Chapter 31: CH 26

Zhong Wan felt that he truly had a lot of bad luck this year.

After he finally received an opportunity to meet with the emperor through much difficulty, before he could even request permission to leave for Xuan Rui, someone suddenly interrupted from outside: Fifth Prince Xuan Qiong had fallen into water. 

Zhong Wan’s heart dropped. He instantly remembered the current rumors: the imperial princes were fated to have misfortune relating to water.

Emperor Chongan’s expression immediately changed. He couldn’t be bothered with Zhong Wan anymore as he shouted, “What about the people around Xuan Qiong?! How did they let him fall in? How is Xuan Qiong now?!”

The guard who had come to relay the message couldn’t handle such a responsibility. He kowtowed and said, “Fifth Highness’ servants and the guards around the pond have all been arrested already. We still need careful interrogation to find out what actually happened. Right now, Fifth Highness has been taken to Thousand Autumn Palace. Imperial Consort Yu and the imperial doctors are already there.”

Emperor Chongan was agitated as could be. He ordered people to check on Xuan Qiong, then told others to bring Xuan Qiong’s attendant over. 

Zhong Wan originally should’ve left already, but he really wanted to know if the annoying thing known as Xuan Qiong had died or not. After a moment of hesitation, he stood silently off to the side, pretending he wasn’t there.

Not long after, Xuan Qiong’s attendant was brought over. That attendant was entirely soaked with pond water below the waist; he hadn’t had time to change yet. Now, he was shaking uncontrollably because of the cold. He even stuttered as he spoke because of this.

Before Emperor Chongan could start questioning, the attendant stammered out the previous occurrences while avoiding the important details and dwelling on the trivialities. He didn’t mention what Xuan Qiong had said, only saying that Xuan Qiong had been waiting outside the hall for a long time. His legs were numb from the cold, so he decided to take a walk around Bibo Pond. When he left the viewing terrace, he coincidentally encountered Yu She. The two barely exchanged any conversation before an obviously abnormal Yu She pushed the other into the water.

As soon as Emperor Chongan heard the name Yu She, his expression became even worse. “Yu She was fine by himself. Why would he push Xuan Qiong?” 

Xuan Qiong’s attendant kept kowtowing incessantly. He cried and shook his head while saying that he didn’t know.

Emperor Chongan was about to start angrily scolding the attendant for being foolish when the attendant said while crying and kowtowing, “Young Prince Yu often acts differently from normal people. I don’t know why he was in a bad mood today, but… even if something really wasn’t going the way he wanted it to, he could’ve just taken his anger out on me. How could he push His Highness? This is all my fault for being incapable of protecting His Highness…”

Emperor Chongan remembered Yu She’s usual preposterous behavior and paused for a moment. He stopped blaming the attendant and ordered more people to go check on Xuan Qiong.

Xuan Qiong’s attendant wiped away his cold sweat and slightly relaxed. How fortunate that Yu She had acted so preposterously in the past. Each time, Emperor Chongan would only act strictly for appearance’s sake before barely punishing the other. After, to give Prince Yu’s estate enough face and to save Yu She’s reputation, he would refuse to allow anyone else to look into the matter in detail, much less try to figure out what had truly happened. As such… he could probably avoid mentioning what Xuan Qiong had said before falling into the water. 

Zhong Wan stood off to the side. He turned his head to look at that attendant. He emboldened himself and asked in a deep voice, “Did Young Prince Yu start acting crazy out of the blue or did you fail to do your job and lured Fifth Highness to the water’s edge? Or… were you the one who actually pushed Fifth Highness into the water?”

Emperor Chongan paused. He finally remembered that Zhong Wan was still here.

Zhong Wan knelt. “Fifth Highness is currently unconscious. We don’t know what will happen in the future either. This is related to a prince’s life, perhaps even to the previous incident where Third Highness almost drowned too. I must trouble the Emperor and ask for a complete investigation.”

Emperor Chong was silent for a moment before asking the old eunuch, “How is Qiong’er?” 

The old eunuch shook his head. His expression was filled with worry. “They did manage to save his life, but he’s still unconscious at this moment. Imperial Consort Yu almost passed out from crying. Right now, she’s throwing a tantrum… saying she wants Young Prince Yu to pay with his own life.”

