Chapter 40

Chapter 40

"The Sixth Prince is here."

Ying Fusheng's gaze swept over the palace attendants in the hall, all familiar faces from recent days. Since the incident with the medical apprentice a few months ago, the Cining Palace staff had been replaced several times. Now, those serving the Empress Dowager were all trusted old servants who had followed her for years, and her daily meals were handled by trusted individuals... Could it be them?

Song An noticed his master's expression and hurriedly ordered others to investigate the small medicine storeroom.

"Steward Song, the small pharmacy couldn't have made a mistake," a palace attendant whispered. "After the Sixth Prince's incident, His Majesty specifically ordered that the Empress Dowager's medicines are now decocted in-house..."

Song An replied cautiously, "Check first, to rule out other issues."

The prince's expression was grim, and Song An could see it clearly.

The imperial physician had been sent for and had already departed. Lady Yu helped the Empress Dowager sit upright. As Ying Fusheng drew near, he saw the Empress Dowager's pallid complexion. While Lady Yu gave orders to other attendants, he silently took the Empress Dowager's pulse. After a moment, he withdrew and looked at the others. "What happened?"

It was the first time the Cining Palace attendants had heard such a tone from the prince. A senior steward quickly replied, "The Empress Dowager's headache flared up today after returning from Huguo Temple. She didn't take it seriously, just ordered us to decoct her usual remedies. While drinking the medicine, she knocked over the medicine bowl..."

The Empress Dowager's eyes fluttered open. Seeing Ying Fusheng before the couch, his face pale, she thought he was scared and said softly, "Xiao Liu, you're back?"

Ying Fusheng snapped back to reality. She had woken without him noticing? "Grandmother?"

The Empress Dowager patted his hand reassuringly. "Worried? Your grandmother is fine."

The items in the hall were quickly cleared away. The imperial physician, alerted by the news, arrived promptly. Chu Taiyi rushed over carrying his medical bag and without a word began acupuncture to relieve the Empress Dowager. Ying Fusheng watched in silence as the physician treated her, his eyes dark with concern.

"Her Majesty the Empress arrives—"

A call came from outside the hall as Empress Xu arrived.

Having heard of the incident at Cining Palace, she had come immediately upon receiving the news. Seeing the Empress Dowager's condition, she sent someone to fetch sedative and restorative herbs from the pharmacy. As she approached, she saw Ying Fusheng, pale-faced, bending over the Empress Dowager's bedside, one hand firmly clasping hers. Her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before she instructed her attendants to be gentle with their movements.

Ying Fusheng's mind was fixed on the Empress Dowager. In his previous life, the Empress Dowager had fallen ill due to a recurrence of an old disease and passed away. From his limited memory, that event had happened suddenly, but it occurred several years later. Lately, he had ordered Song An to monitor Cining Palace closely, and there had been no unusual signs...

The imperial physician was still examining her. Ying Fusheng frowned at Chu Taiyi.

Chu Taiyi's brow was deeply furrowed. After taking her pulse, he rose and reported, "It appears the Empress Dowager has had a relapse of an old ailment."

Ying Fusheng was slightly stunned. "Old ailment...?"

Empress Xu's gaze subtly shifted to Ying Fusheng at these words.

Seeing the Sixth Prince's expression and recalling how startled he had seemed, Chu Taiyi explained patiently, "The Empress Dowager has had a cough for some time. She suffered a severe chill in her youth, which left her with a recurring headache... But this condition hasn't flared up in several years?"

Lady Yu interjected, "It might have been aggravated by the wind today, during her outing."

Ying Fusheng was about to ask further when someone suddenly spoke from the side—

"Her Majesty's old ailment was cured years ago and hadn't recurred for years. Could there be another cause?"

Ying Fusheng paused and turned to see Empress Xu, who had been silent for some time. She had arrived long ago and had already arranged the other matters in Cining Palace. After listening quietly, she had voiced the doubt before Ying Fusheng could.

He lowered his gaze to avoid her eyes.

"Accumulated cold can also flare up suddenly. The Empress Dowager enjoys falconry and horseback riding, often exposed to the wind. Excessive worry could also be a factor." Chu Taiyi examined her again, then said, "I'll prescribe a few doses. She should avoid overexertion during this period. Rest for a while should bring full recovery."

The Empress Dowager was usually robust; this must be due to the excessive worry over His Majesty's military campaigns in recent years.

The Empress Dowager said, "This Empress Dowager understands."

The physician hurriedly wrote a prescription and had the medical apprentice decoct the medicine. The Empress Dowager, though she hadn't completely lost consciousness, had improved significantly after the treatment. Lady Yu was massaging her temples to ease the discomfort.

Chu Taiyi drew up the prescription while Empress Xu stepped aside to ask for details.

