Chapter 67#
In the palace, when Consort Ning heard the news of the Crown Prince’s deposition, she went mad on the spot. She desperately tried to run out, but was held down firmly by several palace attendants. Her frenzied expression revealed a hint of disbelief, “Impossible! Impossible!”#
Yet no one paid attention to her shouts; instead, they retreated from her madness, not daring to come near.
One of the attendants quietly slipped away, silently conveying the news from this place.
Song’an delivered the message from Wutong Hall to Ying Fusheng. After reading it, Ying Fusheng had Song’an dispose of the note.
“Keep an eye on her. It’s not time for her to die yet,” Ying Fusheng said.
Song’an replied, “I understand.”
Leaving Cining Palace, Ying Fusheng returned to Wanchun Hall.
As he approached Wanchun Hall, a sudden crash rang out, and a figure stumbled out from around the corner. He ran so quickly that he didn’t notice the situation ahead and nearly collided with Ying Fusheng.
The guards were startled and quickly moved to stop him, only to find it was the Eighth Prince, who was without his own guards.
Ying Fusheng frowned. The Eighth Prince, usually as flamboyant as a peacock, was clearly distracted, with an obvious wound on his hand. He said, “Guards!”
The Eighth Prince was startled and quickly interrupted, “Don’t call anyone!”
Ying Fusheng sensed his unusual behavior.
The Eighth Prince’s gaze flickered nervously, “Don’t call anyone. I injured myself by accident.”
Voices came from a distance, seemingly from the Imperial Guards. Beside them, a dejected figure was faintly visible. The deposed Crown Prince had no ceremonial escort around his inner court, only palace attendants and Imperial Guards remaining.
Today was the day the deposed Crown Prince was to move out of the Eastern Palace.
Ying Fusheng glanced over there, then looked at the Eighth Prince’s expression, as if realizing something. “Come with me.”
On the way back, the Eighth Prince walked with his head down, saying nothing.
His eyes were red-rimmed, whether from the cold or from crying. After returning to Wanchun Hall with Ying Fusheng, he still did not speak.
Ying Fusheng looked at the wound on his hand, waved the attendants away, and said to Chen Xuchang, “Trouble Miss Chen.”
It was only when Chen Xuchang bandaged the wound that the Eighth Prince came back to himself, his eyes stinging slightly.
Due to the deposed Crown Prince incident, the harem had been in a state of panic for days, and Kunning Palace had refused to receive visitors for even longer.
The matter of moving the deposed Crown Prince to another palace could not be delayed. The Eighth Prince had been by the Crown Prince’s side for many years, having followed him almost since childhood; there was brotherly affection between them. The Eighth Prince had tried several times to go to the Eastern Palace but had failed. Today, when he went to see him off, the deposed Crown Prince had thrown a violent tantrum, showing none of his former gentleness. In a fit of rage, he threw a vase at the Eighth Prince.
The Eighth Prince failed to dodge in time and was cut by the shards.
He didn’t understand why his formerly gentle and refined Crown Prince brother would treat him that way, even hurling harsh words.
He had only wanted to see him off.
Suddenly, a hand rested on his head, brushing aside the messy hair from his forehead.
The Eighth Prince was startled and looked up. The tears he had been holding back instantly burst forth. When he came to his senses, he realized he was hugging Ying Fusheng and crying. The other’s body was slightly stiff, but in the end, he did not push him away.
After waiting for a while, Ying Fusheng sighed and said, “If you don’t want to go back, are you going to just sit here like this?”
The Eighth Prince was slightly stunned, then had to stand up. The attendants brought him warm soup. Meanwhile, Chen Xuchang had already brought the medicine. In winter, Ying Fusheng’s physical condition was worse than usual, and even the detoxification could only be done once every seven days. He claimed it was fine, but Chen Xuchang, being straightforward, insisted on sticking to the schedule.
Ying Fusheng silently finished the medicine and handed the bowl to someone else. “Have you had dinner?”
The Eighth Prince shook his head. Ying Fusheng ordered his servants to prepare a meal, without asking the Eighth Prince for any explanation throughout. The Eighth Prince watched him from the side, seeing that he arranged everything, and instead felt at a loss for words, somewhat flustered.
Ying Fusheng sent someone to Kunning Palace to inform them, and also had a place for the Eighth Prince to rest prepared. He grew tired quickly today, having been somewhat distracted several times in Cining Palace.
After the Eighth Prince finished his meal, he turned back to see Ying Fusheng propping his head on one hand, looking very weary. He stopped himself from calling out, and Song’an had already quietly gone over to help Ying Fusheng rest.
The Eighth Prince looked at the nearby attendant. “Is Sixth Brother always this tired?”
Song’an said, “Every winter, His Highness’s condition deteriorates.”
It had been several years, and his health had never improved. The Eighth Prince recalled that every time they met, his brother’s health was very poor. The Eighth Prince looked at him silently for a while, made a decision in his heart, and then stood up. “I’ll go back.”
