PFC Chapter 215 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (115)
Chapter 215 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (115)
After a while, palace maids and eunuchs came to serve them, but it was more like they were guarding and monitoring them than serving them.
They all seemed like wooden figures, mechanically going through the motions without uttering a single word.
It seems very weird.
Ji Shumin did not speak to them. Although the room had everything it needed, it was clearly a temporary arrangement, with fine dust on the floor and even the table.
This is far too disrespectful and disrespectful to Ji Shumin's status.
But the person who brought him into the palace today wouldn't care whether he was respected or not.
Ji Shumin squinted slightly, his fingertips rubbing the newly laid bedding. Fortunately, the bedding and pillows were spotless and brand new.
The only sound in the room was the soft crackling of the lamp wick.
Ji Shumin habitually wanted to find a book to read, but there wasn't even a bookshelf in the room.
With a soft sigh, Ji Shumin folded his hands on his knees, closed his eyes as if lost in meditation, ignoring everything around him and completely disregarding his current situation.
There was an untimely calm.
An old eunuch who had followed Ji Shumin since he entered the palace had a strange look in his eyes.
His droopy, narrow eyes held a scrutinizing gaze. After a moment's thought, he beckoned a young eunuch over.
He whispered something in his ear, and the little eunuch turned and ran out.
"What are you all doing here?" Even with his eyes closed, Ji Shumin could feel those persistent, stalker-like gazes.
The numbness and stubbornness that settled upon him filled Ji Shumin with a sense of disgust.
Even though he understood that he was nothing in the eyes of those in high positions in the palace, he was still dissatisfied with being treated this way.
"His Majesty has ordered that we servants... serve His Highness the Third Prince well."
Sure enough, the answers to my questions were all tinged with a hint of criticism and impatience. The people in this palace always have this kind of snobbish attitude.
In their eyes, I'm probably no different from a disgraced prisoner...
"Get out!" Ji Shumin suddenly snapped.
Having long heard of the Third Prince's unpredictable and eccentric nature, the palace servants were still terrified upon experiencing it firsthand.
"Your Highness... please don't make things difficult for us servants." An old eunuch with slanted eyes came in from outside, bowing slightly. "Please have mercy... this is all the Emperor's decree!"
He bowed tremblingly towards the direction of the emperor's bedroom, seemingly with utmost respect and flattery.
He was adept at using the emperor to suppress Ji Shumin; it was probably the umpteenth time he had used it in his life.
Ji Shumin gently pinched the silver bell on the bracelet on his wrist, slowly calming his mind: This is probably the last time...
"Father ordered you to serve me, have you ever disobeyed me?" Ji Shumin curled his lips: "Tell me, if I twist your head off my neck now, will Father punish me for it tomorrow?"
Ji Shumin was in a bad mood, and no one else could be in a good mood either. His soft voice was sinister in the flickering candlelight.
He was calm and unhurried, but no one thought he was bluffing. Instead, they worried that the next moment, a strong gust of wind would strike their necks and actually slice them off.
"Your Highness..." The old eunuch was also startled. He thought that the disabled third prince must be feeling uneasy and fearful after experiencing such treatment.
I don't know what I did wrong to be under such surveillance, and I'm terrified.
He served in the palace his whole life, and was trampled on and humiliated his whole life. What he loved to do most was to watch those nobles who were in dire straits!
Watching their fear and their futile struggles, he could easily add to their amusement, which would temporarily satisfy his wicked heart.
They even had to beg their former servants, whom they had once despised, to survive like dogs, completely devoid of their former nobility. That was the most delightful time...
He was secretly acting on the emperor's orders to deliver the imperial decree and, as instructed by the emperor, to imprison the third prince here without alerting anyone.
Although he didn't know what the Third Prince had done to make the Emperor so ruthless, judging from the Emperor's expression, the Third Prince was probably in grave danger!
He had seen the Second Prince under house arrest, and his manic and timid appearance was something he would remember for a long time. He thought the Third Prince would be the same.
"What, you don't believe me?" Ji Shumin was insightful and could easily tell what he was thinking. He could tell what Ji Shumin was thinking from Ji Shumin's malicious eyes.
Ji Shumin casually picked up a teacup and threw it with a "bang," hitting the old eunuch squarely on the neck, making him cry out "Ouch!" and flinch.
"All of you, leave... Let His Highness the Third Prince have some peace and quiet!" he snapped in a shrill voice.
