Chapter 418: The Fifth Emperor’s Illness

Chapter 418

The above matters were quite puzzling to speculate about. However, verifying them was not difficult at all.

Chang Yan followed behind the Fourth Prince, watching his barely discernible limp, before suddenly stumbling forward. The Fourth Prince quickly turned around to catch his frail younger brother with one arm, complaining, "How can you still be so unsteady on your feet when you're grown up now? Be more careful next time."

Blushing with embarrassment, Chang Yan straightened up, lowering his eyelashes to discover that the Fourth Prince's limping was much more pronounced than before. If earlier he had seemed close to normal, now he looked more disabled.

After the two brothers parted ways at the intersection, the personal guard who had painstakingly retrieved the jade pendant still hadn't had the chance to claim credit before hearing his master order, "I want all the background information on the Second Prince's birth mother."

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Chang Yan could speculate that the Second Prince was deep and inscrutable, or that the Fourth Prince was deliberately limping, or even that the Eldest Prince was intentionally playing the fool, but no matter which, he as the Fifth Prince had to remain invisible.

It is said that the outstanding bird gets shot down first.

He had already done his utmost and not neglected to advise on anything that needed attention. No matter who schemed against whom, he had to be the fisherman who benefited.

The young man smiled with upturned lips, his androgynous features set with dispassionate eyes that betrayed no joy or anger.

The attendant beside him was frightened out of his wits. Although he usually dared say anything to the Fifth Highness, at this moment he felt it was better not to provoke him.

Not daring to hesitate, he swiftly spread word that the Fifth Prince had fallen ill with fever from shock.

Secrets are like snowflakes, swirling and dancing about in the summer heat, scattered to every corner of the imperial city and into the households of Fengjing.

The first to receive the news was the Chengqian Palace.

Housed in the higher-quality, newer palace were the empire's most favored Ju Noble Consort, as well as the Eldest Prince Zhu Changhong who should have been confined but was instead secretly kneeling before his mother.

Losing composure in Baohe Hall had somewhat damaged the reputation he had built up over a long period. Withholding his younger brother's monthly allowance earned even more contempt from others.

Ju Noble Consort was furious with her seventeen year-old son, reprimanding him, "You've made such a blunder over just one instance of poor handling. As the Crown Prince, how can you not remain calm and thoughtful, how can you not think things through before you speak?"

"Mother Consort..." The Eldest Prince was completely unsatisfied. "I wasn't wrong! He clearly could have brought it up with me privately, yet insisted on feigning innocence in Baohe Hall. How could an imperial prince possibly be unaware of the monthly allowance? He must have conspired with the Yang family to scheme against me."

In the few confrontations between the Eldest Prince and Fifth Prince, it had always been Ju Noble Consort or the Fang's son coaching the Eldest Prince in advance. When faced with a new issue, he would become flustered and speak thoughtlessly.

It would be inaccurate to call the Eldest Prince as stupid as a pig. He simply relied on the shelter and protection afforded by his backers.

In the matron's eyes, for a child to truly mature, he had to directly face setbacks and shoulder hardships alone, barely scraping by to survive.

But given Noble Consort's privileged status, all she as a servant could do was swallow her thoughts and support her mistress until they disappeared into the darkness of the palace halls.

While those within the palace were informed in the blink of an eye, those outside the walls had to wait half a day, even if they were deemed trustworthy.

Fortunately Zheng Ruqian had a few friends from all walks of life. Although unimportant in status they were well-connected. Some secrets only noble clans could uncover were also made known to them, shared laughingly amongst each other. "I heard the Fifth Prince in the imperial city has fallen ill. He was angered into sickness after the Eldest Prince withheld the monthly allowance."

"The Eldest Prince contributed fifty thousand taels of silver for this year's Spring Viewing Banquet, yet still deducted eighteen thousand taels from his younger brother. How shameless!"

"That's right. If not for that, how would the Fifth Prince have fallen sick? I heard they called a bunch of imperial physicians who all diagnosed him with fever and were trying to figure out how to save him now."

Angering into sickness, fever, saving him.

While Zheng Ruqian could brush off the earlier parts as jest, the latter half gradually turned solemn.

He recalled Little Chang Yan from five years ago, who had also been rescued back from fever. If not for Jiang Sheng's insistence, if not for Wen Zhiyun's skilled hands, if not for their luck, perhaps the boy would have long been buried.

Fevers do not retreat easily, and colds can take half a life.

Most crucially, he and Ju Noble Consort both trusted the skills of the imperial physicians.

One could fake it, two could lie about it, but what if three, five, seven or more were all bought off?

If that was not the case, then it was true illness.

Little Wu was sick.

This realization made Zheng Ruqian unable to sit still. He hastily bid his friends farewell, staggering back to the small residence. After shutting the door, he whispered urgently, "Little Wu is sick. He has a fever. What to do, what to do?"