When the Deposed Crown Prince Was Reborn as Troublemaker - Chapter 90

Ever since Li Xiyue had left, Mo Shanshan had been summoned by the Imperial Noble Consort’s palace maids to keep the Imperial Noble Consort company. She had initially felt uneasy, but upon learning that the Imperial Noble Consort was Prince Yan’s birth mother, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

And so, Mo Shanshan followed the palace maid to the lakeside pavilion, where she came face to face with the elegantly magnificent Imperial Noble Consort.

“Good child, so you’re the one who saved this consort’s Yi’er?” The Imperial Noble Consort, seated by the railing, turned her head and smiled.

“It was indeed… this consort.” Mo Shanshan replied, still somewhat awkward with that particular way of referring to herself.

“Come, let this consort have a look at you.” The Imperial Noble Consort beckoned Mo Shanshan over.

“Yes.” Mo Shanshan stepped a little closer toward the Imperial Noble Consort.

“What a lovely-looking child.” The Imperial Noble Consort said insincerely.

Mo Shanshan’s appearance could only be described as ordinary — she was the most unremarkable presence in this rear palace teeming with beauties.

Having said that, the Imperial Noble Consort gave her maidservant a meaningful look. The maidservant immediately brought forward a bowl of longan and red date soup and said, “Secondary Consort, this is a gift bestowed upon you by our lady.”

Seeing this, Mo Shanshan drank the bowl of longan and red date soup without any suspicion, and was then taken by the amiable Imperial Noble Consort to feed the koi in the lake.

“The koi in this lake are beautiful, aren’t they? Why don’t you take a closer look?”

The moment those words fell, Mo Shanshan felt a sudden dizziness come over her, her head spinning and her legs going weak, and she plunged straight downward. Her body was instantly engulfed by the icy lake water.

At the same time, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, as though something was flowing out from between her legs.

“Save her, save her, save her quickly!” The Imperial Noble Consort froze for a moment, then cried out at the top of her voice.

The palace maids and eunuchs around her scrambled about in a panic — not only did they fail to save her, they actually pushed her further down into the lake.

It was not until the Empress Dowager’s and Consort Xian’s people arrived that those around the Imperial Noble Consort no longer dared act so brazenly, and Mo Shanshan was at last pulled out of the water.

Li Xiyue looked at Mo Shanshan, soaking wet and laid out on the ground, and quickly instructed her maidservant to drape the cloak she had brought over Mo Shanshan. She then said with a cough, “What are you all standing around for? Go and summon an imperial physician at once!”

And so the only imperial physician present at the Duanwu Banquet, Cui Yan, was pressed into service on the spot.

Cui Yan directed the palace maid beside him to help expel the water from Mo Shanshan’s mouth and abdomen, then had her carried to a nearby side hall to change into dry clothing before taking her pulse.

“How is she?” the Imperial Noble Consort asked with feigned concern. “It is all this consort’s fault — when she wanted to look at the fish, this consort failed to stop her, and so she accidentally fell into the water.”

Consort Xian, standing to one side, inwardly sneered at those words. The place where the Imperial Noble Consort had been standing was fitted with a railing — if someone had fallen into the water, who was to say it wasn’t because they had been pushed?

Li Xiyue watched coldly from the side, thinking to herself that the Imperial Noble Consort and You Yuyi were truly cut from the same cloth — ruthless and cold-hearted. After all, Mo Shanshan was still carrying You Yuyi’s child.

Nearby, Cui Yan, taking Mo Shanshan’s pulse, detected something out of the ordinary. However, with so many eyes watching, he naturally knew there were things that could not be said.

“The secondary consort suffered a severe fright from falling into the water. The child in her womb could not be saved,” Cui Yan said.

“What?” The Imperial Noble Consort swayed on her feet, looking as though she were on the verge of fainting.

“This subject will prescribe some medicine. The secondary consort need only rest and recuperate properly — having another child in the future will not be difficult.” With that, Cui Yan wrote out the prescription.

Upon receiving the prescription, the Imperial Noble Consort immediately had someone fetch the herbs and prepare the medicine, presenting every appearance of a warm and attentive mother-in-law.

Li Xiyue had had enough of the Imperial Noble Consort’s pretense. She excused herself by saying she was feeling unwell and left.

Consort Xian offered a few words of comfort, said she had matters to attend to, and also departed.

As for Cui Yan, having finished his examination and written the prescription, he had even less reason to linger.

By the time he returned to You Yusui’s side, Xie Tan had already arrived. Seeing Cui Yan come back, You Yusui could not help but ask, “What spectacle did Imperial Physician Cui witness while he was away?”

“Prince Yan’s secondary consort has lost her child,” Cui Yan said.