Ji Shumin suppressed the disgust in his eyes. There is no shortage of petty people in this world. If you don't want to be despised and ruined, you can only stand on a high place. This is a principle that Ji Shumin has understood since he was a child.
But Ji Shumin's thoughts went beyond simply avoiding being humiliated himself; what he desired could only be achieved by reaching a higher position...
Ji Shumin didn't think about it anymore.
The image of Lu Liruan flashed through his mind. When he was taken away from the mansion, the light was too dim, and he didn't see clearly whether she was scared.
Probably not, I've already explained it to her, and Li Ruan isn't a timid person...
She will definitely listen to what I told her. She is so intelligent. Could she have guessed how the situation would change after this?
Ji Shumin was never one to be a teacher, but in front of Lu Liruan, he often felt like a butterfly spreading its two colorful wings, fluttering just so that she could see his beauty.
Thinking of Lu Liruan, the irritability and anger that had been rising in his heart gradually subsided. Even though it was a summer night, it was still a bit cool for Ji Shumin's body.
He curled up, trying to take up as little space as possible, and closed his eyes on the couch to conserve his energy.
But before Ji Shumin could really fall asleep, footsteps sounded outside again.
A faint fragrance, mingled with the sound of water, entered the room.
"Your Highness, it's time for your bath..." This time, the eunuch who came to summon Ji Shumin was even more cautious, afraid that Ji Shumin might get upset and throw something at him.
Ji Shumin slowly sat up and saw that something had been added to the bathtub. From a distance, it had a faint fragrance, but when you got closer, it had a faint fishy smell. The water was also a light pink color.
It's different from the water I usually use for bathing.
“No need, I took a bath at home this morning.” Ji Shumin frowned in displeasure.
"Your Highness, this is a nourishing soup specially prepared for you by His Majesty... His Majesty said that after you drink this soup, it will have the effect of cleansing your essence and marrow!" The eunuch said, his shoulders hunched over, not daring to look at Ji Shumin.
Then the Third Prince let out a soft laugh, which sounded like mockery and ridicule: "Is that so? There is such a powerful thing?"
"A gift from the Emperor, a gift to you."
"Since that's the case, I'm determined to experience it properly." Ji Shumin didn't make things difficult for him; instead, he relented, which made everyone who entered breathe a sigh of relief.
"I don't need you to serve me anymore, you can all leave." Ji Shumin's words were much more effective this time than before.
Because of the demonstration of authority they had just demonstrated and their promise to bathe, these people did not dare to push them too far and filed out one by one.
Ji Shumin pushed his wheelchair to the bathtub, dipped his fingertips in the water, brought them to his nose and smelled them, a look of disgust rising on his face: Ha, it really is the same old stuff.
He casually stirred the water in the tub a few times, making a splashing sound, as if to just go through the motions.
After waiting for half an hour, he called out, "Come in and tidy up!"
After the people outside came in, they only dared to steal a few glances at Ji Shumin. Seeing that the Third Prince's clothes had been changed and his hair seemed to be wet, they hurriedly carried the bath tub away and dared not stay any longer.
Ji Shumin slept very restlessly that night. Having gotten used to Lu Liruan's scent beside him, he had a series of nightmares. Every time he woke up, the sky was still dark. He tossed and turned for a long time.
I was finally awakened once again by the absurd and bizarre phenomena in my dream, and the sky outside was already just beginning to lighten.
Breakfast was ordinary, but what was unusual was the glass of water, which also smelled fishy, that was brought to his side. Ji Shumin crossed his arms and coldly watched as the old eunuch from last night reappeared: "Your Highness, please drink it quickly."
"what is this?"
"This is a fine gift bestowed upon you by the Emperor!" The old eunuch grinned sinisterly. Last night, he had been frightened by this pretentious and showy deposed crown prince, but today, under the light, he looked so frail and weak...
He was the only one left serving him.
A ruthless glint appeared in the old eunuch's cloudy eyes; he had seen... just how the Second Prince truly was...
Presumably, this Third Prince will also be unable to escape, and whether he can survive until today is really hard to say.
"Why hasn't Your Highness drunk your drink yet? Are you going to defy the Emperor's decree?" The old eunuch's voice was shrill and grating. He picked up the cup and approached Ji Shumin step by step.
