Chapter 46: Mount Li Summer Resort (Part 3) “Between the two of them, it seems…
"There seems to be an unpleasant past between the two of them."
Xiao Wangshu was shocked and couldn't help but look at Nianyue carefully. This look made Nianyue feel strange. Xiao Wangshu lowered his voice and said firmly:
"They two do have feelings for each other."
These words were like thunderclaps. Even though Nian Yue had suspected something, she was still stunned into silence for a long moment. After all, one was the emperor's most favored concubine, and the other was his younger brother. If word got out, it would be a shattering scandal that would shake the very foundation of the nation!
"This story started more than 20 years ago,"
Xiao Wangshu's voice carries a calmness that narrates the past.
"At that time, His Majesty was still the Third Prince, and he and the Fourth Prince, now known as Prince of Liang Xie Yimeng, both admired Liu Qinghan, the young lady of the Liu family, who was known as the most talented woman in the capital.
The specific circumstances are difficult to ascertain, but we only know that the late Emperor seemed to have initially favored Prince Liang and had intended to marry Miss Liu to him.
But for some reason, the engagement was eventually called off. The following year, His Majesty ascended the throne. In May of the second year of the Tongzhi reign, he welcomed the young lady of the Liu family into the palace and doted on her greatly.
In June of the same year, the imperial physician diagnosed Concubine Liu as pregnant, and she gave birth to the present-day Princess Duanyang.
He briefly sorted out this dusty past for Nian Yue, and then explained:
"This Concubine Liu sustained a major injury during the birth of the Sixth Prince, and the Imperial Physician privately declared her life span to be limited. Therefore, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and I know she still has feelings for Prince Liang, we are reluctant to push her too far, considering her... waning vitality.
It would be great if you could find some evidence in the palace, but there's no need to risk your life by keeping an eye on her. Your own safety is paramount."
According to memories from the previous life, this Concubine Liu only had a few months left to live.
He changed the subject and solemnly instructed again, "Every step in the palace is very dangerous. You must be extremely careful. If you need any help or encounter an emergency, be sure to notify me and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince using the old method we agreed upon."
"Thank you for your concern, sir. Nianyue will keep it in mind."
Nian Yue bowed gracefully, a rare, genuine smile gracing her brows. As the hope of revenge grew closer, she naturally felt an irrepressible joy welling up in her heart.
The moonlight was cold, and Xiao Wangshu walked on the moonlight back to his guest room in the villa. As soon as he entered the door, he was suddenly pulled into the arms of a figure. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who had been waiting for a long time.
The stiff body softened instantly. Xiao Wangshu just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the Crown Prince's nagging voice:
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The prince's hands moved quickly and carefully over his body.
"No, Your Highness, don't worry. I am not injured. The blood on my body belongs to someone else."
Xiao Wangshu relaxed his body and let him examine him, comforting her softly.
After confirming that he was safe, the prince's tense nerves relaxed, but were immediately replaced by another emotion.
He slowly closed the distance between them, and his fingers gently stroked the corners of Xiao Wangshu's eyes and the tip of his nose. Their hot breaths mingled in the air. When the door behind him was closed, it seemed as if some signal was released, and the temperature in the room slowly rose.
He hugged Xiao Wangshu's waist and blew into his ear maliciously, watching with satisfaction as the tip of his ear turned red because of his words:
"Ah Shu, let's continue with what happened in the tent during the day~"
The dim candlelight was extinguished. In the darkness, clothes rustled and breathing began to rise. The two people were immersed in each other's warmth, but they did not notice that in the thick night outside the window, a black shadow that almost merged with the shadow flashed by like a ghost.
The Sixth Prince Xie Yongheng was in his tent, listening to the report from his confidant.
"Are you sure the prince was in Xiao Wangshu's room the whole night?
Maybe see what they are doing?"
The Sixth Prince frowned and paced back and forth, a strange feeling lingering in his heart. He felt that the Crown Prince's attitude towards Xiao Wangshu was unusual, and it was definitely not a simple relationship between monarch and subject or staff.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is under extremely strict surveillance by secret guards. It's impossible to get close to him, let alone spy on him... I just feel that the two of them have a very close relationship."
