Duke He's face was gloomy, completely different from his usual calm and composed demeanor. After a long while, he said, "Later, Yan Songbai had an accident and broke his leg. Moreover, he was involved in many cases at that time. The people in the Supreme Court back then were different from those now. As the matter involved too many aspects, the emperor was extremely angry and ordered... your eldest uncle to investigate this case. But your eldest uncle..."
Died because of this?
Duke He shook his head. "He didn't die then. He was just poisoned by a strange and incurable poison at that time. One year later, he died on a ship bound for Nanyang."
The crown prince stared intently at Duke He. On his face, there was no trace of sadness when mentioning his deceased elder brother, but only hatred and coldness. The crown prince couldn't help shivering. "Uncle..."
Duke He walked up to him and held his hand. "Your Highness, it has been really difficult for us to get to this point. Your mother has endured the most hardships. Your Highness, time has passed. If those things were to be exposed, it would be a fatal blow to us, Your Highness."
The crown prince shook off his hand and slumped into a chair. After a long while, he asked, "Uncle, tell me. Did you kill my eldest uncle?"
Duke He didn't say a word. He just pursed his lips and remained motionless.
The crown prince burst into wild laughter. "Why, Uncle? He was your own brother and your mother's own brother!"
Duke He gasped for breath. "Your Highness, please keep your voice down, Your Highness. Your Highness, why did I do this? It was for you, for your and the empress's future!"
The crown prince closed his eyes. His lips were deathly pale. He remained silent for a long time.
"If I hadn't done that at that time, what would have happened to you and the empress? The noble consort was at the height of her power. Once the fourth prince grew up, where would there be any way out for you and my He family? Your eldest uncle was known for his integrity, but what did the He family gain under his leadership? Moreover, Your Highness, we have no way back now!"
Only then did the crown prince open his eyes. He stared at Duke He with a piercing gaze until Duke He lowered his head guiltily. Then he said, "I have my own plans for this matter. The Prince Xiao can't be saved. Those who can bear the consequences should bear them all. But Uncle has always understood the principle of cutting the grass and eradicating the roots. How could there be a fish that slipped through the net back then?"
Duke He let out a sigh of relief. "Your Highness may not know. The noble consort is extremely cunning. Even after such a big incident happened to the Yan family, she just knelt in front of the palace for one night, and the emperor softened his heart. He treated her as well as before and even better to the third prince."
The crown prince shook his head. "He is special because he has the emperor's protection. I'm not talking about him."
"Then..."
The crown prince glanced at Duke He. "You dared to kill your elder brother back then, but you left a trace of bloodline. Don't you know that he, just like his father, has long colluded with Sheng Jinyu?"
Duke He's eyes widened in shock. He looked at the crown prince in disbelief.
...
Zhen Yan rushed to the Lu family the next day. She made a fuss with Lu Wanning and asked, "Did you learn embroidery by yourself? Why did you suddenly send me a sachet? I've heard that He Nanfeng and Jiang Shishi also have one. Moreover, you specifically told them not to take it out, right? Tell me, what's your plan?"
Lu Wanning giggled. "It definitely has a special use. You should keep it well. Don't throw it around carelessly."
Seeing that she wouldn't say, Zhen Yan didn't press the matter anymore. She just said boredly, "These days when you've been at the Supreme Court, I've been so bored. My father won't let me go out and cause trouble. Otherwise, I would have gone to the Supreme Court on duty too. By the way, why didn't you go today?"
Lu Wanning explained, "You should have heard about what happened at the Supreme Court yesterday. Everyone is on edge now. I don't want to take the risk."
Zhen Yan nodded and then asked, "Aren't you bored at home? Come on, let's go out and have some fun."
Lu Wanning didn't really want to go at first, but she thought she should go out and "show off" her new sachet.
They didn't go anywhere else. They just wandered around the bookstores. Besides the scholars, the talented young ladies in the capital also liked to go to these bookstores. For example, if Jiang Shishi was in a good mood, she would often visit the bookstores.
But Lu Wanning rarely went. She preferred to hang out in teahouses and theaters. She was quite unrestrained. In this regard, Zhen Yan shared the same interests with her.
They came to the bookstore today not for books, but for the sachet.
Zhen Yan deliberately asked, "Ning'er, why have I always seen you wearing this sachet recently? Do you like it very much?"
Lu Wanning nodded with a beaming smile. "Yes. Inside it are the herbs that my elder brother specially found for me to repel insects and flies. Sister Zhen also knows that my skin is delicate and smooth. If I'm bitten even a little bit, it won't heal for a long time. I really can't be careless."
Her exaggerated words attracted the attention of the people around. Many of the noble young ladies who were familiar with her didn't have a good impression of her in the first place. After this commotion, they all curled their lips. They thought she was vain and prone to exaggeration.
It was just a sachet. All she did was show off that she had an elder brother who doted on her, as if no one else had an elder brother. Besides showing off her elder brother, she showed off her jade-like skin. But indeed, her face and hands were smoother and fairer than theirs, which really made people jealous.
After showing off the sachet, Lu Wanning wondered what to have for lunch.
"I'm quite craving the signature dishes of the Linglong Pavilion," Zhen Yan swallowed her saliva. She didn't have much monthly allowance. She liked to buy military books and forge weapons, so she really didn't have much spare money to go to the Linglong Pavilion.
Lu Wanning had the rewards from the empress dowager and the empress. The entire Zhennan Prince's Mansion doted on her very much. Besides the regular monthly allowance, they would give her extra money from time to time. Naturally, she could afford to go to a place like the Linglong Pavilion.
However, after being tricked by the Prince Yu in his territory last time, Lu Wanning didn't really want to go there anymore.
Zhen Yan looked at her friend longingly. She quickly racked her brains, thinking about how to get another meal from her friend.
"I'm craving it too. Come on, let's go."
Zhen Yan was stunned for a moment. She grabbed her and asked, "Are you serious? Didn't you say that you would never go to the Linglong Pavilion again and would ignore the Prince Yu?"
Lu Wanning was still thinking about the Prince Yu. How could she still care about what had happened at that time? She just said, "I just lost a little money at that time. The Prince Yu is actually not that bad... Well, are you going or not? If not, I'll go home."
"Go, go, go. Of course I'm going."
When they got to the Linglong Pavilion, they found that there were no customers in the restaurant and no sign of it opening for business. There were two middle-aged cooks eating in the main hall. Their meals looked very simple.
Ji Yue was instructed to knock on the door curiously and walked in. She asked, "What's going on here?"
The cook quickly put down his bowl and bowed with a smile. "This shop has changed owners. We'll leave tomorrow after we've sorted everything out."
Lu Wanning asked in surprise, "Changed owners. Your previous master wasn't..."
She didn't mention the Prince Yu. Probably these cooks didn't know who the real master was.
The cook nodded. "Our previous boss was the third young master of the Chang family. Something happened to the Chang family recently, and they moved away as a family. Naturally, this shop was left empty."
The Chang family wasn't a prominent family, so they couldn't have been the real boss. This was the Prince Yu's shop. Why did the Prince Yu close the shop for no reason?
Lu Wanning was extremely puzzled. She didn't even have the mood to go to another restaurant for lunch. She separated from Zhen Yan early and went home.