No matter how hard Xuan Tianmo thought about it, he could not figure out the truth behind the matter. He had someone bring the girl on the bed to the servants’ quarters and did not throw her out, nor did he have her killed. He even called a doctor to save her because he was hoping that the girl would be able to recall something after waking up. For example, how she got out of the palace or how she got into the Sheng Palace. Even if he only had a bit of a clue, it would be extremely beneficial.
On this day, the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace was not at all relaxed. First, when the Emperor found that the eighth prince had not come to morning court and had not sent anyone to request a leave, he began to feel anxious. He immediately sent Wu Ying to the Sheng Palace to inquire about the situation. But the servants of the Sheng Palace could not just say that their master had neglected court because he was busy with a girl, right! Thus they could only report an illness for the eighth prince, saying that the eighth prince had suddenly fallen ill the previous night. He was so sick that he could not attend court and hoped that the Emperor would forgive him.
When Wu Ying brought this news back into the palace, morning court had already been dismissed, and the Emperor was eating pastries while being accompanied by Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. When news of the eighth prince’s illness arrived, the two became very worried, and the Emperor immediately ordered for imperial physicians to be sent to the Sheng Palace to examine the eighth prince.
When the imperial physician arrived at the Sheng Palace, Xuan Tianmo was currently taking a bath. While bathing, he began to feel distressed over his lower body. The soreness made his life miserable.
The imperial physician waited outside for a long time before seeing Xuan Tianmo, but what illness did Xuan Tianmo have to show him? He just went through the motions and let the imperial physician perform an examination. The imperial physician thought to himself that the eighth prince was not ill at all? But since he had claimed an illness, he definitely had his own ideas. He played it smart. Combining the recent situation with the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and the Emperor’s attitude, he would need to be able to come up with a lie. He ended up saying that the cold atmosphere might have caused him to come down with a cold. He even wrote up a prescription that would have no negative side effects if taken.
Xuan Tianmo was very satisfied with this imperial physician’s actions and sent him off with some reward money; however, who knew that he would happen to run into another doctor who had come to the Sheng Palace. It was just that the other two had come to examine the girl and not the eighth prince. After the two left the palace, they quietly discussed things while walking along. One of them asked the other: “Can we really not reveal this matter?”
The other person nodded and said with absolute resolution: “It must not be said! If it’s revealed, our only path left is death.”
“But why? It’s just a girl, and she doesn’t look to have much status or background. It’s possible that she was just some prostitute who was picked up somewhere. To end up with that sort of illness, she can just be thrown out. She’s not the female master of the residence. What is there that can’t be talked about? Was this not the illness that we came to treat?”
The other person shook his head, “We didn’t come for this. We were called here to save that girl’s life. Who knows how the eighth prince plans on using her. Even an idiot can see that she had just had her virginity taken. To have her virginity taken here and to have a doctor invited for her, aside from the eighth prince, who else could do it? With her getting this sort of illness, how could the eighth prince possibly avoid being infected! It would be best if we just pretended not to know about this. It would be best to pack up our things and leave the capital once we get back; otherwise, once the eighth prince discovers that he has been infected, the first thing that he will do is get rid of witnesses. We need to protect this secret. Let’s not delay. Fleeing is most important.”
Seeing the two doctors hastily leave, the imperial physician from the palace became soaked in a cold sweat. He stopped in place and turned around to look at the Sheng Palace while feeling quite conflicted.
Should he tell the eighth prince about this? He had just examined the eighth prince, but if he had been engaging in pleasure-seeking the previous night, such an illness could not be discovered so quickly. If things really were as the two doctors had said, and that girl was infected with an illness, the eighth prince would definitely be unable to avoid it. Given the current situation, if he did not say anything, this matter would not implicate him because the eighth prince would not see any symptoms for at least five days. What if he did say something? Then there would be a chance that he would be opposing the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. Based on the Emperor’s current attitude, the throne will belong to the eighth prince.
He felt a little emotional, but thinking a little more, he felt that his thoughts were too rash. How long had the Emperor been treating the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu like this? He had treated the ninth prince well for so many years! Things needed to be observed a little longer.
Inside the Sheng Palace, nobody knew about the matter of the girl being infected with an illness. The two doctors only prescribed some medicine to stop the bleeding and supplements to keep the girl alive. At this moment, inside the Imperial Palace, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu looked at Zirui, who had come to eat with the Emperor. She felt conflicted from seeing his usual expression.
Why was it that this child looked completely unaffected? Normally speaking, when such a young child was suddenly given a private mentor like that, he should at least inquire about it with the Emperor, right? Or he should ask the servants? Or even if he did not ask anyone, he should look a little bit off. Why was it that he looked completely unaffected? Could it be… She thought to herself that it could be possible that this child had already expanded his horizons before last night? But he did not look like it!
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s thoughts were very direct, and naturally, Zirui could notice them. Keeping Feng Yuheng’s advice in mind, he did his best to maintain the same mental state that he had the previous day. He acted as if nothing had happened and just carried on as usual.
