Chapter 376

After the palace banquet, the Emperor specifically asked Jiang Yankun and his wife to stay behind. They were led into the inner chamber of Taihe Hall to see the Crown Prince and confirm that he was unharmed before being escorted out of the palace.

The little one had undergone countless acupuncture sessions and herbal treatments, and while the swelling on his face had subsided somewhat, it hadn’t completely healed. His face was still covered in tiny rashes, densely packed and quite unsettling to look at.

In his sleep, he whimpered and fidgeted, unconsciously trying to scratch the itch.

Jiang Xinyue knew that human nails harbored many bacteria. If the skin were scratched open, it could easily lead to inflammation and even cause the wounds to fester.

It wouldn’t do for him to have scars in the future.

She held the little one’s hand and softly hummed by his ear, lulling him back to sleep.

The entire night, the Emperor and Jiang Xinyue took turns watching over him, fearing that the Crown Prince’s condition might worsen.

When the sky began to lighten, the Emperor had to attend the morning court session. Without even closing his eyes, he hurried off to the Golden Hall.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As he left, his eyes were bloodshot.

Jiang Xinyue instructed Xi Que and Shuang Jiang to keep a close watch, then leaned against the bedpost to rest for a moment.

After she had rested and her mind was clearer, she noticed that the rashes on the Crown Prince’s body had mostly subsided.

The little one, having been tormented all night, looked utterly exhausted. His dark eyes stared unblinkingly at Jiang Xinyue, and then he gave a weak smile: “Moth…ther…”

He had learned to call her “mother,” though his tongue still stumbled a bit. His babyish voice melted her heart.

But aside from that one word, he couldn’t say anything else.

Jiang Xinyue kissed the Crown Prince’s little cheek and smiled at him, then asked Xi Que to bring over the warm codfish porridge: “Is my little dumpling hungry? Shall mother feed you some porridge?”

At the mention of “porridge,” the Crown Prince’s eyes lit up, and he immediately tried to sit up in bed.

Xi Que handed the porridge to Jiang Xinyue and helped the little Crown Prince sit up properly. Jiang Xinyue scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and a rich aroma of food oil mixed with the savory scent of codfish wafted up.

She held the spoon away and examined it, then sniffed it again: “Xiao Xiangzi, go to Hexi Palace and bring the Crown Prince’s supplementary oil from the kitchen for Yan the Imperial Physician to examine. I smell… is this peanut oil?”

Peanuts and walnuts are both nuts, and the oils extracted from them have very similar scents. Without careful sniffing, it’s hard to tell them apart.

But in Hexi Palace, the little one’s food was strictly managed and arranged by the Internal Affairs Department, following Jiang Xinyue’s exact standards. There was no way they could have mixed it up.

Taihe Hall was eerily quiet. With the Crown Prince ill, no one dared to make noise and add to the Empress’s troubles.

Xiao Xiangzi returned after about a quarter of an hour, carrying a small jar. Yan the Imperial Physician quickly took it, scooped out a bit with a spoon, and tasted it with his finger.

All eyes were on Yan the Imperial Physician as he spat the oil into a handkerchief: “Your Majesty, this is indeed peanut oil! The Crown Prince’s walnut oil has been swapped.”

Jiang Xinyue had already suspected as much. She slammed the bowl of codfish porridge onto the table: “Summon the Internal Affairs Department to see me immediately, and bring all the stored walnut oil.”

“Waaahhh…”

The Crown Prince, who had been waiting for his delicious fish porridge, burst into tears. Jiang Xinyue instructed Xi Que and Shuang Jiang to take him to Wet Nurse Lu: “Since the wet nurse is fine, let her feed the Crown Prince milk for now. Don’t prepare any supplementary food for him these next few days.”

She needed to find out whether only this jar of oil was tainted or if all the oil had been compromised.

If only the jar from Hexi Palace was affected, then she would have to investigate whether there was a traitor in her own palace.

If all the oil was tainted, then someone in the Internal Affairs Department had been bribed to harm the Crown Prince.

Jiang Xinyue was more inclined to believe that the problem lay with the Internal Affairs Department.

Hexi Palace had long been thoroughly cleaned out. From Xi Que, Shuang Jiang, Xiao Xiangzi, Jiang Chuan, to Nanny Xiang and Wet Nurse Lu, they were all her trusted confidants. It was impossible for them to betray her.

The lower-ranking servants had also been carefully selected and trained, all fiercely loyal to Hexi Palace.

In short, her palace was like an impregnable fortress. No one could possibly breach it.

The Internal Affairs Department, however…

“Crash!”

“Ah!”

“Xiao Shunzi, what’s going on?”

“Whoosh!”

“Ah! Fire… fire! Someone, put out the fire!”

Just as Xiao Xiangzi reached the entrance of the Internal Affairs Department, he saw thick black smoke billowing out. A crowd of eunuchs rushed out, shouting for help to extinguish the flames.

Immediately, he realized that someone was “destroying the evidence.” Without a doubt, the fire was targeting the Crown Prince’s batch of walnut oil.

He pushed past a few blocking eunuchs and dashed inside. No matter what, he had to salvage a few jars of oil.

Amid the chaotic crowd, a pair of sinister eyes glared at his retreating figure: “Seeking death!”

The Emperor had yet to finish the morning court session. The sky was still gloomy, not fully bright, and many people were still asleep, gradually awakened by the commotion at the Internal Affairs Department.

When Xiao Xiangzi rushed into the fire, the place was already deserted. Everyone had run out to fetch water to fight the flames.

It was the storage room!

The arsonist had quite the audacity. To cover up the truth, they had set fire to the most crucial storage room in the Internal Affairs Department.

Fortunately, this area only stored food and oil. If it had been near the living quarters, the wind could have spread the fire, resulting in countless casualties.

Covering his mouth and nose, Xiao Xiangzi quickly searched through the areas the flames hadn’t yet reached.

Amid the towering flames, he spotted a eunuch in a light blue uniform, already burned beyond recognition, lying in a pile of charred wood.

Suppressing his nausea and fear, he used his sleeve to push aside the wood. Beneath it lay the Crown Prince’s walnut oil.

Just as expected…

The arsonist had intended to burn all the walnut oil.

But with Xiao Xiangzi here, they wouldn’t succeed!

He reached out, trying to retrieve the oil through the gaps in the wood, but his shoulder got stuck. He was just a little short. Determined, he pushed forward with more force.

He didn’t notice the shadow creeping up behind him.

The shadow held a thick wooden stick, raised high.

“​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‍Thud!”

Xiao Xiangzi’s body crumpled into the sea of flames. The crackling embers were about to engulf him.

As the sky brightened slightly, the Emperor finally finished the morning court session. It had ended earlier than usual, mainly because the ministers, seeing the fire in his eyes, swallowed their intended reports.

Never mind, they thought. Whatever it was could wait until tomorrow.

There was no need to rush.

Haste makes waste, after all.

“The Internal Affairs Department is on fire?”

The Emperor paused: “How could it catch fire out of nowhere?”

“They say a eunuch’s clothes somehow caught fire, and he knocked over a barrel of oil in the storage room. The flames spread quickly, and the eunuch was burned to death.”

How could it be such a coincidence?

He had just planned to investigate the Internal Affairs Department, and now there was a fire and a death?