Chapter 85
Eastern Palace

The Empress bestowed mooncakes and fruits upon the guests, but most were too preoccupied with Consort Yun’s sharp words to enjoy them.

Song Yunning was not one to engage in verbal sparring, but today, she openly praised and subtly criticized the Marquis Mansion and Consort Jiang, clearly furious.

Song Wan couldn’t help but smile as she recalled her aunt’s clever remarks.

Thinking of Jiang Xingjian spending days with the chickens, ducks, and geese at the Breeding Bureau, only to end up in the Shen Shu Camp despite his efforts, she sighed at the unpredictability of life.

Originally, he could have returned to the capital, relying on the old Marquis’s military achievements and Consort Jiang’s influence in the palace, to secure a significant position. Now, after much trouble, he had tarnished the Marquis Mansion’s century-old reputation and dragged down Consort Jiang and the Fifth Prince’s names, all for a position in the Shen Shu Camp. It was hard to understand his motives.

Song Wan smiled faintly, her eyes filled with mockery.

The Old Madam had a far-sighted vision, but Mother Jiang never had the patience for such schemes. Mother Jiang was straightforward and rarely had any hidden thoughts. Since the old Marquis took Jiang Xingjian away from the mansion, she had been protected by the old madam and had never faced any hardships. Before Song Wan married into the Marquis Mansion, there were two people shielding her from the storms, so her shortcomings never showed.

Song Wan looked at Jiang Man, whose emotions were written all over her face, and sighed.

Jiang Man’s temperament was similar to Mother Jiang’s, but she had more determination and malice. If Jiang Man had been raised by the Old Madam, she would have been much harder to deal with.

Taking a bite of the mooncake bestowed by the Empress, Song Wan slowly savored it. Her aunt’s words today served two purposes: to vent her anger and to inform the guests that the Fifth Prince, with a mother like Jiang Man, might have limited potential.

This was also why the Empress, who had been watching the drama unfold, never intervened.

Putting down her jade chopsticks, Song Wan glanced around at the guests, silently assessing the power dynamics behind each family.

The Empress sat in a high position, observing everyone’s actions.

“Empress…” A sharp-chinned eunuch approached the Empress. “It’s time.”

The Empress nodded, her eyes calm as water. “Go find out if he’s dead or alive, if he’s truly paralyzed, or if he’s been pretending all these years. Also, investigate the cosmetics shop Consort Yun mentioned. She wouldn’t bring it up repeatedly without reason.”

The eunuch nodded and respectfully retreated, quickly heading to the Eastern Palace.

The Eastern Palace had been desolate and silent for eight years, but the Crown Prince’s recent awakening was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing a huge splash.

Shen Qianyu, with a somber expression, relit the small clay stove that had gone cold.

As the water boiled, steam rose.

Hearing some commotion outside, he turned over and lay back on the golden couch.

“Eunuch… Eunuch Xun.”

“Where is the Crown Prince?”

The palace maid trembled with fear, never expecting the Empress’s chief eunuch to suddenly appear in the Eastern Palace. Her knees went weak, and she knelt on the ground. “The Crown Prince… the Crown Prince is still paralyzed in the bedchamber.”

Eunuch Xun strode into the Crown Prince’s bedchamber but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The entire Eastern Palace was filled with a foul stench, forcing Euncuh Xun to cover his nose and mouth with a handkerchief.

“Eunuch…”

A severely hunched little eunuch emerged from the bedchamber, and Euncuh Xun glanced at him without a word. He hurried to the Crown Prince’s bedside, frowning at the figure on the bed.

“Crown Prince?” He called twice, but there was no response. Eunuch Xun snorted coldly and reached out to lift the bright yellow quilt covering the Crown Prince. Just as his hand was about to touch the Crown Prince, he hesitated and pulled back.

“Why does this room smell so bad?”

The little eunuch looked dazed. “Smell? I don’t know.”

“Ha, one who has been in a fish market for a long time does not notice the stench. The sage was right.”

Eunuch Xun pointed at the bright yellow quilt on the bed. “Lift it.”

The little eunuch pulled the quilt up to the Crown Prince’s knees.

“All the way.”

“The Crown Prince has been paralyzed for years. He eats, drinks, and relieves himself here, so he doesn’t wear…”

“Enough, enough.” Eunuch Xun covered his nose and looked down at the Crown Prince’s exposed legs.

The legs were covered in scars from the feet to the knees, with half-palm-wide iron shackle marks around the ankles. These marks had deeply penetrated the flesh, likely from being bound for years as a hostage. Other scars were from whips and burns, and some were so old that they were barely recognizable.

Eunuch Xun carefully examined the Crown Prince’s face and suddenly asked, “Has the Crown Prince woken up since Eunuch Duan’s death?”

“He woke up once, but in the past few days, he’s been unresponsive again.”

Hearing this, Eunuch Xun’s eyes filled with murderous intent. He curled his fingers and reached for the Crown Prince’s knees, but just before touching the flesh, he pulled back.

He was a clean freak and couldn’t bring himself to touch the filth.

Scanning the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, Eunuch Xun saw a boiling clay pot on the table. He picked it up and slowly poured the hot water on the Crown Prince’s legs.

The flesh quickly turned red, and several blisters formed. Eunuch Xun watched intently, but the Crown Prince remained motionless, as if dead, not even twitching his legs.

Throwing the clay pot aside, Eunuch Xun said, “Take good care of the Crown Prince. If you do well, there will be rewards.”

He quickly left, covering his nose and mouth.

The little eunuch hurried over. “Master, are you alright?”

Shen Qianyu sneered. “I’m fine.”

He had endured torture before, so a few burns were nothing to him. Getting off the bed, he crouched down and retrieved a small bottle of fragrant oil, pouring it on his legs.

“Master, I have medicine here.”

Using a bamboo stick to pop the blisters, Shen Qianyu said, “The Eastern Palace is unsafe these days. Don’t bring these things into the palace to avoid alerting the enemy.”

After roughly treating his wounds, he put on an eunuch’s uniform and hunched over as he left the bedchamber. The little eunuch from before lay on the bed in his place.

“Ji Rong, stop.”

Shen Qianyu lowered his head and stopped. The palace maid said, “Eunuch Xun came to see if the Crown Prince was dead, didn’t he?”

“The Eastern Palace is unsafe. I’m going to ask Aunt Qi to move me to another courtyard. Do you want to come with me?”

“No, thank you.”

Ignoring the palace maid’s angry scolding, Shen Qianyu bowed and left.

Duan Yiting’s sudden death was unexpected. He had thought he had another year or so to plan, but now things were complicated.

Without Duan Yiting’s authority, leaving the palace wouldn’t be easy.

Sitting in a dark corner, Shen Qianyu chewed on a grass stem and clicked his tongue.

Duan Yiting’s amassed wealth was in his hands, and Wan Xiao from the Eastern Depot was his close ally. Although he had connections with some noble sons outside the palace, he had almost no real support in the court.

Spitting out the grass stem, Shen Qianyu frowned. He had money and a few eunuch subordinates but couldn’t secure the Crown Prince’s position.

This was… quite troublesome.