The attendant didn’t understand why the Eighth Prince had suddenly changed his mind and hurriedly saw him out.
As soon as he left, Ying Fusheng opened his eyes slightly. “Protect him and send him to the palace. Also, assign two people to keep an eye on him, and make sure nothing happens.”
With the Crown Prince deposed and moved to another palace, it was effectively house arrest.
The Xu family was severely weakened, but still had some remaining influence in the court. Empress Xu only had the Eighth Prince left under her care, and the Xu family’s recent attitude toward the Eighth Prince was probably unusual, which had touched a nerve with the deposed Crown Prince. The Eighth Prince, raised in innocence, could not see the hostility from the Crown Prince, nor did he realize that he had become one of the deposed Crown Prince’s targets.
The Crown Prince was deposed, but some people’s schemes had not stopped.
Thus, they would have to make their next move.
Song’an said, “I understand.”
As soon as the Eighth Prince left Wanchun Hall, a figure on a high vantage point quietly departed.
Ye Xuanjiu silently landed at the secret post of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, reporting the news to Qi Hanzhou.
“His Highness rested very early today,” Ye Xuanjiu said.
Qi Hanzhou frowned upon hearing that he rested early. “Did Chen Xuchang say anything?”
“No,” Ye Xuanjiu said.
Since that night apart, the two questions Qi Hanzhou had asked were also left unmentioned. When they met again, neither brought it up, but once noticed, many things showed signs of something amiss. Qi Hanzhou didn’t press; with Ying Fusheng’s temperament, there were things that, if he didn’t bring them up, couldn’t be asked.
The speed of the Crown Prince’s deposition was indeed very swift, showing the emperor’s extreme anger. The Embroidered Uniform Guard, following the lead from the Ministry of Works, had narrowed down two possible directions for the military funds: one was Jiangnan, and the other was Western Shu.
Both directions involved other massive powers.
“How is the investigation going?” Qi Hanzhou asked.
Qi Hanzhou had been sending Ye Xuanjiu to investigate the palace secrets for the past few days. The people around Empress Xu during her childbirth were all arranged by the Xu family, but upon investigation, some things were indeed suspicious, as they found that aside from those still with Empress Xu, the others were nowhere to be found.
He reported what he had found over the past few days. “The midwife died of illness a few years ago, and the imperial physician from back then has retired to his hometown. We have already sent people to inquire.”
The midwife died of illness, and the physicians of the Imperial Hospital were either dismissed or retired, leaving only a few who gave identical statements, as if to cover up something.
If everyone had been killed off, that would undoubtedly reveal that there was something wrong with this matter.
Leaving a few people to confuse the facts, while killing off those who truly knew, could create a perfect front.
“Keep an eye on those around Empress Xu,” Qi Hanzhou said.
Ye Xuanjiu was startled. “Could it be that those people are also… Young General, could it really be true!? What’s the point of this? With any carelessness, it would—”
Was there really something fishy behind the childbirths of Empress Xu and Consort Ning back then!?
“If Consort Ning hadn’t suffered her accident, do you think the Sixth Prince could have lived to adulthood?”
Qi Hanzhou suddenly asked. “Is Consort Ning really mad? Was it that easy for the Fragrant Crimson poison to reach her?”
Ye Xuanjiu’s scalp tingled. Some things suddenly clicked. They all knew how poor the Sixth Prince’s health was. If the Fragrant Crimson poison had been allowed to fester for a few more years, it would have been hard for him to survive to adulthood… A prince long ill in the palace suddenly dying of an acute illness would raise no suspicion.
Qi Hanzhou did not answer. Whether true or not, he had to consider this matter.
If it were true, then the only one capable of swapping the princes amidst the Xu family’s layers of defenses was the shadowy figure who had been lurking behind the Xu family all along. If this shadowy figure wanted to act through the Xu family, given his Consistently cautious work style , swapping the princes was too risky and would easily arouse suspicion from the Xu family.
Why would he do that?
-*
In the winter of the nineteenth year of Taiyuan, when spring arrived, the situation in the court was unpredictable.
At the start of the year, a dead body was found in the Ministry of Revenue offices. On the deceased was a secret letter accusing ministry officials of corruption.
The word “corruption” had become the emperor’s trigger. Since the Xu family’s fall, the faction of the Great Prince had become the most powerful party in court. With the position of the heir apparent now vacant, how could the various factions fail to covet it?
The Xu family had lost the Ministry of Works, which had now become a hotly contested prize in the court. The position of Minister of Works was currently vacant—a major post!
As the case against the Ministry of Revenue officials emerged, before the Great Prince’s faction could extend its hand to that position, the emperor first promoted a new minister.
Liu, the former Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was transferred to become Minister of Works, while the Vice Minister of the Court took over the chief position. This change took everyone by surprise!
Not only that, but due to the Minister of War being unconscious, Vice Minister Hu Buyu of the Ministry of War was promoted to Minister, and Shen Changcun, the Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, was transferred to become Vice Minister of War!
