"The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince have arrived!"
Xie Shizi was accompanying the imperial physician in examining his mother's pulse when he heard that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince had arrived. He quickly stood up and walked out to greet them.
Wherever the Crown Prince appeared, it was always lively. Xie Shizi looked at the Crown Prince, who was surrounded by many people, and bowed respectfully, "Greetings to Your Royal Highness, Greetings to the Fifth Prince."
"No need for formalities, cousin," said the Crown Prince, standing in the courtyard without entering the room. Though Princess Leyang was his aunt, she was still a woman, and he didn't feel comfortable going directly into the room, "Is Aunt in serious condition?"
'Committing suicide' was not a glorious matter, so the Crown Prince didn't want to mention it. They shared the same surname, he couldn't afford to tarnish his own family's reputation.
Xie Shizi's expression was somewhat unnatural. Even he could guess the reason behind his mother's attempted suicide. How could the Crown Prince and the Emperor not guess? He lowered his head further, "The imperial physician is currently examining my mother's pulse, but her life is not in danger."
"The imperial physician is also here?" The Crown Prince raised his foot, "Then let Gu go in and take a look."
"Please, Your Royal Highness," Xie Shizi didn't stop him. He lowered his head and led the way. When he stepped on the stairs, he touched the spot on his chest where the blood letter was placed. After his mother regained consciousness, she might blame him, but he didn't want to compound this matter any further.
The crimes committed by the Xie family couldn't be borne by his mother's attempted suicide alone.
"Your Royal Highness, please," he opened the curtain and allowed the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince to enter the room.
Upon entering the room, the Crown Prince caught a whiff of a faint medicinal scent. He glanced at the bed where Princess Leyang lay, still unconscious, with a clear mark on her neck. He waved his hand to exempt the people in the room from bowing and assessed the room, "Was there no one keeping watch while Aunt was resting?"
"Your Royal Highness, there were usually attendants keeping watch in the past, but tonight the Princess was in a bad mood, so no one was left to attend to her," a maid in emerald attire stepped forward to answer.
The Crown Prince glanced at her, "Why was she in a bad mood?"
The maid glanced at Xie Shizi when he remained silent and continued, "A few hours ago, when Xie Fuma's hysteria worsened, he smashed a vase; the broken shards cut his arm."
"A person with hysteria shouldn't have had porcelain items in the room," the Crown Prince frowned, "The Xie family's attendants really don't know how to care for the sick. Fortunately, we in the imperial family are still watching over them in the capital. If they were taken back to the south, how could their lives be ensured?"
The attendants from the Xie family in the room had blank expressions upon hearing these words. They all knew that the Crown Prince was framing and slandering them, but they dared not retort.
"It must be these attendants who failed to properly serve Aunt, leading to her ill intentions," the Crown Prince raised his eyelids, his tone cold, "Bring all these attendants from the Xie family to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation. The attendants serving the Princess and Fuma will be reassigned by the Imperial Household Department. The safety of the Princess and Fuma takes precedence in all matters."
"Please forgive us, Your Royal Highness," the attendants in the room paled in fear and knelt down, pleading for mercy. Some of them looked at Xie Shizi, hoping he would help intercede.
However, to their disappointment, Xie Shizi remained silent, lowering his head and not even looking at them.
"It is due to Fuma's severe hysteria and Aunt's poor health that all of you attendants from the Xie family have taken advantage of Gu's kind-hearted cousin's youth," the Crown Prince angrily rebuked, "If Gu were to spare you, it would mean Aunt and Fuma suffered these hardships in vain. Even if Gu has a forgiving nature, Gu cannot tolerate such things happening."
He clapped his hands. The Golden Armored Guards came in and dragged all the attendants from the room.
After Princess Leyang's attempted suicide, Xie Fuma had been lying in bed, waiting for news. He waited for a long time, but no one came to give him any updates. Just as he was about to pretend to be insane and rush out, he heard footsteps outside.
