Chapter 105 – Why Not Seize the Throne?

On her way to the Prince of Chen’s residence, Ye Chutang bought some pastries.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to visit someone empty-handed.

When she arrived at the residence, she happened to bump into a group of officials from the Court of Judicial Review.

One of them was the same subordinate who had previously brought her to see Qi Yanzhou.

He greeted her warmly, “Miss Ye, good day.”

Ye Chutang nodded and asked, “How is the Prince of Chen? Is he badly hurt?”

“We didn’t get to see His Highness,” the man replied. “The steward said he needs rest and asked us to come back tomorrow.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had said too much and quickly tried to smooth things over.

“It’s good that you’re here, Miss Ye. With your medical skills, the Prince will surely recover soon. We’ve got other matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave.”

After the men from the Court of Judicial Review left, the gatekeeper immediately stepped forward to welcome Ye Chutang.

“Please come in, Miss Ye.”

He led her directly to Qi Yanzhou’s courtyard.

Inside were the Dowager Princess of Chen and the Old Prince. The royal physician was currently updating them on Qi Yanzhou’s condition.

“His Highness has not yet regained consciousness. The fire poison has flared up again, and the internal injuries are quite severe. He’ll need time to rest and recover.”

Upon hearing that their son’s fire poison had acted up again, the two elders grew visibly distressed.

“Physician Jiang,” the Dowager Princess asked anxiously, “our Zhou’er… he will wake up, won’t he?”

Though they had long known this day might come, they still found it difficult to accept.

Physician Jiang was well aware that Qi Yanzhou’s condition was like a spent arrow at the end of its flight.
If the fire poison couldn’t be purged, he wouldn’t have long to live.

But the time hadn’t come—yet.

He quickly tried to comfort them.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace. His Highness’s fire poison has been temporarily suppressed. His pulse is weak, but not lost. He should wake in a few days.”

The Dowager Princess clutched her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

“As long as he’ll be okay.”

Just then, she spotted Ye Chutang coming in with a box of pastries and smiled with delight.

“Miss Ye, you’re here! Zhou’er is inside—quick, go in.”

As she spoke, she took the pastries from Ye Chutang’s hands.

Ye Chutang: “…”

Was the Dowager Princess perhaps being a little too enthusiastic?

After greeting the Dowager Princess and Old Prince properly, Ye Chutang explained, “His Highness was injured while saving me. My medical skills are modest, but I’ve come to examine him.”

“Examine away! As thoroughly as you like!”

Ye Chutang didn’t even know how to respond to that.

The Old Prince tugged at the Dowager Princess’s sleeve and whispered, “If she examines him, she’ll discover the fire poison.”

The Dowager Princess trusted her son’s judgment.

Since he allowed Ye Chutang to freely enter and exit the Prince of Chen’s estate, she had to be trustworthy.

She gave Ye Chutang a gentle push.
“Go on in, Miss Ye. With you tending to Zhou’er, I’m sure he’ll wake up soon.”

Even if Zhou’er wasn’t fated to marry, at least he could spend more time with the woman he loved.

“I’ll do my best,” Ye Chutang replied before stepping into Qi Yanzhou’s room.

From the courtyard, the Dowager Princess called out, “Miss Ye, you must stay for dinner this time!”

With that, she exchanged a glance with Physician Jiang, grabbed the Old Prince, and quickly made themselves scarce.

When Ye Chutang glanced out the window, the three of them were already gone without a trace.

But she knew Qi Yanzhou wasn’t the only one in the room.

“Come out. You’ll get a better view standing by the bed.”

Nan Xiao hadn’t expected Ye Chutang to detect his presence so quickly.

He stepped out from behind the screen and saluted her.

“Miss Ye.”

Ye Chutang nodded slightly and sat down at the bedside to check Qi Yanzhou’s pulse.

Afterward, she inserted acupuncture needles one by one.

The moment the final needle was in place, Qi Yanzhou opened his eyes.

Nan Xiao looked at her in astonishment—he hadn’t expected her medical skills to be this good.
Did she detect the fire poison in His Highness’s body?
Could she possibly cure it?

He no longer dared underestimate Ye Chutang. His guard was lowered slightly as he retreated behind the screen.

