Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch.24 - Exposed

Old Master Cheng has been concealing this fact for more than ten years, and even didn't trust his own wife and biological sons. Now that Cheng Yujin has broken into the secret, will the Old Master let her left with her life? Even if the Old Master was willing, how about the crown prince?

Cheng Yujin covered her mouth even tighter, reducing her breathing into almost non-existent. The agarwood scent was filling the room, and the sunlight shone in from the pane: slowly and heavily.

Old Master Cheng's voice was feeble and hoarse: "Your Highness, this old subject knows that my time is not much longer. In this life, this old subject never has to toil to earn a living and was frivolous in my youth. Now in old age, this subject is blessed with children and grandchildren. Although never made any substantial contribution towards the country, it was a smooth life without any regrets. Xuelan is waiting in the afterworld for so long, afraid that she is already tired of waiting. This old subject has no worries, only two things that I can't let go of. One is the incompetence of my Cheng family's descendants, and the other is you, Your Highness."

"Your Highness has been living among the common people for fifteen years. This old subject was lucky enough to meet Your Highness, but I cannot see your return to the Eastern Palace and witnessing your prosperous rule. It is truly the greatest regret of my life."

The Old Master was speaking intermittently and had to stop and rest several times before he could finish. All this time, Cheng Yuanjing was waiting patiently. While listening to the Old Master's words, his eyes swept across a lion-shaped incense burner.

That heavy gilt bronze burner was placed next to a window. The green smoke above it was lightly swaying. There was no wind inside this closed room, why did the smoke sway?

Cheng Yuanjing's gaze fell lightly on the cabinet, sweeping over it as if inadvertently. Old Master Cheng was ignorant of his actions and seemingly was falling into an old memory. He slowly repeated the disappearance of the crown prince in the eight years of Jianwu that shocked the whole country.

"His Royal Highness is a di son of the Middle Palace but your life was so unfortunate and was harmed by a villain. Yang family has been unwilling to let His Majesty crown his Wangfei as the Empress. The matter was dragged for half a year, and only until His Majesty was about to resign from the throne and return to his fief that they finally allowed Zhong Wangfei to be crowned Empress. But no one expected Yang family to be so courageous. Even when the Empress was pregnant, they were unwilling to give up and almost caused her miscarriage. They also caused Your Highness to be born prematurely in weak health. The Empress Dowager said that Your Highness was born in May, that you will bring misfortune, and proposed to establish another crown prince several times. But His Majesty refused. After Empress Zhong passed away, His Majesty took you by his side and personally raised you for three years. Your Highness's health gradually getting better and better, but suddenly fell ill at five years old. The imperial physicians were all helpless. His Majesty had no choice and reluctantly sent you to a Taoist temple in the mountain."

Middle Palace: Refers to the Empress. The palace she resides usually has a different name, though, similar to the Eastern Palace.

"The Emperor originally sent your Highness to the mountain, besides for recuperating, was also to avoid Yang family. Unexpectedly, not too long after, a message came, bringing the news that the temple you were residing was washed away by a mysterious flash flood. It was thunder on a sunny day. His Majesty was devastated. He quickly sent the royal guard to search the mountain. But after three full months, they found nothing."

"After searching the temple area for so long, not even one survivor was found. This incident greatly shocked the country, and the Emperor halted the morning court for half a month, waiting for the news about Your Highness. Seeing His Majesty's attitude, no one dared to suggest the worst possibility and kept looking for Your Highness, treating you as missing." Old Master Cheng couldn't help but shook his head and smiled, "At that time, after hearing the news, this old subject pitied Your Highness' misfortune, and our family also send manpower to support the court search effort. But unexpectedly, this world is full of strange fate: Xuelan accidentally picked up your Highness."