The Schoolroom.
"Little Seven is sick."
When Zhiyi arrived at the schoolroom, she saw the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Princes all looking behind her. "Stop looking. There's no one there."
Today, not even Da Hei had come, staying home with his two-legged human cub.
The Fifth Prince grew nervous. "Is it serious?"
Zhiyi greeted Yuan Jie'er, who was sitting in the attendant's seat, and pulled out her books. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Compared to the usual, this is just a tiny, minor ailment."
They at Shunning Palace were extremely experienced. Zhiyi felt she was almost trained herself, having watched the imperial physicians brew medicine for years; she could recite some basic prescriptions by heart.
The Fifth Prince relaxed slightly, a pang of guilt rising in his heart.
If Little Seven hadn't come to find him last night and given him his own cloak and umbrella, he wouldn't have gotten sick.
He hurriedly set out the inkstone, brush, paper, and books for the Sixth Prince before returning to his own seat. Unlike his usual silent diligence, he wore a somewhat ingratiating smile.
Zhiyi saw this and sighed quietly.
After lessons ended, the Fifth Prince still followed closely behind the Sixth Prince.
The Sixth Prince turned around, somewhat impatient. "What on earth do you want?"
The Fifth Prince hesitated. "Sixth Brother, may I accompany you to Fragrant Beauty Palace? I... I have something I wish to ask of Consort Lan."
"Oh... So that's why you've been so helpful today. You need a favor." The Sixth Prince patted his shoulder. "A small matter. Let's go."
The Fifth Prince breathed a sigh of relief.
Fragrant Beauty Palace.
The Fifth Prince knelt before Consort Lan. "I beg Your Ladyship to save my mother!"
Consort Lan tried to help him up, but seeing it was useless, she didn't insist.
She sat on a stool, picked up a cup of tea, and skimmed the surface with the lid. "Actually, your birth mother is not of consort rank. By rules, you shouldn't call her 'mother.' It's just something everyone tacitly allows in private."
The Fifth Prince: "Yes."
Consort Lan: "It's not that this consort won't help you, it's truly that my hands are tied. The fabric was sent by her. This consort merely passed it on to Constant Attendant Ding. It has nothing to do with me."
The Fifth Prince: "But... your relationship with my mother, isn't it usually very good?"
Consort Lan spoke earnestly: "It is precisely because our relationship is good that we must avoid suspicion. You'd be better off asking your mother why she wanted to harm Constant Attendant Ding?"
These words had already sealed the verdict.
The Fifth Prince looked up sharply. "My mother is absolutely not the culprit!"
Consort Lan: "You weren't present, so naturally you don't know the circumstances at the time."
The Fifth Prince clutched the hem of her robe. "Consort Lan, could you please plead for mercy for my mother? Don't let her stay in the inner prison, let her be confined to Everlasting Spring Palace! I... I will listen to you from now on, listen to the Sixth Prince!"
Consort Lan: "You are also pitiable. How about this: This consort will overlook your mother's improper intentions. From now on, I will support you. You will be from my Fragrant Beauty Palace from this moment on. What does the Fifth Highness think?"
The Fifth Prince's hand went slack.
Consort Lan said with disinterest, "Lian Zhu, see our guest out."
The Fifth Prince stood up, devastated, and followed Lian Zhu out.
Faintly, from inside, came the conversation between Consort Lan and the Sixth Prince:
"Mother, why didn't you help him? He's usually quite good to me."
Consort Lan: "Is that so? Then, compared to that little eunuch who has been by your side for many years, who is more important?"
The Sixth Prince was conflicted. "Well... my attendant is still more important, I suppose." After all, the Fifth Prince couldn't be with him every moment.
Consort Lan: "In your heart, he can't even compare to a eunuch. A eunuch is a servant. Would you help someone who is less than a servant?"
The Sixth Prince: "Mother, you can't say it like that..."
Consort Lan: "Alright, alright. Be good now, go and study."
The Fifth Prince did not look back, his expression showing no change, but his fingers silently clenched tight within his sleeves.
He returned to Eternal Trust Palace. From Noble Lady Rong's jewelry box and from his own birthday gifts over the years, he dug out many pieces of jewelry that looked valuable. Then he hurried to the inner prison.
The inner prison was close to the outer court; beyond that was where officials worked within the imperial city.
