The Crown Prince’s mansion in the Eastern Palace.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sat in the main seat, the Cabinet’s Deputy Assistant, Cao Ren, sat on the right, and the Crown Prince’s Junior Preceptor, Pei Yanqi, sat on the left.
The eunuch came in and reported, “Your Highness, Wang Gui is waiting outside the palace gate.”
Xiao Yichen put down the teacup and said, “Let him in.”
“The servant pays respect to Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Soon, Wang Gui stepped into the palace and respectfully saluted the several nobles in the hall.
Xiao Yichen: “What has Young Master Shen been doing recently?”
Wang Gui replied, “Answer Your Highness, the Young Master has been summoned to the Changshou Palace several times recently and has spent the rest of the time in the Jiyue Pavilion.”
“Changshou Palace?” Xiao Yichen narrowed his eyes slightly. “How many times has he been there? How long did he stay?”
“This…” Wang Gui looked embarrassed, and after thinking for a while, he replied cautiously, “The servant doesn’t remember it very clearly as well, maybe about three or four times, and each time he went back to Jiyue Pavilion after having lunch or dinner.”
Xiao Yichen frowned and asked, “Besides this, is there anything else wrong with Young Master Shen?”
Wang Gui hesitated for a moment and replied, “The Young Master has become much gentler towards His Majesty the Seventh Prince recently.”
Xiao Yichen’s face darkened slightly, and he said in a cold tone, “You retreat first. If Third Young Master shows any abnormality, report it to Gu in time.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Wang Gui retreated timidly.
“Grand Preceptor, Junior Preceptor, you all heard it.” Xiao Yichen’s eyes were gloomy. “Shen Qingzhuo has repeatedly resisted Gu’s summons. It’s clear that he doesn’t take Gu’s seriously because he has the Empress Dowager as his backer.”
Pei Yanqi gently advised: “Your Highness, please don’t be angry. There may be other reasons behind this matter.”
“Other reasons?” Xiao Yichen paused for a moment. “Could it be that the sudden decree by Emperor Father to have Lao Qi1It’s just an order, since he’s the seven child he’s called Lao Qi. moved out of the cold palace was actually the Empress Dowager’s intention?”
“It’s probably the Empress Dowager’s intention.” Cao Ren, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. “His Majesty’s health is getting worse day by day. At this critical moment, the Empress Dowager brought the Seventh Prince out of the Cold Palace. It’s really evil’s ambition.”
Xiao Yichen’s heart sank: “The Empress Dowager intends to support Lao Qi to take the throne?”
Cao Ren stroked his beard and said, “The struggle for power between the Empress Dowager and His Majesty has never stopped. Now that His Majesty is bedridden, the Empress Dowager will naturally support an obedient prince and take the opportunity to regain power. The Seventh Prince, who was in the Cold Palace, is currently the most suitable candidate.”
“Gu the legitimate Crown Prince of Dayong.” Xiao Yichen slammed the table lightly, his eyes sinister. “He is just an unpopular seventh prince. Won’t it be easy for Gu to kill him?”
“No.” Cao Ren slowly waved his hand, “Your Highness, the Empress Dowager’s real goal is not the Seventh Prince.”
“Why did Grand Preceptor say that?” Xiao Yichen asked, puzzled.
“The Empress Dowager’s thoughts are much deeper than your Highness’s.”
Cao Ren made an in-depth analysis: “The Empress Dowager pulled out the Seventh Prince just to set up an obvious target. Her real target should be the child in Concubine Yuan’s belly.”
Xiao Yichen was startled: “The child in Concubine Yuan’s belly?”
Pei Yanqi continued, “The Seventh Prince is over fifteen years old. He grew up in the cold palace and is not close to the Empress Dowager. He also has half of the Zhao family’s blood. In a few years, he will inevitably fight for power again. Naturally, he is not as obedient as a baby in swaddling clothes.”
Xiao Yichen sneered: “What if Concubine Yuan gives birth to a princess?”
“It’s not important, Your Highness.” Pei Yanqi said calmly, as if he were discussing poetry. “Even if Concubine Yuan gave birth to a civet cat, if the Empress Dowager said it was the Crown Prince, then he would be the Crown Prince of Dayong.”
“Isn’t this the same as handing over my Xiao family’s kingdom to someone else?” Xiao Yichen stood up abruptly. “Even if Gu were not here, Dayong still has six other princes. There is no way the court officials would agree to a baby ascending the throne!”
