Chapter 686: Chapter 686: Awareness

Xiao Chenglin had been in a foul mood for the past two days, and listening to Fan Chengzhuo’s incessant nagging only made him more irritable.

Fan Chengzhuo jumped in fright and immediately dropped to his knees to beg for mercy.

"Your Highness, please calm your anger! This... this humble servant was just anxious and afraid something might be overlooked... After all, Prince Lie is your greatest rival right now!"

Xiao Chenglin gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Rival? I doubt he’s ever considered me a threat."

It wasn’t just Xiao Chengqi. Everyone in the imperial court believed that a disabled prince like him was completely unqualified to compete with Prince Lie.

Before, it was Xiao Chengxuan who was unequaled in his splendor.

Now, it was Xiao Chengqi who stood in a league of his own.

No one had ever considered him a contender for that position. They all thought he wasn’t worthy.

But Xiao Chenglin didn’t care.

He let out a soft breath, calming his anger slightly. He glanced at Fan Chengzhuo again and asked casually, "You don’t look well. Since she examined you, did she write you a prescription?"

Fan Chengzhuo’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly said, "She did indeed write a prescription for me, but rest assured, Your Highness, I have already thrown it away."

Xiao Chenglin narrowed his eyes, his tone betraying no emotion.

"It seems you don’t trust her at all."

Of course he didn’t.

Although the two of them had never clashed directly, their relationship was far from close.

Moreover, Ye Chutang’s public autopsy had indirectly led to Fan Chengzhuo’s demotion, and he had held a grudge against her ever since.

Yet today, Ye Chutang had actually offered to examine him, which made Fan Chengzhuo even more suspicious of her motives.

He would never trust a prescription she gave him, much less use it!

"That woman is devious. We must be on our guard."

Xiao Chenglin said coolly, "Even if she is plotting something, she wouldn’t use a fake prescription. Wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?"

Fan Chengzhuo looked up at him, a strange feeling welling up inside. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but it seemed... as if His Highness was speaking up for Ye Chutang.

’I must be mistaken. I must be!’

Xiao Chenglin didn’t seem to expect an answer and continued,

"Scrutiny is high right now, so keep a low profile. If someone gets leverage on you, not even I will be able to save you."

Fan Chengzhuo’s heart tightened. "Yes, Your Highness!"

Xiao Chenglin pinched the bridge of his nose, looking somewhat weary.

"All right, you may go. Be careful not to be seen."

Fan Chengzhuo assented and respectfully took his leave.

...

「Prince Lie’s Mansion.」

"Did you wait for him to arrive before coming downstairs?" Xiao Chengqi asked with great interest.

The Chang Sui standing before him nodded. "It was at the exact hour Second Miss Ye mentioned."

"Is that so..." Xiao Chengqi leaned back and couldn’t help but laugh. "She’s really quite impressive. She said Fan Chengzhuo would leave at a certain time, and he did. She said he would go to the second floor, and he really did."

Her predictions were more accurate than a fortune teller’s.

"I noticed Fan Chengzhuo looked terrible. He seems to be seriously ill."

Xiao Chengqi nodded thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, he has missed several days of the morning court assembly. Knowing his temperament, he would never do so unless he was truly too sick to leave his home. But then again, if that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Ye Chutang to examine him, would it?"

Xiao Chengqi stroked his chin. "I previously suspected he was faking his illness to avoid the recent scrutiny, but now it seems that might not be the case..."

He then asked, "Did you overhear anything else they said?"

The Chang Sui shook his head. "Second Miss Ye said that as soon as I saw him arrive, I was to go downstairs and leave quickly. Therefore, I did not hear their subsequent conversation."

Xiao Chengqi felt a twinge of regret.

He was quite curious.

The Chang Sui couldn’t help but ask, "Your Highness, what... what do you think Second Miss Ye is planning?"

Xiao Chengqi pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure it out. He decided not to dwell on it. "Whatever she does, she always has her reasons. It’s rare for her to ask for help, so we’ll just do as she says."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xiao Chengqi had also been very busy lately.

With Tuoba Yu captured, the Nanhu would be sending someone soon. He needed to figure out how to handle them and take them for all they were worth!

At the same time, he was also realizing that the battle of Long City was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"You are dismissed. I will go to the palace tomorrow to visit my Mother Consort."

...

Early the next morning, Xiao Chengqi entered the palace.

Ever since Emperor Muwu had vomited blood and fallen into a coma, Consort Rong had also fallen ill and been bedridden.

Her constitution was already weak and couldn’t withstand such an emotional shock. Although Emperor Muwu later awoke, Consort Rong’s condition never improved, and she remained in her palace all day.

When she learned Xiao Chengqi had come, Consort Rong was overjoyed. Color returned to her pale, sickly complexion.

"Cheng Qi, what made you think to visit your Mother Consort today?"

Xiao Chengqi helped her sit up and placed a pillow behind her back. "Mother Consort, you’re not well. You should lie down. Your son simply missed you and came to talk for a while."

Consort Rong smiled as she looked him over, her eyes filled with affectionate concern. She sighed, "I heard you’ve been very busy lately; you didn’t have to make this trip. Look at you, your face has gotten so much thinner."

Xiao Chengqi laughed heartily. "No matter how busy I am, it won’t stop your son from coming to see you!"

Consort Rong patted his hand. "Don’t worry. Although I haven’t been out much, there are many attendants in the palace, so I don’t feel lonely. Take Qinyang, for example. She made a special trip to see me just yesterday."

At this, a fond smile appeared on Consort Rong’s face.

"It’s probably because King Yan Nan has returned. That girl is absolutely delighted. The smile never left her face the entire time she was here. It’s so much better than when she was so melancholy before..."

"What did you say?" Xiao Chengqi was taken aback. "What was wrong with her before?"

Consort Rong sighed. "It wasn’t anything major. The time before last when she visited, I noticed she was distracted, as if something was weighing on her mind. In all these years, I had never seen her look so utterly dejected. But no matter how I asked, she insisted nothing was wrong. I was quite worried about her for a while."

She smiled again. "I was planning to ask her properly the next time she came, but then King Yan Nan returned to the capital, and just like that, her troubles vanished! It makes sense. Yue’er hasn’t seen her father in years, so of course she’s overjoyed now. Even the greatest worries in the world would have vanished."

As Xiao Chengqi listened, that faint feeling of wrongness returned.

He and Princess Qingyang didn’t interact much on a daily basis. If Consort Rong hadn’t brought it up today, he would have known nothing about this.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

—He remembered that his Imperial Father had suddenly summoned King Yan Nan back to the capital ahead of schedule because Shen Yanchuan had visited the palace that day.

Shen Yanchuan’s reason at the time was that Princess Qingyang was about to turn eighteen and missed her father terribly.

Moved by this, his Imperial Father had issued a decree for King Yan Nan to return to the capital early.

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