Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C104

Prince Wei had people investigate, and he truly did uncover some things.

Not to mention the distant Prince An, but if one were to delve into Prince Jin, several suspicious points could be found on him.

Prince Jin was nearly twelve years old when he returned to the palace. He was clearly treated coldly by Emperor Taihe, abandoned in the imperial villa as if he were worthless, yet he could surprisingly recognize characters and had even read books.

At the time, no one knew about this. Prince Jin's sudden return, due to his age, invited the hostility of many concubines. Thus, these people deliberately set a trap for Prince Jin. Without mentioning the possibility that he might be illiterate, they directly sent him to the Imperial Study to study, and even had Emperor Taihe test all the princes present.

They originally intended to embarrass Prince Jin, but who knew that Prince Jin could not only recognize characters but also read well? Only afterward did everyone learn that Prince Jin could read because an old eunuch in the imperial villa, taking pity on him, had taught him.

Furthermore, it was the Empress Dowager who proposed Prince Jin's return to the palace at that time.

How could the Empress Dowager, after so much time had passed, remember this prince who had been abandoned outside? The Empress Dowager was not Emperor Taihe's birth mother, and she was usually cautious in her actions, not interfering in matters that were not her concern. Knowing that Emperor Taihe detested this son, why did she risk offending Emperor Taihe to bring up this matter?

Because the Empress Dowager was the one who brought him back to the palace, and not long after his return, Prince Jin encountered such a thing. Although no one spoke of it openly, the Empress Dowager, with her seasoned eyes, naturally saw that it was deliberately aimed at Prince Jin. Therefore, she felt great pity for Prince Jin. Because of the Empress Dowager's affection, Prince Jin quickly gained a foothold in the palace.

There were truly too many things worth pondering in this, and Prince Wei focused on investigating these points.

He not only investigated that old eunuch from back then but also the people who took care of Prince Jin in the imperial villa, as well as those who frequently interacted with him. And wouldn't you know it, Prince Wei truly did uncover some things.

Although that old eunuch was now dead, the imperial villa kept records of the palace servants who served there. This eunuch had once served in Consort Dowager Hu's palace, but later, due to a mistake, he was demoted from the palace to the imperial villa.

In addition to this, Prince Wei also found some old-timers in the imperial villa and asked about Prince Jin's affairs back then.

It was said that the palace maid who gave birth to Prince Jin died in childbirth. At the time, Prince Jin was still in swaddling clothes and was disliked by His Majesty, but he was still a prince after all. The managing eunuch of the imperial villa did not dare to neglect him, so he found a wet nurse and an old Granny to take care of him.

This wet nurse was Prince Jin's wet nurse, and she later followed Prince Jin back to the palace and is now in Prince Jin's mansion. As for that old Granny, she is now also dead, but by checking her records, it was discovered that she also had inextricable links with Consort Dowager Hu and Prince An. Although this relationship was very obscure and complex, if one already had a target, that thread of connection became very clear.

One coincidence is possible, but could two also be a coincidence?

Moreover, Prince An did indeed spend more than a year recuperating at Yuquan Palace around the time of Prince Jin's birth. It was said that the hot springs of Yuquan Palace had miraculous effects on recuperation, and Emperor Taihe had specially granted Prince An permission to recuperate there.

Apart from these, no other useful information was found.

Presumably, the other party had already made arrangements. Apart from this old Granny and old eunuch, Prince Jin's early years in the imperial villa, all his actions and demeanor were very much in line with a prince abandoned in the imperial villa. He was very withdrawn and did not have much contact with others.

If it were just these two points, it would not be enough to use as evidence. And without evidence to prove that Prince Jin was the son of Prince An, Consort Dowager Hu behind the scenes could not be implicated.

"Can we do a blood test? Prince Jin's wet nurse, might she know something? And are there no other people in Prince An's mansion? Does Consort Dowager Hu have any family?" Mei Wushuang asked.

"Consort Dowager Hu was born from a collateral branch of the Hu family. The Hu family was implicated in Prince Ying's rebellion years ago and was stripped of their official positions and exiled. Prince An had always claimed to be physically weak and unwilling to harm others, so he never married or had children. After his death, Prince An's mansion was reclaimed. As for that wet nurse, this Prince has already sent people to investigate, but her origins have not yet been found."

However, Wushuang's mention of blood kinship testing gave Prince Wei some ideas.

He went to Song You and asked about effective methods for blood kinship testing.

In reality, blood kinship testing is inaccurate. Common people are unaware, but the imperial family and some wealthy families know this. Prince Wei came seeking a more accurate method.

