Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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“This morning before the first watch[1], I served the old prince during his usual routine of bathing and settling him in. It was indeed the calming incense I lit myself; it came from the same incense box as the usual ones!”
“Your Highness, esteemed officials, please understand. I am but a lowly woman who sold myself into servitude, and I am deeply grateful to the old prince for taking me back into his household. How could I dare to plot against Your Highness? Waaaaah!”
She began to sob, tears streaming down her face.
Chen Buyu coughed lightly, “Madam, please don’t cry. Just tell us the truth.”
“Zhao Ji, when you served the old prince to sleep, did anything unusual happen?” Ye Wuchen asked with a stern face.
“No,” Zhao Ji said weakly, wiping away her tears, and looked up blankly. “The old prince went to bed as usual after his bath. If there was anything unusual, it was that he drank two bowls of deer antler soup to nourish his blood and qi before bed.”
“Did you have sex? How many times?” Wei Ling’s question was startling, making Zhao Ji blush.
“N-no, of course not,” Zhao Ji murmured softly, clutching her handkerchief. “The old prince always had the habit of having sex at noon. He would go to bed and rest normally later in the day, very punctually every day.”
“How many times did you have sex at noon? Was there anything unusual? Did you drink any aphrodisiacs or tonics at noon?” Wei Ling continued to question, leaving the adults around them bewildered and slightly embarrassed.
Governor Yu, unable to contain himself any longer, stole a glance at his daughter, who stood expressionless to the side, and coughed, saying, “Lord Wei! Could you perhaps be a little more tactful with your question?”
Wei Ling glanced at Yu Shoudao, “This is a normal inquiry; how can we know the whole story without asking clearly? If Governor Yu feels embarrassed, you may leave now.”
Yu Shoudao winked at Chen Buyu, signaling him to explain his subordinates.
Chen Buyu coughed, about to speak up to defuse the situation, when he heard Yu Linlang’s startling voice from the side, “Does the old prince often suffer from impotence?”
Yu Shoudao coughed loudly, but he couldn’t drown out his daughter’s clear, cold voice.
Yu Linlang continued, “The first time I saw him, I noticed his eyes were sunken, his pupils cloudy and yellowish, his face extremely thin, and his hands trembled slightly as he walked. This is clearly the result of excessive indulgence and lack of self-control.”
“Linlang!!” Governor Yu was shocked that his daughter was so bold as to speak so recklessly in front of the young prince, and nearly fainted.
The young prince, Ye Wuchen, was even more ashen-faced, gripping the armrests of his wheelchair tightly, his eyes coldly fixed on Yu Linlang.
Yu Linlang glanced at them and said calmly, “With his broken and crippled body, a few bowls of aphrodisiac tonics are useless. If he wants to have sex, he needs something more potent to stimulate his senses. I suspect that Madam Zhao burned other incense at noon and in the evening, not just this calming incense.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Zhao Ji.
Zhao Ji, terrified, hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground, stammering, “Yes, yes, that’s true. But, these were all ordered by the old prince. He lit the spirit incense at noon, and lately he’s become quite reliant on it. He always has to light three sticks before he’s done. And… he always lights it before we have sex.”
“This spirit incense has a very magical aphrodisiac effect; it can invigorate a person in just a short while, and the old prince loves it very much. So, after we’ve had sex several times, he even forgot to drink his tonic soup. When he remembered in the evening, he ordered someone to fetch the soup, and he drank several bowls. But, but the old prince rests at a fixed time, and we didn’t do anything that night. He really did bathe and then go to bed!”
“Disgusting, courting death.” Yu Linlang’s contempt was palpable.
Prince Mu, Lord Lu, and the others glanced at her silently, inexplicably feeling that this was a very inappropriate time to speak.
Whoever speaks out will become cannon fodder… Even Governor Yu held back his words, only giving his daughter a disapproving look.
Seeing this, Ye Wuchen also felt a lump in his throat, unable to utter a sound.
“Please, Lord Wei, bring me the head of Liang Wang.”
Wei Ling gladly went ahead, rushing out excitedly with the old prince’s head in her arms, right before everyone’s eyes.
The scene was quite bizarre; Lord Wei’s enthusiastic smile was almost impossible to suppress…
The young prince and his entourage all silently stepped back.
Only the young prince, sitting in his wheelchair, glared angrily at Yu Linlang, “What are you trying to do?”
“Let you see clearly. There are traces of vomit around Liang Wang’s lips, and his face is purplish-red. This is because he didn’t relieve himself in time after stimulating intercourse, and then drank several bowls of aphrodisiac soup in the evening, which made him even more agitated and burning inside.”
Yu Linlang picked up a jade ruler from the display cabinet and roughly pried open the old prince’s lips.
“Look at him, his gums are swollen, his mouth is dry— symptoms of yin deficiency and restlessness. External stimulation can only temporarily enhance his senses; it cannot last. Aphrodisiacs are merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.”
“Liang Wang, deficient in yin, excessively uses kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac drugs, which is like cooking himself in a raging fire— it’s courting death. His body is already too weak to tolerate tonics, yet he’s been forcing himself to take them. This will cause unconscious vomiting during his sleep. In fact, before being dismembered, Liang Wang’s consciousness was already clouded by his own vomit; even without the assassination attempt, he would have certainly died.”
“If a person cannot control himself and restrain himself, what difference is there between him and livestock when he’s constantly in heat?” Yu Linlang threw down the jade ruler, removed her gauntlets, and turned to leave.
“You’re being insolent!” Ye Wuchen coughed violently, almost falling off his wheelchair.
“Young Prince, please calm down, Young Prince, please calm down.”
“Grandfather was old but still vigorous, and his health has always been good. How could your daughter speak so ill of him?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Governor Yu repeatedly wiped the sweat from his brow, having been frightened countless times already.
“Even so, the villain is audacious enough to dismember the old prince in such a way.” Chen Buyu said solemnly, “After dawn, we will lead men to search house to house and must drag the villain out of Weizhou City.”
Prince Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly, “This person is highly skilled and daring; we will need to send more men to apprehend him.”
On the return journey in the carriage, Governor Yu felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, sighing repeatedly.
“Linlang, how can a young lady use such vulgar and crude language?”
“Can’t you even hear half a truth from the Governor now?” Yu Linlang was already sleep-deprived, and now she felt even more agitated.
“That’s not what I meant, but in front of the young prince and his entourage, you, as a young lady, should be gentler and more cautious in your words,”
Yu Linlang sneered. “I only examined the body and tell the truth; the rest is none of my business. If the governor wants to hear something nice, he’ll have to go to the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River and have a good talk with a few young ladies.”
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[1] In ancient China, the “First Watch” (First Drum or First Night Watch) referred to the initial shift of the night patrol. It began at the Xu Hour (19:00 to 21:00).
