Chapter 30: The Notice from the Prince’s Mansion

Page (1/3)

Huo Yun straightened up and cast a furtive glance at Wei Zhang.

Lan Qin knew that Yutang was pleading for Huo Yun while giving Wei Zhang a way to back down. She immediately smiled and said, “What are you waiting for? Surely your master’s orders don’t outrank the commandery princess, do they?” She then selected two pills from the medicine chest on the table and stuffed them into his hand. “You were wounded in the arm. Remember to take your medicine.”

Huo Yun instantly flashed a smile at the smiling Yutang, loudly declared that he understood, and ran out.

Wei Zhang watched his retreating figure, then sighed and turned to Yutang. “You indulge that child far too much.”

Yutang smiled and sat down. “Is this what you call indulgence? Hah. Was I not the same with all of you before?”

Wei Zhang fell silent.

Yutang was a favored daughter of Heaven, the only daughter of the exalted Prince Duan. Before they were sent to the prince’s residence, the emperor and empress had instructed them that she would forever be their master. Even if it meant death—even if they descended into the underworld—they were never to betray her.

Thus, she was the leader in each of their hearts, their very heaven.

This imperial niece, born into wealth and privilege yet burdened from childhood with the Heaven-Sent Calamity, whom people whispered about as a beauty who brought ruin, had never once vented her grievances upon them from the day they first met until now. Not once had she trampled upon their dignity.

Though a strict hierarchy stood between them, whenever they needed care and attention, Yutang had never overlooked them.

And yet this kindhearted woman, who could fairly be called one who sought no quarrels with the world, had still been dragged into a conspiracy and had come within a hair’s breadth of becoming a sacrifice.

Yutang said, “Tell me about what happened on your journey. What became of Zhang Ji?”

The Marquis of Guangling was still searching for Wei Zhang, something Yutang and the others had always known. On the day before they reached the capital, Wei Zhang had turned back outside the city and left a trail, successfully luring the Du family into having He Xu take on the task.

He then returned to the capital’s outskirts and waited beyond the city for the men the Du family sent to kill him.

So even if He Xu had not died by her hand, he would have died at Wei Zhang’s once he left the city.

Yutang would not permit a single survivor to escape. Wei Zhang was the one who sealed that final gap.

Now that the Zhang family’s net had closed, it was only natural that he should return.

Wei Zhang nodded. “On my way back, I happened to encounter the Du family’s men pursuing him.

“He was killed in an inn.”

Yutang nodded, then continued, “The He and Zhang families are finished. Next, we deal with the Du family.

“The Prince of Jingyang’s residence has no connection with the Secretariat. If the people behind the father and son of the Du family truly belong to the Secretariat, then the Prince of Jingyang can temporarily be cleared of some suspicion.

“However, considering his position, I do not believe he would be willing to abandon the Du family, a ready-made lackey.

Page (2/3)

“When the crucial moment arrives, the Prince of Jingyang may well intervene to protect the Du family.

“After all, the life or death of an insignificant commandery princess would have no effect on him. But if the Marquis of Guangling’s household fell, it would be a considerable loss.”

“Stop talking! Something terrible has happened!”

Yutang had just taken a sip of her medicine when Hua Lin hurried in with a crumpled sheet of paper. Flustered, he spread it across the table. It turned out to be a notice.

“Today, the streets were plastered with these notices. For some unknown reason, the Prince of Jingyang’s residence is searching everywhere for someone named Wang Huan!”

The expressions of the two people in the room changed at once.

Wang Huan was the alias Yutang had used years ago while traveling outside disguised as a commoner. It was also the identity she presented only when necessary.

The Prince of Jingyang’s residence was looking for her?

What were they planning?

“There must have been a loose end left by what happened last night!” Wei Zhang said, his face full of vexation. “That little brat Huo Yun—I’ll give him a proper lesson when he gets back!”

“What good does saying that do?” Yutang asked, displeased. She walked several steps along the lattice screen, then turned back and picked up the notice again. “It lists only my name, identity, and ancestral home. There is no portrait. It hasn’t reached the point of a fire at our heels yet.”

Hua Lin was frantic. “With the power of the Prince of Jingyang’s residence, if they truly begin searching from household to household, they could catch you even if you turned into a bird!”

Wei Zhang also realized the problem. “How did the Prince of Jingyang learn your name?”

“How should I know?” Yutang’s brows drew together as tightly as his. “I have never had any dealings with him, and my household registration identifies me as nothing more than an ordinary law-abiding subject. Almost no one in the entire capital even knows that name of mine. If this is merely a case of identical names, then how do the date of birth and ancestral origins match as well?”

Everyone’s expression grew grave.

Being targeted by the Prince of Jingyang was no good news, even if the situation had not yet reached the point of a fire at their heels.

“We can’t wait for Huo Yun any longer. We must strike first and speed up our move against the Du family.”

After a moment’s thought, Yutang said decisively, “Zhang Shaode confessed that the Du family is doing everything in its power to win over the top scholar, Xu He.

“Among the scholars the Du family is currently cultivating, Xu He is the only one personally selected by the emperor. He is also the palace laureate. For that reason, the Du family personally arranged a match for him, proposing the niece of Du Minghuan’s wife, Lady Duan, as his bride.

“Go and investigate this man thoroughly.”

Wei Zhang stepped forward. “Does the commandery princess intend to use Xu He as an opening?”

Yutang nodded. “Zhang Shaode revealed this piece of information at the brink of life and death to save himself. I suspect this lead is not as simple as it seems.

Page (3/3)

“Besides, Xu He was barely in his twenties when he became the palace laureate. He was also the only successful candidate personally selected by the emperor, which clearly means he has a brilliant future ahead of him. He has no need to rely on marriage connections to make his mark.

“And yet he is now willing to lower himself to become the Du family’s nephew-in-law. Don’t you find that strange?”

Wei Zhang could not help nodding. “It is somewhat beneath him. As the palace laureate, he could certainly marry into a more prestigious family.”

He folded his arms and pondered for a moment before turning and leaving.

Yutang picked up the notice from the table once more, smoothing its wrinkles again and again with her palm.

The information about Wang Huan was laid out before her with startling clarity.

Three years ago, on that night, it was not only the Commandery Princess Yongjia and her son who had “died.” Prince Duan, the eldest prince born to Consort An, the former emperor—even the second prince who now occupied the throne—had all nearly perished. The second prince had been rescued only after the guards had gone to extraordinary lengths to drag him from the wreckage, and the attending imperial physicians had exhausted every effort to save him.

Empress Dowager Shen had taken control of the state after spending merely three years in the palace, and her maternal family had grown powerful in the process. Yet the son she had borne still had not ascended the throne.

Was it that she did not wish it?

Did the Shen family not wish it?

Of course not.

It was because the Mu family could never have been willing to yield.

A son’s status depended upon his mother’s. By reason and by sentiment alike, the throne should have gone to the second prince, the legitimate son of the former empress.

But once Shen became empress in succession, her son also became legitimate.

With that imperial edict left behind by the former emperor, the Shen family could seize control of the government, weaken imperial authority, and perhaps even obstruct the second prince’s rule in the future.

Could the former emperor truly have failed to foresee such a confrontation in the years to come?

Of course he must have foreseen it.

So, during that year when Yutang was busy marrying and bearing a child, busy securing stability for Prince Duan’s household before the curse of her Heaven-Sent Calamity took effect, and therefore had no time to return to the palace—what, exactly, had happened in the capital?