amaotonovel Chapter 221 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (121)
Chapter 221 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (121)
Ji Shuqin wanted to stop him, but Ji Shumin moved too quickly. Before he could do anything, the thin drawing paper turned into a puff of gray smoke.
"Min'er, how can you destroy it so carelessly..."
"What's the point of keeping it? Do you expect everyone to come and see this ridiculous thing?" Ji Shumin's expression was listless with a hint of disgust, which was completely genuine.
Ji Shuqin assumed that Ji Shuqin was wrongly accused of witchcraft and sorcery, and that Ji Shuqin had to request to be deposed as crown prince because of it, and he loathed Ji Shuqin for this.
Without giving it much thought, he personally organized all the memorials.
Ji Shumin lowered his eyes, truly not expecting that the Emperor would actually paint that so-called immortal figure. Fortunately, Ji Shuqin had never seen that person in his own residence.
Lu Liruan had only heard that the Emperor believed in some kind of immortal, and thought it was just some strange trick that took advantage of the Emperor's illness to gain favor. She never imagined that this so-called immortal was someone she knew.
When Lu Liruan asked the old doctor what would happen to a poisoned person if the poison was not neutralized, the old doctor remained tight-lipped and instead asked Lu Liruan if there were any other poisoned people, revealing nothing at all.
Turning back, he addressed Ji Shumin, who lay on his sickbed barely conscious, and asked, "Your Highness, does the Empress know anything?"
"She doesn't know, don't make her worry..." Even though Ji Shumin spoke softly, the airflow through his lungs still caused him to cough incessantly, his throat was already sore, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Didn't His Highness say he would never lie to the Empress again? You're really..." The old doctor turned Ji Shumin over and asked with great interest.
"You were the one who lied to her, not me." Ji Shumin took a breath and answered without changing his expression or skipping a beat, although his face was so pale that it was impossible to tell even if he had changed.
"Oh! Your Highness!" The old doctor stared wide-eyed and clicked his tongue in disbelief at the Third Prince's ever-present sophistry.
“If she finds out and comes to ask me, I will tell her. If she doesn’t find out, then so be it.” Ji Shumin said quietly, “What I’m doing is tantamount to patricide. If Li Ruan finds out, she’ll worry about me for no reason.”
In fact, Ji Shumin had other reasons that he didn't mention.
He had accompanied Lu Liruan to the Marquis of He'an's residence many times. It was completely different from the palace. Although it was a high-ranking family, the parents and children were very harmonious and seemed to be very close to each other.
Lu Liruan had only been in the palace for a short time. At that time, Ji Shumin was unaware of his own feelings for Lu Liruan, so he thought that this was just a fuss: if Liruan left him, she would have nowhere to go, and her life would probably be better off without him.
At that time, the Crown Prince, who was gloomy and eccentric and trapped in self-pity, did not know how to approach or persuade her to stay. He could only ask Lu Liruan with a stern face, "Compared to the Marquis's mansion, which is your home? Why is my side inferior to..."
Now that he thinks about it, even the most shameless prince couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest and a sense of unease.
Li Ruan may have long forgotten, but he remembers that every day since he was with Li Ruan has been vivid and profound.
Lu Liruan was so close to her parents, and Ji Shumin didn't want her to know about his actions, worried that Liruan would... not understand him.
Although it wasn't Ji Shumin who poisoned the Emperor, and the process of the poisoning wasn't something he could control, the poison in Ji Shumin's body was actually administered by the Empress using her own body as a poison, which remained in the Emperor's bloodstream and entered Ji Shumin's body while he was still in the womb.
The Emperor's poisoning was far more severe than his, and after several years, there was no cure.
Ji Shumin merely... took advantage of the situation, or rather, Ji Shumin did nothing at all, simply observing the unresolved grudges from years past culminating in their current consequences.
Such potent and cunning poisons are rare; it would be rare enough for one or two people in the world to be able to concoct and detoxify them. The poison doctor that the empress found back then was the old doctor's only apprentice.
The old doctor's ancestors were spiritual officials of the Western Rong, in charge of sacrifices and divination. Countless generations ago, an ancestor skilled in poisons followed the Western Rong army in battle, earning the name of a poison doctor. He pretended to be a god or ghost, accumulating countless blood debts and poisoning countless lives...
They eventually suffered retribution, and thanks to their so-called "divine power," their family had become a noble family in the Western Rong.
However, after a great fire, most of the clansmen contracted a strange disease. After the age of thirty, they would become weak all over, unable to see or speak, and would suffer excruciating pain and broken bones with the slightest movement. In the end, they would die after suffering endless torment.