You Yusui’s expression shifted slightly with surprise. He had not expected the Imperial Noble Consort to make her move so openly, in front of everyone.

Cui Yan glanced toward the side hall where Mo Shanshan had been taken to rest temporarily and said, “If I’m not mistaken, before Prince Yan’s secondary consort fell into the water, she must have been given safflower or some similar drug.”

You Yusui, upon hearing this, said, “The Imperial Noble Consort feared that merely falling into the water would not be enough to cause a miscarriage.”

Of course, it was also possible that the fall into the water had been orchestrated by the Imperial Noble Consort as cover for the drug she had used to induce the miscarriage — after all, it was far too common for women to suffer a miscarriage after a severe fright.

Yet this scheme was truly foolish and clumsy, riddled with flaws from beginning to end. The Imperial Noble Consort had acted this way against Prince Yan’s secondary consort simply because she knew no one would dare speak out. After all, who could ever imagine that a grandmother would bring harm upon her own flesh and blood?

“And she isn’t even afraid of her son having no heirs in the future,” Cui Yan remarked.

In the next moment, he was rebuked by Xie Tan. “Watch your words.”

Cui Yan had no choice but to obediently hold his tongue. Who told Xie Tan to be such a stern character — one who could not abide even the slightest bit of talk about others behind their backs?

After the incident of Prince Yan’s secondary consort falling into the water, the atmosphere at the Duanwu Banquet was, through Consort Xian’s efforts, gradually revived. The noblewomen enjoyed a leisurely time together admiring flowers, listening to music, and drinking tea; the officials exchanged pleasantries, or gathered to drink, compose poems, and paint; while the noble young ladies who had been brought into the palace ran off to pick flowers and chase butterflies.

The scene appeared entirely peaceful and harmonious — yet who could have guessed that a scheme had already run its course within it?

It was not until noon that the master of the imperial palace made his formal appearance, simultaneously announcing the official commencement of the Duanwu Banquet.

At the banquet, You Yusui sat at his place, poking at the zongzi before him with his chopsticks. Sweet, cloying zongzi — he had absolutely no appetite for them.

Why was it that simply because You Fengyun liked sweet zongzi, the Imperial Kitchen had to make all the zongzi sweet? How utterly unreasonable!

And what was even more unreasonable was this: every year at Duanwu, the Emperor bestowed zongzi upon all the imperial princes, consorts, and officials. As Crown Prince, You Yusui always received the most — and had to endure the jealous stares of all his brothers.

Looking at You Yuyi and You Yushan’s envious gazes directed at him now, You Yusui had half a mind to stuff the zongzi before him straight down their throats, then cram several years’ worth of honeyed dates and red beans into their eyes and nostrils — let them look, let them be jealous.

Huo Xiling, seated beside him, quickly noticed that You Yusui had no appetite, and said, “Does Your Highness dislike them?”

“I want something cold,” You Yusui said listlessly.

“Absolutely not!” Cui Yan and Huo Xiling said in unison.

You Yusui sighed. He had known as much — but truly, he was not so weak as all that.

“Your Highness, don’t be upset. I made you salted pork zongzi, with several salted egg yolks inside,” Huo Xiling whispered in You Yusui’s ear, trying to cheer him up.

You Yusui looked at Huo Xiling and said, “I think I actually feel better.”

“Open your mouth,” said Huo Xiling.

“Ah.”

In the next moment, something appeared in You Yusui’s mouth — a sour plum, tangy and sweet, and his aversion to food seemed not quite so heavy anymore.

“Whatever Your Highness doesn’t want to eat, I’ll eat it for you,” Huo Xiling said.

You Yusui’s mood brightened. Delightedly, he picked out the honeyed dates and gave them to Huo Xiling, then passed all the remaining sweet sticky rice to Cui Yan.

Cui Yan: …I truly bear too much as a lone individual.

“Your Highness, may I take the rest home?” Cui Yan, seated behind You Yusui, asked.

“You want to take them home to eat?” You Yusui looked at Cui Yan with bewilderment — but all the zongzi in front of Cui Yan had already had their fillings scooped out.

“No. I merely wish for a certain friend of mine to experience this sweetness,” Cui Yan replied, lowering his eyes.

You Yusui stared at Cui Yan in silence for a moment, then said, “Do as you like.”

“Very well.” Cui Yan smiled.

You Yusui: …For some reason, he found the smile on Imperial Physician Cui’s face rather unsettling.

Once the midday meal was over and You Fengyun had led his entourage off to watch the dragon boat races, Huo Xiling took You Yusui and quietly slipped away.

Xie Tan, who had been searching for them by the lake, looked for quite some time without spotting You Yusui. He turned to Cui Yan, who was hiding in the shade of a tree, and asked, “Where have they gone?”

