Due to Xiao Jin's injured arm, when she returned to capital, it was already the next day.
Last night, it had just rained lightly in the capital. The sky was dimly lit, and the roads were still damp.
Old Zhang had been waiting at the gate of the Prince Yan's Mansion for a long time.
Although he hadn't seen his master in a long time, Old Zhang still put on a smiling face and rehearsed the words he was going to say in his mind.
However, reality was always cruel. When Xiao Jin appeared in front of him, Old Zhang's smile froze on his face, and he was too stunned to say a word.
He just stared at the white silk covering her eyes, wondering if his master had gone to Qingzhou for sightseeing or had followed the Fifth Prince to hunt.
Before Old Zhang could compose himself and shed a few tears, Xiao Jin asked, "Old Zhang, I remember that before leaving the capital, I asked you to keep Su Tan in the mansion as a guest."
Old Zhang knew Xiao Jin was getting down to business, so he stopped preparing himself and thought about his answer, "Yes, I followed your order and treated Su Tan as an honored guest. I also arranged a separate room for her to stay."
"Very well." Although Xiao Jin couldn't see, she could hear from Old Zhang's tone that he was taking care of things seriously.
She was about to praise him when he said, "However, Su Tan went out to visit his relatives recently and hasn't returned yet."
Xiao Jin's words of praise got stuck in her throat.
After a moment of silence, she slowly turned her head and stared at Old Zhang, "Visit her relatives? Where could she go to visit her relatives after Yao Country fell?"
Old Zhang still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation and only felt that his master's complexion was not good.
He nodded and said, "Yes, she left a few days ago. She shouldn't have gone far. If Your Highness needs to find her, I can...I can..."
Seeing that Old Zhang couldn't explain anything, Xiao Jin rubbed her forehead and said, "Never mind, you can leave now."
Old Zhang was relieved and was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly remembered something, "Your Highness, tomorrow is Princess Zhao Hua's birthday. The palace is holding a banquet in the Qionglin Hall, and the Emperor and Princess Zhao Yang will both attend."
Old Zhang paused here and stole a glance at Xiao Jin's expression before continuing cautiously, "The Empress Dowager sent someone to invite you yesterday, hoping that you could also attend."
Xiao Jin certainly knew about this matter, as Tang Ling had come all the way to Qingzhou to pass on the message.
However...
"Look at me now. Can I still go?" Her tone was very calm, but the implication was clear.
She didn't want to go to this banquet.
Since she learned that Blood Rain Pavilion might be involved in the power struggle and Xiao Shuang was connected to the Fourth Prince. Moreover, the Empress Dowager was not the original owner's birth mother. For Xiao Jin, tomorrow's birthday banquet was no different from the Hongmen Banquet. She didn't want to be set up by someone in secret.
Old Zhang looked worried and said, "Your Highness, tomorrow's banquet is not only Princess Zhao Hua's birthday banquet, but also a celebration for Qi Country's victory."
"A celebration for victory?" Xiao Jin was surprised.
Old Zhang finally showed some joy on his face when he mentioned it, "Yes, my apologies, I almost forgot to tell Your Highness. Fifth Prince returned to the court yesterday after finishing his mission in Quzhao country. Our army won and conquered the cities of Quzhao country!"
Xiao Jin frowned and thought for a long time before she remembered who the Fifth Prince was and what Quzhao country was.
She couldn't blame herself for forgetting this because she had been in Qingzhou for too long and had too many trivial matters to deal with. Besides, the Fifth Prince had not been around her all the time, so she almost forgot about him.
Now that Old Zhang had reminded her, she remembered that on the eve of her departure from the capital, Ye Juege told her that the Fifth Prince went to fight in Quzhao country.
This matter was not important in itself, but the key point was that attacking Quzhao country seemed to be the original owner's plan.
Even Ye Juege, the original owner's confidant, was sent to the front line to assist the Fifth Prince.
Could it be that the original owner had a good relationship with the Fifth Prince and wanted to support him intentionally?
If that was the case, then she would have to attend tomorrow's banquet. Xiao Jin felt a headache thinking about all these entanglements, so she nodded and said, "I understand, you can go now."
Old Zhang felt bitter in his heart. He had only talked to the Prince for a few words, and he was asked to leave every time.
And after saying so much, Xiao Jin still didn't indicate whether she would go or not.
Unfortunately, the expression of the person in front of him was too cold.