The secret guard answered tremblingly.
"Intimacy...what kind of intimacy?"
The Sixth Prince waved his hand irritably to dismiss the eunuch, but his doubts only grew. He simply felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on why. This feeling of being out of control made him extremely uncomfortable.
"What's making my nephew so upset?"
The curtain was lifted, and Liang Wang Xie Yimeng walked in slowly. He seemed to have just had a drink, with a lazy smile on his face. After all, one opponent had been eliminated. The eldest prince was not to be feared, and the seventh prince was far away at the border. Now only His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was left.
The Sixth Prince seemed to have found someone to confide in, and he poured out all his doubts:
"Uncle Wang, I've always felt that there's something... strange between the Crown Prince and Xiao Wangshu. To say they're monarch and subject seems like the Crown Prince is being too trusting and indulgent towards him; to say they're friends seems... to have something more inexplicable."
Upon hearing this, King Liang was stunned for a moment, then he laughed softly as if he had heard something very interesting. He shook the folding fan in his hand and blurted out:
"Why is this so hard to understand? They are probably gay."
"Gai? What do you mean by gai?" The Sixth Prince didn't understand this unfamiliar word at all and looked confused.
The King of Liang then realized that he had spoken out of turn. He paused, propped his chin with his folding fan, and explained in a tone that was a mixture of amusement and sarcasm:
"Ahem... this is a saying used by foreign nations. It means... 'The Cut Sleeve, the Sharing of Peaches, the Love of Longyang'. Do you understand? My dear nephew, your brother the Crown Prince and his trusted ministers are probably harboring an illicit relationship that goes beyond that of a monarch and his subjects."
The Sixth Prince was stunned, as if struck by lightning! This news was too shocking, completely beyond his comprehension! But thinking carefully about the Crown Prince's various abnormalities, it seemed... only this explanation made sense!
After the shock, there was ecstasy! If this was true, it would undoubtedly be the perfect weapon to bring down the Crown Prince!
However, King Liang's next words poured cold water on him:
"Don't be too happy too soon. You have no evidence, how dare you say this to His Majesty? His Majesty is relying heavily on Xiao Wangshu right now, and he's just experienced an assassination attempt, so he's extremely suspicious. If you say this, it will only be seen as a frame-up."
King Liang came closer, lowered his voice, and dropped another bombshell:
"That's not the most urgent matter. The arrow that shot your father was poisoned, and those useless people in the Imperial Hospital can't cure it. He... I'm afraid he doesn't have much time left."
"What?!"
The Sixth Prince was really shocked and angry this time.
"The arrow is poisoned?! Who poisoned it?" He grabbed the prince's clothes, his emotions out of control, "It was you?!"
If the emperor died at this moment, the prince would ascend the throne legitimately, and all his plans would be in vain!
King Liang was caught by him, looking at him with complicated eyes. There was anger, a subtle sense of guilt, and an indescribable fanaticism in his eyes.
"Yongheng, calm down! I'm doing this for you!"
"Bullshit! My father is dead now, what role do I have to play in this?" With anger still on his face, Xie Yongheng wanted to kill King Liang.
King Liang seemed to be enraged by Xie Yongheng's murderous look. He yelled, even a little hysterically:
"Of course not! We can charge into the palace, even if he refuses!"
"That's my father!"
However, he never expected that his request would be rejected without a second thought. King Liang's lips moved, and in anger he almost blurted out the secret that had been buried for twenty years.
At this moment, the eunuch's shrill voice suddenly came from outside the tent:
"Sixth Prince! Sixth Prince! The Imperial Concubine has suddenly fallen ill and is coughing up blood. His Majesty has ordered you to come over immediately!"
The words of Prince Liang instantly choked in his throat, his eyes changing unpredictably. In the end, he just forcibly pried the Sixth Prince's hands apart, straightened his robes, and said in a deep voice:
"Go see your mother first. We can talk later if there's anything else."
