Chapter 503 - 504: Suspicion
Chapter 503: Chapter 504: Suspicion
The Imperial Physicians shook their heads one after another. Any doctor with a bit of skill could brew this sterility medicine. It was just that everyone’s prescription habits and dosages varied.
They couldn’t possibly say this out loud; otherwise, everyone present would be a suspect.
"How could you not trace it? You’re able to cure it."
Rong Ruiyuan was being aggressive. It was too close—if Gu Antong hadn’t had issues, he wouldn’t have called for the Imperial Physicians in the first place. If he hadn’t grown suspicious and ordered these Imperial Physicians to take his pulse, his entire life would have been ruined in another month or two.
To be successfully drugged right under his own nose—others would only think of him as incompetent. Without a son, which minister would still be willing to side with him? Even his imperial father would probably not look him in the eye from now on.
His suspicion toward his brothers deepened. He immediately looked at the Emperor with an aggrieved expression. "Imperial Father, who could be so heartless? To slip me such a drug this time—does this mean they will come straight for my life next time?
"If they were to grow even bolder, then this Rong Dynasty..."
Rong Ruiyuan stopped at just the right moment, but his unspoken implication only made the Emperor’s suspicions grow stronger. No one wanted such an unpredictable and elusive person hiding by their side. The Emperor immediately ordered a thorough, unsparing investigation.
***
After drinking a large bowl of bitter medicine, Rong Ruiyuan felt increasingly unsettled the more he thought about it. He rarely dined out recently, at most drinking a little tea. If someone wanted to slip the drug into his tea, he was confident that, with his vigilance, he would have noticed it. If that was the case, it had to be from the inner courtyard. This was his own estate! With it being so unsafe, how could he ever have peace of mind?
He summoned his trusted aide and asked, "How is the investigation going?"
"To answer Your Highness, we haven’t found any anomalies yet. Our men are currently investigating the main kitchen."
The man answering him had his heart in his throat. Without any clues, this would not be an easy task.
Rong Ruiyuan suddenly thought of Gu Antong’s fat face. Before, he had thought her plumpness was nice to touch, but as she grew fatter and fatter, he finally realized something was wrong.
"How are things with Gu Shufei? What did the Imperial Physicians say? Can her poison be cured?" Rong Ruiyuan finally remembered Gu Antong. They were the only two poisoned in the estate, which indirectly cleared her of suspicion. After all, no woman would willingly destroy her own appearance. Losing favor in the imperial family was a dead end. Any smart person wouldn’t do something to ruin their own future.
"The Imperial Physicians said the concubine’s medicine is a bit different. It could be called a poison, but not quite. It doesn’t threaten her life at all; it just makes her body grow increasingly obese."
"Whose doing is this?" Rong Ruiyuan frowned. Targeting him would benefit his brothers, but what impact could a mere concubine have on them? Could it be they bore a grudge over Gu Baijiang handing the silver to him, and so they ruined Gu Antong in retaliation? That didn’t make sense either. It was precisely because Gu Antong had been drugged that he decided to get himself checked. Could it be that the drugs weren’t planted by the same person?
He narrowed his eyes. "Investigate the inner courtyard of our estate. Don’t let the main consort off the hook either."
"Your Highness suspects..." his trusted aide looked up at him.
"I suspect we weren’t drugged by the same person, but I also refuse to allow anyone with malicious intentions to exist in my inner courtyard." Gu Antong had somewhat saved him in a roundabout way, so he needed to get to the bottom of this. If the mastermind was one of the women in his inner courtyard, whether the main consort or a side consort, they shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
The trusted aide hurriedly agreed and rushed off to handle it.
The Third Prince’s suspicion was highly plausible. After all, the concubine only had grudges with the women in the inner courtyard. However, it was also fortunate. Thanks to Gu Antong’s condition, the poison afflicting the Third Prince had a chance to be cured. Otherwise, there would have been no hope, and followers like them wouldn’t have met a good end either.
The Third Prince’s faction began to mobilize, desperate to catch the mastermind.
The entire inner courtyard of the Third Prince Mansion was thrown into chaos. Before, the women were just watching Gu Antong’s misfortune for amusement, but now they were only thinking about how to protect themselves. With a large group of people constantly going in and out, relentlessly searching day after day, even the Third Prince Consort could only swallow her anger.
The news of Rong Ruiyuan being drugged was not kept a secret—in fact, it couldn’t be hidden at all.
Sure enough, he had barely returned to the estate and hadn’t even finished his medicine before the other princes came knocking. They claimed they were here to visit their brother, but in reality, they were just here to watch the drama unfold. At the same time, they wanted to make their stances clear, showing that this matter had absolutely nothing to do with them.
Rong Ruiyuan was seething with anger and originally hadn’t wanted to deal with them, as he currently saw everyone as the culprit trying to harm him. However, his advisors had a point. The Emperor was watching now. No matter how furious he was, he had to put on a display of brotherly love.
After welcoming them into the estate, the eldest prince, Rong Ruixue, patted Rong Ruiyuan’s shoulder earnestly. "Ruiyuan, you really have suffered. It’s just a pity that you’ll have to waste two years in vain. When the time comes and your knees remain bare of children, I’ll send your nephews and nieces over to keep you company. Consider it as them showing filial piety on behalf of your future children."
"Ruixue makes a valid point." The second prince, Rong Ruisi, also studied Rong Ruiyuan curiously, his gaze lingering significantly on his lower region for a few moments. "I heard from the Imperial Physicians that Ruiyuan will essentially be living like a monk for the next two years. I’ll have someone send over some Buddhist scriptures later. You should properly cultivate your moral character, so you can soon bear descendants for Imperial Father."
Rong Ruiyuan clenched his fists, restraining himself again and again to keep from throwing a punch.
He turned his head to look at the fourth prince, Rong Ruibo, who was just about to speak. He saw the latter give a shy smile. "Ruiyuan, I heard you were ill. My mother specifically asked me to bring you some tonics. Here is the gift list."
Hearing this, Rong Ruiyuan’s expression softened slightly. At least there was one who was less of a headache and knew to bring him gifts.
"Ruibo is the most considerate," Rong Ruiyuan said, patting his shoulder approvingly. He realized that, without him noticing, Rong Ruibo had grown to be just as tall as him. The once half-grown boy had now become his rival.
"As long as you like it, Ruiyuan," Rong Ruibo replied. "If you need more, I’ll have someone send over another batch next time."
Rong Ruiyuan was just about to offer a few polite words in return, but the moment he opened the gift list, he only wished the actual items were right in front of him so he could viciously smash them into the other party’s face. What on earth were these gifts?
He squeezed his words through gritted teeth. "Then I won’t trouble you, Ruibo. I can still afford this little bit of tonic."
The eldest prince was a bit curious. He felt that none of these younger brothers were easy to deal with, so how could there be an anomaly who was kind enough to give Ruiyuan gifts? But when he saw the items listed on it, his eyes immediately widened in realization. So that was how it was!
The second prince took a glance and finally couldn’t hold it back, clutching his stomach as he burst into laughter. "Ruibo, you really gave a wonderful gift! You are simply far too considerate!
"I really need to learn from you. I’ll prepare some for Ruiyuan later too; after all, we’re blood brothers."