After I Faked My Death, the Dog Emperor Completely Lost His Mind - Chapter 5

Due to the delay caused by encountering Su Cheng, the banquet had already begun by the time Shen Yuheng stepped out of his palanquin.

The lanterns were being lit, and palace servants hurried in and out of the hall, continuously serving wine and delicacies amidst swirling mists of fragrant incense. Not only were members of the Imperial family present, but influential court officials had also been invited to the feast.

Despite the bustle of the crowd, the moment the servants saw Shen Yuheng and Xiao Jin approaching, they scattered like startled birds. No one wanted the miserable task of serving the ill-tempered Consort Shen.

Xiao Jin waited for Shen Yuheng to fly into a rage, but the man defied expectations. He simply ignored the cowardly servants and walked straight into the hall.

Though the night had just begun, the scent of mellow wine already filled the magnificent ivory towers. Harem concubines and young princes and princesses were gathered together; not far from them sat the elder princes and a few select civil and military officials.

At the furthest end, dimly hidden behind layers of gauze curtains, was the source of frequent female laughter and decadent music the seat of the Great Zhou’s senile and debauched old Emperor.

By protocol, Xiao Jin should have been seated near the other princes, closer to the Emperor. But those seats were already full. No one had prepared a place for him; in fact, no one had even expected him to show up.

Shen Yuheng simply led Xiao Jin to his own table and sat down. Nearby, several concubines who had been chatting happily fell into a dead silence the moment Xiao Jin approached.

This reaction was expected, but Shen Yuheng noticed one person in particular… her reaction was especially violent. The concubine appeared to be in her forties; the moment she saw Xiao Jin, her face turned deathly pale, and she became speechless.

He asked the System, “Who was that?” The System replied: 【Host, she is the birth mother of the Second Prince, Consort Yi. 】

Ah. Shen Yuheng understood immediately.

In the original plot, the Second Prince, Xiao Qi, was the strongest contender for the throne. He surpassed most competitors in age and experience, and by using underhanded schemes to topple the Crown Prince, Xiao Heng, he had gradually centralized power around himself. Moreover, Xiao Jin’s childhood disappearance and years of exile were directly linked to Xiao Qi and Consort Yi.

While the original book never explicitly stated Consort Yi’s direct involvement in harming Xiao Jin, her current expression made it clear she was far from innocent. However, she wasn’t the priority right now. This banquet was a major plot point, and Shen Yuheng had more urgent business to attend to.

Half an hour into the banquet, the atmosphere grew lively. Dancers entered the hall, and servants busied themselves refilling wine and fruit.

Behind the gauze curtains, the Son of Heaven reclined lazily on the dragon throne, shrouded in a heavy aroma of wine. His eyes were half-closed as if he might drift off at any moment. Beautiful concubines knelt at his feet, gently massaging his legs and shoulders. Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from outside the curtains.

Following the scream came gasps and a sudden, chaotic wave of uneasy whispering. The old Emperor snapped awake, his face darkening. “What happened?”

The head eunuch, Fang Qing, bowed. “This servant will send someone to inquire immediately.”

Fang Qing hurried off and returned shortly with news. “Reporting to Your Majesty, it has been clarified. The Princess Consort of Prince Yu suddenly vomited blood. A physician has been summoned however, in this servant’s view, she coughed up black blood. It appears to be poison.”

“Poison?” The Emperor’s brow furrowed, his ivory prayer beads nearly slipping from his hand. “How can there be poison at my family banquet?”

“It seems there was an issue with the Imperial Kitchen. This servant has already sent people to investigate.” Before the eunuch could finish, another commotion broke out.

Fang Qing hesitated for a few seconds. “Your Majesty, the culprits have been caught, but.”

The Emperor sat up, his black hair streaked with silver falling over his shoulders. “But what?”

Besides the scent of wine, a faint, bitter smell of medicinal herbs clung to him; his last bit of vitality was held together entirely by alcohol and drugs.

“Actually, two people were caught.” Fang Qing sounded puzzled, his expression one of confusion. “The Second Prince’s men rushed to the kitchen and caught a suspicious servant a little eunuch from the Fourth Prince’s palace. Poisonous powder was indeed found on him.”

“Old Fourth again?” Deep disappointment filled the Emperor’s eyes. “And the other one?”