In addition to persecution by other nobles in the Western Rong, the once prosperous clan was reduced to almost nothing in just a few years.
The old doctor's father and grandfather both died from that strange disease, his mother remarried to another tribe, and his younger brother was sold in his infancy and disappeared without a trace.
The old doctor then left the capital of the Western Rong tribe alone, carrying the skills he had learned from his tribe, and began to wander around.
He called himself "Ajirong," which means "longevity" in the Western Rong language. He traveled around practicing medicine and treating patients in order to gain peace and health for himself. He was not a noble person; everything he did was for his own benefit.
Later, he took on a disciple, whose entire family perished in the years of war. However, they did not die at the hands of the enemy, but rather when the Western Rong army became ruthless, burning, killing, and looting even their own people. Among them was the army led by the fourth prince.
He survived alone and vowed to avenge his family. Aji Rong took pity on him and realized that he was indeed talented, so he took him under his wing.
Qi Dan preferred learning how to make drugs to practicing medicine. I thought he could stay by my side and I would have something to worry about when we got married. But one day, he suddenly left, saying he had to do what he had to do.
Ajirong did not stop him.
Later, news of him came that he had attempted to assassinate the King of the Western Rong, but failed and went into hiding. After that, there was no further news of him.
Ajirong only learned this later. Years ago, he escaped from the Western Rong and went all the way to the capital of the enemy country, where he was also revered as a poison doctor and gave the poison prescription to the empress.
After living past thirty, Ajirong found that he was still quite healthy, so he got married and had a son a few years later. The strange illness that had plagued his family did not seem to appear in him.
He thought he could live a peaceful life like this, but the Western Rong royal family came to him again. Besides his excellent medical skills, they also discovered that he was a descendant of the family of the former divine official.
Otherwise, how could he have been targeted time and time again, even his family had to live in peace!
When he told Lu Liruan, he omitted the cause and effect of this part and glossed over it. Because his medical skills were truly miraculous and the fabricated part was so eloquent and flawless, Lu Liruan never suspected anything.
After Ajirong arrived in the capital, he never saw Qidan again. His disciple was later found dead in the Western Rong, at the hands of the fourth prince.
When Ajirong saw the Fourth Prince's actions—corpses strewn across the fields, the massacre of cities, the burning of buildings, and all sorts of atrocities—he felt no unease whatsoever when he poisoned the Fourth Prince and his men.
Perhaps he's just like his ancestors, a ruthless killer...
When Aji Rong returned here, the events that had occurred were almost identical to what he had told Lu Liruan.
He only wished for the safety of his family, and shortly after he surrendered to Ji Shumin, the Empress's men found him.
Ajirong never imagined that his apprentice would possess such supernatural abilities, managing to poison both the current emperor and the crown prince simultaneously—an absurd and troublesome situation.
What the Crown Prince could offer at that time was more to his liking, and... Ji Shumin's poison was still within the curable stage, Aji Rong thought about it all night.
The next day, I heard myself hypocritically say to Ji Shumin, "This is also a sin I have committed. I am willing to help you solve your problems."
Then he looked up and saw Ji Shumin's ambiguous smile, looking down at him with a hint of mockery, as if he could see through his hypocrisy, selfishness, and self-interest.
He told himself that now that the fourth prince of the Western Rong had been killed, he had avenged his disciple. Given the emperor's situation, seeking refuge with Ji Shumin was the best choice. He had to live well for himself and his family.
The empress ordered him to disguise himself as a celestial being to bewitch and seduce the emperor, and to observe the emperor's actions.
He had only mentioned the method of borrowing luck, yet the man couldn't wait to target his own sons, which made Aji Rong feel more at ease pretending to be an immortal.
In the end, he spared the emperor some suffering. If it weren't for his medicine keeping him alive, the emperor would have been enduring excruciating pain long ago.
Ji Shumin would always remain silent whenever he heard Ji Shumin report on the Emperor's situation.
“Min’er, your legs are really…” Ji Shuqin hesitated, his heart felt like it had been thrown into an ice cellar after hearing the meaning behind Ji Shumin’s words yesterday.
“I’m not sure.” Ji Shumin shook his head. “What’s the point of going back on the rights and wrongs of the past when Father is already like this?” Ji Shumin smiled with a hint of relief.
He truly did not know.
That's something Ji Shumin still hasn't figured out. The horse was startled that day by such coincidence that it was completely unexpected. It's really hard to tell whether it was caused by human intervention or an accident.
