Chapter 925: Chapter 879: Finale Arc (5) The Real Culprit

The selection of Zhao Shuo as a concubine is tomorrow, Wen Wan can no longer wait, she quickly changed clothes, and asked someone to prepare the carriage with the intent to go out.

Linglong saw her in a hurry and was suspicious, "Commandery Princess, what happened?"

Wen Wan remembered something, turned and walked to the writing desk to sit down, picked up a pen and wrote a letter, sealed it with wax, and said to Linglong, "I have some matters to attend to and will go out for a while, if I haven’t returned by dark, take this letter to find Xie Zheng, he will know when he sees it."

Linglong was startled, "Should I accompany you?"

"No need."

Today’s engagement is a Hongmen banquet; having one more maidservant who can’t even fight is just adding another person.

Wen Wan didn’t bring anyone, and went straight to Prince Cheng Mansion in the carriage.

At the same time, Prince Cheng just received the news of Song Wei and his son’s disappearance, and sat grimly in the study, holding not classic historical texts, but rather a miscellaneous book, discussing forbidden folk remedies, yet he found no mood to continue reading.

When Zhao Shuo was still in the womb, Master Xu Yun once entered the palace to speak on Buddhism. At that time, the Heir Princess Consort Cheng, now the Princess Cheng, was present. Master Xu Yun frowned upon seeing her, declaring the child was inauspicious and wouldn’t live past sixteen, bringing calamity and sin; the Prince Cheng Mansion might abandon him, allow him to renounce the world and become a Buddhist, giving a thread of hope.

At that time, the Princely Heir Cheng, now Prince Cheng, was furious, and cursed Master Xu Yun as a "bald donkey".

Later when Zhao Shuo was born, shortly into infancy, he was diagnosed with a heart condition.

Prince Cheng faintly realized Master Xu Yun’s words might come true, but was not reconciled, thus he kept silent, instructed the mansion to keep Zhao Shuo’s heart condition a secret, not allowing him to have contact with others and avoiding the Imperial Hospital while consulting numerous renowned physicians, all to no avail. With regular medicine ineffective, Prince Cheng began seeking alternative r remedies.

Zhao Shuo turns sixteen this year, Prince Cheng fears he won’t pull through, seeks to marry off his son to ward off misfortune, thus concocts a plan to have the Astronomical Bureau calculate the birth dates and look over the Ministry of Revenue’s household register.

In truth, looking over the household register to find a Heir Consort was incidental; his objective was to find a child of the gold element.

Zhao Shuo lacks the gold element in his Five Elements; thus, the children’s hearts are meant to equalize his imbalance.

Unexpectedly, while searching for remedies for Zhao Shuo, he inadvertently discovered something very interesting.

...

At this time, the servant entered to report, "Prince, Princess Yong’an requests an audience."

Prince Cheng collected his thoughts, a peculiar smile edged his lips, "Invite her to the study."

The servant hesitated.

The Princess was a female guest, an outsider—how could she casually enter the prince’s study?

Prince Cheng’s gaze turned cold, "Why are you hesitating?"

The servant immediately came to his senses and hastily went out to invite her.

Wen Wan followed the servant to the outer study, her heart hung in her throat all the way.

When the servant opened the door, Wen Wan didn’t enter immediately; she paused outside.

The servant bowed and said, "Commandery Princess, our prince invites."

Wen Wan took a deep breath, as she stepped inside, she met Prince Cheng’s half-smiling eyes, "Mrs. Song, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Wen Wan’s finger curled slightly, she sat down seeking a position and said, "Prince, you jest, I have already divorced Song Wei, now I’m no Mrs. Song."

"Is that so?" Prince Cheng raised his brow slightly, looked at her, "No contact since the divorce?"

Thinking of Jinbao, Wen Wan couldn’t help but feel anxious, "If you have something to say, speak directly, Prince."

Prince Cheng lightly chuckled, "Clearly, it’s the Commandery Princess who has something to request, so it’s you who should speak plainly."

Wen Wan wanted to inquire about Jinbao’s whereabouts, but so far, she possessed no direct evidence that those matters were the handiwork of Prince Cheng. Furthermore, on Prince Cheng Mansion’s grounds, a single wrong word could incur a fatal calamity. She cautiously pondered before speaking, "I know someone in the Ministry of Revenue, they told me that Song family’s household register has been looked over, especially the page of Jinbao, I wonder if the Prince knows, besides your mansion, who else might have looked through the register?"

Prince Cheng smiled playfully, "If I say I don’t know, would the Commandery Princess immediately return home?"

Wen Wan stared directly at him, her lips curved coldly, "The Prince went to great lengths to lure me here, I suppose before achieving your aim, you wouldn’t let me leave."

Prince Cheng took a sip of tea, "Since the Commandery Princess is sensible, let’s be straightforward—your son is in my hands, as long as you obey, I can spare him."

Wen Wan’s fingers clenched, "So it was you!"

Prince Cheng smiled faintly, "Even if I admit it was me, what evidence can you produce?"

