After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 34

Liang Xiao stroked the fabric in her hand and continued, “Although the Emperor’s illness is a result of his age, the coughing only began eleven years ago, and it flares up every autumn since then.”

Yan Heng frowned and thought for a moment, “Could it be that someone did it on purpose?”

Liang Xiao nodded, “Not impossible. However, starting the investigation from this point is rather difficult.”

Yan Heng leaned over the desk, stretching half her body out to get closer to Liang Xiao, “Then where does Your Highness plan to start the investigation?”

Liang Xiao reached out and pinched her cheek, saying, “By looking into how Prince Chen found the National Preceptor.”

Prince Chen, Liang Xuan, was Liang Shu’s fifth younger brother. The late Emperor had few descendants—a total of three princes and two princesses.

Liang Xuan was a carefree prince who had no interest in politics since childhood, preferring to frolic with birds and dogs. Because of this, he was spared by Liang Shu during the struggle for the throne.

Liang Xiao chose a sunny day and first went to Xiuji Temple (or Abbey/Observatory, depending on context for ‘Guan’).

The fallen leaves on the mountain were more numerous than before, but no one was sweeping them, which Liang Xiao presumed was the National Preceptor’s enjoyment.

Liang Xiao climbed the steps and stopped outside the National Preceptor’s room.

The person inside seemed to have anticipated her visit. Before she could ask her attendant to announce her, Yuan De opened the door and bowed slightly, inviting her in.

Yuan De lit a calming incense and asked, “What brings Your Highness here today?”

Liang Xiao pulled up her skirt and knelt on the prayer mat, “My father’s cough has not healed recently. I wanted to ask the National Preceptor if he has any remedies?”

Yuan De regretfully shook his head, “This is a chronic illness; the root of the sickness has already been established.”

“Then why did the National Preceptor have a solution for my father eleven years ago?” Since Yuan De already knew about the investigation, Liang Xiao did not beat around the bush and directly brought up the events of eleven years ago.

Yuan De looked up at her, hooked his lips into a smile, and said, “Your Highness is truly meticulous.”

With that, he slowly said, “Eleven years ago, the Emperor was poisoned, and I merely treated the poison for him. However, this left him with the chronic cough.”

Liang Xiao’s pupils suddenly constricted, and she pressed her palm onto the table, “Poisoned? Who was responsible?”

Yuan De did not answer directly, instead, he said mysteriously, “Your Highness should know who was responsible.”

Yuan De loved speaking in riddles, a trait Liang Xiao had experienced before.

She nodded thoughtfully, “Thank you for the National Preceptor’s guidance.”

With that, she stood up, preparing to leave, but Yuan De stopped her.

His voice was gentle, yet Liang Xiao found it utterly unpleasant, always sensing an air of hypocrisy, “Your Highness has been in a rush both times. Why not settle your mind and properly enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountain?”

Liang Xiao took up Yuan De’s suggestion, “Thank you for the National Preceptor’s kind thought.”

Yuan De was right; the scenery in the woods was indeed extraordinary, but mid-October was, after all, a bit chilly.

As she walked down the mountain path, she pondered Yuan De’s words.

Since her father was poisoned back then, why was the person who administered the poison not executed?

Who exactly was Yuan De hinting at in those words he spoke to her?

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off, and Liang Xiao’s steps halted, causing Yue Hua, who was supporting her, to also stop.

Yue Hua, “Your Highness?”

Liang Xiao tightened her grip on Yue Hua’s arm, “I might know who Yuan De meant as the person who administered the poison.”

“Your Highness suspects Consort Lian poisoned the Emperor?” Yan Heng’s eyes widened in shock.

Liang Xiao’s expression was grave, and she slowly nodded.

She reached up to rub her temple, “Otherwise, I don’t think the ‘pressure from the previous dynasty’ my father mentioned would have been enough for him to harbor murderous intentions toward my birth mother (Consort/Imperial Concubine).”

Yan Heng, “Then someone must have framed the Consort.”

Liang Xiao turned to look at her, “Who do you think it could be?”

Yan Heng rubbed her chin and thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.

Liang Xiao said gently, “The most likely person is someone from the inner palace.”

