Ch 54 “Brother, please spoil me.”
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“Poison yourself, is it fun?”
Xie Chaoling’s eyes turned red, having not rested well for a day and night. The emotions that filled him at this moment were indescribable, whether it was anger or exhaustion after worry.
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him, his face full of sickness just after awakening from the poisoning, but he didn’t seem uneasy: “Why would the Crown Prince think that way?”
Xie Chaoling said coldly, “How long are you going to keep pretending? You ate a large amount of sour jujubes before the birthday banquet, which you never ate before, because it counteracts the toxicity of the poison. You knew someone would poison me at the banquet in advance. You did it on purpose. What do you want to do? Frame King Xing?”
“So it was King Xing who poisoned and attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince?” Xie Chaoyuan murmured, “People really can’t judge others by their appearance. The Third Prince doesn’t seem like such a person. It’s a waste that the Crown Prince trusted him.”
Xie Chaoling raised his hand, angry enough to hit someone, but held back and didn’t actually strike: “You’re a complete and utter beast.”
Xie Chaoyuan’s face turned dark: “The Crown Prince trusts King Xing so much? Do you believe that I intentionally framed him?”
“I have nothing more to say to you.”
Xie Chaoling turned around and left, but was grabbed back by Xie Chaoyuan.
With his actions being too big, Xie Chaoling was held tightly by Xie Chaoyuan and fell onto the bed. Even though he had just survived the poison, Xie Chaoyuan’s strength was still as strong as a wild ox.
Xie Chaoling could no longer bear it and asked, “What do you want to do?”
Xie Chaoyuan bent over, his forehead against Xie Chaoling’s shoulder, and began to cough violently, his body trembling. Xie Chaoling was about to push him away when he noticed the blood on the corner of Xie Chaoyuan’s mouth. His heart panicked and he quickly handed him a handkerchief. He was about to call for help when Xie Chaoyuan covered his mouth with his hand.
Xie Chaoling stared at him and Xie Chaoyuan whispered, “Don’t call anyone in.”
He let go of Xie Chaoling, wiped his mouth with the handkerchief, and didn’t seem to care. He joked, “I thought my brother would be concerned for me, but as soon as I woke up, you accused me of trying to frame King Xing and even slapped me. I didn’t expect that my brother would value King Xing so much.”
Xie Chaoling’s face quickly turned cold. This guy’s thoughts and beliefs were always so extreme and paranoid that talking to him was pointless.
Xie Chaoyuan pulled Xie Chaoling back down when he tried to stand up again, saying, “Brother, don’t be angry.”
“Do you hate Prince Xing so much that you have to use such harmful means to kill him?” Xie Chaoling asked angrily.
Xie Chaoyuan looked at his bright eyes that were particularly angry, remained silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice, “He stole Linlang from me. He deserves to die.”
His eldest brother did not need anyone else by his side, as he was enough.
Xie Chaoling’s heart skipped a beat. “Is that what you really think?”
“Am I wrong?” Xie Chaoyuan asked.
Xie Chaoling had nothing to say and resolutely brushed off his hand, stood up, and his face returned to its usual calm, even cold demeanor. “King Ke has just awakened from the poison, and his body is still weak. Rest well. I have things to take care of and will leave now.”
Xie Chaoling left, and before leaving, the person behind him said, “Crown Prince Brother, you are so cruel.”
Xie Chaoling did not stop and walked out the door.
Wang Rang brought in the medicine and handed it to Xie Chaoyuan. Xie Chaoyuan did not take it, staring at the dark bitter juice, and said faintly, “Pour it out.”
“Your Highness, you just woke up and vomited so much blood. This medicine…”
“Pour it out.”
Wang Rang had to obey the order and poured the medicine out of the window. He then returned and quietly reported the situation outside to Xie Chaoyuan. “The second prince is still alive, hanging on by a thread. He cannot die, but his body will be useless in the future.”
Xie Chaoyuan sneered. Xie Chaqi was so treacherous, choosing highly toxic medicine. He had the amount sent to Xie Chaorong reduced by half. As for himself, a few sour jujubes could not have much effect. When he was young, his mother often experimented with poisons and medicines on him, which had trained him to have a strong resistance to toxins. Although he was not immune to all poisons, he was indeed more resistant than the average person.
“Your Highness, why did you kill the eunuch who attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince?”
Wang Rang hesitated to ask, as this was something he couldn’t understand. Since Xie Chaoqi’s goal was to frame the Crown Prince and make it seem like Xie Chaohui was behind it, why did Xie Chaoyuan deliberately silence the eunuch?
