Chapter 726 - Sacrificial Goa

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But… Mo Ruo finally shook his head to clear his thoughts after allowing them to wander for a long moment. What is that about getting married or not? He must be crazy!

He jumped upright and replaced the disdainful expression on his face, then turned to flee out the room, closing the door. After that, he entered another room on the upper floor of the pavilion and locked the door behind him.

The room wasn’t big but was very elegant and was encompassed by bookshelves piled high with books. Every one of them seemed to have been there for a long time, appearing rather old and tattered.

Mo Ruo searched for a moment and drew out a single volume that had the words ‘Medical Record’ written on its cover.

This was the summation of the medical skills left behind by his dear old father, who had drunk himself to his death. Every book represented the pinnacle of medical knowledge. They recorded case after case of rare diseases, including the origins of diseases, medical theories and herbs, complicated and hard-to-treat conditions, as well as recipes to refine all kinds of poisons.

In order to treat Ji Yunshu’s illness, he could only consult the medical books that his own father had left behind to search for records pertaining to bufotoxin [1].

……

Prince Ji’s Estate

The news that Jing Rong had returned to the capital and entered the palace had already reached Jing Yi’s ears four hours ago. Judging by the time, Jing Rong should have already left the palace to return to his residence.

Meanwhile, Jing Yi was merely sitting down, calming brewing tea. An exquisite birdcage was hung in the corner of the room, housing a chirping bird that kept hopping up and down mischievously.

Dou Quan stood to the side, afraid to make a single sound. However, he was unavoidably rather worried, seeing the prince acting so calm even though Jing Rong had already returned to the capital. After some consideration, he stepped forward to issue a reminder, “Your Highness, if Prince Rong remains in the capital at this time, I’m afraid that in the future…”

Before he could finish his words, the formerly placid Jing Yi suddenly picked up the tea cup next to his hand and flung it harshly against the ground. Clang! The delicate porcelain cup shattered into pieces with a loud smash. What a pity!

Dou Quan immediately shrank backwards. “I beg your pardon, Your Highness.”

Jing Yi’s eyes held a sinister expression, a strange smile curving his lips. He seemed like a totally different person from the one that had just thrown the cup. “Didn’t he say he didn’t want to fight with this prince? I would like to see how he intends to win against this prince. So what if he managed to get hold of the Late Emperor’s edict to enter the capital? Practically all the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court are my people. Even if he grew a pair of wings, he still wouldn’t be able to escape this prince’s grasp.” Brimming with confidence!

Dou Quan didn’t dare to say anything else.

At that moment, Ji Li entered the residence. He had just withdrawn his people from outside the capital and had hurried here without even changing out of his bloodstained clothes.

Jing Yi gave Dou Quan a meaningful glance, gesturing for him to deal with the shattered cup. Dou Quan got the hint and immediately swept the porcelain shards to the side with his foot.

Ji Li entered with a grim look on his face and saluted, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

In contrast, Jing Yi welcomed him with a smile. “Secretary Ji, you’ve worked hard.”

“This official was not able to accomplish the task Your Highness set. I had already issued orders to kill Prince Rong but Qin Shiyu suddenly rushed over with the imperial edict.”

“This prince already knows about this.” Jing Yi stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of him, saying, “Actually, even this prince couldn’t have anticipated that Prince Rong would actually possess the Late Emperor’s edict, much less you. No matter who had been stationed outside the city, they wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”

Ji Li was still suspicious of the matter. “However, this official suspects that the edict could be false.”

“It isn’t that it could be false; it definitely is a false edict.”

Eh? Ji Li’s brows drew together in a frown.

Jing Yi explained, “According to this prince’s knowledge, His Majesty did not issue a written edict but merely made an oral decree. Qin Shiyu must have received the news earlier and announced a false edict in order to save Jing Rong’s life. This Qin Shiyu really is rather bold, but since they were able to leave the palace without issue, it clearly means that His Majesty had decided not to pursue the matter. Thus, His Majesty’s secret edict to summon Jing Rong back to the palace has been resolved.”

“Does Your Highness intend to let this pass just like that?”

“Let it pass?” Jing Yi scoffed and strode towards that birdcage with a hand tucked behind his back. He picked up a long, thin feather and poked it through the bars of the cage to play with the bird.

The feather’s disturbance further excited the bird which had already been chirping and hopping spiritedly inside the cage. The more agitated it became, the wider Jing Yi’s grin grew.

It looked terrifying.

He clicked his tongue, mimicking the bird’s chirping, before he continued speaking, “Even if he made it back to the capital, this prince won’t let his return be such a breeze.” His words were heavy with implication.

Jing Yi turned his head and ordered Dou Quan, “Go send word. At tomorrow morning’s court session, all the courtiers must make a fuss over the matter of the Yufu disaster relief funds. Blow the matter up as much as possible.”

“This subordinate understands.”

“As for you, Secretary Ji…” Jing Yi stopped teasing the bird and turned to look at Ji Li, “Although you had a duty to protect the capital and the safety of the palace, he is still a prince. It would have been fine if he died, but now that you’ve let him escape, Imperial Father will surely question you at morning court. Sending troops to obstruct him was part of your duty, but ordering soldiers to kill him is a crime.” It was a reminder! All responsibility now cleanly handed over to the scapegoat.

Ji Li smiled. “By saying this, Prince Yi means to make me a sacrificial goat. This official can only accept but I have said before that I, Ji Li, am not willing to participate in the struggle between factions. I will take responsibility for this matter but there will not be a next time.”

“Don’t worry, Secretary Ji. This matter was entirely unexpected. Since you helped this prince, this prince would naturally remain tight-lipped about your sister’s matter, though I must reiterate…” Jing Yi paused, “This prince’s victory would be victory for your Ji family as well; This prince’s defeat would likewise be yours too.”

Ji Li’s expression immediately chilled. A pair of blazing eyes glared unwaveringly at that feather in Jing Yi’s hands as he remained silent.

Jing Yi continued teasing the bird. “Back then, Imperial Father bestowed a yellow canary upon this prince. That canary was exceedingly lovable, chirping all day long in its cage. It’s not as spirited as this red-billed leiothrix [2], which keeps trying to escape its cage. However, the more it wants to escape, the more securely this prince wants to lock it up.”

How perverse! He seemed to be saying that he liked overpowering and taking control of others.

People like that only valued status and power. In order to obtain those, they would even be willing to sacrifice their closest family. If he truly became the Emperor, the Imperial Court would surely be filled with wicked and treacherous officials.

A long while later, he put down the feather, his sinister expression slowly fading away as he stared at the bird in puzzlement, muttering doubtfully to himself, “It’s just… this prince can’t fathom, just why would Imperial Father want to summon Jing Rong?”

You fool! Is that really such a mystery?

Isn’t it all because you were too impatient, because the assassin that had been sent to the Supreme Court was murdered in prison? Each of these many incidents unavoidably led the Qizhen Emperor to suspect that you were the one who instigated that useless son of his to rebel and commit regicide? Ignoring all else, just this one fact would ensure that your old man wouldn’t like you.

“And just what could be written on that posthumous edict?” Jing Yi pondered. He just couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

[1] Reminder: This is the fictional version JYS was poisoned with, not the RL thing with the same name.

[2] This is a real and very handsome bird! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-billed_leiothrix