Old Zhang had to respectfully retire and planned to ask again in the study at night. It's also a coincidence that Old Zhang had just left, and Chu Shao came right after.
She wanted to change medicine for Xiao Jin, but when she approached, she found that the other party's eyebrows were furrowed tightly.
So she reached out and placed her fingertips on Xiao Jin's brow.
From the center of the brow to the tip, she smoothed it out without a trace.
Although Xiao Jin couldn't see Chu Shao's face, she could hear the smile in her voice: "Your Highness, you furrow your brow too much. You'll get wrinkles on your forehead."
Hearing this, Xiao Jin was slightly surprised.
Chu Shao actually cares whether wrinkles appear on her face.
She was unexpected, but she still had to maintain her composure and whispered, "It seems that the Princess doesn't like wrinkles on others' faces... What should I do? I'm much older than you and will definitely get white hair and wrinkles earlier."
This was just a joke.
The original owner was only in her twenties, almost the same age as Chu Shao, and if there were wrinkles, they would probably appear together.
Unexpectedly, Chu Shao laughed and said, "Is that so? But Your Highness is not an outsider."
Xiao Jin was slightly stunned before reacting. She didn't expect Chu Shao's focus to be on the first half of the sentence, rather than her slightly pretentious second half.
For a moment, she didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. According to the usual routine, Xiao Jin should ask, "What am I to you?"
But this sentence was too outdated and suspicious.
In the end, Xiao Jin couldn't step over the hurdle in her heart and say the words. But someone else said it for her.
Although Chu Shao knew that Xiao Jin couldn't see her, she still looked at her tenderly. She gently touched her lips and smiled, "Your Highness is not an outsider, but the person who pleases this Princess's heart.
Therefore, no matter how you change, in this Princess's eyes, you are always the same."
"The same what?"
Xiao Jin's heartbeat quickened again.
Chu Shao looked at the white veil covering Xiao Jin's eyes and smiled, "The same that pleases me."
After a moment of silence, Xiao Jin didn't answer.
She just pursed her lips into a line, feeling that although these words and flirtations were outdated, they were especially moving when spoken seriously by Chu Shao.
Chu Shao noticed Xiao Jin's discomfort and didn't say anything more.
She chuckled lightly and turned to serious matters, "Your Highness, this time you returned to the capital to inquire about the whereabouts of the Half-jade Seal. Since you have returned to the Prince Yan's Mansion, why didn't you go find Su Tan first?"
Xiao Jin had told Chu Shao about what Empress Ning had said, so she didn't hide anything and told her everything in detail.
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, Chu Shao frowned slightly and asked softly, "This is somewhat strange. Yao Country has already been destroyed. Apart from Su Fu, the son of the Marquis of Pingcheng, where else can Su Tan find distant relatives to investigate?"
Xiao Jin asked, "Does the Princess also think there is something unusual about this?"
Chu Shao nodded, "It is widely known that Su Tan and Su Fu are not on good terms. Why would Su Tan go to Xinyao to visit him?"
After hearing this, Xiao Jin frowned slightly, "How does the Princess know... that Su Tan is not on good terms with Su Fu?"
"This was well known in Yao Country before," Chu Shao answered naturally.
Xiao Jin vaguely felt that Chu Shao seemed to know Su Tan, but she didn't continue to ask for specific reasons, and said, "If it were in the past, I could send Bai Zhu to investigate. He is good at tracking and if he moves fast enough, he should be able to find out where Su Tan went."
"But he is injured now and should not carry out any tasks,"
Chu Shao smiled softly and said, "Your Highness can use General Ye."
Xiao Jin shook her head, "Aunt Zhao Yang has always been kind to Juege. If she is threatened with something in the future, she will also be in a difficult position."
The implication was that she would not entrust this matter to Ye Juege.
Chu Shao's smile deepened, "If Your Highness can't find a suitable candidate, why not let me look for Su Tan?"
"What others can do, I can do too." Xiao Jin also knew that Chu Shao's abilities exceeded the original setting of the book.
But she still didn't want Chu Shao to get involved in these things.
What others can do, of course, Chu Shao can do too. She can even do it better.
But for her, Chu Shao is not someone else, not like anyone else.
So Xiao Jin said slowly, "I treat others as they treat me, just like the Princess treats me. The Princess has never regarded me as someone else, so I won't regard you as an outsider."
Chu Shao was slightly stunned, but just looked at Xiao Jin without speaking.
