Chapter 72: Suspicion

  Guangping King has been bedridden for a long time since his serious injury, and after recovering from his injuries, he also suffered from blindness as an aftereffect. He rarely inquires about the affairs of the court now, and only pays attention to the issue of the crown prince's succession. Zhao Yue was a small pawn that he had already thrown out of his mind many years ago, and these years he has been staying in Jinzhou border town. If it weren't for Zhangshi ancestor and grandson, he would have forgotten this person. At this moment, Zhangshi suddenly mentioned that Zhao Yue had risen six ranks in five years, and he was also very surprised.

  Guangping King was also clear in his mind that Zhao Yue had abandoned the foundation of the capital and fled to the border to become a ninth-grade inspector, hoping to have an opportunity to rise again. However, no one expected him to rise so quickly. Although Zhao Yue's ability was stronger than his father's, he didn't have any particularly outstanding qualities. In Jinzhou, there were many old subordinates of Zhao Lao Gong, and everyone knew that Zhao Yue's father, Zhao Xiong, had committed the crime of murdering his mother and brother, tarnishing Zhao Lao Gong's reputation. Perhaps some of Zhao Lao Gong's old subordinates would take care of Zhao Yue out of respect for their former superior, so he wouldn't be bullied or live a hard life. However, they definitely wouldn't promote him to a high position, otherwise, other comrades would look down on them.

  These years, Zhao Laojun Gong's old subordinates still had some respect for Zhang Shi. Every year, they would send someone to Fengxian to deliver New Year's gifts and ask about Zhang Shi and take care of Zhao Wei. They didn't mention much about Zhao Yue's affairs, only vaguely saying in their letters that someone was taking care of him, his days in Jinzhou weren't too bitter, but also not smooth sailing. The person who took care of him explained to others that he was after all the old governor's flesh and blood, and it didn't seem like he was as foolish as his own father, so they should take care of him. This made sense, and outsiders couldn't intervene. They could only tacitly approve. It was Lu Yunpeng who reported this matter to Guangping Wang.

  But now, Zhao Wei has been promoted six levels in just five years, far beyond the level of "taking care". There must be someone behind him who is supporting him. Is it King Ying again? But Zhao Wei has already lost the halo of being the son of the Duke of Jian'an. Why would King Ying still want to support him?

  The King of Guangping understood Zhang's meaning, and the people who supported Zhao Yue behind his back must have had a problem. After Zhang left with her grandson, he ordered someone to invite the chief scholar in the mansion.

  An old man in a gray robe walked in and bowed to King Guangping.

  Guangping King smiled and gestured for him to stand up: "Mr. Zhou, I have something unclear, I'd like to ask for your opinion, please enlighten me." He recounted the situation mentioned by Zhang.

  Mr. Zhou furrowed his brow and said, "When did Zhao Yue get promoted? If most of the old subordinates of Old General Zhao are cautious about recommending him to a certain comrade-in-arms, and they tell Old Lady Zhao that Zhao Yue's days in Jinzhou were just so-so, then they shouldn't be able to keep his successive promotions from Old Lady Zhao."

  This sentence reminded Guangping King, and he hastily ordered someone to go to the Ministry of War to check the records. Although Zhao Yue was promoted to the sixth rank, he was still a low-ranking military officer, and this promotion did not require the consent of the emperor or high-ranking officials in the court. It was usually appointed by his own army. However, after the appointment, it must be reported to the Ministry of War for filing.

  Half a day later, the person below reported the investigation results to Zhao Yue, who started as a 9th rank inspector in Jinzhou and was only promoted to 7th rank last year. He was still under the jurisdiction of the Jinzhou Prefecture and had not yet entered the mainstream. It's no wonder that Zhao Laojun Gong's old subordinates did not attract attention. Zhao Yue established his military merit this spring, and then rose to 6th rank in one breath. Not only that, he was formally transferred to the border army and became a ranked military officer, no longer belonging to the local government jurisdiction.

  Mr. Zhou immediately discovered the problem: "Wasn't Zhao Yue's military achievement when Your Highness went to Liaodong? Since he is a patrol officer under the jurisdiction of the prefecture, and not serving in the army, how could he have achieved military merit? The people who participated in the battle were all military officers, and the prefecture was only responsible for maintaining order within the city. When did he overstep his authority? And so coincidentally, after Your Highness was injured and returned to the court, he reported his achievement?"

  Guangping King also felt something was off in his heart, his body stiffened slightly, and suddenly a thought occurred to him. If he wasn't mistaken, on that day when he was watching the battle from the city wall, the ones maintaining order below the city wall were indeed people from Jinzhou Prefecture Government Office. Could it be... Zhao Yue was also inside?

  His eyes moved, and Mr. Zhou also thought of the same thing, his face turned pale, and he immediately became extremely serious: "Your Highness, the arrow that injured you that day has not been found to this day, and the person responsible for searching for the shooter is also under the jurisdiction of Jinzhou Prefecture. If Zhao Yue was involved in it and suddenly got promoted afterwards, there must be a hidden reason!"

  The Crown Prince Guangping clenched his fists tightly under his sleeves. As the heir to the throne, he was in a very stable position, and although the Emperor had been acting strangely in recent years, he still favored him greatly. He also had a loving wife and child, and things were going smoothly for him politically. After returning from a victorious battle on the border, no one could shake his position again. As the Emperor's health declined day by day, even to the point of considering abdication, the Crown Prince's chance to inherit the throne might not be far off. However, at this critical moment, he was framed and injured, becoming blind in one eye, and had to voluntarily submit a memorial to resign from his position. Once he stepped down from that position, whoever replaced him would inevitably harbor suspicions about the former Crown Prince who was still alive. He may never be able to participate in politics again, appear in public, or travel freely, and even his wife and children might suffer consequences. He was only one step away from the throne, but was ruined by someone's sinister plot, how could he not feel hatred?!