Emperor Chongan rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. A pause, and he said, “Ziyou probably hasn’t left the palace yet… Bring him here.”

Zhong Wan thought to himself, Yu She, you’d best not have pushed Xuan Qiong into the water because you suddenly felt like it. Otherwise, with how much I would be helping the wrong cause, you’d probably truly fuck me in a fit of anger after returning. 

Zhong Wan scanned Xuan Qiong’s attendant who was still kneeling on the ground with his peripheral vision. He felt that the other seemed to be trembling even more than before. 

As expected, this slave hadn’t told the truth…

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Yu She himself might not even try to explain anything. 

Thus, they could push any and all blame onto him.

But regardless of how his background was, had he chosen it for himself?

Zhong Wan thought back on what Steward Feng had previously said about how often Yu She had almost died these past few years. He suddenly started to suspect if those occurrences had truly been Yu She seeking death or if they were due to others noticing his determination for suicide. Had they added fuel to the flames and killed with a borrowed sword?

The Yu She of seven years ago hadn’t even heard of sleeping drugs. How would he know what cold food powder was? 

Had he actually found those drugs himself, or had someone else learned of his suicidal intentions and tempted him into consuming them?

The way Yu She was… Murdering him was an overly easy task.

Zhong Wan’s chest filled with angry flames as he observed the attendant ceaselessly shaking on the ground.

Even a slave dared to boldly place the blame on Yu She. 

Not long after, Yu She who had just reached the palace gates was stopped and brought back.

Yu She’s expression appeared natural, as if he hadn’t been the one who had pushed Xuan Qiong into the water. He only slightly paused upon seeing Zhong Wan. After, his gaze returned to normal.

Emperor Chongan asked, “You pushed Xuan Qiong into the water?”

Yu She nodded, “Yes.” 

He obviously didn’t want to explain anything.

Xuan Qiong’s attendant latched onto this last lifeline. He continuously kowtowed, saying there was no one else to blame but himself.

Emperor Chongan felt a headache coming on. “What are you playing at now? Everything was fine…”

Yu She glanced at the attendant on the ground and scoffed. He was curious what unwanted label he had been given this time. 

Yu She calmly said, “I felt disgusted looking at him, so pushed him in.”

Emperor Chongan furiously shouted, “You!”

Zhong Wan ground his teeth. This imbecile!

Yu She didn’t want to bother disputing. He didn’t want to repeat even a single phrase of what Xuan Qiong had said. Either way, Emperor Chongan wouldn’t do anything to him. No matter what they said, all he had to do was admit it. 

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Yu She lifted his gaze to look at Emperor Chongan. A hint of impatience flitted through his heart.

He didn’t believe that Emperor Chongan couldn’t guess why he had acted out of line.

It was because of the same old, trivial reasons every time. What else was there to explain?

Emperor Chongan feared hearing about these things. He himself also wasn’t patient enough to say them. 

If it could be ambiguously resolved, everyone would be happy.

Either way, Xuan Qiong hadn’t died. At most, he would be placed under house arrest again. What else could happen?

Yu She was about to confess when he saw Zhong Wan in his peripheral vision. He froze.

Zhong Wan was gazing at him anxiously. 

By now, Yu She had completely calmed down. After brief thought, he knew that there was a great possibility Zhong Wan had said something for Emperor Chongan to summon him here for more questioning.

Zhong Wan waited for a bit but still couldn’t hear Yu She say a word. He was beside himself with anxiety, wishing that he could refute things for the other. He lifted his head to glance at Yu She and saw that Yu She was actually looking at him too.

Their eyes met. Zhong Wan froze, then heard Yu She say lowly with furrowed brows, “Busybody.”

Yu She stayed quiet for a long time, like he had just made a grave decision. In agitation, he said, “Emperor, please order irrelevant people to leave.” 

Emperor Chongan nodded. Zhong Wan, the “irrelevant person,” was thus politely asked to leave.

Zhong Wan guessed that Xuan Qiong had probably said something he couldn’t be allowed to hear. Since Yu She was willing to argue for himself, things would probably be fine.

Zhong Wan waited outside the hall. He watched as a livid Imperial Consort Yu walked into the Great Hall with an imperial doctor, then watched as she walked out again, tears streaming down her face and a glint in her eyes.

