Chapter 101: CH 92

Before the eunuch could finish speaking, Xuan Qiong’s face had turned deathly pale. His knees wobbled and he knelt on the ground with a plop.

Zhong Wan was exasperated. This useless person. 

Xuan Jing was always half a step behind everyone else. He froze for a moment before finally realizing what was going on. His eyes lit up and he couldn’t stop himself from eagerly kicking a down man. “Fifth Younger Brother, we’re only saying that Prince Yu built this temporary imperial palace. It’s not like we’re saying that Prince Yu sent the assassins over. What are you so agitated about? Could it be that you know something?”

Xuan Qiong didn’t know why he felt so guilty right now either. After being placed under house arrest by Emperor Chongan for several days, he had started becoming easily startled. Even the slightest disruption was enough to send his heart racing. He barely managed to calm himself down before softly saying, “Imperial Father, Uncle def-definitely doesn’t know anything…”

Conflicted, Emperor Chongan observed Xuan Qiong. His gaze was full of fatigue.

Emperor Chongan looked down. “I don’t believe it either… Stand up.” 

Xuan Qiong rushed to stand. Shaking, he stood off to the side.

The palace temporarily fell silent. A long time later, the head of the guard for the temporary imperial palace entered to report, “In reply to the emperor, all the courtyards have already been completely searched. This subordinate and the others have failed at protecting the emperor. Please punish us.”

“You definitely won’t be let off so easily!” Xuan Jing had been peacefully sleeping. He was in a terrible mood because he had been abruptly awakened. This was his first time encountering an assassination and he found everything baffling. “Half of the royal guards here came to this temporary palace days ago to prepare. How did you guys do your job?!”

“Now isn’t the time to be worrying about that.” Emperor Chongan furrowed his brows. “Let’s talk about the assassins first. Have they all been caught?”

The head of the guard nodded. “Yes. All the palaces, courtyards, and hidden locations have been thoroughly checked. Skilled people have also inspected the roofs. For fear of there being people hiding in the water, we dragged a net through the pond too. As of now, we’ve finished our inspection.”

Emperor Chongan sighed in relief. “That’s good. It’s late. I’m going to see Princess Royal. Head back to your own courtyards first. Oh right…”

Emperor Chongan furrowed his brows and yelled, “Has the imperial doctor arrived yet? Princess Royal has been in the side room for so long. Why hasn’t an imperial doctor come to see me yet?”

An old eunuch hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. The imperial doctor is bandaging Princess Royal’s wounds right now. He hasn’t had the time to come see you yet. This old servant went to check just now, and the imperial doctor said that no vital areas were injured, which is good.” 

Emperor Chongan’s expression became even darker. “Useless! There were so many of you, but you couldn’t even protect a princess!”

The head of the guard, who had just stood up, knelt down again upon hearing this. He lowered his head and said, “We have been incapable. Princess Royal’s courtyard was the closest to that bamboo forest. The assassins’ first destination was Princess Royal’s residence. It was extremely fortunate that the royal guard on watch happened to be patrolling outside of Princess Royal’s courtyard. Otherwise… not even my death ten thousand times over would be enough to correct my mistake.”

Emperor Chongan fell silent for a moment. He muttered to himself, “How incredibly fortunate, how incredibly fortunate…”

Though the head of the guard had said that he deserved to die ten thousand times over, he still needed to beg for mercy on the royal guard’s behalf. “There were many assassins, and they appeared out of the blue. We honestly hadn’t expected it. Over half of the royal guards on watch were killed or injured. They’ve already done their best.” 

Emperor Chongan had originally already been about to head into the side room. Upon hearing this, he paused and slowly turned around. His eyebrows knit together, bit by bit. “The assassins didn’t all head to Princess Royal’s courtyard, but over half of the royal guards on watch were killed or injured… How many assassins were there?”

The head of the guard said, “In total, there were thirty seven assassins. Thirty died, two were seriously injured, and five were lightly injured.”

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The head of the guard really wanted to make up for his mistake with a good deed. He hurriedly said, “Yes! Don’t worry, Emperor! We’ve already locked up the five people who were lightly injured. Their mouths have been stuffed too, making it impossible for them to commit suicide! As of now, we only have to interrogate that group of bandits!”

