Upon seeing Jiang Yun emerge drenched in sweat, Physician Hu hurriedly approached him, asking with a worried expression, "First Prince, what about the Empress Dowager?"
"Um."
Jiang Yun nodded slightly, wiped the 'sweat' he had deliberately created on his forehead, and forced a smile.
"The toxins have been mostly eliminated. In a little while, prescribe some tonics for the Empress Dowager. I reckon she'll be almost fully recovered in a while."
"You've worked hard, Your Highness. You're truly a hidden talent, haha."
Upon hearing from Jiang Yun that the Empress Dowager's condition was not serious, Physician Hu breathed a long sigh of relief. Jiang Yun then took out a white handkerchief from her bosom.
He handed it to Jiang Yun and said obsequiously, "Your Highness, you look so tired. Let me wipe your sweat for you."
Jiang Yun waved her hand, opened the white handkerchief handed to her by Physician Hu, and the smile on her face disappeared.
Instead, his face became serious as he asked, "Doctor Hu, what did you hear when I was expelling poison from the Empress Dowager's inner chamber?"
"I..."
Physician Hu glanced at Jiang Yun's expression, feeling uneasy. He didn't understand what Jiang Yun meant by that, since Jiang Yun had just been treating the Empress Dowager in her room.
Not only did I hear it, but the guards outside probably heard it too. That voice, no matter how you look at it, sounds like...
However, upon catching a glimpse of the murderous intent in Jiang Yun's eyes, Physician Hu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
But at the same time, she realized how she should answer, and Jiang Yun said with a puzzled look on her face.
"Your Highness, I had a high fever when I was a child. Although I survived, my ears were burned and I couldn't hear anything."
"Oh, I didn't hear you, haha, then what are your eyes doing?"
Jiang Yun asked with a cold smile.
"Eyes? Your Highness, you've come to the right person. My eyes are quite interesting. During the day, I can see everything clearly, but at night, I'm practically blind."
Physician Hu said in an exaggerated manner.
"What beautiful eyes!"
A smile returned to Jiang Yun's face as she patted Physician Hu's shoulder casually.
"Doctor Hu, the weather has been getting cooler lately, and the wind is strong on the mountain. The ladies are delicate and easily catch a cold. Could you prescribe some medicine to keep them warm and have it brewed and sent over to them?"
"Your humble servant understands."
Doctor Hu met Jiang Yun's gaze and nodded heavily. Jiang Yun truly understood what he meant; the Empress Dowager's condition today could be diagnosed as a "casual cold."
Seeing Jiang Yun's solemn expression, Jiang Yun smiled with satisfaction and then walked towards the group of guards.
Watching Jiang Yun walk away towards the guards, Physician Hu thought to himself, "Sigh, none of the royals are easy to deal with. I must be extra careful."
Then Jiang Yun walked up to the guards and said with a smile, "You guards have really worked hard."
"Oh, it's the First Prince! We, the servants, pay our respects to the First Prince."
The guards bowed to Jiang Yun in a flurry of voices.
Jiang Yun waved his hand, his expression becoming even more amiable, and said with a smile, "We're all family, no need to be so polite."
It's getting cold, and everyone's worked hard on the night shift. Come on, let's go to my room and have some good wine to warm ourselves up.
"this..."
The head guard said somewhat awkwardly, "Your Highness, it's not that we're disrespectful, but we have duties to perform and it's inconvenient for us to do so."
"Hehe, I know you are all doing your duty, but what if this is the Empress Dowager's will? Would you not listen to her?"
Jiang Yun said mysteriously.
"What does the Empress Dowager mean?"
A guard asked cautiously.
"Yes, the Empress Dowager said that the Crown Prince and these royal guards are protecting me all day long."
"They've had a tough time. Why don't you take them to get some wine to warm them up?"
Jiang Yun pretended to make things up, but she did manage to imitate the Empress Dowager's tone and mannerisms.