The area around it was desolate, with a squad of guards stationed at the entrance.
The Fifth Prince and his personal eunuch pleaded for a long while, but the guard captain showed no sign of relenting.
"Captain Wu?" A puzzled voice sounded. "You haven't gone off duty yet?"
The Fifth Prince, who had been pestering Captain Wu, turned his head and saw a eunuch dressed in chief steward's robes. He had handsome features, with a faint scar at the corner of his eye.
Wen Xiaochun bowed. "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince."
The Fifth Prince vaguely felt he looked familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen him before.
Captain Wu said with a chuckle, "Greetings, Chief Steward Xiaochun. Not busy at the Inspection and Transport Office?"
Wen Xiaochun smiled, glancing at the jewelry and treasures the Fifth Prince had brought to bribe Captain Wu.
"One must rest eventually. What is happening here with you and His Highness?"
Captain Wu said awkwardly, "The Fifth Highness wishes to enter, but we have rules. Without orders from above, one cannot enter the inner prison casually."
Wen Xiaochun: "Captain Wu, sometimes we who serve shouldn't be too rigid. For the Fifth Highness to plead like this, he must have a very urgent matter. Aren't you about to go off duty? Just act as if you saw nothing."
He gently pulled Captain Wu aside and whispered, "After all, he is a prince, Captain Wu. For the sake of your promotion prospects, it's not good to offend him."
Captain Wu sighed. "Very well. For your sake."
Wen Xiaochun: "We are like family. That young fellow you sent to the Inspection and Transport Office, I'm keeping an eye on him for you. Nothing will go wrong."
Captain Wu laughed heartily.
When he turned back, his demeanor had completely changed. He waved to the guards. "Change of shift!"
The Fifth Prince, holding a box of gold, silver, and jewels, hadn't yet processed what happened.
Wen Xiaochun picked out a gold pendant from the box—a palm-sized pig, heavy and solid. He couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth. This exaggerated, familiar style was unmistakably the handiwork of a certain someone.
The Fifth Prince came to his senses. "Th-this was a birthday gift from Seventh Brother."
Wen Xiaochun: "Since it is a congratulatory gift from your brother, Your Highness, it should be kept well. Using it for bribery would be a waste of the Seventh Prince's sincere feelings."
The Fifth Prince hugged the box tightly. "Thank you."
Wen Xiaochun cupped his hands. "This slave merely happened to pass by. Today, I saw nothing and said nothing."
The Fifth Prince nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, I understand."
He quickly entered the gate of the inner prison.
Wen Xiaochun then left. However, not long after he walked away, he suddenly heard a commotion from the direction of the prison entrance.
He looked into the distance.
He saw a body covered with a white cloth being carried out from inside the inner prison.
And the Fifth Prince, who had just entered not long ago, stumbled out, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with panic.
He fell to his knees with a thud before the body and, trembling, lifted the white cloth.
Noble Lady Rong's face was exposed to the air, the impact wound on her forehead glaringly obvious.
"Mother—!" The Fifth Prince's voice was heart-wrenchingly mournful.
The low murmurs from the surroundings reached the Fifth Prince's ears. Wen Xiaochun also caught fragments.
"I heard the maid serving Noble Lady Rong confessed and implicated her, saying Noble Lady Rong did indeed frame the imperial offspring."
"Yes, and not long after, Noble Lady Rong... she dashed her head against the wall and took her own life."
"Framing an imperial heir is a grave crime. I suppose it was to protect her family."
"Who knows..."
-
Zichen Palace.
"This is the maid's confession."
Eunuch Yu presented two documents. "The one below is a copy. Noble Consort Rong wrote a message in blood on the wall. She begged His Majesty not to implicate her maternal clan and to treat the Fifth Prince well."
Emperor Chongzhao glanced through them.
"Do you truly believe Noble Consort Rong was solely responsible?"
Eunuch Yu inwardly protested. Having to constantly ponder how to answer such perilous questions was truly exhausting.
"Perhaps."
Emperor Chongzhao: "I had the Astrological Bureau compare the birth characters of the Second Princess and Little Six. They are not in conflict. Rumors are merely rumors. However, Consort Lan did not know that at the time. Driven by a mother's love for her son, the possibility she took action cannot be ruled out."
