jdhmnovel Chapter 584 Tongzhou Inspection Plan
Chapter 584 Tongzhou Inspection Plan
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
After eating something, the second prince's spirits improved significantly, and he was able to concentrate better.
He was quite certain that he was not hallucinating; the man said that his adversary might not exist.
Jiang Xiaoqi had other things to say, so she naturally wouldn't keep them in suspense and waste time.
"This is merely my conjecture; Your Highness may listen."
"Sir, please speak."
The second prince straightened his posture, pretending to listen attentively. Chen Lin, seeing that it was time to discuss serious matters, went back to keeping watch at the gate.
"The day before yesterday, I left the palace and went to bed before I went to bed. I thought about the matter and realized that it was really not an easy thing to do in the palace."
Not to mention the strict defense of the Imperial Guards, even those who served the Emperor were all carefully selected from impeccable families.
Even if a few can be bribed, the final thing His Majesty eats still has to go through the poison-testing eunuch.
How come the eunuch who tested the poison was unharmed, while His Majesty was poisoned and fell into a coma?
Jiang Xiaoqi paused for a moment, and seeing that the Second Prince was listening attentively, he continued, "Could it be that someone tested the poison with the eunuchs before adding the poison?"
The chances aren't zero, but they're extremely slim. There are probably no more than two people who can accomplish this.
One of them was the eunuch who was testing the poison; he was the one who stole from the body. He used a deception during the poison testing, pretending to test the poison while actually poisoning it.
Or perhaps it was the Grand Eunuch, His Majesty's most trusted confidant, who secretly poisoned the tonic while delivering it to His Majesty, during those few steps.
Besides these two, I can't think of anyone else who had the opportunity to accurately poison the animals and succeed.
After saying this, Jiang Xiaoqi did not continue, but waited for the Second Prince's reaction.
"Sir, I had overestimated the fifth brother's strength. It turns out I was just scaring myself?"
"What role the Fifth Prince played in this matter is currently unknown and cannot be determined."
"Your Highness shouldn't be so paranoid. Construction on our ships has already begun, and I was even thinking of accompanying Your Highness to the Tongzhou docks to check on the progress in a while."
The mention of ships immediately energized the second prince, since ships meant going to sea, going to sea meant going to Japan, and going to Japan meant he could mine silver without restraint.
Imagine, who would be happy to have mountains of silver piled up?
"Go to Tongzhou Wharf? Let's go together? But I've never left the palace alone before. Will Father Emperor approve?"
When the emperor was mentioned, the second prince's expression became somewhat strange.
He believed he had feelings for his father, and had genuinely worried about him these past few days, but these feelings were suppressed by an even greater fear.
"Of course we went together. That's His Highness's ship. How could His Highness feel at ease if he didn't go and see for himself?"
Besides, Lord Qiu works diligently at the docks. If Your Highness could visit and offer your condolences, Lord Qiu would surely be even more motivated to work.
Jiang Xiaoqi may seem to be joking, but she is actually very serious.
He had long planned to let the second prince step out of the palace; theoretical learning was ultimately too superficial.
Only by seeing the outside world for themselves can they truly integrate into the Great Zhou Dynasty; otherwise, these nobles will forever remain like clouds drifting in the sky.
"But what about Father..."
"Her Majesty the Empress will find a way to help His Highness and will also speak up for him."
Jiang Xiaoqi was very confident, especially this time, with the Empress and the Empress Dowager in charge of the court and the harem, respectively.
Does His Majesty the Emperor need to say who he trusts most? It's all out in the open.
"Alright, then once Father Emperor recovers, we'll go to Tongzhou Wharf to see our ships."
The second prince has already come of age. If it weren't for the label of "idiot," he would have already left the palace to establish his own residence. No, it should be said that if he didn't have the label of "idiot," he would have already entered the Eastern Palace.
But good things come to those who wait, and there's a saying that great things come to those who are accomplished later in life. Twenty is the perfect age to work hard and steadily.
"Once His Majesty recovers, or once the truth about this poisoning incident comes to light, perhaps the opportunity His Highness is waiting for will arrive."
"You mean appearing in front of others?"
Jiang Xiaoqi nodded, and then analyzed each of the princes from the fourth and fifth princes down to the younger ones.
It was so detailed that it was like taking a full X-ray of these people, including the princes' personalities, current reliance, the strength of their maternal families, and the people they could use. It was as if they had surveillance cameras installed above their heads.
The second prince was stunned. "Sir, how did you learn this information, oh no, these secrets?"
The Second Prince was worried that Jiang Xiaoqi would risk bribing other people's palace servants and attendants, and also worried that Jiang Xiaoqi's spies would be discovered.
"Your Highness need not worry. Money makes the world go round. Some of this information was bought from the palace servants, and some was obtained by asking Bai Xiaosheng."
It's just a matter of spending a little money; it's not risky, and the information is guaranteed to be true.
Upon hearing that it was just about buying information, the Second Prince finally relaxed. He had been overly suspicious lately, and his mental fortitude needed improvement.
Was Jiang Xiaoqi telling the truth?
Haha, of course not.
I didn't spend a single penny, but I did send out hundreds of cat food cans.
There were also people in the palace who kept cats, and quite a few of them.
These cats are difficult to recruit, and bribing them is much harder than with stray cats.
However, the kittens, who were tired of eating the same old cat food at the palace, were instantly captivated when they tried salmon, krill, tuna, and bonito canned food for the first time.
The big and small affairs in the palace were all exposed, even the fact that the seventh prince wet the bed when he was a teenager was revealed, just so he could eat a couple more cans of food.
Jiang Xiaoqi gathered the useful information and then fleshed out the character profiles of all the princes inside and outside the palace, making them know them better than the princes themselves.
The system store is having a 618 promotion, offering buy-one-get-one-free cat food. It's not so bad to spend points, since it's a 50% discount, which is very generous.
Jiang Xiaoqi finally managed to adjust the Second Prince's mindset, and it was time for lunch.
However, before the meal was served, an uninvited guest arrived at the Second Prince's palace.
"What's he doing here? He wouldn't come here without a reason; he probably has something he wants... cough cough. Sir, what should we do?"
"Since they've come to our door, we can't just hide from them. We should treat the Fifth Prince the same way His Highness treated the Third Prince."
The Fifth Prince has been frequently traveling around lately, presumably trying to gain favor with the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and even Your Highness during this time.
Oh right, there's also the Ouyang family. Recently, he's been getting closer and closer to Ouyang Jue from the Ouyang family. But the treasure map incident is connecting the two of them, which makes sense.
However, the Fifth Prince also had a chance encounter with Ouyang Yan, the eldest daughter of the Ouyang family, in the past two days.
In just two days, the Fifth Prince has accomplished so much; his schedule is certainly packed.
Fifth Prince, you're a true master of time management, you really work hard!