Ji Shumin just stared at him. He sat in a wheelchair, his face pale and his body weak, as if he were at the mercy of others to be manipulated and humiliated.
A twisted joy welled up in the old eunuch's heart. Looking at Ji Shumin's handsome face, he flared his nostrils with excitement, looking utterly ugly.
When the old eunuch was only a step away from Ji Shumin, he bent down, trying to grab Ji Shumin's chin, pry open his mouth, and pour water into it.
But just as his withered hand was about to touch Ji Shumin, the Third Prince, whom he thought was powerless to resist and could only submit to his humiliation, suddenly changed his expression:
That alluring, helpless weakness vanished instantly, replaced by a sinister, all-controlling smile.
Then what he saw was no longer the Third Prince's face!
A sharp pain struck him; his neck, which had been smashed and felt like it was about to break the night before, was now wracked with excruciating pain that made his vision go black again!
Then came the choking sensation of water rushing into his throat! He couldn't breathe and could only open his mouth and struggle desperately, but he couldn't move an inch.
The Third Prince's hands, which appeared frail and weak, were as if cast in iron, rendering him completely immobile!
"Uh-uh-"
He let out a choked sob of suffocation and fear. After Ji Shumin finished pouring that strange cup of water into his mouth, he did not stop.
Ji Shumin casually picked up the tea and the still-steaming white porridge he hadn't touched from the table and gulped them down. Only when the old eunuch's throat was gurgling and he was vomiting did he throw him aside to avoid soiling his own clothes.
"That cup of water was a gift from the Emperor, and the rest is a gift from me. Be grateful." He wearily wiped his hands with a handkerchief, looking down at the old eunuch slumped on the ground as if he were looking at a pile of dead flesh.
At this moment, Ji Shumin's long-suppressed violence surfaced. He was not a purely kind person; he simply preferred to present a kind side to Lu Liruan.
But without Lu Liruan... Ji Shumin closed his eyes to calm himself down.
"Thank you...didn't you love power the most?" Ji Shumin slowly poured another bowl of porridge onto his slumped body, speaking in a low voice that sounded particularly terrifying.
"Thank you... thank you for the Emperor's reward, thank you for the Third Prince's reward!" Finally able to speak, the old eunuch prostrated himself at Ji Shumin's feet, trembling and hurried.
Ji Shumin asked calmly, "You know what to say and what to do, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes, this servant understands!" Under Ji Shumin's staring gaze, the old eunuch stumbled out, half walking and half crawling.
Ji Shumin was kept under surveillance in this courtyard until the afternoon.
Ji Shumin didn't sleep well last night. He took several short naps during the day until he heard thunder outside.
Today's thunderstorm was exceptionally heavy, and the sky was so overcast it felt like night. Untrimmed tree branches outside the window lashed against the window frame with a crackling sound, creating an unusually tense and gloomy atmosphere.
Ji Shumin sat listlessly by the bed, not knowing what to do for the first time in a long time.
When twenty-seven drops of candle wax fell to the ground, a sound finally came.
"Your Highness, the Emperor summons you." A figure appeared in the courtyard, holding a blue oil-paper umbrella, beckoning like a ghost.
Ji Shumin recognized him; he was also a eunuch who had served the emperor for many years. He wondered why it was him who came and where Decheng had gone.
When the palanquin stopped deep within the palace, in a location even more secluded than the Cold Palace, De Cheng appeared outside the palanquin and personally pushed Ji Shumin's wheelchair inside.
The old hall seemed to be dark and gloomy, as if it were devouring people, as if even candles were not lit inside.
A strange look flashed in De Cheng's eyes: "Your Highness, the Emperor is inside."
"Why does Father want to see me here?" Ji Shumin asked him with a puzzled and uneasy expression.
"His Majesty naturally has his own plans, which this servant is unaware of." De Cheng's tone carried a hint of pleasure, unlike his usual mild and silent manner.
As Ji Shumin walked along the winding corridor into the rear hall, he was momentarily stunned when he stepped into a room, even though he was prepared!
It’s so weird!
The empty, dilapidated hall was devoid of anything except for yellow paper banners hanging everywhere, painted with dragons and phoenixes in a flamboyant style. On the ground was a huge, bright red array diagram, dripping with cinnabar or something else, and exuding a strong herbal scent.
Several brass mirrors, each the same height as a person, reflected this terrifying and bizarre scene in multiple ways, as if each mirror contained a strange and mysterious formation.