Proud Feather

Chapter 144 Gift
Xiao Yu frowned: "Senior brother, what did you say?"

“I say, this poison is seven-tenths similar to the one you were poisoned with!” Master Lingxu said. “If I’m not mistaken, it should be a formula with additions and subtractions.”

"..." Xiao Yu turned her head, "Yanshan, where is Mr. Gongsun?"

The servant hurriedly replied, "I'll go find it right away!"

Not long after, Gongsun Hong arrived.

Wu Zhiyong closed the gate and ordered someone to guard it.

Xiao Yu tapped the table: "Senior brother, according to you, the poison in my body and the poison this person was afflicted with are from the same source, is that right?"

Master Lingxu nodded: "Indeed. Who exactly is this person? Where did the princess find him?"

This is a difficult question to answer. Gongsun Hong glanced at his young master and replied, "Daoist, we shouldn't say too much about the princess's affairs, but we roughly know where the poison she was poisoned came from."

Master Lingxu noticed something amiss on their faces, dipped his teacup in it, wrote a character on the table, and then asked, "Is it correct?"

He wrote the character "二" (two), and Gongsun Hong nodded.

Master Lingxu then gave a cold laugh.

Although he didn't get involved in royal affairs much, as the chief disciple of the Imperial Preceptor and in charge of the royal Taoist temple, how could he not know the sordid affairs within?

"Your uncle poisoned you?"

Xiao Yu slowly said, "I have no evidence, this is just a guess."

Gongsun Hong said, "The young master's eyes started to show abnormalities in the middle of the year, and by August he was completely blind. We have traced the events back, and it seems that someone tampered with them at the Dowager Consort's place."

Master Lingxu understood. The fact that they could manipulate things at the Empress Dowager's place meant they had the ability to infiltrate the inner quarters. Of the entire Xining Prince's Mansion, Xiao Huan, who held power, was naturally the most suspicious. Furthermore, with Xiao Yu in trouble, he was the one who benefited the most.

After all, Xiao Yu has grown up and is gradually taking over military power, so Xiao Huan will have to step down to the second line.

But now that they know the origin of the poison, a new problem arises.

"Who's behind the Second Master?" Gongsun Hong thought for a moment, then found it strange. "Isn't it unnecessary? As long as he holds military power, the court can't do without him. Why would there be a need to choose sides? Besides, the Crown Prince was still alive at the time..."

When Chu Yi was still alive, no one doubted that he would not be able to ascend the throne. Xiao Huan was not stupid; he would take such a gamble to cause trouble for the Crown Prince.

Master Lingxu, being a monk, was not interested in such matters. He simply said, "Think about it some more. Things may not be so simple. I'll go and develop the antidote now."

Before leaving, he paused: "By the way, was the Crown Prince also poisoned by this same poison?"

Xiao Yu nodded.

A look of melancholy crossed Master Lingxu's face. Finally, he sighed deeply, opened the door, and went out.
-
Having delegated tasks to his underlings, Chu Ling hasn't been idle these past few days, delivering holiday gifts to various families.

This matter originally did not require her attention; the palace would have had eunuchs deliver the festival gifts. However, the emperor saw that she was constantly causing trouble for Consort Xian, so he spoke up.

Chu Ling happily accepted the task and watched as the eunuchs prepared gifts.

The first place to send gifts is the Prince of Fu's Mansion.

Within the imperial clan, Prince Fu, being of high seniority and presiding over the Imperial Clan Court, was undoubtedly the most important person.

Chu Ling had a very good impression of Prince Fu. This Grand Master of Ceremonies was very proper and never acted arrogantly because of his seniority. He was also able to restrain his juniors and prevent them from acting recklessly.

She remembered that in her previous life, after Chu He ascended the throne, he treated his father's funeral carelessly and was scolded by Prince Fu. Unfortunately, he was already old and passed away not long after, and from then on, no one in the imperial clan could restrain Chu He.

The princess personally delivered the festival gifts, much to the astonishment of the Prince of Fu's residence.

Crown Prince Chu Guangji hurriedly put down what he was doing and came to greet Chu Ling. "Such a small matter as sending festival gifts, why bother the princess? Please sit down, and let the eunuchs handle it."

