The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 83 - 82 The Little Sneaky Devil

Chapter 83: Chapter 82 The Little Sneaky Devil

At this moment, on the drill ground,

Xiao Jinyan was teaching Xiao Jinyu archery when he saw Steward Shan hurrying over.

Steward Shan served directly before the Emperor. His sudden appearance here must mean there was a matter of importance.

Steward Shan approached to pay his respects, "Your Highness, the Emperor has an urgent matter and summons you."

Once Xiao Jinyan heard that the summon was from the Emperor, he did not dare to delay, "This palace shall go immediately."

Xiao Jinyu watched his brother hurry off. Normally at this time, Father Emperor would not summon the Crown Prince, could something have happened?

After much consideration, Xiao Jinyu set down his bow and arrow and ran towards the Fengyi Palace.

...

Xiao Jinyan entered the Imperial Study Room and saw the Emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne. He stepped forward to greet him, "Son pays respects to Father Emperor, may Father Emperor enjoy peace and prosperity."

The Emperor spoke in a heavy tone, "Crown Prince, I placed great hopes on you, yet why have you done something to disappoint me?"

Xiao Jinyan carefully explained, "Father Emperor, your son has always devoted himself wholly to handling all matters and has not done anything to disappoint Father Emperor."

Hearing this, the Emperor became furiously angry, "Lady Shen has contracted smallpox, and despite the rules of the palace, you allowed her to return to the palace. Do you still claim innocence?"

Xiao Jinyan’s brows furrowed, secretly wondering who had let the information slip.

"Father Emperor, Lady Shen has only caught a minor illness, not smallpox. I hope Father Emperor discerns the truth."

Seeing the Crown Prince still making excuses, the Emperor’s anger intensified, "I have already dispatched Steward Li with the Imperial Doctor to the Xiyun Pavilion, and the matter has been confirmed to be true. Crown Prince, you cannot shirk the blame!"

Xiao Jinyan had gone to the drill ground early in the morning, so he only now learned that Father Emperor had already sent people to the Xiyun Pavilion. He wondered if that foodie would be frightened by the scene?

If those two short-sighted Imperial Doctors mistakenly diagnosed Shen Chuwei with smallpox, the consequences... not only would Shen Chuwei be in trouble, but even he might be punished.

"Father Emperor, your son feels there is something suspicious about this matter."

The Emperor, in his raging fury, slammed the table in front of him, causing tea in the teacup to spill over.

"At this point, you still offer excuses? If it wasn’t for Concubine Yu informing me, I would still be in the dark. This is a grave matter, Crown Prince. It is because you showed strong abilities in handling affairs that you hold the title of Crown Prince. You must excel in all aspects if you wish to retain the trust of the people. If you are protecting a woman to the point of doing something so against the rules, I fear you cannot convince the masses as Crown Prince."

When Xiao Jinyan heard of Concubine Yu, he guessed that she had planted spies in the East Palace or bought someone off.

Concubine Yu was Prince Xiao Yunxuan’s mother and, eager for the sake of her son’s future, was quick to strike.

"Father Emperor, how would Concubine Lin, being confined to the back palace, know of matters in the East Palace? Your son suspects that someone with ulterior motives is deliberately stirring up trouble."

The Emperor replied coldly, "Concubine Yu came upon this matter inadvertently and felt it was of great importance, which is why she came to inform me."

*

"Steward Li has surrounded the Xiyun Pavilion with guards, Miss. Steward Li is highly favored by the Emperor. Your Highness is absent, so what should we do?" Chun Xi was frantically spinning with worry.

Shen Chuwei leaned on the windowsill and saw Steward Li approaching with two Imperial Doctors, their manner fierce and uncompromising.

Steward Li was one of the Emperor’s men, so his coming here meant he acted on the Emperor’s orders.

Most likely, it was because of her mistaken diagnosis with smallpox.

She picked up a bronze mirror from the table; some of the red spots on her cheek had faded, but a few remained visible up close.

"Miss, do you think Steward Li has come because of the smallpox incident? But Your Highness already sealed the information, forbidding its disclosure. Who leaked it?" Chun Xi practically despised the informant.

"It’s most certainly about my misdiagnosed smallpox. As for who it might be, someone must have planted a spy in the East Palace."

This matter was being shouldered by His Highness. The principle of shared honor and disgrace was clear to any fool, and nobody would seek to harm her while putting the Crown Prince at risk. To put it bluntly, the Crown Prince’s position might be jeopardized, and all in the East Palace would suffer the consequences.

Even Shen Mingzhu, despite her jealousy of Shen Chuwei and wishing her ill, wouldn’t leak information for fear of implicating His Highness.

As someone who had seen many palace dramas unfold, Chun Xi immediately knew what a spy meant – a spy was like a ticking time bomb, quite dangerous.

"Who is this spy? If we don’t catch them, they might remain a menace in the future."

Shen Chuwei put down the mirror and instructed, "Chun Xi, block them at the door and say that I am bathing."

"Alright." Without questioning, Chun Xi hurried out, closing all doors firmly, and stood resolutely at the entrance, as if prepared to face death.

Shen Chuwei started undressing and made her way to the neighboring bathroom – named such because it was designated for bathing.

The hot water was ready; turning on the tap, hot water flowed forth.

Not only that, Shen Chuwei used her intention to draw water from the Spiritual Spring into the bath and took out an exquisite box from her Space, retrieving a brown medicine pill and tossing it into the water.

There were only three of these pills, and she didn’t want to use them unless necessary. She was compelled to this time.

Shedding her clothes, Shen Chuwei settled into the bath and began to cleanse herself.

Meanwhile, outside

Seeing Chun Xi blocking the entrance, Steward Li used his sharp voice, "I am sent by the Emperor himself, make way, or I’ll charge you with grave disrespect."

Chun Xi understood Steward Li’s favor with the Emperor and his position not to be offended. She respectfully bowed, "Steward Li, my young lady is currently bathing and should not be disturbed. May I kindly ask you to wait a moment."

Steward Li frowned, clearly incredulous, "What time do you think it is for her to be bathing now?"

Cautiously, Chun Xi responded, "Replying to Steward Li, my young lady broke into a sweat and is uncomfortable without bathing. It happens only occasionally."

Steward Li, growing impatient, said, "Then go and hasten her to be quick. The Emperor is waiting for my return to report. Delay would not be borne by either of us."

"I shall immediately go and urge my young lady to be quick, so as not to keep Steward Li waiting." While Chun Xi spoke, her body remained still.

Seeing Chun Xi standing motionless, Steward Li raised his voice, "Then why don’t you quickly go inside? How can you urge her from here?"

"Quite right, Steward Li. It’s not that I’m unwilling to go in, but my legs are numb. I need a moment to recover before I can move." Chun Xi gripped her leg, her brows knitting together, her mouth emitting pained sounds.

When Steward Li saw this, he glanced at Gui Xiang standing nearby and commanded, pointing at her, "Come here, go inside and hasten Lady Shen. We cannot keep the Emperor waiting long."

...

...

Explanation by the gentleman: The female protagonist is very young and a divine doctor in modern times, also known for her love of eating and drinking.

Although she is a foodie, she knows what’s edible and what’s not. She dares to eat even poisonous things because she has self-control.

The text also explains why the protagonist had to eat questionable pastries. (More importantly, the protagonist has Spiritual Spring Water. Poison, for her, is a non-issue...)