NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 28
Yuan Qingling could tell from his expression.
"Were they after you? Were you at the Wenchang Tower?"
Yuwen Hao didn't answer. He slowly sat down, looking at the miserable state of Fortune the dog, fury rose in his heart.
"They wanted to kill two birds with one stone, harming the Emperor Emeritus, then implicating me as well." Yuwen Hao said coldly.
Yuan Qingling was silent for a moment, then said to him: "Even if they can't harm the Emperor Emeritus, they will certainly try to bring you down with this. It's not normal, the Emperor will investigate for sure, and at that time, I'm afraid you won't easily get off. And even if the Emperor doesn't blame you, the Emperor Emeritus will be disappointed with you."
She didn't say the last sentence out loud.
That he would no longer have a chance at being Crown Prince.
Yuwen Hao was silent for a long time, his brows furrowed, his eyes freezing over.
He looked frightening like this, Yuan Qingling didn't dare provoke him.
She didn't want to know about these convoluted schemes and plots.
But since this would eventually affect her, the Princess Consort of Chu, she still couldn't help asking: "Other than you, who else was at the Wenchang Tower?"
Yuwen Hao suddenly looked up sharply, "What are you implying?"
"Chu Mingcui!" Yuan Qingling blurted out.
"Silence!" Yuwen Hao's eyes filled with fury. "Who told you to make wild guesses?"
Yuan Qingling didn't confront his anger head-on. She sat next to Fortune and stroked his fur, saying lightly: "You should hurry to the Emperor Emeritus' side to keep watch. When the Emperor Emeritus wakes up, the Emperor will surely order an investigation, it's best if you're present."
Yuwen Hao turned and strode out, his face icy.
Yuan Qingling looked at Fortune with a gentle sigh. Since someone wanted to harm Fortune, she couldn't guard him herself. If she was lured away for a moment, they could make their move. For Fortune to survive this calamity, he had to stay by the Emperor Emeritus' side.
She wrapped Fortune in a brocade blanket and picked him up, heading for the Hall of Heaven and Earth.
It was the Emperor Emeritus who ordered the thorough investigation into Fortune's incident.
The Emperor Emeritus knew Fortune's temperament well. Fortune was afraid of heights, even going down stone steps made his legs tremble. He would never go up the Wenchang Tower, nor would he jump down from it.
Therefore, after the Emperor Emeritus awoke, he immediately ordered a full investigation. When Ming Yuan Emperor came and got a clear picture of the situation, he was also furious, beating the little eunuch responsible for walking the dogs twenty heavy strikes first.
The one in charge of the investigation was Guard Commander Gu Si.
There weren't many people in the Hall of Heaven and Earth, so questioning them finished quickly.
The testimonies all pointed at Chu Prince Yuwen Hao.
Some saw that it was Yuwen Hao who carried Fortune up the Wenchang Tower.
"Summon Chu Prince!" Ming Yuan Emperor's expression was grim.
Yuwen Hao had just arrived at the palace, and upon hearing Ming Yuan Emperor's angry order, his heart sank. Without waiting for Gu Si to come for him, he strode into the hall.
Inside the hall, several princes like Ruixiao Prince, Qi Prince, Ji Prince had also arrived. The Empress and Chu Mingcui stood at the Empress Dowager's side attending to her. The Emperor Emeritus sat up halfway in bed, his expression unreadable. Eunuch Chang stood by the bed waiting upon him with tea.
"Chu Prince!" Gu Si stepped forward, his gaze somewhat complex. "Did you bring Fortune up the Wenchang Tower today?"
Yuwen Hao was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes."
Ming Yuan Emperor's expression immediately darkened. "What did you bring Fortune to the Wenchang Tower for?"
Yuwen Hao was silent again for a moment. "This child was feeling stifled and wanted to get some air at the Wenchang Tower. Fortune followed along, so I picked him up on a whim."
"When you left the Wenchang Tower, did Fortune follow you down?" Gu Si asked.
Yuwen Hao shook his head. "At the time, I didn't notice."
"You are usually observant, and you know Fortune is your emperor emeritus' beloved pet. How could you have not noticed?"
Ming Yuan Emperor's words were sharp. He was clearly implying that Yuwen Hao had always tried to curry favor with the Emperor Emeritus by fawning over the dog. The atmosphere in the hall was very tense. Even the Empress Dowager was startled.