A while later, Xuan Qiong’s attendant got towed out. The old eunuch lowered his gaze and quietly instructed, “His Majesty is kind and has only ordered a hundred hits for punishment. Take him to get his punishment.” 

The guards outside the hall acknowledged this. The old eunuch then slowly drawled out, “This is a person who has angered Young Prince Yu. Be a bit more conscientious. Don’t make Young Prince Yu unhappy.”

That attendant who was scared half to death could tell that this meant he was going to be killed. He made to scream in fright, but his nose and mouth got covered by the guards. They dragged him away.

The old eunuch turned to look at Zhong Wan and kindly said, “How unexpected that so much has happened today. It’s quite unfortunate. The emperor most likely doesn’t have the energy to speak with you anymore. Young Master Zhong needn’t wait here for nothing. This old slave will walk you out of the palace.”

Zhong Wan nodded. He followed the old eunuch out. 

On the way, he heard the old eunuch chatting quietly with the young eunuch following them.

“Imperial Consort Yu is truly foolish. The emperor was still in the middle of being angry, but she was adamant about charging in. In front of Young Prince Yu and all those servants, no less. She was scolded fairly harshly by the Emperor, losing her face…”

“Her Highness is foolish. The emperor originally made it taboo for her to share those rumors with Fifth Highness, but she refused to listen. Now she’s run straight into the blade of the sword. See how it is, even though she didn’t teach him to say those things, everyone considers her as the one who taught him to say them now.”

“Young Prince Yu was also alert today. He unexpectedly spoke so much.” 

“That’s because that slave was too bold. It’s okay if others say it, but how dare he say that Young Prince Yu’s emotions are uncontrolled? If that isn’t looking for death, I don’t know what is.”

Zhong Wan sighed gently. At the palace gates, he thanked the old eunuch. The old eunuch’s eyes were filled with amusement. He softly stated, “It’s cold out these days. Young Master Zhong, be careful not to catch a cold.”

Zhong Wan nodded. He thought to himself, they probably said all that this entire way for me to hear.

The eunuchs by the emperor’s side had no personal favorites. Those they respected were people that Emperor Chongan cared about. 

The old eunuchs were so protective of Yu She, which meant they probably also knew the truth.

Zhong Wan’s thoughts were extremely muddled. Just as he was about to leave, the old eunuch who walked him out smiled again and said, “Young Master Zhong, please wait.”

He took two steps forward, still smiling. “Let me share a joke I just heard with Young Master Zhong. Something trivial. This old servant says it, Young Master Zhong listens to it. Whatever you do, don’t become angry and don’t think too much about it.”

Zhong Wan furrowed his brows. “Gonggong, please speak.” 

The old eunuch bent his body and slowly stated, “That treacherous slave just now said that previously, before Fifth Highness fell into the water, he was in the middle of discussing how he planned to have the other pretend to be a slave from Prince Yu’s estate, stop Young Master Zhong outside the palace gates, and lure Young Master away.”

Zhong Wan’s pupils trembled.

“I don’t know if it’s true or not. The words out of a silly slave are only meant for inattentive listening. But see, Young Prince Yu accidentally gave a push…” The old eunuch looked outside the palace. With a smile on his face, he continued, “Isn’t the area outside the gates so calm and peaceful now?”

Zhong Wan felt like his heart had been stabbed by someone. It hurt like crazy. 

“Thus, Young Master Zhong can leave without worrying. It’s already quite late. When you get off the carriage, you’ll have reached home.” The old eunuch bowed and led the young eunuch away.

Zhong Wan tried his best to maintain his image as he climbed into the horse carriage. The old eunuch’s words echoed in his ears, causing all his organs to twist in pain.

His Ziyou…

Cold sweat appeared on Zhong Wan’s forehead. He bent over in discomfort and spent a long time taking several deep breaths before recovering. 

Zhong Wan rubbed his face and calmed his breathing. He had made up his mind. No matter how Yu She tried to shoo him away, he needed to stay.

He couldn’t rest assured.

It was already pitch-black outside. After a considerable amount of time, his horse carriage finally came to a halt.

Zhong Wan got off. He looked up at the placard outside the side estate of Prince Yu’s estate. For a long time, he had nothing to say. 

What happened to “you’ll reach home after getting out of the carriage?!”

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