“Dislike sweet zongzi, so they’ve probably gone back to the Eastern Palace to make their own,” Cui Yan said, patting the grass beside him. “Come, sit. Carrying yourself with that air of a gentleman every single day — aren’t you exhausted by it?”

“I actually brought him some zongzi,” Xie Tan said, and from his sleeve appeared two zongzi that gave off a savory aroma of meat.

Cui Yan: …I may not fully understand this, but I am profoundly shaken.

And so Cui Yan fixed Xie Tan with a look that said: I truly cannot believe you are capable of something like this.

At that, a rare flicker of embarrassment crossed Xie Tan’s usually composed and serene face. He explained, “My grandfather asked me to bring them for His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Cui Yan could not help but laugh. “By now His Highness has probably eaten his fill and couldn’t manage any more. Why don’t we split them between us?”

At this same moment, inside the Eastern Palace’s small kitchen, You Yusui was seated on a low stool watching Huo Xiling wrap zongzi. The zongzi leaves took shape in his hands into a funnel, into which he placed glutinous rice that had been seasoned with soy sauce, along with marinated pork and a salted egg yolk on top. He then covered it with more glutinous rice, folded the leaves over, wound the twine around it, and a perfect zongzi appeared.

“Xiling, how is it that you know how to do everything?” You Yusui smiled, running his fingers over the freshly made zongzi.

Huo Xiling then wrapped several more before putting them in the pot to cook, and afterward taught You Yusui how to wrap them too.

“Two for Xiling, two for Grandfather, two for elder cousin, two for younger cousin, two for that fox Cui, two for Fubao,” You Yusui murmured as he worked.

Very good — he had counted everyone. There was simply no share for Father Emperor.

Eunuch Fubao, standing nearby, could not help but smile and say, “This old servant is truly unworthy of such an honor.”

Once the zongzi were ready, You Yusui and Huo Xiling fed each other theirs, while the rest were packed into a food box and sent with Fubao to deliver to Cui Yan and Xie Tan.

As Fubao carried the food box to deliver it to Cui Yan and Xie Tan, he happened to run into You Fengyun, who was on his way back to his palace to rest after watching the dragon boat races. With his sharp eyes, You Fengyun spotted the food box in Fubao’s hands at once and asked, “What’s inside that?”

“These are zongzi made by His Highness the Crown Prince with his own hands. This servant is about to deliver them to Junior Minister Xie and Imperial Physician Cui,” Fubao replied.

Upon hearing this, You Fengyun immediately frowned. Zongzi made personally by the Crown Prince — and there was none for him?

“Where is Zhen’s share?” said You Fengyun.

“His Majesty’s share — His Highness the Crown Prince intends to deliver it personally to Xuande Hall,” Eunuch Fubao said with a smile.

You Fengyun was satisfied. He prepared to return to Xuande Hall to wait for the Crown Prince to come and deliver the zongzi.

Fubao watched the departing Emperor and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. After delivering the zongzi, he rushed back to the Eastern Palace to sound the alarm.

“Your Highness, this is terrible — on the way to deliver the zongzi, I ran into His Majesty.” Eunuch Fubao recounted the whole story from beginning to end, then said, “Now the only way to smooth things over is for Your Highness the Crown Prince to personally deliver the zongzi.”

Upon hearing this, You Yusui knew at once that nothing good ever came from running into You Fengyun. He immediately turned to Huo Xiling and said, “Xiling, grab a few of the zongzi with the fatty pork — this prince is going to take them to Father Emperor.”

You Fengyun waited in Xuande Hall for quite some time before You Yusui finally arrived to present the zongzi. He immediately assumed a stern expression and waited for the Crown Prince to enter.

“Father Emperor, this son has made zongzi with his own hands and humbly presents them for Father Emperor to taste.” You Yusui respectfully offered up the food box.

Eunuch An Hai hurried to receive it, set it on the table before You Fengyun, and then — watching the Emperor’s expression — opened the box, peeled back the zongzi leaves, and placed the unwrapped zongzi on the plate in front of You Fengyun. Only then did You Fengyun pick up his chopsticks and bring a piece to his mouth.

The moment You Fengyun tasted the zongzi, his expression changed drastically.

For the first bite brought him straight to a piece of fatty pork. The rich juices and savory fragrance of the meat instantly flooded his mouth — he, a man who loved only sweet zongzi, instantly wore an expression of pure suffering.

Below him, You Yusui looked on with eager anticipation. “Father Emperor, does it taste good?”

Don’t you dare spit it out. Swallow it.

In the end, You Fengyun — unwilling to disappoint his child’s expectations — forced himself to swallow the zongzi filled with streaky pork.

At this very moment, there was only one thought in You Fengyun’s mind: Heresy!