“The other… is someone from the Second Prince’s own palace. Just now, a little eunuch from Consort Shen’s palace said he was idling outside and caught a sneaky servant carrying a bag of poisonous powder. That person is a veteran servant from the Second Prince’s quarters. I fear he didn’t act out of his own stupidity.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. “So, both Old Fourth and Qi’er might be involved.”

“Your Majesty is correct.”

Fang Qing looked up at the Emperor. Though no longer young, the Emperor’s features remained sharp. His sickly pale face and eyes seemed indifferent, yet they carried an aura of dread. Fang Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity. Had the Emperor not spent years obsessed with alchemy and astrology, he might not have ended up surrounded by a pack of wolves.

The Second Prince, the Fourth Prince all of the Emperor’s biological sons wanted to eliminate him and take his place.

The long-haired man on the throne closed his eyes in silence for a few seconds before suddenly laughing heartily. “No matter. Execute them both. That way, there will be no mistakes!”

“As you command.”

Fang Qing was about to leave when the Emperor called out, “Wait. Which one is Consort Shen? Point him out to me.”

As Su Cheng entered the banquet hall, he was greeted by a scene of total chaos. He hesitated, not knowing whether to stay or leave, before finally creeping to a corner seat.

Because of his injured foot, he had been supported all the way by servants. On his way, he had heard about the Princess Consort of Prince Yu being poisoned, which made him incredibly nervous. Inside the hall, the more timid concubines were deathly pale or weeping into their sleeves after seeing the Princess Consort vomiting blood.

Su Cheng sat restlessly until he noticed Zhou Yuan and Shen Yuheng sitting nearby. He hurried over. “Many thanks to Consort Shen for your care just now.”

To Su Cheng’s surprise, when Shen Yuheng turned to look at him, his eyes held a hint of genuine joy. Su Cheng was flattered. Shen Yuheng was the youngest son of the prestigious Shen family; who in the Great Zhou didn’t know them? Generations of generals with illustrious military achievements, Shen Yuheng’s background was an altitude Su Cheng could never hope to reach.

However, after the initial joy, Shen Yuheng’s expression turned awkward. He explained, “It had nothing to do with me. The Ninth Prince insisted on helping you.”

Su Cheng froze, then lowered his head with a shy smile. “The Ninth Prince likely couldn’t afford the silver to bribe the palace guards. I suspect Consort Shen simply used the Ninth Prince’s name…”

Shen Yuheng: “…” Having his excuse exposed, he could only sigh. “Fine. Just remember the Ninth Prince is very good to you.”

As soon as he finished, Xiao Jin’s hollow voice drifted from behind: “Since Consort Shen is so keen on throwing me to that Talented Su, why go through all this trouble?”

Shen Yuheng: “…” Xiao Jin and Su Cheng both of them were far too sharp. But he would never admit it.

Shen Yuheng glared at Xiao Jin and whispered back, “Do you think Talented Su would even want to take you in? Who else is as kind-hearted as I am?”

Xiao Jin looked at him with cold eyes, offering no rebuttal. Shen Yuheng had indeed been “kind” lately. Though his mouth was still full of irritating nonsense, he no longer treated him with brutality. But Xiao Jin didn’t believe a person’s cruelty could change overnight.

From Su Cheng, Shen Yuheng learned that the physician had arrived in time, and the Princess Consort was out of danger.

That’s good. Because he had read the book, Shen Yuheng knew a poisoning would occur at the banquet. However, the original text was vague on the details, and he hadn’t known who the victim would be.

This poisoning was a setup by the Second Prince, Xiao Qi, to weaken the Fourth Prince’s power. Once he eliminated his final rival, the position of Crown Prince would be within his grasp. Later, to eliminate him, Xiao Jin would have to conduct a massive “cleansing,” leaving the throne drenched in blood. Ultimately, Xiao Jin’s path to becoming a tyrant was rooted in this very incident.

To prevent this, Shen Yuheng had invented an excuse to have Zhou Yuan lurk outside the hall to catch the real culprit. Seeing that the excitement had died down and the music had stopped, Shen Yuheng stretched, wanting to leave.

Just as he was about to make an excuse to slip away, a breathless little eunuch burst into the hall. He ran straight to the Second Prince, Xiao Qi, and knelt. “Reporting to Your Highness! Poisonous powder was also found in the Cold Palace! I fear the two captured earlier were framed!”

Shen Yuheng froze. Poison in the Cold Palace? This wasn’t in the book!

He turned to look at Xiao Qi. The prince had a cruel expression quite similar to Xiao Jin’s. Currently, a barely perceptible smirk played on Xiao Qi’s lips.

