Chapter 6: Goodbye to the Crown Prince

Two imperial edicts were issued; one was for the Duke of Loyalty and Bravery’s residence, and the other was for the Ling Wang’s residence.

The accusations against them were not exactly crimes, yet one caused Duke Mu to be suspended from court for half a year, while the other stripped the Ling Wang of his title. The Crown Prince was now merely a Crown Prince, no longer the Ling Wang.

Hearing about these two edicts, Mu Ling couldn’t help but smile inwardly. The Emperor truly had a tough hand.

However, she didn’t dwell on that; her most important task now was to quickly detoxify the crown prince.

In the Eastern Palace, the entire residence was filled with a strange atmosphere due to the crown prince’s critical illness. Even everyone walked silently, afraid to make a sound.

Mu Ling arrived again; in her previous life, she had only lived a few short days with the crown prince before… and then her nightmare had begun.

“Crown Princess, I will take you to see His Royal Highness now,” the young man before her was none other than the crown prince’s guard, Lang Yi, who had led a bloodbath in the imperial capital in her past life.

Mu Ling sniffed, softly saying, “Alright, Guard Lang, lead the way.”

Lang Yi was a bit surprised; the Crown Princess had never met him before—how did she know his surname was Lang?

“Guard Lang, no need to think too much. Your name… was told to me by my grandfather.”

So that’s how it was. Lang Yi quickly waved his hand, “Crown Princess, you… I didn’t think too much, I didn’t think too much at all.”

Mu Ling smiled lightly and didn’t continue on that topic. She only asked, “How is His Highness’s condition?”

Lang Yi’s eyes reddened as he shook his head, replying, “Not good. The imperial physicians are here, and they say… it’s only a matter of days.” He then looked at Mu Ling with concern, “Crown Princess, you won’t revoke your engagement with His Highness, will you? The national teacher said that if you marry him, he will feel better. You must…”

The news of Mu Fuxing breaking off the engagement had already frightened Lang Yi. He was afraid Mu Ling would also have a change of heart. What would happen to His Highness then? They couldn’t just randomly grab a woman to marry him, could they? That would be too humiliating for His Highness.

Mu Ling shook her head with a smile, “Guard Lang, what are you thinking? I will not break off the engagement! I will marry the crown prince and also cure his illness.”

Seeing Lang Yi getting agitated again, Mu Ling quickly raised her hand to stop him from asking any more questions. “If you want to cure His Highness, then stop wasting time here. Let’s hurry and go see him.”

After hearing this, Lang Yi didn’t have any more time to ask questions and quickly led Mu Ling to the crown prince’s room.

Inside the room, the crown prince lay with his eyes tightly closed on the bed. A maid was tidying up the medicine bowls in the room; she appeared to have just finished feeding the crown prince medicine.

The maid saw the visitors and hurriedly bowed in greeting.

At this moment, Mu Ling clearly recognized her face; it was her! The maid Hong Mei! In her previous life, it was through her that poisons had been given to the crown prince. Later, she had heard that she also entered the palace with Mu Fuxing and became a consort of the Emperor.

“Guard Lang,” Mu Ling recalled her thoughts, pointed at Hong Mei, and said in a low voice, “From now on… she have no right to approach His Highness! Drag her out.”

Before Lang Yi could respond, Hong Mei looked at Mu Ling with disdain and sneered, “You must be the so-called disaster star, the Crown Princess here to bring good fortune. However, you haven’t married in yet, so you’re not really the Crown Princess yet. You have no right to deal with a servant girl.”

Mu Ling smiled and lifted her finger to raise Hong Mei’s chin, “If I remember correctly, your name is Hong Mei, right?! I was actually going to spare your life and let you slowly repay your debt, but since you are so eager to seek death, then I shall grant you that! Lang Yi, chop off her limbs and send her to the Ling Wang residence… oh, wait, I forgot, I’m so busy preparing for the wedding that I forgot there’s no Ling Wang title anymore. Lang Yi, send her as a human puppet to the Grand Prince’s residence instead; fallen leaves must return to their roots!”

