During that same night, three more of Xiang Ren's businesses were burned to the ground. What infuriated him the most was that nobody could find the culprits. No matter where they looked, there seemed to be no clues left behind. Xiang Ren spent the entire night trying to track them down, even using the royal soldiers to find the arsonists.
Despite his hard efforts, Xiang Ren had no luck. At first, he thought they were assassins, but as more of his businesses burned, he couldn't think of anyone who would dare to commit such acts. Most of the Ministries were on his side, and the high noble families were afraid of him.
He didn't suspect the Crown Prince, believing that the Crown Prince always saw him as a doting uncle. Xiang Ren had always been respectable and diligent towards his nephew, who was nearly dying anyway and wouldn't have enough time to take revenge.
Whoever dared to attack him, he would make them pay. He would not stop until he found them, as he had always killed anyone who opposed him.
Linyu and the Viridis knocked at Yi Ling's door. She opened it and let them in.
"Did you succeed?" she asked bluntly.
"Yes, master. We have burned four of his businesses. I assume he will be looking for the culprit all night," Linyu replied, taking off his mask and bowing to Yi Ling.
"En, that would be good. Tomorrow, we will let the whole Kingdom know that the Crown Prince is healed. That way, he will focus on Xiang He." Yi Ling smiled and waved for them to leave.
Linyu bowed again and left with the Viridis, not wanting to disturb his master during her rest time.
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The next day, the kingdom was in disorder. The people were in an uproar over two things: someone dared to target Xiang Ren, and the Crown Prince was now healed. They couldn't believe what was happening; it was a miracle. One was being punished for his mistakes, and the other was saved by his good heart.
The people had always known that the Crown Prince had a good heart. They had always respected the Xiang family, ever since the late emperor. They had always believed in the Crown Prince's capabilities, but unfortunately, he suffered from a disease that crippled him. This was one of the biggest news events in the Kingdom in recent years. The last one before this was the death of the Empress. They all knew how devoted the Emperor was to the Empress. After the Crown Prince's incident, the Ministers were able to convince the Emperor to take in concubines. Much to their dismay, the concubines were not able to produce any sons.
Some people had lost hope and decided to support Xiang Ren. All of these rumors and how he made himself look good to the people were part of his plan. Unfortunately, a year ago, Xiang Ren, who they thought was an angel, was slandered by the people who supported the Crown Prince.
After that, Xiang Ren started killing anyone who spread the rumors or slandered his name. This made the people uneasy and also rethink Xiang Ren's recent actions. Were the rumors true? If not, why was he reacting in such a bad way?
Now that the Crown Prince was healed, the people were enthusiastic. They were even happy that karma had gotten hold of Xiang Ren. The people were now gathering in front of the Crown Prince's palace, awaiting his arrival.
When they arrived, one of the Crown Prince's men spread the news that the Crown Prince was healed by a doctor from a high-ranked Kingdom. They couldn't believe what they had heard. Why would a doctor from a high-ranked Kingdom help such a lowly Prince? And why would such a doctor visit a lowly Kingdom?
These questions were all on the minds of the people. Only the Crown Prince could answer these questions. Maybe he had such a connection, and if he did, he would surely bring the Kingdom to new heights. Thinking about this, there was more support than ever for the Crown Prince.