"The Golden Armored Guards are here on official duty! You guilty servants, surrender yourselves!"
Xie Fuma frowned upon hearing the commotion. The Golden Armored Guards were the Crown Prince's personal guards, so why were they at Princess Leyang Estate to apprehend someone?
"I am the attendant of Xie Fuma. You shall not be disrespectful," Xie Fuma's personal attendant declared.
Upon hearing the voice of his loyal servant, Xie Fuma realized the situation was unfavorable. In his urgency, he had no choice but to roll off the bed, his hair disheveled, and rush out of the room, grabbing his servant's arm.
"My companion cannot be taken away," he held onto his servant's clothes and sat on the ground, kicking his legs and wailing.
"What's going on?" The Fifth Prince entered the courtyard and looked at Xie Fuma, who was crying loudly on the ground. He crossed his hands behind his back and said to the Golden Armored Guards, "Don't just stand there. As Third Brother said, none of these malicious servants can be left behind."
"Your Highness, Fuma's mental state is like that of a child. This servant has served by his side for over ten years. If Your Highness let the guards take this servant away, what will happen to Fuma?" The servant knelt before the Fifth Prince, pleading, "This servant implores mercy, Your Highness."
"The attendants arranged by the Imperial Household Department will arrive soon. Do you think the attendants from the palace are not as capable as you in serving?" The Fifth Prince's face turned cold, "Even if Fuma currently had the mentality of a three or four years old child, it is not a reason to allow dangers to remain by his side."
"A good child is not to be spoiled but to be taught well," the Fifth Prince raised his hand, "Take him away."
Xie Fuma clung to his servant's leg, while the servant protected Xie Fuma, preventing the Golden Armored Guards from touching him. After a touching farewell scene, the guards finally separated the master and servant.
"Fuma!"
"Companion."
Xie Fuma and his servant reached out their hands toward each other. The scene was extremely moving.
However, Xie Shizi, who witnessed this, found it both ridiculous and pitiful. His mother lay unconscious on the bed, while his father is still pretending to be insane.
Since he was so good at feigning illness, why didn't he find an opportunity to go to his mother's courtyard and see if she was safe?
He covered his mouth with his hand and suddenly felt nauseous, so nauseous that he wanted to vomit.
"Cousin, your complexion looks terrible," the Crown Prince noticed that Xie Shizi's face had turned pale in an instant, "Are you ill?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Royal Highness. I am fine," Xie Shizi forced a smile to express his gratitude.
"Fifth Brother will take care of things here. Cousin, come with me to where Aunt resides," the Crown Prince said as he took Xie Shizi back to Princess Leyang's courtyard. He also had an imperial physician examine Xie Shizi's pulse.
"The young master shows symptoms of heatstroke, but it seems he has already taken antipyretic medicine, so the symptoms are not severe," the imperial physician handed a few pills to Xie Shizi and instructed him to take them with plain water.
Xie Shizi remembered the bottle of medicine that Fushou Junzhu gave him when he set out to return to home. It seemed that was the medicine that alleviated his symptoms.
Most of the servants in Princess Leyang Estate had been taken away, leaving the estate extremely quiet, with only a few eunuchs from the Eastern Palace assisting. Xie Shizi turned his head and quietly thanked the Crown Prince.
"You are Gu's cousin. With Aunt and Fuma in their current state, Gu cannot ignore you," the Crown Prince said with a gentle smile, appearing like a caring older brother.
Xie Shizi hesitated to speak, but coincidentally, Princess Leyang on the bed moved. He quickly stood up and approached the bedside, "Mother?"
Princess Leyang regained consciousness, wanting to speak, but she found her throat was in severe pain.
"Mother, don't worry for now. The imperial physician said you injured your throat and need a few days of rest before you can speak," Xie Shizi held her wrist, "The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince came to see you."
The Crown Prince is here?
Princess Leyang endured the tremendous pain in her throat and turned her head to look at the Crown Prince sitting in the room. She opened her mouth but couldn't produce any sound.
