Chapter 190 - 189: It’s About the Elder Crown Prince Again

Chapter 190: Chapter 189: It’s About the Elder Crown Prince Again

In the dead of night, Xia Wuyang walked into the Practice Room, but he did not continue his Cultivation.

The so-called second jar of Monkey Wine was, of course, a fabrication by Xia Wuyang. Princess Xiang Yun had spent a great deal of time and effort to brew just one jar of Monkey Wine; where would a second one come from?

But things had come to this, so he naturally needed an excuse. Otherwise, how could he explain the fact that he was still alive after nearly a year?

As for the person who had started this rumor, Xia Wuyang had known for a long time. ’Xia Pingyu, I accept this "grand gift." But while I can accept your gift, I wonder if you can accept mine.’

With that, Xia Wuyang put on a Disguise and a Cloak, slipped silently out of Wenhua Hall, and crept toward the palace of the Fourteenth Princess, Xia Pingyu.

Among the many Princes and Princesses, this Fourteenth Princess’s strength and influence ranked somewhere in the teens, so she wasn’t part of the most outstanding group. However, she was a spiteful person who loved to start malicious rumors.

Even before Xia Wuyang was deposed, she enjoyed secretly stirring up trouble. After he was deposed, she became even more brazen and had caused him harm many times.

Since she had shown her hand now, he might as well take this chance to deal with her.

And so, the Fourteenth Princess, Xia Pingyu, also suffered "Qigong Deviation." Her head was conveniently injured in the process, turning her into a vegetable who could hear, feel, and see, but could not move a single muscle. Her entire Cultivation was destroyed, and she was doomed to a long life worse than death.

After a moment of hesitation, he still left traces of the Enchanting Heart Technique. After all, with several Princesses ending up in this state one after another, even a fool could tell something was wrong.

Even if he left no traces, people would know someone was behind it. It was better to leave traces of the Enchanting Heart Technique and continue to muddy the waters.

Unfortunately, Xia Pingyu had no High Level Mortal Treasures, not even any Middle Level Mortal Treasures. She had already consumed them all, so he could only leave in regret.

Before long, Xia Pingyu’s palace was thrown into chaos. The Palace Attendants had discovered the Fourteenth Princess collapsed in her Practice Room.

Her eyes were wide open but held no life, and she didn’t respond no matter how they called to her. Her symptoms were surprisingly similar to those of the Tenth Princess, Xia Xizhi.

After an examination by the Imperial Physician, a conclusion was reached: the Fourteenth Princess’s Sea of Consciousness had been shattered, her Soul had been injured, and her Cultivation was completely destroyed. She had fallen into a catatonic state—able to hear, see, and feel, yet unable to move, as if trapped inside her own body.

There was no cure, no chance of recovery, unless she encountered a legendary Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure. But such things had not appeared in the world for many years, and even if one did, it would be snatched up by powerful experts to enhance their own strength.

Therefore, for the rest of her life, the Fourteenth Princess, Xia Pingyu, would most likely live on in a state worse than death—miserable and in endless pain.

So far, four Princesses in the Imperial Palace had successively fallen into this catatonic state: Princess Xiu Min, Princess Fushou, the Tenth Princess Xia Xizhi, and the Fourteenth Princess Xia Pingyu... To say this was all a coincidence, not even a fool would believe it.

When the news reached Emperor Xia, he was enraged. In the span of just a few months, so many of his Princes and Princesses had met with disaster—either dying, being crippled, falling into a catatonic state, or being turned into eunuchs... This was an outrageous provocation.

Despite his usual indifference, Emperor Xia was now furious. The Nephrite Jade Paperweight in his hand shattered with a crack, and he immediately dispatched more people to investigate the matter with all their resources.

Soon, the Divine Female Constable Liu Yiqing and the True Yin Sect Elder Yin Xinping arrived at the palace of the Fourteenth Princess, Xia Pingyu, and began a careful inspection.

Liu Yiqing was dressed in a tight-fitting, ink-black outfit embroidered with a xiezhi pattern in gold thread. After a thorough inspection, her elegant brows furrowed deeper and deeper; she had found no clues.

Yin Xinping also checked several times. Finding nothing, he hesitated for a moment before using a Secret Technique to check for the Enchanting Heart Technique. As expected, traces of the Enchanting Heart Technique appeared once again.

"The Enchanting Heart Technique again, and again the methods and habits are unidentifiable. But this is absolutely not the work of my True Yin Sect," Yin Xinping’s expression changed drastically as he hurriedly explained.

Liu Yiqing glanced at him and inspected the surroundings. The Dragon Saliva Fragrance in the Incense Burner had not yet burned out, and the cosmetics on the dressing table were neatly arranged. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "Has the Fourteenth Princess had a conflict with anyone recently?"

"Th-that... It seems no one has had any conflicts with the Fourteenth Princess," the Palace Attendant said quickly. She hesitated, a certain figure coming to mind, but she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t possibly tell Liu Yiqing that the Fourteenth Princess, out of resentment that the elder Crown Prince hadn’t passed away yet, had deliberately spread rumors saying there was something wrong with him.

Although she didn’t speak, her momentary hesitation was noticed. Liu Yiqing immediately said in a stern voice, "If you have something to say, say it now! The Fourteenth Princess is living a life worse than death and will likely never recover. What is there that can’t be said? If you delay the search for the culprit, your entire family will suffer."

"I... I was wrong. It’s just that this matter concerns Her Highness’s reputation, so I didn’t dare to speak rashly," the Palace Attendant said in terror. "If you ask who Her Highness has had a conflict with recently, it would have to be the Crown Prince. A few days ago, Her Highness was at a gathering with a group of noble ladies and brought up the Crown Prince. She felt that since he hasn’t passed away yet, there must be something strange going on, so she had someone spread... spread some rumors. Afterward, many people went to cause trouble for the Crown Prince, and someone even activated a spy in the Eastern Palace to trick the Crown Prince into revealing the reason."

"It’s related to the Crown Prince again?" Liu Yiqing’s expression changed slightly as she recalled her previous suspicions about Xia Wuyang.

But back then, she had already investigated for many days without finding anything suspicious. She had even seen many things she shouldn’t have.

Afterward, she stopped suspecting him. This was especially because the afflicted Princes and Princesses had held grudges against the Crown Prince for years and had troubled him many times; it wasn’t as if they had only started causing trouble for the elder Crown Prince right before their accidents.

Even more outrageous things had happened before that. It made no sense that the elder Crown Prince hadn’t retaliated then but chose to do so now. It was completely illogical.

Coupled with her own personal observations, she had ultimately dismissed her suspicions of the elder Crown Prince.

She never expected that now, with another Prince or Princess meeting with disaster, they had also had a conflict with the elder Crown Prince right beforehand. Or to be precise, it wasn’t a conflict, but rather the Fourteenth Princess, Xia Pingyu, harming the elder Crown Prince yet again.

At this thought, Liu Yiqing went back to retrieve the relevant case files, especially those of the Princes and Princesses who had recently met with disaster. Sure enough, she discovered once again that before their calamities, all of these afflicted Princes and Princesses had some form of grudge, big or small, with the elder Crown Prince.

Even if they didn’t have a grudge against the elder Crown Prince himself, they had one with someone close to him—some grudges were even matters of life and death.

This made Liu Yiqing’s elegant brows knit together. A suspicion began to form in her mind, and she had a feeling that this suspicion was very close to the truth.