This prompted Yan Heng, and she lowered her voice, “Could it be Noble Consort Yu?”

Liang Xiao, “At least she has the greatest suspicion, especially since she presented that box that was identical to the ‘Thousand Poisons Box’.”

Yan Heng, “We can’t just accuse her rashly, right?”

Liang Xiao tapped her on the head, “Exactly, we need to find evidence.”

This morning, Prince Chen, Liang Xuan, was sunning himself in his garden with a birdcage in hand.

It was almost winter, and the sky had been overcast for days, making today a rare bright, beautiful day.

The bird was a budgerigar, squawking out human speech, “Greetings to the Prince! Greetings to the Prince!”

Liang Xuan was amused and reached out a finger to scratch the parrot’s head.

The Princess Consort walked in with a food box and teased, “You spend every day with the birds; they’re dearer to you than I am.”

The tabby cat kept in the garden suddenly darted out, jumped onto the table, and meowed at the Princess Consort.

Liang Xuan simultaneously patted the cat’s head and cajoled, “How can that feathered beast compare to my darling?”

The Princess Consort wasn’t truly angry, and his sweet talk delighted her, a slight smile lingering on her lips. Just as she was about to feed the Prince a piece of fruit, a servant ran in to announce that the Princess Royal was waiting outside and wished to see the Prince.

Liang Xuan put down the birdcage and hurried towards the front hall.

Yue Hua held a small, pure white cat in her arms, standing beside Liang Xiao as they waited.

They should have come to visit earlier, but the weather had been bad for days, so it was delayed until today.

“What makes Xiao’er think of visiting this old man, your Imperial Uncle?” Liang Xuan said as he strode in.

He was an uninhibited and frank person. Liang Xiao used to enjoy spending time with him as a child, but they had grown somewhat distant as she got older.

Liang Xiao pointed to the white cat in Yue Hua’s arms, “Someone gifted me a kitten, and I’m not good at raising this sort of creature, so I brought it to my Imperial Uncle as a gesture.”

Upon hearing this, Liang Xuan didn’t even sit down, immediately asking his attendant to bring the cat over so he could examine it closely.

The cat was of excellent pedigree, completely pure white without a single hair, and extremely adorable. If it hadn’t been entrusted with a serious task, Liang Xiao would have considered sending it to Yan Heng for comfort.

Liang Xuan was indeed fond of it, immediately holding the cat close and petting it affectionately.

As he stroked its fur, he laughed, “They say one doesn’t visit the temple without a reason. Xiao’er didn’t just come here to give me a cat, did you?”

Liang Xiao smiled faintly, “I can’t hide anything from my sharp-eyed Imperial Uncle. I did come today regarding one matter.”

Liang Xuan was quite curious, “What is it that has Xiao’er coming to me?”

Liang Xiao, “Xiao’er wishes to ask how Imperial Uncle managed to find the National Preceptor eleven years ago.”

Liang Xuan was puzzled, “Why are you asking about that? That was over a decade ago.”

Liang Xiao’s words were earnest, “I found my recent visit to the National Preceptor to be very enlightening, so I wanted to hear some old stories about him, to admire his wisdom.”

Liang Xuan was not a suspicious person, so he gave a hearty laugh, “I never would have guessed Xiao’er had such an inclination before.”

Liang Xiao smiled, “I was a bit ignorant before.”

Liang Xuan stroked the white cat in his arms, pondered for a moment, and then softly began to recount the events of that year.

Eleven years ago.

In the quiet Qian Yuan Hall, Liang Xuan had an attendant announce him, wishing to pay his respects to his Imperial Brother.

A young eunuch quickly invited him in, and the two discussed some political matters.

As he was preparing to leave, Liang Shu coughed a few times. Liang Xuan stopped, concerned, and said, “The weather has been cold recently, Imperial Brother must take care of his health.”

Just as Liang Shu was about to reply, he was seized by a violent fit of coughing, and the sleeve covering his mouth was stained with a patch of red blood.

Liang Xuan immediately sent someone to summon the Imperial Physicians. Unexpectedly, the physician stammered for a long time but couldn’t make any sense of it.

Liang Shu was furious and ordered ten strokes of the rod, then summoned other Imperial Physicians.

