Manbao widened her eyes: "It’s not the Third Prince?"
Lord Tang shook his head, "I don’t know. It’s still unclear at this ti. The Third Prince is in Luozhou now, making it difficult to investigate."
Manbao curiously asked Lord Tang, "Does Senior Brother think it was the Third Prince’s doing?"
Lord Tang looked at her strangely, "I’ve already said it’s still unclear."
Manbao: "Not based on evidence, just on Senior Brother’s judgnt."
Lord Tang fell silent. After a long ti, as another group of guards passed by them, he finally said: "Swapping the drinks like this, at first glance, it indeed seems like the Third Prince’s doing. I didn’t suspect initially, but His Majesty said it wasn’t, and he seed quite certain. With His Majesty’s wisdom and character, he must have sothing to be so confident in saying that."
He continued, "Previously, His Majesty’s handling of the situation indeed seed like the Third Prince’s doing. He sent the Third Prince back to his fief, confined him, suppressed the impeachnt notes against the Crown Prince, privately reprimanded the Crown Prince for being capricious, outwardly ordered an investigation into the matter, but secretly instructed Gu Zhong to suppress it, leaving it unsettled..."
"But now he reopens the old case and asks Lord Yin to investigate secretly. It’s clear he still has so doubts about the Third Prince, yet he trusts more that the Third Prince didn’t do it." Lord Tang said, "So it’s possible that the Third Prince truly didn’t do it."
It’s just that soone planted it on the Third Prince’s head, hitting two targets with one arrow.
Manbao was first to think: "Another prince?"
Lord Tang sighed, "I have this suspicion, but there’s no evidence. It’s untraceable."
The struggle for the throne had already dragged down two legitimate princes; involving other princes would probably result in more bloodbath.
So without solid evidence, he didn’t want to speak out.
He glanced at Manbao, "I’ve told you everything, keep your mouth shut. Now, it’s your turn to reveal your secrets."
Manbao beca conflicted and only whispered after looking around, "I promised the Crown Princess not to tell anyone about it."
Lord Tang was earnest, "I also promised Lord Yin never to leak the case details. But do you know why I told you in the end?"
Manbao shook her head.
Lord Tang said seriously, "Because Bai Shan and I are Junior Brothers, both studying at the National Academy, our friendship is like brotherhood. And you are not only Bai Shan’s Senior Sister but also his fiancée, so we’re family. Being family, you don’t count as outsiders."
Manbao believed him, as if ghosts would.
He never disclosed the Prince of Yizhou’s case to Madam Tang.
She snorted inwardly but still contemplated and whispered, "The first ti I entered the palace, the Crown Prince was poisoned."
Lord Tang’s face instantly darkened and he asked, "What poison?"
Manbao shook her head, "I’m not sure how to describe it. I’d never seen it before. If other physicians saw it, they wouldn’t detect the poison."
Lord Tang asked solemnly, "Even Director Xiao can’t detect it?"
Manbao shook her head, "He might suspect, but definitely can’t diagnose it."
Lord Tang frowned at her, "Then how did you diagnose it?"
Manbao said, "I wouldn’t be able to diagnose it either because it doesn’t show in the pulse. It’s just that day the Crown Prince coincidentally lost his temper in front of , showing a clue. I’d read about similar symptoms in a dical book, which made realize sothing was wrong."
"That dical book..."
Manbao said seriously, "Only I have it..."
"Is there an antidote?" Lord Tang asked, "How is the Crown Prince’s health now? Why didn’t you report it to His Majesty?"
Manbao replied, "The poison has been cured. The poison doesn’t show in a pulse diagnosis, so it wasn’t ntioned."
If anyone else said this, Tang He would certainly doubt it, but these words were from Zhou Man, so Tang He believed them.
He furrowed his brow, pondered for a long while, then stopped and asked seriously, "Is the poison serious?"
Manbao answered equally seriously, "If undetected, over ti the Crown Prince’s temper would beco more volatile, then his health would weaken, his hair would fall out in clumps, insomnia, nosebleeds, and gradually he’d weaken and die."
Lord Tang was surprised, "Is it chronic poison?"
Manbao nodded, "It’s not sothing ingested, but sothing contacted."
She sighed while looking at Lord Tang: "Senior Brother Tang, though I’m more trustful compared to the Eastern Palace, I can’t tell you what that thing is, or else they would imdiately guess I told you."
If she told Tang He, he’d surely investigate, and the target would be evident. The Crown Prince isn’t stupid, he’d surely suspect she betrayed him.
Tang He didn’t force her further but restored his smile, asking, "Then why did you tell ?"
"I owe you a favor, don’t I?" Manbao said, "And I also want Senior Brother Tang to know so that in case I’m inadvertently dragged into it, you can at least rescue ."
Lord Tang was speechless for a long while, "You really trust ."
Ultimately, he didn’t refuse her.
Tang He didn’t utter the redundant words "Why don’t you steer clear of trouble," since she treated Shi Dalang, she had entered the fray, it wasn’t a situation she could decide with a re question.
Even he, a Ministry of Justice person, could be temporarily transferred to assist Yin Li at Jingzhao Yin, inevitably getting involved. Let alone Manbao, such a small and weak young person?
Tang He leisurely walked with her to the palace gates, then bade farewell.
Manbao didn’t hide her good relationship with him, straightforwardly bowed back, and then went to find the palace attendant and carriage that regularly took her back to Changqing Alley.
But her two-clock-long walk with Tang He in the corridor was known to various factions.
When she went to the Eastern Palace again, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but slightly turn his head and ask, "What did you talk about with Tang Zhihe yesterday?"
"Senior Brother Tang?" Manbao didn’t even raise her head while administering acupuncture to him, "We talked a lot, but we also discussed His Highness’s drinking incident. Lord Tang even inquired about His Highness’s health condition."
Yesterday, shortly before reaching the palace gates, Tang He said to Manbao, "To make people believe what you say, your words must contain seven parts truth, two parts falsehood, and hide the most crucial part without ntioning it."
The Crown Prince listened to her words and lay down on the pillow, eyes slightly closed, continuing to ask, "Did you tell him?"
Manbao felt a bit troubled, "I just told him His Highness’s health has improved, nothing else."
The Crown Prince gently murmured an "Hmm," asking, "Do you find my health indeed improving these days?"
Manbao nodded, "It has improved."
"I heard you got engaged to your Junior Brother?"
Manbao: ... How does everyone know?
Seeing her speechless, the Crown Princess, who ca out of the inner chamber, smiled and said, "We only found out yesterday. The Crown Prince asked to prepare a gift for you."
Seeing that Manbao had finished acupuncture, she opened the box to show Manbao, smiling, "It’s a pair of jade hairpins. You are still young, so you won’t use them now; when you grow a bit older, you each can have one."
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