In the evening, Jia Li dressed up in a beautiful hanfu dress. Her head was adorned with a phoenix crown. The ceremony for her father's birthday would begin shortly. Exiting the dressing chamber, she was accompanied by Court Lady Xuan and several devoted servants.
Jia Li slowly stopped to see Chen Xin. He bowed to her and stood next to her. Jia Li asked the servants to walk ten steps behind her, which they complied with.
"I was in the royal kitchen earlier. Nothing was suspicious there. I feel the poison be mixed in the meals of the Emperor after the food will be inspected," Chen Xin explained to Jia Li.
"That means the servant who will serve the meals to Father will be behind the poisoning. You need to catch her at that time only," Jia Li asserted. "But Father will drink water or wine in between that interval. Perhaps the poison be mixed at that time too," she opined.
"That is a possibility, Your Royal Highness," Chen Xin answered. "I would like to report about Prince Wangjie's sudden meeting with the Chief General's son. I ended up hearing the eunuchs' conversation," he stated.
"Eunuchs? Who?" Jia Li queried.
"The Eunuchs who serve Prince Hu Qiang and his son, Prince Wangjie," Chen Xin replied.
"What was it about?" Jia Li inquired.
"Based on what I could gather, it appears that Prince Wangjie is actively seeking support from the noblemen. The Chief General's son refused to support Prince Wangjie– this is what I could hear," Chen Xin asserted.
Jia Li was perplexed to hear this. Why would Lee Shimin's son refuse to support Wangjie? And what kind of support Wangjie needed? Those questions swirled in her mind. It made her conclude that Wangjie might be trying to bring noble-class men in his support to put her off the Crown Princess position.
"Which son refused to support Wangjie?" Jia Li inquired.
"I do not know, Your Royal Highness. But one of the eunuchs called him useless," Chen Xin answered.
Jia Li was surprised to learn that Lee Shimin's eldest son did not want to support Wangjie. Perhaps this son wanted something more from Wangjie. He already failed the civil services thrice, so there was no scope that he would become an official in the near future. Jia Li deduced that he wanted to become a high-rank official without giving the exam. But Wangjie could not grant his request.
"So, he is not useless after all," Jia Li murmured.
"Pardon me, Your Royal Highness?" Chen Xin could not hear what Jia Li said.
"Nothing. Stay close to the Emperor and do not let any servant serve him anything before you check it," Jia Li ordered him.
"The Emperor will ask who I am. Except the Empress and the Crown Princess no one knows about me," Chen Xin replied.
"I will tell Father, so you do not have to worry," Jia Li asserted. "Do not make any mistakes. I have put my faith in you," she stated.
"I will not disappoint the Crown Princess," Chen Xin assured her.
~~~~~~~
Lee Xianwu was lying on his stomach on the swing that was placed on the patio. Bong Huan came to him and cleared his throat. "Young Master, everyone is ready to go to the palace. Why are you not ready yet?" he asked.
"I do not wish to go," Lee Xianwu replied.
"Lord Lee will get angry again," Bong Huan said with a worried look on his face.
"My back is hurt and I feel exhausted," Lee Xianwu stated.
"Don't make excuses!" Lee Shimin roared. Quickly, Bong Huan turned aside and lowered his head. "Get ready. We have to go to the palace," he instructed his son.
"I do not want to go," Lee Xianwu pronounced. Bong Huan got worried to hear that answer because Lee Shimin was going to reprimand Xianwu again.
"Do you want me to lie to everyone about your absence? What will I say to the Emperor? His Majesty has invited my entire family to be a part of this celebration," Lee Shimin said in a stern tone.
Lee Xianwu left the swing and went inside the room. Lee Shimin instructed Bong Huan to bring Xianwu out and walked away.
Lee Xianwu cladded in the dress, which was placed on the table. His shoulder-length hair was braided from the left and tucked behind using a sliver hairclip. Bong Huan brushed his loose hair while saying, "The Young Master should accept Prince Wangjie's offer. Lord Lee will be proud of his eldest son then. People talk about you in the capital. I do not like to hear false rumors about my young master."
"At least, I am popular because of those false rumors. You should be proud of me, Bong Huan," Lee Xianwu answered.
"I want my young master to be as popular as the Prime Minister's son. He gets such good marriage proposals for him. Yesterday, when I had gone out I saw how the young women were drooling over him. They were dying for his single glance, but he did not look at anyone," Bong Huan asserted and felt jealous that the Prime Minister's son was more popular.
"I do not want women to drool over me. I only want one woman to look at me," Lee Xianwu affirmed.
"Who will be that woman, I wonder?" Bong Huan remarked and placed the comb on the dressing table.
Lee Xianwu turned to Bong Huan, who sprayed the perfume near his master's neck and then wrists. "This is a good chance for the Young Master to get into the eyes of the Emperor," he stated.
"I do not desire that," Lee Xianwu replied and took a step back. "I am ready. I should leave before Father starts barking at me," he muttered. Bong Huan smiled and so did Lee Xianwu. He saw his young master off the entrance.
Lee Xianwu got into the second carriage while his other step-siblings got into the third carriage. Xianwu opened the window to look outside when the carriage's door opened and his stepbrother, Lee Yujin, got into the carriage.
"Move out before I kick you out," Lee Xianwu coldly warned him.
Lee Yujin chuckled and got into the carriage. "Father wants me to be in this carriage," he proclaimed and sat across from his eldest brother. "It is so strange you cannot utter a single word before Father. I wonder why you are still living with us if you do not want to consider us your family," Yujin remarked.
"You cannot snatch my right, Yujin," Xianwu reminded him.
"Soon, I will," Yujin affirmed with a confident tone.