Chapter 36 (Ginger Milk)

On New Year’s Eve, the news of the deposed crown prince becoming Prince Chang spread like wildfire. 

The following day, the Spring Festival arrived peacefully.

However, the Xiao household remained lively, especially with the arrival of Xiao Huaiya, the fifth young lady, from her Taoist temple. At dawn, she visited Madam Xiao’s door to offer New Year’s blessings. 

Yan Qiushu, unable to wake up that early, missed it. 

But she received a peace blessing! It was said that the fifth young lady personally made it, and it had been offered to the Bodhisattva for a long time.

The Xiao household’s joyous atmosphere made Yan Qiushu’s mood even better. When the children came to wish her a happy new year, she gave them red envelopes and plenty of food, even allowing them to indulge in spicy noodles. 

Before she could lament her losses from the red envelopes, she received generous ones from Mrs. Xiao, the young madam, and others—fifty taels of silver notes each! Yan Qiushu was so thrilled that she couldn’t contain her joy. 

Her excitement led to more enthusiastic cooking, and the Xiao family enjoyed a delightful New Year’s feast.

But some people faced an unfortunate year due to unexpected events on New Year’s Eve.

The first to be impacted was Yan Qiuyuan.

As someone who had been reborn a year ago, almost everything had gone according to Yan Qiuyuan’s expectations. The only issue had been an event years earlier when Xiao Pingzhou, the young master of the Xiao family, served as the tutor to the second emperor’s grandson.

Now, the deposed Crown Prince, who was supposed to remain in isolation until his death, was suddenly reported to be seriously ill. Having been in the Cold Palace without proper nourishment and suffering from the harsh winter, he had frostbite. Worse still, he ate some palace leftovers on New Year’s Eve, which led to severe vomiting, diarrhea, and even blood loss, forcing the guards to report the situation urgently.

Yan Qiuyuan couldn’t immediately get all the details due to her position. But when the Yan family returned from the palace New Year’s Eve banquet, they all learned about it. The news that the deposed Crown Prince was appointed as the King of Chang came as a complete shock.

Yan Qiuyuan was stunned.

When she heard the news, her shock was even greater than Concubine Lu’s, who had just learned of it deep within the palace walls.

What about the leftovers causing vomiting and diarrhea? According to the timeline, he was still supposed to be taking a slow-acting poison. Next year, when the news of Xiao Huaiting’s death and the Xiao family’s complete fall from power was supposed to surface, the deposed Crown Prince was supposed to vomit blood due to rage and poisoning.

After that, he would have been taken to the emperor’s side for treatment, but the poison would have seeped into his bones, leading to his death shortly after.

Who could have predicted that the poison would act so early? And to top it off, he was given the title King of Chang. This is…!

Could this be the change triggered by her rebirth?

Yan Qiuyuan was unsettled. If this were a minor matter like the Xiao family, she wouldn’t have been so shocked.

The deposed Crown Prince, now King of Chang, was the son of the late Empress and the only legitimate son of the royal family.

Unfortunately, the late Empress had been weak and died shortly after giving birth to her son.

The emperor, grateful for the Empress’s virtue, named his only legitimate son the Crown Prince. He brought in top scholars to educate him and appointed the old Duke of the Xiao family as his martial arts master. The second young master of the Xiao family, who passed away young, had been his study companion.

With both civil and military training, such a strong support system ensured the other princes couldn’t challenge his position.

As a result, all the princes united against the Crown Prince, but even that didn’t affect his standing until five years ago, when the emperor and his son had a major quarrel in the imperial study, leading to the Crown Prince’s deposition and confinement!

Yan Qiuyuan didn’t know what had caused the intense dispute, but after that, the other princes started making moves.

The following year, Xiao Huaiting, leading a large army, got trapped in a city during a battle. With supplies not reaching them, the soldiers grew exhausted, and in desperation, they opened the city gates to face the enemy but were defeated.

It was reported that the deposed Crown Prince had also perished.

Xiao Huaiwu, the fourth daughter of the Xiao family, gathered the remaining Xiao family troops to find evidence. At the time, the fifth and sixth princes were in intense conflict. She accidentally uncovered proof that these two princes had intentionally delayed military supplies due to their power struggle, which led to Xiao Huaiting’s demise.

Additionally, it was revealed that the deposed Crown Prince’s death was orchestrated by the third, fifth, and sixth princes.

When the scandal broke, the two princes lost all public support. The Fourth Prince, however, had no interest in political power. Fond of poetry, books, and Buddhism, he had a good relationship with the Prince of Jin. When the two princes attempted a coup, the Fourth Prince and Prince of Jin joined forces to stop them, leading to the Fourth Prince relinquishing power to the Prince of Jin and departing to travel.

Now, with the deposed Crown Prince making a public appearance, what could this signify?

If the third prince were removed, the fifth and sixth princes would fight each other, and the deposed Crown Prince would benefit.

Since Concubine Lu took control of the harem, there had been no surviving princes in the harem for over a decade—only princesses. Even if the Fourth Prince desired the throne, the royal family wouldn’t approve.

Yan Qiuyuan’s face darkened. The deposed Crown Prince could not be allowed to live!

Even though he was now just a titled King of Chang, far removed from the competition for the crown, his survival meant that his former supporters would remain wary.

She took out paper and pen to write a letter to Prince Zhou Zejing of Jin.

As she began, Yan Qiuyuan paused. If she could anticipate this, so could Zhou Zejing. She needed to write something useful.

After careful consideration, she rewrote her letter, focusing on how to fully control the Xiao family.

The Xiao family’s biggest vulnerability was their loyalty to their allies. Their closeness to the newly titled King of Chang would inevitably draw the suspicion of the other three princes.

In less than a month, war would break out on the Great Zhou’s border, and Xiao Huaiting would surely lead his troops there. While he was away, many things could be planned.

For instance, the third prince’s most influential supporter, the Qiao family, had declined. The third prince had to be cornered swiftly, or the fifth and sixth princes would take advantage of the situation.

Then there was the Xiao family’s second branch, particularly the hidden fifth lady of the Xiao family.

Yan Qiuyuan vividly remembered the fifth lady falling in love with the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince was still traveling, but upon his return, he would visit the Kyoto temple to worship on the first of each month. The two would meet and exchange Buddhist ideas. This connection would help Zhou Zejing recruit the Xiao family’s scattered forces and intimidate the royal family and aristocracy.

Yan Qiuyuan had been a woman confined to her chamber in her past life, indirectly learning things through her husband, which limited her knowledge.

But in this life, her status had changed. Engaged to Zhou Zejing, the future crown prince, her father and Zhou Zejing would share information with her, recognizing her foresight.

Some people were far from as pure as they seemed.

Was the encounter between the Fourth Prince and the Xiao family’s fifth lady truly accidental?

Yan Qiuyuan smirked and blew softly on the ink to dry it. She folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and handed it to her maid: “Place it in the food box and give it to the prince.”

The maid received the instructions and left.

“Girl!” Shui Yu called out, “The popcorn’s ready!”

Without turning, Yan Qiushu focused on the small milk pot in front of her, stirring it with chopsticks. “I’m ready too, turn it over.”

Shui Yu immediately approached with the small milk pot, carefully pouring all the popcorn into it.