CHAPTER 537: CHAPTER 537 TAKING MONEY

Wude Hall.

It’s the Eldest Prince’s bedroom.

The Eldest Prince was resting in bed, his complexion much better than when he was carried back to the palace yesterday.

The guard attended by his side.

The eunuch came in and said, "Your Highness, Doctor Liu is here."

"Let him in," said the Eldest Prince.

After the eunuch withdrew, Doctor Liu walked in carrying a medicine box.

Sitting on a stool, Doctor Liu felt the pulse of the Eldest Prince and said, "Your Highness’s complexion is much better than yesterday, and your pulse is much steadier."

The Eldest Prince chuckled, "Thanks to the antidote from the Imperial Hospital."

The guard dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the bedroom.

Doctor Liu felt a chill on his back and quickly said it was what the Imperial Hospital ought to do.

The Eldest Prince gazed at him and said, "Is there a prescription for the antidote?"

Cold sweat started to appear on Doctor Liu’s forehead.

"No... there isn’t."

The Eldest Prince smiled, "No prescription, so whose handiwork is the medicine? Surely Doctor Liu should know?"

Doctor Liu said nothing because he really couldn’t answer.

The guard said coldly, "Doctor Liu, how daring you are, to give unverified medicine to both the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince. Do you know the severity of this crime if anything goes wrong?!"

The medicine consumed by the nobles in the palace must be clearly documented.

If anything happens, these imperial physicians cannot escape execution.

The Eldest Prince cast a glance at Doctor Liu and said slowly, "If I were poisoned right now, what would become of Doctor Liu if my respected father holds you accountable?"

"Do you think the Second Prince and Duke Chong would save you?"

Doctor Liu looked terrified.

He fell to his knees with a thud and said, "Your Highness, calm your anger."

Calm his anger?

He might want to calm his anger.

But others wanted his life.

The Heir of Prince Zhenbei sent Doctor Liu to him; wouldn’t it be ungracious not to take the opportunity?

Doctor Liu felt afraid.

If the Eldest Prince were to take some poison himself and spit up a few mouthfuls of blood, it would certainly alarm the Emperor.

By then, all medicines ingested would be subject to scrutiny, including the antidote.

The medicine he gave to the Second Prince and the Eldest Prince, whose composition he didn’t know, or where it was purchased, he could not evade blame.

The Eldest Prince had a stranglehold on his Achilles’ heel.

The Eldest Prince asked, Doctor Liu answered.

The guard took out a piece of paper, and Doctor Liu wrote down in detail the fabrication the Second Prince wanted him to assist with.

Doctor Liu dared not defy.

Just as he finished writing, a loud voice from outside the hall announced:

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Doctor Liu collapsed to the ground.

The guard helped him up.

The Emperor came in, and the Eldest Prince quickly threw off his covers and got out of bed to greet the Emperor, "Your son pays respects to Father Emperor."

The Emperor helped him up and said, "Are you feeling better, my son?"

"I worried Father Emperor, but with Doctor Liu’s diligent care, your son is much better," the Eldest Prince said.

Doctor Liu was a bit bewildered.

The Eldest Prince actually didn’t expose him to the Emperor?

The Emperor praised Doctor Liu briefly.

Doctor Liu humbly said, "The Eldest Prince is blessed with great fortune, my medical skill is shallow, undeserving of praise."

"You may leave," said the Emperor.

Doctor Liu quickly grabbed his medicine box and left.

The guard escorted him out.

With no one around, the guard looked at Doctor Liu and said, "From now on, Doctor Liu should remember well who your true master is."

Waves of chills rushed from Doctor Liu’s soles to the tips of his hair.

The Eldest Prince didn’t want his life, he wanted him to act as his spy.

Gripping the confession he wrote in his own hand, the lives of his whole family rested in the hands of the Eldest Prince, he had no choice but to obey.

Doctor Liu turned pale and said, "I understand."

He carried his medicine box and trudged back to the Imperial Hospital.

The guard was just about to return to the bedroom when footsteps approached from afar.

He looked over and saw the Ninth Prince, Young Master Su, and Young Master Shen approaching.

The Emperor was conversing with the Eldest Prince, when the eunuch stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince and Young Master Su and Young Master Shen have come to visit the Eldest Prince."

The Emperor smiled, "How considerate, let them in."

Before the eunuch could leave, the Ninth Prince and his companions entered.

Upon seeing the Emperor present, Young Master Su was a bit bewildered.

Not the best timing for a visit.

Since they had arrived, it wouldn’t be appropriate to turn around and leave, so the three stepped forward to greet the Emperor.

The Ninth Prince looked at the Eldest Prince and said, "Eldest Brother, are you alright?"

In truth, the Ninth Prince and the Eldest Prince weren’t familiar at all.

He was an unappreciated young prince, whom the palace maids and eunuchs mostly ignored.

It was only after Young Master Su went to attend to him that his situation improved, and the Emperor began to care for him more, and the people in the palace started to curry favor with him.

