"This servant was waiting for Your Highness, of course."
Li Dehai hurried forward with small, anxious steps, his expression steeped in helplessness.
"At last, Your Highness has returned. His Majesty instructed that you report to the imperial study the moment you set foot inside the palace."
"So urgent?"
Yun Shu did not miss a beat. She turned toward the familiar path leading to the imperial study as she asked, brow slightly furrowed.
"Has something happened?"
"This servant is not privy to the details," Li Dehai said carefully.
He hesitated, then added another line—perhaps considering Yun Shu's importance in Emperor Xuanwu's eyes.
"However, the Right Prime Minister paid a visit earlier."
"The Right Prime Minister?"
After the failed treason of the former Crown Prince, the previous Right Prime Minister and his household had been executed in full.
The current Right Prime Minister was none other than Yun Chuhuan's maternal grandfather.
What matter could he possibly have?
Could it be that he, too, had caught wind of the Eldest Prince's recent maneuvering?
With several questions lingering in her mind, Yun Shu stepped into the imperial study—and was immediately greeted by a sharp, sweeping gaze from Emperor Xuanwu.
Judging by his overall demeanor, he seemed relatively at ease today. Not quite the same dark mood from before. That was a good sign. At least, it did not appear she had accidentally turned another man into a woman this time.
Emperor Xuanwu quietly exhaled, disguising the motion as nothing more than a subtle shift. Only then did he slowly speak.
"We heard that you left the palace in haste just after meeting with General Lu. Is that so?"
"Yes. Your Daughter went to find Eldest Brother."
Went to find the Eldest Prince?
The thought flickered across Emperor Xuanwu's mind like lightning. Did this little scoundrel strike him again?
It certainly sounded like something she would do.
Emperor Xuanwu realized he might have relaxed too soon. His brow creased anew.
"What did you go to see your Eldest Brother about?"
"I just…"
Yun Shu glanced upward at the carved beam above her head. Slowly, that familiar look of false obedience settled onto her face.
"Father Emperor, would you prefer to hear the truth, or a lie?"
Emperor Xuanwu said nothing for a moment.
He leaned back into his chair with an expression devoid of emotion. "A lie."
"Then Your Daughter simply heard some unsettling words from General Wei Yuan and, fearing they might cause discord between him and Eldest Brother, I went to offer some words of consolation."
Yun Shu sighed with utmost solemnity, looking as though she carried the entire weight of filial duty upon her shoulders.
"Father Emperor, you are unaware of what Your Daughter had to endure. General Wei Yuan actually came storming in, asking whether the assassins at Tian Waitian Restaurant that day were sent by Bei Xiang.
The moment I heard such a question, I knew someone must have whispered poison into his ear. Everyone knows General Wei Yuan is firmly aligned with the Eldest Prince. If he, in his usual impulsiveness, had gone about repeating such accusations, others might easily suspect this was all part of the Eldest Prince's scheme. That would be… most unfortunate."
"Enough."
At first, Emperor Xuanwu had merely found her story ridiculous, but slowly, his face took on a darker, weightier expression.
"You mean to say that your Eldest Brother and his faction have already discovered the true identity of those assassins?"
"Not only that."
Yun Shu's expression crumpled, slipping swiftly into aggrieved complaint.
"Your Daughter suspects he may have even uncovered what happened at the estate outside the city.
Father Emperor, you do not know just how excessive Eldest Brother has become. He actually used General Wei Yuan to dose Your Daughter with Itch Dust."
Yun Shu recounted how General Wei Yuan had broken out in a sudden rash during their conversation, prompting her to summon an imperial physician for examination.
Frowning, she continued.
"Your Daughter suspects that the Eldest Prince wished to spread rumors suggesting I had contracted smallpox. That is why he had General Wei Yuan carry the dust and ensured I would be exposed right before venturing outside the palace, just in time for the red welts to appear.
Father Emperor, Your Daughter is frightened."
"What is there to fear?"
Emperor Xuanwu was not a man easily fooled. He had been steeped in the games of power and deception long before the Eldest Prince ever drew breath.
Now, burning with fury after confirming his eldest son's treachery, hearing Yun Shu suddenly voice fear in such a soft, pitiful tone only stoked the flames further.
His voice, when he spoke again, came sharper than intended.
"You are the heir to the throne. And no one said the heir to the throne is not allowed to care about her appearance."
Yun Shu, thoroughly displeased, lifted her chin in protest.
"Father Emperor were born handsome, of course you wouldn't understand. But Your Daughter is about to erupt in a rash across her face. The physician said it might not be severe, but what if it is? What if I end up looking like General Wei Yuan?
Even if I retreat and avoid being seen these next few days, what if the rash leaves scars? It took a great deal of fortune and fate for this face to turn out as it did. If it gets ruined now, Your Daughter will suffer a tremendous loss."
Emperor Xuanwu stared at her in silence.
Others were conspiring to strip her of her title as heir—perhaps even her life—and yet this child was fretting about her complexion?
All the rage he had been gathering suddenly scattered like windblown dust.
For a moment, he did not know whether to be proud of Yun Shu's composure and calm in the face of crisis or exasperated by her persistent lack of propriety.
"You…"
Emperor Xuanwu paused, then made a deliberate effort to steer the conversation back to its proper course.
"Have you considered the possibility that Lu Jingkun was not merely used, but fully aware of the Eldest Prince's plans?"
"That seems unlikely."
Yun Shu gave the matter a brief but serious moment of thought, then shook her head without hesitation.
"General Wei Yuan is a straightforward man, perhaps even a little dull. He did not seem to be acting."
"Very well."
Emperor Xuanwu had not forgotten that it was Xiao Wu alone who had witnessed the general's reaction in that crucial moment.
Since even Xiao Wu believed the general was an unwitting pawn and not intentionally trying to transfer the Itch Dust onto Yun Shu, Emperor Xuanwu decided he would let the matter rest—for now.
But as for the Eldest Prince…
A sharp light flashed in his eyes. His chin dipped ever so slightly in acknowledgment.
"And what do you intend to do next?"
"If Your Daughter's deductions are correct, Eldest Brother's original plan was to first release rumors of smallpox. With the Itch Dust causing rashes on Your Daughter's face, the public would naturally draw their own conclusions. I would have no means to clarify.
Citizens would then believe I knowingly contracted smallpox and yet, for my own selfish purposes, chose to keep Tian Waitian Restaurant open. That would lead to condemnation, perhaps even panic.
Everything Your Daughter has worked so hard to build—all the goodwill among the people—would collapse overnight. Once public sentiment turns, and I find myself distracted and cornered, he would take the opportunity to ensure I truly contract the disease.
In that case, even if I perish under this scheme, the people would simply see it as divine retribution. If he then replaces me as heir, there would be no lingering affection in the people's hearts that might breed resentment toward him.
Even the court, for the sake of preserving the reputation of its new heir, would be forced to—"
"Enough. We did not ask you to lay the whole plot bare."
He had suspected as much, but hearing it spoken aloud made Emperor Xuanwu's anger rise anew.