DCPRT Chapter 68

You Yusui had never expected that his maternal grandfather would have prepared so many things for him — food, drink, entertainment, clothing, shelter, and travel, all without exception. Even the trousseau of a noble daughter from a prominent family would not have been as complete as what he had here. You Yusui even felt that if he were actually getting married, his maternal grandfather would truly have prepared ten li of red bridal gifts for him.

Watching all of this, You Fengyun could not help but call You Yusui over from the convoy. He stretched out his hand and pointed at the hundred-odd carriages and the procession of over a thousand people, saying, “Are you going on an outing? Or are you going to investigate a case? Do you not understand the principle of alerting the snake by disturbing the grass?”

You Fengyun threw out all three questions in rapid succession with a cold expression. Anyone else might have hemmed and hawed without being able to answer, but You Yusui handled it with ease.

“Father Emperor, the snake was alarmed long ago,” You Yusui said, looking at the ruler standing stiffly before him.

When You Yuyi and You Yushan had both gone missing, the people of Dayang County in Hedong Commandery had already known that the court had sent someone to investigate them. So the snake had already been alarmed long ago — regardless of whether You Yusui traveled conspicuously or disguised himself in a low-key manner, the people over there had already prepared their defenses.

And so, You Yusui, who had come to his senses and resolved never to put himself through hardship again, naturally chose to do things in whatever way was most comfortable for himself. He could make others suffer, but never himself.

You Fengyun looked at You Yusui before him with a measure of helplessness. When he saw that Lord Xie had even prepared a chamber pot, he felt even more speechless — Zhen’s son had been completely pampered and raised as a daughter.

“Since that is the case, this son has no choice but to travel conspicuously and draw everyone’s attention,” You Yusui said with a smile.

You Fengyun quickly understood what You Yusui meant — he himself would be out in the open, attracting everyone’s attention, while some people would work in the shadows to track down evidence and find out where the disaster relief funds had gone.

“As long as you can get the matter done,” You Fengyun said, looking at You Yusui.

“This son will naturally not fail to live up to Father Emperor’s expectations,” You Yusui said, lowering his gaze.

You Yusui could naturally get the matter done — because he had long since known where the account books and the disaster relief funds had been hidden. This trip was nothing more than going to retrieve the evidence and the stolen money; he would not even need to deal with the local officials and powerful clans of Dayang County.

After all, he had been reborn fifteen times. In those fifteen lives, whenever his health had held up or he had not died ahead of time, he had taken on the heavy responsibility of investigating the case in Dayang County of Hedong Commandery. The first time had been a matter of life and death, and he had gone through many twists and turns before finally obtaining the evidence. With that first attempt as a foundation, subsequent times had been considerably easier.

Moreover, You Yusui had already anticipated that those powerful clans would lash out in their death throes, which was precisely why he had deliberately requested from You Fengyun the tiger tally that could mobilize the nearby troops. From the very beginning, he had never intended to spare any of their lives.

As for finding You Yuyi and You Yushan — this was the first time You Yusui had encountered a situation where an investigation had caused him to lose his own people in the process. He could only hope that his good brothers would be able to fend for themselves.

“All right, off you go,” You Fengyun said, looking at You Yusui before him.

“Yes.” You Yusui lowered his head in a bow, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

You Fengyun watched the retreating figure of You Yusui and let out a quiet sigh, saying to An Hai at his side. “Why must he be of that birth, with a body so frail as this.”

Eunuch An Hai kept his head lowered and did not dare to speak. He knew that if the Crown Prince were in good health, possessed his current abilities, harbored ambitions for the throne, and had the support of the great clans, the ruler before him would have thoughts of killing him. Even if the Crown Prince had no desire to contend for the throne, the ruler’s suspicions would still drive him to his death.

Things were much better as they were now — the Crown Prince’s health was poor, he was capable yet showed no passion for power, and before the ruler grew old, the Crown Prince would remain safe.