Xiao Qi asked, “The Cold Palace? No concubines live there now. Who put it there? Can it be traced?”

“It can, but” The eunuch hesitated, then suddenly glanced at Shen Yuheng. “The only people who have visited the Cold Palace recently are the Ninth Prince and those from Consort Shen’s palace…”

In an instant, everyone’s gaze shifted to Xiao Jin, filled with shock and fear. Xiao Qi gestured toward Xiao Jin, and several burly guards immediately approached, intending to take the boy away by force.

The System shouted in panic: 【Host! The Second Prince lost his original pieces and now wants to use Xiao Jin as a scapegoat! 】

Shen Yuheng would never allow such a thing. He stepped in front of Xiao Jin. “The Ninth Prince is currently being raised in my palace. Before things are clarified, the Second Prince should not act rashly.”

“The Ninth Prince merely made a mistake and was sent to the Cold Palace by me to reflect for half a day. If the poison found there is to be blamed on him, does that mean I am to be blamed as well?”

Seeing Shen Yuheng speak up for Xiao Jin, Xiao Qi’s face was a mask of disbelief. Shen Yuheng’s hatred for Xiao Jin was legendary; what kind of game was he playing now?

Xiao Jin hadn’t expected Shen Yuheng to stand on his side either. But he figured a face-saving person like Shen Yuheng simply didn’t want to be implicated in a scandal.

The surrounding officials were equally confused. They had heard the Ninth Prince was weak, but not that he was so weak he could be sent to the Cold Palace by an unfavored male consort. It was truly bizarre. But since the consort was the youngest son of the powerful Shen family, perhaps it wasn’t that strange…

Everyone looked back and forth between Shen Yuheng and Xiao Jin. Then again, the Consort was only two years older than Xiao Jin was “raising him” really the right word? The crowd whispered, each with their own thoughts.

Xiao Qi glared at Shen Yuheng in fury. Just as he was about to speak, a deep voice resonated from behind him.

“Qi’er.”  “Imperial Father.”

Xiao Qi turned and bowed; the officials immediately rose to greet the ruler.

“Imperial Father likely heard as well. Poison was found in the Cold Palace where the Ninth Prince visited. He should be taken away for a thorough investigation.”

“I heard.” The Emperor stood up, his long hair streaked with silver giving him the aura of a celestial being. “This matter was the fault of two servants and has nothing to do with my sons. Since the Princess Consort is unharmed, there is no need to investigate further. Otherwise, it will only stir up unnecessary unrest in the palace.”

As the Emperor spoke, the gloom on Xiao Qi’s face deepened. Shen Yuheng quickly pressed Xiao Jin’s head down and called out, “Thank you, Your Majesty!” The crowd followed suit.

Seeing the tension ease, Shen Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the Emperor hadn’t helped, he would have protected Xiao Jin by force but he never expected the senile, alchemy-obsessed Emperor from the original book to step up for him.

The good news: the situation was resolved, and Shen Yuheng could go back to sleep. The bad news: Xiao Jin seemed to be getting suspicious of him.

On the way back, Xiao Jin asked several questions: “How did Consort Shen know the poisoner was still in the hall?” and “Why did Consort Shen argue with the Second Prince for my sake?”

Shen Yuheng used his usual methods to brush him off. Once in the palanquin, Shen Yuheng feigned exhaustion and closed his eyes to nap, and Xiao Jin finally stopped asking. The youth’s gaze swept over the Consort’s cheek resting on his hand, the skin rising and falling with his quiet breaths.

Only when asleep was Shen Yuheng’s face not utterly revolting.

For some reason, Shen Yuheng seemed to be trying to show him kindness again. Remembering the man’s hypocritical, smiling face from their first meeting, Xiao Jin sneered inwardly. His Imperial Father didn’t even like male consorts; the astrology and Xiao Jin were merely excuses. No matter how beautiful he was, the Emperor would never touch him.

Suddenly, from outside the palanquin window, a voice came a voice even more “standard” than Xiao Linzi’s eunuch warble.

“Consort Shen, please wait.”

The palanquin procession stopped immediately. No one in the palace was unfamiliar with the owner of that voice. It was the head eunuch, Fang Qing.

Fang Qing, whisk in hand, walked gracefully over the dark stone path with a fawning smile on his face.

“Congratulations, Consort Shen. His Majesty has flipped your nameplate tonight. Please prepare yourself quickly.”