"Ancient books record a method of bone kinship testing. This method is little known, but I have tried it, and it is also inaccurate. Corpses are buried deep underground, and after years of decay, the bones are already rotten, allowing anyone's blood to seep in."

Song You appeared nonchalant, but he spoke of the horrifying act of experimenting with dead people's bones. However, given his many unconventional actions, it was not difficult to understand why he could come up with such an experiment.

"Why would Your Highness ask about these things? Could it be that Your Highness suspects that the child born to the Princess Consort is not Your Highness's…"

The rest of his words were left unsaid because Prince Wei said calmly that it was Chu Yunzhen who delivered Wushuang's child. Song You immediately fell silent and asked Prince Wei if there was anything else. If not, he had to go and busy himself.

Prince Wei sneered and left.

Before leaving, he said to Song You, telling him not to run. Chu Yunzhen did not know he was here, but if he ran out of the city, he could not guarantee what might happen.

Song You, who was tidying up his basket, was so frightened that he threw the contents onto the ground and did not run.

At this time, Prince Jin, Prince Qin, and others, who were thousands of miles away, were trying to finish the tasks at hand after receiving letters sent from the capital, so they could rush back to the capital.

It was just a pity that they had all underestimated the difficulty of the matters.

Prince Qin and Prince Han, one in Henan and the other in Xuzhou, were both busy with flood control. Prince Qin had the added task of disaster relief. Thinking that this matter was not complicated, and eager to gain merit, Prince Qin and Prince Han tacitly reprimanded the local river management offices, accusing them of dereliction of duty, and took it upon themselves to inspect the river courses.

Little did they know that this was precisely what landed them in trouble. Historically, river management, salt administration, and water transport were known as the three most lucrative government departments. The corruption and decay of river works had not happened overnight. These minor river officials were mostly hereditary. As the saying goes, "Iron officials, flowing magistrates." The governors overseeing the river courses were replaced one after another, but the river workers and minor officials below never changed.

The two were originally eager to gain merit and deliberately seized upon mistakes to make a fuss, never expecting to stir up a hornet's nest. In short, there were no major incidents, but minor troubles were constant. The petty officials and clerks below took advantage of the two's lack of knowledge of river management and flood control, leaving them covered in dirt and ash.

If they had simply completed their tasks and returned, it would have been fine, but the two were unwilling to return just like that and were still mired in the quagmire. People threw a bait, and they felt that they had finally caught something to hold onto, determined to sweep away the unhealthy atmosphere of the river management. Wouldn't this be a great achievement to bring back to the capital?

Halfway through the investigation, they received letters from the capital. Returning was not an option, nor was not returning. Returning would mean that months of hard work would be in vain, while not returning would mean that the capital was urging them too urgently. Therefore, they naturally sought a win-win solution, urging one side while extricating themselves from the other, only wanting to quickly secure the merit before returning.

As for Prince Zhao, that was even more needless to say. Border affairs had always been complicated, with relationships that affected the whole situation with the slightest move. In addition, it was far from the capital. By the time he received the letter, it was already more than a month later, and he could not leave for a while after receiving the letter. The situation was truly critical. Leaving would not be a question of whether there would be merit, but whether he would be held accountable.

Only Prince Jin had the freedom to come and go.

As mentioned before, his assignment was quite simple, and even if he succeeded, it wouldn't amount to any great merit, merely better than nothing. Therefore, Prince Jin had been constantly monitoring the movements in the capital, making him the most knowledgeable about the current situation in the city.

But precisely because he was so well-informed, Prince Jin also knew that even if he returned, without others present, he wouldn't be able to accomplish much.

Thus, he didn't rush back. Instead, he sent letters to Prince Qin and Prince Han, who were closer to him, inquiring when they would return.

The reason Prince Qin and Prince Han weren't in a hurry to return was precisely because they anticipated Prince Jin would return first. No matter what he did upon his return, as long as it added some trouble for Prince Wei and delayed their own return, it would suffice. Never did they expect that Prince Jin, habitually favoring the tactic of 'concealment' in his dealings, would fall into this ingrained mindset. He didn't rush back at all, but instead sent them letters.

Consequently, when Emperor Taihe formally proposed in the imperial court to establish Prince Wei as the Crown Prince, and decisively adopted the principle of majority rule, settling the matter in court and swiftly issuing the imperial decree, Prince Jin, Prince Qin, and the others were utterly stunned upon receiving the news.

Everything had unfolded with such breathtaking speed, leaving one no time to react.

Upon receiving the news, they dared not delay any longer and raced back with all their might.

But while they were still on their way, they received another piece of news that could only be described as a bolt from the blue—Emperor Taihe intended to abdicate the throne to the Crown Prince.