She said: "Forget it, why make your own son lose face over a dog? Even if it was Fifth Brother who brought him up, he certainly wouldn't have thrown Fortune down. Fifth Brother is quite fond of Fortune."
The Empress Dowager didn't know that Ming Yuan Emperor had other thoughts in mind. She only felt that he was making a big fuss over a trivial matter - it was just a dog after all. Coaxing the Emperor Emeritus and investigating is one thing, but why embarrass Fifth Brother in front of so many people?
Seeing that Ming Yuan Emperor remained silent with a dark expression, the Empress Dowager turned to the Emperor Emeritus: "Emperor Emeritus, say something! Fortune is already gone, you can't punish the prince over a dog."
But the Emperor Emeritus was looking at Yuwen Hao. "Who else was at the Wenchang Tower after you left?"
There was a flash of hesitation in Yuwen Hao's eyes. "In response to Emperor Emeritus, no one."
When Yuan Qingling entered, she heard the Emperor Emeritus ask Yuwen Hao this. After hearing Yuwen Hao's reply, she was almost certain there was someone else at the Wenchang Tower.
But this person was someone he wanted to protect.
Yuan Qingling glanced at Chu Mingcui. She stood by the Empress' side, hands clasped, listening to Yuwen Hao's answer. Her eyes clearly flashed at that moment.
Eunuch Chang's eyes were sharp. He saw that Yuan Qingling was holding a brocade blanket, Fortune's blanket, now stained with blood. He was displeased, what was the Princess Consort of Chu doing? She knew the Emperor Emeritus was distressed over Fortune, yet she still brought Fortune's bloody blanket in, wasn't that deliberately provoking the Emperor Emeritus' sadness?
He hurriedly went to stop Yuan Qingling, but she had already entered the hall.
Everyone else also saw her and the blanket she held.
Ming Yuan Emperor's expression grew even darker, and was about to scold her when Yuan Qingling bent her knees in a bow. "Emperor Emeritus, Father Emperor, I treated Fortune's injuries, he still hasn't woken, afraid that the Emperor Emeritus would worry for him, I brought him over first for you to see."
The Emperor Emeritus' eyes opened wide. "Bring him here quickly!"
Yuan Qingling went to the bedside, placing Fortune and the blanket on the floor. Fortune was still unconscious but breathing.
The Emperor Emeritus propped himself up to take a look, then asked Yuan Qingling, "How are his injuries? Why is he asleep?"
"There shouldn't be major issues now. Your daughter-in-law fed him some medicine to treat internal injuries, I got it from the Prince earlier." As she spoke, she glanced back at Yuwen Hao.
Chu Mingcui's voice rang out. "I wonder what medicine was given that could save Fortune from the brink of death."
Yuan Qingling turned to look at Chu Mingcui. "Purple Gold Elixir. The Prince said Fortune is the Emperor Emeritus' beloved pet. Afraid that Fortune's plight would affect the Emperor Emeritus' health, he fed Fortune the Purple Gold Elixir to see if it could save his life."
The Empress Dowager exclaimed, looking at Yuwen Hao reproachfully. "How muddled you are! You only had one pellet of Purple Gold Elixir, even you didn't bear to consume it yourself, yet you fed it to Fortune?"
Yuwen Hao glanced at Yuan Qingling. Yuan Qingling stood calmly, her gaze clear.
He said softly: "Seeing the Emperor Emeritus fall ill over Fortune's matter, this child acted rashly in the moment..."
That he was willing to use the precious Purple Gold Elixir to save Fortune showed that he didn't harm Fortune.
Ming Yuan Emperor's expression also softened slightly. Ruixiao Prince took the chance to say: "Fortune must have wandered up the Wenchang Tower on his own impulse and accidentally fell over the railing. This was an accident."
Ming Yuan Emperor seemed to accept this explanation as well, especially seeing the Emperor Emeritus' intention to let the matter rest.
The Emperor Emeritus said: "Gu Si, take Fortune away to recuperate."
The Emperor Emeritus waved a hand. "No need. Let him stay by my side to heal. I'm tired, Princess Consort Chu, continue attending me here. Everyone else, withdraw!"