“Liang Muchen was attacked and fell into the water in the East Palace. Ensure that the Imperial Medical Department does everything possible to save her.”

“Understood,” Fu Quan glanced at Shi Yuan Chu and added, “Liuli has reported in. Should we summon her now?”

“Of course. The Crown Prince is currently in a daze; some matters need to be clarified for him, right?”

Yuanchu attempted a smile, but his expression was more pained than if he had been crying.

Liuli soon entered the study.

“Describe in detail everything that happened after Miss Rongrong left the Jade Flower Palace.”

Liuli began, “Miss Rongrong returned to the Jade Flower Palace, called for Su Xin to help her change clothes and style her hair, and then went to the small study to write her manuscript.

About an hour later, a eunuch came and said that the Young Master Yuan Bao had soiled his clothes and asked Miss Rongrong to bring a change of clothes.

After the eunuch delivered the message, he left.

The eunuch who came to inform Miss Rongrong was from the corridor.

Miss Rongrong took the clothes and immediately left the Jade Flower Palace. When she left, a eunuch spoke to her, and she went straight to the Pool.”

“There’s no need to walk along the Pool to get to the Cui Sui Pavilion. What did the eunuch say?”

“That’s right,” Liuli continued, “I’ve just checked, and the eunuch told her that Young Master Yuan Bao and a few young princes were playing by the Pool, which is why Miss Rongrong went straight to the wooden plank path by the Pool.”

The Crown Prince nodded. “Continue.”

“Miss Rongrong reached the wooden plank path and soon encountered Young master Yuanchu. They had a dispute until the master arrived.”

“And the two scheming eunuchs?”

Liuli replied, “I have already ordered for the two eunuchs to be secretly detained.”

The Crown Prince nodded in satisfaction. “Call Dark Star in.”

“Yes.”

Moments later, a shadow, resembling Dark Moon, slipped into the study and bowed before the Crown Prince. “This subordinate greets the master.”

“Speak,” ordered the Crown Prince.

“Yes, Liuli arranged for his subordinate to guard the wooden walkway, so before the banquet had even started today, I was already hiding there.

There was still a minute left until noon when someone dressed in eunuch robes arrived at the wooden walkway.

This person was extremely skilled in lightness techniques; after concentrating and holding my breath in the bushes, I couldn’t detect his presence and could only try my best not to let him find me.

Shortly after the hour of Shen, I saw the Young Master and a young lady walking this way, one after the other.

The lady ran ahead as fast as she could, and when the walkway curved, she quickly climbed over the walkway and ran up the bank.

When the Young Master arrived, he didn’t see her and began searching around.”

After a pause, An Xing continued, “Then another beautiful young lady came by. At this moment, the person who had been hiding in the bushes silently came out and slammed the lady’s head against the railing.

At this point, the Young Master came back looking for her, and when the person saw this, he threw the unconscious lady into the lake and ran away.

Then, Miss Rong Rong arrived, and after speaking a few words with the Young Master, they began to argue.

The subsequent events should have been reported to the master by Liuli.”

“What about that person?” the Crown Prince asked in a deep voice.

“I did not pursue him. The other guards in the vicinity were not as skilled in lightness techniques, so he escaped.”

Xie Yuanchu was anxious: “Why didn’t you chase him?”

An Xing was the best in lightness techniques among this group of guards; if he had pursued, he could certainly have captured the culprit.

An Xing replied, “The order I received was to protect Miss Rong Rong, not to pursue the thief. Unless the thief attacked Miss Rong Rong, I would not act recklessly.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes sharpened, and he nodded: “You did well. You may go.”

If Feicui from four years ago had been like An Xing, Jing Rong would not have died.

After An Xing left, Xie Yuanchu’s entire demeanor became despondent, murmuring, “Crazy, they are all crazy.”

“Was it Xie Yuanrui who sent you to Fengchi?”

“She has gone mad; she has become so crazy over a position as a Crown Princess.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes glinted sharply as he corrected Xie Yuanchu’s misunderstanding: “You are mistaken; she is not after the position of Crown Princess, nor is she trying to harm Liang Mu Chen.” Moreover, madness is not limited to Xie Yuanrui.

Xie Yuanchu suddenly froze: “Is it for Rong Rong?”

“This was supposed to be a flawless plan,” the Crown Prince sneered. “No one anticipated that Liang Muchen would be wearing the same fabric as Rongrong today. Liang Muchen arrived late, and by the time she got there, the assassins had already ambushed the wooden plank path.