Qi Yanzhou looked at Ye Chutang and recalled what had happened before he was knocked unconscious.

“Miss Ye, are you all right?”

Ye Chutang pressed his shoulder down to keep him from sitting up. “Don’t move. The needles might shift.”

Qi Yanzhou obediently lay back and gave her a once-over.

Seeing she wasn’t injured, he let out a breath of relief.

“Miss Ye, why did you knock me out? Is Huaixuan okay? How did we get out of the Prince of An’s estate?”

Ye Chutang gave a vague reply.
“I traded everything of value in Ningchu Courtyard to the ‘Ghost Thief’ in exchange for his help. He rescued the three of us.”

Qi Yanzhou didn’t believe her.

He frowned slightly. “The ‘Ghost Thief’ knows medicine? Knows how to suppress fire poison?”

“I don’t know if he does,” Ye Chutang replied calmly. “But before I lost consciousness, I told him to keep you in the ice cellar for a while.”

“Didn’t expect you to be so familiar with the ‘Ghost Thief,’ Miss Ye.”

Ye Chutang met his gaze without flinching, her lips moving lightly.

“We just needed something from each other—and we got lucky. If he hadn’t happened to be robbing the Prince of An’s estate at that time, things would’ve ended much worse for us.”

Qi Yanzhou found it hard to believe it was pure coincidence.

But since she clearly didn’t want to say more, he didn’t press. He’d investigate in secret.

Ye Chutang, seeing his doubt, added,
“The ‘Ghost Thief’ flattened the entire guest wing, and during the chaos, looted the whole estate. Then he set it all on fire.”

Qi Yanzhou’s face twitched.

“The ‘Ghost Thief’ looted the entire estate?”

“That’s right. The Prince of An’s estate is completely uninhabitable now. And the prince himself? The ‘Ghost Thief’ stripped him bare and paraded him around the capital on a cart. The whole city’s laughing at him.”

Qi Yanzhou winced. Then he asked, “Miss Ye, do you know why you were attacked?”

Ye Chutang had been waiting for that question.

She took a note from her sleeve and handed it to him.

“I didn’t know before. Now I do.”

Qi Yanzhou unfolded the note. The handwriting was atrocious, but the content didn’t surprise him.

After all, he had already suspected as much.

The note read:
The dog emperor wants to use the Prince of Chen’s wedding to frame him for treason and wipe out the entire Prince of Chen’s household.

“Where did you get this, Miss Ye?” he asked.

Ye Chutang didn’t answer right away. She removed the needles from his body.

Only after putting them away did she speak.

“I found it beside my pillow when I woke up. It must’ve been left by the ‘Ghost Thief.’ What does the Prince plan to do?”

If the emperor had set his sights on destroying the Prince of Chen’s family, he wouldn’t rest until it was done.

Qi Yanzhou sat up and used his internal energy to reduce the note to dust.

The royal family had long wanted to eliminate the Prince of Chen’s line.
Until now, they had always operated in secret—like poisoning him.

But this time, they clearly weren’t going to stop until they succeeded.

And why wouldn’t they be desperate?

He was supposed to die in the southern borderlands, leaving the Qi family branded as traitors.
Instead, not only did he survive, he reclaimed the territory—and took command of 200,000 troops.

When news of his victory reached the court, the emperor panicked and summoned him back to the capital under the pretense of an arranged marriage.
Then tried to have him assassinated along the way.

If he had died, they could still have labeled him a traitor.

But he didn’t die. He made it back safely.

So came the imperial marriage decree, the forced surrender of his military power, and a post in the Court of Judicial Review.

And still, the emperor wanted to wipe out the Qi family completely.

At that thought, Qi Yanzhou looked at Ye Chutang.

“Don’t worry, Miss Ye. The Prince of Chen’s estate will not drag you into this. Thank you for telling me.”

Ye Chutang looked at him curiously.
“The dog emperor is incompetent, has plunged the people into suffering, and wants to slaughter your entire family. Why not just lean into his accusations and take the Zhao dynasty’s throne for yourself?”

In her eyes, Qi Yanzhou had both the heart and the strength to rule.
He would make a fine emperor.