Chapter 378

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Just ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‍as the Crown Prince had been taken by Wet Nurse Lu and Nanny Xiang to sleep, a sharp cry erupted outside: "Xiao Xiangzi… Eunuch Xiao Xiangzi is in trouble."

Jiang Xinyue was pouring tea for the Emperor when she heard this. Her hand trembled, and she immediately set down the teapot, lifting her skirt as she hurried outside at a brisk pace.

The Emperor felt a strange sensation, as if Xiao Xiangzi mattered more to her than he did.

After a moment of hesitation, he quickly stood up and followed. How could he have such a thought? In Jiang Xinyue’s heart, he was the most important person, even more so than the Crown Prince.

"Someone, quick, someone!"

Jiang Chuan was holding the barely conscious Xiao Xiangzi in his arms, crying out, "Fetch the imperial physician… hurry and fetch the imperial physician!"

Xiao Xiangzi’s arms were covered in blisters and red burns, mixed with soot, looking terrifying. His back was soaked with blood, a result of a severe blow to his head.

Jiang Chuan’s hands and face were smeared with Xiao Xiangzi’s blood.

He frantically urged those around him to summon the imperial physician. Even the servants of Hexi Palace were not to be treated lightly, and the Imperial Hospital dared not refuse to send someone.

Otherwise, offending the Empress would spell disaster for the entire Imperial Hospital.

Moreover, rumors were spreading that after Chief Physician Hu retired, his replacement would be Yan the Imperial Physician.

And who was Yan the Imperial Physician?

He was a loyal ally of the Empress, a steadfast supporter. Offending Hexi Palace was tantamount to giving up any future in the Imperial Hospital.

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Xiao Xiangzi weakly opened his eyes, calling out to Jiang Chuan in a faint voice, "Brother Chuan… you… you…"

Jiang Chuan thought Xiao Xiangzi was about to deliver his last words and wept even more uncontrollably, "Don’t… don’t speak. Don’t worry… you’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t ask me to do anything for you. I won’t… you should handle your own affairs."

He cried so hard that snot and tears streamed down his face, unable to form a coherent sentence.

If it hadn’t been for the Empress’s concern that there might be a mole in the Internal Affairs Department, and her fear that Xiao Xiangzi, being alone and unprepared, might be in danger, she had asked Jiang Chuan to accompany him. Otherwise, Xiao Xiangzi would surely have died.

The eunuch who had knocked Xiao Xiangzi unconscious with a stick was immediately tackled by Jiang Chuan, and the two wrestled in the burning room. In the end, Jiang Chuan, being over six feet tall, overpowered the eunuch and subdued him.

Now, the eunuch who had injured Xiao Xiangzi had been taken by Jiang Chuan’s men to the Investigative Bureau.

The man-eating giant yellow fish in the Investigative Bureau hadn’t had a meal in a long time.

But none of this could save Xiao Xiangzi’s life.

If only Jiang Chuan had arrived earlier, he could have saved his good friend.

Xiao Xiangzi winced in pain, "Brother Chuan… what you said is exactly what I wanted to say. I should handle my own affairs. So, could you please put me down?"

He really could walk on his own.

His injury was to his head, and he knew his condition wasn’t fatal—just a case of excessive blood loss and a dizzy feeling.

Being carried around by Jiang Chuan, jostling up and down, was only making the blood flow faster. He felt like he might die from the shaking.

Jiang Chuan hadn’t asked Xiao Xiangzi how he felt, assuming he was on the brink of death, and had carried him all the way back to Hexi Palace.

It was thanks to his tall stature and strong build that he could carry the five-foot-five Xiao Xiangzi, a little potato, so far without stopping.

By this time, Jiang Xinyue, along with her maids Xi Que and Shuang Jiang, had reached the front hall. Seeing the blood-covered pair, they were all startled.

After a flurry of activity, Xiao Xiangzi was finally settled in the room he shared with Jiang Chuan.

For once, he experienced the feeling of being the center of attention, surrounded by none other than the Emperor and the Empress herself.

He didn’t dare to faint now.

After the imperial physician bandaged the wound on his head and treated the burns on his arms with herbal medicine, they prescribed some medication and left.

The Emperor couldn’t wait any longer, "What happened? You’re a servant of the Empress’s palace. Who dared to lay a hand on you?"

Were they courting death?

Xiao Xiangzi wanted to answer, but waves of darkness clouded his vision, and a sense of weakness overwhelmed him, leaving him unable to speak.

Jiang Chuan quickly explained on his behalf, "Your Majesty, when I arrived at the Internal Affairs Department, Xiao Xiangzi was trying to salvage the walnut oil for the Crown Prince from the burning storeroom. But a eunuch ambushed him from behind, striking his head and causing severe bleeding. I managed to rescue him, but… the walnut oil was completely destroyed."

And that wasn’t all.

A eunuch named Xiao Shunzi had also died in the fire.

Jiang Xinyue let out a heavy sigh, "You did well. Material things are not as important as human lives. The fact that they were so desperate to destroy the evidence proves that the oil had already been replaced with peanut oil. There’s no need to investigate further—the problem lies within the Internal Affairs Department."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s anger surged. How dare someone harm his son right under his nose? They must have a death wish.

"Where is the head of the Internal Affairs Department? He’s been lining his pockets but has done nothing to address this issue. Wang Dequan, strip him of his position and appoint someone from your own ranks to take his place."

The former head of the Internal Affairs Department had been loyal to the late Empress and had always been somewhat resistant to Jiang Xinyue’s authority, which was why he had neglected matters concerning the Crown Prince.

This was a lingering issue from the past.

Just as many believed that Jiang Xinyue had benefited the most from the late Empress’s death, they assumed she had played a role in it.

Unless the Zhu family came forward to clarify, this misunderstanding would persist.

But now, the Zhu family was living in hardship in a narrow alley. If it weren’t for Zhu Erlang working hard to earn money and support them, they wouldn’t have survived.

In truth, Wang Dequan’s best option would have been to appoint Tang Shiliang to the Internal Affairs Department, ensuring everything would be handled flawlessly.

But he knew Tang Shiliang’s ambitions lay not in the Internal Affairs Department but in the position of Grand Steward—his own position.

Assigning Tang Shiliang to the Internal Affairs Department might seem like a promotion to others, a cause for celebration.

But for Tang Shiliang, it would be a demotion in disguise. Wang Dequan sighed inwardly, realizing he would have to find someone else capable of handling the responsibilities of the Internal Affairs Department.

The successor he had been grooming for himself had now become the Empress’s man. He cast a resentful glance at the Empress, who stood by Xiao Xiangzi’s bedside, and resigned himself to the task at hand.

What could he do?

He had, after all, received numerous favors from the Empress, both openly and discreetly. As the saying goes, when you eat someone’s food, your mouth softens; when you take someone’s gifts, your hands shorten. He would continue to toil for the Crown Prince’s sake.

After all, the Empress was a good person and would not mistreat those loyal to her.