The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Hao Jin

Huangfu Yuxuan dispatched the hidden guards he has secretly cultivated over the years, as well as gathered martial artists from the Jianghu, ensuring that any threats would be eliminated on their route back to the city.

The first group targets Huangfu Hongzhi, the second Huangfu Jinglun, the third Huangfu Jingchen, and the fourth targets Huangfu Taihe.

If any incidents happen to the imperial grandsons on their return journey, it will surely attract attention and might even cause a major upheaval across Nanxia, which would be disastrous.

Regarding this, Huangfu Yuxuan and Gongyang Puyu have already devised a plan.

Huangfu Yuxuan has kept a close watch on these imperial uncles over the years.

Prince Zhuang and Prince Li are now highly esteemed by the Grandfather, so if any of their outstanding sons emerge, they must be eliminated. Prince Zhuang’s seventh son, however, is not in good health, often falls ill, and is an illegitimate child, not yet making his mark. Prince Zhuang does not particularly favor him. Such a person, if he falls ill and dies on the journey, who would suspect?

Prince Li’s third son is the legitimate heir, quite exceptional, yet as the saying goes, ”The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled.” Huangfu Jinglun deeply fears being overshadowed by his brother, threatening his position as the princely heir.

As long as his death is blamed on Prince Li’s eldest son, it would be killing two birds with one stone, and they could walk away unscathed.

Prince Lu’s youngest son, Huangfu Taihe, is now only eight years old. If an eight-year-old child happens to be bitten by a poisonous snake in the middle of the night and dies due to delayed treatment, it would be considered bad luck.

Such an accident could in no way be linked to the Crown Prince’s second son, Huangfu Yuxuan, in the capital.

Yet, Huangfu Jingchen is a different matter, making him the most troublesome because of his unique status. He is the eldest son of Prince Cheng, and also the heir to Prince Cheng.

This Prince Cheng is an anomaly among the imperial uncles.

Among the titled imperial uncles, who doesn’t have just one princess yet a pile of concubines and a plenty of sons?

But Prince Cheng has only the Concubine Cheng as his woman, with only two sons and a daughter.

All the imperial uncles are eager to visit the capital more often, yet Prince Cheng is another anomaly.

Since Prince Cheng was granted his title at eighteen and was assigned to Yunzhou, his eldest son is now seventeen. In these twenty years, he has returned to the capital only three times: once for the death of the Grand Empress Dowager, to attend the funeral; once for the Imperial Ancestral Temple ceremony, which all imperial family members must attend; and the third time was for the Grandfather’s sixtieth birthday. Each time, his stay in the capital did not exceed a month.

Though he sends annual gifts from Yunzhou without fail, the gifts are neither extravagant nor particularly notable, showing neither negligence nor passion.

Initially, Huangfu Yuxuan suspected Prince Cheng of pretending, but for a prince to feign to this extent—staying away from the hub of power in the capital for one or two years is fair enough, but three or five years, distancing himself from the courtiers and court affairs, is a waste.

This Prince Cheng, besides managing Yunzhou remarkably, has no ambition for the capital. Such lack of ambition poses no threat.

Moreover, there is one aspect of Prince Cheng that reassures Huangfu Yuxuan.

That is the heritage of the Concubine Cheng, which is not as distinguished as other imperial aunts, and even displeasing to the Grandfather. It’s rumored that Prince Cheng met the Concubine Cheng in the Jianghu; she is wild, unruly, and unversed in etiquette.

The marriages of princes are assigned by the Emperor, marrying either the daughters of influential courtiers from the capital or other remarkable women. What persistence and responsibility did Prince Cheng display in allowing a Jianghu woman to enter the Royal Family?

Prince Cheng feared his consort would be uncomfortable in the capital, so he chose not to come either.

Perhaps another reason is the Emperor’s disdain for his Jianghu-origin daughter-in-law, being unwelcomed by both parties, so better not see each other!

