Chapter 0186: Not Entirely Clean Wu De Hall, Night’s Victor Xie Shoujun
“Your Highnesses, the tea is ready.”
The palace maid approached with tea service, placing cups before Xie Chengze and the others before pouring freshly brewed tea into them.
The tea’s aroma was indeed fragrant—likely the new batch Emperor Jian had bestowed just days prior. Just as Xie Shoujun prepared to drink, Xie Chengze urged excitedly, “Ah, I’ve won! The loser clears the board! Royal Brother, quickly tidy up! Let’s have another round!”
Xie Shoujun had no choice but to set down his tea and begin gathering the scattered chess pieces from the board.
The palace maid continued pouring tea for Xie Chengze without any change in expression, then placed the teapot aside, bowed, and withdrew from the hall.
“Royal Brothers, I’ve grown weary from reviewing memorials and shall step out for some fresh air. I’ll return shortly,” Xie Jinyu announced, rising from his seat and addressing the two chess players.
“Very well, go ahead,” Xie Shoujun replied with a nod, focused on collecting the chess pieces.
Xie Chengze watched Xie Jinyu depart before calling out, “Wuji.”
A figure silently descended behind him. Xie Chengze gestured toward Xie Shoujun’s teacup with his chin, prompting Wuji to pick it up. He produced a silver needle to test it, then sniffed the contents before adding some medicinal powder. Finally, he confirmed, “The tea is clean. No poison.”
Only then did Xie Shoujun look up and grasp the situation. “That palace maid was suspicious?”
“Royal Brother has been away from the capital for some time and may not know this: when imperial princes gather, palace staff are well aware they should keep their distance to avoid hearing something they shouldn’t and facing punishment. That maid appeared quite mature and must have served in the palace for years. She should have known to withdraw, yet she lingered under the pretext of serving tea—clearly, she had ulterior motives,” Xie Chengze explained patiently.
“She intended to eavesdrop on our conversation,” Xie Shoujun frowned. “Someone arranged by His Majesty?”
“As for that… we’ll know when Jinyu returns,” Xie Chengze chuckled, reaching out to help gather the scattered chess pieces.
Jinyu? He actually addresses him so intimately in private.
Xie Shoujun’s eyes flickered slightly as he pondered this.
Indeed, although the Second Prince appears at odds with the Crown Prince on the surface, he clearly cares deeply for him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pretended to be distracted at the entrance of Wu De Hall earlier, never actually refusing the Crown Prince’s request to visit.
Hard on the outside but soft within?
Since returning to court, he’d heard officials say the Second Prince and Crown Prince never got along well initially, maintained only civil relations later, and now stand in sharp opposition.
Yet he found it difficult to imagine this resilient yet gentle youth being on bad terms with anyone.
After a while, Xie Jinyu returned, seating himself back at the desk with a faint smile. “Elder Brother, you have too few attendants in your Wu De Hall. The cleaning isn’t very thorough.”
Had Xie Chengze not been present, Xie Shoujun might have easily mistaken this as genuine criticism of the hall’s cleanliness. But now he understood Xie Jinyu’s true meaning: though few in number, every attendant in Wu De Hall was “unclean.”
Commanding an elite troop in this militarily underdeveloped Jian’an Dynasty naturally drew covetous eyes and covert attempts to gather intelligence.
“Apologies for this embarrassment,” Xie Shoujun shook his head resignedly. “Let’s keep them for now. Replacing them might only bring another batch that’s equally unclean.”
Xie Jinyu remained silent, as this matter concerned Wu De Hall and was not his place to decide. He picked up the teacup beside him and brought it to his lips.
Xie Chengze glanced over, his eyelid twitching inexplicably. He felt he had overlooked something but couldn’t recall what. In the brief moment it took Xie Jinyu to drink the tea, the latter suddenly clutched his abdomen, his face contorted in pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood. Only then did Xie Chengze leap to his feet in panic, his entire body turning cold.
He remembered now.
In the original storyline, there had been a similar plot. The three princes were gathered at the eldest prince’s residence. Sheng Shihai had sent someone to persuade the Second Prince to win over the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince heard the news and arrived, the three drank from the same teapot, yet only the Crown Prince was poisoned.