“What’s impossible?” Cao Ren stood up and walked out of his seat. “Your Highness, do you know that His Majesty is not the Empress Dowager’s biological son?”
Xiao Yichen: “I’ve never heard of this.”
“The Eldest Prince is a cripple, the Fourth Prince is now foolish, and the other Princes have a few more accidents, so what’s so strange about that?” Cao Ren’s face was cold. “The Empress Dowager’s surname is Qi, not Xiao.”
Xiao Yichen was speechless for a moment.
“There is no father and son in the royal family, and the Empress Dowager has no blood relationship with His Majesty.” Cao Ren paced with his hands behind his back. “Now that His Majesty is bedridden and power is lost, the Qi family is becoming more and more arrogant. Once His Majesty passes away, Empress Dowager Qi will ascend the throne with the child in her arms and blatantly control the government. From then on, the Xiao family should indeed change their surname to Qi!”
Xiao Yichen’s expression was uncertain, and he said unwillingly, “If this day really comes, Sixth Imperial Uncle will definitely not sit idly by.”
“King Qin is far away in his fiefdom in Shuodong, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire!” Cao Ren flicked his sleeves and said with a tone of regret, “What’s more, under what pretext will King Qin lead his troops back to the capital? Don’t forget that the Empress Dowager still has the Shen family in her hands. If she orders King Zhenbei to send troops to intercept and accuse him of plotting to usurp the throne, will King Qin be willing to take the risk?”
“Shouldn’t King Zhenbei obey Emperor Father’s order?” Xiao Yichen walked down the platform anxiously. “Emperor Father was still holding his precious son hostage!”
Cao Ren snorted coldly, “Your Highness, why do you think the Empress Dowager has been summoning Young Master Shen so frequently recently? Is it really because of an insignificant Seventh Prince?”
As soon as the words fell, the hall fell into dead silence.
After a while, Xiao Yichen said in a cold tone, “In this case, no matter whether Concubine Yuan gives birth to a cat or a mouse, Gu will let it die in the womb.”
At the same time, Shen Qingzhuo was kneeling in front of the dragon bed, with his head lowered, attentively listening to Emperor Guangxi’s instructions.
“Zhen has entrusted Lao Qi to you for three years. To Zhen’s surprise, you have really raised a—cough, cough, cough…” Emperor Guangxi coughed a few times in the middle of a sentence. “A prince who was cowardly, incompetent, and timid.”
After months of suffering from illness, Emperor Guangxi, who was lying on the dragon bed, had a blue face, sunken eye sockets, and a skinny appearance. He no longer had the strength and majesty he once had.
“Qingzhuo is terrible.” Shen Qingzhuo immediately fell to the ground and apologized, “The minister is not competent enough to teach His Highness properly, please punish the minister, Your Majesty.”
“You, cough, cough.” Emperor Guangxi coughed so hard that he couldn’t breathe. Concubine Yuan, who was serving beside him, hurriedly leaned down and gently stroked the emperor’s chest with her soft hands.
Emperor Guangxi recovered his breath and raised his hand, “Get up, Zhen doesn’t mean to blame you.”
Shen Qingzhuo hesitated for a moment, then slowly straightened up: “Thanks, Your Majesty for his mercy.”
Today, Emperor Guangxi suddenly felt inspired and took the initiative to summon the Seventh Prince for an audience for the first time.
Emperor Guangxi looked at his youngest son, who should have been a complete stranger to him, and unexpectedly saw some of his own youth on his face.
Perhaps blood is thicker than water, or perhaps people are more likely to feel sad when they are sick, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, this is his blood after all, the legitimate Seventh Prince of Dayong.
He casually asked a few simple questions, but the Seventh Prince stuttered for a long time and couldn’t answer any of them. Finally, he was so scared that he knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and asked for forgiveness timidly, fearing that his emperor father would punish him.
Although Emperor Guangxi had expected this, but he still felt disappointed. He sent Lao Qi away with a tired look on his face and called Shen Qingzhuo.
“Although he is a useless person, his body is in good shape.” Emperor Guangxi used Concubine Yuan’s strength to prop up his upper body and leaned against the head of the bed. “Zhen thinks that he looks very strong. It seems that he put a lot of thought into it.”
“His Highness the Seventh Prince has inherited some of Your Majesty’s noble qualities, and he is not picky about food, so he has a healthy body.” Shen Qingzhuo complimented him appropriately: “The minister is ashamed to say that this is the only use he can provide.”
