Rebirth as the General's Wife

36: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

A/n: Thank you for waiting! ('･ᴗ･') <3

Ye Feng was heavily rewarded by the Emperor after the recovery of the national crisis, with at least 10 carriages of gold, priceless artifacts, and the legendary one thousand years old ginseng. It was rumored that one of these legendary ginsengs can cure any sorts of disease and even prolong one's life.

Now that the plague depleted and the weather was slowly calming down, there was plenty of debris and ruined homes. Many refugees sought after help from the imperial family while the price for food began to skyrocket.

Ye Yuan, the Third Prince, selflessly donated his own treasuries to feed the hungry. He had also proposed that the governors should offer jobs at these sites to clean and rebuild the area. He ordered that every refugee should have at least two bowls of porridge and a bucket of clean water. A new trade route was opened after Ye Yuan compromised with a fairly known trader in the West, giving access to new food, basic necessities, and economical growth.

Impressed, the Emperor looked at his son through a new light. He had found out that Ye Yuan had done a lot of work behind his back to improve the fallen cities in the South. As a result, the Emperor had entrusted him with more official tasks and cases to complete.

The officials began to notice this small change and spoke in hushed tones about the observation. It wasn't sure if the Emperor would pass the throne to Ye Feng, the son of the Empress, or the newly favored third prince, Ye Yuan, the son of the Gui Fei.

Ye Yuan's mother held a high position in the imperial harem and with the Emperor's favor, she was nearly as powerful as the Empress. The two has equal amount of support. However, she had grown weak over the years so she could barely take a step outside of her courtyard. As a result, the Emperor would visit her less and less every year. However, he would occasionally send herbs and other beneficial supplements to her. Ever since Ye Yuan made an impression on him, he started to pay more attention to his Gui Fei.

When the Empress heard of the quiet whispers that were roaming around in the palace, she flung a porcelain plate to the floor. Her slender fingers tightly clenched into a fist with a deadly glare.

"That Gui Fei actually dares to give birth to that scum. I should've killed him when I had the chance. Now, he has the audacity to try to take away the throne from Feng-er! That position belonged to my son from the very beginning. I am the Empress, the Mother of this nation. Who is she compared to me?"

A maid rushed forwards to kneel besides her feet, "Empress, please quell your anger. It's not good for your health..."

She said nothing as she continued to stare murderously at the shattered pieces of the porcelain plate.

Meanwhile, Ye Feng sat at his desk with a gloomy look with Ye Zheng standing before him with a similar expression.

"The officials started to bring up the topic of the next heir again. It seems like the public wants to name the crown prince. Imperial Father is, without a doubt, pressured by the people. Originally, he was going to hand the crown to you— until a certain someone began to make his moves. Third older brother sure is sneaky and calculative. He successfully stole the limelight," Ye Zheng sighed with annoyance.

Ye Feng's lowered eyes clouded with thoughts. When he looked up into the his eyes, his bone-chilling gaze slightly shook Ye Zheng. The Fifth Prince gently closed his eyes and calmly said, "It won't be long before this thorn is removed."

At night, several boxes were smuggled in from a foreign country. Ye Feng silently opened a box and touched a sharp blade.

"Sir, we have your orders here. Are there any dissatisfactions?" a man in dark, unfamiliar clothing asked with a strange accent.

Ye Feng nodded his subordinate to check the remaining boxes. When there was no faults to the weapons, he handed a large stack of banknotes to the man. After counting, he bowed and turned to leave while stuffing the cash inside his robe.

He then quietly order his subordinate, "Take these over to the Shu corp. and hide them there. When the Emperor succumbs to grievance, have them attack the palace. Only then, can I secure my place on the throne."

"As for these," he said as he took out a packet of powder, "have someone find the regulations of the Third Prince's meal time. Implant a few of our workers in and pour a dose every meal for the next two weeks. Afterwards, silence them."

The subordinate cupped his hand in respect before responding to his given tasks. Ye Feng turned to gaze into the sky with an unknown glimmer in his eyes.

Nearly three weeks later, there was a sudden alarming news. Ye Yuan had fallen ill and was now bedridden. To blend in, Ye Feng and Ye Zheng had coincidentally fallen ill as well.

"What? Hurry, take Zhen to see them," the Emperor exclaimed to the eunuch before he was stopped short by the Empress, clinging onto his arm.

"Your Majesty, it is dangerous. Since they are sick, it may be a contagious disease. It is even possible that they contracted the plague..."

"Nonsense. The plague had already died. You dare spout these words?" he angrily drew back his arm.

"Please forgive this one. This one is only worried about Your Majesty's health!" she cried out. 

The Emperor humphed before leaving his study room to visit the princes. The Imperial physician reported that it is likely that the princes were poisoned by food. Ye Yuan seems to have the worst condition out of the three, as even the Emperor wasn't allowed to see him. From the outside, he could hear how heavily Ye Yuan was coughing and groaning. His heart felt a small discomfort from witnessing his son suffer such grievance.

Since he could not see how Ye Yuan was, he bid him to rest well and visited Ye Feng's living quarters instead.

"Feng greets Imperial Father..." Ye Feng weakly called out as he attempted to get out of bed. His hair was slightly disheveled and his skin was pale white.

"Don't. Forget the formal greeting, you're excused. How are you feeling, Feng?" the Emperor asked worriedly.

Ye Feng answered very slowly, as if he was in pain, "Feng is fine. Imperial Father must not worry and burden your health..."

The Emperor silently observed his son before telling him to rest more. When he visited Ye Zheng, he was also in a similar condition.

Out of all of the living princes, only the Fourth Prince wasn't sick.

"Find out who had been managing their meals over the last few days."

A few hours later, the eunuch came to report that two new maids had been slaughtered and buried for unknown reasons. Other than that, no other traces were left behind. Out of nowhere, another report came to his study room.

After reading the report, an extremely dark look loomed over his face. He set down the letter and stored it in a hidden compartment before sitting back stoically in his seat.

"Someone, bring in the Fourth Prince."

—:—

"Your Highness, the Emperor had called the Fourth Prince into his study room. Unfortunately, this subordinate had failed to listen to their conversations. They had spoke little to no words. However, he was later confined in his room and was prevented from leaving."

Ye Feng said nothing as he wiped his sword clean while standing tall in front of his collection of weapons. Without a doubt, the most suspicious one was indeed the Fourth Prince. Ye Feng smiled gently as he thought about killing two birds with one stone.

The imperial physician said that it was poison, but how can it be that simple? Obviously, Ye Feng has no plans to let him live. It was a foreign powder that gets progressively worse overtime as long as one continues to consume it for a certain amount of time. As soon as Ye Yuan dies and his Imperial Father expose vulnerability, he'll have his men attack the palace and seize the throne while he's weak.