Xie Chaoyuan leaned back wearily and closed his eyes. He explained casually, “The Emperor is not easily fooled. It is too obvious that someone is trying to frame King Xing. The more ambiguous it is, the more he will be suspicious.”
Especially after the incident at Dongshan hunting grounds, Emperor Qianming despised the mutual framing of his sons. If the person who had committed the assassination was tortured and confessed that Xie Chaohui was behind it, would the Emperor be a fool?
“There will be others who can’t wait to kick us when we’re down,” Xie Chaoyuan added.
“But the Crown Prince seems to have misunderstood you,” Wang Rang said.
“Whatever.” Xie Chaoyuan replied indifferently.
If Xie Chaoling knew that it was Xie Chaoqi who did it, he would definitely find a way to expose him. Let his Crown Prince brother misunderstand him, Xie Chaoling would think it was him who did it, and would he expose himself to clear Xie Chaohui’s name?
Xie Chaoyuan was curious about what Xie Chaoling would do. “How should we deal with Song Shi?” Wang Rang asked.
“For now, leave him alone. I’ll settle the score with him later.” After giving his orders, Xie Chaoyuan closed his eyes again.
There were more people under Xie Chaoqi than just Song Shi, but they were not as trustworthy as Song Shi before Xie Chaohui’s death. Those who didn’t listen would be taken care of once they were no longer useful.
Xie Chaoling went to Emperor Qianming, who was ordering people to bring someone from Leping Princess Mansion.
The incident involving Le Princess was a matter that made the Emperor extremely angry. Of course, he would not suspect his granddaughter, an eight or nine-year-old girl who knew nothing. Whoever dared to use the only child of the former Crown Prince as a tool would be skinned alive!
“Who is father planning to send to bring the person back?” Xie Chaoling asked him.
Emperor Qianming said unhappily, “Let Wang Qing bring a few people, we can’t let the Imperial Guard go with great fanfare.”
If they sent the Imperial Guard to bring the person back from Princess Leeping’s residence, her reputation would be ruined completely. Xie Chaoling glanced at the eunuch and said, “Let me go.”
The emperor was surprised. “You?”
“I also want to find out the truth as soon as possible. It is inevitable that sending palace servants to bring her back will result in idle gossip, which will be detrimental to Princess Leping. I will go and bring her here to live for a while.”
Emperor Qianming thought for a moment and agreed reluctantly. “Take a few more people with you and don’t scare her.”
“I understand,” Xie Chaoling replied.
He then did not delay and took the person out.
The Palace was not far from the northern suburbs, just outside the city. Xie Chaoling arrived there before midnight. This was his first time here. As Xie Chaoyuan had said, it was more like a rural manor than a palace, with only a few lamps. At night, it appeared even more desolate and cold.
Xie Huizhen was not asleep and was sitting in the main room, wearing his princess’s attire. He looked calm and did not appear panicked. This was the first time Xie Chaoling had seen the child in female attire. Perhaps he was still young and had not grown up, so he could not tell at first glance that he was a boy in disguise.
Seeing Xie Chaoling, Xie Huizhen was slightly surprised. “I didn’t expect the fifth crown prince to come personally. Are you here to arrest me?”
“If I were here to arrest you, I wouldn’t have come alone,” Xie Chaoling said, entering the room and motioning for his followers to step back.
Xie Huizhen also had his attendants withdraw from the room.
“Did you poison second brother?” Xie Chaoling asked.
“Yes,” Xie Huizhen admitted frankly. “But it wasn’t a lethal poison. Even if he didn’t eat for three to five years, he wouldn’t die. If he did die, it wouldn’t be apparent that he was poisoned. Someone must have switched my medicine.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Why ask when you already know? We have an irreconcilable hatred between us.”
Indeed, there was no need to spell it out. When the former crown prince was falsely accused of rebellion, he was eventually forced to jump off a cliff. It was all due to the machinations of Xie Chaorong and the Zhao family’s party members. Xie Huizhen was powerless to deal with the Zhao family, but Xie Chaorong was just a ruined dog who was stripped of his title and confined to his estate, where he will spend the rest of his life in peace. It was too easy for him.
Xie Chaoling reminded him, “Even if the medicine was switched, you did poison him. However, your imperial grandfather doesn’t think you were the one who masterminded it. As long as the palace maid beside you dies, there will be no evidence against you, and you won’t be implicated.”