Did the Crown Prince see her blood-stained letter? She glanced at the table, but the blood-stained plea was gone. She grabbed Xie Shizi's sleeve and pointed to where the letter had been placed.
"Mother, please rest assured. Your son will take good care of the Crown Prince," Xie Shizi squeezed Princess Leyang's wrist and tucked her hand into the silk quilt.
Princess Leyang widened her eyes. That's not what she meant!
Xie Shizi looked calmly at her, silent for a moment, "Mother, please rest well. Your son will see the Crown Prince out."
He released Princess Leyang's hand, stood up, and bowed to the Crown Prince, "I feel extremely guilty that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince had to make this trip due to my mother's situation. Now that my mother has awakened, I urge both the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince to return to the palace and rest."
"Seeing Aunt wake up in good condition puts Gu's mind at ease," the Crown Prince stood up and looked at Princess Leyang, who lay on the bed with her round eyes wide open, "Aunt, Gu never knew you suffered so much in the Xie family. Those Xie family servants are audacious to dare to humiliate even a princess. Rest assured, Gu will seek justice for you."
The Xie family servants humiliated her?
Princess Leyang found herself unable to understand the meaning behind the Crown Prince's words. She struggled to sit up, wanting to write down her plea once again.
"Princess, please lie still," the eunuch from the Eastern Palace pressed Princess Leyang back down, his face filled with concern and anger, "The fingers are connected to the heart. Those audacious servants dared to attack your fingers, leaving so many wounds. The Crown Prince is distressed seeing this."
Princess Leyang breathed rapidly. She was infuriated.
The Crown Prince did this intentionally! All this talk about acting out of line and audacity were just excuses from the Crown Prince. He wanted to shift all the blame for her suicide attempt onto the Xie family.
How could she forget?
Ji Yuansu had always been audacious and ruthless since childhood. No matter what she did, as long as he didn't want her to live peacefully, he would never stop.
"Hearing that Gu will avenge you, Aunt, are you so delighted?" Looking at the Princess Leyang struggling to breathe, the Crown Prince smiled faintly, "Rest assured, Gu won't let you suffer in vain."
Princess Leyang's eyes rolled back as she fainted from anger.
On the next day, rumors spread in the capital that the servants of the Xie family took advantage of Xie Fuma's hysteria to humiliate Princess Leyang and drive her to hang herself. Fortunately, Princess Leyang's son returned to the estate that night and discovered something amiss, saving Princess Leyang.
The reputation of the Xie family had long been tarnished in the capital. Upon hearing that the Xie family servants had driven the Princess, who was like a golden branch and jade leaf, to commit suicide, few doubted it. They simply cursed every member of the Xie family.
Even scholars who came from the south believed these events without a doubt. They witnessed members of the Xie family pushing a scholar into a river to drown in front of others, so it was not surprising that Xie family servants would bully the Princess while Xie Fuma suffered from hysteria.
As various versions of the story circulated, accusing different Xie family servants of bullying Princess Leyang, Jinpo finally sent the Jinpo's Eldest Prince to the capital of Great Jin.
The Eldest Prince of Jinpo sat in the carriage, looking at the bustling city, his expression not too mournful.
After their defeat and the capture of his second brother in Jinpo, he had long anticipated that he might be sent to Great Jin as a hostage. What he did not anticipate was that even if he was sent as a hostage to the capital of Great Jin, his second brother would still remain as a prisoner in Jinpo.
Being a hostage was better than being a prisoner.
In life, one must learn to find joy amidst hardships. Over the years, he had been subjected to countless hardships caused by his second brother. He never expected that his first opportunity to surpass him would come in the form of being a hostage in Great Jin.
Such is life, full of ups and downs...
Krish728
Author's Note:
The Crown Prince pointed at a chicken: "That duck looks delicious."
Eunuchs from the Eastern Palace: "Your Royal Highness has great taste!"
