Chapter 282 - The Crown Princess Takes Actions Once More

When Grand Princess Daiguo was overjoyed, in the Eastern Palace…

After Jian Xubai explained why he didn’t agree with the crown prince to surrender to Prince of Zhao, there was a knock on the study’s door suddenly. The crown prince who was about to speak frowned and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Your Highness, Her Highness heard that Duke of Yan came, so she told me to serve tea and pastries,” a young eunuch reported cautiously outside the door.

If the young eunuch said that he brought them specially for the crown prince, the latter would be not in the mood to answer, but since the crown princess wanted to entertain her husband’s cousin, even though the crown prince was impatient, he still ordered, “Come in.”

The young eunuch heard that and pushed the door open. Then he entered and put a tray inlaid with mica of gold and mother-in-pearl on a small table not far away from the crown prince and Jian Xubai. Afterward, he bowed and then said goodbye.

“The cakes on the plate seem to have been made by the crown princess in person. Xubai, have a taste.” The crown prince didn’t want to eat anything at all, yet as the tea and pastries had been served, he just conveniently told Jian Xubai to eat. In fact, Jian Xubai didn’t want to eat, but the crown prince asked him and said that it was made by the crown princess personally, so he couldn’t refuse.

So he got up and came to the small table, and he saw that there was a pair of glaze pots with citronella beverage and flos puerariae beverage respectively in the tray. Jian Xubai didn’t like the smell of the citronella since childhood, and all people close to him knew that. The crown princess cared about him in the past like a mother and sister-in-law, so she was certainly clear about his taste.

However, she still told the young eunuch to send a pot. Obviously, it was given to the crown prince.

Jian Xubai understood what she meant and turned over two glaze cups which were put upside down in the tray. After he poured different beverage into two cups, he gave the cup of citronella beverage to the crown prince, while he picked up the cup of flos puerariae beverage and returned to his seat. He really didn’t have an appetite for the cakes.

“I want to…” The crown prince didn’t want to drink, but he received the cup conveniently and took a sip since Jian Xubai gave it to him. Unexpectedly, as soon as he drank the citronella beverage, he suddenly felt irresistibly tired, and he realized something wrong, yet he fell forward on to the table with a bang.

Seeing that, Jian Xubai turned pale with fear and randomly threw the glaze cup which was close to his lips onto the table. He rushed up and supported the crown prince, calling while checking his pulse, “Your Highness? Your Highness?”

The crown prince had fallen into a coma, so he couldn’t answer, while the study’s door was suddenly pushed open. The crown princess with thick and beautiful hair walked in alone and stated in a deep voice, “Xubai, don’t worry. It’s just a sleeping pill. He will be fine after sleeping.”

“Your Highness, why did you do that?” After Jian Xubai checked the crown prince’s pulse, the result was the same as the crown princess said, so he finally got relieved, yet he still expressed with displeasure, “Even if you are worried as His Highness is tired after working hard day after day, you…”

“Aunt Jinguo has just sent a message.” The crown princess didn’t get angry but said calmly, “His Majesty is terminally ill.”

Seeing that Jian Xubai turned pale, she laughed bitterly and added in a helpless tone, “Xubai, you must know why I did that, right? His Highness always loves His Majesty deeply. If he knows His Majesty’s condition, how would he not serve his father in the Palace of Xuanming? However, His Majesty is in a coma now, and all people in the Palace of Xuanming are charged by the empress. How would I rest assured if His Highness goes there?”

The crown prince’s most powerful and solidest backup was Emperor Xianjia, yet the emperor could hardly protect himself now. If the crown prince went to serve his father, he would be in a perilous position. Who knew if the crown prince would die with Emperor Xianjia because he was “too sad” or if he would become frenzied and do something terrible and unforgivable when the emperor was laid up, making all people at the imperial court and the commonalty “have no choice but” to depose him and support another wise prince in taking the throne?

After all, even a woman like Concubine Fu knew that although the crown prince was accused of causing the murder case in Jianling, as long as he was the heir to the throne, of course he would be the new emperor after Emperor Xianjia passed away.

The people who tried to fight for the title of heir to the throne planned to snatch it slowly in the past, while now they wanted to deal with the crown prince once and away.

Deposing the crown prince when Emperor Xianjia was still at his last gasp was different from selecting another prince as the heir to the throne after the emperor passed away.

In the first case, they could say proper words in the name of the emperor. No matter in the history books or the comments of the later generations, they were righteous, while in the second case, they would be suspected as they disrespected the late emperor and usurped the throne no matter how they clarified it.

It was related to the reputation for centuries. Even if some people didn’t dare, the people who cared about it would take actions instantly.

So how could the crown princess rest assured and let her husband leave the Eastern Palace?

The problem was that the crown prince always loved Emperor Xianjia deeply. Once he knew that his father’s health worsened and he might die soon, even though he knew that the Palace of Xuanming was a hazardous spot to him, he might insist on going there.

Moreover, to say the least, even if he agreed and didn’t go there, wouldn’t all people in the world accuse him of disrespecting his parent as he didn’t show up when his father was critically ill, unless he couldn’t move?

How would a person who didn’t respect his parent have the face to rule Great Rui even though Emperor Xianjia made him the heir to the throne in person?

So after the crown princess got the news from Grand Princess Jinguo and weighed, she stopped him.

Since Jian Xubai was still here, she took the opportunity to serve tea to this cousin and drug the crown prince with a sleeping pill.

