Gao Yuexing finally said to him, “I am not a good person; you are free to hate me.”
Fu Yun had been inside for nearly a quarter of an hour.
Gao Yuexing counted the time while waiting for her outside.
The prescriptions from the Imperial Medical Bureau were not something one could take as much as they wanted.
Furthermore, Imperial Concubine Mei was not favored during her lifetime and had no real power to dominate the palace. Whatever medicine or items she wanted had to follow rules and procedures.
The maximum amount of medicine the Imperial Medical Bureau could provide at one time was only enough for half a month.
Imperial Concubine Mei’s painstakingly gathered miscarriage-prevention medicine had actually stopped before the Winter Solstice.
Therefore, calculating backward, the real birth date of the Third Prince should be about half a month earlier.
A young palace maid hurried over with Imperial Physician Chen.
They arrived earlier than expected.
Imperial Physician Chen, dressed in his official robes, lowered his head and stood at the doorway, waiting to be announced.
Gao Yuexing quickly stepped out of the palace gate, intercepted them, and sent the young palace maid off to fetch something.
Imperial Physician Chen glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Fu Yun, his face showing confusion.
Gao Yuexing collected her emotions and said, “Master Chen, are you looking for Sister Fu?”
Knowing her identity, Imperial Physician Chen was very polite to her. He bent slightly and said, “I am looking for her. Do you know where she went?”
Gao Yuexing pointed toward the main hall and said, “Concubine Hui had Sister Fu brought in for questioning early this morning. She hasn’t come out yet.”
The calves under Imperial Physician Chen’s official robe began to tremble.
When Gao Yuexing said nothing further, he started trying to coax her into talking.
He patted himself down, seemingly wanting to find something to amuse her with, but came up empty. Helplessly, he lowered his voice and cautiously asked, “Is Miss Gao comfortable living in Jingmen Palace? How is the health of the imperial concubine recently?”
Leaning against the door, Gao Yuexing replied unhurriedly, “The imperial concubine is in good health, but her mood isn’t great. She hasn’t been smiling much lately and always has a tense face.”
Imperial Physician Chen began to ponder deeply.
Every sentence Gao Yuexing spoke required careful analysis.
The imperial concubine is in a bad mood?
Hasn’t been smiling?
Gao Yuexing added nonchalantly, “In the past, His Highness the Third Prince could at least coax a smile out of her. Now, even he can’t. I don’t know why, but it seems like the imperial concubine hasn’t been fond of seeing the Third Prince lately…”
Imperial Physician Chen: “…”
Gao Yuexing left him enough time to speculate, then watched as he raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
It was a cold day; even wearing a light fur coat, she felt chilled to the bone. Yet Imperial Physician Chen, dressed in thin official robes, was sweating so much that it dripped.
Imperial Physician Chen swallowed hard and asked, “Did the imperial concubine review yesterday’s pulse record?”
Yesterday, when borrowing the pulse records, Fu Yun used the excuse of presenting them to the imperial concubine.
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
However, Gao Yuexing had reviewed them first, and only this morning were they handed over to the imperial concubine for her to see.
Whether the matter of the pulse records was indeed instructed by the imperial concubine no longer mattered.
Gao Yuexing said, “Of course she looked at them. Sister Fu Yun was busy all night and didn’t sleep. She said there was a problem with the medicine… Ah, Master Chen, what’s wrong with you?!”
Imperial Physician Chen leaned against the door, as if about to kneel, but barely managed to stay upright.
Gao Yuexing didn’t know if he was an insider or how much he had been involved.
After all, this was a risky move.
Gao Yuexing felt it was necessary to give him a little reminder first.
Imperial Physician Chen murmured, “It’s nothing, nothing…”
Supporting him with effort, Gao Yuexing followed his words and said, “Nothing, nothing. Sister Fu also said it’s nothing. She specifically asked me to wait outside to pass a message to you.”
Imperial Physician Chen: “Quickly, tell me.”
Gao Yuexing slowly said, “She said—what happened was long ago, it’s an old case. Everyone was kept in the dark, and finding any clues wasn’t easy. This matter ultimately depends on Imperial Physician Chen’s meticulousness.”
Imperial Physician Chen exhaled slowly, feeling as though he had just come back to life.
Gao Yuexing continued, “She also said…”
Imperial Physician Chen eagerly asked, “What else did she say?”
