Time Travel: Brothel Maid

Chapter 161 Premeditation

Even though he was an emperor, he was still a man after all, and a man who was still keen on sex even though he was over fifty years old. The recent unsatisfactory sex affairs made this usually majestic emperor feel a little annoyed.

The emperor's dignity must not be compromised in the slightest, especially in matters concerning the bed curtain which concern a man's dignity and face.

So the emperor, who was always wise, knew that eating this kind of thing was a bit ridiculous, but he still couldn't resist the huge temptation and opened his mouth to swallow the pill that seemed to have magic power.

After hearing a faint swallowing sound, the eunuch heard His Majesty's voice with a hint of excitement, "Summon Concubine Qing to the bedchamber."

"I obey your command." The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the heavy palace gate. He conveyed the emperor's order to the young eunuch on duty outside the door. The young eunuch took the order and trotted to Concubine Qing's palace.

The Prince’s Palace.

It should have been a quiet time of night, but the inner hall of the Fourth Prince's mansion was brightly lit, and the sound of people talking and laughing could be heard from inside, sometimes loud and sometimes low, sometimes with laughter and sometimes whispers.

All the servants serving in the palace were driven out by the Fourth Prince, and stood silently in two rows in the corridor outside the door with their heads bowed.

At this time, a guard in a hurry walked to the corridor with a letter sealed with wax in his hand, and whispered in the ear of the leading eunuch.

Then the eunuch walked to the tightly closed palace door and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the urgent letter from Huaiyang has been delivered."

The conversation in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

"Come in."

After receiving the order, the eunuch pushed open the heavy palace door.

The Fourth Prince Zhao Yunye sat in the main seat in the hall, with the Director of the Imperial Observatory Zhu Zhouchuan and two aides from the palace sitting below him. They all had relaxed and happy expressions on their faces.

Zhao Yunye took the letter, checked that the sealing wax was intact, and then opened the secret letter.

The eunuch bowed and left at the right time, closing the palace door again.

As Zhao Yunye's eyes swept across the lines of the letter, the expressions of the other three people in the hall gradually followed the increasingly solemn expression of the person in the main seat. Their nerves slowly tensed up, and even their shoulders and backs, which had been sitting in a relaxed posture just now, straightened up.

As Zhao Yunye's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his fingers gripped the letter more and more tightly, the atmosphere in the hall fell into an anxious silence, so deep that one could hear a pin drop.

"Your Highness, is there any bad news coming from Huaiyang?" Zhu Zhouchuan, the director of the Imperial Observatory, asked first.

Zhao Yunye suppressed the sudden irritability in his heart and handed the letter in his hand directly to Zhu Zhouchuan.

After Zhu Zhouchuan and his two aides read the letter, they understood why the Fourth Prince looked so gloomy.

I originally thought that they had planned to send the Fourth Prince Zhao Yunrong to Huaiyang to control the plague. Even if the Fourth Prince would not be infected with the plague there, he would definitely not end up well.

Controlling the plague is a tough job. If you are not careful, the people will complain. Over time, it will also cause His Majesty's displeasure and leave an impression of incompetence on the court officials, the people, and His Majesty.

Now, the Eighth Prince has left the capital, and the court officials are watching to see whether the Eighth Prince will encounter any accidents due to his control of the plague or will be disliked by His Majesty due to his poor performance. Gradually, they are turning to the Fourth Prince, and His Majesty has finally let go of his grudge against the Fourth Prince's "leg injury".

However, they never expected that when everything went smoothly as they expected, the Eighth Prince actually found out the cause of the plague in a very short time!

Although this news has not yet reached His Majesty's ears, within three days, His Majesty will definitely receive the Eighth Prince's memorial.

By then, His Majesty will pay more attention to and love the Eighth Prince than before! The court officials will also stand on the side of the Eighth Prince!

Zhu Zhouchuan suddenly thought of the threat that the Eighth Prince had made to him before he left Beijing. He was startled. If the Eighth Prince returned safely and was even more powerful than before, would he still have a peaceful day? A trace of viciousness flashed across his eyes.

"Your Majesty! We must not let the Eighth Prince return safely with his achievements!"

Zhao Yunye pinched his brows, stood up irritably, and asked with a low and impatient tone, "What ideas do you have?"

"Huaiyang is thousands of miles away from the capital, and the emperor is far away. The Eighth Prince acts in a high-profile manner, and his whereabouts are no secret. Therefore, he was assassinated by the remnants of the previous dynasty, and then met with an accident. Isn't it reasonable?"

Zhao Yunye paused, staring at Zhu Zhouchuan with deep eyes, and said hesitantly, "But... Father is already dissatisfied with me. The last assassination and this "leg injury" made Father always suspicious. It was not easy for me to win back his heart... If my eighth brother is assassinated again, there is no guarantee that Father will not suspect me..."

Zhu Zhouchuan persuaded with a firm tone, "Even if your majesty is suspicious, you can't do anything to the prince without evidence. But if you let the Eighth Prince return safely, will there still be a place for you in the court and in your majesty's eyes? But if the Eighth Prince disappears from now on, there will be no two princes among your majesty's princes who will compete with you for the position of crown prince!"

When Zhao Yunye heard the word "crown prince", the desire in his heart made him tremble all over.

The two aides also echoed at this time, "Yes, what Lord Zhu said is very true. Without the Eighth Prince, even if His Majesty suspects you, he will not easily touch you. After all, the Tenth Prince is still young, and among the adult princes, only you can share His Majesty's worries and have the hope of becoming the heir. Now that the Eighth Prince is far away from Shangjing City, it is a great opportunity. Your Majesty must not miss it!"

Zhao Yunrong clenched his fists suddenly, and slammed them hard on the table as if he had made up his mind. "Mobilize all the secret guards and assassins! Make sure to hit him with one strike, and never give him any hope of survival!"

Zhu Zhuchuan breathed a sigh of relief, a vicious smile appeared on his lips, "Fourth Prince is wise!"

Under the thick darkness of the night, shameful conspiracies and intrigues are quietly brewing.

Huaiyang City.

On this day, a rumor was spreading in the streets and alleys. The people heard that the Eighth Prince had found the cause of the plague, and the villagers infected with the plague would be completely cured soon.

From officials to common people, everyone was filled with joy, praising the Eighth Prince for his dedication to the people, and calling him a good prince who was kind, wise and capable.