Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Prince Su could see again.

This news sent shockwaves through the entire capital of Yejing.

Prince Su entered the palace to pay his respects to Emperor Jinshun and offhandedly mentioned that his eye ailment had been cured. In front of everyone, he removed the white silk that had covered his eyes, revealing clear, sharp eyes.

It was said that even the notoriously inscrutable Emperor Jinshun was so startled he leaned forward for a closer look. He then ordered the imperial physicians to examine Prince Su. After thorough examination, it was confirmed beyond doubt.

*Crash—*

All the tea and scrolls on the desk were swept to the floor, shattering across the floor.

The officials and attendants in the Eastern Palace dared not even breathe, bowing their heads low, wishing they could sink into the floor to avoid incurring his wrath.

Li Jue stood up, his normally composed and gentle face unable to conceal his fury. He asked to no one in particular, "How did this happen? How could he possibly regain his sight? Back then, wasn't it said that it was a potent poison, condemned to make him blind forever?"

He'd made sure to eliminate both the antidote and the physician who concocted the poison. Where on earth did Li Zhen find the antidote? And when did he recover his sight? Could it be that he had already regained it long ago, keeping it hidden while he plotted in secret, just waiting to usurp his position as Crown Prince?

The more Li Jue thought about it, the more panicked he became. Currently, he was still confined to the Eastern Palace due to the birthday banquet incident. His plan to use the Tianyi Pavilion to amass wealth and win his father's favor was now shelved. And now, Li Zhen picked this precise moment to reveal his recovered sight...

His position as Crown Prince was hanging by a thread.

"What, has the cat got your tongue?" Li Jue looked at his silent subordinates, his anger growing. "Come on, think of something! How can I regain Father Emperor's favor? If this continues, my status as Crown Prince will be inferior to that of a mere provincial prince."

After a moment of silence, someone cautiously suggested, "His Majesty is most fond of pursuing immortality and discussing Daoist mysteries. Perhaps we could present him with some elixirs of life."

Li Jue shot him a glare. He was the Crown Prince. Once Emperor Jinshun died, he would ascend the throne by right. Which was exactly why Emperor Jinshun was so wary of him. Even if he went to great lengths to find magical elixirs, Emperor Jinshun might not accept them.

The most likely outcome was not only rejection but also suspicion that he was trying to poison him.

Seeing this approach wouldn't work, another person proposed, "Why not investigate Lin Hanyi? Since Chancellor Zhu's death, he has been His Majesty's most trusted confidant in the court. If His Majesty has any particular interests, he would undoubtedly task Lin Hanyi with handling them."

Li Jue felt another headache coming on. Lin Hanyi was an ungrateful, smiling tiger. He had easily betrayed the Zhu family, who raised him. Not only was he ruthless by nature, but his methods were also meticulous. Getting anything on him would be tough.

But as things stood, this seemed to be the only option.

"Send people to investigate. Report any findings to me immediately."

The person who made the suggestion lowered his head and acknowledged with a bow.

At the same time.

In the Secretariat, Lin Hanyi finished reading the secret report and rubbed his temples. Just a few days ago, he had mocked Li Zhen for being a blind cripple. Who would have thought he would regain his sight today?

Right now, the most important thing wasn't Li Zhen's recovery, but why he chose this particular moment to reveal it, provoking Li Jue and forcing him into a corner?

Somehow, Lin Hanyi had a vague sense of foreboding.

Pushing down the unease in his heart, he summoned a trusted aide. "The news from Jingzhou must not be leaked under any circumstances. If anyone lets slip even a word, show them no mercy."

The aide trembled, nodding repeatedly.

Lin Hanyi rubbed his temples again. Jingzhou was a prosperous land with excellent feng shui and a sizable population. Keeping a secret there was no easy task.

Back then, if Zhu Qingping hadn't vehemently advised the Emperor against that matter, earning His Majesty's extreme displeasure, he, Lin Hanyi, would probably still be a mere adopted son in the Zhu family. He never would have risen to his current post as the Minister of the Secretariat.

After some thought, Lin Hanyi called for another trusted aide. "Monitor the movements in the Eastern Palace. We must not let them find out what they shouldn't."

The news of Li Zhen's regained sight spread throughout Yejing. On the surface, the capital remained calm, but beneath it, undercurrents were swirling.

Many people intended to realign themselves with Li Zhen. Among them were aristocratic families and powerful officials who had opportunistically distanced themselves from Li Zhen four years ago, as well as those who had taken advantage of the Zhu family's downfall.

Zhu Qinghou had long anticipated this situation and had already warned Li Zhen: "Opportunists are still useful. Right now, the most urgent matter is to strengthen our power. Don't worry about who they are; accept them all. Once everything is settled, we can deal with them one by one."

Li Zhen had always followed his advice without question. No matter who came, he accepted them all, treating them with courtesy.

These opportunists had initially worried that Prince Su, known for his aloof nature, would despise their fickle, self-serving attitudes and might not accept them. Discovering that Prince Su held no grudges against their past actions, they were overjoyed and eagerly pledged their allegiance to him.

After all, Prince Su had once been the prince with the highest hopes of becoming Crown Prince. He was deeply beloved by the common people, renowned for his prestige, and excelled in both civil and military affairs, possessing exceptional wisdom and strategy.

If they could align themselves with him, why would they need to ingratiate themselves with those other mediocre princes?

While some were busy siding with Prince Su, others looked on with disdain, considering these people too reckless. Prince Su's eyes had just recovered; who knew if the condition might relapse in the future? Yet they were rushing to curry favor so eagerly. How laughable.

