Shunning Palace.
Warm lamps burned brightly.
After lunch, Imperial Physician Yang paid a visit to check Qu Dubian's pulse.
However, his conclusion was more or less the same as Yang Chonghua's. The meridians were beyond cure; he could not stand for long periods, nor could he overexert himself. He would have to rely on a wheelchair to get around, and they could only try to find ways to alleviate his condition.
But there was a way to treat his eyes. After all, he was the one who had taught the acupuncture technique of stimulating the sphenoid sinus to block the sense of smell.
It was just that the treatment effect would be slow. It might take several years before he could see even a glimmer of light.
He spoke very carefully, afraid of provoking Qu Dubian, but after Qu Dubian heard this, he merely asked him to return and report the truth to Emperor Chongzhao.
Imperial Physician Yang spent an hour diagnosing him before leaving.
As he left Shunning Palace, he looked back.
He had spent his entire life in the Imperial Hospital, rising from an ordinary imperial physician to the head of the hospital. In his career of treating illnesses, saving lives, and developing prescriptions, many of the standard or bizarre medical cases were provided by the Seventh Prince alone.
Although it was painful, during the time he treated the child, he was always left caught between laughter and tears by the boy's strange curiosities and little antics.
This time was different.
Imperial Physician Yang sighed, "Alas..."
The medical apprentice carrying his medicine box whispered, "It is truly a pity for His Highness the Seventh Prince. Let's hope your medicine takes effect soon."
Imperial Physician Yang said, "If I had known this would happen, I never would have taught him the method of stimulating acupoints with silver needles."
But without that method, the borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty would probably still be engulfed in the flames of war right now.
Qu Dubian's small room in Shunning Palace had always been kept as it was.
At this moment, the door to the small room was closed.
Qu Dubian was being interrogated by Consort Xuan. "The letter you had Zhiyi deliver only had six words: 'I am fine, do not worry.' You even told me to only open it when the time was right."
"When I heard the terrible news from the border, I had a premonition that the time had come. But Little Seventh, look at you now..."
Consort Xuan tugged at his sleeve, making him turn around. She looked him up and down, frowning. "No matter how I look at it, you don't seem fine at all."
She was actually mentally prepared; otherwise, she would have rushed to the palace gates even if it meant arguing with Emperor Chongzhao.
It was just that seeing the child she had raised return, she hadn't been able to control her emotions for a moment.
The same went for Zhiyi and Noble Lady Guo.
"Imperial Physician Yang's diagnosis can't be wrong," Noble Lady Guo said, on the verge of shedding tears again. "Child, don't lie to us by only reporting the good news and hiding the bad."
She had spent her whole life in Shunning Palace, raising two children alongside Consort Xuan.
She only wished for the two of them to be safe and sound, but along the way, their paths had been more bumpy and difficult than the last.
"There was a slight accident, but overall, I'm fine. Look."
Qu Dubian took off his blindfold and walked a lap around the room. As he walked, he pointed at easily recognizable objects and named them, and finally performed a set of Tai Chi.
Consort Xuan could tell that although he no longer had internal energy and his movements were much softer, he was definitely not as Imperial Physician Yang had described, unable to use martial arts and unable to stand for long.
Qu Dubian finished his routine. "Are you relieved now?"
Consort Xuan waved a hand in front of his eyes. "But what about your eyes..."
They were dim and unfocused, exactly like those of a blind person.
Qu Dubian said, "I told you, it's a special method." To make it sound more convincing, he added, "It also has side effects. It temporarily causes 'short-sightedness' and a sensitivity to the cold."
Short-sightedness was the modern equivalent of myopia.
Zhiyi said, "It looks so real. But Little Seventh, when will you recover? Returning to the capital in this state, is there something going on?"
Qu Dubian replied, "Yes, but I can't say for now because I haven't investigated everything clearly yet. Once everything is settled, I will tell you all about it."
"Who else knows about this besides us?" Consort Xuan frowned and said, "You shouldn't have revealed so much to us. Doesn't one more person knowing put you in one more degree of danger?"
Qu Dubian shook his head.
He wasn't a fool; he knew his limits.
He hadn't revealed anything involving mixed external factions, taking sides, or court officials, such as Zhennan Pass where his uncle was, the Eastern Depot where Xiaochun was, Xia Fuyang who had guessed a small half of it, and Xi Zixing.
