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Although Lu Man had reservations in her personal feelings towards Jiang Zhanwei, after so much mutual support and assistance, she had complete trust in him when it came to political and family interests. She believed he could safeguard their interests and accomplish things she couldn’t.
Holding the copper pendant around her neck, she said, “This was left by my maternal grandfather. Through it, I found what my grandfather left behind before his death. Because I was afraid Grandma couldn’t handle it, I never dared to tell her…”
Lu Man had an excellent memory and recounted the contents of the paper word for word. The gist was that Concubine Wang and Concubine Li were both pregnant in the winter of the fourth year of Zhenkang. In the second month of the fifth year of Zhenkang, Concubine Wang had a miscarriage. The next day, Imperial Physician Kang suddenly fell ill and resigned, returning to his hometown. Following were six names listed, ending with a plea for justice for the innocent if heaven had eyes.
Lu Man hadn’t heard of any of those six people, and she didn’t know Imperial Physician Kang either.
She spoke slowly, her voice low, each word pronounced with exceptional clarity.
Jiang Zhanwei listened attentively, his back straightening, his eyes widening at first, then narrowing slowly, his face growing serious, lips pursed tightly, eyebrows furrowed. After pondering for a while, he said, “If Concubine Wang has already miscarried, then, then the Crown Prince isn’t her child?” And with a sudden realization, he added, “The Crown Prince, like Miss Liu, was poisoned in the womb. Could it be that he’s actually Concubine Li’s son?”
Lu Man nodded and said, “It seems likely. Conubine Wang was pregnant but miscarried after only four months. This can explain why the Crown Prince was also poisoned in the womb, albeit much less severely than Miss Liu. It’s probably because after four months, Concubine Wang planned to claim the child for herself and didn’t continue poisoning Concubine Li.”
Jiang Zhanwei sighed heavily and said, “Such treachery! Concubine Li, the Li family, Kang the Imperial Physician, Miss Liu, they are all innocent victims.”
Lu Man softly remarked, “My maternal grandfather, as the Imperial Physician who treated Concubine Wang’s miscarriage, was executed for knowing this secret.” She then looked at Jiang Zhanwei and posed a perplexing question, “Why didn’t they silence him immediately? Why wait until my grandfather left that item behind?”
Jiang Zhanwei pondered and replied, “Although Concubine Wang had a miscarriage, she still needed an Imperial Physician to continue the charade. Imperial Physician Kang had already learned the secret, so they must have had some leverage over him, like your mother’s and your life or something else, offering him great rewards to ensure his silence. They would have also closely monitored him, preventing any solitary interactions. Imperial Physician He, being wise, knew he wouldn’t survive, so he secretly wrote down the secret and placed it where it would hopefully one day reveal the truth…”
Lu Man’s eyes welled up with tears, and through the mist of tears, she seemed to see an elegant old man, carrying a medicine box, wandering among the palace walls…
Jiang Zhanwei pulled Lu Man into his embrace.
Resting her head on that sturdy shoulder, Lu Man’s tears flowed uncontrollably, releasing all the pent-up helplessness, exhaustion, and tension from all this time – she sobbed.
After being strong for so long, she realized she wasn’t as strong as she thought, having someone to rely on revealed her vulnerability.
In between sobs, she said, “My foolish little brother, still dreaming of becoming an Imperial Physician, how dangerous it is. No, I can’t let him become an Imperial Physician…”
Jiang Zhanwei comforted her, saying, “Don’t worry, brother Cheng has me. No matter what he does in the future, his brother-in-law will do everything to protect him…”
His arms around her waist tightened. His reassurance warmed Lu Man’s heart a bit more.
After shedding tears for a while, Lu Man felt a bit lighter. She raised her head to look at Jiang Zhanwei, feeling a bit embarrassed, and lowered her eyes.
Jiang Zhanwei embraced Lu Man once again, feeling her body more relaxed than before. He continued discussing the earth-shattering secret, “Logically, if it was poison administered by Concubine Wang, she should have known what the poison was and its antidote. However, she only found the antidote when the Crown Prince was eight years old. Grandma has always suspected that there might be someone else behind the scenes. Now, it seems certain. Because of that hidden hand, the poisoning of the Crown Prince deviated from what Empress Wang had expected…”
Lu Man speculated along the same lines, her body relaxing further. She added, “Yes, those few people are most likely accomplices. I haven’t heard of any of them, so I wonder how many will survive. As for Imperial Physician Kang, if he knew the truth, the Wang family wouldn’t let him escape their control, they would have kept him around, leading to an end like my maternal grandfather’s. But if he didn’t know the truth, my grandfather wouldn’t have specifically mentioned him…”
After discussing for a while, they decided that the matter was too significant and must be kept confidential. They planned to inform Princess Changting when the time was right, as those individuals were likely palace personnel whom the Princess might recognize. Jiang Zhanwei would discreetly inquire about Imperial Physician Kang’s whereabouts. As for the item left by her maternal grandfather, it was safest where it was, when time permitted, Jiang Zhanwei would investigate further to see if any new clues could be found. Regarding the hidden hand behind the scenes, they would monitor all princes and their households, aside from the Crown Prince, and observe the situation closely…
Due to the magnitude of the situation, both had put aside their previous romantic thoughts. They started by talking while leaning against each other, then lying down. Jiang Zhanwei extended an arm around Lu Man, who initially felt a bit tense but gradually relaxed into his embrace.
She drifted off to sleep in a haze, feeling Jiang Zhanwei tossing and turning beside her.
The next day, at the hour of the Yin (around 3-5 AM), Jiang Zhanwei got up. Upon hearing the commotion, Lu Man also rose. Today, Jiang Zhanwei was to attend the morning court session along with many other meritorious officials, awaiting the Emperor’s summons and rewards.
During this dynasty, fourth-ranking civil officials in the capital and third-ranking military officials in the capital were required to attend the morning court. If lower-ranking officials from the capital had urgent matters to report, they could also attend. In the Princess’s residence, the Marquis and Second Master were obligated to attend the morning court, Jiang Zhanju occasionally attended, but Third Master did not have the qualification. Despite being one rank higher than Second Uncle, he did not belong to the category of “capital officials”, so he could not attend the morning court without the Emperor’s summons.
Breakfast was set on the table in the east side room, and Jiang Zhanwei hurriedly ate, donned his fourth-ranking military official attire, and confidently left the house.
Before leaving, he said to Lu Man, “Wait for me, I will give you all the best in this world, and… her.”
Lu Man understood that by “her”, Jiang Zhanwei was referring to Miss Zhou, his biological mother. Securing a status for Miss Zhou had been an obsession of his since childhood.
Since they had been discussing the significant matter yesterday, they hadn’t touched upon the Princess declining the official position on his behalf. Lu Man held his hand and said, “Third Young Master, grandmother did it for your own good.”
Lu Man genuinely believed this.