“The Crown Prince is a person of good fortune who enjoys Heaven’s protection, and besides, His Majesty is still very young. I have heard that several consorts in the palace are again with joyful news,” An Hai said with a smile. “Who knows whether it will be a little princess or a little imperial prince.”

When his words fell, a smile appeared on You Fengyun’s face.

“Let us go. Return to the palace.”

“Yes.” An Hai responded with a smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cui Yan had thought that once the Crown Prince left Chang’an, he would have some peace and quiet. But when someone dragged him onto the Crown Prince’s convoy, he was completely stunned.

“Imperial Physician Cui, we truly apologize for only informing you now about accompanying the party. There was a great deal to attend to for the Crown Prince’s departure, and in our busy state we forgot. We offer you our apologies here, and hope that you, as a magnanimous person, will not hold it against those of lesser standing.”

The Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace guards said this as they bundled Cui Yan into a carriage, their manner perfectly proper and respectful, their words sincere and earnest, leaving Cui Yan utterly unable to find any fault with them.

And yet—!

The Crown Prince was departing, and they had actually forgotten to notify the accompanying imperial physician to come along — was that even reasonable? It was not!

Even if the Crown Prince could not remember his existence, would Lord Xie — who had even packed a chamber pot for the Crown Prince — actually forget? And so Cui Yan could say with absolute certainty that the Crown Prince had done this on purpose.

Cui Yan sighed. He looked at the empty carriage and could not help but sigh again. Not a single change of clothes or daily necessity had he brought along. What young master of a prominent family had it as bad as him?

Just then, someone came running up to deliver several large trunks of things, calling out. “Is Imperial Physician Cui present? My master has sent me to deliver these items for Imperial Physician Cui.”

Cui Yan opened the window to look — those who had come running were servants of the Xie household. He let out a cold laugh inwardly. At least Xie Tan had some conscience.

He heard the Xie family servant say, “My master has instructed me to tell you — please take good care of His Highness.”

Cui Yan fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then opened his mouth and said to the Xie family servant, “Ask your master whether he knows that the peony flower he has been tending is actually a tyrant flower?”

The Xie family servant froze on the spot, expression blank, and let out a “Huh?” from his lips.

Cui Yan let out a sigh. It seemed that in this entire world, only he alone knew the true nature of this so-called peony flower.

“Never mind. Bring the trunks up for me.”

The Xie family servant was quick and nimble. Once the carriage Cui Yan was riding in had come to a stop, he loaded the trunks into Cui Yan’s carriage in just a few movements.

“Everything has been put away, Imperial Physician Cui. This servant will take his leave now,” the Xie family servant said.

Cui Yan gave a nod and said, “Please convey my thanks to your master.”

When those words fell, the servant had already gone, and Cui Yan began opening the trunks to see what his good friend Xie Tan had brought him.

The result — medicinal herbs. Medicinal herbs. Nothing but medicinal herbs.

Cui Yan looked at the medicinal herbs in his hands and could not help but feel a pang in his chest. Good heavens — it was all fine fertilizer prepared for the peony flower.

At that very moment, You Yusui, sitting inside his carriage, let out a sneeze. After rubbing his nose, he had the nagging feeling that someone was cursing him.

“Has Your Highness caught a chill?” Huo Xiling, who was riding on horseback beside You Yusui’s carriage, asked.

“It is nothing. Someone has just cursed this prince once,” You Yusui said, the corners of his mouth curving upward. Imperial Physician Cui was probably sitting in his carriage cursing him roundly, he thought.

“Very well,” Huo Xiling said, feeling somewhat relieved.

The next moment, he heard You Yusui say from inside the carriage. “Xiling, I am feeling a little unwell. Let us travel a little further, and then we shall rest.”

Huo Xiling could not quite make out what You Yusui had in mind, and could only respond with a sound of assent.

And so, after the Crown Prince’s convoy had traveled fewer than fifty li, they set up camp at a post station. And the Crown Prince himself was so delicate that he had to be carried out to personally request the post station’s local specialty dishes.

The post station official thought: …Your Highness, this is only fifty li from Chang’an! What specialty dishes could there possibly be?

