Everyone Wants To Harm Me - Chapter 91

His Majesty… had a stroke and was now paralyzed?

All the arguments I had prepared for the negotiation with my grandfather were rendered completely useless. My heart felt both heavy and light at the same time. I didn’t know whether this news was good or bad for me.

I had already planned to bear all the consequences, but this result was unexpected. The Emperor had suffered a stroke, lost his ability to speak, and was bedridden. Did this mean… he could no longer control me?

Yu Chongrui had rushed back to Rui Garden just to deliver this news… I wouldn’t have to bear the crime of regicide and flee to the ends of the earth.

“Is Grandfather now worried,” I asked, “about whether to support Prince Xin or the Third Prince?”

I could imagine the ministers gathered in the palace. What worried them most was not whether the Emperor’s health would recover, but which side to choose next.

“Prince Xin…” Grandfather scoffed internally: An ungrateful white-eyed wolf—not to be trusted! That granddaughter of mine was only acknowledged halfway through life, and she’s not close to the family. Ever since marrying out, she only thinks of her husband’s side! I don’t think Prince Xin even likes her much. If she bears a legitimate son, fine—but otherwise, she might not even keep her seat as his official consort!

Prince Xin had never trusted Lan Yue, and Grandfather said she wasn’t loyal to her family, so Lan Yue was left out on both sides.

But Grandfather had other considerations. As the grandson-in-law, Prince Xin was already an adult—decisive, and good at making decisions; he wouldn’t be easily influenced by his relatives. Recently, his supporters had increased, and his relationship with Grandfather had grown more distant since their engagement.

The Third Prince, on the other hand, was only eleven years old and had no mother, so he had to rely on his trusted ministers. He was also more prone to favoritism—easier to control. Grandfather, as the future maternal clan of the prince, would naturally rise to a position of power.

So, when he heard I’d gone missing with His Majesty, his first order had been to send people to retrieve me. If I had truly eloped with Yu Chongrui, he would not only have lost a stepping stone to power but also earned the Third Prince’s resentment—while still being in-law to Prince Xin. The future would’ve been grim.

Strangely enough, these thoughts weren’t running through Grandfather’s mind at the moment—but I had already deduced them instinctively. Even without the help of “Mojin Gu,” I seemed capable of reading people’s thoughts now.

I returned to the courtyard where I had once lived. I hadn’t been home for more than half a year, and the staff in the courtyard had been reassigned, leaving only Xiaojuan responsible for the daily cleaning.

When she saw me return, she was very happy and felt that she hadn’t been guarding the courtyard in vain.

“They all said the young lady would never come back after entering the palace. Daughters have to return to their parents’ home after marriage. What if the young lady misses home and wants to come back for a visit?”

I asked her if she was tired of cleaning the whole yard by herself. She happily said she wasn’t tired. She swept the floor and wiped the tables and chairs in the house in the morning. In the afternoon, she only needed to prune the trees and water the flowers. It was much easier than working in the fields at home, and she didn’t have to serve anyone.

“I didn’t mean that serving the young lady was bad!” She seemed to realize she had said something wrong, waving her hands repeatedly. “It’s just… just… Alas! I’m stupid, and I’m not as good at serving people as I am at serving things.”

This little girl was still the same as before, finding blessings even in suffering.

In fact, this might not have been a real blessing. I didn’t ask her if she still missed her parents or if she was still hoping they’d save enough money to redeem her.

Not long after I sat down, Luoxiang came with a group of maids and servants. She smiled at me and said, “Your servant deserves death. I didn’t know Miss would return today, so I didn’t prepare staff in advance.”

“So many people,” I looked behind her—more than a dozen strong, capable women. “They all seem quite competent.”

“Miss has seen the grand life in the palace. Now that you’re back, you shouldn’t lack for attendants,” she replied smoothly, distancing herself from the decision. “These were all specially selected under Madam’s orders. If you’re not satisfied with any of them, just tell me—I’ll replace them immediately!”

