How could there be someone even more foolish than the Princess Consort, even more foolish than his younger brother-in-law? The personal attendant at his side hurriedly fished out a Heart-Protecting Pill from his robes and fed him one. Only then did he recover.
“Uncle.” Chao Yao rose to his feet and walked over. “What’s wrong with you?”
Prince Yan gritted his teeth. “Stand where you are. Don’t move!”
Chao Yao halted at once.
Prince Yan drew a deep breath. “You didn’t leave any loose ends behind, did you?”
Chao Yao replied, “Probably not.”
What did he mean, probably not?
Prince Yan said, “Tell me exactly what you did. Start from the beginning and tell me everything.”
Chao Yao said, “The day I argued with Chao Song, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became. So I sent someone to feed arsenic to Chao Song’s horse. Even in the middle of winter, whenever he had nothing to do, he loved riding that prized horse of his in circles.
Since I didn’t know when he would next ride it, I had the arsenic coated in a layer of pig fat before it was administered. I’d heard that this would slow the onset of the poison. If Chao Song happened to be riding when the poison took effect, the horse would be driven mad by pain and throw him off properly.
If he wasn’t riding at the time, that didn’t matter either. Either way, he was bound to lose the horse he treasured so much. Who could have known he’d be so unlucky as to lose his life? After I heard about it, I paid the person who administered the poison a large sum of money to keep quiet. As for the people at the stables, none of them saw who poisoned the horse.”
“Arsenic?” Prince Yan asked.
Chao Yao replied, “I had someone buy it for me when I left the palace. I concealed my face, and the intermediary had no idea who I was.”
Prince Yan felt somewhat reassured.
“For the time being, behave yourself. Don’t go wandering about, and especially don’t come here. Meng Zhao is still keeping a close watch on me. Once His Majesty fails to find the culprit and the people at the stables have suffered enough punishment, this matter will die down.”
Chao Yao agreed.
“The matter you wanted to consult me about was this?” Prince Yan asked.
He immediately followed up, “There’s nothing else, is there?”
Meeting his stern gaze, Chao Yao felt his heart skip a beat and replied that there wasn’t.
Prince Yan saw him out. The snowy night was deep, and his departing figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness.
For the rest of the night, Prince Yan was unable to sleep. The more he thought about Chao Yao, the more uneasy he became. At first light the following morning, he rose and went to see the Emperor.
Firstly, he wanted to find out how far the Emperor’s investigation into Chao Song’s death had progressed.
Secondly, he wanted to remind the Emperor that the investigation into the Ministry of Justice’s old case had gone far enough and should not be allowed to escalate further.
At present, many people in the capital were deeply uneasy. Quite a number had approached him, asking him to persuade the Emperor to stop there. Previously, he had refrained from doing so because the time had not been right. Now, however, it was.
More than anything, he feared that if the investigation continued, Chao Yan would trace the matter back to Chao Yao. After all, Chao Yao’s men had committed crimes as well.
Chao Yao’s careless manner made him suspect that, despite repeated warnings, the man still had not properly cleaned up the mess he had left behind.
If not for Meng Zhao’s relentless scrutiny and determination to uncover evidence that he had arranged for a condemned prisoner to be substituted, Prince Yan would have been able to patch up his own loose ends and personally supervise Chao Yao while he cleaned up his.
Ever since he had decided to support Chao Yao, they had become grasshoppers tied to the same stalk. They would prosper together or fall together.
Even so, judging by Chao Yao’s recent conduct, he would have to begin placing bets on other princes as well.
He wanted to control Chao Yao. He had never intended to let Chao Yao drag him down with him.
Prince Yan failed to meet the Emperor.
Grand Eunuch Huang told him to wait, saying that the Emperor was currently questioning the Crown Prince and the Eighth Prince about certain matters. A feeling of foreboding instantly rose in Prince Yan’s heart.
At that moment, in the warm and cosy study, the Emperor was scrutinising Chao Yan and Chao Yao with sharp eyes.
After observing them for a while, he said, “The veterinary physician examined the horse and says it was poisoned with arsenic. Well then, which one of you did it?”
Chao Yao immediately dropped to his knees.
“Although Sixth Brother and I have had our disagreements, and even quarrelled not long before the incident, we grew up together. No matter what, I would never have done something so vicious to him. I beg Father to investigate thoroughly!”
Chao Yan knelt immediately afterwards.
“Father, I’ve been so busy lately that my feet haven’t touched the ground. I haven’t even had time to sleep. How could I possibly have had the leisure to harm Sixth Brother? Besides, Sixth Brother and I have never had any grievances between us. I beg Father to investigate thoroughly!”
The Emperor glanced at the dark shadows beneath Chao Yan’s eyes. “I heard that you and your Eighth Brother had a disagreement before your Sixth Brother’s accident.”
Chao Yan appeared startled, seemingly wondering how the Emperor knew of the matter. However, he quickly regained his composure and answered honestly:
“We did indeed have a disagreement. Eighth Brother wanted a share of the winter relief project, but I am solely responsible for that matter. He has never been involved in it before. I was worried he would make a mess of it and leave me to bear the responsibility, so I refused. We quarrelled over it.”
After speaking, Chao Yan pressed his lips together. “I should have reported Eighth Brother’s request to Father and awaited your decision. Your son recognises his mistake.”
The Emperor nodded. “Don’t let it happen again.”
Chao Yan acknowledged the reprimand.
Turning his gaze to Chao Yao, the Emperor said, “I had thought Ziyu resented you because of the winter relief matter and, in order to take revenge on you, turned around and targeted your Sixth Brother so as to frame you. It seems that isn’t the case after all.”
