Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne
Chapter 118 - 111: Who Is It Really?

Chapter 118: Chapter 111: Who Is It Really?

The Fourth Prince and the Third Prince had other matters to attend to, so after visiting the Crown Prince, they returned to the palace. Zhao Yao, out of concern for the Eighth Prince’s injuries, did not return with the Fourth Prince but stayed at Hulong Temple to watch over the Eighth Prince.

Initially, the Fourth Prince was uneasy about Zhao Yao staying behind. After all, the Crown Prince had just been assassinated last night, and there might be a second assassination attempt. Staying at Hulong Temple was indeed dangerous. However, Zhao Yao told him that the Emperor had already sent people to tighten the defenses at Hulong Temple, ensuring there wouldn’t be a second wave of assassins.

Seeing Zhao Yao’s insistence on staying to look after the Eighth Prince, the Fourth Prince could only agree. If the Fourth Prince had not been occupied with historical records, he would have stayed to accompany Zhao Yao.

As he left, the Fourth Prince repeatedly urged Zhao Yao to stay safe and not to exhaust himself while caring for the Eighth Prince.

To the Fourth Prince, the seriously injured Eighth Prince was not as important as Zhao Yao.

At this moment in the Eighth Prince’s room, Zhao Yao stood aside, watching Yu Hai feed the Eighth Prince medicine.

Although the Eighth Prince was unconscious, fortunately, he could still ingest the medicine. However, the Eighth Prince’s fever hadn’t subsided.

The Eighth Prince’s forehead and face were extremely hot, which worried both Yu Hai and Zhao Yao greatly. The Imperial Physician had said that those who suffer serious injuries would develop a fever, and it could last for several days. If the fever didn’t subside after several days, that would be dangerous.

Zhao Yao recalled that when he had fallen sick with a fever before, Liang Zhaoyi would wipe his body with warm water at intervals to reduce his fever. Zhao Yao instructed Yu Hai to use warm water to wipe the Eighth Prince’s body as well.

Yu Hai wiped the Eighth Prince’s body with warm water every two hours, and it indeed seemed to have some effect. The Eighth Prince’s body didn’t feel as scorching as before.

Due to his worry for the Eighth Prince, Zhao Yao had no appetite for the vegetarian meals at Hulong Temple.

Seeing Zhao Yao’s concern for the Eighth Prince, Yu Hai felt a pang in his heart, acknowledging that the care the Eighth Prince had shown Zhao Yao hadn’t been in vain.

During the Eighth Prince’s coma, his brows were constantly knit, and his expression appeared extremely pained.

"Eighth Brother must be in great pain," Zhao Yao said, though he hadn’t seen the two wounds on the Eighth Prince’s abdomen, he noticed the bandages on those wounds were bloodstained, indicating the wounds were deep.

He reached out to touch the tight frown on the Eighth Prince’s brow, hoping to smooth it out.

"Eighth Brother, you need to wake up soon; that’s the only way you’ll recover quickly." Zhao Yao gently shook the Eighth Prince’s hand, "Eighth Brother, if you don’t wake up, I won’t have the appetite to enjoy Hulong Temple’s delicious vegetarian meals."

Yu Hai’s eyes were red, tears brimming, his voice choked: "Tenth Highness, His Highness will surely wake up."

"Yes, Eighth Brother will definitely wake up."

At this moment, the Crown Prince entered. Zhao Yao quickly stood up to pay respects, but the Crown Prince stopped him with a raise of his hand.

"Tenth Brother, there’s no need for formalities here."

"Yes, Crown Prince Brother."

The Crown Prince reached out to ruffle Zhao Yao’s hair gently, saying warmly, "Tenth Brother, I’ll stay and watch over Eighth Brother; you go rest for a while."

"Crown Prince Brother, let me watch over Eighth Brother with you," Zhao Yao said obediently, "With both of us watching over Eighth Brother, maybe it’ll help him wake up sooner."

Hearing Zhao Yao say this, the Crown Prince’s eyes softened, and he replied with a gentle tone, "Alright, we’ll watch together."

The Crown Prince sat by the Eighth Prince’s bedside, while Zhao Yao leaned at the foot of the bed. The Crown Prince spoke to the sleeping Eighth Prince as if conversing casually, "Father has already decreed that Uncle and General Shen will investigate this assassination together; surely, there will be results soon." Concerned that Zhao Yao was present, the Crown Prince did not voice his suspicions. "The assassins who attacked me were from a suicide squad; their skills were bafflingly familiar, resembling those of the Wang Family, Xun Family, Yuan Family, and Yu Family, but who knows which family’s suicide squad they belong to."

Zhao Yao lay at the foot of the bed, quietly listening to the Crown Prince speak, not daring to interrupt.

Who exactly wanted to assassinate the Crown Prince Brother?

The Second Brother?

If something happened to the Crown Prince Brother, the first suspect would be the Second Brother. The Second Brother must also understand this, and wouldn’t be foolish enough to send assassins after the Crown Prince Brother.

Furthermore, if the Second Brother wanted to assassinate the Crown Prince Brother, he would have started years ago, with no need to wait until now, especially since the Crown Prince Brother came to Hulong Temple to pray every year.

It most likely wasn’t the Second Brother’s doing.

Could it be the Third Brother, the Fifth Brother, or the Sixth Brother’s people?

This was very possible.

The families behind the Third Brother, like the Wang Family, Xun Family, and Yuan Family, were noble families second only to the Xie family, and they would not willingly remain subordinate to the Xie family forever. Their support for the Third Prince’s bid for the throne had long been apparent, but they had never made any major moves thus far because they couldn’t yet match the Duke Zhen Country Mansion or the Marquis Xuanping’s Mansion.