Grandfather had just dragged me back, so of course I’d be heavily monitored. Both Madam Zhou and Luoxiang were just following orders.

I saw the sturdy maid in ochre behind Luoxiang and remembered something. I asked her, “Luoxiang, do you have the register of servants in the Duke’s Mansion?”

Luoxiang replied, “Master honored me with the task—I help manage them.”

“Do you also manage the second and third uncle’s families?”

Luoxiang said, “I have the register, but the people themselves don’t answer to me.”

“Bring the register here for me to see.”

Luoxiang looked confused. “What does Miss need this for?”

“I’m the mistress of the Duke’s residence now, am I not? Am I not allowed to look at the servant registers?” I countered. “My second uncle came to pick me up yesterday. I met a very capable servant in his family. I liked her very much, but I forgot to ask her name. I want to ask my uncle for her.”

Oho, which short-sighted servant offended the young lady? About to settle scores, are we? Luoxiang thought gleefully and agreed readily. “Miss, wait here. I’ll fetch it now.”

She returned with a thick registry and enthusiastically pointed out which entries belonged to Second Uncle’s family. There were five couples working in my house, and two of them matched the age of the ones I saw yesterday. One was Qian Xiaoyi and his wife You-shi; the other, Kong Liu and his wife Bao-shi.

I pointed to You-shi. “Is this woman tall and thin with sparse hair?”

“She’s quite thin, but not tall, shorter than me,” Luoxiang said. “I can’t remember whether there’s such a person in the second master’s family. Miss, do you remember any other characteristics?”

It was normal she didn’t—I had made it up. Since You-shi was petite, the plump woman must have been Bao-shi.

Like Fan Zeng, Kong Liu and Bao-shi were from a county outside Luoyang. They had signed long-term labor contracts with our household—not indentured as slaves—so they could leave at any time.

I wrote down their place of origin, address, and guarantor, then returned the list to Luoxiang. “Oh, that woman looks ordinary. How can I describe her?—I don’t know how to describe her. Never mind, if I see her again, I’ll ask you then.”

Luoxiang was dissatisfied with this result but reluctantly put away the list.

I left the people Luoxiang brought outside and only let Xiaojuan serve me in the house. They were here to watch me anyway, so they could guard just the gate.

Madam Zhou, dedicated as ever, invited the most famous doctor in the city to treat injuries. Since my wound had already been stitched, I couldn’t show it to him. I used the excuse that it wasn’t convenient for a girl to expose her feet to outsiders. It was just an ordinary injury from a trap, and the bleeding had stopped, so I asked him to prescribe some common external medicine.

Xiaojuan chimed in, “My young lady will be an Empress in the palace in the future!”

The doctor naturally didn’t dare to insist and left the medicine.

That night, I cleaned the wound and applied the new medicine. The next morning, my foot hurt more, and the wound was still a little red and swollen. It was probably because the common medicine wasn’t suitable for me. I didn’t take Deng Zishe’s prepared medicine—just his prescription. But I wasn’t comfortable sending Xiaojuan out alone to fetch it.

Fortunately, Brother Zhongshu arrived just in time.

Now that the Emperor was ill and the court leaderless, the powerful ministers were arguing over who to support as the crown prince, leaving their insignificant and idle offices unoccupied.

“I heard you were back last night. How did you get injured? I rushed to the office this morning to report and sneaked back to see you.” Brother Zhongshu was still a little embarrassed in front of me, and his words and actions were cautious. “I haven’t seen you for more than a month…”

I thought for a moment. “Last time must’ve been New Year’s Eve. That was last year. We didn’t meet at the Lantern Festival—too many people.”

Zhongshu-ge said, “Huh? I saw you at the festival. You even frowned and made a face at me—don’t you remember?”

Made a face? When…? Oh—I did do that.

So he had been right there at the time, and I’d been so focused on looking at Yu Chongrui I didn’t even notice Brother Zhongshu.

