The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 403: Failing in the Trust Placed

There was a fierce debate in the court about whether Huangfu Jinxuan could take on the role of the imperial envoy.

However, since Huangfu Jinxuan was the Emperor’s grandnephew and King Kang wanted his son to share the Emperor’s burdens, the Emperor had to concede this favor.

Moreover, the appointment of the Deputy Director of the Imperial Hospital as his escort showed that the Emperor indeed did not fully trust Huangfu Jinxuan.

Everyone was waiting.

This was the first memorial sent back after Huangfu Jinxuan’s arrival.

This playboy still showed respect for imperial authority, aware of his own abilities, he knew to have someone transcribe it again.

The reputation of Huangfu Jinxuan, the playboy, was deeply ingrained; no one found it surprising and only cast a veiled, sympathetic glance at King Kang.

Even in a prestigious family, such a little demon king was indeed a blemish.

Although every family may have an unworthy descendant, none were as ostentatious as Huangfu Jinxuan.

After dealing with the memorials here, King Kang took Huangfu Jinxuan’s but left the rest, which were to be personally reviewed by the Emperor, categorized and sealed by a little eunuch tasked with this duty.

Leaving the Central Institute, King Kang gestured to the three and then departed.

The Left and Right Ministers also returned to their residences.

After leaving the palace, Grandmaster Bao did not immediately return home but had his carriage drive down another street. After reaching a restaurant, he let the carriage go back and slowly ascended to a private room on the second floor.

The private room was one he had reserved in advance.

He ordered the waiter to bring tea and sat at the table sipping thoughtfully.

After a while, the door of the private room was pushed open, and a figure entered.

Grandmaster Bao put down his teacup and greeted with cupped hands, "Second Young Master!"

There were many Second Young Masters in the Capital City, Huangfu Jinxuan was one, but this Second Young Master was actually Huangfu Yuxuan.

In terms of noble status, Huangfu Yuxuan was likely the most recognized in the Capital City.

After all, he was once the Second Young Master of the Crown Prince Mansion. Although the Crown Prince had been deposed, he was not implicated at all and secured quite a decent position, with the qualifications to attend court, and the Emperor was very fond of this grandson.

Huangfu Yuxuan wore a stone-blue brocade garment, accentuating his jade-like face and extraordinary elegance. However, the darkness in his eyes ensured no one would underestimate him due to his handsome and youthful appearance.

He also cupped his hands and said, "Grandmaster Bao, you’ve been waiting!"

The two sat down again.

Grandmaster Bao personally poured tea for Huangfu Yuxuan, who did not decline.

After setting down the teapot, Grandmaster Bao said, "Second Young Master, I am ashamed to have failed you!"

A dark shadow flashed momentarily in Huangfu Yuxuan’s eyes but disappeared quickly as he said slowly, "Even Grandmaster Bao can make mistakes?"

Grandmaster Bao did not offer much explanation, feeling already thoroughly embarrassed by the day’s events.

He took the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone he had the waiter prepare earlier, spread them out, and scrawled some ghost talismans on the paper!

His beard was trembling throughout the drawing, it was indeed torturous.

After finishing, he handed the paper to Huangfu Yuxuan, "I opened the memorial, and this is what I could remember and draw. I hope it can be of use to you, Second Young Master!"

Seeing that collection of ghost talismans, Huangfu Yuxuan’s mouth twitched; he had wondered why Grandmaster Bao had used "draw" instead of "write."

Now he understood, indeed drawing it was.

Even ghost talismans were better than this.

Yet, he showed no sign of the sentiment and instead smiled, "You’ve gone to such great lengths, Grandmaster Bao!"

"If the Second Young Master has no other matters, I’ll take my leave first!" He also saw Wen Hao’s memorial, but given that he couldn’t bring out Huangfu Jinxuan’s memorial, that fitting into the grand scheme would not be beneficial. So he chose not to mention it.

"Grandmaster Bao, please go ahead!"

After Grandmaster Bao left, Huangfu Yuxuan was displeased. He had assumed that with Grandmaster Bao involved, the task was bound to be successful. Unexpectedly, he only got the content but didn’t bring the memorial itself.

However, that memorial was only to be presented in the imperial presence tomorrow, so he still had time to make adjustments.

But looking at the mess of ghost talismans, Huangfu Yuxuan felt a bit helpless; he was smart, yet couldn’t make sense of the chaos here.

The epidemic’s introduction was one part Huangfu Yuxuan had no interest in, and he didn’t scrutinize it, but regarding Yu Shikui’s mindless decision to lead five thousand garrison troops to encircle Wangshan Town and set fire to all the townspeople therein, he coldly spat out two words: "Foolish!"

In his previous life, Huangfu Yuxuan thought Yu Shikui was decisive and resolute in his actions because, at that time Wangshan Town had no medical aid, over half were infected, the County Magistrate struggled to control the situation, and hastily spread the news; Yu Shikui acted swiftly to cut the knots.

Yet in this life, Prefect Shang Jingwang was present the entire time, with medicine and doctors available, everything orderly managed, personnel well-controlled. Even if he didn’t know Shang Jingwang had reported to the Capital City, he could see from the situation that he should watch and then decide instead of acting arbitrarily alone.

He thought to himself that Marquis Anning’s grandson once rumored to have some wit, now appeared utterly stupid.

Besides the epidemic, there was other information in the memorial.

Struggling to decipher the ghost talismans and guessing, Huangfu Yuxuan confirmed it accused Yu Shikui of cheating in the examination by replacing a scholar named Bai Yi.

He furrowed his brows.

Cheating in the examination?

Though merely substituting positions, it was also deceitful. If investigated and found true, it was indeed a significant issue.

Moreover, given Yu Shikui’s capability as a scholar back then, how could he have accomplished that?

No need to ask; it was undoubtedly Marquis Anning’s doing.

Huangfu Yuxuan saw potential in Marquis Anning and had quietly tried to win him over. Still, since his father wasn’t the Crown Prince, he was just an Imperial Grandson.

With a new Crown Prince in place, he, the son of a deposed Crown Prince, couldn’t act too openly, nor could he remain too low-key.

If too flashy, it would attract attention, becoming everyone’s target, while those ambitious Imperial Uncles would hold back, waiting to profit from his downfall.

Yet, being overly subdued would also be unusual.

At the last court, confronting the Crown Prince alongside Prince Li was a deliberate high-profile move after much consideration.

Not accepting his father’s removal from the Crown Prince’s position and seeking unrest for the Crown Prince seemed reasonable.

Also, he chose the timing purposefully, standing behind Prince Li, who bore the brunt.

Thinking of Prince Li brought a smirk of disdain to his face.

After the new Crown Prince’s ascension, Prince Li no longer bothered with his image as a charming prince enamored by the arts but consistently opposed the Crown Prince, clashing frequently in court.