Star Trace Gate

In a carriage heading south.

Ren Ye sat on the couch, looking puzzled as he asked, "Why did the Second Prince suddenly become seriously ill? And he has been in a coma for more than a year. Is it... is it that he was born with some hidden disease?"

"Uh, this...!" Lord Rat seemed a little hesitant when faced with this question.

Ren Ye looked at his expression and became even more curious, but he pretended to be indifferent and added: "Haha, I'm just chatting, please don't embarrass me, sir."

"It's not a problem, but this matter involves another secret in the palace." Lord Shu habitually touched his fake beard that was forcibly pulled down, and whispered: "There is a rumor circulating in the palace. The second prince's serious illness may be related to the struggle in the harem. Someone secretly cast a witchcraft on him, which led to his serious illness."

Holy shit, there is such an exciting plot? To be honest, I have watched Legend of Zhen Huan more than 60 times. I am known as an online Zhen Huan expert and can be said to be the king of harem knowledge.

Ren Ye was also excited, and followed the topic to ask: "Does the rumor say who cast the witchcraft?"

Lord Rat glanced around with a strong sense of stealth, and replied curiously, "Some people say that it was done by Concubine Jing."

"Noble Concubine Jing?!" Ren was also surprised: "So what is she doing now...!"

"Noble Concubine Jing has also passed away." Lord Rat added, "She died of illness after the Second Prince woke up and before the Queen Mother passed away."

Ren Ye fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

Lord Rat looked at his expression, but he aroused his own gossip fire and whispered, "Do you feel that this matter is very mysterious?"

"It is indeed mysterious." Ren nodded slightly: "The palace said to the outside world that Concubine Jing died of illness?"

"Yes, but it was not buried in the imperial mausoleum. Instead, it was returned to the tribe's land for burial." Lord Rat replied.

Ren Ye frowned slightly: "What reason does this Imperial Concubine Jing have to use witchcraft to murder the Second Prince?"

"This story started a long time ago." Lord Rat loves gossip and telling stories. He described it vividly: "This Imperial Concubine Jing was originally a beautiful girl sent to the capital by the Green Fox Tribe. She had a high status in the clan and was of the direct bloodline, so her family background was also good. Therefore, after she was selected in the capital, she was promoted to Imperial Concubine not long after. Moreover, Imperial Concubine Jing had a very good relationship with Empress Yuan'an, the biological mother of the second prince. They could be considered close friends and she was also very favored by the emperor. However, she had been in the palace for more than ten years but had not given birth to a child... Therefore, although she was favored, she was not envied by other concubines and had a good relationship with people."

"Just before the second prince became seriously ill, Imperial Concubine Jing suddenly became pregnant and began to stay in the palace for a long time to take care of the baby. The emperor was very happy and rewarded her almost every day. Empress Yuan'an also often visited Imperial Concubine Jing and chatted with her for an entire afternoon." Lord Shu sighed quietly, "Alas, this was originally a good thing, but everything that happened afterwards was hard to guess. Not long after Imperial Concubine Jing became pregnant, the second prince suddenly became seriously ill. This made the emperor very worried, and he even invited many powerful people from the clan who had been secluded to diagnose the disease and pray for blessings. But later... the emperor suddenly became indifferent to Imperial Concubine Jing, and Empress Yuan'an rarely entered Jingning Palace."

"At that time, no one in the palace noticed anything unusual. They just thought that the emperor was in no mood to look for a new concubine because of the Second Prince's serious illness. But who would have thought that six months after Concubine Jing became pregnant, the emperor suddenly ordered her not to leave the Jingning Palace or meet with outsiders. He announced to the public that Concubine Jing was weak and needed to rest and take care of the baby. But everyone in the palace knew that the emperor was confining her, and Concubine Jing was equivalent to being banished to the cold palace."

"It was not until the second prince's condition improved and he fully recovered that the Imperial Concubine Jing, who had given birth to a son, died of a serious illness." Lord Rat narrated in a steady tone: "The emperor issued an order, ordering her clansmen to bring Imperial Concubine Jing's body back to her clan for burial. According to common sense, Imperial Concubine Jing is qualified to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, so the emperor did so, which caused rumors in the palace. They all said that Imperial Concubine Jing was close to Empress Yuan An all day long, so they were jealous that she could give birth to two princes for the emperor and firmly occupy the position of the queen mother. Alas, human nature is like this. Maybe you can see the good of outsiders, but you can't accept that the situation of the person you live with day and night is too different from your own."

After listening to this story, Ren Ye asked almost instinctively: "Did Concubine Jing give birth to a prince, or...!"

"She gave birth to a baby girl." Lord Rat replied, "She is the eldest princess of the dynasty - Princess Jun'an."

Ren Ye frowned after hearing this: "It's unreasonable, this is unreasonable!"

"?!"

Lord Rat looked confused: "What do you mean?"

"Noble Concubine Jing's motives are insufficient." Ren also shook his head slightly and said, "Just listening to this story, her behavior is too far-fetched."

"Your Highness, please tell me." Lord Rat seemed like a master who went on a gossip spree in a group chat and frequently exchanged blows with other friends.