  However, he hated it in his heart and had not yet lost his rationality: "First, order someone to investigate clearly what military achievements Zhao Yue has made, who is the witness! Then investigate who he is now serving under, and who has been protecting him over the years. Send a few people to stare at his family in the capital, see if anyone is secretly contacting his family.

  Mr. Zhou nodded heavily and asked, "Should someone go remind the Fourth Prince?"

  Guangping Wang clenched his fists and said calmly, "He is currently in the Qianqing Palace and it's not convenient for him to contact outsiders. There's no need to disturb him over this small matter. If Father Emperor finds out, it would be even worse. Instead, we should think of a way to send a message to Mother Empress, letting her be more cautious in the palace. Regardless of who plotted against me and caused my injury, their goal must be that dragon throne. Fourth Brother and other imperial brothers are living in the palace, hopefully they won't be taken advantage of."

  Mr. Zhou nodded and was about to leave when he saw the Prince of Guangping raise his hand in a gesture to stop him. He looked at the other man in confusion: "Your Highness?"

  "Prince Guangping took a deep breath: 'Mr. Zhou, wait for Fourth Brother to come out of the palace, then you can go to him.'"

  Mr. Zhou was shocked, but quickly understood: "Your Highness, you... what's the point of this?!"

  Guangping King smiled slightly: "I'm already a useless person, and Master Liu is by my side. I'm afraid I've wronged Master's great talent, it's better to let Master go to my fourth brother's place. Don't worry, as long as my fourth brother can smoothly ascend to the throne, my days will be fine too." He paused for a moment, speaking in an earnest tone: "Master Zhou, please agree to this. My fourth brother is clever, but he's still young. He needs reliable people by his side to support him. Besides Master, who else can I trust?"

  Mr. Zhou furrowed his brow and ultimately didn't say a word, bowing deeply to the Prince of Guangping before turning around and leaving.

  The King of Guangping sat alone in his room, silent for a long time, until he heard his wife's low sobbing and came to: "When did you come? What are you crying about again?"

  "Your Highness!" Zhong Shi couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart. "Are you really going to give up? You've even recommended Mr. Zhou to the Fourth Prince. Have you ever thought that if one day your injuries heal and your eyes can see again, what will you do then?"

  Guangping King sighed: "You're thinking wildly again, didn't the imperial physician say so? My eyes are beyond saving, and it's already a blessing that I can keep my life. Besides, the fourth prince also needs someone trustworthy to help him make decisions, if we don't let Mr. Zhou go, do you want him to stay here with me and enjoy his old age?"

  "Old Lady Zhao sent over some medical books with many prescriptions; perhaps there's one that can cure Your Highness' eye disease..."

  "Shu Yi!" The Prince of Guangping rarely called out the inner name of Zhong Shi, his face filled with an unspoken solemnity. "The imperial physician has done all he can, and all the medical books collected by Old Lady Zhao have been sent here. You've personally flipped through the prescriptions three or four times, how long do you plan to hold onto this foolish notion?"

  Zhong's footsteps stopped, a line of clear tears silently falling from her face: "Perhaps... the medical book that Mrs. Zhao originally had contained a prescription for treating the prince's eyes, but those books... sank to the bottom of the canal along with the boat all those years ago..." She was actually also aware that she was just deceiving herself, but as long as no one exposed this fact, she could still hold onto her illusions, thinking that her husband would have a day when his eyes would recover, and then their family could continue to live happily like before.

  Unfortunately, her husband was the first to shatter her beautiful dream.

  Zhong silently turned around and walked out of the room, going back to wipe away her tears. Guangping Wang had wanted to comfort her with a few words, but after thinking for a moment, he changed his mind: "Shu Yi, you don't have to be sad, at least I'm still alive, and in the future, I can spend more time with you and our son. You've always been saying that you want us to go to Xishan together as a family of three for summer vacation, right? I promise you, after some time has passed and my body is better, I'll ask Father Emperor to let me take you and Zhen'er to live in Xishan for a while. At that time, you can play the zither for me on the stone platform in the mountains, and we'll have our son go fetch mountain spring water to make tea. How does that sound?"

  Zhong had already left, so naturally no one answered him. He tilted his head and listened for a while, looking puzzled, then suddenly understood something, and his expression turned gloomy again.

  Is his wife gone? He didn't notice anything at all. At this time, he could only hope that Zhong Shi would understand by herself; otherwise, what's the use of saying more?

  A faint sound of footsteps came from outside the door. Wang Guangping listened carefully and a gentle smile appeared on his face: "Is it Zhen'er?"

  A slender and delicate young man walked to his side, knelt down, stretched out his hand and tightly hugged his father's waist: "Your Majesty, don't be sad, you still have a child."

  The King of Guangping smiled and patted his son's head: "Just now with Zhao Jia's Wei brother, got along well?"

  Gao Zhen nodded: "Good, Zhao Wei also taught a set of boxing, which was learned by his sister from the child. Father king, did the child teach his sister to box when he was young?"

  Guangping Wang smiled lightly: "What? It's only been five years and you've already forgotten? When you were young, you traveled south together and lived together for over 20 days. You liked her, personally teaching her martial arts, teaching her to write, and even teaching her to recite books. However, that little girl was smarter than you, learning everything faster than you."

  Gao Zhen wrinkled his nose, and a faint image of a small bean dregs appeared in his mind. He remembered her sad and tearful appearance, as well as the way she called out to him "Zhen Gege".