"The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince have arrived!"
Xie Shizi was accompanying the imperial physician in examining his mother's pulse when he heard that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince had arrived. He quickly stood up and walked out to greet them.
Wherever the Crown Prince appeared, it was always lively. Xie Shizi looked at the Crown Prince, who was surrounded by many people, and bowed respectfully, "Greetings to Your Royal Highness, Greetings to the Fifth Prince."
"No need for formalities, cousin," said the Crown Prince, standing in the courtyard without entering the room. Though Princess Leyang was his aunt, she was still a woman, and he didn't feel comfortable going directly into the room, "Is Aunt in serious condition?"
'Committing suicide' was not a glorious matter, so the Crown Prince didn't want to mention it. They shared the same surname, he couldn't afford to tarnish his own family's reputation.
Xie Shizi's expression was somewhat unnatural. Even he could guess the reason behind his mother's attempted suicide. How could the Crown Prince and the Emperor not guess? He lowered his head further, "The imperial physician is currently examining my mother's pulse, but her life is not in danger."
"The imperial physician is also here?" The Crown Prince raised his foot, "Then let Gu go in and take a look."
"Please, Your Royal Highness," Xie Shizi didn't stop him. He lowered his head and led the way. When he stepped on the stairs, he touched the spot on his chest where the blood letter was placed. After his mother regained consciousness, she might blame him, but he didn't want to compound this matter any further.
The crimes committed by the Xie family couldn't be borne by his mother's attempted suicide alone.
"Your Royal Highness, please," he opened the curtain and allowed the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince to enter the room.
Upon entering the room, the Crown Prince caught a whiff of a faint medicinal scent. He glanced at the bed where Princess Leyang lay, still unconscious, with a clear mark on her neck. He waved his hand to exempt the people in the room from bowing and assessed the room, "Was there no one keeping watch while Aunt was resting?"
"Your Royal Highness, there were usually attendants keeping watch in the past, but tonight the Princess was in a bad mood, so no one was left to attend to her," a maid in emerald attire stepped forward to answer.
The Crown Prince glanced at her, "Why was she in a bad mood?"
The maid glanced at Xie Shizi when he remained silent and continued, "A few hours ago, when Xie Fuma's hysteria worsened, he smashed a vase; the broken shards cut his arm."
"A person with hysteria shouldn't have had porcelain items in the room," the Crown Prince frowned, "The Xie family's attendants really don't know how to care for the sick. Fortunately, we in the imperial family are still watching over them in the capital. If they were taken back to the south, how could their lives be ensured?"
The attendants from the Xie family in the room had blank expressions upon hearing these words. They all knew that the Crown Prince was framing and slandering them, but they dared not retort.
"It must be these attendants who failed to properly serve Aunt, leading to her ill intentions," the Crown Prince raised his eyelids, his tone cold, "Bring all these attendants from the Xie family to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation. The attendants serving the Princess and Fuma will be reassigned by the Imperial Household Department. The safety of the Princess and Fuma takes precedence in all matters."
"Please forgive us, Your Royal Highness," the attendants in the room paled in fear and knelt down, pleading for mercy. Some of them looked at Xie Shizi, hoping he would help intercede.
However, to their disappointment, Xie Shizi remained silent, lowering his head and not even looking at them.
"It is due to Fuma's severe hysteria and Aunt's poor health that all of you attendants from the Xie family have taken advantage of Gu's kind-hearted cousin's youth," the Crown Prince angrily rebuked, "If Gu were to spare you, it would mean Aunt and Fuma suffered these hardships in vain. Even if Gu has a forgiving nature, Gu cannot tolerate such things happening."
He clapped his hands. The Golden Armored Guards came in and dragged all the attendants from the room.
After Princess Leyang's attempted suicide, Xie Fuma had been lying in bed, waiting for news. He waited for a long time, but no one came to give him any updates. Just as he was about to pretend to be insane and rush out, he heard footsteps outside.
