Chapter 128 The dark star hinders the country
However, Xiao Ji was not completely indifferent to the slight movements in the court brought about by Shanshan.
He consciously gave his wife and Madam Lin some space, so he asked Zhao Tong to push him into the main hall. As soon as he entered the room, the smile on his face faded.
"It's the King of England who's going to guard the frontier... He's quite capable."
"But that's only because he has no choice. These good brothers of mine are really ruthless."
He was squeezed out from the position of crown prince, and then the weakest fifth prince, King Ying, came next. So who will be the next?
"Prince An is weak, so he shouldn't be the next target..." the young man muttered to himself, "But he must be thinking the same thing..."
Thinking of this, Xiao Ji's eyes suddenly lit up, and he waved to Zhao Tong beside him, "Come here."
A hint of coldness flashed in the boy's eyes, but he could not be soft-hearted and could not sit still and wait for death.
Three days later, a "secret letter from Prince Wen" quietly appeared in the hands of an informant in Prince An's mansion.
The handwriting on the letter was identical to that in King Wen's daily memorials, and the contents were even more shocking—"Prince An is frail and ill-equipped to inherit the throne. However, his mother's family is powerful, so we should eliminate them as soon as possible. We can exploit his frailty and tamper with his medicine to make him 'die', thus eliminating future troubles."
Prince An slammed the secret letter on the table, causing the teacups to clink.
"Who is this letter addressed to? King Wu? King Ning? Or King Ying?" A blush crept onto his pale face. "Could it be that they noticed that my health has improved significantly?"
Xiao Ji would pretend that his leg was not fully healed, and Prince An would naturally pretend to be sick and weak to reduce others' guard against him. However, he never expected that after sending King Ying away, the next target would still be him.
The staff beside him hurried forward to support him: "Your Highness, calm down! Although your health is better than before, you still need to rest and take care of yourself. This letter came with a strange feeling and may not be true..."
"Bullshit!" Prince An pushed his staff aside. "This handwriting is clearly Prince Wen's! Concubine Shu has always been at odds with my mother, and he also dislikes me."
The staff lowered their voices, "Your Highness, think carefully. If it was really Prince Wen who did it, he would have been extremely cautious and would not have easily let Your Highness intercept him. Someone must have been trying to sow discord..."
Prince An was startled when he heard this, his eyes changing for a moment. He slowly sat back on the couch, "You have a point..."
However, he changed the subject halfway through his words: "But do we need to sow discord between us brothers? We are incompatible to the very beginning..."
Prince An calmed down a little after being persuaded by his staff, but he still firmly believed that this matter was not simple.
"But this must be the work of my good brothers. No matter who it is, it means that I have been targeted. I must always be vigilant. I must keep a close eye on my medicine and never let it pass into the hands of others."
The staff member nodded in agreement and said, "Your Highness, why not take advantage of their situation and announce that my illness has worsened, thus revealing my true intentions?"
Prince An pondered for a moment and thought this plan was feasible. "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Next, Prince An announced to the public that his condition had worsened, summoned the imperial physicians to treat him, and strictly checked the medicines. At the same time, he secretly investigated the source of the secret letter, but found nothing after several days.
Zhao Tong couldn't help but ask Xiao Ji: "If we don't take the next step, Prince An might see through this plan. We can't get our hands on Prince An's medicine."
This at most made Prince An suspicious, but seemed to be of no great use.
Hearing this, the young man sitting at the table smiled and raised his hand on the armrest to wave, "We can't reach it, but there are people who can..."
Zhao Tong immediately understood and stepped forward, but he was still confused after listening. However, he felt that he was old and his brain was not as good as that of a young man, so he did not ask any more questions and just acted silently.
Within two days, a strange story suddenly spread in teahouses and taverns all over the capital.
"Have you heard? A Taoist priest observed the stars at night and found that there was a dark star next to the Purple Star. It indicates that the nobles will be sick and weak, and it will hinder the country's fortune!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Don't say that..."
"I have a cousin who works in the palace and he said that the Imperial Hospital has been going to Prince An's Mansion very frequently these days..."
These rumors spread like wildfire throughout the capital.
After dinner, people whispered to each other:
"I heard that the unlucky star is Prince An... Besides him, who else is there around the emperor who is sickly?"
"That's right. Prince An has been weak since childhood, and now he's suddenly seriously ill. Isn't that..."
"National destiny... How will the national destiny change now, and will the throne be passed on?"
Upon hearing this news, King Wu, King Wen and others naturally did not want to let it go. Although they did not know who was behind the incident, it was a matter of convenience, so the news was quickly and deliberately spread to the palace.
The emperor was admiring flowers with his concubines in the imperial garden when the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department hurried over and knelt down three steps away from the emperor.
Xiao Yuancheng dismissed the attendant concubines. After everyone retreated to a distance out of earshot, he said calmly, "Speak."
"I have just received a secret report that there have been rumors circulating in the capital recently..." The eunuch told the rumor about the "unlucky star harming the master" in detail, and when he got to the key point, his voice was almost inaudible.
The jade ring that Xiao Yuancheng was playing with suddenly stopped. His face, which was over fifty years old, showed no emotion, but the bulging blue veins on his well-maintained hands revealed that he was not at peace inside.
"Investigate! Thoroughly investigate the source of this rumor!" His voice was as cold as ice. "Also, summon the director of the Imperial Observatory to the palace immediately."
Although Xiao Yuancheng thought it was just a rumor, at his age, he believed everything. Anything that threatened his throne must be taken seriously.
Just as the eunuch was about to leave, the emperor added, "Send over the imperial physician who is in charge of Prince An's medicine."
At the same time, in Prince An's mansion, Prince An was listening to his confidant's report, his expression becoming increasingly grim.
"Your Highness, the whole capital is talking about you..." The confidant hesitated and finally said it with trembling hands.
Prince An was leaning on the couch drinking medicine, which was the health-preserving medicine he had been using to pretend to be sick in the past few days. After listening to the report from his confidant, the medicine bowl in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang", and the brown medicine juice splashed all over the floor.
"You say that I am an unlucky star and am hindering my father?"
"Yes... You have been recruiting too many doctors these days... Everyone thinks you might..." It's no use.
The confidant didn't say the last few words, but Prince An could hear them.
He was so angry that he almost couldn't breathe. How could he really be seriously ill? Wasn't he just pretending?!
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