"Has he made any moves lately?" As the baby in Shen Lixue's belly grew bigger, she slept longer and longer. She was asleep while Dongfang Heng was handling matters, so she didn't know much about Dongfang Zhan's affairs.
"No," the Crown Prince continued, "After Prime Minister Li's incident, he has remained very quiet. Apart from attending court and handling official business, he spends all his time quietly in the Zhan Prince's residence." On the surface, it seems that he suffered a severe setback and has become despondent.
Shen Lixue's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly. Dongfang Zhan was not one to give up easily. With Prime Minister Li demoted, he lost his powerful backing and was getting further and further away from the throne. He should have created trouble to turn the tide, so why hadn't he made any moves?
"Could he be plotting something in secret?" The loss of power in the Prime Minister's mansion has weakened his influence by more than half, which has dealt him a great blow. If he wants to reverse the current defeat, he needs to carefully analyze and plan. If something happens, it will shock the world.
"Very likely." In the past, the capital city and the imperial court were always bustling, but recently, the capital city and the imperial court have become very quiet, like the calm before a storm, which is unsettling.
Dongfang Hong had long sensed something was wrong, but Dongfang Zhan remained inactive, leaving him unable to find a specific starting point or where to begin his investigation.
"Where did Prime Minister Li and the others go back to?" Shen Lixue had heard that many of the noble families in the capital came to the capital later and were not originally from here. If they served as officials in the capital for generations, they could live, grow old, get sick and die in the capital. But if they resigned and returned to their hometowns, they would have to go back to their original hometowns.
Dongfang Hong smiled slightly: "His ancestral home is Fuzhou, which is nearly a thousand miles from the capital. He can't be of much help to Dongfang Zhan." A thousand miles is indeed too far. Even with powerful forces, distant water can't quench immediate thirst.
"Did Li Fan also return to Fuzhou?" The Prime Minister's Mansion was reduced from its glorious peak to that of ordinary commoners because of Li Fan. Prime Minister Li's greatest wish was to protect Li Fan. I wonder if things have turned out as he wished.
"Li Fan's sentence of exile to the frontier remains unchanged. If nothing unexpected happens, he has already traveled halfway there." Only after Prime Minister Li voluntarily resigned did the emperor's anger subside, and he was pardoned for deceiving the emperor. As for Li Fan, he accepted bribes, made arbitrary judgments, and wronged the innocent. He aided and abetted evil, and the emperor had no reason to forgive him.
Shen Lixue shook her head and sighed. Even though Prime Minister Li abandoned the Prime Minister's Mansion, he still couldn't save Li Fan. It was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, losing both his wife and his army.
Li Fan is lecherous, arrogant, and domineering. He will definitely not be able to adapt to hard labor on the frontier. He will often clash with the overseers and will either be worked to death or beaten to death. He will not have a good ending.
"Since Dongfang Zhan has not left the mansion, has anyone come to see him?" Dongfang Zhan is ambitious and has great perseverance; he is definitely not the kind of person who would become despondent after being defeated.
"No, Dongfang Zhan has closed his doors to guests. The only people coming and going are the guards and servants of the Zhan Prince's Mansion." Dongfang Hong's men had been secretly monitoring the Zhan Prince's Mansion and had not found anything unusual.
Shen Lixue's cold eyes narrowed slightly: "Then Your Highness, you must be extra careful. If your subordinates find anything suspicious, it means that Dongfang Zhan has not been careful enough or attentive enough. If they don't notice anything suspicious at all, it's enough to show that Dongfang Zhan is so careful that no one can find any weakness. He must be secretly plotting a grand conspiracy..."
"I will." Dongfang Hong also felt that Dongfang Zhan's quietness was not a good thing. His men were monitoring from the outside but couldn't find any useful clues. He could think of a way to sneak in and investigate carefully...
"Prince An, Your Highness the Crown Prince." A guard rushed into Fengsong Courtyard, his gaze grave and his face anxious.
Dongfang Heng frowned: "What happened?"
The guard bowed and said, "Your Highness, a person covered in blood has arrived at the door and is looking for you."
"Go out and take a look." Dongfang Heng's gaze sharpened, and he strode out of Fengsong Courtyard. Shen Lixue, holding Qiuhe's hand, curiously followed him out. Dongfang Heng's secret guards did not need to report to the Holy King's Mansion. Even if they were seriously injured, as long as they reported their identities, the guards of the manor would let them in.
The person who chose to wait outside couldn't possibly be one of Dongfang Heng's bodyguards. So who was he? And what did he want with Dongfang Heng?
Upon exiting the gate, Shen Lixue saw the man slumped on his horse, his face and head covered in blood, his clothes stained crimson and unrecognizable. His eyes were closed, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
"Who are you?" Dongfang Heng stopped a meter away from the man and looked at him calmly. The blood on the man's clothes had long since dried, but there was still a faint smell of blood in the air, which showed that he had suffered very serious injuries and lost a lot of blood.
The man's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes. His clear, spring-like pupils were spotless, but deep within them was a deathly weariness and exhaustion. He looked at Dongfang Heng, wanting to laugh, but he had no strength.
"Fifth Brother!" The Crown Prince suddenly exclaimed as he reached the door. He strode over to the horse, helped up the blood-covered man, and showed no disgust at the blood staining his clothes. "Fifth Brother, how did you get so badly injured?"
