After the incident with the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, an Imperial Physician was summoned immediately. But after his examination, he could only shake his head.
This time, he was truly ruined—even more completely than the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen.
The Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, could at least still speak and think. The Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, however, had suffered mental damage. He seemed to have become a simpleton, sometimes bursting into laughter or tears, as if he had gone mad.
When the news arrived, Xia Wuyang was still nestled in Su Ling’Er’s embrace, enjoying her imported grapes.
The spring rain pattered against the glazed tiles, creating a crisp, clear sound.
Someone opened a window, and the damp spring breeze drifted in, carrying the fresh scent of earth and flowers.
’The birds outside seemed to be gossiping about the palace’s affairs.’ Xia Wuyang smiled faintly. ’The two Princes with the best chance of becoming the Crown Prince have been turned into a eunuch and an invalid, one after the other. That old bastard Emperor Xia must be feeling so relieved now.’
’Even for a selfish man like him, something this major must be difficult to swallow.’
Indeed, the entire Imperial Court was now in an uproar.
The Third Prince Xia Wuchen’s faction had already splintered. Many had defected to the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, while the rest either pledged allegiance to other Princes and Princesses or chose to remain neutral.
But who would have thought that just a few days later, the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, would also meet with disaster? The members of the Third Prince’s faction who had just switched sides were utterly dumbfounded.
’They had just sworn fealty, and now their new master was out of the picture too. What a humiliating situation. Were they supposed to find yet another patron?’
Now, the Fifth Prince Xia Wushang’s faction began to crumble as well. After all, Xia Wushang’s condition was even worse than Xia Wuchen’s, and with no hope of recovery in sight, his supporters—Courtiers, Sects, and Gangs alike—scattered like frightened animals.
Even some of his concubines quietly slipped away, afraid of being implicated in his downfall.
The Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, who had just been mocking the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, had now suffered an even more tragic fate.
This news brought a sliver of comfort to the grieving Third Prince, Xia Wuchen. It was said his appetite had even improved in the last few days.
As the news continued to spread, more and more people learned of the events, shaking the entire Dynasty to its core.
"The Third Prince was ruined, the Fifth Prince was ruined, and they were both made into eunuchs. Only a fool would believe this happened without someone pulling the strings."
"Well, this is just great. The elder Crown Prince was deposed long ago, and now the Third and Fifth Princes—the two most likely successors—are also ruined. Our Great Xia Dynasty has become a complete laughingstock."
"If you ask me, the elder Crown Prince has it best. Even though he was deposed, he’s still a man. At least he can enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. That’s a far better deal than what the Third and Fifth Princes got."
"You’re not wrong. I heard that in just a few short months, hundreds of beauties have been added to Wenhua Hall. The elder Crown Prince is a new groom every day and in the bridal chamber every night. He’s living the life of an Immortal."
This gossip spread through every street and alley like wildfire. Emperor Xia sent men to stamp it out, but how could this kind of talk be silenced?
In teahouses and taverns, storytellers hastily wrote new acts. In the brothels, courtesans sang newly composed satirical ballads. Even children at play picked up rhymes about the "Eunuch Princes"... Clearly, someone was fanning the flames, but no one knew which ambitious Prince or Princess had made a move.
What enraged Emperor Xia most, however, were the diplomatic letters from neighboring kingdoms, each "solicitously" inquiring about the two Princes’ health.
The letter from the northern Da Kuo was dripping with sarcasm, those from the Western Rong were filled with veiled threats, and the Southern Barbarians went so far as to ask if they required the aid of a Witch Doctor, offering to send their own people to help.
When these letters were read aloud in the Imperial Court, the faces of every official turned grim. The assembly ended in discord.
The Royal Family’s prestige was in tatters.
Meanwhile, in Wenhua Hall, the rain had stopped and the clouds had parted. Sunlight pierced through, glinting off the wet palace tiles with a blinding light.
Xia Wuyang lay in the arms of a Jiangnan Beauty, watching the last of the crabapple blossoms slowly unfurl in the sun, the very picture of someone unconcerned with the outside world.
He hadn’t expected that his actions against the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, and the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, would have such far-reaching consequences. It had even made him one of the dynasty’s three great laughingstocks.
’Then again, I was already a laughingstock inside and outside the court long before this. What’s one more little thing? It’s just a drop in the ocean, nothing to worry about.’
’Besides, the more chaotic things get, the better it is for me. Emperor Xia must be miserable, and his misery is exactly what I want.’
「In the aftermath of the rain, the skies above White Jade City were washed clean.」
The water of Taiye Pool shimmered, reflecting the majestic silhouettes of the palaces and pavilions.
But the atmosphere inside Yangxin Hall was even more gloomy and oppressive than the preceding days of rain. All the Palace Attendants kept their mouths shut, not daring to utter a single word.
Emperor Xia sat alone on the Throne, three secret reports spread out before him.
One report contained military intelligence: the Da Kuo Royal Court was secretly mobilizing its troops. Another documented secret meetings between envoys from minor Western Rong nations and several Courtiers at the official residence. And the last... was a dispatch about Witch Doctors from the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races appearing frequently near the border.
Nearby lay another report: the findings of Sun Wuyang from the Celestial Eye agency. Or rather, the lack thereof. He had found nothing. Despite pursuing numerous leads, every single one had turned into a dead end.
His finger traced slowly across a secret report, the tip turning white from the pressure.
The events of the past several days replayed in his mind like a dizzying carousel, and his expression grew darker with each memory.
His Inner Treasury had been stolen, the National Treasury had been plundered, and even his own residence, Qianqing Palace, had been stripped so bare he almost didn’t recognize it. This was his home, for crying out loud.
Now, staying in Qianqing Palace filled him with a daily dread, a fear that an intruder might sneak in and do something to him.
Then there were the incidents involving the Princes and Princesses over the past few months—they were either dead, crippled, left in a vegetative state, or turned into eunuchs. Case by case, these events had seemed unrelated. But when pieced together, they pointed to a terrifying conclusion.
’This isn’t internal strife... This is a foreign conspiracy!’
Emperor Xia’s head snapped up, his eyes flashing with a cold, electric light. ’If not for a foreign enemy, how could so much have been accomplished so flawlessly? So flawlessly that even the renowned Celestial Eye can’t find a single clue.’
’Even Sun Wuyang of the Celestial Eye had told him that throughout the investigation, he’d had the constant feeling of being watched, as if enemy spies were everywhere.’
’And hadn’t the surrounding kingdoms planted countless spies in White Jade City over the years? He had executed them in waves. Just last year, they had executed hundreds of spies and collaborators from various kingdoms, but they still couldn’t root them all out.’
’To accomplish so much in just a few months... a single enemy couldn’t possibly have done it. Especially the looting of the Inner and National Treasuries. That would have required a large number of masters working in concert. How else could it have been done so flawlessly?’
’There must have been numerous traitors and collaborators helping them. That’s the only way.’
And then, Emperor Xia recalled one more thing.

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