The light-hearted words that came from Mu Ling’s mouth made Hong Mei’s eyes widen in terror. What did this disaster star mean by that? What did she mean by fallen leaves returning to their roots? Did she already know that she was the crown prince’s person? But… that shouldn’t be possible! Didn’t the lucky star girl tell her she had been living on a farm since she was young and only returned to the General’s residence in the past two years?

Moreover, she had returned without stepping outside the door; how could she possibly know her identity?! Not to mention, even Lang Yi hadn’t realized she was the crown prince’s person!

Lang Yi was also stunned! Why was the Crown Princess so ruthless? Was it just because Hong Mei was a girl? Did she dislike girls getting close to His Highness? But that didn’t make sense; what did her earlier command to send Hong Mei to the Grand Prince’s residence mean? Did that mean… Hong Mei was the Grand Prince’s person?

Lang Yi’s gaze turned fierce. If he guessed correctly what the Crown Princess meant, then… that would be too terrifying!

“Guard Lang, do as I say. Remember, do not kill Miss Hong Mei; she might still want to be the Grand Prince’s consort. Don’t ruin her beautiful dream.”

As Mu Ling spoke, she looked at Hong Mei again and continued to ask, “Tell me, is what I said correct?”

Hong Mei dared not reply with a yes or no; she immediately knelt before Mu Ling with a thud, banging her head repeatedly and pleading, “Crown Princess, spare my life! I won’t dare to speak wildly again, I won’t ever…”

“Alright, I have important matters to attend to, so I won’t listen to your nonsense. However, Hong Mei, before you lose your hearing, let me tell you one thing. This is to give you some clarity before you die: Hong Mei, you should know that the crown prince is not ill; he has been poisoned! By the way, who do you think poisoned the crown prince? Hong Mei, just go and be a human puppet. Whether the Grand Prince will keep you as a puppet depends on your own fortune. Lang Yi, arrange for someone to take action; I still need to detoxify the crown prince.”

When Mu Ling said the words “detoxify,” she shot a cold glance at Hong Mei, letting her know that the crown prince’s poison could indeed be cured! Their plans were destined to fail!

“Come here,” several guards immediately entered upon hearing Lang Yi’s voice.

“Drag this wretched maid out, chop off her tongue to make her a human puppet, and send her to the Ling… no, send her to the Grand Prince’s residence. If the Grand Prince asks questions, just say… say that fallen leaves must return to their roots.”

“Guard Lang, I was wrong! Please, I beg you…”

Hearing Hong Mei’s shrieks, Lang Yi irritably waved his hand, “Gag her mouth, quickly drag her out. Don’t disturb His Highness’s rest.”

The room finally quieted down as Mu Ling stepped to the side of the crown prince’s bed and placed her hand on his pulse.

Indeed, he had been poisoned! It seemed that the words Mu Fuxing had spoken before his death were all true. However… this was the secret poison of the Western Liang Kingdom; how could it possibly appear in Great Yan? What role did the Western Liang Kingdom play in the crown prince’s poisoning? Was it merely to assist the Grand Prince? It seemed that once the crown prince regained his health, she would have to investigate the Western Liang Kingdom thoroughly.

As Mu Ling withdrew her hand, her brows furrowed even tighter. The crown prince’s condition was too critical; no wonder he had passed away just a few days after she married into the family in her previous life.

“Crown Princess, can you save His Highness?”

Lang Yi was completely dazed by what Mu Ling had said to Hong Mei earlier. He had always thought His Highness was merely ill; he had never considered that he had been poisoned! But… why couldn’t the imperial physicians detect it?

“I can save him,” Mu Ling sighed lightly, “but I need…”

“Crown Princess, as long as you can save His Highness, I will find whatever you need! If it costs my life, I will give it too! Just tell me what you need!”

If anyone else had said such a thing, Mu Ling would have thought it was just empty words; who would willingly give their own life for another? However, after her previous life, hearing those words from Lang Yi made her believe wholeheartedly, and she felt a warmth in her heart.