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Emperor Chongan suddenly broke into a coughing fit. The old eunuchs swarmed over to help him catch his breath.

Zhong Wan furrowed his brows from where he was standing off to the side. He turned around and made eye contact with Yu She. Their gazes met. Zhong Wan inhaled sharply after thinking of something. A terrifying thought formed. 

Emperor Chongan was coughing so hard it sounded like he was about to cough his lungs up. A moment later, he said, voice hoarse, “Right now, you guys needn’t… head back to your own courtyards anymore…”

“All the princesses will stay in the empress’ palace. As for the princes, the princes…”

Emperor Chongan lifted his head. His gaze scanned over his three sons. A moment later, he commanded, “Xuan Qiong and Xuan Jing, stay in the western side room. Ziyou… stay in the eastern side room. Without my official orders, no one is allowed to wander around or leave.”

Upon hearing this, Xuan Jing almost exploded again. He was extremely unwilling to stay with Xuan Qiong. However, Emperor Chongan’s expression was honestly dark to the point of frightening. Thus, he pitifully lowered his head and agreed. 

Emperor Chongan glanced at the head of the guard again. “All the people have been gathered within the boundaries of these two courtyards. If anything else happens, don’t blame me for not being merciful enough.”

It was now much easier to provide security. At once, the head of the guard  kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Emperor Chongan’s expression was defeated. He said, “I honestly don’t feel great, so I won’t go see the princess. Come, someone… Go check on Princess Royal in my stead. Placate her well for me. When she can move, escort the princess to the empress’ courtyard as well. Order the imperial doctor to take good care of her. Nothing else is allowed to happen.”

The palace servant made a noise of acknowledgment and left. 

“You all can leave too…” Emperor Chongan seemed a bit distracted. “Go, go.”

Each individual had palace servants to take care of their possessions. The princes and princesses dispersed as per Emperor Chongan’s orders.

Zhong Wan naturally followed Yu She to the eastern side room. This room was surrounded both inside and outside by Emperor Chongan’s subordinates. It wasn’t convenient to say anything. Yu She ordered someone to transfer his own servants over before heading into the bedroom with Zhong Wan.

After commanding the palace servants to leave, the two of them got into bed. Yu She held onto Zhong Wan and whispered into his ear, “You feel that something is off too, right?” 

Zhong Wan didn’t say anything.

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Yu She quietly said, “How fortunate that you warned me in time. When my people went to give the princess some refreshments, they warned Princess Royal’s servants that this temporary imperial palace has been unoccupied for many years and that it was very likely for there to be lapses in security. The bamboo forest in Princess’ courtyard was connected to the bamboo forest outside the palace. It was possible that there would be rodents or snakes…”

Yu She kissed Zhong Wan on the cheek and muttered, “After first hearing this, the princess probably didn’t take it to heart. But now… she definitely understands that someone wants to kill her.”

Zhong Wan burrowed himself into Yu She’s embrace, finding a comfortable position for himself. He lowered his voice and said, “Something feels a bit strange to me.” 

The walls had ears. No matter how softly they spoke, there would still be danger. Zhong Wan didn’t say anything anymore. Instead, he started to write in Yu She’s palm, “The emperor and Prince Yu have gotten along as ruler and subject for many years. On the surface, at least, Prince Yu has been quite loyal to the emperor. First, Prince Yu helped him ascend to the throne. Then, he helped raise an imperial prince. He’s also Princess Royal’s husband and Xuan Qiong’s biological uncle. He’s one of the emperor’s close relatives. Prince Yu’s estate is related to many powerful noble families in the capital by marriage too. The emperor can’t touch… someone like him at all.

“No matter what horrible things Prince Yu has done, to the emperor, he’s still an official with great achievements. Since historic times, an unforgivable crime must be committed for someone to kill an official with achievements. For example… regicide.”

Yu She’s palm itched because of Zhong Wan’s scratching. He grabbed onto the other’s hand.

Zhong Wan gently threw him off and continued to write, “Though the emperor’s tactic is a bit obvious, it’s the most effective. If not for this accident, he could’ve also successfully taken care of Princess Royal Anguo. 

“He’s both worried that Princess Royal Anguo will order you around in the future as empress dowager and that after this attempted assassination, Prince Yu will have no other option but to bring up the old matters regarding Imperial Consort Zhong. He needs to kill the princess early on, because she’s a witness whose alliances can’t be confirmed. It’s actually not hard to guess why he would act now.

