Chapter 83

Chapter 83

The news that the Noble Consort had been confined to the cold palace for plotting against the young lord spread like wildfire. Before noon, every soul in the palace had heard of it.

"I heard the Sixth Prince is still kneeling outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

"What was the Noble Consort thinking? The Emperor dotes on the young lord so much—how could she lose her mind and lay hands on him?"

In one of the palace chambers, several consorts were deep in discussion.

Consort Duan listened to their chatter, her eyes closed, rubbing her temples as if the matter held no interest for her.

"Consort Duan, what do you make of it?" A lower-ranking consort looked up at her with curious eyes.

What could Consort Duan make of it? She felt only relief—relief that she hadn't been the one to act so impulsively.

Did the Noble Consort truly believe that by uncovering the Crown Princess's weakness, she could persuade the Emperor to eliminate both the Crown Princess and the young lord, thereby creating a rift between him and the Crown Prince?

Hadn't she seen that, when forced to choose between the Noble Consort and the young lord, the Emperor had still chosen the young lord?

He might subject the young lord to a blood test, but he would never allow anyone else to touch that child, regardless of whether his royal blood was in question.

Consort Duan was deeply shaken.

From these actions, she could discern the depth of the Emperor's trust and favoritism towards the Crown Prince.

The extent of this "love me, love my dog" affection was truly beyond expectation.

How maddening it was that this paternal love was not directed toward her own child.

Consort Duan adjusted the hair ornament in her updo, her expression unreadable. "What's there to make of it? Who knows what the Noble Consort did to bring about her own demise?"

But with the Noble Consort creating such a stir, Consort Duan would at least be spared from confronting the Crown Princess for a long time.

If she were to step forward now and tell the Emperor that the Crown Princess had a questionable character and that the young lord was not of royal blood, even with all the favor she enjoyed, she would likely become the second "Noble Consort."

The younger consorts sensed Consort Duan's displeasure and changed the subject, steering the conversation elsewhere.

***

You Nan sat in the Eastern Palace's side hall, clutching his child's clothes, his eyes red-rimmed as he stared blankly at the floor, silent for a long time.

The chief maid watched him, her heart aching.

She held a bowl of black chicken soup and pleaded with him, "Crown Princess, please eat something. You haven't had a bite since you returned. How will you keep your strength up?"

You Nan closed his eyes, a few tears falling.

"I can't eat," You Nan managed to say before his voice choked with tears. "Maomao was so young, not even one year old. How could the Noble Consort be so cruel!"

The chief maid sighed to herself.

Truthfully, she had her own suspicions—perhaps it wasn't the Noble Consort who did it, or maybe someone else had framed her.

The intrigues of the harem were too complex. You never knew what people were truly thinking.

The chief maid glanced at You Nan’s expression, unsure if he would even listen to such reasoning.

After all, they had been in the Noble Consort’s palace, on her territory.

And the Noble Consort had always been a powerful figure in the harem.

Her palace was like an iron fortress—who could have infiltrated it?

The chief maid also blamed herself.

"It's all my fault. I didn't protect the young lord. If only I had been more capable."

The chief maid was indeed quite skilled.

Fu Lingtan had assigned her not only to watch over You Nan but also to protect him.

Yet she had betrayed the Crown Prince's trust, unable to protect the Crown Princess and the young lord.

She couldn’t clearly remember what had happened. She had just placed the young lord on the bed and, before she could turn around, passed out, remembering nothing.

At this thought, her heart ached, and she furrowed her brow, crying along with You Nan.

You Nan hadn't eaten, and after crying for so long, he soon grew exhausted and short of breath.

The chief maid noticed his fatigue and helped the Crown Princess to sleep.

Once You Nan was asleep, she quietly called for water, wiped his face, tucked him in, and then left.

By the time she stepped outside, her tears had dried, replaced by an icy hatred in her eyes.

Whoever harmed the young lord—just let me catch them!

Now that the Emperor was on You Nan’s side, the chief maid’s previous suspicions had faded.

With the Crown Prince away from the palace, if the Emperor were to lose his temper, not even the entire Eastern Palace and harem would be enough to escape his wrath.

The chief maid hurried to write a letter to the Crown Prince. She waved over two palace maids. "The Crown Princess is asleep. Keep watch here."

"Yes."

The two maids responded immediately.

The chief maid returned to her room and wrote down everything that had happened recently. She rolled the letter into a small tube and tied it to a messenger pigeon’s leg.

"Go quickly! Find the Crown Prince!"

She released the pigeon out the window.

The snow-white pigeon circled twice by the window before flying away toward the imperial city.

***

In the days that followed, You Nan remained in a state of profound distress.

Li Taiyi from the Imperial Medical Bureau came daily to take his pulse. He prescribed many medicines, but none seemed to help.

You Nan stayed in bed, just as withdrawn as ever.

Having lost his son, what reason did he have to be happy?

The Emperor observed You Nan’s condition and summoned Li Taiyi for a report.

"How is the Crown Princess now?"

The Emperor raised his hand to rub his forehead, finding the situation thorny.

He was too ashamed to face the son who had gone to handle disaster relief on his behalf.

He had lost his own grandson, and now his daughter-in-law was ill, bedridden and not recovering.