"The Golden Armored Guards are here on official duty! You guilty servants, surrender yourselves!"
Xie Fuma frowned upon hearing the commotion. The Golden Armored Guards were the Crown Prince's personal guards, so why were they at Princess Leyang Estate to apprehend someone?
"I am the attendant of Xie Fuma. You shall not be disrespectful," Xie Fuma's personal attendant declared.
Upon hearing the voice of his loyal servant, Xie Fuma realized the situation was unfavorable. In his urgency, he had no choice but to roll off the bed, his hair disheveled, and rush out of the room, grabbing his servant's arm.
"My companion cannot be taken away," he held onto his servant's clothes and sat on the ground, kicking his legs and wailing.
"What's going on?" The Fifth Prince entered the courtyard and looked at Xie Fuma, who was crying loudly on the ground. He crossed his hands behind his back and said to the Golden Armored Guards, "Don't just stand there. As Third Brother said, none of these malicious servants can be left behind."
"Your Highness, Fuma's mental state is like that of a child. This servant has served by his side for over ten years. If Your Highness let the guards take this servant away, what will happen to Fuma?" The servant knelt before the Fifth Prince, pleading, "This servant implores mercy, Your Highness."
"The attendants arranged by the Imperial Household Department will arrive soon. Do you think the attendants from the palace are not as capable as you in serving?" The Fifth Prince's face turned cold, "Even if Fuma currently had the mentality of a three or four years old child, it is not a reason to allow dangers to remain by his side."
"A good child is not to be spoiled but to be taught well," the Fifth Prince raised his hand, "Take him away."
Xie Fuma clung to his servant's leg, while the servant protected Xie Fuma, preventing the Golden Armored Guards from touching him. After a touching farewell scene, the guards finally separated the master and servant.
"Fuma!"
"Companion."
Xie Fuma and his servant reached out their hands toward each other. The scene was extremely moving.
However, Xie Shizi, who witnessed this, found it both ridiculous and pitiful. His mother lay unconscious on the bed, while his father is still pretending to be insane.
Since he was so good at feigning illness, why didn't he find an opportunity to go to his mother's courtyard and see if she was safe?
He covered his mouth with his hand and suddenly felt nauseous, so nauseous that he wanted to vomit.
"Cousin, your complexion looks terrible," the Crown Prince noticed that Xie Shizi's face had turned pale in an instant, "Are you ill?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Royal Highness. I am fine," Xie Shizi forced a smile to express his gratitude.
"Fifth Brother will take care of things here. Cousin, come with me to where Aunt resides," the Crown Prince said as he took Xie Shizi back to Princess Leyang's courtyard. He also had an imperial physician examine Xie Shizi's pulse.
"The young master shows symptoms of heatstroke, but it seems he has already taken antipyretic medicine, so the symptoms are not severe," the imperial physician handed a few pills to Xie Shizi and instructed him to take them with plain water.
Xie Shizi remembered the bottle of medicine that Fushou Junzhu gave him when he set out to return to home. It seemed that was the medicine that alleviated his symptoms.
Most of the servants in Princess Leyang Estate had been taken away, leaving the estate extremely quiet, with only a few eunuchs from the Eastern Palace assisting. Xie Shizi turned his head and quietly thanked the Crown Prince.
"You are Gu's cousin. With Aunt and Fuma in their current state, Gu cannot ignore you," the Crown Prince said with a gentle smile, appearing like a caring older brother.
Xie Shizi hesitated to speak, but coincidentally, Princess Leyang on the bed moved. He quickly stood up and approached the bedside, "Mother?"
Princess Leyang regained consciousness, wanting to speak, but she found her throat was in severe pain.
"Mother, don't worry for now. The imperial physician said you injured your throat and need a few days of rest before you can speak," Xie Shizi held her wrist, "The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince came to see you."
The Crown Prince is here?
Princess Leyang endured the tremendous pain in her throat and turned her head to look at the Crown Prince sitting in the room. She opened her mouth but couldn't produce any sound.