But Ji Shumin knew that when the imperial physician came to treat him, the medicine he used was not only not to promote the healing of the wound and bones, but also contained several herbs that were not conducive to recovery. This was indeed the work of his father, the emperor.
From a very young age, Ji Shumin knew that his father's favor towards him was nothing but a mirage, something done for show. But he could only uphold the dignity and duty of a crown prince in order to keep his position and fight for it.
Ji Shuqin breathed a long sigh of relief, seemingly relieved by the answer.
Ji Shumin persisted for so many years not just for himself. Although the Empress and the eldest prince had left the palace, those with ulterior motives would not let them go just because they were gone.
As long as the Empress is alive, she is irreplaceable; if...
Ji Shumin blocked each outstretched hand, and chopped off any that went too far. It took a long time for the situation to gradually calm down.
The old master and aunt of the An family visited Ji Shumin in the palace before their deaths.
The old lady held Ji Shumin's hand, her eyes brimming with tears: "Good child...you have suffered so much. Your mother...it's my fault for not raising her well. How could she be such a mother?"
Tears streamed down her face, but Ji Shumin remained unmoved. The boy, still developing, possessed a delicate, androgynous face, exuding calm and aloofness.
"You...you mustn't blame her." The old lady still felt sorry for her daughter. Even though she pitied her grandson, what she missed most was her daughter, who had caused her so much heartache and whom she could no longer see.
"I don't know if I'll live long enough to see your mother again, Min'er, Grandmother... I beg you, if you ever see your mother again, please don't hold a grudge against her."
The old lady pleaded earnestly, but seeing the young boy's face tense and unresponsive, she knew the young prince was not willing to listen.
She tilted her head, suppressing the tears in her eyes, and took Ji Shumin's hand, pressing a stack of silver notes into his palm.
“No…” Ji Shumin wanted to hand it back.
“I know you are the Crown Prince.” The old lady wouldn’t let him put it down: “But you have no one to rely on in this palace. Your maternal grandmother is worried. I can’t help you with anything else, so I can only give you some money to help you with things.”
At that time, Ji Shumin was not short of money, but he was young and had little control over it, so he really went through a difficult period.
When the time came, the old lady slowly got up and left. Her slightly hunched back stepped into the light, and she turned back to smile at the young prince, her full head of silver hair shining brightly.
Many of the deep and shallow wrinkles on her face were caused by worry in recent years. Ji Shumin vaguely remembered that when he was very young, his maternal grandmother was much younger than she is now.
At that time, Ji Shumin did not know that his maternal grandmother's words were her final instructions to him.
I initially thought that what she said—that she didn't have much time left—was just a way of comforting herself.
But when he heard the news again, his maternal grandmother had already passed away. However, he could not leave the palace to mourn her, because the emperor was deeply disgusted with all people and things related to the empress. Allowing them to enter the palace to visit Ji Shumin according to the rules was already an act of mercy.
Ji Shumin could only kowtow in the direction of the An Mansion late at night and stand silently for a while. He hadn't used much of the silver notes his maternal grandmother had given him last time.
After that, it was no longer used. The ticket paper had turned yellow and brittle, but it was still placed in the box prepared by Ji Shumin.
Later, Ji Shumin stopped the people who wanted to reach the mountain temple for the sake of the old lady and Ji Shuqin, but he had no thought what the Empress thought: Ji Shumin still harbored filial affection for her.
Ji Shumin didn't know why she felt that he had feelings for her.
After emerging from the Emperor's bedchamber, Ji Shuqin seemed lost in thought.
"Min'er, you look a bit haggard. Why don't you stay at my place tonight?"
Ji Shumin: ? ?
He could tell from his younger brother's face that he thought: "You'd better send me out of the palace."
He was still escorted out by someone.
Upon returning to the residence, Ji Shumin heard that the Empress was having dinner. He raised an eyebrow: "Is she really not worried about me?"
As soon as he entered, he saw Lu Liruan eating halfway through her meal. When she saw him return, she looked up and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"I haven't eaten yet."
They casually added a bowl and chopsticks, acting as if nothing had happened.
Lu Liruan vaguely heard about the changes that had occurred in the palace from the Marquis of He'an.
Marquis He'an was not capable enough to enter the palace, but he could still hear some things about it.
When she heard that the ministers actually asked the emperor to abdicate and the eldest prince to assume the regency, Lu Liruan was not surprised at all, but felt that it was only natural to have come to this point.
Why did the Empress want the Emperor to do such a crazy thing? She wanted the Emperor to be disgraced and his name to be forever recorded in history as a madman and a monster, to avenge the Emperor for ruining her reputation and driving her insane.
It's truly a case of tit for tat...