Shen Changcun had been demoted from Vice Minister of War a few years ago and was now restored to his original post. The personnel changes in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works were clearly the emperor promoting people he trusted. Following this, internal promotions within the Ministry of War were made on the recommendation of the Minister and Vice Minister, putting forward several new officials, all of whom came from the maternal family of the Third Prince.
This move made it clear to the court factions: originally, the factions of the deposed Crown Prince and the Great Prince had dominated the court. Now that the Xu family was in trouble, the only princes who could contend with the Great Prince were the other two. The Second Prince had previously been too close to the Xu family, while the Third Prince’s maternal family had a martial background—his maternal grandfather, General Lu, was a hero who had helped the first emperor build the empire.
The Xu family’s protégés were spread across various ministries. Before the Ministry of Works case, they had often made a show of their power for the sake of Grand Secretary Xu. Now that the Ministry of Works had been dismantled and the Crown Prince had fallen, these Crown Prince loyalists dared not act recklessly openly. The emperor, unwilling to tolerate them, directly promoted military officials to counterbalance them. The emperor did need civil officials, but only those without ulterior motives.
This move could both check the Great Prince and intimidate the remnants of the Crown Prince’s faction.
At the beginning of the year, the emperor issued an order allowing stationed troops across the empire to return to the capital to visit their families. As a result, many military officials entered the capital to do so. The emperor was greatly pleased and resumed the spring hunt. When the news came out, the spring hunt was organized jointly by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, scheduled for February, when the winter snow was melting.
The location was the Northern Hills in the outskirts of the capital. To the west of the Northern Hills was the Huguo Temple, and to the south was the stationed troops’ compound. It had always been the royal hunting ground for generations.
The spring hunt was to be held on a grand scale. Not only would the royal family attend, but officials were also allowed to bring their families. It would last three days.
“Lord Lu said that if Your Highness needs anything during these three days, you may speak directly,” the carriage driver said.
After Shen Changcun had returned to the position of Vice Minister, the Court of the Imperial Stud was promoted with someone he trusted, named Lu.
This new Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud had originally been the Vice Minister and had some connections with the Lu family behind the Third Prince. In the court, he was classified as a member of the Third Prince’s faction, but in reality, he was Shen Changcun’s man.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Ying Fusheng alighted at the Northern Hills. The tents for the spring hunt were already set up. Ying Fusheng’s location was the princes’ tent. Around the princes’ tent, the Imperial Guards patrolled, and nearby were the tents of the imperial harem. There were more people attending than expected.
When Ying Fusheng arrived at his tent, someone had already brought him a horse. The spring hunt was especially important to the martial Da Yuan. The princes of Da Yuan learned martial arts from a young age and were skilled in archery and horsemanship. As a prince, he could not slack off at the hunting grounds.
The Empress Dowager seemed to have taken note of this and had sent a palace attendant to remind him in advance: “Her Majesty said that His Highness only needs to go through the motions on the outer edges of the hunting grounds.”
The outer edges of the hunting grounds were usually training grounds on the outskirts of the capital, with no wild beasts and with stationed troops nearby. Ying Fusheng understood the Empress Dowager’s intention. He took the horse’s reins, saw Shen Yunfei, and glanced at the distant hunting grounds. “Has this hunting ground been inspected?”
The Northern Hills hunting ground had existed for many years, and the entire area for this hunt had been scouted by the Ministry of War.
Shen Yunfei knew his concern and said, “Lord Hu ordered the entire hunting ground to be fully sealed, with markers set up everywhere. Your Highness, is there a problem with the hunting grounds?”
Ying Fusheng had an indescribable premonition. In his previous life, nothing had happened at the hunting grounds. He said, “Better to be cautious.”
“That is the Eighth Prince’s tent. This time, His Majesty specifically ordered a separate tent for the Eighth Prince,” Song’an said.
Ying Fusheng frowned. In the past, the Eighth Prince would have been with Empress Xu.
Not only that, but looking into the distance, there were many stationed troops beyond the hunting grounds.
Ying Fusheng observed for a moment. Once the royal procession arrived, many people gathered at the Northern Hills station, all in tight-fitting clothing, mounted on horseback, ready to depart.
After the opening ceremony, the first day’s hunting began.
The spring hunt lasted three days. On the first day, the princes hunted individually. The hunting grounds would provide horses for the princes.
However, each prince had their own stable. Ying Fusheng was not skilled in archery or horsemanship, so the horse was prepared by Shen Changcun.
When he arrived at the hunting grounds, he recognized a few familiar figures among the crowd—members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Qi Hanzhou was not there, but the Embroidered Uniform Guards were mixed in with the crowd, showing that Qi Hanzhou was also on alert.
At the hunting grounds, the princes gathered at the front, followed by a group of military officials.
Ying Fusheng walked to the Empress Dowager’s side and waited for the hunt to begin.
In the crowd, as soon as Ying Fusheng appeared,
several pairs of eyes fell upon him.