Xie Huizhen shook her head. “I have been taken care of by Liu Mama all these years, I won’t let her die. If you want to take me away, I’ll go with you. When we see the emperor, I’ll tell him the truth.”
Xie Chaoling fell silent.
Xie Huizhen’s words proved that this child was not bad by nature, and can even be said to be too kind. He not only kept Liu Mama, but also let the distant nephew of her family live and be found by the Forbidden Army. If it were someone else, how could they be so easily calculated by Xie Chaoyuan.
Sure enough, he was still a child.
When the two were silent, Xie Huizhen’s servant hurried in and reported: “Princess, something happened to Liu Mama!”
Xie Huizhen got up abruptly.
Hurrying to Liu Mama’s residence, all he saw was a dead body hanging from the beam.
Xie Huizhen almost couldn’t stand still, his eyes widened in a daze, tears hung in his eyes and he fought back to keep them from falling. Xie Chaoling frowned, noticing that there was a letter next to the overturned stool on the ground, and motioned for the guards behind to pick it up.
It was a confession.
The old nanny took the blame alone, saying that poisoning the second prince was her own idea, no one else.
Xie Chaoling finished reading the letter, waited for a moment, raised his hand and lightly pressed Xie Huizhen’s shoulder: “Come with me.”
Xie Huizhen suddenly turned around and hugged him.
The child buried his face in him, choking silently. Xie Chaoling was startled, and patted him on the back.
“It’s okay, I will find a way to help you.”
Xie Chaoling didn’t tell the truth.
When he saw the body hanging from the beam, he actually breathed a sigh of relief. If they brought the person back for interrogation and the exchange of medicine was revealed, Xie Chaoyuan might not be able to conceal it. That little beast was so confident that he was almost arrogant. But who could guarantee that he would always have such good luck and never be discovered for his actions?
It was better this way. Once dead, there would be no evidence against him.
Returning to the palace near midnight, after settling Xie Huizhen, Xie Chaoling was exhausted. Just as he returned to his bedroom, his subordinates came to report that Xie Chaoyuan had coughed up blood again.
Xie Chaoling didn’t want to pay attention to it at first, so he sat down and drank some warm water, his furrowed brows never relaxed. In the end, he still got up and left the room.
Xie Chaoyuan sat leaning against the head of the bed with his eyes closed. When he heard footsteps, he opened his eyes and turned to look.
Xie Chaoling stopped by the bedside and looked at him expressionlessly. “Why didn’t you take the medicine?”
Xie Chaoyuan said listlessly: “It’s too bitter.”
Xie Chaoling took the medicine handed over by the palace maid behind him and passed it to Xie Chaoyuan, commanding him, “Drink it.”
Xie Chaoyuan raised his gaze, “Is the Crown Prince angry with me?”
“Do you think I shouldn’t be angry?”
“It’s too bitter, I don’t want to drink it.”
Xie Chaoling sneered, “When you drank poison, you didn’t think it was bitter, but now you find this life-saving medicine bitter?”
The servants in the palace were waved away, and Xie Chaoyuan shook his head slightly: “Then brother, feed me the drink.”
Xie Chaoling looked at him without moving, if it weren’t for the fact that this little animal was currently weak and sick, he really wanted to knock the medicine bowl on his head.
Xie Chaoyuan blinked slowly, and his voice became softer, “Brother, please spoil me.”
Xie Chaoling finally sat down next to the bed and fed a spoonful of medicine into Xie Chaoyuan’s mouth.
His movements were not gentle, and he quickly finished the bowl of medicine with three or two spoonfuls, always wearing a sour face.
Xie Chaoyuan’s lips overflowed with a smile, “Has the Crown Prince finally stopped pretending?”
Xie Chaoling ignored him.
When he put down the medicine bowl, Xie Chaoyuan suddenly grabbed him and breathed heavily, “What are you really angry about?”
Xie Chaoling’s body was unstable, almost falling into his arms. He held Xie Chaoyuan’s shoulder with one hand and said coldly, “I cannot agree with your way of conduct and behavior.”
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him and smiled without arguing. Xie Chaoling gnashed his teeth fiercely, “If you really play yourself to death next time, I will personally collect your body.”
Xie Chaoyuan pressed him into his embrace and said in his ear, “Brother, I’m in so much pain. All of my organs are hurting. Those incompetent doctors said my internal organs are not damaged, but they are obviously talking nonsense.”
“You asked for it.” Xie Chaoling was annoyed.
Xie Chaoyuan’s voice was lower, as if he was bewitching him: “Did you stay here with me last night? Stay tonight too.”
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