boyutpedia Chapter 184 The key to the problem
Chapter 184 The key to the problem
Eunuch Decheng is only the chief eunuch beside the king. Apart from the king Ruan Zhaotian, no one in the palace truly trusts him, so he doesn't know much. He may have to go back and ask Concubine Rou about this matter.
Ruan Haoyu turned around and took another look at Ruan Zhaotian lying on the sickbed. He knew that he would not last more than two days. Unless the antidote was found now, he would be beyond help.
"Eunuch Decheng, please take good care of our father."
Ruan Haoyu took out a gold ingot and stuffed it into the hand of Eunuch Decheng. The latter immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, serving the king is my duty. How dare I ask for your reward?"
Ruan Haoyu helped him up. "Eunuch Decheng, please stand up. I know that you are the only one in the palace who is truly worried about the emperor's condition. In his last days, please make him feel better. This gold is my filial piety."
After saying that, Ruan Haoyu left Shengze Palace. It wasn't that he felt much sympathy for Ruan Zhaotian, but he was from the modern times after all, and seeing an old widower waiting to die alone without any wife or children to serve him, he couldn't help but sigh.
Mu Xiaoqiao was waiting for Ruan Haoyu outside the gate of Shengze Palace. Before he came out, she ran into an acquaintance, the second prince Ruan Haofeng.
She immediately bowed and saluted, "Greetings, Second Prince."
"No need to be so polite. Nice to meet you again, Commander Mu." Ruan Haofeng greeted with a smile. He came here alone and was very kind to Mu Xiaoqiao.
Mu Xiaoqiao nodded, not wanting to say anything more, so Ruan Haofeng continued, "I heard that Sixth Brother rushed over to see Father as soon as he got back. He is such a filial and good son."
Mu Xiaoqiao bowed her head and said, "Filial piety comes first among all virtues. Your Highness the Sixth Prince knows this truth."
"Really?" Ruan Haofeng curled his lips and smiled, "Are you saying that the rest of us brothers are unfilial?"
"I dare not." Mu Xiaoqiao's voice was flat. Although she said she dared not, anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was very brave.
Ruan Haofeng shook his head and laughed, "It doesn't matter. The rest of us brothers really don't want to come here. Since we dare to do it, we are not afraid of what others say."
He was an upright person. Mu Xiaoqiao lowered her brows and replied softly, "Your Highness, there is no need to tell this to me."
"Second brother."
Ruan Haoyu came out at this time. Ruan Haofeng curled his lips and smiled, no longer paying attention to Mu Xiaoqiao. He took two steps forward and said, "Sixth brother, you made me very worried when we last met. Now that I see you are safe and sound, I am relieved."
Ruan Haoyu bowed and saluted, "Thank you for your concern, second brother."
After the two exchanged greetings, Ruan Haoyu said, "Second brother is here to see Father too, I won't bother you..."
"I'm here to look for you," Ruan Haofeng interrupted Ruan Haoyu, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Would you like to have a drink in my second brother's palace?"
Ruan Haoyu looked at the sky that was about to darken and said with some embarrassment: "But my mother is still waiting for me..."
"I have sent someone to inform Concubine Rou. You and your beautiful wife will stay in my palace tonight," Ruan Haofeng glanced at Mu Xiaoqiao and said with a half-smile, "You can stay in my palace."
It was an attitude that could not be refused. Ruan Haoyu and Mu Xiaoqiao looked at each other and Mu Xiaoqiao nodded slightly. Now the situation was unclear, and the best way was naturally to wait and see and let the other party state their purpose themselves so that they could judge what to do next.
Ruan Haoyu hesitated for a moment, then said, "In that case, I will bother you tonight, brother."
Ruan Haofeng laughed loudly and put his arm around Ruan Haoyu's shoulders, "Tonight, you and I, brothers, will not leave until we are drunk."
"Okay, I won't come back until I'm drunk."
There are several princes in the Rui Kingdom. The eldest prince, Ruan Haojing, is the empress's legitimate son and also the crown prince. He lives in the East Palace. The second prince, Ruan Haofeng, is the son of Concubine Xian. After he came of age, he was granted the right to live in Chonghua Palace, but he was mostly in the military camp and seldom returned to the palace. The third prince and the fifth prince lived in Ganquan Palace and Yong'an Palace respectively, both very close to the empress's Weiyang Palace. The fourth prince died young. The sixth prince was Ruan Haoyu. Before he was sent to the State of Chu as a hostage, he did not have his own palace and had been living with Concubine Rou in Cheng'en Palace.
