Xu Yixing was surprised, but he finally understood why his uncle hated his father so much. He must have known that his father had recovered but was pretending to be sick, and it must have been very difficult for him to endure it.
"Is Chao Jianyi your man?"
"No." Bai Yu waved his hand. "Why would I have any dealings with an imperial physician, especially one close to the emperor?"
"That?"
"I just happened to help him, and he insisted on repaying me for this favor." Bai Yu said this "favor" lightly, but what kind of favor could make Chao Guoan repay it with his life?
Xu Yixing is not a fool. This kind of fatal favor will probably lead to the extermination of his entire clan.
"The 'favor' that uncle mentioned, can he take the risk to help me observe the emperor's daily life? This is a serious matter, uncle, please don't cheat me." Xu Yixing was half coquettish and half warning, and Bai Yu didn't mind her tone at all.
"nature."
"Okay, so how do I get the message to him?"
"This is your business now. I said everything you do next has nothing to do with me."
Xu Yixing was speechless. It seemed his uncle and Imperial Physician Chao didn't have a regular contact. But then again, his uncle had just said this man's past had nothing to do with him. It seemed the two of them were incredibly distant. Furthermore, his uncle downplayed the "favor" so lightly, suggesting Chao Jianyi was being overly enthusiastic.
"Then how can I let him know that I am one of ours?"
Bai Yu was amused by this tongue-twister, but when he thought about the topic at hand, he quickly put his smile aside. "You just need to find an opportunity to ask him if the wine from Chengping Street is still good, and he'll know."
"Is the wine from Chengping Street good?" Xu Yixing repeated these words over and over again, but still couldn't figure out the meaning of the words. Chengping Street was indeed a street in the capital, but she was not familiar with it, and it was not close to the city. Could there be some good wine there?
"Yes. I've given you the person. You can handle the matter on your own. I still have to go back to the palace. You'd better be careful." After saying this, Bai Yu turned around and left. But when he left, he looked back with hope. Even Xu Yixing couldn't make out all the emotions in his eyes.
Although his uncle left in a hurry, Xu Yixing did not get angry. He slowly finished the food on the table which was no longer very hot, and then slowly returned to the palace.
Lu Anyuan is not in the mansion today. Several princes have all gone to the funeral of Xiaoling outside the capital and will not return until tomorrow. This gives her enough space to do things.
At night, although she was already drowsy and the account book in front of her almost turned into the smell of benzoin, she still forced herself to stay awake and wait. She was waiting for Ying Jiu to come back.
There was a slight click, the sound of the window curtain being closed, which instantly drove away Xu Yixing's sleepiness. He quickly stuck his head out of the bed and saw Ying Jiu standing in the hall with a cold look on his face.
"how?"
"I've already met with Chao Jianyi. Just as you said, his face darkened after hearing what I said. He even took me into his secret room for a conversation."
"How is the emperor's condition?" This is the question Xu Yixing wants to know most at the moment. The reason why he asked this right at the beginning is to test whether Chao Jianyi is really useful.
"The Emperor was injured in the waist, stabbed with a dagger. Imperial Physician Chao said it's not life-threatening and that his fainting was caused by a combination of sadness, injury, and fatigue. It's not a lie."
"This...is this his exact words or did you summarize it yourself?"
"That's what he said."
Wow, it seems that this guy is not only useful, but also courageous. He dares to say so bluntly something that the emperor has ordered not to be spread. He is worthy of being Chao Guoan's son.
"He also said that the wound was caused by a maidservant of the Empress Dowager. No one knows where that person got the dagger from. She took advantage of the confrontation between the Emperor and Prince Cheng and suddenly attacked, which is why the Emperor was seriously injured."
"Madame Han..." Xu Yixing immediately thought of that old woman. It was the one who had trembled when Prince Cheng was tied up like a dumpling. She seemed injured too, and she hadn't expected to have any more tricks up her sleeve. It seemed that after Lu Anyuan and he left, Yi'an Palace had been bustling with activity. No wonder the emperor was so determined to starve the empress dowager to death, unwilling to even offer her support.
"So, did he agree to my request to keep an eye on the Emperor's daily life?"
"Yes, without hesitation."
This put Xu Yi in a difficult position. Her original plan was to prescribe a chronic medication to the emperor after confirming the trustworthiness of the person, but this person turned out to be an imperial physician. While imperial physicians were very useful in concealing the emperor's illness, they would also be the first to bear the brunt of the consequences if any abnormality in the emperor's health was discovered.
Not to mention whether Chao Jianyi was willing to bear the crime of beheading, he himself did not want to see the people his uncle had given him being killed and buried with the emperor.
"Well, there's no rush now. Let me observe for a while. Maybe there will be other variables. Is there any place selling alcohol on Chengping Street?" Xu Yixing asked suddenly. Ying Jiu didn't react and didn't know how to answer.
"I think so..."
"Tomorrow, have someone go to Chengping Street and write down all the liquor shops there. Write down their names, owners, what kind of liquor they sell, and how their business is going. Write it all down for me to see."
"yes."
Since they were going to use him, they naturally had to investigate everything about him. Unfortunately, Chao Jianyi's background was too clean. The Chao family was a family of imperial physicians. His father had even risked his life to cry out, "Your Majesty has been poisoned," during Lu Chiyan's rebellion, exposing Lu Chiyan's scheme. Later, he joined the Imperial Hospital, earning him great favor from the Emperor and commanding it at a young age.
Why would such a person betray the emperor? Or why would my uncle have any gratitude towards such a person?
He hadn't slept well that night. Xu Yixing kept dreaming of Chao Jianyi being discovered for drugging someone and then being executed by slow slicing. He also dreamed of himself finally escaping the capital, only to be dragged into the capital by Lu Anyuan, his ankles tied, behind a horse. He also dreamed of his former corpse transformed into a skeleton, still following him closely, unable to shake it off...
In short, after having countless consecutive dreams, she finally woke up in a sweat, and kicked over the hot water bottle at her feet while struggling.
The loud bang startled her awake completely.
There was a rustling sound outside the bed curtains, and then the curtains were suddenly pulled open. Lu Anyuan looked at her with a slightly puzzled look on his face. "What's wrong, Yixing?"
Xu Yixing held his head in his hands. This dream was too scary. Even after waking up, he still felt a lingering fear. "What did you just call me?"
"Um, I mean Madam." In fact, the two of them had already agreed that he should not call her by her real name even at home, otherwise if someone heard it one day, it would easily cause trouble.
"I haven't heard you call my name for a long time. When I suddenly heard it, I really missed it." Xu Yixing showed his face and forced a smile.
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