Wen Wan was left speechless, she relied solely on her deductions to suspect Prince Cheng Mansion, although now assured Prince Cheng was indeed the culprit, the motive and evidence for murder were insufficient; even before a court, it couldn’t confirm a verdict.

Putting away her thoughts, Wen Wan wore a wooden expression on her face, "What does the Prince want me to do?"

"Alter fate."

Prince Cheng’s two words, casually spoken, made Wen Wan’s complexion change.

Prince Cheng’s lips curved, "You can alter the fate of the nation, change Song Wei’s destiny, naturally you can also change my son’s fate. I want him to live a long life, as long as you succeed, I will release your husband and son."

"What are you talking about?" Wen Wan was completely shocked, how did Prince Cheng know about these things?

Prince Cheng turned around, took a box from the treasure cabinet and opened it, taking out a bracelet, "I’ve stolen Yun Family’s treasures for you, does the Commandery Princess still want to play dumb?"

So Xu Jia’s bracelet is here!

Wen Wan suddenly had a bad suspicion, "Did you go see Master Xu Yun?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng suddenly sneered, "That old bald donkey, he really deserved to die!"

"So, Master Xu Yun didn’t pass away in peace, but you killed him?"

How could there be such a heartless beast in this world!

Prince Cheng showed not a hint of guilt, "Didn’t kill him, but perhaps the old bald donkey felt guilty for leaking your secret, and so ended his own life!"

With one sentence, Wen Wan felt a chill from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

No wonder, no wonder when she was about to ask Master Xu Yun about altering fate, he had passed away.

It turns out it wasn’t a coincidence, but Prince Cheng forcing him to reveal his altering of Song Wei’s fate, which led him to take his own life.

Wen Wan’s chest swirled with emotions, she struggled to calm herself, "Does the Princely Heir have a heart condition?"

"Yes." Prince Cheng didn’t hesitate to admit it.

"Since you’ve decided to have me alter his fate, why kill so many innocent children?" This sentence, Wen Wan nearly shouted out in anger.

"Let’s just say they were too unfortunate."

Prince Cheng played with the bracelet made of Ice Jade, a twisted smile on his face, chilling to the bone.

Yet he spoke nonchalantly, "I used to think, Shuoshuo’s illness could only be cured with like cures like, only to discover the Commandery Princess’s secret, that there truly exists someone who can foresee and alter fate. Song Wei is extremely lucky, but whether he can continue to be lucky depends on whether the Commandery Princess is willing to use her abilities on my son."

Wen Wan pressed her lips together, she feared this bracelet, the previous feeling of splitting headache and living hell remained deeply etched.

But what worried her more was that after returning from Bei Yan, she lost her foresight ability, who knows what would happen if she wore the bracelet.

In any case, she couldn’t touch that bracelet for now, delay if she could.

Wen Wan calmed down, spoke slowly, "Since the Princely Heir has a heart condition, he should be seen by a physician, why waste time on me?"

Upon hearing the word "physician," Prince Cheng swept the inkstone off the marble desk in anger, "If physicians were useful, would I need to go to such great lengths to bring you here?"

"Then at least let me understand his condition first, otherwise how to alter it?" Prince Cheng is reputed to be wise outwardly, who would have thought he’s so capricious behind closed doors, at such moments, she must not let him know she had lost her foresight, keeping him calm is the priority.

Prince Cheng gradually regained his composure, "Sixteen years ago, old bald donkey Xu Yun entered the palace to preach Buddhism, met Shuoshuo’s mother, and outright declared the child as ominous, wouldn’t live past sixteen, not only that, would bring about a massacre and sin, advised me to abandon him, have him join the Buddhist order, but I have only one son, naturally couldn’t agree."

Speaking to this point, Prince Cheng sighed, somewhat distressed, "Unexpectedly, not long after Shuoshuo was born, he was diagnosed with a heart condition, can’t run, can’t jump, can’t be stimulated, just like the bracelet in my hand, dropping it gently would break it, I’ve poured so much effort into raising him to sixteen, how could I stand by as he meets such an end?"

"So, although you curse Master Xu Yun verbally, you’ve indeed long believed his words from back then." Wen Wan said, "In that case, why not send the Princely Heir to Fahua Temple?"

"Send?" Prince Cheng seemed to hear a great joke, "Why send? I intend to defy destiny, let the old bald donkey see, even he can be wrong one day!"

Wen Wan paused, "I’d like to see the Princely Heir."

She wanted to know, whether such a "fragile" person knew what he ate every day, knew how mad his father was acting.

Prince Cheng signaled for a servant to come in, asked, "What is the Princely Heir doing?"

The servant replied, "Listening to Mr. Wen lecturing on ’Mencius.’"

Prince Cheng said, "Go tell Mr. Wen, there’s an important matter at the mansion today, let’s pause here, let him return to his room to rest."

Upon hearing the words "Mr. Wen," Wen Wan raised her eyes slightly.

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