Ying Fusheng listened to the physician's conversation with the Empress, his expression darkening. He hadn't known the Empress Dowager had an old ailment, and that this condition had persisted for a long time.

Just an old ailment? Not someone intentionally causing it?

Empress Xu finished her inquiries and turned to see Ying Fusheng standing behind her, seemingly having listened for some time. He stood there, his expression grave, eyes filled with deep concern. From the moment the physician began discussing the symptoms, he had remained silent. While everyone else had breathed a sigh of relief upon learning it was an old ailment, he stood apart, alone and solemn with a heavy gaze.

In his eyes, there seemed to be an unfathomable worry, his heart tied to the Empress Dowager.

"Xiao Liu, come here," the Empress Dowager suddenly called.

Ying Fusheng paused. The Empress Dowager reached out and smoothed the furrow on his brow. "I said, your grandmother is fine. Don't worry."

"Your Majesty?" Chu Taiyi, seeing Empress Xu had no more questions, asked again, over the Empress Dowager's condition.

Empress Xu snapped back to reality, hiding her thoughts. "If there are any doubts in the diagnosis, please send word to Kunning Palace."

Chu Taiyi acknowledged and quickly busied himself with the medication.

When Empress Xu turned again, Ying Fusheng was speaking with the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager lightly patted his shoulder, her voice slightly hoarse but warm, as if comforting him.

A palace attendant quietly approached and curtsied to Empress Xu.

Empress Xu exchanged a few words with Lady Yu, then turned and walked out of Cining Palace.

"Have you checked?" Empress Xu asked.

The attendant quickly replied, "This servant thoroughly examined the small pharmacy. There are no signs of poisoning in the medicine the Empress Dowager took today."

"Just a relapse of an old ailment?" Empress Xu's gaze sharpened. "Could there be other rare secret medicines from the previous dynasty involved?"

"We checked according to the secret methods of the Imperial Hospital, and the medicines showed no abnormalities," the attendant said.

Empress Xu's eyes darkened. She instructed others to take care of matters for Cining Palace, casting a backward glance out of the corner of her eye at the palace. She had conducted thorough searches for months and found no rare medicines other than Suihongzi in the palace. That medicine had appeared like a flash in the pan, but she felt uneasy, convinced something was deeply wrong. Yet, despite exhaustive investigations, no other issues had surfaced.

Today's incident with the Empress Dowager, combined with the earlier case of the medical apprentice in Cining Palace, deepened her suspicions.

"Where is the Crown Prince?" Empress Xu asked.

The attendant stammered, "His Highness was punished by His Majesty earlier today and is confined to the Eastern Palace on house arrest, claiming illness. He likely hasn't received the news."

Much time had passed, and other imperial consorts had already heard the news and sent their people.

But the Eastern Palace had sent nothing.

"Send someone to the Eastern Palace and summon the Crown Prince to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager." Empress Xu turned to leave, pausing as her eyes briefly landed on Ying Fusheng before she stepped away. "Never mind. The Empress Dowager needs rest tonight. Let him come tomorrow."

...

Ying Fusheng stayed by the bedside until the Empress Dowager fell asleep. When he stood up, his movements were slow.

Song An hurried to support him. As he touched Ying Fusheng's hand, he was shocked to find his palm burning with fever. "Your Highness!"

"It's nothing, just a fever," Ying Fusheng said. "The small pharmacy has been checked."

Song An explained everything, including that Empress Xu had sent people to check the pharmacy.

Ying Fusheng's expression flickered at the mention of Empress Xu, but he quickly masked it, noting the details.

"It must be the Empress Dowager's old ailment," Song An said.

Ying Fusheng turned his head upon hearing this, "If everyone thinks that, then it's definitely not just an old ailment."

Song An was surprised—there were no traces of any medication. If it wasn't an old ailment, then what could have triggered the Empress Dowager's attack? Ying Fusheng walked ahead, already turning everything over in his mind. Today's sudden episode might have been due to drafts... but a headache wasn't necessarily the cause.

"Is someone targeting the Empress Dowager!?" Song An realized, "Is it aimed at Your Highness?"

Approaching the inner chamber, Ying Fusheng looked at him, "Grandmother is the Empress Dowager of our dynasty. If he wanted to target me, he would be blatantly disrespecting the imperial family. If he had that kind of ability, he would have just killed me back then and been done with it."

"He still doesn't dare—or rather, he doesn't dare to truly provoke the emperor's wrath."

Back then, that person sent a medical apprentice to Cining Palace to snoop around, and must have had informants in the palace... but when he moved against Ying Fusheng, his method was overdosing him with medicine—which wouldn't be lethal but would silently ruin his health. By the time it was discovered, he might have been too grief-stricken over Consort Ning's incident, and died from a terminal illness, not from murder.

Moreover, this person had long arranged things in the harem, even orchestrating Consort Ning's baby swap back then.

