A lazy bum transmigrates and marries a eunuch – it's awesome!

Chapter 203 Discovering the Mysterious

After hearing about Ye Xiao's situation, Jiang Xinyu had a rare moment of conscience and nudged Xiao Yuan.

"That's a bit unfair of you. Should we send a message to He Zhang?"

That foolish boy is impulsive by nature; don't let something bad happen to him and you regret it later.

Xiao Yuan shook his head firmly, "You don't understand Twelve. Don't worry, he'll adapt quickly."

I'm getting old, and I hope my son can become independent as soon as possible so I can retire and enjoy my old age.

Before, with me leading the way, that kid felt confident and never made any progress.

This is a good opportunity for him to grow.

Jin Zekang and Jiang Xinyu exchanged a glance and shrugged in unison. Since the father had already said so, they had nothing more to say.

However, they both agreed that Xiao Yuan was being a bit too ruthless, and that playing like this could easily backfire.

Ye Xiao himself is not very old, and there are many ways to train him. I have never heard of a family faking the destruction of their home in order to train their child.

Young people are impulsive, easily angered, and prone to extremes. Judging from that kid's crazy behavior today, he's probably going to cause some more trouble.

He Zhang has now been reinstated, and with the help of his friends in the Eastern Depot and Xiao Yuan's loyal followers, they quickly discovered that Xu Qinglan's death was unusual.

In his haste to silence her, the Third Prince inevitably made oversights, failing to check Xu Qinglan's residence and person, and forgetting to change the poison.

Instead of taking matters into his own hands, he sent his personal eunuch to approach Xu Qinglan under the pretense of delivering something, then used a handkerchief to smother her unconscious and force-feed her the poison.

Unfortunately, when the eunuch was suffocating Xu Qinglan, he was scratched on the hand and several strands of silk were torn off. The poison he used was the expensive Sunset Red.

He Zhang even smelled a faint scent of Jiuhe incense on Xu Qinglan's hand.

In the Great Jin Dynasty, one doesn't just wear any clothes; many of the slightly better fabrics have a provenance.

Although it consists of just a few inconspicuous bluish-black threads, the dyeing and texture are not something that ordinary people would wear.

This dark blue Hangzhou silk was mostly used for the formal attire of senior eunuchs, such as those serving the emperor, those in charge of various palaces, or those serving as personal eunuchs to the princes.

The secret-recipe Nine-Ingredient Incense is not a very common fragrance; it was generally reserved for the imperial court and rarely used by people outside the palace.

There are dozens of types of incense used exclusively in the palace, and in addition to personal preferences, the preferences of the master must also be taken into account.

For example, the emperor himself used ambergris but liked the scent of gardenia, so many concubines or palace maids who wanted to climb the social ladder would use gardenia on themselves.

The scent of the secret-recipe Nine Harmony Fragrance is relatively niche; compared to floral and fruity scents, this woody fragrance is not widely used.

He Zhang meticulously recorded these details and then consciously checked with Zhang Zhongyi, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince, quickly making a breakthrough.

He knew who his chief eunuch was at odds with, and he also knew that besides them, the emperor was even more eager to know who had killed his chief eunuch.

They feel that their words carry little weight and many things are inconvenient for them to do, but they can still drive the other party to desperation.

In this situation, it's better to take action than to remain still. Only by forcing the other party to act can we obtain more clues.

Ye Xiao also restrained his temper and joined in the investigation, his face turning cold and menacing, which made him even more like Xiao Yuan.

Chen Kuo now basically avoids Ye Xiaoye, feeling like he'd be stared through the skin if he stood next to him for even a short while.

Let's try to get some encouragement from the Left Prime Minister, so that they can take action as soon as possible and get rid of this double agent identity.

Damn it, being an undercover agent is no human being!

Not only was Ye Xiaoye's nose and eyes displeasing, but many of his loyal colleagues looked at him with a desire to devour him.

But he couldn't explain himself. He had to guard against not only outsiders but also his own people. Now, even when he slept, one of his eyes was standing guard.

If this continues, he'll go bald. I'm really afraid he might accidentally die at the hands of his own people.

