Chapter 28
The Princess's Mansion, September 3rd.
The sun was shining brightly, the wind was gentle and the weather was warm. The study window faced the pond outside, and the ripples were shimmering.
The reflection on the water surface was cast on the eaves and also on the paper of the person reading behind the window. He picked up the pen and was about to write a comment.
The eunuch hurried in and knelt behind the pearl curtain in the outer room.
Prince Shou didn't even glance at him and spoke lightly.
"What is it?"
Eunuch Wang Xuan replied, "I sent medicine to the Yue Mansion today. I heard that the eldest daughter of the Yue family has contracted the epidemic and is now in a coma."
Upon hearing this, Prince Shou, who had been sitting at the table indifferent, finally raised his eyes.
"Did Cui Hu know?"
Wang Xuan lowered her head. "I don't know yet. I heard that the Yue family has blocked the news and only sent this letter to the Princess's Mansion!"
Prince Shou frowned for a moment. Her meaning was clear to him. It was not that she did not want to fulfill her promise, but that life and death were determined by fate and it would be difficult for her to continue helping them achieve their goals.
He frowned, speechless at her outspoken loyalty. Even though she was forced into this matter, she still reported it to him before dying. He truly didn't understand why she did this.
She had never even asked him what he was doing, or what her role in getting involved was. She simply followed his lead and recklessly moved forward, as if she were his enemy in a past life, repaying his kindness with her own life.
But this was too absurd! He had grown up among tigers and wolves, and would rather trust a beast in sheep's clothing than take it lightly and reveal his trust.
Prince Shou thought for a moment and asked.
"What did the Imperial Hospital say?"
Wang Xuan replied, "The Imperial Physician, Lord Teng, is currently developing a prescription. He has already tried two prescriptions and sent them to Yue Mansion and Luo Feng Mansion. They should have been tested by now."
Prince Shou frowned. That damn stupid son of Luo Feng. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have lost such an important chess piece so quickly!
"How's the Dali Temple investigation going? Hasn't Luo Feng's son confessed yet?"
"I've already explained it clearly, but what I said was all incoherent, and what I kept saying was about the discord between us and the Yue family. It's just..."
Upon hearing this, Prince Shou immediately turned around and took three or two steps forward, almost scaring Wang Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground, into crawling into the ground.
"What did he say?"
Wang Xuan didn't dare not to answer, but she didn't dare to answer properly either, so she trembled and knocked to the ground.
"He said that on the first day of September, he saw the eldest daughter of the Yue family having a secret meeting with someone, and so he had the intention of insulting the second son of the Yue family."
The first day of September, wasn't that the day he took Qingning out of the house to meet Cui Hu? Could this guy have seen her with Cui Hu?
But seeing that the man under his feet seemed to be hesitant to speak, Prince Shou had a hunch that it was not that simple and asked him to finish.
"He said that the person he saw was a noble person..."
“…”
He was stunned. He didn't expect that it was the scene of him going out with her that brought today's disaster to her family.
At that time, he had no intention of doing so, and he thought that since he had no intention of doing so, he would have no worries. Even if something was spread, he could put an end to the rumor with just one word.
Who knew that the consequences of this rumor spreading would not be as simple as he thought.
Because of his momentary thought, Qingning lost his life. He had never expected this...
"He hurt others just because of me..."
Wang Xuan didn't want His Royal Highness Prince Shou to think too much, but His Royal Highness was a thoughtful person, and if he didn't explain things clearly, he would never be able to let go of his worries, so she told him everything that Luo Chen had confessed.
"The Luo family is a disciple of Elder Luo, and they are close to the Crown Prince. When they heard that the eldest daughter of the Yue family was very close to you, they thought that Your Highness wanted to choose the daughter of the Yue family to enter the palace. So, to vent their anger, they made up a rumor to slander the second son of the Yue family."
"Who knew that the second young master was also a man who couldn't bear it. He was provoked and cursed back. The third young master Luo was a playboy and couldn't stand being scolded, so he took out the whip and beat him."
When Prince Shou heard Wang Xuan say this, Yue Qingzhe also felt uncomfortable. It was not his fault in the first place, so how could he remain silent when his sister was humiliated?
He glanced over and his sharp eyes immediately stopped Wang Xuan from speaking.
"How powerful could his whip be? Could it have knocked someone unconscious?"
He just thought that the whip was stained with the blood of the sick horse and splashed on people, which led to what happened today.
But at this moment, Wang Xuan suddenly sighed and pulled out a picture from her arms.
"Your Highness, that Luo Sanzi is extremely evil. He knew they were going to pick a fight with him that day, so he hung tiny hooks on his whip. Each one is extremely thin and small, shaped like a fishhook, and a single hit will rip off a piece of flesh!"
Prince Shou frowned and opened his eyes. He felt that what he heard was the hunting techniques of some barbaric tribe. He did not expect that someone would dare to hurt the emperor's subjects under the feet of the emperor in the capital, and in such a cruel and vicious way.
He took the picture, on which was a large outline of the murder weapon.
One whip had a tail covered with silver hooks, while the other had the exact shape of the hook, which indeed looked like a fishhook, except that there was a barb on the tip of the hook.