“And this is His Highness’ opportunity.” The crown princess was from the Wei Family in Fengzhou and the first legitimate daughter who was attached importance to. She wasn’t inferior to any daughter from the Su Family in education, knowledge and talent. At the moment, she told her trusted followers to come in and carry the crown prince back to the bedroom and said to Jian Xubai, “The murder case in Jianling happened all of a sudden, and His Highness can’t free himself from the charge and injustice till now, yet if he does something wrong as soon as His Majesty is critically ill, I don’t believe that we can prevent all people from commenting.”

Jian Xubai looked terrible and stared at the crown prince who was carried out. When he and the crown princess were left alone in the study, he reminded in a deep voice, “But if His Majesty really…and His Highness can’t stay beside his bed, he will regret it forever.”

How long hadn’t the crown prince seen Emperor Xianjia?

It seemed that the father and son hadn’t seen each other since they came back to the imperial capital.

If Emperor Xianjia couldn’t sustain life this time, even after the crown prince took the throne at last under the crown princess’ plan, when he thought that he couldn’t see his father for the last time, how would the crown princess explain to him?

“My mother came to see me purposely the other day.” The crown princess was calm after hearing that. “In the beginning, I thought that she came to tell me about my sister’s marriage, but unexpectedly, she came to inquire about the future of the Eastern Palace.”

Although the crown princess didn’t make it clear that the Wei Family had the plan to disassociate themselves, how could Jian Xubai be unable to understand it?

After all, if the Wei Family planned to support the Eastern Palace wholeheartedly, how would they inquire about its future? They should try hard to share the crown prince’s worries.

He knew what the crown princess thought about. “The Wei Family is related to His Highness by marriage but loses the confidence in him, let alone others. Your Highness, do you plan to give them a chance?”

The crown prince was accused of causing the murder case in Jianling and couldn’t defend himself, so he was in a predicament, so his followers such as the Wei Family were more shaky recently.

However, now the crown princess obviously planned to meet trick with trick and spread the news that the crown prince was sick when Emperor Xianjia was critically ill all of a sudden. Emperor Xianjia was in poor health, but the crown prince was always strong and seldom suffered from a cold since childhood.

Both the father and son were in danger successively. How could all people not suspect it?

Then the crown prince’s followers could add fuel to the flame and solve the murder case in Jianling. That case was found only several days ago, and then the crown prince’s crime was confirmed. Later the emperor was critically ill, and even the crown prince got sick. It was just a series of conspiracies, and somebody tried to usurp the throne, so the emperor and crown prince were harmed.

Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?

Since it was uncertain if the emperor and crown prince would stay alive and it might be a plot to murder them, it must be bullshit that the murder case in Jianling was planned by the crown prince.

With this argument, the crown prince’s followers could rally forces again. Although the Wei Family wasn’t so loyal to the crown prince as to die with him, their first legitimate daughter was the crown prince’s official wife and had given birth to the first legitimate son Commandery Prince Zhongling who was valued by his father, so if the crown prince wasn’t bound to lose, they wouldn’t want to give up the chance to be the next empress’ family.

Even if the others who were hesitant were not as close to the crown prince as the Wei Family, who would be willing to be despicable fence-sitters when they could be meritorious statesmen supporting the emperor before he took the throne?

“Xubai, you are never an outsider. Why do you stand on ceremony?” Hearing Jian Xubai’s words, the crown princess stroked her hair yet smiled bitterly. “It’s better to say that I throw the helve after the hatchet and exchange it for their fight to win or die and a chance given by them to the Eastern Palace than to say that I give them a chance.”

She stated frankly, “After all, no matter if Prince of Wei or Prince of Zhao will take the throne in the future, they may be broad-minded, so all of you have a chance of survival, but only the Eastern Palace, His Highness and Zhongling will have no chance of survival even if the new emperor is magnanimous.”

And the two were her husband and her biological son. She had only one child.

Even if she could stay alive and still enjoy an extravagant life then, which could prove the new emperor’s “kindness”, how could she live on?

So it was better to risk everything and take the chance to have a bet than to have regrets in the future.

Jian Xubai looked at the resolution on the brows of his cousin’s wife. After a long time, he asked, “Your Highness, what do you want me to do? Just tell me directly.”

The crown princess was always kind and tolerant to him, yet she was a woman and they were peers, so they were polite to each other most of the time and they were not close to each other.

She had said so much to him not only because she didn’t want to hide it from him because of the kinship, but probably she wanted to ask him for help.

As expected, after hearing that, the crown princess pursed her lips. “His Highness can’t go to the Palace of Xuanming, yet we can’t only depend on Aunt Jinguo’s messages about His Majesty’s condition. After all, she never gets involved in the state affairs, and she is willing to send us a message because of you and her love for us. Should we ask her whenever something happens in the Palace of Xuanming in the future? However, the empress is in charge of everything in the Palace of Xuanming now. Which maid dares to reveal anything to us?”

She looked at Jian Xubai with guilt in her eyes, but she still spoke out her request. “So can I ask you to serve His Majesty for His Highness? Although you are just His Majesty’s nephew, you grew up in the imperial palace and all people know that he always treats you as a son. You once entered the imperial palace and served him when he started resting quietly to recuperate at the beginning of the year.”

However, all people knew that Jian Xubai was the crown prince’s follower. Now the crown prince was left in the Eastern Palace which was heavily guarded and would never leave according to the crown princess’ plan in order to ensure his safety at utmost. Who knew whether the people who wanted to murder the crown prince would take the best second and start with Jian Xubai before framing the crown prince if they couldn’t find a proper way?

When he served the emperor, if there was an accident, he would bring ruin and shame upon himself and even die for no reason.

The crown princess made this demand, and obviously she wanted Jian Xubai to take the risk for the crown prince.