Zhang Zhongyi soon learned about the clues found here, and summoned the Third Prince through the secret passage to give him a scolding in exasperation.

Is there no one to do the work in your household?

Even if there are no professional assassins available, you can't use the eunuchs around you.

It's no secret that the eunuchs around you, the Third Prince, all smoke Jiuhe incense. If someone remembers this later, it will become a ready-made handle against you.

The Third Prince was also somewhat flustered. "What do we do now? Should I deal with Liu Fu?"

Zhang Zhongyi laughed at his stupidity, "What's the use of dealing with Liu Fu now?"

Wouldn't it be even more conspicuous if one of the eunuchs next to you died out of nowhere at this juncture?

People leave their mark, geese leave their calls; you've visited Xu Qinglan several times, there's no guarantee that others haven't seen you.

A ruthless glint flashed in the Third Prince's eyes. "Teacher, Xiao Yuan is already dead. What are we waiting for?"

Why not just…

Jin Zexuan pointed his index finger upwards and then made a throat-slitting gesture, meaning that it would be better to simply kill the old emperor and put him on the throne.

The crown prince's health had deteriorated due to his alcoholism over the past few years, and he had someone secretly give him Wushi Powder.

The Great Jin Dynasty could not possibly have an emperor with a drug addiction; the crown prince had long been a figurehead.

Now the second son has broken his leg, the fourth and fifth sons are no match for him, and the remaining little brats are even less capable of standing up.

Once the emperor dies, he can only inherit the throne, and he doesn't understand what the Left Chancellor is waiting for.

What if the second son recovers and realizes what's going on, then kills him first?

Zhang Zhongyi shook his head, "Wait a little longer, I still feel uneasy."

Killing the old emperor now won't do you any good.

The Second Prince has only broken his leg, he's not dead yet. When you sit on the dragon throne, he'll cause trouble with half the nobles, and you won't be able to sit still.

Now that things have come to this... we have no choice but to use the Emperor's hand to deal with him first.

At this point, Zhang Zhongyi looked intently at the Third Prince, "Your Highness, we must put ourselves in a life-or-death situation to survive."

Jin Zexuan suddenly shivered, "Teacher, you..."

Zhang Zhongyi opened the hidden compartment and took out a small bottle that was about an inch tall.

"The Consort Xian used this Forget-Worry Pill to poison the Empress."

This was found for her by her younger brother, who was a general in Shu (Sichuan). It was extremely precious and rare.

There's half a pill in this bottle; eat it when you get back.

Jin Zexuan's face turned pale instantly, "Teacher..."

"Don't panic, half a pill won't kill you."

Now, besides you, the second prince is the only one with a chance to ascend the throne. Not only do you know this, but the second prince knows it too, and the emperor knows it even better.

If you are poisoned by this Forget-Me-Not Poison, all the blame will be directed at Jin Zexu.

At that point, he won't be able to resist even if he wants to.

Even if he could tolerate it, Consort Xian couldn't sit still.

Once they make a move against the emperor, they will have no choice but to act, and all the secret guards we couldn't uncover and all the trump cards they hold will be exposed.

Once they've fought to the point of exhaustion, it'll be our turn to step in.

If the Second Prince loses, it will be considered that he has paved the way for us and weakened the Emperor's power.

If the emperor loses, that's perfect; the Third Prince can then rightfully ascend the throne after eliminating the treacherous officials.

Jin Zexuan swallowed hard. It sounded wonderful, but it meant ingesting a deadly poison...

What if he actually dies from being eaten?

Even if he doesn't die from the food, what if the Left Chancellor is lying to him?

He might be able to give up his eldest son-in-law and the second prince, but he could certainly give up himself, the fourth son-in-law who was in name only.

The Prime Minister's residence has several daughters, and they are being matched one by one according to age. Even 6-year-old Xiao Jiu has a partner of similar age.

If he and his father, the second son, were both crippled, who knows which brother would get the better deal.

It is said that only he and the second son are capable of ascending the throne, but what if all the capable ones die along with their father?

Wouldn't it be even better to put a little puppet on the throne as regent?

Jin Zexuan broke out in a cold sweat when he thought about this; he finally understood what it meant to be caught in a dilemma.