Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - The Prince's Thoughts

The crowd stared at each other in disbelief, their eyes wide open in surprise. Just what has the world come to?! Not only did she refuse to plead guilty for murder, she even demanded a reward!

After a long period of silence.....Emperor Gong suddenly burst out laughing! He smiled so heartily that no one dared to refute Gong Yi Mo's words. It had been a long time since the emperor last expressed such openness; he was grinning from ear to ear. The princess was such a clever and intelligent child, so how could he not like her?

"You are right, I the Emperor am the law! I will reward whom I am willing to reward....Changxi!"

"Yes your Highness!"

"Write this decree; from now on the Seventh Princess will be awarded the title of Chaoyang Princess**. She and the Ninth prince will be moved out of the Cold Palace."

(**translator's note: 朝阳公主 Chaoyang Princess-a higher title for a favored princess)

"This servant....obeys."

Chang Xi gritted his teeth; it was as if his heart was doused with freezing water. The Chaoyang Palace was luxurious enough that a crowned prince or even an emperor can dwell there, and yet he bestowed it to a mere Seventh Princess. With such a decree, it seems that a lot of people won't be able to sleep well tonight.

Despite the countless people who were jealous of the Chaoyang palace, Gong Jue was quite unhappy. In his opinion, the Cold Palace was his home; he didn't want to leave at all.

After receiving the emperor's decree, Gong Yi Mo felt greatly relieved. She gave her father a clever grin, and was about to respond to him, when suddenly her vision blackened! Gong Yi fell to the ground and fainted. She had only been able to stand firm up to this point by using her life force; now that she's achieved her goal, she could no longer support herself.

"Sister Gong!"

In his deep fear, Gong Jue quickly held out his arms to catch Gong Yi Mo as she fell. However, he forgot that he too was seriously injured; how could he possibly support her? The two children helplessly tumbled to the ground! As Gong Jue stared at his unconscious sister, he felt as if his heart was torn between heaven and earth.

The imperial doctor noticed that Gong Jue was too casual in taking the medicine, having messily applied it on himself. "Your Highness, we need to reapply the ointment on your wounds."

Gong Jue didn't even spare him a glance, and simply continued to watch his sister being cleaned. As her countenance seemed to turn paler, the prince reached out to touch her face, just to make sure she was still alive.

She.....is his entire world.

When the Empress returned to her palace, she suddenly burst out rage and overturned everything in her sight! She's definitely not happy! That bastard child!

It makes sense that Xue Rong can get the emperor's favor, but how can that bastard girl also get his approval?! Chaoyang Princess! Why is it that a wild child can obtain the title for "Princess of Chaoyang", while the daughter of the empress can only settle for the title of "Princess Qingze".

She was furious! This was simply unacceptable!

When Gong Che came in, he immediately noticed the debris on the floor and his trembling mother. He shook his head helplessly and spoke to the Empress, "Why is mother so angry?" In his opinion, the one who should be more upset at this loss would be Liu Xian Fei, so why was the empress so outraged?

Upon seeing the prince, the Queen's anger simmered down a bit. "My child, come here."

Gong Che obediently came to her side. The prince was currently 14 years old and had a pair of gentle eyes. As he waved to the palace men, they hurriedly left, grateful for the retreat. The mother and son pair were soon left alone to themselves.

Seeing Gong Che's face growing more and more handsome through the years, the Empress felt slightly appeased. Her son was different from her fiery temperament and from his father's domineering self; rather, he was a gentle and scholarly boy that was praised by all. Why was it that although she had such a good son, the prince still couldn't obtain the Emperor's love? Instead he prefers the children of Long Guifei** and Liu Xian Fei. Even the bastard child Gong Yi Mo was favored, which was abnormal!

(**translator's note: Guifei -senior concubine/imperial consort)

On that thought, the Empress' face twisted into a scowl! Gong Che who had always been by her side was a witness to all her trials. As he recalled the recent events, he warmly entreated her, "Is mother angry because of the Ninth Prince's matters?"

In his opinion, a prince is far more threatening than a princess. The Empress gave a cold smirk. Hmph! There was no way an abandoned prince could enter her eyes. "Mother is angry at that bastard girl. Who does she think she is?"

Upon hearing the Empress' unconscious slip of tongue, Gong Che slightly frowned. He thought that since Gong Yi Mo was the daughter of the emperor, it was only natural for the king to spare her life; he was unaware of her actual origins. In fact, the number of people who knew that Gong Yi Mo wasn't the emperor's biological daughter could only add up to five. Thus Gong Che didn't pay much attention to the Queen's slip of tongue.

Instead, her words made him think of that small figure that stood proudly, making him feel a little lost. He had seen so many noble daughters—some were gentle and elegant while others were naive and lovely. He always thought that he would be attracted to that kind of a gentle woman. Never did he imagine that one day he would meet such a girl, one so strong willed, that she left a lingering impression in his mind!