RCDSA 07

Chapter – 07

The Emperor’s Cuckold.

On the way to see Imperial Physician Zhang, Xie Linchao took a moment to open the system panel and check out the “Main Quest” the system had just issued.

[Main Quest: Conquer the World]

[Quest One: Gain the Loyal Following of One Thousand Retainers (Phased Quest)]

[Quest Description: As an enlightened and wise lord, you harbor grand ambitions, aiming for the supreme throne and world domination. How could you lack a loyal retinue of retainers to conquer the four corners of the realm on your behalf?]

[Time Limit: Within two months (Countdown: 59 days remaining)]

[Reward: Ten consecutive card draws (Guaranteed one character card)]

[Note: Card-based subordinates and already pledged retainers do not count. Only those newly recruited within the time limit, who are sincerely loyal and harbor no disloyal thoughts, are valid.]

Seeing that the quest reward included a character card, Xie Linchao, who was already quite satisfied with Bai Qi, couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

However, she needed to gain the sincere loyalty of a thousand people within two months, and the thousands of armed escorts from the former Yunhai Escort Agency didn’t count. Xie Linchao felt this quest wouldn’t be completed anytime soon.

Under normal circumstances, she would have to wait until she reached her fiefdom before she could freely go about winning over the people’s hearts there.

For now, the priority was figuring out who had set her up at the Golden Autumn Palace Banquet.

The last time Imperial Physician Zhang had come to the residence to treat her, Linlang had already revealed to Xie Linchao that Physician Zhang was one of their own.

Xie Linchao had always called upon the residence physicians for her ailments in the past and had never dealt with anyone from the Imperial Medical Institute, so she was unaware of Physician Zhang’s background.

Imperial Physician Zhang was a court spy left behind by the late Empress. Following her orders, he had always kept a low profile in the Imperial Medical Institute, never striving for prominence. He was also the lead coordinator for contacting other spies within the palace.

This time, when Xie Linchao had fallen into trouble, no other imperial physicians were willing to come to the Second Prince’s residence and wade into these muddy waters. The assignment naturally fell to the inconspicuous Physician Zhang.

Physician Zhang was “forced” to enter the Second Prince’s residence to treat Xie Linchao, but in reality, he was there to relay information.

At the main house in the rear courtyard, Bichu stood guard outside the door.

Inside, Linlang and Bai Qi stood guard on either side, while Imperial Physician Zhang took Xie Linchao’s pulse and spoke:

“Your Highness’s injuries are healing well, and your internal energy has stabilized significantly. However, until you are fully recovered, your diet should remain light and bland. Avoid overexertion and excessive worry…”

“Your Highness, the men you ordered to keep watch over Talented Lady Lan finally made a discovery three days ago, at the hour of Xu (around 8 PM).”

Xie Linchao’s expression turned serious, and she continued listening attentively.

“Three days ago was the Ghost Festival. The Imperial Household Bureau sent men to collect the sacrificial offerings prepared by the various palaces and consorts, to be taken together to the Sacred Buddha Pagoda for cremation.”

“The eunuch from the Imperial Household Bureau responsible for collecting offerings at Green Bamboo Pavilion, where Talented Lady Lan resides, is called Xiao Shengzi. He is also one of the late Empress’s network of spies within the palace.”

“At the Green Bamboo Pavilion, Talented Lady Lan almost stumbled due to feeling unwell and was steadied by Xiao Shengzi. Xiao Shengzi had learned a bit of basic medical knowledge from me, and happened to inadvertently detect her pulse, discovering that Talented Lady Lan was already two months pregnant.”

Xie Linchao’s brows lifted in surprise. “Oh? Am I going to have another little brother or sister? Father Emperor’s prowess remains undiminished!”

In recent years, there had been no joyful announcements of imperial consorts falling pregnant.

Imperial Physician Zhang continued: “Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival two months ago, Qingzhou suffered from exceptionally heavy rain and flooding. The river embankments were breached, and the people were displaced. His Majesty was so preoccupied with state affairs that he did not visit the harem for an entire month. Furthermore, the records of Talented Lady Lan’s routine pulse checks ceased over a year ago.”

Talented Lady Lan had fallen out of favor over a year ago and had not been summoned by Emperor Xuanhe since. Hence, the Imperial Medical Institute no longer needed to perform routine pulse checks for her, as pregnancy was deemed impossible.

Yet now Talented Lady Lan was pregnant—clearly not with Emperor Xuanhe’s child.

Xie Linchao was stunned by this revelation and clicked her tongue in amazement. “Talented Lady Lan is so audacious! Having an affair and cuckolding the emperor—well, one can understand the loneliness of the deep palace. But why would she dare to get pregnant? And if she did, why didn’t she get rid of it immediately?”

Imperial Physician Zhang, as if hearing something utterly treasonous: “…Your Highness, could you perhaps rein in that gloating expression just a little? His Majesty is still your father, after all.”

Physician Zhang explained: “Contraceptives and abortifacients are prohibited substances within the palace. Given Talented Lady Lan’s family background and connections, she cannot obtain such things. If she attempted to abort the child improperly, it could harm her own body—in severe cases, it could be fatal for both mother and child.”

Xie Linchao understood.

