Xiao Jingkang lingered for a long time before a grand and magnificent mansion. Looking up, he saw the three characters "Prince Jing's Mansion" written like a swirling cloud and a startling dragon, and the faint glimpse of glazed eaves. Prince Jing, Yun Aoxuan, was the current emperor's younger brother and the youngest son of Empress Dowager Han, who had dominated the harem for decades. He was a prince second only to Tianyu. Xiao Jingkang had never dealt with him before, but today, for his daughter's sake, he had the audacity to disturb him.
Because the information he received was that the genius doctor Lin You had appeared in Kyoto a few days ago, and the last place he appeared was Prince Jing's Mansion.
When he handed in the visiting card, he received a reply that King Jing was visiting a friend and had not returned yet. Xiao Jingkang had no choice but to wait outside the gate.
About half an hour later, a regal carriage arrived at Prince Jing's mansion. When it stopped, two people, one large and one small, emerged. The adult man, dressed in purple princely attire, was tall and imposing, about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, distinguished by elegance and a serene demeanor. The little boy, about five or six years old, wore a gorgeous robe, had delicate features, slightly pursed red lips, and a distant gaze, exuding the air of royalty.
"Your humble servant Xiao Jingkang greets Prince Jing and the Crown Prince."
"Sir Xiao, please stand up. I don't know..." It's no wonder that King Jing was surprised. It would be strange if two people who had never met before didn't become curious about each other's behavior when they first met.
Xiao Jingkang looked at the surroundings and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Some things were indeed not suitable to be said on the street, but he could not rashly ask to enter the palace.
"I wonder if I could have the honor of inviting Your Majesty to a cup of tea."
"If Lord Xiao doesn't mind, how about coming to my house and having a seat?" King Jing had a good impression of the Xiao family. If for no other reason, their inner house was peaceful, the couples were harmonious, and the three married couples seemed to have a good relationship. When he thought about the mess in his own house, it really couldn't be compared!
"Then I'm sorry to bother you."
"Come in."
"Your Majesty, please come in. Your Majesty, please come in."
At the intersection of the living room and Jinhua Garden, Prince Jing's son Yun Yichen stopped and said to King Jing, "Father, I'm going to see my mother and sister."
"Go, tell your sister that father will go see her soon."
"Yes, father." Yun Yichen bowed and took his leave. Before leaving, he nodded slightly to Xiao Jingkang as a greeting.
Xiao Jingkang quickly returned the gift. This man was King Jing's only legitimate son and the Queen Mother's most beloved grandson, so he must not be offended.
The top-quality pre-rain Longjing tea exuded a lingering aroma. Xiao Jingkang waited until King Jing sat down, then stood up, bowed and explained his purpose.
"I heard that Divine Doctor Lin once appeared in the palace. I wonder if Your Highness can tell me his whereabouts."
"Lord Xiao is looking for Lin You." King Jing didn't expect that he was looking for him for this matter.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will not hide it from you. My daughter was accidentally injured, and her internal organs were damaged. I am afraid that her only hope of recovery is to find Divine Doctor Lin."
"How old is your daughter?"
"One and a half years old."
King Jing couldn't help but think of his own daughter. They were the same age and equally weak. The two fathers with the same fate felt a sense of sympathy for each other, which invisibly brought them closer together.
"Lin You has already left Kyoto and traveled far away. As for where he went, I don't know."
"Is that so?" Xiao Jingkang couldn't hide his disappointment and felt sad.
King Jing understood his feelings very well, but he was helpless at this moment.
"If Lord Xiao needs it, I can ask Judge Sun from the Imperial Hospital to perform a detailed examination on your daughter."
Xiao Jingkang could have asked for the imperial physician, but the director of the Imperial Hospital ruled that he was not qualified to do so. Imperial Physician Sun was best at treating internal injuries, and if he could have him, his daughter's condition would have improved significantly. However, his relationship with King Jing was not so good, so how could he have the nerve to trouble him? For the first time, Xiao Jingkang hesitated.
"Master Xiao, don't overthink it. I also have a one-year-old daughter. I'm just being considerate. Just remember to treat me to a drink in the future."
