“Princess, you’re back! The Prince sent me to escort you home!”
Duoduo peered out. The man outside the carriage was a guard from the estate.
The guard climbed onto the driver’s seat and sat beside the coachman, urging the horses forward.
Lüdou gently tugged at Duoduo’s sleeve. “Princess, look!”
Duoduo followed Lüdou’s gaze.
Several men in black were chasing someone into an alley.
Their attire was very similar to the people they had encountered near the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Duoduo shook her head to herself.
She could only hope that Xiao Che was lucky enough to escape.
The carriage finally stopped in front of the Prince of Pingyang’s residence.
Lüdou lifted the curtain, and Duoduo stepped out of the carriage.
A guard outside bowed in greeting.
Duoduo took a step, then suddenly turned back.
“While you were waiting for us, did you notice anything unusual?”
The guard quickly lifted his head, glanced at Duoduo, and then lowered it again just as fast.
“In answer to you, Princess—no, I saw nothing.”
Duoduo stared at the guard for another moment, then turned to the coachman.
“You heard what he just said, right?”
The coachman nodded. “Yes, I heard him, Princess.”
Duoduo nodded. As she looked up, she saw a row of armed constables standing at the entrance of the Prince of Pingyang’s residence.
“Huh?” Duoduo exclaimed in surprise.
Oh no!
She had forgotten to call for reinforcements!
When she saw her Imperial Grandfather praying for rain, she had only thought about how to make the rain come.
Then, when the rain succeeded, she got so happy that she forgot this critical matter.
What should she do?
Duoduo knit her brows, considering her options.
A guard approached the constables and cupped his hands to their leader.
“Please, let us pass.”
The constable didn’t even glance at him. “All unauthorized persons, step aside immediately!”
He drew his blade. “Leave now, or I won’t be responsible for where my sword falls!”
Lüdou jumped in fright. “Princess, what should we do?”
“Let’s go back to the carriage,” Duoduo said, signaling Lüdou to call the guard back.
“Princess, it’s raining!” Lüdou said anxiously.
Duoduo’s clothes were already soaked.
If she didn’t get inside to change soon, she might catch a chill.
“It’s fine. We’ll wait in the carriage for a bit.”
Duoduo observed the situation. The constables were merely surrounding the Prince of Pingyang’s residence, doing nothing else.
That meant the residence was still safe for now.
Duoduo felt that her father would not spread rumors without reason. He must have a purpose.
Back at the palace, the Emperor had just returned. Prince Xian and the Prefect of the Capital soon arrived.
After they performed their bows, Prince Xian spoke first.
“Imperial Father, I ran into the Prefect of the Capital at the palace gate just now. He said that plague has broken out at the Prince of Pingyang’s residence.”
“I feared he might have been misled by slander and wronged my elder brother.”
“But he claimed he had a witness.”
The Prefect of the Capital quickly stepped forward and knelt in the middle.
“Your Majesty, I dare not speak falsely.”
“I have already had the matter investigated. The person afflicted with plague in the Prince of Pingyang’s residence is Nanny Li.”
“The Prince of Pingyang had her moved overnight to a property that was part of the Princess of Pingyang’s dowry.”
“When I entered the residence to investigate, a servant from the household personally came forward to testify.”
“He also led me to the said property and located the relocated Nanny Li.”
“Now, I have placed both the residence and that property under quarantine.”
“Because this involves the Prince of Pingyang, I did not dare to make any decisions on my own!”
The Prefect of the Capital finished speaking and remained kneeling, waiting for the Emperor’s instructions.
The Emperor, however, was taken aback.
Plague?
How could there be plague?
The Emperor pondered for a moment, then gave an order.
“Bring in the servants of the Prince of Pingyang’s estate!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Eunuch Li walked out, and before long, he returned with an old man who seemed simple and honest, leading him inside.
The old man was trembling all over with fear.
He barely managed to walk into the hall, when he seemed to trip over something, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
“Your humble subject kowtows to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty, ten thousand years!”
His voice was trembling, as if he had used all his strength.
The Emperor looked at the man on the ground. “Are you from the Prince of Pingyang’s estate?”
The old man quivered like a leaf, nearly shaking apart, before finally answering.
“Your humble subject is just the stableman of the estate!”
The stableman?
“Tell me again what you saw.”
The old man, gathering his courage, cautiously raised his head.
He immediately caught sight of the Emperor staring at him with a stern expression.
The old man was so frightened that he instantly pressed his face back to the ground.
“In reply to Your Majesty, Nanny Li of the estate fell ill with a disease, and The Prince had her sent away that very night.”
The Emperor immediately seized upon the most critical word.
“Disease? Not a plague?”
The old man seemed to freeze for a moment.
“It was a plague, Your humble subject misspoke! It was a plague!”
As soon as these words were spoken, not only the Emperor, but even Prince Xian’s expression darkened.
The old man’s words were inconsistent and obviously a lie!
“Slap!” The Emperor slammed his hand onto the dragon desk.
“Was it a disease—or a plague!”
“Confess truthfully! If you dare deceive Us, do you know the penalty for the crime of deceiving the emperor?!”
The old man was terrified, his body on the ground shaking like a reed in the wind.
“Your humble subject begs for mercy! Your Majesty, have mercy!”
“Your humble subject doesn’t truly know if it was a plague or not. All I know is that Nanny Li fell sick, and it seemed to be contagious.”
“That’s why The Prince had her sent away that very night.”
“It was him! He asked me if it was a plague!”
“And I thought ‘disease’ and ‘plague’ sounded similar, so I said yes.”
“Then he brought me here!”
After saying this, the old man looked as if he deeply regretted his mistake.
“What? You’re slandering me!” the Prefect of the Capital shouted in fury, nearly jumping to his feet.
“It was you who rushed out and said Nanny Li had the plague, and you led me to that residence!”
The old man, as if he too feared for his life, straightened up and looked at the Prefect of the Capital.
“Your humble subject meant Nanny Li caught a contagious disease and was moved out.”
“You, sir, asked me if it was a plague, and I said yes.”
“You asked me if I knew where Nanny Li had gone, and I said yes.”
“Then I led you, sir, to find Nanny Li!”
The old man’s words were very clear.
The Prefect of the Capital froze for a moment.
It seemed what the old man said wasn’t wrong!
“If Nanny Li didn’t have the plague, why did you say yes?” the Prefect of the Capital looked at the Emperor, whose gaze toward him was clearly displeased.
“I’m just a lowly stableman—how would I know the difference between a disease and a plague?”
“Besides, all those constables had the Prince of Pingyang’s estate surrounded. I just wanted to stay alive!”
“Your Majesty, have mercy! I’ve never even taken a wife or had children—I don’t want to die!”
As the old man spoke, he wept and kowtowed to the Emperor.
The Emperor’s expression grew very grim.
“Eunuch Li, summon the imperial physician to the Prince of Pingyang’s estate!”
Eunuch Li hurried out to make arrangements.
Prince Xian, seeing the Prefect of the Capital looking as if the sky had fallen, clasped his hands and bowed to the Emperor.
“Imperial Father, the Prefect of the Capital was merely being overly cautious and didn’t hear clearly.”
After all, the epidemic is far too dangerous—this concerns the safety of countless people.
