The night was deep, and faint candlelight still flickered in the mansion of Marquis Xuanping.
Jin Qianyu, who was listening with a dark expression to the report of a servant, grew even more somber after the report was finished.
"Young Master, I have scoured the entire city these past few days, but the shopkeeper of the Jin family pharmacy is nowhere to be found. I even followed Young Master's instructions and sent people to discreetly inquire at the four major medical halls. Not only did I hear no news about the Jin family shopkeeper, but I also heard that the medicinal herbs transported by the Sen family only arrived at the four major medical halls today."
Ever since the Jin family shopkeeper led the vagrants out of the city to intercept the four major medical halls that day, there had been no news.
Jin Qianyu had tried every method these past few days, but he couldn't get any information.
Now, upon hearing that the medicinal herbs of the four major medical halls had only just arrived today, he was so shocked that he leaped from his chair. "How is that possible! The medicinal herbs for the four major medical halls should have arrived long ago..."
A bad premonition surged from the soles of Jin Qianyu's feet to the back of his head.
If the medicinal herbs for the four major medical halls truly only arrived today, then who was the Jin family pharmacy shopkeeper intercepting with those vagrants?
Another waiter hurried to knock on the door.
"Young Master, this is bad! The air has been very damp lately, and the Astragalus that was stored in the cellar has grown mold!"
Upon hearing this, Jin Qianyu, enraged, kicked the waiter in the stomach. "Trash! A bunch of trash!"
The waiter fell to the ground, his face etched with worry, not daring to make a sound.
Astragalus, once it molded, was completely useless.
Jin Qianyu had purchased the Astragalus at a high price, originally thinking that by completely monopolizing the American ginseng, he could sell the Astragalus he had in hand at double the price. But now...
The Jin family pharmacy shopkeeper had disappeared, the four major medical halls had replenished their American ginseng, and the Astragalus in his own cellar had grown mold... This was not only losing his wife and soldiers but also collapsing his entire estate!
Hammered repeatedly by reality, Jin Qianyu felt his chest tighten, and his vision even flashed with stars!
Xie Jinglan's carriage happened to pass by Marquis Xuanping's mansion and saw the faint candlelight within. Without even thinking, he could imagine how dejected the young heir of Marquis Xuanping must be at this moment.
Thinking of the woman's deep schemes and meticulous calculations he had just encountered...
Looking out at the moonlit night, Xie Jinglan couldn't help but curl his lips.
Tonight, the Marquis Xuanping's mansion was likely not the only one sleepless.
The third watch struck, and the world was still.
The entire Sheng Emperor City was immersed in the night, even the palace lanterns had been extinguished.
The princes who had been on the same side as the Fifth Prince, preparing to impeach Ji Zizhao, had already returned to their respective homes. The Fifth Prince, whose lips were worn thin from waiting, never dreamed that he would wait and wait and not even see a ghost.
Xie Jingzhou, unwilling to give up, could only bribe palace servants to inquire within the palace.
By chance, this scene was witnessed by Xie Jinglan, who was returning to the palace.
Xie Jinglan had been residing in the palace recently to be with Empress Zhong. He was initially wondering how to sneak into the palace without being seen by Xie Jingzhou at the gate, when he saw Xie Jingzhou secretly handing money to a palace servant.
Although he was too far away to hear what was said, it didn't prevent Xie Jinglan from guessing.
Originally, he intended to feign weakness and tie the eldest daughter of the Ji family to the pillar of moral shame, forcing her to return with him as a concubine. Now, although the other princes had left, the Fifth Prince would only become more unwilling, and the more unwilling he was, the more he would wait, leaving him completely disheveled.
Fortunately, the eldest daughter of the Ji family had left the palace early. Otherwise, if she were caught by the Fifth Prince at this moment, this pitiful display would surely be presented to their father, the Emperor, thereby forcing the Emperor to pressure her into accepting the title of concubine to the Fifth Prince.
After all, in front of Xie Jingzhou, who was accustomed to feigning weakness, he would sacrifice all his dignity to achieve his goal.
A cold glint flashed in Xie Jinglan's eyes. The princes fought for power, and how they slaughtered each other was all for the sake of carving out a domain. The winner becomes king, and the loser becomes a bandit – this was an eternal truth. However, to use a woman to satisfy one's own sordid desires for personal gain was truly too shameless.
Since Xie Jingzhou enjoyed playing the victim, Xie Jinglan might as well indulge him.
Moreover, although he had obstructed his Fifth Imperial Brother in the hall today from having the Emperor pursue the Second Imperial Brother's whereabouts, given the Emperor's suspicious nature, it was not impossible that he already suspected something and had even secretly sent people to investigate.
The best way to stop someone from doing something was to divert their attention. Coincidentally, someone was actively presenting themselves. As the saying goes, a good knife should be used on the cutting edge.
Xie Jinglan instructed Mo Yan to slip into the palace through a side gate used by palace servants, then found the palace servant bribed by Xie Jingzhou. He directly offered double the price and told the servant that there was no need to search further, as the eldest daughter of the Ji family had already left the palace.
With money filling his pockets, the palace servant naturally wouldn't refuse it. Soon, he returned to Xie Jingzhou and, following Mo Yan's instructions, informed the Fifth Prince that the eldest daughter of the Ji family had departed.
Having stood in the cold wind for four hours, Xie Jingzhou could not bear it.
No matter how he pretended to have no self-respect in front of others, his self-respect was the most untouchable behind their backs.
Now, just waiting by an empty palace gate for several hours, Xie Jingzhou felt a surge of anger simply thinking about it. His vision darkened, and he collapsed straight to the ground.
"Your Highness Fifth Prince?"
"Someone! Quickly, someone!"
"His Highness Fifth Prince has fainted—!"
The quiet palace gate erupted with the shouts of the palace servants.
Xie Jinglan seized this opportunity and entered the palace by carriage, successfully avoiding Xie Jingzhou's gaze.
"Mo Yan."
"Your servant is here."
"The Fifth Imperial Brother fainting is no small matter. Quickly spread this news into the palace."
Didn't Xie Jingzhou like to play the victim and garner sympathy? Then Xie Jinglan would give him the perfect opportunity to solicit a wave of sympathy from everyone.
Soon, the entire palace was stirred by the news of the Fifth Prince.
In the Imperial Study, Emperor Xiaochang was contemplating whether to send people to investigate the whereabouts of the Second Prince outside the city. Just then, a palace servant reported that his son, love-struck, had fainted outside the palace gate in the middle of the night.
Such explosive news made Emperor Xiaochang feel ashamed for his unpromising son.
Was it really worth it for just one daughter of the Ji family?
Too lazy to embarrass himself along with the Fifth Prince, Emperor Xiaochang directly ordered someone to send a message to Noble Consort Xi in Anxi Palace. As a result, Noble Consort Xi, who had already washed and changed, had to appear with a bare face and order someone to carry the lifeless Xie Jingzhou back to her sleeping quarters.
Feng Gu, standing beside him, asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, should we still send people to investigate the Second Prince?"
Emperor Xiaochang, "..."
Investigate what!
His old face was almost completely disgraced, how could he still be in the mood to investigate!