"Summon Da Ban, I have orders for him," Mu Rufeng said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Xiao Cui replied, before swiftly running off.
Before long, another maid arrived to wait outside the pavilion.
About a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Cui returned with Liu Da Ban.
Xiao Cui did not enter the pavilion, leaving Liu Ming to approach Mu Rufeng alone.
"Your Highness, your complexion looks much better; it shouldn’t take long for you to recover," Liu Ming said with a smile upon seeing the improved color on Mu Rufeng’s face.
Mu Rufeng looked up at Liu Ming and said slowly, "Da Ban, is Imperial Doctor Wang free? Have him come and examine my injuries again."
"Your Highness, the Noble Consort is feeling unwell today, and Imperial Doctor Wang is on standby over there," Liu Ming reported.
"What about Imperial Doctor Zhang?" Mu Rufeng asked further.
"Your Highness, Imperial Doctor Zhang has taken leave to attend to personal matters at home. Currently, only Imperial Doctor Sun is available in the palace. Shall I summon him?" Liu Ming offered.
"There’s no need, help me back to my room," Mu Rufeng said, shaking his head.
Liu Ming immediately helped Mu Rufeng walk towards his room.
Once back in the room, Mu Rufeng lay on his bed, half-sitting against the headboard, and said to Xiao Cui, "You all may leave for now."
"Yes, Your Highness," Xiao Cui promptly left, closing the door behind her, and also sent away the waiting Hong Lian and another maid, Qing Ya.
"Da Ban, I have been poisoned," Mu Rufeng stated word by word.
"Poisoned?" Liu Ming’s face showed shock, "Your Highness, poisoned? That’s impossible. Your daily meals and the Healing Secret Medicine have all been checked by me; there’s no way anyone could have poisoned you."
"The poison I’m afflicted with is called Netherworld Flower Poison, and it has been administered through the Healing Secret Medicine you feed me every day," Mu Rufeng said solemnly.
"Your Highness, I deserve to die a thousand times over!" Liu Ming was greatly shaken, and immediately knelt down, his head striking the ground forcefully.
"Your Highness," Liu Ming rose from the ground, his face still marked with fear.
"Da Ban, you have grown up with me since we were children. I know your loyalty, and I believe it wasn’t you who poisoned me," Mu Rufeng said slowly.
"Your Highness, are you suggesting it was Imperial Doctor Sun who poisoned you?" Liu Ming’s expression chilled instantly.
He was no fool. Mu Rufeng had previously asked him to summon Imperial Doctors Zhang and Wang, but both were absent, and he had mentioned Imperial Doctor Sun was available.
However, Mu Rufeng didn’t request his presence but instead went straight back to the room and revealed his poisoning.
If the poison had nothing to do with Imperial Doctor Sun, it was simply impossible.
He was but a eunuch; his reliance was solely on his master, the Ninth Prince. Their fortunes were intertwined; one’s gain was the other’s gain, one’s loss, the other’s loss.
Now that someone had poisoned his master, how could he not be enraged.
"I’ll go to the Emperor right now, have Imperial Doctor Sun arrested, and execute his entire clan!" Liu Ming said sternly.
"Your cultivation isn’t low, and you have been watching over every step. Yet, I have still been poisoned—a poison that’s hard to detect."
"Moreover, my father, the Emperor, is in seclusion, with the eldest Prince overseeing the state," Mu Rufeng didn’t continue, but his implication was clear.
"Your Highness, I understand. So, what should we do now?" Liu Ming nodded, then asked.
"Take my token and leave the palace once, retrieve a sum of money from the treasury as compensation for the families of the soldiers who died in battle."
"Then, in private, seek out Imperial Doctor Zhang and inquire if he knows what the Netherworld Flower Poison is," Mu Rufeng instructed.
The entire army of fifty thousand had perished—that was fifty thousand families. Even if Mu Rufeng held no particular affection for those soldiers, he could sense the oppressive weight of their loss.
Most importantly, he needed to mollify the families of those fifty thousand, for though the dead could not be brought back to life, at least ensuring they had enough silver coins to sustain their livelihoods was within his power.
"Remember, the compensation must be delivered effectively, and do not lay your hands on it—make absolutely sure of that," Mu Rufeng said slowly.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will ensure discipline among my subordinates," Liu Ming nodded gravely.
As the Ninth Prince’s trusted aide, Liu Ming indeed had many eunuchs and subordinates in his house.
Soon, Liu Ming left with the order.
Mu Rufeng lay in bed, his eyes blankly staring at the exquisite canopy above him.
"First, I need to move back to my residence," Mu Rufeng murmured quietly.
From his memories, he knew he was currently in the Yangzun Palace within the Imperial Palace.
When he was first seriously injured and unconscious, his trusted aides had escorted him back to the capital, where he was taken into the palace by the people dispatched by the eldest Prince.
He had been saved, but also poisoned.
Mu Rufeng was well aware that although the eldest Prince oversaw the state and moved into the Eastern Palace of the Imperial Palace under the pretense of his position, given his concerns about his reputation and the imminent Crown Prince position, he would not dare to openly plot against Mu Rufeng. Instead, he had to show a deep brotherly love.
Although on the surface, there appeared to be genuine brotherly affection, in private, there were endless plots to bring about the Ninth Prince’s death.
And the ambush that resulted in the annihilation of his fifty-thousand-strong army had come about because someone had leaked the army’s intelligence and movements.
Without much doubt, Mu Rufeng knew it was the doing of one of his brothers within the court.
He wasn’t certain it was the eldest Prince, but it was definitely one of his several elder brothers.
As the Ninth Prince, Mu Rufeng had six elder brothers, two elder sisters, and below him two younger brothers and three younger sisters.