The Last Dahlia

032

By the time Baixun was fit to emerge from his chambers, the fate of the crown prince of Feng had already been sealed. Attempted murder of the regent was a crime of treason punishable by death, but because the kingdom was still in mourning for the late king and in consideration of the engagement, Princess Yue decided to pardon the death sentence and the king of Feng agreed to banish his son as a commoner instead.

"She should have sentenced him to death," Baixun murmured to himself as he admired the koi swimming in the pond. "Keeping him alive is bound to bring trouble in the future."

The little pond was situated in a small garden at the back of his chambers in the south wing of the Hwa palace. It wasn't grand, but still pleasantly quaint. This was a feature of the inner quarters of the Hwa palace that he found to be quite unique—a sense of simplicity and homeliness. He took a deep breath to inhale the scent of the fresh morning dew. It had been a while since he had been out and about.

He tossed some fish feed into the pond, watching as all the fish came swarming in to snatch at what meagre crumbs they could get. It was remarkable how a previously peaceful pond could suddenly devolve into carnage, just by adding a new variable into the picture.

"Your Highness," Maroo said, walking over from behind. "The prime minister of Hwa is here to see you."

"Send him in," Baixun replied, tossing the remainder of the fish feed into the pond.

Seconds later, his adviser returned with Prime Minister Jing in tow, the latter smiling congenially as he greeted the prince with a polite bow.

"Your Highness, pardon my intrusion. I've heard that you've been unwell, so I specially brought along our best imperial physician to have a look. Apologies that this had to take so long, but I'm sure you've heard about the incident with the regent. Our physicians were all occupied as a result of that."

Baixun smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "That's alright. I brought my own physician. I'm already much better now, as you can see, so there's no need to create a fuss. How is the princess? I would have liked to visit her, but unfortunately my health was failing me."

"The princess is recovering well. It was lucky that the poison had not yet affected her vital organs, and she has been responding well to the medicines that the prince consort has prepared for her. She will still need at least a month or two to fully recuperate though."

"I see," Baixun mused, a tiny frown appearing between his brows when he heard the words "prince consort" being mentioned. Turning towards Maroo and the other servants who were standing by, he said, "Leave us. I would like to have a word with the prime minister in private."

When all the servants had retreated out of the garden, Baixun led Jing Bohan over to the tiny pavilion not far from where the pond was, taking a seat at the stone table. He poured them both a cup of tea, handing one to the prime minister.

"I thought I told you not to establish contact so blatantly," he said coolly, taking a whiff of the jasmine fragrance. "This is, after all, still the palace of Hwa." Although he still wore a smile on his face, there was a hidden sharpness in his gaze that betrayed the fact that he was not at all pleased with the prime minister's presence here.

"Today is the day when the crown prince of Feng will be banished. Everyone will be too pre-occupied with that. Besides, there isn't anything wrong with me paying a visit to make sure that you are faring well, Your Highness. After all, I am the prime minister and it is my duty to ensure that our royal guests are well looked after while the regent is incapacitated." Jing Bohan took a sip of his tea, seemingly unperturbed by the nature of Baixun's remark.

"What is it that warrants a personal visit today?"

"There's been a question that's been bothering me for a while, and I thought the best way to get an answer would be to ask."