"Noble Consort Rong might have merely been following orders."
Eunuch Yu ventured cautiously: "Then, what is Your Majesty's intention?"
Emperor Chongzhao: "The court and the inner palace are intricately connected. I still have use for Consort Lan's father in the future."
Eunuch Yu understood his implication and bowed his head. "Understood. Although Noble Consort Rong framed an imperial heir, she performed the meritorious service of raising the Fifth Prince. This servant will handle her funeral arrangements properly."
Emperor Chongzhao waved his hand.
"Let this matter end here. It is not to be mentioned again. As for Little Five... he shall move to the Princes' Quarters ahead of schedule. He is nearly ten years old. Since he is now removed from the inner palace, I will keep a closer eye on him from now on. There is no need to seek another consort-mother for him."
Eunuch Yu: "As you command."
-
Changxin Palace.
Cai'er, a palace maid who served in the Emperor's presence, relayed Emperor Chongzhao's words from Zichen Palace to the Fifth Prince verbatim.
Cai'er said nervously, "I happened to enter to change the flowers in the vase outside the screen and overheard the conversation between His Majesty and Eunuch Yu. Although it was from behind the screen, my hearing has always been exceptionally sharp since childhood. I heard everything clearly."
The Fifth Prince remained silent in the dead stillness for a long time.
He seemed to have even forgotten to breathe, every inch of his body radiating a kind of numbness.
"Whether you believe me or not is up to you. This is the kind of matter that could cost one's head. I only dared to come tell you because I'm about to be transferred away."
The Fifth Prince said hoarsely, "Thank you."
Cai'er shook her head. "Back then, Noble Consort Rong nearly had me beaten to death. It was only because you pleaded for me that I survived. If this can help you, consider it repaying that life-saving kindness."
She had specifically taken over Eunuch Bao's duty of notifying the Fifth Prince about the funeral arrangements. Fortunately, Eunuch Bao thought Changxin Palace was too far and it was an unlucky task, so he was unwilling to come, giving her this opportunity.
The Fifth Prince took out the small box containing bribes again and gently pushed it forward.
"Since you're being transferred, pick a few items. They are valuable, after all."
Cai'er: "No, no, I cannot accept them."
The Fifth Prince: "What you have repaid me far exceeds the small effort I made back then." He selected from the box a hairpin that Noble Consort Rong had worn most often and the little golden pig pendant Qu Dubian had given him. He clutched these two items tightly in his palm.
"I only need these two."
In the end, Cai'er did not accept his gifts. She bid farewell and hurriedly left.
In the empty hall, the Fifth Prince suddenly began to laugh soundlessly. As he laughed, tears fell one by one.
So... so His Imperial Father knew Consort Lan was a suspect.
His own mother's death was also most likely orchestrated by Consort Lan, aiming to absolve herself. His Imperial Father knew all of this...
But simply because of that one sentence, "I still have use for Consort Lan's father," he could gloss over the entire matter with his mother's death.
The Fifth Prince sat listlessly in the hall until nightfall, until his tears ran dry.
Something within him died in that instant, and something else began to take root and sprout.
The young eunuch outside the door finally couldn't bear it and entered, asking with concern, "Your Highness..."
The Fifth Prince pushed himself up from the table and walked steadily, step by step, to the doorway.
"I am fine. There is still my mother's funeral for me to handle."
He tucked Noble Consort Rong's hairpin and the little golden pig pendant into his robes. Though they were cold to the touch, they felt like the only things that could bring any warmth to his body.
"Let's go."
-
After handling the funeral, the Fifth Prince moved into the Princes' Quarters and then fell seriously ill.
Ever since Qu Dubian heard the news of Noble Consort Rong's death, he had wanted to see the Fifth Prince. But the latter seemed to be avoiding him, refusing all visitors even during his illness.
He saw the Fifth Prince again ten days later at the imperial school.
The Fifth Prince had grown much thinner. He still followed beside the Sixth Prince, like a dutiful little attendant.
He looked up and gave Qu Dubian a gentle smile. "Good morning, Little Seven."
He looked the same, his features unchanged, his height unchanged, yet it was as if he had grown up overnight. At a glance, Qu Dubian even felt a slight strangeness.
Qu Dubian could only reply as usual: "Good morning, Fifth Brother."
