Chapter 539: Meeting Prince Chengxuan

The person waiting for her was none other than Ying Jue, Yuan Jiuan's personal bodyguard.

When Ying Jue saw that Ji Yuntang had brought two other people with her, he froze for a moment, but still spoke respectfully, "Princess Ye, my lord has been awaiting your arrival for some time. Please, come with me."

"Thanks." Ji Yuntang thanked him and headed upstairs with Hua Feixue and Xie Liuzheng.

As they were about to enter, Xie Liuzheng and Hua Feixue were stopped by Ying Jue.

He said flatly, "My lord has only permitted Princess Ye to enter alone. I'll have to ask you two gentlemen to wait outside."

Xie Liuzheng thought it was ridiculous—they'd all come together, but only Ji Yuntang was allowed in.

He glared at Ying Jue and said, "Do you know who we are? How dare you stop us?"

Hua Feixue pulled at his sleeve and whispered, "Forget it. The prince probably wants to talk to your sister in private. Let's just wait out here for now."

They'd come to ask for a favor, and the other side didn't know who they were. Hua Feixue didn't think Ying Jue had done anything wrong.

The moment Ji Yuntang walked in, a dark figure rushed up to greet her all enthusiastically, scaring her.

"Princess Ye, it's really you! Do you remember me?"

She took a closer look and realized it was none other than Zhufeng, who'd brought Yuan Jiuan to the medical tournament to get her to treat him.

He was one of Yuan Jiuan's personal bodyguards, just like Ying Jue.

Ji Yuntang smiled at him. "Long time no see, Zhufeng."

Zhufeng was a little excited. "I'm honored you still remember me, miss. I was just telling my lord earlier that I didn't know when I'd get to see you again. I didn't think it'd be this soon."

"Princess Ye, you're really my lord's greatest benefactor."

Yuan Jiuan watched Zhufeng act like a lapdog in front of Ji Yuntang, his tail practically wagging to the sky.

He cleared his throat and made a show of scolding him, "Zhufeng, mind your manners. Go brew a pot of hot tea right now."

Only then did Zhufeng calm down and reply respectfully, "Yes, my lord."

After he left, Ji Yuntang looked at the handsome man in white brocade robes and spoke up first.

"Your Highness, how's your leg?"

Yuan Jiuan replied with a gentle, easygoing look, "After I got back, I followed your instructions, Your Highness, and trained hard every day. I've gotten pretty used to it now."

"Even though my right leg has a prosthetic, I can still walk and jog fine without any problems. Other than not being able to use martial arts, I'm already pretty satisfied."

Ji Yuntang beamed. "That's great. I'm really happy I could help you, Your Highness."

Yuan Jiuan took the initiative to have Ji Yuntang sit down and poured her a cup of tea himself.

He said, looking a bit ashamed, "Princess Ye, there's something I've been thinking about, and I feel I owe you an apology."

"Back when I went to the Dongchen Kingdom, Zhufeng didn't mean to hide my identity from you."

"Only a few trusted confidants of mine knew about my leg amputation, no one else."

"For one thing, I'm the Feudal Prince of Jizhou, which is up in the northwest. That area's always got gangs and refugees gathering and causing trouble. If word of my injury got out, it would definitely stir up trouble in Jizhou. If those people kicked up a fuss again, a ton of innocent folks would get hurt."

"On the other hand, there's Empress Dowager Yuan. In the two years she's been acting as regent, she's sent at least ten officials to Jizhou, all trying to strip me of my title as Feudal Prince, take my military power, and put Jizhou under the court's direct control."

"Back when Emperor Chu was on the throne, if he'd wanted to revoke my fiefdom, I wouldn't have objected and would've handed over my military power willingly. But Empress Dowager Yuan is someone with wild ambitions. Behind her stand the Five Great Families, who for the past century have been trying to seize the imperial power from the Chu clan."

"Since childhood, my maternal grandfather taught me that one must never forget one's roots. The status we enjoy today was granted by the founding emperor of the Chu dynasty. He told me that even if I became a Feudal Prince, I must remain loyal to the Chu clan and the court. I have always kept his words close to my heart."

"After my leg was injured, I fell into a state of depression. I sought medical treatment everywhere to no avail. The physicians who examined my leg all said that surviving at all was already a blessing beyond measure, and that there was simply no cure."

"At that time, Empress Dowager Yuan was determined to strip me of my title and have her own nephew take over. I had no energy to deal with it, and in a fit of anger, I ordered the officials sent by the court to be killed and sent her their dismembered remains. Only then did she quiet down somewhat."

"But I know that if Empress Dowager Yuan installs a new Crown Prince and that Crown Prince ascends the throne, she will still try every means to revoke my fiefdom and take Jizhou back."

"So, when I received the message from my spies in the capital this time, I immediately rushed to the capital without delay. I never expected to witness the Crown Prince's burial."

At this point, Yuan Jiuan paused, his expression somewhat complicated.

He looked at Ji Yuntang and continued, "Princess Ye, I know this is a matter of state for the Western Shu Kingdom, and I shouldn't involve you in it."

"But you are the most intelligent and capable woman I have ever met. I still wanted to share these matters with you and ask you to help me analyze whether this hypothesis holds water."

Ji Yuntang listened attentively and said, "If Your Highness trusts me, please speak freely. I will do my best to help you analyze it."

Yuan Jiuan nodded and smiled elegantly. "With those words from Princess Ye, I am reassured!"

He said, "I believe that the Crown Prince buried by Empress Dowager Yuan today is not actually the son of Emperor Chu, but a fake."

"Although I know nothing of medicine and haven't seen the Crown Prince in many years, I do know basic common sense—if a person were burned by fire, it wouldn't be possible for only the exposed skin to be burned so thoroughly black."

"Today, when the coffin was opened, I noticed that the skin behind the corpse's ears and on its neck was still intact. Only the face and the exposed backs of the hands were disfigured beyond recognition, charred black like a lump of coal."

As he spoke, Yuan Jiuan stood up, walked to a drawer, and took out a wrapped handkerchief.

He opened the handkerchief, revealing a strand of black hair inside.

"This strand of hair, I pulled from that corpse. I wanted to ask Princess Ye—if a person's face had been burned so severely by fire, could their hair still be preserved this completely?"

Ji Yuntang shook her head and said, "That wasn't an ordinary burn. It was a corrosive burn caused by applying oil and lime powder to the face before igniting it. It would count as severe facial disfigurement."

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