Chapter 279 - Concubine Fu (1)

“How time flies! Prince of Zhao has grown up so soon.” The crown prince was laden with anxiety and walked out of the Xifu Palace. Seeing that the eunuchs followed him all the way, he was annoyed for no reason and waved them away. He walked alone on the path in the imperial palace, with complicated thoughts in his brain. “I remember that when he was born, he was a little baby and held in Father’s arms. He looked tiny and soft. Grandma and Father said then that was my legitimate brother and I should take good care of him in the future.”

He was twelve years older than Prince of Zhao. When the latter was born, he had been a crown prince for seven or eight years. He was a teenager and about to get married then.

Speaking of which, his father Emperor Xianjia did everything according to the standard of a wise emperor most of the time. For example, he spared no effort to cultivate his eldest son, but he didn’t love Consort Cui so much because of her son.

The emperor always respected his official wife Empress Su most among all the women in the imperial harem system, so when good news spread that the empress gave birth to a legitimate son, the people at the imperial court and the harem system commented. At that time, the crown prince didn’t know what this brother’s birth meant to him, and before he thought it over, Emperor Xianjia made everybody know his position and hoped that the crown prince should take good care of this young legitimate brother in the future, so all the comments came to an end soon.

The emperor’s resolution made the crown prince have no crisis awareness, and about the birth of Prince of Zhao, the crown prince only remembered one point. He should be better to Prince of Zhao than Prince of Wei and Prince of Shu and even his own brother Prince of Liang because that was how a legitimate son should be treated. More importantly, it meant that he respected his legitimate mother and the discipline rite. It could affect how the later generations would comment on him in the history books in the future.

No matter how Prince of Zhao should be given preferential treatment and respected, first of all, he was the crown prince and the future ruler of Great Rui.

So he had never expected that he would kneel to Prince of Zhao one day and beg his brother to give his wife and children a chance of survival.

He couldn’t feel the drop until it happened to him. After all, Prince of Zhao was his younger brother and it was proper to say that the crown prince had watched him grow up.

The crown prince was not narrow-minded or vicious, but at this thought, he still had complicated feelings which could hardly be expressed.

He was clear that Consort Cui was right. The enmity between her and Grand Princess Daiguo couldn’t be defused, and his youngest aunt was narrow-minded and cruel and would never care about the kinship between her and her nephew. If he couldn’t keep his title of heir to the throne, it would be better if Prince of Zhao took the throne, instead of Prince of Wei.

However, when he thought so, he guessed if he could keep his title… The crown prince laughed involuntarily. “It seems that I am not downhearted.”

These two days, he always thought that he had resigned himself to destiny, but when Consort Cui suggested him supporting Prince of Zhao today, he finally realized that he was so reluctant.

He was reluctant to lower his head in front of Prince of Zhao. He didn’t want to bow to not only Prince of Zhao, but also any other brothers, including his own brother Prince of Liang. He had been cultivated as the heir to the throne for nearly twenty years. Even though he just learnt a little from Emperor Xianjia, the mentality of being superior was deep in his bone.

It was easy to live a luxurious life after suffering from poverty, while it was difficult to live a poor life after enjoying wealth.

Not everybody could be brave to pay the price for being declining.

Even though people would say that he and his father loved each other, and even at the risk of his wife’s and children’s future and lives, he was reluctant.

“At least Father hasn’t clarified his position.” The crown prince stopped in his tracks and clenched and loosened his hands hidden in his sleeves occasionally. After several times, he thought with self-mockery and self-disgust, “I am just grounded indirectly now…Mother’s suggestion is too rash. I’ll wait.”

He hated to seek for Emperor Xianjia’s protection repeatedly and expect the emperor to take actions when he was at a loss every time. After all, he was not a child anymore. He felt relieved when he was young as his father was partial to him, but now it appeared that he was incapable.

However, the fact was that he had no hope if he didn’t rely on Emperor Xianjia.

Gu Shao had defeated many followers of Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao these days indeed. In just three days, only Jian Xubai impeached more than ten officials and made them leave office, but both of them could do nothing in the murder case in Jianling. As long as this murder case was said to be caused by the Eastern Palace, all the officials could courageously ask to depose the crown prince.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager was behind the scenes.

“I don’t know when Father will start to be disappointed at me. Or is he disappointed at me now?” At this thought, the crown prince suddenly saw something flash in the grove not far away. In the beginning, he just thought that there was a bird in it, so he glanced at it casually. When he was about to leave, a person came out of the grove next second unexpectedly.

Half of this lady’s thick and beautiful hair was scattered, with a mark of fingers on her cheek obviously, and her uniform was messy. When she came out, it was evident that she thought that there was nobody outside, so as she saw the crown prince, she was so shocked that she almost returned to the grove. After the crown prince calmly called her Lady Nuan, it looked like she heaved a sigh of relief, and then she greeted with shyness, “Your Highness!”

Seeing her awkward position, the crown prince instantly remembered that she was bullied by Concubine Fu last time and knew that she must have been at the mercy of a jealous imperial concubine again. But he couldn’t ask about something like this, so he just nodded and planned to leave.

After all, although Beautiful Lady Nuan was his father’s concubine, she was younger than him and her beauty could cause the downfall of a country. Some people would gossip inevitably after seeing that they were together. His position was shaky now. How could he be careless?

Nevertheless, after the crown prince walked only a few steps, he happened to meet Concubine Fu.

She led several attendants and had broken a branch of orange osmanthus. While walking, she smelt it in her hand. Seeing the crown prince, she smiled faintly and stopped, asking, “Your Highness, you are busy with a myriad of state affairs every day. So are you free to have a walk in the imperial palace today?”