"First Prince, that's really what the Empress Dowager said..."
The guards all showed expressions of gratitude.
"Hehe, I have several heads, how dare I falsely convey the Empress Dowager's imperial edict? If you don't believe me, you can go in and ask the Empress Dowager yourselves."
Jiang Yun said with a smile, but in his heart he was thinking, "I don't believe you dare to go in and ask the Empress Dowager directly."
Sure enough, the guards waved their hands repeatedly, saying with fawning smiles, "We wouldn't dare."
The more quick-witted guard in the lead said, "First Prince, since it's the Empress Dowager's wish, then we'll shamelessly ask you for a drink."
I'd long heard that the First Prince had fine wine, but I'd never had the chance to taste it. Hearing this has really whetted my appetite.
"Yes, Your Highness, please don't hold back. We won't stand on ceremony with you, haha."
These guards were all heavy drinkers and big eaters, and were usually addicted to alcohol. When they heard that there was good wine, they naturally showed eager expressions.
Jiang Yun was secretly delighted, a glint of malice flashed in his eyes, and then he said with a smile, "Come on, come on, we're all brothers, why be so polite with me?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you, First Prince, haha."
A group of people surrounded Jiang Yun, chatting and laughing as they walked towards her room. Once inside, in the living room, Jiang Yun instructed her servants to set out wine and dishes.
However, since they were in a temple, Jiang Yun served the guards only wild vegetables from the mountains and local greens and radishes.
However, the wine was excellent, aged Daughter's Red. Jiang Yun poured a full cup for the guards, and then they clinked their glasses together.
"drink--"
"Good wine—"
"Your Highness, we, your humble servants, offer you a toast—"
"Dry--"
"Again—"
Inside the room, wine glasses clinked and plates were scattered everywhere. Soon, three jars of wine were ruined. A guard, who was a little tipsy, came to Jiang Yun's side.
With his arm around Jiang Yun's shoulder and reeking of alcohol, he said, "Big Brother, we're out of wine. You won't be upset that we can't have our fill, will you?"
Jiang Yun frowned in annoyance, fanned the stench from her face, and put on a friendly smile. "How could I be? I'm not that petty. You wait here, I'll go get the wine right away."
As he spoke, Jiang Yun went into the inner room and bought the Yama's Life-Chasing Powder from his watch.
He poured almost the entire amount of medicine from the swan-neck bottle into it, then shook the jar vigorously to dissolve the powder inside.
Afterwards, Jiang Yun carried the wine jar out of the room and back into the living room. He smiled and said to everyone, "Come on, brothers, let's have a good time today and drink to our hearts' content until we're completely drunk."
"Yes, let's drink until we're completely drunk!"
The guards shouted heartily, and Jiang Yun filled their wine cups. Then he poured one for himself, raised his cup, and said, "Come, I toast to all my guard brothers!"
"Respect to the First Prince!"
The guards responded politely, then tilted their heads back and drank the full bowl of wine down their throats.
Jiang Yun also pretended to raise his wine cup to his lips, but covered his face with his hand. While the guards were drinking with their heads tilted back, he spilled the wine on the ground.
"Come on, again!"
Jiang Yun pretended to be drunk and said loudly.
"drink!"
The guards responded enthusiastically, and soon the full jar of wine was emptied, leaving the jar clean.
Jiang Yun suddenly smiled and asked everyone, "Brothers, did you enjoy the drinks?"
"Enjoy yourselves! The eldest prince is treating, how can we brothers not have a good time?"
"Yes, the eldest prince is handsome and dashing, with unparalleled martial arts skills. He enjoys the Emperor's deep trust and will surely have a bright future."
"Brother, we brothers will be counting on your guidance in the future."
Although everyone was quite drunk, they still took the opportunity to flatter him, and Jiang Yun's smile grew even wider.
Suddenly, he changed the subject and asked, "Since everyone considers me, Jiang Yun, as a brother, will you help me if I'm in trouble?"
