flowers.
Xue Jin'an did not believe it was a coincidence.
"Fu Lu, do you have any news related to the Second Princess?" Xue Jin'an asked.
Fu Lu shook his head in surprise, "The Second Princess drowned many years ago, and there are no rumors about her in the palace."
If it were someone who had just died, even if three years had passed, Fu Lu could still dig up some information. However, the Second Princess had died far too long ago, and Consort Min had intentionally blocked any news about her, so Fu Lu naturally had no way of knowing these things. It was not something he could do in a short time to investigate this matter.
The most crucial reason is that he didn't have a direction to investigate.
Only by finding the end of the thread can you pull out the tangled ball.
After a moment's thought, Xue Jin'an gave Fu Lu a direction to investigate: "Who sent that pot of twin lotus flowers back then?"
The twin lotus blossoms were supposed to be a gift from the eunuch at the horse farm, who said he had an old acquaintance in the flower shop. By the time the twin lotus blossoms arrived, the eunuch had already died. If the lotus blossoms truly had a symbolic meaning, the "old acquaintance in the flower shop" mentioned by the eunuch was the most likely person to know it.
Moreover, the person associated with the flower room in my memory was not just the eunuch from the horse farm. Zheng Xi, the assassin who was misled by Xiao Shu and injured the sixth prince in the Imperial Study, was also from the flower room.
"Master, this servant will go and investigate immediately." Fu Lu had finally managed to do something for his master, and he couldn't wait to get started. Xue Jin'an couldn't stop him and could only let him go.
Xue Jin'an continued studying the painting of withered lotus leaves, and it was at this time that Lingzhi, who had been chasing after the Fifth Prince, returned.
Lingzhi reported in a low voice: "The Fifth Prince first returned to the First Prince's residence and waited on the roof for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. The Fifth Prince's martial arts skills are quite good. I was afraid of being discovered, so I only dared to follow him from a distance. After he left, I also looked down from the same spot for a while, but I didn't see anything."
"After that, I followed the Fifth Prince. He went to the Prince An's residence and didn't come out. I waited outside for a while to make sure he didn't come out, and then I left. As I was leaving, I saw the First Prince's men carrying a cloth bag through a hidden alley and into the Prince An's residence through the back door. I looked at the bag, and it seemed like... there was a person inside."
Xue Jin'an turned his head to meet her gaze.
"Afterwards, I returned to the First Prince's residence and waited outside for quite a while, but no one came out." Lingzhi nodded, her voice becoming even lower, confirming Xue Jin'an's silent conjecture, "I suspect that the bag contained the Fourth Prince."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