Xiao Jin couldn't see anything, so she couldn't make eye contact with Chu Shao. She just touched the armrest of the wheelchair and said, "Therefore, let outsiders handle this matter. Princess doesn't have to worry too much. I already have a plan in mind."
Chu Shao smiled again, "Okay."
Xiao Jin remembered what Old Zhang had just said and narrowed her eyes, but she followed Chu Shao in laughing, "Moreover, the Princess will accompany me to the palace banquet tomorrow. There will be many guests at the banquet, and there should be a good show. Don't miss it."
....
It was already May, and the peonies in the Qionglin Palace were in full bloom.
The peonies are plump like beautiful women, whether they are decorated in tile pots or stone jars, adding a touch of elegance and luxury to the surroundings.
Today is the birthday banquet of Princess Zhao Hua. Except for the imperial relatives and aristocrats, all the officials present are fifth-ranking or higher officials in the court.
Although Xiao Jin's legs are completely disabled, she is still a prince and also holds the title of General of the State.
Therefore, she sits in a very prominent position next to the crown prince.
Usually, because of her illness, she avoided many complicated affairs. She didn't have to get up early to attend court, nor did she have to fulfill her official duties.
But today, she cannot avoid being arranged to perform in front of everyone.
If she wants to get along peacefully, it is definitely impossible. After all, when Xiao Jin and Chu Shao were pushed into the hall by Ye Juege, everyone's eyes were glued to them.
At first glance, they were definitely shocked by Chu Shao's beauty. At the second glance, most of them were because of the white silk covering her eyes.
Compared to being questioned about her vacant gaze, Xiao Jin felt it was better to make a high-profile statement and let everyone know that she was blind.
This way, she could avoid many troubles.
As expected, regardless of their rank, gender, or age, everyone present was stunned when they saw Xiao Jin. Who is this?
Although most people can catch the key words such as wheelchair and accompanied by a peerless beauty, the Prince Yan is not blind.
Moreover, she only lost her legs and not her arms.
It wasn't until the wheelchair was pushed to the empty seat next to the crown prince that everyone realized that their thinking might be correct.
But how could it be correct?
How could this be?
The first one to recover was Princess Zhao Hua, who was sitting next to Emperor Qi.
She looked at the white gauze covering Xiao Jin's eyes and suddenly felt dizzy.
Her hand holding the cup was trembling slightly as she said, "Jin'er, what's wrong with you? How could this happen..."
The Empress also turned pale and stood up unconsciously, staring blankly at Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin herself appeared calm and even raised her hand to touch the gauze on her eyes, saying, "To respond to Aunt Zhao Hua, I just encountered some bandits while traveling and accidentally injured my eyes."
To prove that she was really okay, Xiao Jin even added, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," in front of everyone's eyes.
After hearing Xiao Jin's words, the ministers attending the banquet were all stunned.
Was the Prince Yan really such a broad-minded person?
Her eyes were blind, and it didn't matter?
Not to mention that Princess Zhao Hua didn't believe it, even Emperor Qi sitting on the high seat couldn't help but speak in a deep voice, "Nonsense! You're injured like this, and you still say you're okay."
"..."Xiao Jin tried to explain, "Father, your son is really fine."
However, Emperor Qi didn't listen to Xiao Jin's explanation at all.
He glanced at the Crown Prince sitting in the lower seat, and then ordered the eunuch by his side, "Go find the best imperial doctor in the palace and make sure to cure the Prince Yan."
Xiao Jin kindly reminded him, "Father, your son has already consulted a doctor. There's no need to trouble the imperial physician."
"Consulted a doctor? What did the doctor say?" Emperor Qi frowned.
Xiao Jin replied, "He said this is an acute illness, and it's not easy to cure even with medication. Therefore, the best solution is to rest."
Of course, all of this was made up by Xiao Jin.
Emperor Qi was obviously not very satisfied with Xiao Jin's words, "You injured your eyes, how can rest be enough?"
Naturally, Xiao Jin knew that rest was not enough.
Eyes are not hair, they can grow back even if they're gone.
The main reason she didn't want the imperial physician to examine her was that she didn't want them to discover the poison in her body.
She wanted to solve the problem herself, rather than let everyone know about it openly.
Unfortunately, the attitude of Emperor Qi was firm and he insisted on bringing a group of imperial physicians to diagnose her pulse.