"Well, I would like to thank you, Your Highness, and I will definitely treat you to a drink someday."
"Okay, it's a deal." King Jing took out a badge and called his personal guard, asking him to accompany Xiao Jingkang to ask Sun Yuanpan for help.
Xiao Jingkang thanked him again and left with the guards. King Jing sat alone in the living room for a while, then walked towards Jinhua Garden.
As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw Concubine Han approaching. King Jing couldn't tell whether he was disgusted or annoyed with his cousin and concubine. He knew she had done many things that harmed his wife, daughter, and even son, but because of the Queen Mother, he had often left them unanswered. Thinking of his daughter, he could no longer suppress his hatred. Just because the princess's pregnancy was diagnosed with a high probability of a boy, Concubine Han had poisoned both mother and daughter. The daughter's thinness, slow growth, and constant crying were all caused by the drug. Lin You explained that the poisoner had used an extremely rare and difficult-to-find slow-acting poison, which, by some strange coincidence, had almost entirely been absorbed by the daughter. Long-term use of the drug would cause dementia. Perhaps the dosage was insufficient, or perhaps there was some other error. Although the daughter was not demented and her intelligence was normal, her body was damaged and she suffered from periodic fainting and headaches.
Your own daughter is suffering from illness, while the culprit is still living freely beside you. Mother, in your heart, your granddaughter will never be as good as your niece, right? Or have you never treated the daughter of your son and Qianhua as your granddaughter?
"Cousin, where are you going? Aqing and Axing miss their father and would like to invite you to Jinxiu Garden for a visit." Concubine Han looked at King Jing tenderly, her well-maintained and charming face trying to make a gentle and humble expression.
"Let's do it another day. Ruonan is not feeling well, so I need to go check on her. You should go back first."
"Cousin, Ruonan is your daughter, as are Aqing and Axing. How can you be so partial to one over the other?"
"Is that so? I thought that it was enough for Aqing and Axing to have a mother like you who can plan for them and is omnipotent! I can't even take care of my legitimate daughters, so I'd better not go to see them, so as not to implicate their sisters." King Jing said with implicit sarcasm.
"Cousin, I told you I didn't do it, why don't you believe me? I don't know who ordered Hua'er to do it, and now she's dead with no evidence, yet you're blaming me."
"Yes, now he is dead and there is no evidence." King Jing murmured.
Such a clumsy and flawed plan was closed by the Queen Mother and the Han family just by putting forward a scapegoat.
It was clear how terrifying their power had become in Tianyu. The emperor's concerns and the evidence he had gathered seemed to be groundless. The Han family, Tianyu's most prominent family, was also its greatest hidden danger.
For the sake of Yun's world and to stabilize the other party, he had to tolerate his enemy to stay by his side. Who would believe it if he told others that a prince could be so cowardly?
"I'm not going today." Too lazy to find excuses, he simply refused. You've made me sad, so why should I let you off easy? King Jing found that since meeting Lin You and listening to his analysis of the events surrounding his daughter's poisoning, he'd grown even more impatient with perfunctory treatment of Concubine Han. It seemed he'd been too lenient before, always thinking that even if there were no feelings, he still had to consider family ties. Now, that seemed completely unnecessary. Some people simply weren't worthy.
"Cousin, are you really so cruel?"
"It's because I'm not cruel enough." King Jing looked at Concubine Han and spoke word by word.
"After all, I gave birth to two daughters for you. How could you... How could you..." Concubine Han had never been treated like this before. She was a bit incoherent and inexplicably panicked. If she had done anything that deserved a hundred beheadings, her cousin must have known some of it. Even without counting the unknowns, it was enough to convict her. However, as long as she had her aunt's support, she had nothing to fear. No one would dare to do anything to her. After thinking about it, she raised her head proudly again.
This person was beyond help. King Jing walked past her without even looking at her again.
"Cousin." Concubine Han shouted unwillingly.
"I really wish I were just your cousin." A simple kinship would be a hundred, a thousand times easier to handle than the tangled mess we have now. Mother, is this the scene you wanted to see? If so, then you've achieved your goal.
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