Gao Yuexing replied, “Sister Fu Yun said she has been appeasing the imperial concubine with kind words recently. Imperial Physician Chen, act accordingly, and be careful not to let anything slip.”
It was a coincidence.
Just as Fu Yun finished instructing these words, the door to Concubine Hui’s main hall opened. A female official stood at the entrance and called loudly, “The imperial concubine orders Imperial Physician Chen to enter the palace immediately—”
Unexpectedly, Imperial Physician Chen was right at the door.
The female official’s voice wavered slightly at the end, but Imperial Physician Chen didn’t notice. He adjusted his robe and stepped forward.
Gao Yuexing lingered in the courtyard for a while but still felt uneasy. Taking advantage of her small stature, she quietly approached and found an inconspicuous spot to crouch and eavesdrop.
The imperial concubine had the pulse records by her side. Without waiting for Imperial Physician Chen to bow in greeting, she spoke with a solemn expression: “Fu Yun told me that you recently reviewed the old pulse records and found the true childbirth date of the late Imperial Concubine Mei to be questionable?”
Imperial Physician Chen froze.
Gao Yuexing clenched her hands tightly.
Don’t slip up, don’t slip up…
Imperial Physician Chen didn’t panic under pressure. He glanced at Fu Yun, who was standing to the side.
Seeing Fu Yun give him a subtle nod, he carefully replied, “Indeed, I accidentally discovered something irregular. This matter is of great significance and couldn’t be delayed, so I immediately entrusted Fu Yun to report it to Your Grace.”
The imperial concubine asked, “Why did you not report it directly to His Majesty?”
Imperial Physician Chen knelt and explained, “Your Grace, this matter is shocking, and I dared not make the decision alone!”
Hearing this, Gao Yuexing finally let out a sigh of relief.
Imperial Physician Chen was a smart man; he knew how to protect his own life.
At this point, as long as the imperial concubine didn’t delve into the details, the truth and lies could easily blur together.
It was clear that the imperial concubine didn’t want to fixate on minor details at this critical moment—royal bloodlines were the top priority.
“I’ve roughly heard what Fu Yun has told me. If Imperial Concubine Mei’s childbirth timing is questionable, then what about the newborn the Emperor personally saw that night?”
The fact was, more than one child was born in the palace that night. Concubine Hui was aware of this; it wasn’t that she couldn’t imagine the implications but that she didn’t dare to.
Concubine Hui didn’t dare to think about it.
So someone else needed to dare to speak.
Imperial Physician Chen was prepared. “The child born to Imperial Concubine Mei, I have not seen, so I dare not make any assumptions. However, when Imperial Noble Consort Zheng gave birth, all the imperial physicians were on standby in the palace. When the Third Prince was first brought out of the swaddling clothes, I took a glance…”
Imperial Physician Chen paused for a moment.
Concubine Hui slammed the table angrily. “Speak.”
Imperial Physician Chen decisively clarified, “Logically, Imperial Noble Consort Zheng carried the child for nine months. The child born should have been premature. But when I first saw the Third Prince, he was clearly a full-term infant!”
After his emphatic report, the room fell into a long silence.
Concubine Hui felt her ears buzzing, and her voice seemed distorted. “Why… why didn’t you say this back then?!”
Imperial Physician Chen sighed. “Your Grace, please understand. This matter was no secret. The Imperial Medical Bureau did not dare to conceal it, and even His Majesty was aware of it… It’s just that no one expected, no one dared to imagine!”
Concubine Hui murmured, “Yes, who would dare imagine? His Majesty himself watched the Third Prince being carried out of Zheng Yungou’s birthing chamber…”
The hall became chaotic.
Gao Yuexing calmly stepped away from the window and returned to her chamber on the west side.
Just as she closed the door, she heard that Concubine Hui had issued orders to summon her entourage and seek an audience with the Emperor.
Gao Yuexing clutched her chest and slowly exhaled, only to be puzzled by another matter.
Earlier, she had heard Concubine Hui say, “The Third Prince was carried out of Zheng Yungou’s birthing chamber under the Emperor’s watch…”
If the Emperor himself was present, switching the babies would have been impossible.
That meant the problem must have occurred within the birthing chamber.
Apart from the midwives and personal attendants, even the imperial physicians had no access to the birthing chamber.
Indeed, the Imperial Noble Consort had been surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing; the seeds of danger had long been sown.
Gao Yuexing waited quietly in her room for the outcome.
Up until now, there was still no ironclad evidence to prove that Imperial Concubine Mei had committed the grave crime of deceiving the Emperor.