A little embarrassed, I said, “The Third Prince caused such a stir I forgot everything…”

When the Third Prince came up, his expression turned serious. “Yaoyao, do you really think… the Third Prince is your good match?”

Of course, the Third Prince was not a good match, but for this marriage, whether or not we were a good match was never the criterion for consideration.

I quickly changed the subject, looked down at my ankle, and said, “I want to ask brother for help with something. The medicine the doctor we invited yesterday gave me wasn’t suitable, and the wound has worsened. I have a prescription that the miracle doctor gave me before, and it’s very effective. Could you help me get some more according to the prescription?”

He immediately became nervous. “Isn’t it just a skin injury? How did it get worse? The injury still needs to be examined by a doctor, and the medicine should be prescribed. Where is the miracle doctor? I’ll take you there.”

“I… can’t go out.” I paused and added, “Brother, don’t worry, this prescription was specially given to me by the miracle doctor, so please don’t tell anyone.”

He glanced out the window, seemed to understand, and whispered, “I’ll go prepare it for you. Wait here.”

Brother Zhongshu left to get the medicine and sent it over. After that, he came to see me every day, chatting to relieve my boredom. Although he held an idle position and had no real power, he had a wide range of friends and knew everything about the court. I only learned about the outside situation these days through his retelling.

As for the crown prince dispute, in terms of birth and legitimacy, Prince Xin was the son of the Late Emperor, and His Majesty had explicitly said he’d pass the throne to him. Meanwhile, the Third Prince was His Majesty’s biological son—succession from father to son was the natural order. Either could be justified as heir, depending on who had more supporters.

Currently, the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor backed the Third Prince, while General Fang supported Prince Xin. The General held military power, but the Grand Preceptor’s direct line controlled the capital’s Shenwu Guard. With the bloody precedent of Prince Yong’s rebellion, no one wanted another armed conflict over the succession, which would cause unrest in the country.

What shocked everyone was that Chancellor Song sided with Prince Xin. He had always served the country with selfless devotion, never forming factions or seeking personal gain. He once clashed with His Majesty in court, publicly declaring, “I know only loyalty to the nation, not to the ruler.” His reason for backing Prince Xin was simple: the Third Prince was too young. A child on the throne bred instability, and with the northern Khagan of the Huihe newly deceased and his successor eyeing the south, the nation needed stability. Prince Xin was better suited to shoulder such responsibility.

Even the court officials agreed with Chancellor Song’s reasoning. When it came to who could better serve as emperor, command the ministers, and stabilize the country, Prince Xin was undoubtedly much more reliable than the reckless Third Prince.

Chancellor Song’s stance swayed many neutral or wavering officials. Originally, Prince Xin’s power was weaker than the Third Prince’s, but now, with Chancellor Song’s support, Prince Xin had caught up, and the two sides were evenly matched, with Prince Xin gaining momentum.

“Now, many people are waiting for the Duke to make his position clear,” Brother Zhongshu sighed. “You and Lan Yue are both his granddaughters, and the Duke must be in a tough spot.”

No—Grandfather wasn’t conflicted. He had already made up his mind. The Third Prince already had the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor. Grandfather was simply bargaining for more leverage.

A day later, Brother Zhongshu came to tell me, “Yaoyao, you were right. Yesterday, the Duke entered the palace for a secret discussion, and this morning, he clearly fought for the Third Prince to be the heir, and even his disciples voted for the Third Prince.”

Although Grandfather no longer held real power as prime minister, he had been in charge of the imperial examination system for many years. He had many disciples in the court, and his influence was vast. As a lobbyist, his words carried weight, drawing a large wave to the Third Prince’s camp.

As much as I hated seeing it, it was no surprise. “So now… has a decision been made?”

“No,” Brother Zhongshu shook his head and looked at me hesitantly. “Because… Yu Yan voted for Prince Xin.”