When the Deposed Crown Prince Was Reborn as Troublemaker - Chapter 93

Early that morning, Cui Yan had hurried into the palace to take You Yusui’s pulse, and then informed You Yusui of what had happened the previous day.

“Yesterday, Princess Yan placed this silk handkerchief — soaked in a slow-acting poison — inside this sachet and handed it to me.” Cui Yan set the pale pink sachet embroidered with orchids, which he had received the day before, onto the table in front of You Yusui. “Within this slow-acting poison, I identified an herb whose scent I had detected on Your Highness before — Qinglan.”

“Qinglan is an herb that balances the properties of other medicines. It is rare and scarce. I have reviewed every prescription Your Highness has ever used, and not a single one called for Qinglan.” Cui Yan continued, his expression grave.

The scent of an herb that had absolutely no reason to be used had suddenly appeared on You Yusui’s person — this compelled one to think deeply about the connection between this slow-acting poison formula, which required Qinglan to balance its medicinal properties, and the Crown Prince.

“Someone poisoned His Highness the Crown Prince? How is His Highness’s condition right now…?” Huo Xiling, who stood to the side, furrowed his brow deeply. His entire body tensed, and his hand instinctively reached for the weapon at his waist.

“He is fine,” Cui Yan said. “If he had truly been poisoned, I would have diagnosed it long ago.”

And besides, he certainly would not be as vigorous and full of life as he was now.

You Yusui — who appeared frail and delicate yet could actually beat two bulls in a fight — could not help but ask, “Then why would the scent of Qinglan be on me?”

His food was managed by Fubao, and Cui Yan came every day to take his pulse. If he had truly been poisoned, it should have been discovered long ago.

“What Xie Tan and I suspect is that it was during the period when Your Highness was gravely ill and unconscious that someone began to poison Your Highness — and moreover, by applying the poison to objects that Your Highness frequently came into contact with.” Cui Yan said slowly.

“The poison can actually be applied to objects one frequently touches?” Huo Xiling’s brow knitted tightly. “Would that not make it impossible to guard against?”

If even one person within the Eastern Palace harbored ill intent, that person could apply the substance to things You Yusui used at any time. Huo Xiling could not suppress a murderous feeling toward whoever was behind all this.

And upon hearing Cui Yan’s words, You Yusui suddenly had a flash of understanding in his heart. No wonder his health had been poor in so many of his previous lifetimes — so this was the reason.

In this lifetime, he had replaced the people around him with those loyal to You Fengyun, and had replaced all the decorative objects in the Eastern Palace with the finest and most valuable ones — and so in this lifetime, he had not been poisoned.

“Today, apart from informing Your Highness of all this, I also wish to go to Your Highness’s private storehouse to look for objects that Your Highness formerly used frequently, in hopes of finding the item that was poisoned.” Cui Yan said.

If they could find the poisoned decorative objects and items, they would be able to determine which palace attendant regularly tended to them, and then follow the trail to uncover the mastermind behind it all.

Just as You Yusui, Huo Xiling, and Cui Yan were all thinking along these lines, Grand Preceptor Gu arrived in a fury, with several people chasing after him.

With a loud bang, the closed door was kicked open, startling the gate-keeping Eunuch Fubao so badly that his heart leapt into his throat.

“Grand Preceptor, why have you come?” Eunuch Fubao asked.

“You there, surnamed Gu — I’m telling you, you are not allowed to bully my grandson!” Xie Yi, who had come rushing from behind, grabbed hold of Gu Shen with both hands.

“Is it wrong for me to come and demand an explanation?” Gu Shen struggled against Xie Yi. “You all received zongzis wrapped by his own hands, yet I got none! Is there any logic to that? If word got out, it would mean he has no respect for his teacher!”

You Yusui listened, then exchanged a glance with Huo Xiling. It was over — he had truly forgotten to send zongzis to Grand Preceptor Gu!

“I have been diligently compiling books for him over there, and now I cannot even have a single zongzi. Does he hold any regard for me as his teacher?” Grand Preceptor Gu said loudly, all while wrestling with Xie Yi.