Did the Crown Prince see her blood-stained letter? She glanced at the table, but the blood-stained plea was gone. She grabbed Xie Shizi's sleeve and pointed to where the letter had been placed.
"Mother, please rest assured. Your son will take good care of the Crown Prince," Xie Shizi squeezed Princess Leyang's wrist and tucked her hand into the silk quilt.
Princess Leyang widened her eyes. That's not what she meant!
Xie Shizi looked calmly at her, silent for a moment, "Mother, please rest well. Your son will see the Crown Prince out."
He released Princess Leyang's hand, stood up, and bowed to the Crown Prince, "I feel extremely guilty that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince had to make this trip due to my mother's situation. Now that my mother has awakened, I urge both the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince to return to the palace and rest."
"Seeing Aunt wake up in good condition puts Gu's mind at ease," the Crown Prince stood up and looked at Princess Leyang, who lay on the bed with her round eyes wide open, "Aunt, Gu never knew you suffered so much in the Xie family. Those Xie family servants are audacious to dare to humiliate even a princess. Rest assured, Gu will seek justice for you."
The Xie family servants humiliated her?
Princess Leyang found herself unable to understand the meaning behind the Crown Prince's words. She struggled to sit up, wanting to write down her plea once again.
"Princess, please lie still," the eunuch from the Eastern Palace pressed Princess Leyang back down, his face filled with concern and anger, "The fingers are connected to the heart. Those audacious servants dared to attack your fingers, leaving so many wounds. The Crown Prince is distressed seeing this."
Princess Leyang breathed rapidly. She was infuriated.
The Crown Prince did this intentionally! All this talk about acting out of line and audacity were just excuses from the Crown Prince. He wanted to shift all the blame for her suicide attempt onto the Xie family.
How could she forget?
Ji Yuansu had always been audacious and ruthless since childhood. No matter what she did, as long as he didn't want her to live peacefully, he would never stop.
"Hearing that Gu will avenge you, Aunt, are you so delighted?" Looking at the Princess Leyang struggling to breathe, the Crown Prince smiled faintly, "Rest assured, Gu won't let you suffer in vain."
Princess Leyang's eyes rolled back as she fainted from anger.
On the next day, rumors spread in the capital that the servants of the Xie family took advantage of Xie Fuma's hysteria to humiliate Princess Leyang and drive her to hang herself. Fortunately, Princess Leyang's son returned to the estate that night and discovered something amiss, saving Princess Leyang.
The reputation of the Xie family had long been tarnished in the capital. Upon hearing that the Xie family servants had driven the Princess, who was like a golden branch and jade leaf, to commit suicide, few doubted it. They simply cursed every member of the Xie family.
Even scholars who came from the south believed these events without a doubt. They witnessed members of the Xie family pushing a scholar into a river to drown in front of others, so it was not surprising that Xie family servants would bully the Princess while Xie Fuma suffered from hysteria.
As various versions of the story circulated, accusing different Xie family servants of bullying Princess Leyang, Jinpo finally sent the Jinpo's Eldest Prince to the capital of Great Jin.
The Eldest Prince of Jinpo sat in the carriage, looking at the bustling city, his expression not too mournful.
After their defeat and the capture of his second brother in Jinpo, he had long anticipated that he might be sent to Great Jin as a hostage. What he did not anticipate was that even if he was sent as a hostage to the capital of Great Jin, his second brother would still remain as a prisoner in Jinpo.
Being a hostage was better than being a prisoner.
In life, one must learn to find joy amidst hardships. Over the years, he had been subjected to countless hardships caused by his second brother. He never expected that his first opportunity to surpass him would come in the form of being a hostage in Great Jin.
Such is life, full of ups and downs...
Krish728
Author's Note:
The Crown Prince pointed at a chicken: "That duck looks delicious."
Eunuchs from the Eastern Palace: "Your Royal Highness has great taste!"