If his son found out, he would surely quit his post.

After much internal struggle, Physician Li finally spoke, "The Crown Princess is overwhelmed with grief; her vital energy is blocked in her chest and cannot be released. If this continues, her heart meridian will be damaged, and the situation will become severe."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor slammed the table in shame and anger, rising to his feet. "What! How could this happen!"

"I command you to treat the Crown Princess quickly and effectively!"

Physician Li's mouth felt bitter, but he had no choice but to kowtow and accept the order. "Your servant obeys."

The imperial hospital's medicinal decoctions were delivered in an endless daily stream to the Eastern Palace. You Nan, faced with several bowls each day, felt the medicine alone would make him sick.

Whenever the chief maid saw his reluctance to drink, she would begin to blame and reproach herself. "Your Highness, please drink it. It is all this servant's fault. If I had been more vigilant with the young lord, this would not have happened. Please drink it, Your Highness. If you refuse, I will dash my head against the ground to spare you any distress."

At times, the chief maid would even strike herself while speaking.

You Nan: "..."

If he didn't know where his son was, while the chief maid remained unaware, he might have truly believed she was subtly and persistently seeking confirmation from him.

You Nan felt bitterness in his heart and swallowed the medicine.

It was disgustingly bitter. Absolutely vile.

He handed the bowl back to the chief maid, who, moments before had been talking about atoning for the young lord, now rose briskly, the worry vanishing from her eyes and brows.

You Nan pulled his blanket tighter.

Who said ancient people didn't know how to emotionally manipulate (PUA) others? This was a perfect example.

Linking drinking medicine directly to death—how terrifying.

After finishing the medicine, You Nan asked the chief maid to leave so he could have some quiet time.

The chief maid now obeyed You Nan without question. As soon as he spoke, she gathered her things and went outside.

You Nan lay in bed, pretending to be brooding.

This wasn't ideal, however, because he often ended up falling asleep while pretending.

***

Within a couple of days, news began to circulate within the Eastern Palace.

The Sixth Prince had broken the Second Prince's leg during the autumn hunt.

The Emperor punished the Sixth Prince severely, but the Second Prince's leg was beyond recovery.

You Nan's curiosity was immediately piqued.

"What happened?"

You Nan tugged at the chief maid's sleeve. "Tell me about it."

The chief maid promptly sat down on the footrest by the bed and began narrating while feeding You Nan fruit.

"The Sixth Prince suspected that Consort Duan had sent someone into the Noble Consort's palace to steal the young lord, intending to frame the Noble Consort."

"So, after the autumn hunt began, he had the Second Prince's attendants diverted and drugged the Second Prince's horse. The Second Prince has never been skilled in riding or archery. During the hunt, by the time he realized his attendants were gone and there was a hidden pit on the path, it was too late."

"He and his horse both fell into it. The Sixth Prince, who had been lying in wait, jumped in after him and smashed the Second Prince's leg with a rock, over and over. The Second Prince is still in the imperial hospital, and the physicians say there's no hope for recovery."

You Nan's jaw dropped in astonishment.

This wasn't the first time he had heard of the Sixth Prince. The Noble Consort was always talking about him, and the Sixth Prince was only in his teens. How could he be so ruthless?

"What about the Emperor? How did he handle it?"

You Nan pressed further.

"The Emperor stripped the Sixth Prince of his title and removed him from the imperial lineage. The Second Prince was given many medicinal rewards, but since his leg is useless, Consort Duan has cried until her eyes are swollen." The chief maid spoke without a trace of sympathy for either prince. They were both rivals of her master.

Consort Duan wept because a disabled prince could no longer inherit the throne.

You Nan naturally thought of this as well.

He couldn't help but shudder.

Over the next two days, everyone in the palace was talking about the incident between the Sixth and Second Princes.

It seemed as though only the two of them were involved, with no trace of anyone else. It appeared to be solely because the Sixth Prince held a grudge against the Second Prince.

But You Nan knew there had to be someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes.

You Nan began to feel uneasy, wondering how his cat and 007 were faring outside the palace.

Would that man truly treat them well?

You Nan pressed a hand to his chest, forcing himself to stop worrying and fearing.

He turned his attention back to the two princes.

The Sixth Prince was strong and physically powerful but not particularly clever.

The Second Prince was intelligent and, according to the chief maid, was Fu Lingtan's most formidable competitor. Yet, even someone like him had been effortlessly removed from the list of candidates.

In one fell swoop, both princes were disqualified from the throne.

Whoever could scheme against two consorts and seamlessly incapacitate two princes must have grand ambitions.

You Nan anxiously clutched the fabric over his heart.

That afternoon, news suddenly arrived from outside the palace: the Sixth Prince was dead.

The entire palace was shaken.

According to the reports, after being stripped of his title, the Sixth Prince had returned to his maternal grandfather's home, which was also the Noble Consort's family residence.

His cousins took him out to relax and stroll around the capital, but unexpectedly, someone galloped a horse recklessly through the streets.

The horse trampled the martially skilled Sixth Prince to death before he could even cry for help.

Even more unbelievable was that the owner of the horse was Consort Duan's elder brother, also the Second Prince's uncle.