"Of course! If the eldest prince needs anything, just give the order, and the brothers will go through fire and water for you."
The guards patted their chests one by one, assuring him.
"If I told you brothers to die, would you do it?"
A cold smile crept across Jiang Yun's face.
Upon hearing this, the laughter abruptly stopped, and everyone's smiles froze on their faces as they stared blankly at Jiang Yun.
Suddenly, one of the guards burst into laughter again, "Haha, Your Highness, you're really joking! How could you send us to our deaths? Hahaha!"
"Yeah, hahaha."
Upon hearing what that person said, everyone burst into laughter again.
Jiang Yun didn't speak, but just sneered at the guards present. Suddenly, with a muffled thud, the guard who had spoken first spat out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately following a series of 'plop' sounds, all the guards present coughed up blood, their eyes wide open, staring at Jiang Yun with anger, resentment, and confusion.
The first guard raised his hand and pointed fiercely at Jiang Yun, but he only managed to utter the word "you" before he died and collapsed to the ground.
The next moment, all the guards died, their eyes unable to close for a long time.
"Brothers, I'm sorry, I won't be at peace until you're dead."
Jiang Yun stepped forward and closed the eyes of each of the guards. Then, he took out corpse-dissolving powder and a dagger from his pocket and stabbed each of their corpses.
Then, the corpse-dissolving powder was poured onto the wounds of the guards. With a series of strange hissing sounds, thick smoke billowed into the room, and the guards' corpses vanished without a trace.
After seeing the guards off, Jiang Yun sat wearily in a chair and let out a long sigh. Being in the royal family, there were many things that were beyond one's control.
Deceit and intrigue abound; if you don't harm others, they will harm you—take today as an example.
These guards had overheard the commotion between Jiang Yun and the Empress Dowager in the room. If they were to accidentally let something slip, it would be a major scandal.
If the emperor found out, given Qianlong's reputation for 'benevolence and filial piety,' he would naturally swallow his anger and keep those words to himself, without doing anything to the Empress Dowager.
However, the emperor's methods would likely be less lenient towards Jiang Yun. He could easily fabricate a crime to strip Jiang Yun of his position as crown prince and force him to assume the throne prematurely. But Jiang Yun has no desire to play that game!
After dealing with the guards, Jiang Yun led Gao Yuan and Gao Da to the Empress's palace and entered the courtyard.
Several maids blocked Jiang Yun's path. Before she could even bow, Gao Yuan and Gao Da behind her shoved the maids aside.
Jiang Yun went straight to the Empress's bedroom reception room, where Qiu Lan happened to be. Jiang Yun stepped forward and asked, "Qiu Lan, where is Her Majesty the Empress?"
"In the woodshed."
Qiulan pointed to a small, dark room in the northwest corner of the courtyard and said.
Jiang Yun nodded, then turned around and led Gao Yuan and Gao Da toward the small dark room. Jiang Yun knocked on the door, and Rong Momo opened it.
Jiang Yun hated this old hag the most. She glared at her unhappily, pushed her away, and then strode into the room. Gao Yuan and Gao Da stood guard at the door on either side.
Upon entering the room, Jiang Yun saw a square table set up inside, with the Empress and Qing'er sitting behind it, one as the head and the other as the tailor. Candlelights hung from the ceiling.
The candlelight flickered, and a maidservant, Huazhi, knelt before the square table. Her clothes were tattered, and her face and body were covered in bruises, clearly showing that she had suffered greatly.
He glanced at her indifferently, then quickly looked away, afraid she would soften her heart and show signs of womanly compassion. However...
Jiang Yun must handle this matter properly, otherwise, having already caused such a commotion, and having already clashed with the Empress Dowager... unless he finds a few scapegoats to close the case, it will be difficult for this matter to end well.
Jiang Yun shifted her gaze from the flower branch, then cast a cold glance at Rong Mama.