No wonder Talented Lady Lan had kept the child—she was probably afraid of dying.

Physician Zhang continued: “Two months ago, Your Highness was in Qingzhou providing disaster relief and was not in the capital. If Talented Lady Lan’s pregnancy were exposed, no one would suspect Your Highness. If handled properly, this could clear Your Highness of the false accusations made at the Golden Autumn Palace Banquet.”

In truth, no one had actually witnessed Xie Linchao and Talented Lady Lan engaging in any improper conduct that night—even their clothing had remained intact.

The problem was that Xie Linchao had been drunk and couldn’t recall the sequence of events. It was all based on Talented Lady Lan’s word alone—she accused Xie Linchao of drunkenly molesting her, and claimed that she herself was a chaste and virtuous woman who had refused to submit, even attempting to dash her head against a wall on the spot to prove her innocence.

One was muddled and couldn’t state the facts clearly; the other spoke with conviction and was willing to stake her life on her innocence.

Add to that the agitation from ministers aligned with the other princes’ factions, and public opinion naturally tilted in favor of Talented Lady Lan, slinging all the mud onto Xie Linchao.

If Talented Lady Lan’s illicit pregnancy were exposed, her facade of chastity and virtue would be torn away. The testimony she had given as a falsely accused victim of pure innocence would then lose all credibility.

People would inevitably wonder: perhaps it was the licentious Talented Lady Lan who tried to seduce the Second Prince, and when that failed, she turned around and falsely accused him. The Second Prince would then be the true innocent victim.

Having confirmed that there was a way to clear the original owner’s name, Xie Linchao breathed a sigh of relief. “Imperial Physician Zhang, have you found out who Talented Lady Lan’s lover is? Do you have any suspects?”

“Talented Lady Lan is already two months pregnant. In another month, her condition will become visible and impossible to hide. She should be desperate to contact her lover soon.”

“Is he a palace guard? A eunuch who wasn’t fully cleansed? Or… a prince residing in the Princes’ Quarters?”

A gleam of gossipy excitement lit up Xie Linchao’s eyes.

Among the current princes, only the First Prince and Xie Linchao had established their own residences outside the palace. The other four princes had not yet come of age and, being unsuitable to remain in the harem, had all moved to the Princes’ Quarters.

Aside from the Sixth Prince, who was too young to realistically impregnate a woman, the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Fifth Prince—two aged sixteen and one aged fifteen—were all suspects.

Having finished taking her pulse, Imperial Physician Zhang began grinding ink and writing a new recuperative prescription. “Rest assured, Your Highness. Talented Lady Lan’s side remains under constant surveillance. However, among the batch of eunuchs that the Second Prince’s residence sent back to the Imperial Household Bureau, we discovered one whose background seems to serve another master.”

Xie Linchao rested her chin on one hand. “Who is it?”

Physician Zhang handed the completed prescription to Linlang, his expression grave. “It’s Xiao Fuzi. He’s been secretly in contact with a young eunuch serving the Fourth Prince, and they’re quite familiar with each other. He wants to be transferred to serve the Fourth Prince.”

“It’s him? That ungrateful, treacherous wolf!” Linlang cursed coldly from the side.

This was the first time Xie Linchao had seen Linlang display such open emotion. She quickly searched through the original owner’s memories for information about this Xiao Fuzi.

Xiao Fuzi was one of the eunuchs who attended to Xie Linchao personally, and he was the most favored among them. However, he had come to the Second Prince’s residence midway.

On one of the original owner’s visits to the palace, she had seen Xiao Fuzi being bullied by other eunuchs. Moved by compassion, she had transferred him from the palace to the Second Prince’s residence. Over the years, Xiao Fuzi had performed his duties diligently in the prince’s residence, was adept at reading people’s moods, and had particularly endeared himself to the original owner. Thus, he had gradually gained the prestige of being the most favored eunuch in the original owner’s service.

The original owner had taken Xiao Fuzi to the Golden Autumn Palace Banquet.

Knowing that she had poor alcohol tolerance, the original owner had specifically instructed Xiao Fuzi to carry hangover remedy pills with him. But that night, Xiao Fuzi had clumsily lost the sachet containing the pills. While he went back to look for it, he left the intoxicated original owner alone, allowing Talented Lady Lan’s scheme to succeed.

Looking back now, Xiao Fuzi was indeed suspicious.

To monitor Xie Linchao’s movements throughout the banquet and lure her into the trap, it couldn’t have gone so smoothly without someone close to her secretly colluding behind the scenes.

Xie Linchao had no particular master-servant attachment to Xiao Fuzi. Since he was potentially a traitor, she couldn’t let him go.

“Auntie, find a pretext to recall all the eunuchs who have served me closely. Be careful not to alert the enemy.”

“Bai Qi, when Xiao Fuzi returns to the residence, he’s yours. Get him to talk.”

“Yes.” Bai Qi accepted the order.

Linlang hesitated beside them. She didn’t know Bai Qi’s background and felt uneasy.

But Xie Linchao knew full well.

The God of Slaughter, Bai Qi—this was a major weapon, with far more methods at his disposal than Linlang possessed.

The raw, primal violence and brutality of the military camp and battlefield would have a much stronger impact than the bloodless, underhanded schemes of harem intrigue.