However, ever since Prince Cheng married such a woman, it meant he would never win the Emperor’s favor, implying self-abandonment of that position.

Gongyang Puyu advised Huangfu Yuxuan that since neither the horoscope nor the astrological signs of Huangfu Jingchen showed him seizing the princely fortune, and Prince Cheng was not in the Emperor’s favor, he could be ignored. If the princely heir died en route, troubles would increase.

Yet Huangfu Yuxuan felt that the princely heir, after all, is an imperial grandson. Additionally, this heir of Prince Cheng is so impressive that Huangfu Yuxuan felt wary. Better to take a risk than to let it pass.

Recognizing Huangfu Yuxuan as his master, Gongyang Puyu, unable to dissuade him, naturally adhered to his intentions. Their plan was to stage the death of the princely heir by mountain bandits, allowing Huangfu Yuxuan, grief-stricken over his cousin’s death, to volunteer to ”suppress the bandits.” By doing this, he would gain Prince Cheng’s gratitude, reel in a faction’s power, and claim credit once more!

After deciding on the bandit attack, Gongyang Puyu advised Huangfu Yuxuan to prepare for his grand wedding.

Now, Huangfu Yuxuan had reached the age of marriage, and he took this matter quite seriously. After all, the woman he marries must greatly aid him in the future.

He selected several daughters from distinguished families and asked Gongyang Puyu to determine their compatibility. However, after calculating their birthdates, Gongyang Puyu declared that their fates wouldn’t be beneficial, lacking fortune, and thus could not provide the support he needed, questioning the point of marrying them.

Finally, Gongyang Puyu divined for Huangfu Yuxuan, saying that if he wished to retain the princely fortune, he should marry an extraordinary wife. This person was not in the capital but in the southwest.

How vast is the southwest, and how numerous the women? It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Without a choice, Gongyang Puyu used his own vital essence as a guide, conducting a detailed calculation once more, yielding two characters: one ”Hao” and the other ”Jin.”

Even so, it remained unclear, but this was Gongyang Puyu’s limit.

Could ”Jin” refer to Jinzhou? But ”Hao”?

The people Huangfu Yuxuan had cultivated through the years were quite competent and discovered a Haotian Village in Jinzhou.

Thus, Huangfu Yuxuan decided to visit personally.

Upon reaching Jinzhou, he learned that the daughter of the Haotian Village Chief had ”Jin” in her name, perfectly matching Gongyang Puyu’s divination results. This is why, when Xia Wanqing and others ”captured” him to the mountain, he not only did not resist but even cooperated willingly.

If Xia Wenjin knew these things, she would understand why in her previous life, when Huangfu Yuxuan, as an imperial grandson, insisted on marrying this bandit girl. Even after ascending to the Dragon Court and holding supreme power, he sought her downfall, yet initially, he courted and used her painstakingly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have realized his true nature only at the brink of death.

She would also understand why the name ”Prince Jing” felt so unfamiliar when she heard it, as in her previous life, after marrying Huangfu Yuxuan, she gradually became acquainted with all members of the Huangfu Royal Family. At that time, Huangfu Jingchen, who adhered to the original route back to Yunzhou, fell perfectly into the trap meticulously devised by Huangfu Yuxuan, leaving the world without Huangfu Jingchen.

In Haotian Village, Huangfu Yuxuan had already stayed for half a month.

During these fifteen days, he exhibited a gentle temperament, approachable nature, exceptional eloquence, extraordinary demeanor, adept in both mind and martial arts, standing out magnificently, remarkably among the group. He displayed magnanimity, able to spar with the brothers of the village and drink with them, winning the goodwill of most of the villagers.

The villagers all felt that although Young Master Xuan was quite delicate in appearance, he indeed belonged among them!

As Huangfu Yuxuan prepared to leave, Xia Wanqing raised his thick eyebrows and said to the villagers outside, ”Go, fetch the Fifth Village Chief!”