The Sixth Prince definitely did not want to be branded as a patricide unless it was absolutely necessary. However, at the moment, the Sixth Prince could not care less. He glared at King Liang and left in a hurry.
King Liang looked at his departing back with a deep look in his eyes, which eventually turned into an almost inaudible sigh.
"Someone come!"
Then a secret guard appeared from the shadows and knelt on the ground. Then, Prince Liang continued to order, "Go and take the best ones from the mansion to the imperial concubine and tell her they are from the Sixth Prince's mansion."
"yes"
The secret guard responded and disappeared after using a few moves of lightness skills.
The next morning, the emperor returned to the capital.
Though his shoulder injury hadn't healed, the emperor's rage intensified. Upon returning to the capital, his first order of business was to thoroughly investigate the Fourth Prince's conspiracy. This investigation not only confirmed his conspiracy with the Guan family and his siege of the villa, but also uncovered evidence of his clique-building and close ties with certain border commanders.
The emperor was extremely furious and completely lost the last bit of mercy he had for his son.
The fourth prince, Xie Jingrong, was stripped of all his titles, demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned in the deepest part of the clan house for life.
His mother, Empress Guan Ji, failed to raise him properly and was deposed and banished to the cold palace. The Guan family and their followers were either beheaded or exiled. In an instant, the family collapsed and their power was completely uprooted!
At the same time, Concubine Liu's condition worsened rapidly, and the imperial physician was helpless and said that there was no way to save her.
Although the emperor and King Liang had different thoughts, they were both as anxious as ants on a hot pan. The emperor even ordered the neighboring countries of Zhongshan to offer a large sum of money to seek a miracle doctor.
Until this day, someone took down the imperial edict.
On the golden palace, there was a man dressed in a black Taoist robe, with an immortal look. The most peculiar thing about him was his snow-white hair - this man was Mr. Chihua who had bid farewell to Xiao Wangshu in Zhuxian County.
What he brought was not a cure, but a shocking prophecy:
"Your Majesty, I observed the celestial phenomena at night, trying to discern the will of Heaven. I saw that the Emperor Star was dim, the Purple Palace was shifting, and there were signs of evil stars disturbing the palace. This is a sign of great misfortune!"
His voice was ethereal and solemn.
"The divine secrets revealed: 'A being from another world, whose spirit has taken a different path, has disturbed the destiny of Heaven and brought chaos to the imperial palace.' Unless this being is eliminated, the realm will never find peace, and the dragon's body...will also struggle to maintain its health!"
When these words were spoken, everyone had different expressions.
A clever minister was the first to stand up and loudly rebuke:
"How dare you! A scholar does not speak of strange and supernatural things! Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven! How can you stir up trouble here, Your Majesty! This person is talking nonsense and should be punished for deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty! I do not agree with what Lord Liu said."
Just as the air was tense because of the charge of deceiving the emperor, it was broken by a clear voice. Everyone's attention was instantly focused on this young official who had recently gained the emperor's favor. The emperor raised his eyes slightly, and his slightly impatient expression softened and became more interested.
"Oh? What does Xiao Aiqing have to say?"
Xiao Wangshu bowed and said in a steady voice:
“Your Majesty, I was previously ordered to travel to various counties on official business, and I traveled with Mr. Chihua for several months.
Before that, I had heard many miraculous stories about this gentleman, and they were widely sung in the southern cities, and he was deeply loved by the people.
"And... Mr. Wang does have some magical qualities. Just from one divination, I know he is definitely not a charlatan or a fraud."
The emperor leaned forward slightly, and a very subtle light flashed in his eyes. He trusted Xiao Wangshu's character quite a bit.
Xiao Wangshu's presence at this moment undoubtedly greatly increased the white-haired Taoist's credibility. He waved his hand, stopping the minister who was about to refute him. His gaze returned to Mr. Chihua, with scrutiny and a subtle hint of expectation:
"Since Xiao Qing has guaranteed your safety, I will allow you to continue. What exactly did you mean by 'people from another world disrupting destiny'? Where is this person now?"
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