Moreover, his current condition wasn't actually fake, so it couldn't be called deceiving the emperor.
Zhiyi said, "Little Seventh, then don't leave today. Stay in Shunning Palace and have a good chat with Consort Xuan. If you leave tomorrow, I will leave the palace with you."
Qu Dubian nodded. "Alright."
He put the black silk blindfold back on.
With Shunning Palace stabilized, he still had to deal with his grandmother and Xiaoyuan.
Qu Dubian stayed in Shunning Palace for a night, and the next day, he left the palace with Zhiyi.
He didn't return to the Prince's Estate. Instead, he took Yidianbai and its wife, Jinlai, and went straight to the Sword-Wielding Marquis's Estate.
Originally, he felt that since Yidianbai was eight years old and getting on in years, it would be better for it to stay in the palace or at his older sister's Princess Estate. But the dog was incredibly clingy and absolutely refused to be left behind.
It even dragged its own wife out with it.
Sigh.
Holding two dog leashes in his hands, Qu Dubian sat rather leisurely in his mobility wheelchair, saying in exasperation, "Yidianbai, oh Yidianbai, you and Jinlai are an old husband and a young wife. You don't even know how to dote on her more."
Jinlai was only six years old.
Yi Shier was pushing his wheelchair from behind. Hearing this, a hint of a smile flashed through his eyes.
Then he looked up. "Your Highness, we have arrived."
This time, Qu Dubian had sent someone to inform them of his arrival in advance.
At the gate of the estate, Ye Xiaoyuan was supporting Wu Siwan. The old lady stood on her tiptoes, gazing into the distance.
Yi Shier said, "The Old Madam and Xiaoyuan are both at the gate."
Qu Dubian called out from afar, "Grandma! Banban!"
Wu Siwan hurriedly went down the steps and trotted over. "My little darling!"
Ye Xiaoyuan said, "Your Highness."
Yi Shier glanced around and softly reminded them, "Someone is watching this way. Let's talk inside."
The expressions of Qu Dubian, Wu Siwan, and Ye Xiaoyuan didn't change in the slightest. Wu Siwan even mournfully wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. "Let's go. Don't let my little darling freeze outside. Let's go back into the estate first."
Ye Xiaoyuan also waved his hand. "Lay the stone slabs over the steps. Don't make His Highness stand up to get down."
The servants of the estate set up the stone slabs, and Yi Shier pushed him up and into the residence.
Creak.
The main gate closed.
All the way into the inner room, Wu Siwan, with red eyes, ordered the others not to approach. She wanted to have a good talk with her grandson.
Once everyone was cleared out, Wu Siwan said, "The guards in the estate are all veterans from the battlefield. Generally, no one would be spying around here."
Ye Xiaoyuan said, "They were targeting His Highness."
Qu Dubian asked, "Did you sense which direction they were in just now?"
"Not exactly," Yi Shier said. "But there shouldn't be any malicious intent. I will have someone look into it."
Qu Dubian temporarily put the matter aside.
Unsurprisingly, Wu Siwan also asked about the contents of his letter. Qu Dubian repeated what he had said in Shunning Palace to his grandmother and Xiaoyuan.
After he finished, he changed the subject and told his grandmother about his grandfather's current situation, not noticing that Yi Shier had pulled Ye Xiaoyuan outside.
The two of them stood outside the window.
Yi Shier seriously tattled, "He's lying."
Ye Xiaoyuan's heartbeat stopped for a moment. He clutched his chest. "...Lord Liuliu."
Yi Shier said, "His Highness's words are half true and half false. His body might be fine, but there is something wrong with his eyes." He meticulously recounted the entire course of events, leaving nothing out.
When tattling, there was no need to hold back. He placed extra emphasis on how Qu Dubian had slipped up after waking up, and even tried to deceive them to cover it up.
"It is not my place to lecture him, and the Old Madam is getting on in years, but you can, Xiaoyuan."
He considered himself His Highness's subordinate; there were some things he could not easily say and could only endure. But Ye Xiaoyuan had taken care of His Highness since childhood, acting as half a family member, and was fully qualified to nag him.
Ye Xiaoyuan's complexion went from deathly pale at the beginning, to easing up later, then to worry, and finally turning as grim as still water.