“Fu!” The crown prince noticed the sarcasm in her tone. All people at the imperial court and harem system knew that the crown prince was demanded by the officials to shut his door and reflect on his misdeeds. But she said that he was busy with a myriad of state affairs every day. Her ridicule was expressed not only in words but also on the face.

However, the crown prince disdained to bother about a woman even though he didn’t like to hear such words. He just bowed according to the family rule and replied indifferently, “Mother is ill, so I came to visit her. I just left the Xifu Palace and walked alone because I am worried about her illness.”

“Yo! Is Cui ill?” Concubine Fu made a fuss and screamed. Her eyes rolled, and she thought of something. Then she giggled. “I need to see her later. By the way, you walked from there just now. Did you see Beautiful Lady Nuan? We made an appointment and will have a tour on the lake in the imperial garden together today. Since I plan to visit Cui, of course, I will ask her to go with me.”

She put the branch of orange osmanthus beside her lips and laughed charmingly. “I think she won’t refuse me. Aha!”

The crown prince answered with no emotion, “I will let you down as I didn’t see anybody just now.”

He said that not just to help Beautiful Lady Nuan but also to take precautions against Concubine Fu. After all, Concubine Fu had been promoted because the Empress Dowager helped her ask the empress and she was the Empress Dowager’s follower openly. Now the Empress Dowager was considering choosing another prince to become the heir to the throne in order to protect Grand Princess Daiguo, so how would Concubine Fu be kind to the crown prince?

He had seen Beautiful Lady Nuan just now, and perhaps Concubine Fu would take the opportunity to gossip that something happened between him and Beautiful Lady Nuan.

So after he denied it, the crown prince didn’t say more and waved the front of his robe, saying goodbye to Concubine Fu. This woman dared to speak sarcastically to him because of her identity as his father’s concubine and the support of the Empress Dowager, yet she didn’t have a reason to stop him from leaving. Seeing that, she pouted and said, “Your Highness, goodbye.”

She went in another direction to look for Beautiful Lady Nuan at last.

The crown prince naturally wasn’t in the mood to care if she could find the beautiful lady there.

He returned to the Eastern Palace. As soon as he entered the gate, he heard that Jian Xubai came a while ago. He knew that there must be some news, so he sped up and came to the study. “Xubai, what brought you here at this time?”

“Your Highness.” Jian Xubai got up and bowed. After the crown prince waved his hand and motioned for him to stop, Jian Xubai waited for him to have a seat first and then sat down, looking serious. “I went to the Palace of Mingren, asking to see Grandma. Even though I didn’t see her, I saw that a young eunuch working in the Palace of Xuanming entered in a hurry and seemed to have something important to report.”

He was a follower of the crown prince since long ago and wouldn’t stand by and do nothing when the crown prince was in a desperate situation, so he always tried to ask to see the Empress Dowager these days and plead for mercy for the crown prince. However, the problem was that even though he had been brought up by the Empress Dowager in person and was most favored among her daughters’ sons, he was merely her grandson, the same as the crown prince. No matter how much the Empress Dowager loved him at ordinary times, he was not as important as her biological daughter Grand Princess Daiguo at the critical time.

So till today, the Empress Dowager found all kinds of reasons to keep him out of the Palace of Mingren.

However, when he went there for many times, he might gain something unexpected occasionally, for example, what he had seen just now.

The crown prince turned pale after hearing that and asked, “A young eunuch working in the Palace of Xuanming? Are you sure?”

“When His Majesty started to rest quietly to recuperate at the beginning of the year, I once entered the imperial palace with Cousin Xishi and served him for one night.” Jian Xubai nodded with certainty. “That night, the young eunuch served tea to me and Xishi. Later I went to visit His Majesty and met him for several times. He is the foster son of His Majesty’s trusted eunuch, Feng Mulin. His main job is to serve tea in the Palace of Xuanming, and he occasionally helps run errands.”

“Feng Mulin is an old eunuch who serves Father and has won Grandma’s respect. The young eunuch can be chosen by him as his foster son and must have something outstanding.” The crown prince pondered for a moment and seemed to talk to himself. “He ran to the Palace of Xuanming in a hurry unexpectedly. Does it mean that…Father’s illness?”

The rules in the imperial palace were strict. Even the ordinary maids and eunuchs should be dignified and cautious in public, let alone the ones who served the emperor. That young eunuch must be smarter than the ordinary ones, but he was so hurried that he showed his emotion if he didn’t have some plots, there must be something significant.

Currently, in the Palace of Xuanming, what significant thing could it be except Emperor Xianjia’s health?

At this thought, the crown prince subconsciously wanted to have a check in the Palace of Xuanming, but as soon as he got up, he remembered that the Empress Dowager openly forbade him to see Emperor Xianjia.

“Your Highness, don’t worry.” Noticing the crown prince’s embarrassment and anxiety, Jian Xubai hurriedly comforted him. “Before I came to the Eastern Palace, I sent somebody to tell my mother. I think she is on the way to the imperial palace now.”

Then he added, “Although my mother won’t help us send a message to His Majesty, after she checks on him, if I ask her whether His Majesty is well, I think she won’t refuse to reveal it. After all, we are the juniors, and it’s the human nature to care about the elders’ health.”

The crown prince always respected and trusted Grand Princess Jinguo, but Emperor Xianjia was his father. His father’s illness probably changed, and it might turn worse, yet the eldest son couldn’t visit him and even had to rely on his aunt who was the only amiable one to get the information. The crown prince didn’t know what the feeling was. He stayed silent for a while and then said, “I went to see my mother just now.”

He paused for a moment and then added, “My mother advised me that it’s better to support Prince of Zhao if I can’t make it. What do you think?”