Chapter 22 Returning Home
Zhao Xiaofei spent the whole day in this state of uneasiness, muttering to himself, "This is ridiculous! This is ridiculous! How could I have run into a princess?"
Doctor Hu also asked: "What does 'too dog blood' mean? What kind of dog is it? Can it cure diseases?"
At this time, Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was finally able to walk around, and the young eunuch came over to invite Zhao Xiaofei and Doctor Hu in. When they arrived at the Crown Prince's bedroom, Zhao Xiaofei and Doctor Hu both knelt down to pay their respects.
Although the prince was well, he was still weak and his voice was not loud. He said to Zhao Xiaofei, "Your Excellency, there is no need to kneel!"
"Etiquette cannot be abolished! Your Majesty has bestowed upon me the Qilin robe, and I am already a subject of the Ming Dynasty," said Zhao Xiaofei.
"You two are my saviors, please stand up! Little Li, please sit down for the two adults!" The prince asked his personal eunuch to bring two small stools for Zhao Xiaofei and Doctor Hu.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhao Xiaofei and Doctor Hu replied together, then sat down on the small stool.
"I feel much better today. I wonder when I can recover completely?" Zhu Cilang asked.
Zhao Xiaofei looked at Doctor Hu. Doctor Hu knew that the prince had recovered from the plague and that recovery was something he would do later. So he said, "Your Highness, I have prepared a tonic. He should be fine in about three days."
"Okay! Thank you for your trouble!" said Zhu Cilang.
"The Crown Prince needs more rest and sleep to recover soon. Lord Hu and I will withdraw first." Zhao Xiaofei didn't want to say anything more to the Crown Prince. Just a greeting will suffice. You won't be the Emperor in the future, so let's just be polite and say goodbye! I want to talk to Miss Li about music and life aspirations when I get home!
"Doctor Hu! Please leave first! Young Master Zhao, please stay!" Zhu Cilang said. Because he was only given the Qilin robe and no official title, Zhu Cilang could only call Zhao Xiaofei "Young Master Zhao".
Doctor Hu took the order and left first, leaving Zhao Xiaofei bewildered. Zhao Xiaofei was not polite and asked first, "Your Highness! What do you want from me?"
"I have read your poems. Young Master Zhao is a man of great talent!" said Zhu Cilang.
"I wouldn't dare! Your Highness, you're too kind!" Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself, damn it! It seems everyone in the palace knows about this. Those two princesses still have the nerve to ask me for hush money.
"A few days ago, I saw a palace maid drop two pieces of paper when she left the palace, and I found your poems written on them. I admired them so much that I wanted to meet Mr. Zhao. I didn't expect that it was you who saved me!" Zhu Cilang said.
"Your Highness, may God bless you. I just did a small thing." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"I didn't expect that Mr. Zhao has been in my Ming Dynasty for just over a month, but he has already had such an incident. He speaks and acts cautiously. It's hard to imagine that you are the one who can write about the heroes of the past and still look at the present!" Zhu Cilang said.
"When I first arrived at the Ming Dynasty, I didn't know the rules and committed a serious offense. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty was lenient and didn't scold me," said Zhao Xiaofei.
"I hope Mr. Zhao will come here often in the future! You can go down now!" Zhu Cilang said somewhat disappointedly.
"Your Highness, I have a question. Is it appropriate to ask?" Zhao Xiaofei suddenly asked. He knew that historically, the Crown Prince had never suffered a serious illness. Was it because he had altered history that the Crown Prince suffered this fate?
"Mr. Zhao, please feel free to speak!" Zhu Cilang said.
"Before the Crown Prince fell ill, did he come into contact with anyone outside the palace? I want to know where the illness originated so I can prevent others in the palace from getting sick!" Zhao Xiaofei said. He actually wanted to make a good impression on the Emperor, to atone for what he had done to the two princesses that day. While he didn't think it was a big deal, he was afraid Chongzhen wouldn't agree. So he planned to do more, to impress him and get him to let him go. Perhaps if he was pleased, he'd even reward him with some antiques, calligraphy, or paintings.
"Except for the eunuchs and palace maids in this palace, I have indeed never had contact with outsiders. They have never left the palace either." Zhu Cilang said after recalling.
"Besides people, have you ever come into contact with any food or things outside?" Zhao Xiaofei asked again.
"No! Apart from the few pieces of paper dropped by the palace maid, I have never come into contact with anything outside the palace." Zhu Cilang said.
"Those papers? Your Highness, are those papers still there?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Still there! Little Leo! Go..." Zhu Cilang was interrupted by Zhao Xiaofei before he could finish his words.
"Your Highness, please don't let anyone else touch it. That thing may contain plague. Please tell me to take it." Zhao Xiaofei said.
The prince told him that the papers were in a small box on the bookshelf. Zhao Xiaofei put on gloves and a mask, took the box out, and opened it. Sure enough, the papers were inscribed with his pirated versions of "Song of the Burial of Flowers" and "Spring Snow in the Qin Garden." He then looked at the signature, and it turned out to be Miss Li's.
Could Li Sisi be a secret agent of the imperial palace? Was she from the Eastern Depot? Or the Imperial Guard? Suspicious, he said to Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, "Your Highness! These pieces of paper may be contaminated with plague. Please have the eunuchs take them and burn them."
Zhu Cilang nodded, and a young eunuch next to him put on the gloves given by Zhao Xiaofei and took the box out.
"Your Highness! Can you please tell me what that maid looks like?" Zhao Xiaofei asked. He didn't want any Dongchang spies or Jinyiwei secret agents in his mansion.
"I only saw her back. She was probably about 15 years old and not tall. The palace maids all wore the same clothes. I really don't have any impression of her." Zhu Cilang said.
"It's okay, Your Highness, think about it again. What are the characteristics of that palace maid? Don't be anxious!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
Zhu Cilang tried hard to recall: "That palace maid seemed to have a black mole on her neck, very obvious. Yes! That's right, there is a black mole!"
"Black mole?" Zhao Xiaofei muttered, suddenly remembering the circumstances of Xiaohong's death. He tilted his head and saw a large black mole on the back of her neck. The handwriting on the paper was Miss Li's, and there was no one else besides her. Why did she enter the palace? And what she said before she died, "Father-in-law...Father-in-law, I'm sorry..." Was she trying to say, "Father-in-law, I'm sorry for you?" So which father-in-law did he know? A series of questions flooded his mind.
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