Coincidentally, Wu Siwan pushed open the window from the inside and let out a sound of surprise. "Why are you two standing outside? It is warm inside, come in, come in, and listen to Xiaoguai tell interesting stories about the Northern Frontier."
Ye Xiaoyuan replied, "It is nothing, Old Madam, we are just getting some fresh air."
The cold wind blew in from outside the window. Qu Dubian was sitting by the stove roasting a tangerine. He clearly was not cold, yet he inexplicably shuddered.
He subconsciously glanced toward the window.
Ye Banban's chibi avatar was helpfully marked by the simulator with three abstract little flames of anger, while Liuliu crossed his arms and silently retreated.
Qu Dubian: "..."
Wu Siwan looked out the window, then looked back inside.
"What is it?"
Qu Dubian lowered his head. "This tangerine is really delicious after being roasted."
Outside the estate.
A black hem of a garment departed from the vicinity of the Sword-Wielding Marquis Estate.
As he walked, he took off his bamboo hat.
His face, exposed to the daylight, revealed him to be none other than Wen Xiaochun.
There was nothing more impactful than seeing it with one's own eyes.
The battle report stated clearly that the Seventh Prince was injured during combat on the battlefield, and the Seventh Prince's own words upon his return corroborated this.
No one questioned it.
But he did not believe it.
Previously, when Cui Rong went to the border, it was to take his daughter back to their ancestral home for retirement. It was normal for him to bid farewell to the affairs of the capital and stop making appearances.
But some time ago, when he and Chen Jian were cleaning up Cui Rong's few remaining informants and connections in the Eastern Depot, a few people who could no longer endure it went to Shanming Pass to find Cui Rong, only to discover that he was not at his ancestral home.
He originally thought Cui Rong had moved, but thinking about it now...
Something was wrong.
Nighttime.
A misty light snow began to fall again.
Qu Dubian was pressed onto a small stool by Ye Xiaoyuan and lectured for a full two hours. Gentle reasoning served as normal attacks, strict reasoning as light attacks, and gentle tears as absolute critical strikes.
Yidianbai and Jinlai kept him company, lying nearby with drooping heads.
Yi Shier leaned against the door, listening to Ye Xiaoyuan's lecture and his Highness's listless responses. The pent-up emotions he had held in throughout the journey finally dissipated a little.
His ears twitched as he heard heavy footsteps coming from inside the room, and he lightly leaped onto the roof.
Creak.
Qu Dubian came out of the room holding a dog.
Once outside, under the dog's look of absolute disbelief, he used Yidianbai to wipe away the light snowflakes on the wooden chair in the corridor. After wiping it dry, he plopped down onto it.
Yidianbai barked, "Woof, woof, woof!"
Qu Dubian pinched its snout. "Do not disturb Grandmother's rest, be good."
Yi Shier quietly peeked down.
Qu Dubian had already released the dog and muttered indignantly, "Liuliu..."
Yi Shier pulled his head back.
Qu Dubian took a deep breath, and the demonic, ear-piercing sound of Ye Banban's nagging finally faded a little in his mind.
Ye Xiaoyuan was making the bed in the inner room. Qu Dubian sat under the eaves for a while, but feeling cold again, he got up and walked a lap around the small courtyard.
Liuliu had planted personnel to monitor the perimeters of the other princes' estates.
Tang Yisu, who should have returned to his original post, was now staying in a county town near the capital.
What did he want to do?
And who would he contact?
If his intuition was correct, the capital was about to fall into chaos.
Late at night.
The snow had stopped.
A shallow layer of white snow covered the ground.
The night watchman hunched his back, carrying a lantern, and struck the gong in his hand. "Fourth watch of the Chou hour, the weather is freezing cold..."
Dong!
"Fourth watch of the Chou hour, the weather is freezing cold..."
As he shouted, cold breath drifted from his mouth. He lowered his head and rubbed his hands together. When he looked up again, he saw yellow spirit money fluttering all over the sky.
The spirit money scattered widely. The night watchman was startled, reached out to catch a piece, and took a look.
Written clearly on it was:
His Highness, the Seventh Prince, Prince Yong, campaigned in the Northern Frontier and returned after capturing the enemy king. His severe injuries and blindness were the result of a treacherous plot. The traitor is a member of the royal family.
The ominous spirit money flew all over the city, with some even drifting directly into courtyards.
Within a single day, the news spread throughout the capital.
