Chapter 108.2 – Go Find His Majesty
Although the Emperor was very worried about King Wei, he was getting old after all, and he went to bed when it was nearing midnight. But King Wei was found and brought back in the middle of the night, causing a stir in the entire campsite, awakening the Emperor from his sleep.
Upon hearing that King Wei fell from his horse and was seriously injured, the Emperor was jolted awake. When Lu Qipei and Qi Yang arrived, the royal tent was still brightly lit. After their arrival was announced, the Emperor summoned them in without letting them wait for a long time.
When the Emperor saw Qi Yang, he first reprimanded her for not knowing how important she was. “I told you earlier that there were many people in the hunting ground searching for your royal brother, and what did you do? How dare you wait until dark and bring so few people? Don’t you know how dangerous the hunting ground is at night?”
Qi Yang lowered her head to listen to the admonishment, and did not dare to refute at all at this moment.
After the Emperor admonished his daughter, he scolded her prince consort and said, “And you, as Qi Yang’s prince consort, can’t you stop her from being stubborn? The princess wanted to put herself into risk, and you dared to go with her. What would you do if something really happened?”
Lu Qipei lowered her eyes with guilt after hearing this, not daring to tell the Emperor that she was the one who brought Her Royal Highness The Princess with her. Otherwise, if this father-in-law knew, things wouldn’t end with just a simple scolding.
Qi Yang was not willing to see Lu Qipei being scolded. Although the incident was caused by her, there was no reason not to protect her own people. So Qi Yang raised her head and whispered back at the Emperor’s questioning, “But Royal Father, this time it was This Child who found Royal Brother!”
In fact, King Wei’s fall was really grievous. His life was fine now that he had been carried back, but if he was allowed to lie at the bottom of the slope overnight, in such a dangerous place like the hunting ground, would he still be alive tomorrow?
Of course, the Emperor also knew that, so his daughter’s words stopped him, and he glanced at her without saying anything else.
Since Qi Yang was not here to seek reward, she just stopped things right there.
Thinking about what to say next, she first asked casually, “It seems that Royal Brother Wei fell off the horse quite badly, I wonder how he’s doing now?”
The Emperor knew that Qi Yang only had a regular relationship with King Wei, and most of her actions were for the sake of the Crown Prince. He replied to her, saying, “It’s not particularly good nor bad. The royal physician said that two of his ribs are broken, and the back of his head is also injured. Fortunately, there’s no worry about his life.”
Qi Yang nodded after hearing this, then spoke carefully, “Royal Father, I feel that Royal Brother Wei’s injury is unusual.”
Qi Yang was probably not the only one who wanted to say this, and everyone in the entire camp probably thought so too. They had already turned their suspicious gaze on the Crown Prince, and he was indeed quite suspicious. It was only because of the Emperor’s firm attitude that no one dared to mention it.
The Emperor did not expect that Qi Yang would be the first to say this. He was slightly surprised, then quickly calmed down, “What are you trying to say?”
Qi Yang didn’t hide anything either. First, she shared everything that she saw and heard in the hunting ground tonight, including the poisoned horse that had not yet been discovered by others. Finally, she talked about Lu Qipei’s discovery and also presented the package of soil.
Unfortunately, the scent of the aromatic herb in the soil was not noticeable, and it was also contaminated by the incense on Lu Qipei’s body. The Emperor could smell nothing but the fragrance of plum blossoms. Turning his head to tell Zhang Jian to smell it as well, the result was still the same.
Lu Qipei explained, “The smell is so faint that ordinary people might not be able to smell it. It’s best to have an incense maker smell it. However, the smell in the forest clearing also dissipates quickly, and it’s likely to be gone in just one or two days. We need to send someone to collect some soil and seal it up first.”
The Emperor had a serious face and instructed Zhang Jian to arrange for someone to go down privately to collect some soil. After thinking for a moment, he gave another order, “Bring that dead horse back to me and hand it over to the Ministry of Judicial Review for investigation. Don’t let anyone else know.”
Zhang Jian was the Emperor’s confidant, who had listened to many secrets over the decades. Now, he calmly went out to make arrangements.
After Zhang Jian left, the Emperor looked at the handful of soil and murmured, “Since it’s the aromatic herb from the grasslands, and we don’t have it in Liang, is Rong State behind this?”
This was the simplest and most straightforward guess, but on second thought, it all made sense. From the time the Crown Prince was injured in the Liang-Rong war to now when several of his princes met an accident one after the other, Rong State was clearly targeting Liang’s next generation.
If the virtuous Crown Prince was weakened and short-lived, the deaths of the kings implicated him, and even the Eldest Grandson was killed, then Liang’s succession would inevitably become a problem.
It was not just disrupting the court – it was a plan to simply eliminate all the heirs. Very vicious!
When the Emperor thought of this, a sharp and cold light flashed in his eyes, showing a cold appearance that Qi Yang had never seen before.
Qi Yang and Lu Qipei both noticed the change in the Emperor’s expression, and they looked at each other calmly, not daring to say anything.
After waiting for a long time, the Emperor suddenly spoke up and asked the two, “Do you think this matter is masterminded by the Rong State? If so, who is planning all this behind the scenes?”
This shouldn’t have been asked to them, but since the Emperor had asked, how could Qi Yang and Lu Qipei not answer? Just as Qi Yang was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of Lu Qipei, giving her a gesture with the corner of her eyes. So she restrained her words a bit and said, “I don’t know about this. This Child came in to report in hope that Royal Father would know. But both the exotic horse breed and the aromatic herbs come from the grasslands, so they’re probably related to Rong State.”
Lu Qipei interjected in a timely manner, “Your Majesty, it doesn’t matter who planned all this. The key point is the feud between Liang and Rong.”
This sentence seemed to wake the Emperor up, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly.
Author notes:
Drag the Emperor into the water and let the bosses fight on their own…
Qi Yang (sighing with emotion): I just want to live a sweet little life with my Prince Consort. Go find my father and brother for other stuff!
The Emperor & Crown Prince (…): Oh well, it’s fine. Everyone’s in the water anyway.
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