But since the Crown Prince had specifically requested specialty dishes, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and make do.

Over on his end, You Fengyun had also received word of how far You Yusui had traveled. As he listened to the secret guard’s report, he could not help but fly into a rage. “In a whole day, he traveled fifty li — is this a leisure trip or an investigation? Even walking, one could cover more than a hundred li! And he is riding in a carriage!”

You Fengyun had only just finished speaking when Xie Yi, who had come to see him, happened to overhear. Immediately greatly alarmed, he exclaimed, “What? Suisui actually traveled more than fifty li — what an exhausting journey that must have been!”

His Suisui had dragged his ailing body more than fifty li, and His Majesty still found fault with him for it. Xie Yi could not comprehend it, and felt that You Fengyun was being far too harsh on the Crown Prince.

You Fengyun could not help but look at this elder official who had suddenly entered the palace, feeling that Lord Xie’s understanding of fifty li was perhaps a little different from his own.

“What brings Lord Xie here?” You Fengyun asked.

He could not understand what urgent matter Xie Yi could have that would bring him to the palace when night was nearly falling.

“This subject wishes to send fresh vegetables and fruits to His Highness the Crown Prince along the way,” Xie Yi said.

Clatter — the writing brush in You Fengyun’s hand dropped onto the table.

“This is the urgent matter that has you rushing to see Zhen when night is almost upon us?” You Fengyun asked with great difficulty.

“But to this subject, this is the most pressing matter of all,” Xie Yi said pitifully. “The moment this subject thinks of His Highness the Crown Prince being unable to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, the ache in this subject’s heart is unbearable.”

“He is already at the post station asking others for their specialty dishes! And you still want to send him things!” You Fengyun was astounded.

Xie Yi let out a cold snort and said, “When His Majesty was young and went out hunting, did he not trample a great many of the common people’s crops? What does it matter if this subject merely sends along some vegetables and fruits?”

You Fengyun felt a twinge of pain listening to Xie Yi make ready to dredge up old accounts from his youth, and then said, “All right, all right. If you wish to send them, then send them. Why come and ask Zhen?”

He saw Xie Yi adopt an expression of tearful grief and say, “Naturally this subject feared that those remonstrating officials might slander His Highness, saying that he is extravagant and wasteful without limit.”

When those words fell, You Fengyun fixed Xie Yi with a look that said “so you do know he is extravagant.”

In the end, through Xie Yi’s tactic of opening his mouth to dredge up old accounts at the slightest opportunity, he finally succeeded in raising the standard of treatment for You Yusui’s journey by one level, wresting the concession from You Fengyun.

You Fengyun watched the old man leave in high spirits and could not help but say with disdain, “The Crown Prince will probably put on a few more jin when he returns this time.”

Eunuch An Hai at his side wanted to remind His Majesty that the Crown Prince was very thin, and that putting on weight would be a blessing.

At that moment, inside the post station, You Yusui was smoking Imperial Physician Cui’s specially prepared tobacco and lazily raised his eyes to glance at the specialty dishes the post station official had brought before him, and could not help but show a puzzled expression.

“They… are they unable to understand this prince’s hints?”

You Yusui turned the pipe over in his hand, thinking to himself — he had clearly been asking for bribes.

Beside him, Imperial Physician Cui was on the verge of laughing himself into a honking fit. He said, “Your Highness, that is not how one solicits a bribe.”

He saw You Yusui look toward Cui Yan with a solemn expression. Cui Yan felt his scalp prickle under the gaze.

“You know how?”

He did not!

“From now on, you will be the one to solicit bribes.” With those words, You Yusui assigned the task to Cui Yan, leaving Cui Yan no room to refuse.

Then You Yusui pointed at Huo Xiling and said, “From here on out, you two are this prince’s closest attendants — and also two great and insatiable corrupt officials, greedy without end, accepting all manner of wealth. Known throughout as the Twin Corrupt Officials of the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace!”

“……”

“……”

“Yes, Your Highness.”