There were not many heirs in the palace. Apart from the Queen who gave birth to three sons and one daughter, Concubine Xian gave birth to two sons, and the Fourth Prince died a few days after birth. Concubine Rou only had one son, so in terms of power in the harem, no one could compare to the Queen.
When the three of them arrived at Chonghua Palace, Ruan Haofeng had already ordered people to prepare wine and food, and he seemed ready to chat with Ruan Haoyu all night.
Before they sat down, Ruan Haofeng called the maid and asked her to take Mu Xiaoqiao to rest, saying that they were tired from the long journey and she was not needed to serve them here. In fact, both Ruan Haoyu and Mu Xiaoqiao understood that what he said was not convenient for anyone to hear.
Anyway, this is the imperial palace and there won't be any danger for the time being. No matter what Ruan Haofeng says, Ruan Haoyu will definitely not hide it from Mu Xiaoqiao, so she is happy to have some free time. She is really tired from traveling these days.
Following the maid to the room to bathe, change clothes and rest, the moment her body was immersed in the water, Mu Xiaoqiao sighed comfortably. It turned out that people cannot wander around all the time, it is really too tiring. The most important thing is that in ancient times there were no conditions like modern hotels. It was too luxurious to take a bath.
After a good sleep, when she woke up it was already late at night. Mu Xiaoqiao looked at the time. It was already midnight and Ruan Haoyu had not returned yet.
Mu Xiaoqiao was a little worried, so she got up, dressed and went out. She happened to see a huge full moon. It was another full moon night. She couldn't help but stroke the dragon picture in her arms, wondering when she could go back.
Just when I was about to go out to look for Ruan Haoyu, I saw him staggering towards me, supported by two eunuchs, saying as he walked, "Second brother, another... another drink..."
He was so drunk that Mu Xiaoqiao hurried forward to support him and shouted, "Your Highness, why did you drink so much?"
Ruan Haoyu leaned on Mu Xiaoqiao and said with a big tongue: "I... I'm fine, I want more, I want to drink with my second brother..."
The two eunuchs were also exhausted. When Mu Xiaoqiao took the person over, they breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Miss Xiaoqiao, the Second Prince has ordered that the Sixth Prince be sent to you. We will leave first."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, both eunuchs."
"Don't go, don't go, I want to drink more..." Ruan Haoyu waved at the two eunuchs.
Mu Xiaoqiao dragged Ruan Haoyu back to the room, threw him on the bed, and said, "Okay, there are no outsiders here, stop pretending."
Ruan Haoyu's eyes regained clarity in an instant, and he said, "This is my second brother's place after all, be careful of the walls having ears."
Mu Xiaoqiao shook his head. "With my inner strength, if there was someone there, I wouldn't be able to fail to notice it."
The Mu Xiaoqiao of today is not the modern Mu Xiaoqiao, this is a martial arts master.
"You are indeed a great actor. You acted drunk very well. If I didn't know your alcohol tolerance so well, I would have been fooled by you. Tell me, what did Ruan Haofeng ask you to do to make things difficult for him?"
Mu Xiaoqiao sat down beside the bed, looking as if he was listening to a story.
"He asked me to help him get to that position." Ruan Haoyu lowered his voice unconsciously. This matter was of great importance. Although Ruan Haofeng had military merits and many supporters in the court, the prince was supported by the third and fifth princes after all. So he had to win over the only remaining prince, Ruan Haoyu.
"Now that the king is seriously ill, I am afraid that disputes will arise soon. I wonder if the king has left any will?"
Ruan Haoyu shook his head. "My second brother told me that no matter who the king meets now, he always asks them to go find Concubine Yao to find the antidote. He is not prepared to die at all and still fantasizes that he can live. He even said that whoever can capture Concubine Yao will be the next crown prince."
He paused and continued, "Now that the Crown Prince is in power, my second brother has also secretly stationed troops outside the city. The Third Prince and the Fifth Prince left the city under the pretext of capturing Concubine Yao, and they are also secretly mobilizing troops. I'm afraid that the unfortunate Concubine Yao is now imprisoned, and will be brought out to be executed as soon as the King dies. In this way, the Crown Prince can legitimately avenge the King and then ascend the throne."
Mu Xiaoqiao's eyes widened. "Isn't this the King shooting himself in the foot? If he hadn't said that, perhaps the princes would have let him live. Now they just need to wait for him to pass away and kill Concubine Yao so that they can legitimately rule the Kingdom of Rui? This is ridiculous. So the key now lies with this so-called Concubine Yao?"