Thus, rumors spread that the Second Prince and the Crown Prince had conspired to harm the Crown Prince. Fortunately, Shen Yuan investigated and found that the palace servant was not affiliated with either prince but had acted to sow discord between the Crown Prince and the eldest prince, deliberately poisoning the Crown Prince in the eldest prince’s residence.
However, that plot occurred much later, and at that time, Sheng Shihai had not yet revealed his true nature. With many plot points now altered and Sheng Shihai making an early appearance, Xie Chengze had failed to recall this particular twist.
“Wuji! Fetch the imperial physician, quickly!” Xie Chengze shouted in a panic, swiftly supporting the collapsing Xie Jinyu. His hands gripped the young man’s arms tightly, his heart swelling with dread. Though he knew Sheng Shihai would not resort to lethal measures, Xie Chengze feared that the altered plot might lead Sheng Shihai to frame the Crown Prince for the Crown Prince’s death, eliminating two political rivals at once by targeting Xie Jinyu fatally.
“Second Brother, don’t be afraid…” Xie Jinyu lay in Xie Chengze’s embrace, observing the panic and regret on his face. He weakly raised a hand to brush Xie Chengze’s cheek and smiled faintly. “It’s alright… cough… It’s just poison.”
“Don’t speak!” Xie Chengze’s entire body trembled uncontrollably. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood from Xie Jinyu’s lips, but it only smeared more, staining his hands. His eyes reddened, tears welling up. “It’s all my fault. I was too careless… The physician will be here soon. Hold on, Jinyu. Don’t you dare fall asleep.”
Xie Jinyu wanted to say the poison wasn’t particularly potent and wouldn’t kill him, but seeing Xie Chengze so worried, he obediently rested in the young man’s arms and gently closed his eyes, feeling at ease.
It seemed Second Brother still cared deeply for him—Ah!
Slap!
Xie Jinyu opened his eyes, clutching his stinging cheek, and looked at Xie Chengze with immense grievance. “Second Brother… why did you hit me?”
“I told you not to fall asleep!” Xie Chengze roared, his anger so intense that tears streamed down his face. “If you fall asleep, you won’t wake up again!”
Xie Jinyu: Whimper…
Xie Shoujun: Pfft.
Xie Shoujun turned away, shoulders shaking slightly as he struggled to contain his laughter.
Noticing this from the corner of his eye, Xie Jinyu immediately tattled, hoping to divert Xie Chengze’s anger. “Second Brother, the Crown Prince is laughing at me…”
Xie Chengze immediately shot a fierce glare at Xie Shoujun.
Xie Shoujun wiped the smile off his face: …
This third brother of his was truly wicked.
Wuji dragged the imperial physician over. After an examination, it was determined that although the poison was potent, it was not fatal. Moreover, Xie Jinyu, being trained in martial arts, had promptly used his inner energy to seal his meridians. The blood he had vomited earlier had expelled most of the toxin.
So…
Xie Chengze’s fists clenched as he roared, “Xie Jinyu! Were you pretending just now?”
“Ahem.” Xie Jinyu feigned weakness with two coughs, “Second Brother, I’m in so much pain. I’ve lost too much blood and feel dizzy.”
Xie Shoujun, leisurely sipping tea nearby, mercilessly exposed him, “Don’t worry, that little blood loss is nothing. Having spent so long at the border and endured countless injuries and bleeding, I still have an eye for these things.”
Xie Jinyu shot him a dissatisfied look.
He actually thought Xie Shoujun had no tact at all—couldn’t he see he was trying to bridge the gap with Second Brother?
Xie Chengze didn’t want to deal with either of them and turned to leave immediately.
“The little one’s angry,” Xie Shoujun chuckled helplessly, then glanced at Xie Jinyu. “Why scare him? Testing whether he dislikes you?”
Xie Jinyu sat up straight, not a trace of weakness left on his face.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth unhurriedly and said flatly, “That’s none of your business, Eldest Brother.”
Xie Shoujun shrugged indifferently. “Then don’t share our quarters tonight.”
Xie Jinyu: …