Shen Lixue carefully examined the man, ignoring the bloodstains on his face. His face shape was extremely similar to that of the Fifth Prince, and his eyes were clear and innocent, just like the Fifth Prince in disguise. Wasn't he exiled to Xiangxi? How could he have come to the Holy King's Mansion covered in blood?
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I'm sorry..." The Fifth Prince apologized to the Crown Prince haltingly, his voice barely audible, the deathly look in his eyes growing ever deeper.
"Don't speak yet, treating the wound is the priority." Dongfang Hong pressed down on Dongfang Che's bleeding wound, his sharp eyes unfathomable: "Prince An, please quickly summon the imperial physician." The imperial physicians were highly skilled, but Dongfang Che's injuries were too severe, and he had lost too much blood. The longer it was delayed, the worse it would be for him.
"The physician will be here soon." When Dongfang Heng arrived at the door, he had already sent someone to fetch the physician. He was now surely rushing to the door with his medicine chest on his back.
"No...no need..." The Fifth Prince gave a miserable smile, his lips moving incessantly, and from the shape of his mouth, it was clear that he was saying, "Brother...be careful...be careful..."
Dongfang Che brought his mouth close to Dongfang Hong's ear. Shen Lixue couldn't see his lip movements anymore. She only saw him speaking, then suddenly close his eyes, tilt his head to one side, and let his hand fall limply to his side.
The physician hurried out of the gate, knelt down in front of Dongfang Che to take his pulse, but his aged fingers paused slightly after grasping his wrist: "There's no pulse. He's dead."
"Fifth brother... fifth brother..." Dongfang Hong's mind went blank. He saw his younger brother, whose eyes were closed and who was gradually losing his warmth. His sorrowful cries pierced through the clouds and echoed through the sky.
The fifth prince was demoted to a commoner by the emperor and exiled to western Hunan, never to return to the capital. The crown prince could not take him back to the palace, but he was covered in blood and had been murdered, which was no small matter. So the crown prince ordered someone to go to the palace to report to the emperor and ask for his opinion.
The emperor did not give a reply, but instead came to the Holy Prince's Mansion in a hurry. Accompanying him were eunuchs, guards, and the empress.
Seeing the Fifth Prince covered in blood and lifeless, the Empress was heartbroken. Forgetting all etiquette, she held Dongfang Che's body and wept bitterly, "Che'er, Che'er..."
The emperor stared at the fifth prince's gradually stiffening body, his face covered in blood and unrecognizable, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "What exactly happened?"
Dongfang Che was his biological son. Even though he plotted to usurp the throne, he couldn't bear to kill him. But unexpectedly, someone ended his life in such a cruel way. The dignified prince of Qingyan died a violent death on Qingyan's land. Was this a provocation against him, the emperor of Qingyan?
"Father, I don't know what happened. When my fifth brother rode alone to the Holy King's Mansion, he was covered in blood and barely breathing. He said a few words and then fell silent." Dongfang Hong's voice was low and heavy, filled with endless sorrow.
"What did he say?" The emperor looked at the setting sun on the horizon, his eyes filled with desolation. The royal family was not very prosperous. He had five sons: the fourth and sixth princes were quite mediocre, the crown prince and the third prince were constantly fighting for power, and the fifth prince, although he was pretending, had been a relatively smart and well-behaved child for more than ten years. He demoted him to Xiangxi in the hope that he could reflect on his actions, but he never expected that he would be murdered.
He was already a commoner and posed no threat to anyone, so why did they kill him in such a cruel way?
"He kept saying, 'Brother, be careful!'" He didn't say whether he was careful about people or things, and Dongfang Hong couldn't guess for the time being.
Shen Lixue carefully observed the Fifth Prince. Judging from the extent of his tattered clothes, he had suffered multiple sword wounds and was bleeding profusely, which was why his clothes were completely stained red. He had been demoted for many days. Judging from his walking speed, he should be almost in Xiangxi. The emperor had clearly ordered that he was not allowed to return to the capital. Why would he ride a fast horse back?
"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince has multiple sword wounds. Although the wounds were deep, they did not hit any vital organs. The cause of his death is excessive blood loss," the coroner reported respectfully after completing the examination.
The emperor's gaze sharpened slightly: "Are you sure?" It turned out to be death from excessive blood loss.
"I swear on my life that there will be no mistake." The coroner has been examining corpses for many years and rarely makes mistakes. He has examined the body of the Fifth Prince repeatedly and is absolutely certain that there will be no error.
Shen Lixue frowned. The journey from Xiangxi to the capital was nearly a thousand miles, and it would take more than half a month to travel on horseback. When people were injured and bleeding, they would quickly find someone to bandage and stop the bleeding. Why would the Fifth Prince disregard his injuries and rush to the capital?
"That person is very cruel." Dongfang Heng gently put his arm around Shen Lixue's shoulder and said softly, his voice so soft that only the two of them could hear it.
"What do you mean?" Shen Lixue asked, puzzled.
"Dongfang Che is a smart man. Severely injured and bleeding profusely, his first thought should have been to apply medicine and stop the bleeding. He kept riding at full speed for two reasons: first, he discovered something very important and very dangerous and was in a hurry to return to the capital to report it; second, someone was chasing him, and he dared not stop, nor could he stop..."