He felt it was ridiculous and asked silently while holding the paper.
"Yue Qingzhe...how old is he?"
Wang Xuan lowered her head and replied solemnly, "Ten years old."
Ten years old... too young.
He was already fourteen when he witnessed that incident, and even now he still can't forget it. Yue Qingzhe was only ten years old, and he was on the road to meeting the King of Hell.
Even though he had great ambitions and was determined to sacrifice everything, he never thought of sacrificing a ten-year-old child, a child who was thousands of miles away from him and should have nothing to do with him.
"He didn't explain where the disease came from?"
Wang Xuan frowned, her face full of worry, and said.
"No, he didn't say anything. He said he didn't know why the whip was stained with horse sickness. He had made a new whip specifically for Yue Qingzhe and had never used it to whip anyone else."
“Damn it…”
When Wang Xuan heard this, he looked up in a daze, but he suddenly saw the anger in Prince Shou's eyes. He quickly lowered his head.
His Royal Highness Prince Shou has always been cautious and prudent. Even in his own palace, he has never shown any anger or murderous intent. This is because no matter how many spies the Crown Prince and his men plant, they will not be able to see through him at all.
His Highness, who had been patient for many years, actually got so angry for the Yue family at this time!
He looked around fearfully. Fortunately, this was the eldest princess's territory and no one dared to spy on His Highness. Perhaps this was the only place in the world where His Highness could feel so at ease.
Wang Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although others didn't know His Highness, he knew Him best.
The prince, who always smiles and is unbelievably gentle in front of others, is the most terrifying when he gets angry! Luo Feng and his reckless son may be on their last legs this time!
Prince Shou pondered for a moment and beckoned him to come closer, but before he could get close, he suddenly heard the announcement of the eldest princess's arrival from behind.
Wang Xuan quickly stepped back to give the aunt and nephew some space so they could talk freely.
"Ah Heng! Do you know what happened to the Yue family?"
Prince Shou suppressed his anger and hurriedly helped his trembling aunt to the seat of honor. He sat opposite her and nodded with a serious look in his eyes.
"I... I agreed to this because it would benefit Qingning, but I didn't expect it wouldn't bring her any benefit at all. Instead, it would cause her whole family..."
The eldest princess said that she felt a tightness in her chest and was about to suffocate, so Prince Shou hurried forward and patted her on the back.
"It's all my nephew's fault. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have suffered this!"
This time, except for Minister Yue, the entire Yue family is trapped in the mansion. The situation can be imagined.
Brother Xi only has this one niece, Aning. Not only can he not protect her, he can't even protect her child!
The eldest princess felt unbearable pain in her heart, as if she was back to that day. Ten years had passed, and she was still as helpless as ever.
"Aunt, Ah Heng promises you that I will do my best to save the Yue family and will never let them die like this! And the person who started all this, Ah Heng will never let him go!"
After hearing his assurance, the princess finally breathed a sigh of relief, patted him on the shoulder, and brought him the news sent from the imperial city.
"Your father sent a letter, asking me to tell you that the Dali Temple's Junior Official Pei Weijing has something for you. This time, I want you to go and investigate thoroughly!"
"He said that after waiting for so many years, it's time to grow up and do what adults do! Don't panic when encountering problems, think about the whole process, and if something goes wrong, he will be there to help you."
After he finished speaking, Prince Shou was in a daze for a long time and didn't know how to respond.
He had ignored him for twenty-four years, but now he suddenly remembered that he had a son. He thought that only the crown prince was a prince in his heart, and the others were just commoners.
Seeing him stunned, the eldest princess stroked his head and sighed.
"Don't blame your father. He is sometimes helpless. In fact, he secretly asked me to take good care of you. If it weren't for his instructions, I wouldn't dare to help you do these things."
Prince Shou finally understood that he had known it all along and everything was within his expectations.
Why does it still feel a little creepy when I think about it this way?
The emperor is indeed the lord of a hundred territories and the king of all coasts. No matter what happens in this world, it is all under his nose and cannot escape his calculations.
Prince Shou chuckled lightly, but his words were unclear.
Others may not know her nephew clearly, but the eldest princess is the only one who sees them clearly because she is in the situation.
Even though Ah Heng had many complaints about the emperor, he could not deny the similarities between them.
Ah Heng is the one who looks most like the emperor among all the princes, especially since he is now in his twenties and looks very similar to the emperor when he first ascended the throne. The emperor at that time was also deep and unfathomable, and he never revealed anything even to his partner.
The emperor controlled the world and refused to let anyone guess his thoughts, which is why he became a lonely man.
Since the death of the previous queen, he had become even more cold and cruel. She, as his elder sister, wanted to say something, but he himself was unwilling to acknowledge it, and was hastily appointed Gong as the queen.
But is he really at ease now? He is still on guard against his second son and his other queen.
The eldest princess looked at Ah Heng, who looked exactly like him, with some worry. She was really afraid that he would follow his father's old path in the future. Even if he already had supreme power, he would still end up a lonely widower in the future.
The Xiao family has been living in a cycle of fear and longing for their loved ones all their lives.
I don’t know if Ah Heng can escape from this sad vortex.
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