Moreover, Prince Su's mother had passed away, leaving him with no support within the inner palace. His maternal clan was no longer influential. What use was a prosperous fiefdom alone?

Discussions about Li Zhen grew increasingly heated. For a time, the Zhu family corruption case gradually faded from public attention. Zhu Qinghou had expected this and didn't mind. Right now, the most important thing was whether Li Zhen could topple Li Jue.

As long as Li Zhen became the Crown Prince—no, the Emperor—why would he worry about overturning the verdict?

Nevertheless, Zhu Qinghou understood clearly that he couldn't rely on Li Zhen for everything. What if his guess was wrong? What if Li Zhen took risks and lost in this power struggle? Then he would have to rely on himself.

Although he had already gathered considerable evidence to prove the Zhu family's innocence, the most crucial evidence to demonstrate that Zhu Qingping had indeed not embezzled was the Ministry of Revenue's ledger from last October. This wasn't just about Yejing's tax revenue; it needed to include the salt and iron taxes from across the entire empire.

Obtaining the Ministry of Revenue's ledger was easier said than done. The real ledger had likely long been burned to ashes, leaving no trace.

Aside from that, there was another method: based on the Ministry of Revenue's publicly available ledger, conduct on-site investigations and piece together a ledger that was roughly accurate.

In his youth, Zhu Qinghou had studied the five rites and six classics, horsemanship, and archery. Asking him to calculate accounts and manage numbers was far more difficult than asking him to ride lightly up a mountain and shoot a pair of white eagles.

However, it wasn't a dead end. The Censorate, Secretariat, and Chief Justice, who had collaborated to frame the Zhu family back then, were now each harboring their own schemes and calculations. There were plenty of ways to make them turn on each other, leading to mutual destruction.

As Zhu Qinghou was scheming in his mind, he heard the lattice door open and someone enter.

Wei Si was dressed in plain clothes, even more somber than the day they were reunited after their long separation—she had entered the Shenxiantai disguised as a servant.

"Do you remember last October, when I had a huge fight with your father?" Wei Si recalled those tumultuous days, a softness appearing in her eyes.

Zhu Qinghou certainly remembered. That time, his mother and father had argued fiercely. His father even threatened to divorce her. The result was—he and Zhu Liujun took turns lecturing their father. Zhu Qingping remained silent and never mentioned divorce or separation again.

It wasn't until a few days later when the Zhu family collapsed and his father was executed by a thousand cuts, and Zhu Qinghou, in the midst of crisis, exhausted all means to send his mother back to her maiden family, that he vaguely began to understand why his father had acted so unusually.

Even back then, Zhu Qingping had already sensed the impending disaster.

"Your father left behind a ledger. I memorized it, recalling it day and night. To avoid forgetting, I didn't speak a single word while at the Wei family." Wei Si lightly glossed over the hardships of the past half-year, pulling a ledger from her bosom and handing it to Zhu Qinghou. "It took me over ten days to write it down. There shouldn't be any mistakes or omissions."

Zhu Qinghou took the thick ledger, his heart trembling slightly under its weight. He called out softly, "...Mother."

During his days in exile, he had deliberately avoided thinking about his mother. Once he started, he couldn't help but feel his eyes sting.

Wei Si gazed at him gently, her eyes falling on the crimson mark between his brows. It had long scabbed over, new flesh grown, leaving behind a distinct, vivid color.

"You don't have to shoulder everything alone," Wei Si said softly. "Mother will help you."

Although she didn't know why Prince Su was helping her, helping Xiao Yu, given Xiao Yu's entanglement with Prince Su four years ago, Xiao Yu must have suffered a great deal to resolve their previous grievances.

Her Xiao Yu had never traveled far since childhood, never once stepping beyond Yejing. His first long journey was being exiled to Yongzhou, nine thousand li away.

Thinking of this, Wei Si's eyes reddened slightly, wishing she could deal with all those wolves in sheep's clothing who had brought the Zhu family to such ruin.

Zhu Qinghou had never been one to cry since childhood. In his youth, he lived a charmed and pampered life, with everyone coaxing him just to earn a smile.

Even now, as mother and son sat facing each other in the loft, he did not cry. He wiped away the glistening tears at the corner of his eye with the back of his hand, smiling faintly. "Mother, you don't need to worry about me," he said. "Xian Pu is here."

But no matter what, there was still Li Zhen. With his temperament, even as a ghost, he would haunt him.

...

In Yongzhou, nine thousand miles away.

Zhu Liujun was overwhelmed with work. Who could have guessed why Prince Su would entrust her with managing not only the Su Palace but all of Yongzhou?!

Rather than managing, it was more like she sat behind the scenes, watching these old and young sticklers engage in endless, heated debates.

She was so swamped that she was the last to learn about Prince Su's regained sight. With dark circles under her eyes, Zhu Liujun was both shocked and delighted. "Brother-in-law, sister-in-law..." she blurted out two titles in succession, then felt neither was appropriate. "Has Prince Su truly regained his sight?!"

Jian Su, who was assisting her nearby, thought to herself that Zhu Liujun was likely one of the few in the Jin Dynasty who genuinely rejoiced for His Highness. She said tersely, "Yes."

Naturally, Zhu Liujun was over the moon. With Prince Su's eyes healed, Xiao Yu must be happy too.

Her joy lasted only a moment before worry set in again. "Doesn't that just paint a target on their backs?"

She'd heard some time ago about Xiao Yu's efforts to overturn the Zhu family's case. She had been reading daily dispatches from the capital, Yejing, for several days but saw no further progress, likely due to obstruction.

Zhu Liujun's expression turned serious. "We must not hold them back. We must find a way to help them."