Emperor Guangxi lowered his eyes and looked at the young man kneeling in front of the bed and said slowly, “In the spring hunt a few days later, you and the Seventh Prince will accompany us.”
According to the custom of Dayong, the royal family would conduct two large-scale hunting activities a year, one in spring and one in autumn.
This year’s spring hunting began on March 3, when spring ploughing ended.
Although Emperor Guangxi was in poor health, but he was still unwilling to miss the spring hunt, simply because the Xiao family’s ancestors had conquered the country on horseback, and emperors of all dynasties admired hunting on horseback and even had a strange superstition about spring hunts.
Shen Qingzhuo responded: “The minister will obey Your Majesty’s order.”
He had found an excuse for himself to go to the spring hunting, but he didn’t expect that he would get it without any effort, but he had a little burden behind him.
But it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t affect the overall situation.
Emperor Guangxi said a few more words, but soon became tired and waved his hand to let him leave first.
Before Shen Qingzhuo left the inner hall, his eyes inadvertently glanced at Concubine Yuan’s abdomen.
Concubine Yuan has been pregnant for more than four months, so her belly should have been visible, but because of her slender figure and the loose palace clothes covering it, it was not very obvious.
Noticing his gaze, Concubine Yuan raised her eyes and looked at him. When she found where his gaze was, a hint of vigilance suddenly flashed in her eyes.
Shen Qingzhuo smiled faintly and slowly retreated.
When the outer door of Jiyue Pavilion was pushed open, the sound of “bang, bang, bang” instantly hit the periosteum.
The youth was dressed in black, his hands were wrapped in bandages to protect his wrists and joints, and he was concentrating on hitting the sandbag with his fists.
He was agile, punching very quickly, dodging and counterattacking, diving and counterattacking, his strong arms stretched out lines full of power, his speed and explosive power were quite amazing.
Shen Qingzhuo leaned against the door frame lazily, quietly appreciating for a moment, and clapped his hands twice, “Beautiful.”
“Master!” Xiao Shen’s eyes lit up, he immediately withdrew his fist, turned around, and ran to the door. “You’re back!”
Shen Qingzhuo felt like he had raised a puppy. As soon as he got home, the puppy would wag its tail and greet him enthusiastically.
Sure enough, the next moment the youth pounced on him and gave him a tight hug.
“You’re too heavy.” Shen Qingzhuo was shaken by his collision, his expression slightly disgusted. “You reeks of sweat, and you even throw yourself on me.”
“Is this the smell of sweat?” Xiao Shen bared his teeth slightly and said seriously, “This is the smell of a man.”
“Pfft.” Shen Qingzhuo almost burst out laughing and raised his hand to push the youth who was rubbing against his neck away. “How old are you? What kind of man are you? Haha.”
“I don’t care, I don’t care!” The little wolf cub threw a tantrum again, and the wet and sticky sweat rubbed his master’s neck. “Master, you are not allowed to despise me!”
“Alright, alright, I didn’t despise you.” Shen Qingzhuo was afraid of him and changed the subject: “I heard that you pretended to be a grandson2To act helpless and miserable, pretend not to know; feign ignorance. in front of your Emperor Father today?”
“Tsk.” Xiao Shen stopped smearing and rubbing his hands on his master’s body and sneered, “As he wishes.”
“You almost do too much.” Shen Qingzhuo tapped the youth’s plump forehead. “Fortunately, your Emperor Father has limited energy and has no intention of investigating further. Instead, he accidentally agreed to let you participate in the hunt.”
“The hunt?” Xiao Shen was stunned for a moment, then he straightened his back, his eyes showing an excitement that was difficult to conceal. “Is this true?”
“Really.” Shen Qingzhuo looked at him and reminded him in a serious tone, “But this time during the spring hunting, Master has something very important to do, so don’t do anything rash.”
Xiao Shen asked, “What’s the important thing?”
“The mantis stalks the cicada, not knowing that the oriole is lurking behind3The mantis stalks the cicada, not knowing that the oriole is lurking behind, (fig.) covet gains ahead, unaware of danger behind..” Shen Qingzhuo chuckled and said with a playful look in his eyes, “Xiao Qi, do you want to be the oriole?”
The author has something to say:
The Crown Prince’s Party: We predicted the Empress Dowager’s actions.
Shen Qingzhuo: I’m sorry, I predicted your prediction.
The Little Wolf Cub: I must prove to my master that I am a man as soon as possible!
