TGCFNM -Chapter 465 Waiting to Watch the Show

By now, Fu Qingyu had already presented the evidence. After the emperor reviewed it, he was furious and demanded a thorough investigation—he wanted the culprit crushed to dust.

At this moment, however, the person who should have been handling the case, Chu Ling, had fallen ill.

Falling sick at such a critical moment—if it had happened to anyone else, people might suspect it was a deliberate attempt to avoid the royal power struggle. But in Chu Ling’s case, no one doubted her at all.

Everyone knew she had gone to investigate the royal villa and had narrowly avoided being crushed by a collapsing building. Even though she eventually found the evidence—the golden camellia—her face had been scratched by poisonous plants and covered in red rashes.

Even with the rashes, Chu Ling continued investigating the case while ill. She diligently searched the empress’s quarters and found proof of the empress’s murder, but the pain made her cry… On top of that, after leaving the palace, she visited the Zhuang family to get medicine, and that very night, she ran a fever.

There were also rumors that she fell ill because Prince Rui had intimidated her when she was about to enter the palace to investigate.

Prince Rui had flown into a rage, scolded her harshly, and reduced her to tears. After returning, she had developed a fever.

Whether these two stories were true or not, the palace had rewarded her with quite a few gifts and told her to rest well—she didn’t have to go to her post for now.

At this moment, Chu Ling was holed up in the Wan residence, her face covered with even worse rashes. She watched the senior eunuch who had come with the imperial edict and, looking “weak,” tried to kneel to receive it.

The eunuch raised a hand: “Master Chu, no need to kneel. His Majesty wants you to rest properly.”

Chu Ling was deeply touched as she accepted the imperial edict. She grabbed the eunuch’s wrist: “Eunuch~ thank you… please remember to report to His Majesty that I will, cough cough, cough cough cough…”

Her hoarse, unpleasant voice startled the eunuch, who hastily withdrew his hand: “Master Chu, please rest well,” he said, and quickly excused himself, leaving in such a rush that he didn’t even take the money pouch that Wan Sanjin had prepared.

Chu Ling hunched over, and once everyone had left and Wan Sanjin closed the door, she slowly straightened up, supporting her waist.

“I’m exhausted!” she said, sinking into a seat, then told Xiao Hua to open the box and see what was inside.

Xiao Hua obliged, opening the chest: “Hmm… stationery, 100 taels of silver, a tiny ginseng root… Master, the palace is really poor.”

Chu Ling clicked her tongue: “Poor and stingy.”

“Master, be satisfied. You haven’t even received your salary yet—this 100 taels are just a courtesy,” said Wan Sanjin, taking out the silver and distributing it.

And just like that, Chu Ling’s 100 taels became 20.

Chu Ling: “…Does the Wan family even take ginseng?”

“It’s such a tiny root… Master, why don’t we stew chicken soup tonight! It’ll be nourishing!” Xiao Hua suggested.

Chu Ling thought for a moment: “Alright!”

So Xiao Hua took back all the silver that had just been distributed, saying she needed it to stew several chickens for everyone in the residence that evening.

And thus, the silver in Chu Ling’s hands became zero.

Looking at the untouched silver, Chu Ling sighed, propping her chin on her hand: “I wonder who will handle the case… probably Master Lu.”

If it really was Master Lu, he would definitely keep a note of them.

Wan Sanjin pulled out a chair and sat down: “Master, your face looks frightening. Wear a veil when you go out.”

“Why should I wear a veil? Planning to rob someone outside?” Chu Ling bared her teeth.

Wan Sanjin shrugged: “Not impossible either.”

Chu Ling: “……”

“These rashes of yours are the cumulative effect of randomly taking medicine. They look scary, but it doesn’t matter—they’ll fade in two or three days. Once they fade, the mole will be obvious,” Su He said, taking out the scholar’s desk set, preparing to record it for Steward Liu’s accounts anyway—Lord won’t need it.

Wan Sanjin looked at Chu Ling with curiosity, full of amazement: “Lord, I have to say, this mole… your appearance somehow hasn’t changed, yet it seems completely different.”

Chu Ling nodded. She could see it too—the Consort Rui’s mole-marking skills were indeed impressive.

“Once the rashes disappear, I’ll say the mole suddenly appeared, or maybe it’s just a scar. That’ll explain it,” Chu Ling had already thought of a plan to account for this suddenly appearing mole.

“In that case, shall we leave tonight?” Wan Sanjin asked, looking at Chu Ling.

They had long agreed to take advantage of these days while pretending to be sick to go to the outskirts of the capital and uncover Chu Yue’s arrangements.

Chu Rou had also sent a reply. Besides telling them to firmly stand on the side of Heir Xiao, she warned them to be cautious of Chu Yue and gave them a place to check.

The authenticity of that place was uncertain, so they decided to stay in the suburbs to investigate carefully.

Chu Ling frowned, thinking for a moment: “Not tonight. We’ll leave early tomorrow. We’ll just say we’re going to the countryside to recuperate—the fresh air and scenery will help recovery.”

“Just leave openly like that?” Wan Sanjin laughed at the question. “Isn’t that a bit provocative? Won’t they become more suspicious?”

Chu Ling didn’t care: “So what if they’re suspicious? I am ‘sick,’ and I do need to recuperate. If they want to spend time and energy watching me, let them watch.”

In any case, in the suburbs, with the Wan family covering for them, they could do anything conveniently.

The Ghost Scholar lightly tapped Chu Ling’s shoulder with his fan: “The court will get even more chaotic. You need to disrupt some people’s plans, so they have no time to pay attention to you and just think you’re trying to avoid them.”

Chu Ling hummed in agreement, then asked Wan Sanjin to find Young Master Wan and figure out a way to further stir up the court.

Wan Sanjin nodded, took note, and left.

Chu Ling returned to her courtyard, leaned back on the soft couch, and rested. “Master, everyone isn’t anxious yet, so no one is pressuring His Majesty to quickly choose the heir, and no one is suggesting who it should be.”

“They’re all observing, seeing whether it will be the Third Prince or the two imperial grandsons,” the Ghost Scholar said, suddenly laughing. “His Majesty’s thoughts are unpredictable. They don’t dare make assumptions.”

Chu Ling thought for a moment, then suddenly sat upright, her eyes sparkling with mischief: “Master, tell me—whose disciples are more widespread, Grand Tutor Sun’s or Grand Tutor Fu’s?”

The Ghost Scholar smiled at her: “I don’t know either. Why not let the world judge?”

Chu Ling nodded: “I think you’re right. It’s time to let the world decide.” She immediately got up, wrote a letter, and gave it to Steward Liu, asking him to send it to the bank and deliver it to Wan Sanjin.

Once the letter was sent, Chu Ling felt a sense of relief.

“Once these scholars start making trouble, they’ll inevitably take sides,” Chu Ling said, smiling brightly. “Once they take sides, it shows they support either Fu Qingyu or Heir Xiao.”

The Ghost Scholar nodded with a smile, stroking his beard: “Two imperial grandsons fighting like the world is ending—can the princes really hold back?”

Chu Ling shook her head confidently, a determined smile on her face: “Of course not.”

So, she simply waited to watch the show.