Chao Yao’s eyes widened. “Father, Chao Ziyu didn’t harm Sixth Brother, and neither did I! Your son has been wronged!”
The Emperor let out an “Oh” and then looked troubled. “If it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t you, then who was it?”
Chao Yan said, “Perhaps someone is trying to sow discord between Father and his sons.”
Almost at the same moment, Chao Yao said, “Maybe someone else is trying to frame me!”
Chao Yan and the Emperor both turned to look at him.
Chao Yao shot Chao Yan a resentful glance before saying to the Emperor, “The Crown Prince is absolutely right. I’ve had the same thought myself.”
The Emperor nodded and let out a soft sigh. “Drink these jars of wine, and then you may leave.”
Chao Yan acknowledged the order.
Chao Yao felt uneasy and wanted to ask why they had to drink. However, seeing that Chao Yan had not questioned it, he swallowed his doubts and obeyed as well.
Grand Eunuch Huang placed a jar before each of them. Chao Yan removed the lid and took a sniff.
Strong liquor. Just as he had expected. His Majesty’s methods were rather old-fashioned.
Without a word, Chao Yan drank it all. Chao Yao followed suit. By the time they had finished, both men were drunk.
The Emperor smashed a teacup and declared that they were attempting to deceive him, that he would have their heads.
The pair stared at him in a drunken haze. Only after a long moment did they react, laughing and insisting they had done nothing wrong.
Only then did the Emperor order people to replace the attendants at their sides and escort them to a side hall. The Emperor followed closely behind.
Once there, he instructed the substitutes to draw information out of Chao Yao.
They began with ordinary matters before gradually steering the conversation towards whether he had harmed Chao Song. The substitutes had received specialised training.
Chao Yao told the truth. “I never intended to kill Sixth Brother.”
The Emperor stared at him grimly for a long while before ordering the questioning to continue and demanding more detailed answers.
At the same time, he instructed the substitute questioning Chao Yan to ask whether he truly felt no resentment at being kept under the Emperor’s control, and whether he genuinely carried out his orders willingly. Chao Yan answered only a couple of sentences before passing out drunk.
However, the Emperor had already heard the answer he wanted, and his mood improved considerably.
He ordered Chao Yan to be sent back and instructed that a few words be passed on to Secondary Consort Gu as well.
During the questioning, he had already concluded that Chao Song had not been harmed by Chao Yan. As for Chao Yao’s answers, however, he did not entirely trust them.
Getting Chao Yan drunk had merely been a convenient opportunity to pry for information and see whether anything useful to himself could be extracted.
If nothing came of it, so be it. If something did, all the better.
Grand Eunuch Huang stepped forward. “Your Majesty, Prince Yan requests an audience.”
The Emperor replied, “Tell him to return. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.”
He found a seat and settled down to wait for the substitute to finish extracting Chao Yao’s confession.
…
The Eastern Palace.
Gu Yun received the seeds he had previously asked Chao Yan to obtain for him. There was an enormous bundle of them.
Just as he was about to unfold the accompanying note and see what kinds of seeds were inside, he heard that Chao Yan had become drunk while drinking with the Emperor and had been escorted back to the main hall of Chunhe Palace.
Gu Yun: “?”
What sort of wine had Chao Yan been drinking with the Emperor?
He had not seen Chao Yan that morning. The other man had risen far too early.
When Gu Yun got up, the only trace Chao Yan had left behind was the bowl of lily bulb and lotus seed soup he had instructed the small kitchen to prepare.
It had been sweet and fragrant. Gu Yun had drunk two full bowls.
Upon hearing the news, worry immediately arose in his heart, and he headed for the main hall of Chunhe Palace.
The person who had escorted Chao Yan back was the same man who had previously delivered the painting of refined ladies: Grand Eunuch Huang’s apprentice.
This time, Zhao He had not accompanied the Crown Prince to the Eastern Garden. Instead, the Crown Prince had taken two loyal palace attendants personally selected by Zhao He.
After settling the Crown Prince in, Zhao He left the main hall. While slipping some silver to Huang’s apprentice, he quietly asked what had happened.
Huang’s apprentice cheerfully pocketed the silver. “It’s nothing serious. Don’t worry.”
Zhao He still looked concerned.
Huang’s apprentice asked, “Where is Secondary Consort Gu?”
Zhao He was just about to reply, “I’ll fetch Secondary Consort Gu at once,” when he caught sight of Gu Yun approaching from the corner of his eye. “Secondary Consort Gu is already here.”
Huang’s apprentice immediately strode forward and bowed. “Secondary Consort Gu.”
Gu Yun discreetly sized him up before smiling and gesturing for him not to stand on ceremony. He then thanked him for escorting His Highness back.
“It’s only what I ought to do.” After saying this, Huang’s apprentice lowered his voice and grinned.
“The wine His Highness drank was a powerful tonic. Once he sobers up, do take good care of him. Don’t let His Highness bottle things up and damage his health.”
Gu Yun: “???”
Huang’s apprentice continued, “His Majesty has noticed that you and His Highness have been married for several months, yet there’s still been no news. He suspects His Highness has been too busy and that poor health is the reason you haven’t conceived a child. So His Majesty has given him a little nourishment.
Secondary Consort Gu, make good use of the opportunity. Don’t waste His Majesty’s good intentions. His Majesty thinks very highly of you. Only once you have a child will your position truly be secure.”
Gu Yun: “………………………………….”