The Eldest Prince really didn’t quite remember this younger brother. He nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, I’m much better now."

The Ninth Prince felt a bit frustrated.

Being brothers, Young Master Su and Mr. Su could chat endlessly even in the restroom. But looking at himself and the Eldest Prince, they were so distant like strangers—barely able to exchange a few words before having nothing to say.

The atmosphere was unbearably awkward.

The Ninth Prince truly didn’t know what to say to the Eldest Prince.

The Emperor said, "You may leave."

Young Master Su, "...."

He had specially come to the palace to get money. How could he leave empty-handed?

After taking a few steps, he couldn’t resist turning back to ask the Emperor, "Your Majesty, when are you leaving?"

The Emperor, "...."

Eunuch Fu, "...."

This question left both the Emperor and Eunuch Fu dumbfounded.

In this Imperial Palace, apart from the Empress Dowager’s Yongning Palace, who wouldn’t wish for the Emperor to stay as long as possible?

Yet Young Master Su asked the Emperor when he was leaving, so evidently urging him to go.

But that innocent face made Eunuch Fu feel he was overthinking it.

The Emperor looked at him, "Is there something that can’t be said in front of me?"

Young Master Su found it hard to answer.

The Emperor looked at the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince didn’t have Young Master Su’s fearless courage, but after staying at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion for so long, he had grown quite braver.

At least when the Emperor looked at him, he was no longer afraid. He said, "I am here with Su Yang to ask the Eldest Brother for money."

"Money?" The Emperor frowned.

"What money?" the Emperor asked.

The Ninth Prince glanced at the Eldest Prince and replied, "Yesterday, when the Heir of Prince Zhenbei and Princess Consort Zhenbei went missing and returned, they went to Dongxiang Marquis Mansion first. They didn’t stay long before sending Eldest Brother back to the palace."

"At that time, everyone at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion went out to look for them. Su Yang used a signal flare to report safety to Marquis Dongxiang..."

"It’s just that too many signal flares were used. When Marquis Dongxiang returned, he gave Su Yang a harsh beating."

The Emperor held back his laughter.

Eunuch Fu’s shoulders trembled.

When the Ninth Prince said that Marquis Dongxiang wronged Su Yang and apologized to him, and Su Yang seized the chance to negotiate terms with Marquis Dongxiang, the Emperor’s mouth twitched.

Getting beaten so badly yet still daring to negotiate terms, it seemed he wasn’t beaten hard enough.

"Marquis Dongxiang only agreed to let us go out to play for two days and didn’t give us any money," the Ninth Prince said.

"Princess Consort Zhenbei thinks the money should be paid by Eldest Brother."

"We ran out of money while shopping..."

At this point, the Ninth Prince couldn’t resist reporting to the Emperor about the Heir of Prince Zhenbei being so poor that he didn’t even have fifty taels.

The Emperor, "...."

Eunuch Fu, "...."

The Eldest Prince, "...."

Has the Heir of Prince Zhenbei really lost all authority to the point of needing his brother-in-law’s sympathy and support?

Didn’t expect him to be so compassionate at such a young age.

Aren’t you afraid that Princess Consort Zhenbei will beat you?

"We really have no money left. That’s why we came to Eldest Brother," the Ninth Prince said, looking forlorn.

"...."

The Emperor looked at Young Master Su, suppressing laughter, and asked, "How much is this beating worth?"

"Two thousand taels," Young Master Su showed two fingers.

The Emperor, "...."

Eunuch Fu, "...."

The Eldest Prince, "...."

Both the Ninth Prince and Young Master Shen were looking at Young Master Su.

"Your Majesty, I’m still so small and can’t take a beating well. I’ve been wronged so much—isn’t two thousand taels reasonable?" Young Master Su said earnestly.

The Emperor, with a face full of black lines, said, "Not unreasonable."

The Eldest Prince suppressed his twitching mouth and ordered the guard, "Give Young Master Su the money."

The guard went to fetch a silver note of two thousand taels.

Young Master Su gleefully accepted it.

With an expression of delight, he almost seemed to fly away.

Eager to buy a parrot, he quickly took leave of the Emperor.

He carelessly said his goodbyes and left.

Young Master Shen followed closely behind.

The Ninth Prince looked at the Emperor, who asked, "Is Young Master Su often beaten?"

"Yes, he often finds ways to ask for a beating," the Ninth Prince replied.

"...."

To prove he wasn’t lying.

The Ninth Prince recounted how Young Master Su tricked his own brother.

Black lines on the Emperor’s face were as thick as they could be.

Afraid that Young Master Su would go too far, the Ninth Prince hastily took his leave and chased after him.

After catching up, the Ninth Prince asked Young Master Su, "Wasn’t it supposed to be a thousand taels? Why did you raise the price?"

"I said two thousand taels, hoping the Emperor would bargain. Didn’t expect he’d just give it to me straight. I made a huge profit," Young Master Su said while touching the silver note.

"...."