Chu Ling smiled and said, "Uncle Ji, don't be so polite. I was just idling around anyway, so I took on a task from Father Emperor. Look, I specially picked these out for the Grand Minister of Rites..."

There were set rules for festival gifts in the palace, including items such as medicine, silk, wine and food. However, the types of medicine, the quality of silk, and the quality of wine and food varied, and it was easy to tell whether the person preparing the gift had put their heart into it.

The Crown Princess nodded secretly after reviewing the festival gifts. People usually said the princess was willful, but now she was quite capable. Look at those satins, each with different patterns; she had considered everyone in the household, young and old. Although her family wasn't lacking in such things, these were imperial gifts—both prestigious and practical. Who wouldn't like them?

So she warmly thanked Chu Ling and chatted casually.

Chu Ling said, "Father is doing well, but he's been too busy during the New Year. He's either reviewing memorials or meeting with his husbands. I feel tired for him. Consort Shu is also doing well. The imperial physician is always by her side, and she's focusing on her pregnancy. Consort Xian is also busy. She's managing all the palace affairs now... By the way, is Grand Minister of State in there? I'll go see him."

The Crown Prince and his wife readily agreed, and the Crown Prince led her to the back garden.

Prince Fu was not alone; he was chatting and playing chess with Prince Kang.

"Grand Master!" Chu Ling called out.

Prince Fu was a little hard of hearing and could not hear clearly. He was distracted and took a wrong step, then asked Prince Kang, "Did you just say something? Were you deliberately harassing me?"

Seeing that he was about to win, King Kang was secretly delighted and immediately denied it: "Who did it on purpose? Uncle, how can you frame someone like that? I didn't say anything!"

"Grand Minister! Over here!"

King Kang heard this and exclaimed, "Huh?" as he turned his head: "There really is someone here?"

Chu Ling ran up to them with a grin: "It's me! Uncle Kang, so you're here too!"

King Kang looked closely and exclaimed in surprise, "Princess? What brings you here?"

"I've come to deliver a festival gift to the Grand Minister of Rites!" Chu Ling turned around with a smile. "Grand Minister of Rites, I've come to see you on behalf of my father, the Emperor."

Prince Fu, trembling, tried to rise to express his gratitude, but she pressed him down again: "Don't move. My father sent me to visit our elders. If I trouble you, wouldn't that be letting down his good intentions?"

Seeing her sincere expression, Prince Fu couldn't help but smile: "Your Majesty's concern moves this old minister to tears. Please trouble the princess to go back and tell Your Majesty that, thanks to Your Majesty's blessings, this old minister is doing well!"

"That's good." Chu Ling looked around. "Are the Grand Minister of State and Prince Kang playing chess? Why is there no one serving them? How about I make you some tea? I recently learned how to make tea from Qiu Niang, but Father Emperor is too busy and never has time to drink it."

"How can this be?" The Prince of Fu hurriedly declined, "How can a princess of noble birth do this kind of work?"

"What's wrong with that?" Chu Ling looked at him with a smile. "I'm happy to!"

The Prince of Fu was about to speak again when his wife secretly pinched him, and he finally agreed: "Then... Princess, please feel free to do as you please?"

Chu Ling was satisfied: "Third Uncle and Third Aunt, go ahead and do your work! It's too noisy in the palace. I'll just stay here with the Grand Minister of Rites for a while and have some peace and quiet."

The Crown Prince understood and bowed as he and his wife withdrew.

As the two left the garden, they turned around and saw Chu Ling sitting quietly between the two princes, not letting the palace servants help her, and slowly fanning the stove herself.

The Crown Princess sighed, "It's too noisy in the palace... The princess is not one to be afraid of crowds. She must have been wronged, but His Majesty couldn't attend to her, so she came to Father's place."

"Is it really that bad?" Prince Fu's son didn't believe it. "The princess seems happy and cheerful, not like she's been wronged."

"What do you know?" The Crown Princess glared at her husband. "The princess just said that His Majesty is busy with state affairs, Consort Shu is taking care of her pregnancy, and Consort Xian is managing palace affairs. So why is there noise in the palace? They are clearly troubled by something!"

　I've been going to the hospital a lot lately, so updates will only be sporadic for now. Please feel free to browse at your own pace. I'll update you once the follow-up treatment is determined.

　　(End of this chapter)