The result was the same. The physician trembled as he said, “Your Majesty… Your Majesty is in good health.”

“Nonsense!” Liang Xuan angrily flung his sleeve and summoned most of the people from the Imperial Academy of Medicine.

In the end, a group of Imperial Physicians knelt on the ground, and even the most senior one could not explain Liang Shu’s illness.

Liang Shu waved his hand, “Enough, all of you may leave.”

He reached up and massaged his temples, telling Liang Xuan, “It is merely a common cough.”

Liang Xuan said no more and returned quietly to his residence.

It was an overcast day, and Liang Xuan stayed indoors.

“Your Highness, someone is here to visit,” a servant nearby poured him a cup of tea and announced.

Liang Xuan was frowning with worry over his Imperial Brother’s illness, “What does he want?”

“He claims to have found something of yours,” the servant continued.

Liang Xuan impatiently waved his hand, “Just have him drop off the item.”

Before long, the servant returned with the object.

It was a silk fan with gold flecks, gifted to him by Liang Shu last year. He always carried it with him and hadn’t even realized it was missing.

Liang Xuan took the fan and inspected it carefully.

“Strange, why didn’t I notice that this fan was lost?” Liang Xuan felt something was amiss, so he beckoned the servant over again.

“What kind of person delivered the fan?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, it was a Daoist in white robes, who said he was a traveling folk doctor.”

Liang Xuan placed the fan down on the table with a thud, “He knows medical arts? Invite him in quickly!”

Since the Imperial Academy of Medicine couldn’t treat his brother, perhaps these traveling healers might be able to figure something out. Liang Xuan was desperate. He was grateful that Liang Shu had spared his life and, coupled with their deep fraternal affection, he was naturally willing to go through fire and water for Liang Shu.

The white-robed Daoist was brought in and bowed to Liang Xuan, then took a seat below.

Liang Xuan ordered tea to be served, deciding to first probe the man’s background, “Who are you, Daoist Master, where did you find this fan of mine, and why did you determine it belongs to me?”

The white-robed Daoist smiled, “This humble one is Yuan De, a wandering Daoist. Three days ago, I happened to pick it up in the bird and flower market. After examining it, I found it contained the ‘True Dragon’s Aura’ (Imperial aura), which is why I believed it to be an imperial object.”

He paused and continued, “Furthermore, this humble one heard that the Prince Chen is most fond of visiting the bird and flower market, and thus dared to come and pay my respects.”

Liang Xuan looked at his face; he appeared to be only twenty-five or twenty-six, but was a quick-witted person.

“Indeed, this fan was gifted to me by the Emperor.”

Yuan De then said, “May I ask Your Highness to allow this humble one to examine the fan properly?”

Liang Xuan was quite puzzled, “You didn’t look at it after you picked it up?”

Yuan De shook his head, “It belongs to another. Without permission, I did not act rashly. I only conducted a simple check.”

Liang Xuan understood and handed the fan to him.

Yuan De took a yellow talisman paper from his sleeve, closed his eyes, and chanted words Liang Xuan couldn’t understand. The talisman paper then spontaneously burst into flames without fire.

This was astonishing. Liang Xuan had never witnessed such a sight and his eyes widened.

When the talisman paper had finished burning, Yuan De opened his eyes and said, “As expected.”

Liang Xuan hurriedly asked, “What did you discover, Daoist Master?”

Yuan De handed the fan back to the servant and said to Liang Xuan, “This fan was contaminated by something inauspicious in the bird and flower market. Your Highness would do well to seal it away from now on.”

Liang Xuan was confused, “Why do you say that, Daoist Master?”

Yuan De mysteriously shook his head, “It cannot be revealed.”

After this display, Liang Xuan immediately became more respectful towards Yuan De, “I heard that Master also possesses some medical skills?”

Yuan De, “I know a little; enough to cure some difficult and complicated illnesses.”

Liang Xuan, “Would it be possible to invite Master to the palace to examine my Imperial Brother?”

Yuan De smiled and said, “Of course.”

Liang Xuan was delighted, “Please tell me where you are staying, Master. I will bring you to the palace in a few days.”

Yuan De stood up and bowed to Liang Xuan, “This humble one awaits your summons at any time.”

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