But Gao Yuexing didn’t need absolute evidence. All she needed was to spark the Emperor’s suspicion.
The rest was no longer her concern.
Whatever evidence the Emperor wanted, he would have his own means to uncover it.
Imperial Concubine Xu had instructed her to target those closely associated with the Third Prince, but she ignored this and instead focused on the flaws left behind ten years ago.
Because people are alive, but evidence is static.
Targeting living individuals introduced too many variables. It was better to investigate the old pulse records; the flaws were there, waiting to be uncovered.
Concubine Hui led her people to Qianqing Palace, only to find it empty. She learned that after the Emperor concluded court, he had gone to visit Consort Xian. Hastily, she turned and rushed to Chunhe Palace.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Gao Yuexing was met by an imperial attendant from the Emperor’s side, accompanied by imperial guards.
They barged in rudely and took a few drops of the Third Prince’s blood.
The blood test for kinship.
The bloodlines did not match.
The Emperor smashed a bowl, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Consort Xian knelt beside him with a thud and pressed her head to the ground, not daring to rise.
The Emperor’s gaze shifted sluggishly toward Consort Xian, his lips moved: “Dim sum.”
Consort Xian didn’t immediately understand.
The Emperor repeated, his voice louder this time: “Dim sum, the dim sum has already…”
Consort Xian suddenly realized and nearly broke into tears. “The dim sum was delivered early this morning. I was afraid the dosage wouldn’t be enough to lessen the child’s pain, so I specifically… specifically…”
Her words trailed off as the Emperor’s golden robes had already swept out of the door.
The Emperor lost his composure in the palace.
Everyone he passed along the way knelt and did not dare rise.
The newly completed Xiaonan Pavilion had been sealed tightly, from the inside out.
The Emperor issued a single order: “Demolish it!”
All the imperial guards simultaneously received orders to tear down the walls.
The Emperor stood stubbornly beneath the crumbling walls, a phrase surfacing in his mind at the right moment—“A solitary man.”
He recalled a lesson from his youth when Tutor Liu had once told him, “Sometimes, the more one fears losing something, the more likely one is to lose it.”
Suddenly, he was gripped by fear.
Fear that the treasure he had cherished in his heart for half his life might leave him with nothing in the end.
The freshly built palace walls collapsed with a thunderous crash under the violent blows of the imperial guards.
The Emperor closed his eyes.
Without the Emperor’s explicit command, the imperial guards dared not take any further action.
But the Emperor stood there like a statue, neither speaking nor moving.
At this moment, among the crowd, Ding Wenfu could no longer hold back. He strode forward, bent low to pass through the gap in the wall, and entered Xiaonan Pavilion.
Finally, the Emperor reacted, fixing his gaze intensely on the interior.
Ding Wenfu glanced around the courtyard but saw no one. The persimmon tree was still bare, with only a single bird’s nest on its branches. He violently kicked open every door, searching each room one by one as was his usual approach.
All were empty.
Instead of panic, Ding Wenfu felt relieved. Not finding anyone was a good sign—if the person were already dead, they wouldn’t be so hard to locate. Standing across the courtyard, he shouted, “Reporting to Your Majesty, no one was found!”
The Emperor’s eyes finally lit with movement. Brushing aside the attendants supporting him, he stepped over the rubble and ruins into Xiaonan Pavilion. Surveying the desolation, he gave the order to continue the search.
Ding Wenfu pulled out the food box from under the bed in the eastern side hall, opened it, and took a look. “Your Majesty, the dim sum was untouched.”
The Emperor nodded.
But as time dragged on, even after Xiaonan Pavilion was nearly turned inside out, the person was still nowhere to be found.
The hearts of everyone present sank once more.
This cycle of hope and despair was truly tormenting.
Some guards began probing the floor tiles with their blades. Could there really be a hidden chamber beneath Xiaonan Pavilion?
If nothing was found aboveground, they could only consider what lay below.
Below?
Ding Wenfu’s gaze fell on the well in the courtyard.
The well hadn’t been searched yet.
Gripping his sword, he cautiously approached step by step. Climbing the stone steps, he steadied himself mentally before leaning over to look down.
…
Thankfully, he had prepared himself beforehand.
There was a person submerged in the water.
Li Fuxiang floated face-up, gripping the rope hanging into the well. Her calm eyes stared up at him from beneath the water’s surface.
—
TL: My heart is racing in this chapter