Chapter 509: Chapter 509: Ask the Shadow Pavilion

Thus, amidst his parents’ repeated inquiries about why he has not yet found a wife, Huangfu Jingchen finally understood the grand feat his parents accomplished.

Upon receiving the news of Huangfu Jingchen’s incident, the Prince Cheng couple immediately departed from Yunzhou. Throughout the journey, they took shortcuts, almost traveling in a straight line except for specific stops to change horses. They pressed on day and night, allowing no rest for themselves or the horses, and reached a manor near the suburb yesterday morning. Seeing that Prince Cheng was truly exhausted, Princess Cheng pressed his acupoints, putting him to sleep for a day. In the evening, they entered the city in disguise. The places they didn’t take action in, save for one unknown, were all the work of the Prince Cheng couple.

This couple acted swiftly to avenge their son.

The key point is, throughout the journey from Yunzhou to the Capital City, except when they discreetly entered the city, almost no outsiders truly witnessed the appearance of this couple. The places where they changed horses and the people there were all theirs, and even the manor for resting was theirs.

Of course, Prince Zhuang saw them, and that was intentional on their part.

Now, this couple is preparing to leave.

Huangfu Jingchen is reluctant, but he also knows that if they stay, besides comforting his longing for them, there’s no benefit and it would only cause trouble for his parents.

Noticing the attachment in his son’s eyes, Lu Qianxue gently patted his head and smiled, "Silly boy, don’t worry. Your father has arranged everything. At most, in half a month, we will come to the Capital City to see you justifiably and can stay for a while!"

"Really?"

Huangfu Yi rolled his eyes, "If it were me saying this, you might not believe it! When has your mother ever lied to you?"

Huangfu Jingchen: "..."

It’s not that he doesn’t believe it, it’s just that the good news came too suddenly!

Amusement filled Lu Qianxue’s delicate eyebrows and eyes, and she said, "Yes, it’s true! By then, your Grandpa will summon us to the Capital City to inquire about some matters."

Huangfu Yi and Lu Qianxue exchanged a glance, with an unconstrained and untroubled smile in their eyes.

Gentle breezes and bright moons can’t compare to the way their smiles shine deep into one’s heart.

When the couple left, Lu Qianxue patted Huangfu Jingchen’s head once more and sincerely said, "Silly boy, your father belongs to your mother, and your mother belongs to your father. Don’t think about us when there’s nothing, just find yourself a wife to think about!"

Huangfu Yi immediately possessively wrapped his arm around Lu Qianxue’s shoulders, saying, "Right, when your father was your age, he already found your mother, so you must work harder!"

Huangfu Jingchen: "..."

Alright, he’s already used to it.

Huangfu Yi explained, "During this period, don’t stay in the mansion, find a place to properly ’heal your injuries’!"

Huangfu Jingchen understood, saying, "I know, father!"

Although he returned to the mansion last night and participated in Uncle Chen and the others’ plan, besides Uncle Chen and some elder members of the Yunzhou Cheng Prince Mansion, no one knows that the Princely Heir is unharmed, and even returned.

Now, it’s also time to find a place to "heal".

Back at the mansion, Prince Zhuang sat uneasily, having clearly seen the couple himself, but the Emperor’s skeptical gaze left him very unsettled.

He must find a strong piece of evidence to prove that the couple indeed appeared in the Capital City—only then can he direct all suspicion towards Old Fifth.

But no matter how much he racked his brains, he couldn’t think of where to find such strong evidence. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In the end, it was his personal attendant, Sang En, who tentatively suggested, "If the Prince Cheng couple did come to the Capital City, they could deceive others, but there’s definitely one place they couldn’t hide from."

"Which place?"

Sang En said, "The Shadow Pavilion!"

Prince Zhuang’s eyes instantly lit up.

Indeed, how could he have forgotten about the Shadow Pavilion? This force has persisted for hundreds of years and excels at trading information. There’s no piece of news they don’t know.

As long as he buys this information from the Shadow Pavilion and presents it to the Emperor, the Emperor would have no doubt left.

There’s no way, his own eyewitness account doesn’t count, yet a piece of news from the Shadow Pavilion is unquestioned. It’s because the Shadow Pavilion is more authoritative?

Without delay, he immediately took some silver, planning to order Sang En to handle this matter.

But he temporarily changed his mind.

It would still be better if he goes personally.

On East Street, there is a Shadow Pavilion outpost, a small teahouse, which by now was already closed for the night.

But this didn’t prevent him from knocking on the door.

As the door opened, a window on the right side of the second floor of the teahouse opened, but no one appeared. Instead, a small basket was dangled down, swaying gently.

A delicate little basket, not much bigger than a palm.

Prince Zhuang understood the rules; as long as a basket is lowered, there’s hope.

He placed the written question and a silver note worth a hundred taels into the basket.

This marks the inquiry stage; the hundred taels silver note serves as the entry fee. Whether or not the question receives a response, it won’t be returned. He just needed to wait there, and shortly there would be a reply.

The basket was pulled back up, and the window on the second floor closed again.

Prince Zhuang circled around here like a young lad waiting for his beloved to open the window, occasionally glancing up.

A quarter-hour later, another window opened, and a basket lowered from there. The two windows were more than ten feet apart.

Overjoyed, Prince Zhuang rushed forward in a few steps.

There was a letter in the basket.

The reply indeed came quickly.

With trembling fingers, Prince Zhuang tore open the envelope, full of hope as he pulled out the letter, a smile playing on his lips. No matter how cunning you are, can you hide from the eyes of the Shadow Pavilion?

However, upon reading the contents, he blacked out momentarily, nearly falling to the ground.

On it, boldly written in black ink, were the words: "The Shadow Pavilion does not involve itself in the affairs of the Imperial Court. Respectfully, do as you please!"

It neither stated whether Prince Cheng was in the Capital City nor whether his specific location could be found. A mere phrase, not involving itself in Imperial Court matters, had dismissed him.

Prince Zhuang gritted his teeth resentfully. He desperately wished to storm upstairs and destroy that damned Shadow Pavilion outpost.

Yet he dared not.

Although the Shadow Pavilion claims not to involve itself in royal affairs and does not typically trade in such news, it doesn’t mean they are unaware of such news, and they may even know more!

If any royal dared provoke them, their retaliation would be unbearable.

In his current position, he couldn’t take that risk!

The next day, upon learning that the Emperor led the senior officials to the Imperial Ancestral Temple for a ritual, Prince Zhuang sank to the ground.

Yesterday, despite his struggles and efforts, he still couldn’t change the Emperor’s mind.

Hadn’t Mr. Gongyang said he would help him?

He had been too confident. He should have consulted Mr. Gongyang beforehand to prevent this precipitate situation where even Mr. Gongyang had no solution. His current predicament was all due to his recklessness.

Next, with Mr. Gongyang performing rituals on his behalf to solidify his divine mandate, he couldn’t meet Mr. Gongyang. He should still heed Mr. Gongyang’s advice of patience and reserve, waiting for a future opportunity.

As long as the divine mandate remains on him, what if he’s not the Crown Prince for now?

As long as the Emperor hasn’t appointed a Crown Prince, the divine mandate still rests upon him!