The Emperor happily chatted with Zirui and occasionally took a bite of the food that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu gave him. He looked to be in very good spirits. Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, however, was in complete disarray. For the first time, she was anxious as to why the Emperor still had not finished eating. After he finished eating, he could go and look at reports, and she would have a chance to go and find that girl to ask about the situation from last night. She felt uneasy and felt that something had gone wrong last night; however, no matter how she thought about it, what sort of thing could happen in such a secure palace?
Finally, after dinner was finished, the Emperor chatted with Zirui for a little while longer, even asking about his homework before letting Zirui leave. Zirui very politely saluted to the Emperor and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. There was not even the slightest bit of animosity towards Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. After this salute, he retreated from Zhao He Hall and returned to his small courtyard. As for Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, she personally took care of the Emperor and accompanied him to the outer hall. It was only after he began looking over reports that she bid farewell and left. Right before she left, the Emperor was reluctant to part with her, saying: “How about you don’t return to Cun Shan Palace. It’s cold outside, and it’s far away. Just rest in Zhao He Hall. Either way, you’ll be coming back tonight.”
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu quickly gave thanks for the grace but still insisted on returning, saying that she could not become spoiled from the favor, as it would end up a topic of discussion for others.
This sort of understanding thing caused the Emperor to feel very comfortable. Only then did he nod and let her leave, repeatedly advising her: “Just wait for Us in your palace. When We have finished reading these reports, We will send someone to pick you up.” The two still looked to be a loving couple.
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu did indeed return to Cun Shan Palace. After returning, the first thing that she did was bring in the granny responsible for teaching those girls. Previously, ever since she had heard the imperial physician report that His Highness the eighth prince had caught a cold and would be fine after taking some medicine, she had been feeling quite flustered. She kept feeling that Zirui’s matter was related to this, but what exactly was the connection?
The granny responsible for teaching the girls in the palace quietly arrived in front of Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu then dropped to her knees, immediately saying: “This old servant has made a mistake. Would Your Highness Imperial Concubine Shu please hand down a punishment.”
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s hand trembled, and some hot tea splashed out, causing her to grimace from being burned. But at this moment, she could not concern herself with her hand, quickly asking the granny: “What exactly happened? Speak!”
The granny spoke in a hollow voice: “The girl, Xiao Wan, arranged to visit the Feng family’s young master disappeared last night! The people from where the Feng family’s young master is staying reported it this morning. They said that the Feng family’s young master slept soundly, and his clothes were tidy. His bed was also perfectly tidy, and there did not seem to be anything off about the room, nor was there anyone there. Xiao Wan had indeed gone inside, as the servants saw this. After going in, they heard the sound of some speaking, but there was no more movement after that. They believed that they had slept together, and they thought that their movements were too quiet to be heard, but they found this morning that Xiao Wan had gone missing. Asking the Feng family’s young master, he said that nobody entered his room and that he slept very soundly. He said that he doesn’t know anything.”
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was very shocked, “Missing? How can that be possible!” The palace was presently like a cage, and everyone stationed was one of the eighth prince’s people. How could a girl possibly disappear? “Have you searched for her?”
This old servant also felt that the situation was too serious, and we have searched the palace for this person for the entire day; however, we haven’t been able to even catch a glimpse of her.” The granny also had a look of confusion, “It’s as though she suddenly vanished, or it’s as if she never appeared. It’s as the Feng family’s young master said, and nothing happened last night.”
Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu became soaked in a cold sweat from the shock. It was no wonder Feng Zirui looked so natural today. It turned out that he had just gone to sleep last night, and he had no clue that the girl had gone in. That girl only went in for a short while, which meant that things definitely did not succeed. She then disappeared. What exactly was the cause of this? Had that girl hidden herself, or did Feng Zirui have a helper on his side?
She was unable to figure it out no matter how hard she thought about it, but she did not trouble the granny, only saying: “Continue the search. Even if the entire palace needs to be turned over, she must be found for this One! Also, there’s no need to worry about the residences of the other members of the imperial harem. Just search all of them and say that this One lost the bracelet given to this One by His Majesty when this One entered the palace. Every corner must be searched, even the Empress’ Jing Ci Palace cannot be spared!”
After these instructions were given, the search began throughout the palace. This caused the members of the imperial harem to sigh bitterly, but they did not dare say anything. At present, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was the Emperor’s beloved, and even the Empress chose to endure and let her continue. Even Imperial Concubine Yun did not make any moves, so what could they do?
Unfortunately, even after a night of searching, nothing could be found. This caused the people in the inner palace to be unable to sleep, as they wondered what sort of craziness had possessed Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. Was she really looking for a bracelet?
Faced with this sort of search, the one most afraid was actually Imperial Concubine Li. She was not afraid of a bracelet being found. She was afraid of those things in her room would be discovered by others. Once they were discovered, what should she do?
However, the more she was afraid of something, the more likely it was to happen. With so many of those items, she had no place to hide them. The people who came in to search quickly found them, and they could not help but feel shocked. The granny in charge considered the relationship between Imperial Concubine Li and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and did not disclose this matter. Instead, she temporarily chose to protect Imperial Concubine Li and secretly sent someone to report this matter to Imperial Concubine Shu…