Everyone present could only watch in disbelief, wondering if they had entered the palace incorrectly.
What was supposed to be a birthday banquet turned into a discussion of illness.
As it turned out, the nature of this banquet had changed.
It seemed that the Prince Yan was really seriously ill, as every imperial physician who checked her pulse had an expression that could only be described as incredible.
After examining her pulse, the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Zhang Qingyue, wiped the sweat from his forehead and truthfully reported Xiao Jin's condition.
Overall, he was unable to find anything wrong.
However, the poison in her body and the extremely strange pulse were detected accurately.
Upon hearing that the Prince Yan had two kinds of poison in her body, the courtiers were in an uproar.
"Prince Yan is a prince, who would dare to poison her? Could it be that Zhang Taiyi made a mistake in his diagnosis and made some mistake?"
The ministers whispered to each other, "Zhang Taiyi is a student of Baili Taiyi. How could he make a mistake... Moreover, His Majesty is sitting there. Who dares to speak nonsense in front of him?"
Some ministers and court ladies whispered to each other, "As someone who has been in the officialdom for many years, I think that Prince Yan's identity is noble and she must be very careful about what she eats and drinks. Someone close to him must be the one who poisoned her."
Although the voices of the courtiers were small, Emperor Qi could still hear some of the rumors about the royal family. He slammed the table and angrily exclaimed, "This is unacceptable!"
As he pounded the table, everything fell silent.
The imperial physicians also huddled together tremblingly, afraid to speak.
Emperor Qi pointed at them and scolded, "What are you useless people doing with your salaries from the Imperial Medical Bureau? If you can't cure the Prince Yan, you don't need to stay in the Imperial Medical Bureau anymore. Leave the capital city now!"
The imperial physicians were frightened and kept apologizing without saying a word.
The crown prince was originally sitting in his chair, but upon seeing the emperor's anger, he had to kneel and plead, "Father, please calm down."
The fourth prince followed suit and knelt down, shouting, "Father, please calm down." With all the princes kneeling, the ministers in attendance had no choice but to also kneel and beg the emperor to calm down.
Because of Xiao Jin's presence, everyone in the room suffered.
It was supposed to be just a meal and a walk-through, but now things seemed to have become more complicated.
However, the real protagonist, Xiao Jin, who had difficulty walking, did not need to kneel to plead with the emperor.
She calmly sat in her wheelchair, even having the mood to accept the tea handed to her by Chu Shao.
At this point, the courtiers finally realized what was wrong.
The Prince of Yan did not kneel to the emperor because she had an illness in her legs. But why did the Princess also sit without kneeling?
Obviously, Emperor Qi noticed this and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking down at Chu Shao sitting below.
However, Chu Shao's figure was largely blocked by Xiao Jin's wheelchair, so he could not be seen at all.
It was only when Emperor Qi was feeling frustrated that Xiao Jin finally spoke up and advised, "Father, please calm down."
However, her attitude was extremely perfunctory and was even worse than not advising at all.
In fact, Xiao Jin really didn't want to advise.
If it weren't for the fact that he considered that Qi Country still needed a group of imperial physicians and noticed that Chu Shao seemed to be at odds with Emperor Qi, she wouldn't have spoken at all.
With this way out, Emperor Qi finally relented and his face cleared slightly, "Since the Prince of Yan has pleaded for you all, I will spare your lives."
Xiao Jin, who had inexplicably become the scapegoat, thought to himself, "...".
At this point, Emperor Qi suddenly slapped the table again and said sternly, "However, Yao Country is really despicable. They dared to use such insidious means to poison my son!"
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Then several voices echoed in agreement, "Yes, yes, the methods of Yao Country are despicable and they have truly gone too far!"
"When will we bring down the new Yao Country? Let's see how they will continue to be so arrogant."
Xiao Jin had learned to remain silent. It was clear to anyone with eyes who was really the one with despicable, overbearing methods.
The Yao Country was a scapegoat, bearing the blame for everything for thousands of years.
After cursing for a while, the Emperor Qi seemed to have vented his anger and glanced at the Crown Prince sitting below him. He also looked at the empty seats at the table.
Of course, the Emperor Qi knew who those seats belonged to. He frowned and was about to ask about them when a eunuch waved his feather duster and shouted at the top of his voice, "Her Highness Princess Zhao Yang has arrived---the Fifth Prince has arrived---!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator's note: Let the drama begin~.
TO BE CONTINUE...