Because of this, Ying Fusheng assumed this person could pull all the strings in the palace. But he overlooked one thing: that kind of total control only came as a result of later actions. If this person truly had such power, why would he need to proceed step by step, waiting years to scheme against the Empress Dowager, plant informants, and assist the new emperor in a coup?

Even the methods against him were not gradual. On one hand, this tested whether he had other supporters; on the other hand, it was likely because this person still dared not act rashly against him... because his father, the emperor, was present.

Because successive moves would draw the emperor's attention—who intended to reform the court and country—to the harem, which was unfavorable for the schemer.

Unfortunately, Qi Hanzhou discovered it, so the schemer had to shift to making him a target of everyone's suspicion... Wasn't that also a way to cover his own tracks?

That person had arrangements in the palace, but scrapping Consort Ning disrupted his plans.

Ying Fusheng murmured, his expression slightly unusual. He muttered to himself, "If I were him, I'd be reconfiguring the whole setup right now."

Song An's expression shifted, he was about to remind him, "Your Highness?"

The young prince walked forward, looking lonely in the candlelight.

But Ying Fusheng had already reached the chaotic chessboard. He grabbed a few pieces from the bowl and scattered them messily across the board. The candle flames flickered in his eyes, making them look deep and unsettling, "Why?"

Currently, the power of the harem was still in the hands of the Empress Dowager and Empress Xu, along with Consort Yun backed by the Yun family. And the hidden asset Consort Ning, whom he'd cultivated, was already gone... The only breakthrough was Empress Xu.

That person had arrangements in the Xu family, so naturally, there were also arrangements around Empress Xu. The loophole in the child-swapping incident likely lay with the Xu family. He was eager to rebuild his arrangements in the palace... following the path of his previous life.

"Put people on watching Kunning Palace," Ying Fusheng came back to his senses and instructed Song An.

If the Empress Dowager relinquished power, most of her authority would transfer to Empress Xu. That way, the female officials and eunuchs around Empress Xu could use her orders to line their own pockets... That person could then rebuild their arrangements through the Xu family.

Then the sleeper agents around Empress Xu and the False Crown Prince would activate.

Song An acknowledged, then wanted to let His Highness rest, but saw him heading to the couch with no intention of summoning a physician. He pushed aside his worries for His Highness's health and instructed the attendants, "Make His Highness a fever-reducing drink, and don't let Lady Yu or the others know..."

...

Several days passed after the Empress Dowager's old ailment flared up, during which concubines frequently visited.

Ying Fusheng only made his move after the Empress Dowager got better. Meanwhile, Qi Hanzhou from the Embroidered Uniform Guard had sent the latest message via Ye Xuanjiu.

It was inconvenient to meet in the palace, so when they privately met, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already cleared the tavern of any prying eyes. As Qi Hanzhou entered the private room, Ying Fusheng was already seated. Compared to a few days ago, his brows seemed tinged with more gloom.

"His Majesty ordered a thorough investigation into the Cining Palace incident, but so far no leads," Qi Hanzhou said first.

Ying Fusheng looked up at him, "You've planted Embroidered Uniform Guard informants in the palace."

Qi Hanzhou didn't own up to it directly but spoke of another matter: "Chen Yuanli died of poison. Someone got into the Imperial Prison and killed him during the Embroidered Uniform Guard's shift change."

"Who did it?" Ying Fusheng asked.

"Those with access, besides Embroidered Uniform Guard personnel, are only officials from the Three Judicial Offices," Qi Hanzhou said. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard did a thorough check on them. One of them turned up dead."

For the joint investigation by the Three Judicial Offices, the Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly operated under imperial decree for the imperial examination fraud case, while publicly investigating corruption and fraud through the Three Judicial Offices. The other officials were held in the Ministry of Justice's main prison; only Chen Yuanli and a few others were kept in the Imperial Prison by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. During this time, the Three Judicial Offices, to clarify the case, had to request permission from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to enter for review.

"One dead, and the other party silenced him," Ying Fusheng murmured. "Truly efficient."

Qi Hanzhou's thoughts stirred upon hearing this.

Ying Fusheng sat there, habitually hiding his hands in his sleeves, sitting upright without any slouch, giving off an inscrutable air. Now that Chen Yuanli had died mysteriously in the Imperial Prison, the trail of clues was severed, and the orchestrator remained in the shadows. But in Ying Fusheng's eyes, it only added a slight furrow to his brow.

Suddenly, Ying Fusheng looked over.

Qi Hanzhou concentrated, meeting his gaze. In that moment, he seemed to catch something in Ying Fusheng's eyes—that strange sense of familiarity welling up again, "What do you want to do?"

Ying Fusheng: "You know what I want to do."

"The Grand Court of Justice and the Embroidered Uniform Guard work closely together;