“Everything about the setup made complete sense. What’s strange is that the people tasked to do these things must be killers who are willing to die. So why are there still survivors?”

Yu She’s voice was so soft it was almost indiscernible. “That guard said, ‘In total, there were thirty seven people. Thirty died, two were seriously injured, and five were lightly injured.’ After this, the emperor’s expression changed.”

Zhong Wan fell silent for a moment. He wrote, “Which phrase do you think caused his expression to change so drastically?” 

Yu She narrowed his eyes.

Zhong Wan continued to write, “Even if a man suddenly felt regret and no longer wanted to die, they’ve currently all been apprehended by the emperor. It shouldn’t be so difficult to secretly poison them, right? If he wasn’t worried because of this phrase, then it was…”

Yu She lowered his voice and said, “‘In total, there were thirty seven assassins.’”

Zhong Wan carefully wrote, “Is it possible… that the emperor didn’t actually arrange for so many assassins?” 

Yu She had already had a faint inkling of this in his heart earlier. Still, he couldn’t help the chill climbing up his spine after Zhong Wan completely said things outright.

It was possible that other assassins were hidden in this temporary imperial palace right now.

And they were assassins of unknown background.

Zhong Wan wrote, “Which is why he immediately changed his mind and told the princes and princesses to stay together. Because this temporary imperial palace is no longer completely under his control, unlike what he previously thought.” 

Yu She instinctively held Zhong Wan tighter.

Zhong Wan wrote, “Will he suspect you?”

Yu She shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Zhong Wan thought about it and added, “However, he should understand too that it’s more likely that this is Prince Yu’s work. His plan was never very clever; it’s entirely possible that Prince Yu managed to guess ahead of time. However, those assassins that are still alive are too dangerous. I can’t guess who they’ll try to blame.” 

Yu She wrote on Zhong Wan’s palm too, saying, “You’re scared that they’ll try to place the blame on me?”

Zhong Wan was a bit uneasy.

Yu She shook his head. “Don’t worry, they won’t.”

Zhong Wan blinked. He whispered, “How do you know?” 

“Given my understanding of the emperor, he won’t let those people live until tomorrow,” wrote Yu She. “He’s unable to confirm if there are any of his people among those who are still alive. You said it too—perhaps someone didn’t want to die anymore at the last minute? For his whole life, he’s cared about his reputation the most. Right now, he definitely wants to kill any survivors. Otherwise, if news of such an incident gets spread… How serious is a planned assasination? The emperor bought assassins to kill himself while also injuring the princess royal… What a big joke.”

Worried, Zhong Wan asked, “Really?”

Yu She nodded. “Trust me.”

Zhong Wan gazed at Yu She. After a moment of eye contact, Zhong Wan sighed. He softly asked, “Ziyou, do you know when the last time you told me to ‘trust you’ was?” 

Yu She froze for a moment. He couldn’t remember.

“Seven days ago, in the study of the side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate.”

Zhong Wan was expressionless. He stopped writing too. Instead, he directly said, “That day, there probably hadn’t been too many things for you to take care of at the Cabinet. You got too bored and honestly had nothing else to do. Or, perhaps you read some storybook outside and felt provoked. When you got back to the estate, you started being frisky, completely out of the blue! You suddenly told me that you didn’t feel right, that your head hurt, and that you seemed to be on the brink of having a fit.”

Yu She held onto Zhong Wan and said in a vague manner, “Let’s n-not talk about this.” 

“What are you feeling guilty about?!”

Even now, Zhong Wan’s teeth still itched with anger upon him thinking of this incident. “What a good act. You looked so uncomfortable! You even specially pretended to be a good lover and asked me if you needed to avoid me because you were having a fit and not of sound mind!

“I was too worried about your illness, so didn’t think too much of anything. I only realized something felt off after being pressed against the bookshelf and taken advantage of by you for a whole hour. At the end, I dragged my wounded body over to ask you if you had been faking it, if you had been purposefully messing with me. Young Prince Yu! Do you remember what you said at the time?” Zhong Wan was so angry that he bit Yu She on the shoulder. “You held onto my hand and affectionately said those two words to me! ‘Trust me!’”

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