“Maternal grandfather, Teacher — why don’t you two let go of each other first?” You Yusui, sitting inside the room, ventured cautiously.

However, the moment You Yusui finished speaking, the two men — both past the age of fifty — tumbled to the ground together.

You Yusui was greatly alarmed and immediately cried out. “Quickly, go help them up!”

And so, four young people scrambled about in a flurry to help Xie Yi and Gu Shen to their feet, while You Yusui asked whether either of them had hurt themselves in the fall.

After they had helped Xie Yi and Gu Shen into chairs, You Yusui poured each of them a cup of water, then said, “You two — at your age, how can you still behave like children?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen gripped his teacup and glared at You Yusui. “You dare to laugh? Do you hold any regard for me as your teacher?”

In the next instant, Xie Yi gave Gu Shen a smack and said, “You are not allowed to be harsh with Suisui.”

At those words, Gu Shen’s eyes went wide with indignation.

“Not having prepared zongzis wrapped by my own hands for my teacher was my fault. What if I go and wrap some right now?” You Yusui looked at the still-angry Grand Preceptor Gu with a docile expression, attempting to play innocent and get away with it.

Gu Shen let out a cold snort. “Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly.”

“What about mine?” Xie Yi looked at You Yusui with hopeful anticipation from the side.

“I’ll wrap some for Maternal Grandfather too,” You Yusui answered quickly.

Afterward, You Yusui pulled Huo Xiling along to the kitchen, and the two elders waited contentedly for freshly made zongzis to come out of the pot.

Xie Tan and Cui Yan exchanged a glance, then walked out of the room in perfect, wordless accord.

Beneath the pear tree in the courtyard, Cui Yan asked, “Why did you come?”

“My grandfather chased after Grand Preceptor Gu into the palace, and I was worried something might go wrong, so I followed as well.” After answering, Xie Tan asked in turn. “Does His Highness already know?”

“We were just about to search the storehouse when you all arrived — though it is actually rather convenient, as it draws everyone’s attention away.” Cui Yan said. “In a moment, have the Crown Prince ask Eunuch Fubao to bring me to the storehouse for a look — that will do.”

“Very well. Then I shall go and check in at the office.” Xie Tan finished speaking, turned, and departed.

At that moment in the kitchen, You Yusui and Huo Xiling were using the leftover glutinous rice from the day before to wrap zongzis.

Huo Xiling shaped the bamboo leaves into a funnel, and You Yusui filled it with glutinous rice and marinated pork belly. Once filled, Huo Xiling wrapped it up and tied it with string — and that was the zongzi personally wrapped by His Highness the Crown Prince.

After wrapping more than a dozen dumplings, You Yusui felt there were enough to go around and had someone put them in water to boil.

“This prince will never forget the Grand Preceptor again,” You Yusui sighed. The man could charge all the way to the Eastern Palace to settle accounts with him just because he was forgotten — it was truly terrifying.

Huo Xiling pressed a kiss to You Yusui’s forehead and said, “From now on, I will keep track of it for Your Highness.”

“You?” You Yusui looked up at Huo Xiling, who had grown even taller, then after a moment’s thought, rose on his tiptoes to flick his chin.

Huo Xiling cooperated fully, straining to lift his chin — and then discovered that their lines of sight still did not meet.

Huo Xiling struggled to suppress a laugh, then said, “Your Highness, why don’t you stand on a stool instead?”

You Yusui: ……I am warning you — do not go too far.

Then, You Yusui kicked over a small stool, landed a kick on Huo Xiling’s leg for good measure, and ran off.

Huo Xiling stood there dumbfounded, staring at You Yusui’s retreating figure, and could not help but call out, “Your Highness!”

And what You Yusui was thinking was: This prince has never been so humiliated as today.

On one side, the zongzis had already been put in the pot to boil; on the other side, Cui Yan and Fubao had slipped into the storehouse unnoticed once everyone’s attention had been drawn to Xie Yi and Gu Shen.