Ren Ye looked at him and replied logically, "Concubine Jing is already favored and has a close personal relationship with the Queen Mother. To put it bluntly, she is second only to the Queen Mother in the harem, so why would she do something that would harm others and not benefit herself? If she did such a despicable thing, she would definitely make a lot of money. But she is obviously pregnant with a baby girl. Even if the most favored Second Prince was murdered... the biggest beneficiaries are the other princes. What does it have to do with the Grand Princess and herself?! What can she gain?"

"Your Highness is indeed very smart. He can see the key to the problem at a glance." Lord Shu praised: "However, this is also the weirdness of the Jingfei case. No one knows what happened in detail back then. Even someone like me who serves the emperor is not clear about the reason. Whether it is the second prince or the imprisoned Jingfei in the later period... no one else can contact them."

"I want to ask. Does Queen Yuan An have other children?"

"Yes, he is the eldest prince of this dynasty." Lord Rat replied.

Ren was also stunned for a moment: "What about the relationship between the first prince and the second prince?"

"Hehe, brothers who are born from the same mother are naturally close." Lord Rat smiled and replied without hesitation.

I don't believe you, this old man really knows what to say and what not to say.

Ren didn't dwell on this question, just rested his chin on his hand and thought deeply.

Lord Shu looked at his expression and whispered, "Your Highness, this exchange is just a private conversation between you and me. You must not say too much to outsiders. Whether it is the Second Prince's serious illness or the mysterious death of Concubine Jing, they are forbidden topics in the palace."

"understand!"

Ren Ye nodded slowly and said solemnly: "Don't worry, my mouth is tight."

"Yeah." Lord Rat responded and said no more.

Ren Ye leaned back in the car, sipping his tea as he continued to think.

The reason why he pulled Lord Rat aside to "chat" was mainly to figure out where he had gone wrong and whether the fault was with the Second Prince.

But unexpectedly, he actually talked about so many secret rooms in the palace, and he was still full of doubts in his mind.

Regarding the story of Concubine Jing, he personally felt that it was not that simple.

How could a favored "imperial concubine" who was also a close friend of the queen, without giving birth to a prince, be so stupid as to murder the prince's strongest competitor just out of jealousy?

Even Old Liu couldn't perform this operation, let alone a royal concubine who had lived in the palace for a long time and had a deep understanding of the world.

Therefore, Ren also vaguely felt that the death of Concubine Jing might be the price to pay for something, and she was a poor person who was sacrificed in public.

Thinking of this, Ren Ye immediately took out his small notebook out of habit and began to write and draw.

He needed to sort out the timeline of the case to ensure that he could find the details instantly when he needed them.

Starting point: Concubine Jing is pregnant with Princess Jun'an - not long after - the Second Prince is seriously ill and bedridden - half a year later - the Emperor of Southern Xinjiang becomes suspicious and imprisons Concubine Jing - Concubine Jing gives birth to Princess Jun'an - the Second Prince recovers - Queen Mother Yuan'an passes away.

He kept a detailed record of every important event according to this timeline.

The reason why Ren Ye attached so much importance to the case of Concubine Jing was because he had an intuition and judgment in his heart. He always felt that this old event in southern Xinjiang was related to the situation on the border and to the answer he had guessed wrong. As long as he found out the truth about this matter, he might be able to see the whole truth.

After thinking for more than an hour, Ren suddenly felt tired and fell asleep in the carriage.

……

More than a day passed.

The horse caravan heading to Beijing finally entered the capital of southern Xinjiang - Lich City.

Under the guidance of Lord Rat, everyone settled in Huitongguan in Kyoto, which is a department under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. It is equivalent to the state guesthouse in the real world and is specially used to entertain envoys from various countries.

After settling down temporarily in Huitong Hall, Ren Ye asked Lord Rat, "Should I meet the Second Prince first?"

"I have to go back to the palace to report to the Emperor first, and then go to inform the Second Prince." Lord Rat replied with a smile.

"Okay, then we'll wait here first." Ren also nodded slightly.

After the two finished chatting, Lord Rat left the inner courtyard with his entourage and came to the long street in front of Huitong Hall.

"Squeak...!"

At this moment, several carriages came from the south and stopped in front of Huitong Hall slowly.

Lord Rat looked at the carriage and frowned slightly.

"brush!"

The curtains of the carriage in the center slowly opened, revealing a cynical and handsome face.

With a jade-like face and an unruly expression, he shouted at Lord Rat, "Lord Wei!"

Lord Rat, who was about to get on the car, immediately bent over to greet the man after seeing his face, and said with a smile: "This old servant pays homage to His Royal Highness the Third Prince."

The Third Prince sat in the carriage and looked Lord Rat up and down. "Hey, Lord Wei. I heard that my second brother shaved all the hair off your body?!"

"...!"

Mr. Rat was so embarrassed that he was speechless for a moment.

"Is it really all shaved clean?" asked the third prince curiously.

"Yes...!" Lord Rat felt that the Third Prince really had no emotional intelligence.

"I don't believe it." The third prince shook his head.

"?!"

Lord Rat was slightly stunned, and cursed in his heart: "Believe it or not! Can I take off my pants for you in the street? Are you bored? I just want to ask you if you are bored?"