Chapter 1405: Chapter 1383: Newly Added Function 3
Manbao’s identity is somewhat special. She is a folk doctor, not an imperial physician. If the Crown Prince really intends to follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Yizhou, many people will inevitably be implicated.
Manbao has been treating the Crown Prince for a while. Speaking of closeness, they are merely in a doctor-patient relationship. She is young, only capable of treating illnesses;
Saying that they are not close, yet she often frequents the Eastern Palace and knows the Crown Prince’s body the best. The Crown Prince doesn’t trust even Director Xiao of the Imperial Hospital, only allowing her to give medical consultations, which shows a glimpse of this trust.
Therefore, if something does go wrong, implicating her is possible, but not implicating her is also possible, depending on how the people in power see it.
Clearly, the possibility of implicating her is greater.
Because they have enemies, not to mention the Empress Dowager in the palace and the family of the Prince of Yizhou. There are still some people in the court with connections to the families implicated by the Prince of Yizhou’s case.
They have neither power nor influence. If the Emperor and Empress do not stand by their side, the likelihood of them being implicated is too great.
And with their own son rebelling, it’s predictable that the Emperor won’t have time to care for them. Perhaps he would even vent his anger on them.
After all, they’ve already guessed it by this time, yet haven’t thought to report it.
Hey?
Manbao whispered, "If it’s true, should we inform the authorities?"
Bai Shan whispered in return, "If it’s true, we should find an excuse to leave the capital. Blowing the whistle would get us killed even faster."
Keke, who had been listening to their discussion, couldn’t help but ask, "Host, have you not considered that the Crown Prince might succeed?"
Manbao thought to herself, "Don’t think about it. Look at the history books, which Crown Prince’s rebellion was ever successful? The current Emperor isn’t just any prince, and speaking of royal rebellions that succeeded, there was only him."
The current Emperor is not an easy target. Though he usually smiles and seems to accommodate ministers, that’s because he is willing to do so.
He came to power through a military coup. The Crown Prince wants to follow his father’s old path, unless his father grows old and ill, and perhaps accidentally dozes off, there might be a slim chance of success.
But as of now, the Emperor is strong and healthy. The Crown Prince contemplating rebellion is merely choosing an early death over a later one.
Though he struggled a bit before dying early.
Manbao and Bai Shan empathized with the current plight of the Crown Prince but did not approve of his actions.
Manbao couldn’t help but murmur quietly, "If I were him, I would get along well with the Empress and make sure she takes care of her health, then watch their contortions. As long as I’m not poisoned to death, I could be the Crown Prince forever, until the end of time, thwarting them."
Bai Shan nodded in agreement, "The Emperor is in his prime. There should be no problem living another ten or twenty years. Take care of one’s health, and hopefully, one could have children by then."
Manbao: "Even if unable to have children, he could adopt one or two from the royal family, then let the ministers and the Emperor fight it out, how nice."
But living like that must be stifling and requires great resilience and perseverance, but obviously, the Crown Prince’s temperament is unsuitable for enduring humiliation.
The two muttered their complaints quietly and then began to worry. Manbao said, "I can’t just go into the Eastern Palace and ask the Crown Prince and Princess, ’Are you planning to rebel? If so, I’ll hide out of the capital for a while and come back after you fail.’ So how are we supposed to know if they intend to rebel and when?"
Bai Shan pondered, "We can’t ask others. If we let anything slip, we will be doomed forever."
He said, "Not just the Eastern Palace, the Emperor might not let us go either."
And though they were currently safe, who knows if there’s someone watching them, waiting for them to make a mistake?
They have unknowingly offended many people.
Bai Shan thought hard, unable to ask people, let alone show suspicion in the Eastern Palace. They can’t just rely on speculation to conclude that the Crown Prince intends to rebel, right?
Manbao was already sighing, "Why do we always get involved with rebellion?"
Bai Shan suddenly had a thought and asked, "Manbao, can Uncle Zhou enter the palace on his own?"
Manbao was taken aback, eyes widened slightly.
Bai Shan clapped his hands excitedly, "I forgot about that. If I’d known, I should’ve asked Uncle Zhou to gather information for us at the start."
Seeing Manbao’s distressed face, he hesitated and asked, "Why not, can’t we?"
Manbao was communicating with Keke, who, after a moment of silence, listed a quotation list for her. Manbao glanced at the points required, feeling a painful ache in her heart.
"Why is it so expensive?"
"Host, the Encyclopedia limits the system’s function because it involves the host’s life safety. I can only apply for this feature with the Encyclopedia because of that. However, to prevent misuse by the host, the main system sets a high price. There should be relevant rules established in the future, and the host is advised to adhere to them."
Manbao blinked twice, feeling that Keke suddenly turned formal. She asked thoughtfully, "Is it because of that stone?"
Keke replied emotionlessly, "Please elaborate on the issue, host."
Manbao understood. Now, it must be someone, or that so-called main system, watching them closely.
Manbao frowned, withdrawing from the system. She saw Bai Shan sitting upright with restrained curiosity, watching her.
Bai Shan had already quietly withdrawn his hands, now clasped on his knees, looking well-behaved. He showed a gentle smile, softly asking, "Manbao, is Uncle Zhou here?"
Manbao did not answer the question, only saying, "It requires paying a price."
Bai Shan frowned, "Is it very dangerous? Then forget it."
Manbao shook her head, "I’ll figure out a way, don’t worry about it."
"But..." Bai Shan hesitated, "If Uncle Zhou’s soul gets damaged, would it affect his reincarnation?"
Manbao scratched her head. Spending too many points wouldn’t affect Keke, but it would affect her.
No, it would affect Keke too, though that would be a good influence. Since Keke provides the function, it would deduct some points as its reward.
It profits!
Manbao looked distressed, saying, "Fine, I’ll just go out more often and dig some flowers and plants that I haven’t seen before."
Bai Shan never understood why Uncle Zhou needed so many flowers and plants, yet they had to be ones he hadn’t seen before.
He really could not find an excuse for this point, but he knew asking Manbao would not yield any reasons either.
Bai Shan had reasoned that perhaps the underworld placed restrictions on Uncle Zhou, or maybe on Manbao, not allowing them to speak about this to a third person.
But if someone else guessed it themselves, it wouldn’t matter.
Bai Shan had learned to read Manbao’s expressions to guess intentions now.
Bai Shan carefully observed Manbao and found that although she looked pained and sorrowful, there wasn’t any anger or conflict, so he understood that while the task might have a price, it was within what she could bear.
It should not cause significant harm to Uncle Zhou then.
Bai Shan breathed a sigh of relief too.