The Eastern Palace’s storehouse was vast. It was piled high with the tax revenues from the fiefdom You Yusui had received after being designated Crown Prince, as well as the dowry items of successive consorts — rare treasures and precious objects beyond count. Against this backdrop of splendor, the things the Crown Prince had previously used could only be described as ordinary.

“Imperial Physician Cui, please look — the things His Highness used before are placed right over there.” Eunuch Fubao pointed to the collection of decorative objects on the floor.

“What objects accompanied His Highness the longest? What did His Highness use most frequently?” Not wanting to search for a needle in a haystack, Cui Yan asked Fubao directly.

Although Fubao did not know why the Crown Prince had instructed him to quietly bring Cui Yan into the private storehouse to look for something, whatever the Crown Prince did surely had its own deeper meaning — and so Fubao answered without hesitation. “That boshan incense burner, that inkstone, the paperweight, and the brush stand.”

(TL: 博山爐 (Boshanlu) specifically refers to a traditional Chinese mountain-shaped incense burner.)

“These were all items His Highness used regularly before,” Eunuch Fubao told Cui Yan.

Cui Yan first picked up the boshan incense burner and sniffed it carefully.

“Is something the matter with the boshan incense burner?” Eunuch Fubao could not help but ask anxiously upon seeing this.

“Was this boshan incense burner kept in the inner chamber where His Highness slept?” Cui Yan asked.

“Indeed. His Highness would burn Spring’s Message in the Snow every day — the incense the late Empress loved most — and this boshan incense burner was placed in the inner chamber daily to perfume the room.” Eunuch Fubao replied.

Cui Yan opened the boshan incense burner, scraped his finger along the inside of its inner wall, then placed his finger to his lips.

“Imperial Physician Cui, what on earth is wrong?” Eunuch Fubao was so anxious he was nearly beside himself.

“Light a little of the Spring’s Message in the Snow and try.” Cui Yan handed the boshan incense burner to Eunuch Fubao.

“Very well.” Eunuch Fubao immediately retrieved the Spring’s Message in the Snow from the storehouse and placed it inside the boshan incense burner to light it.

Wisps of pale smoke curled upward, and the fragrance of plum blossom quickly filled the entire room — yet mingled within the plum blossom scent was a trace of Qinglan that an ordinary person would be wholly unable to detect.

Cui Yan opened his eyes and looked at the boshan incense burner before him. “Someone used the boshan incense burner to poison His Highness.”

Eunuch Fubao was greatly shocked upon hearing this. He stared at the boshan incense burner with horror-filled eyes. He had stood guard so vigilantly over the Eastern Palace, yet he had never imagined someone would exploit such a loophole. Fortunately, this boshan incense burner had been replaced early on — otherwise, he himself would have been the one to harm His Highness the Crown Prince!

“Put out the incense,” Cui Yan said.

“Yes.” Eunuch Fubao hastily extinguished the incense.

Cui Yan could confirm that this boshan incense burner, even now, still emanated the scent of Qinglan — the poison had long since been infused into the incense burner itself.

“Imperial Physician Cui, what should we do now?” Eunuch Fubao asked.

“Find the person — find whoever was responsible for tending to the boshan incense burner before.” Cui Yan answered.

Eunuch Fubao immediately said, “I will go check the records right away to see who was in charge of tending to the boshan incense burner.”

With that, Eunuch Fubao turned to head out, whereupon Cui Yan reached out and stopped him with one hand. “There is no rush. First, go eat the zongzis His Highness wrapped himself.”

“Ah?” Eunuch Fubao was bewildered.

On the other side, You Yusui had already brought the personally wrapped zongzis out to Xie Yi and Gu Shen.

“Please have some, Maternal Grandfather and Teacher,” You Yusui said docilely.

At the sight of this, Gu Shen immediately picked up a dumpling and began pulling off the colored silk threads, then peeled back the bamboo leaves and took an impatient bite.

“Blegh! Why is it a meat zongzi?!” Gu Shen had barely taken one bite before he nearly spat it back out.

You Yusui gave a cold laugh. Because in the Eastern Palace, only meat zongzis are permitted to exist!