Chapter 1416: Chapter 1394: Video III (November Monthly Ticket Bonus 1)
Manbao entered the system and asked, "Keke, did the Crown Prince mention anything about rebellion or uprising yesterday?"
"Please check on your own, Host."
Manbao scratched her head and asked, "Is there no other way?"
"Please explore by yourself, Host."
Manbao took a deep breath, feeling like being watched by someone or the system wasn’t fun at all. Keke didn’t seem like Keke anymore.
Manbao poked at the video, helplessly fast-forwarding a bit like she used to with review videos for class, and found that indeed, some parts were skipped. She sighed.
Watching like this, it’s easy to miss some things.
Manbao pulled out a blank notebook, planning to note down the times she watched so she could go back and review later when she had time.
There were blank spots in the video because the Crown Prince had left Keke’s scanning range, so it wasn’t recorded.
But the black screen time showed anyway, so Manbao just skipped over it.
She roughly knew that the Crown Prince went with the Emperor to the small study after the morning court session, but what happened afterward she didn’t know.
He didn’t return to the Eastern Palace until lunchtime.
There were many affairs waiting for the Crown Prince to handle in the Eastern Palace. Manbao propped her head up, yawning, listening to the Crown Prince and his officials handle all sorts of messy governance matters. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the Crown Prince suddenly got up and went to a small study.
Manbao lifted her eyelids to take a glance, then continued to prop her cheek up, listening intently.
Suddenly, the Crown Prince’s deep voice came, "Did you find out?"
"There are three groups watching Zhou Man. Outside the alley, it’s the people from the Crown Princess’s family and the State Duke Pi’s mansion, but they haven’t made any move; another group rented a small house in Changqing Alley, two houses away from the Zhou Family, sending messages quietly to the dark posts Prince Gong left in the capital."
Manbao’s eyes widened abruptly, immediately leaning in to see, only to find the Crown Prince sitting in a somewhat dim small study, with a person kneeling below with their head down.
Though she couldn’t see his face, Manbao, known for her good memory, hadn’t met this person based on either physique or voice.
The Crown Prince asked, "What about the other group?"
The person’s head lowered even further and whispered, "The other group is monitoring from a three-story building a street away from the Zhou Family. According to your Highness’s instructions, we eliminate any danger, so I killed the person. The messages they sent were ultimately passed to the Marquis Mansion."
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, sat up slightly, and asked, "Who?"
The person’s head was even lower and whispered, "The Left Minister of War, Hou Ji’s mansion."
The Crown Prince furrowed his brows and asked, "Why is he focusing on Zhou Man?"
The kneeling person didn’t answer.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment and asked, "How did you determine they had malice towards Zhou Man?"
"Intuition."
The Crown Prince did not dispute his intuition. This was his shadow guard, and he never overlooked the instincts of someone who walked between life and death.
The Crown Prince stroked his chin and said, "It’s reasonable for the Su Family to focus on Zhou Man, as she is treating me. They must be cautious of anyone approaching Zhou Man to harm me; it’s even more reasonable for Third to watch Zhou Man, but why the Left Minister of War?"
The Crown Prince mused for a moment, then said, "Have someone watch the people focusing on Third. As long as they don’t act, don’t alert them. Send someone to investigate the Left Minister of War’s intentions. Could he have pledged allegiance to Third without my knowing?"
The person acknowledged, then bowed and retreated.
Watching them in the system left Manbao dumbfounded. After a long time, she clutched her chest, still frightened, "So many people are watching me?"
Normally, Keke would have responded, "You just realized?"
But this time, it said nothing.
Manbao didn’t expect a response either. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "What’s the Crown Prince doing now?"
Keke played a live feed of the Crown Prince’s current activities for her.
The Crown Prince was sleeping, with the Crown Princess beside him. It seemed he had been asleep since she left in the afternoon.
As Manbao watched the video, the Crown Princess cautiously nudged him, appearing to want to wake him.
The Crown Prince turned over, hugged the quilt, and continued sleeping.
Only then did the Crown Princess sigh in relief, understanding that he was indeed exhausted and no longer disturbed him.
Manbao muttered, "He sure sleeps for a long time."
She scrolled forward, finding nothing special, as he had been sleeping the whole time. She sighed, instructed Keke to keep watching, and withdrew herself, hugging her quilt and yawning to sleep.
It wasn’t until Manbao entered the palace the next day that she learned the Crown Prince slept until this morning, even missing the morning court session.
When she arrived at the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince sat cross-legged on a couch having breakfast. His demeanor was calm, and upon seeing Manbao, he merely lifted his eyelids to glance at her, waved her greeting aside, and then lowered his head to eat a few buns.
The Crown Princess sat beside him and, after granting Manbao a seat, explained, "The Crown Prince didn’t have lunch or dinner yesterday and slept until now. He’s famished. Please wait a while, Doctor Zhou Junior."
Manbao had no problem at all. After the Crown Prince finished breakfast, she chatted with them for a while. After about two minutes, she took his pulse and gave him acupuncture.
She also gave the Crown Princess a check-up and nodded slightly upon knowing she had started using her medication.
Indicating that the treatment and recuperation process for both were going smoothly.
The Crown Prince removed his clothes and lay on the couch, asking, "Is all the poison really gone?"
Manbao nodded affirmatively, "It’s all gone."
The Crown Prince then said, "You really do have some skills."
Manbao: ... Seriously, if she didn’t, would she ever become his personal doctor?
After Manbao gave the Crown Prince acupuncture, just like yesterday, she intended to leave the palace after having lunch at the Eastern Palace.
As she reached the palace gate, she saw Ms. Doctor Liu waiting on the side, and upon seeing her, she watched her with hopeful eyes, her face a bit excited.
Manbao nodded to Eunuch Wu, who was seeing her off, and approached Ms. Doctor Liu, saying, "Tomorrow, I’ll start going to Jishi Hall. Since you’ve mentioned it to the Empress, feel free to leave the palace and learn with me."
Ms. Doctor Liu breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly bowed, agreeing, and watched Manbao leave.
When Manbao returned to Changqing Alley, Bai Shan told her, "Today, I went with the teacher to visit some academies again. After comparing them, we still feel that Songhe Academy is the best."
Manbao tilted her head and said, "The name sounds familiar."
Bai Shan laughed, "You forgot, Mr. Jiang used to be the head of Songhe Academy. This academy was opened by one of his cousins, and Mr. Jiang’s handwriting is the most collected at Songhe Academy."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. It’s located in the outer city."
"It is in the outer city, but not far from Changqing Alley. It’s just a turn after exiting the neighborhood, on the same street as your family’s restaurant, though one’s in the east and the other’s in the west. It’s lively over there and quiet here. We’ve checked, and the environment is pretty good, mainly because the teachers there are quite decent."