No one could have warned him in time. The mastermind behind this was also caught off guard when Liang Muchen arrived at the ambush site before Rongrong, and thus fell victim to the attack.”

“Did the Crown Prince know about this scheme beforehand?”

The Crown Prince shook his head.

He wasn’t a divine being who could foresee others’ plans.

However, he knew that there were spies in the Eastern Palace.

Those with malicious intent were aware of how much he favored Rongrong, and it was only a matter of time before they took action.

Today, he had positioned over twenty hidden guards in secluded places throughout the Eastern Palace, waiting for an opportunity.

Without these unforeseen complications, Dark Star and Liuli would have acted to capture the culprit as soon as they targeted Rongrong.

But Liang Muchen’s reckless intrusion had disrupted the entire trap.

She was innocent, but he could no longer risk losing someone he had just regained.

Xie Yuanchu grew increasingly alarmed, sweat pouring down his forehead, and suddenly knelt down in the study.

“Your Highness, Yuanrui… she truly lost her mind and became frenzied, but… but I beg Your Highness to spare her life,” Xie Yuanchu pleaded. “My mother had a difficult birth with her and had no other offspring afterward, so she favored her a little. That’s why she ended up like this today…”

The Crown Prince’s expression remained indifferent.

After a long pause, he finally said, “I cannot interfere in your family matters. I will wait for your final decision.”

Xie Yuanchu, upon hearing this, stared blankly, slowly lowering his head.

Seeing Xie Yuanchu like this, the Crown Prince turned his gaze away.

When someone close to you is implicated in a scheme, it’s hard to bear.

Yet because of this close relationship, one is torn between hatred and the need to protect them, bearing the pain with tears and silence.

Thus, the Crown Prince didn’t want to force Xie Yuanchu too much.

Given Xie Yuanrui’s capabilities, it was impossible for her to create such a big commotion in the Eastern Palace.

Whether she was spared or not was irrelevant—she was merely a puppet.

As long as Xie Yuanchu could obtain the name of the mastermind from Yuanrui, it would be enough.

“Return for now,” the Crown Prince said.

Xie Yuanchu didn’t reply, clasped his fists in salute, and dejectedly left the study.

Fu Quan, standing outside, saw Xie Yuanchu’s state and sighed, “Take care, Young Master.”

Xie Yuanchu forced a bitter smile, muttering “Take care, take care” as he nodded to Fu Quan and left.

Fu Quan shook his head helplessly and turned back into the study.

“Has there been news from Dark Moon?”

“Yes, they found an elderly person who used to work at the Liang family.”

The Crown Prince nodded.

Fu Quan looked at him with some fatigue and asked, “What about the three women from the Wei Yuan Marquis’s household? How should they be accommodated?”

“Since there is no one in the Wei Yuan Marquis’s household to take care of them, temporarily place them in Ruiyi Pavilion.

Once the royal physician confirms there is no danger to their lives, they can be sent back.

Have the message been sent to the Imperial Medical Bureau?”

“It has. Qin Yi isn’t on duty today, so people have been sent to his residence. He should be arriving at the Eastern Palace soon.”

“Keep a close watch on this matter and spare no effort to save them.”

“Understood.”

After giving these instructions and handling a few urgent documents from the cabinet, the Crown Prince finally made his way back to the Jade Flower Palace.

At this time, the Jade Flower Palace was very quiet.

The Crown Prince walked in slowly. The small study door was open, and there was no one inside.

The door to the inner chamber was slightly ajar.

He pushed open the door and saw Rongrong and Yuan Bao lying side by side.

Yuan Bao was soundly asleep, his body rising and falling.

However, Rongrong was awake with her eyes open.

“Why are you up at this hour?” He walked closer and asked softly.

Rongrong, hearing his voice, jolted and sat up, lowering her gaze. “Today Yuan Bao played with Liu Yu and the others without taking a nap. When we returned to the Eastern Palace, he played with the Kongming lock for a while, then fell asleep from exhaustion. I had to carry him back to sleep.”

“Hmm.” The Crown Prince replied softly and sat down on the edge of the couch.

As soon as he sat, Rongrong immediately stood up.

“Since the Crown Prince is here with Yuan Bao, I’ll go check the kitchen.”

Without waiting for his response, Rongrong walked out directly.

The Crown Prince watched her hurried steps with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Despite all the displeasing events of the day, it seemed that having her by his side made everything else seem insignificant.

“Don’t you want to know why the old man suddenly changed his attitude and treats Yuan Bao so well?” The Crown Prince said slowly.