Chapter 111
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The Third Prince remained unusually quiet during the interrogation at the ancestral residence, neither confessing nor arguing. It was unclear whether he gave up struggling or lost guidance from his aides, hesitating to speak.
Consort Tong sought survival. She shifted the blame of the Tong family army’s unauthorized takeover of the capital onto her late brother, Tong Ningzhao. She claimed to be a mere woman in the deep palace, innocent and unaware of the events. In essence, she insisted the Emperor should release her to enjoy her later years as a Consort Dowager.
Lu Jinan, accompanied by the songstress he brought back from Hangzhou during the grain procurement, identified the Tong family men in the prison. He pointed out the leader of the Tong family, the one responsible for manipulating grain prices and obstructing the Crown Prince’s reforms.
In an attempt to lessen his own crimes, the Tong family leader confessed that he was acting on the orders of Consort Tong. To encourage further revelations, Lu Jinan promised to spare his life.
Consequently, Consort Tong’s clandestine plotting against the Crown Prince unfolded. Like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, members of the Tong family voluntarily confessed to various offenses.
Before the conviction, Lu Jinan took his younger brothers to the ancestral residence to witness the fate of Old Third and find some relief.
Each of the brothers harbored boundless resentment. They glared at the disheveled and seated Old Third with gritted teeth.
Unable to find any verbal outlet, Old Fifth directly approached and delivered a punch to Old Third’s face.
After a round of beating, Old Second coldly said, “Fifth Brother, don’t dirty your hands for this worthless scum.”
Upon hearing this, the Sixth Prince stepped forward to pull Fifth Brother away.
Old Third on the ground had a face smeared with nosebleeds, breathing calmly with closed eyes, seemingly oblivious to pain.
Lu Jinan looked down at his third brother and quietly asked, “Don’t you have anything to say? If you don’t speak now, I won’t listen in the future.”
Old Third remained lying there so quietly. Shortly after, he opened his eyes, looked at his eldest brother, and asked, “Can I see the Noble Consort?”
The Sixth Prince questioned with a frown, “What are you up to?”
Old Third cast a sidelong glance at the sixth brother, sneering. “Don’t be nervous. If it weren’t for your birth, the Noble Consort would still be my Mother Consort. I want to see my pseudo-mother before I die. Is that not allowed?”
“Go to hell!” The Fifth Prince stepped forward, aiming a kick at his stomach, only to be stopped by Sixth Brother.
Lu Jinan, with an inscrutable expression, nodded while looking at his third brother curled up on the ground, covering his stomach. “You can.”
Old Third met the Noble Consort, but she appeared different from the gentle and beautiful image he remembered.
When the Noble Consort entered the prison cell, she retreated to the corner, perhaps unable to endure the stench emanating from Old Third.
Sharing a room with a chamber pot, Old Third had grown accustomed to his own scent. He could imagine that the Noble Consort was surely not accustomed to it. So, Old Third, surprisingly considerate, took a step back, almost forming a diagonal line in the confined space, maintaining a distance from the Noble Consort.
The current Noble Consort appeared as cold as stagnant water, her once smiling lips now naturally downturned due to years of constant worry. Her eyes, swollen from countless nights of tears in her early years, protruded forward. In the dim light and shadows of the prison cell, she hardly resembled a living being.
Old Third wondered if, because he was destined for hell, the celestial being he wished to see one last time had transformed into a malevolent spirit.
“This son has always wanted to visit the Noble Consort, but Mother Consort wouldn’t allow it.” Old Third, like in his childhood, lifted his chin and forced a smile at the Noble Consort, attempting to hide the lack of dignity in the moment.
The Noble Consort remained silent, eagerly turning her head to glance at the corridor outside the prison cell’s iron bars, signaling the Third Prince to finish quickly and let her go.
“Mother Consort always speaks ill of you, saying you indulge me to harm me. She talks about unpleasant truths and bitter medicine. They truly take me for a fool. Whether the Noble Consort’s kindness is genuine or fake, I know very well.”
The Noble Consort’s face still faced the southern corridor, but her eyes lazily glanced in the direction of Old Third, still without a response.
“I want everyone to serve me, so that even stern advice sounds sweet to my ears, and bitter medicine tastes pleasant. Who has ever dared to go against Father Emperor’s wishes?”
The Noble Consort smiled. “That makes sense.”
Old Third, pleasantly surprised, laughed along, shyly scratching the back of his head. “Only the Noble Consort understands me. Doing all this, I just… I just want to return to the days in Noble Consort’s palace. Everyone follows my lead, Noble Consort praises me every day, and whatever I do requires no effort. That’s where my true abilities shine! It’s nothing like being by Mother Consort’s side, where I’m always wrong. They don’t understand me, won’t give me a chance to act freely. They just say I’m foolish!”
“Chongshan.” After more than a decade, the Noble Consort gently called Old Third’s name once again. Surprisingly, her tone and smile mirrored those from years ago. “Back then, I was too young. His Majesty favored me and sent you to my palace. I didn’t think about it much. Consort Tong accused me of intentionally indulging her child, but no, I truly didn’t. I was just… afraid I couldn’t bear children myself, so I desperately tried to please you. I feared that your affection for me wouldn’t match blood ties.”
Old Third stood still, staring blankly at Noble Consort.
The Noble Consort, hesitating, lowered her head and then earnestly looked at him. “If you want to know if my treatment of you back then was genuine, I can tell you that at least I never harbored ill intentions towards you. It’s just… if I were older at the time, I wouldn’t have blindly indulged and tried to please you.”
Old Third grinned, as if breathing a sigh of relief. He murmured softly, “That’s enough.”
The Noble Consort coldly gazed at him. “I’m sorry, Chongshan.”
Old Third shook his head, chuckling softly. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”
This was a farewell. Without looking back, the Noble Consort turned and walked out of the prison cell. Just as she was about to turn the corner of the corridor, she vaguely heard a low voice behind her—
“Mother Consort, take care.”
The soldiers guarding the corner of the prison, upon seeing the Noble Consort leave, noticed the tears welling up on the tip of her chin, forming a sizable droplet that hung but refused to fall.
•••
Xue Yao noticed that the chubby cub had become quite abnormal.
Of course, it wasn’t just the weight loss that was abnormal. His entire behavior was off — solitary, taciturn, and downright cruel.
In the morning, he locked himself in a side hall. Nobody knew what he was up to. Palace maids and eunuchs were shooed out of the courtyard, warned that Prince Ning was in a foul mood, with a threat that unauthorized entry into the courtyard would be mercilessly punished.
Xue Yao, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince waited outside the courtyard for half an hour but didn’t see Lu Qian come out. They decided to choose the Fifth Prince, who excelled in lightness skill, to go in and investigate.
The Fifth Prince, as agile as a swallow, tiptoed through the outer courtyard, reached the door of the sleeping quarters, raised his hand to press against the door, faced east, and pressed his ear tightly against the door crack to listen for any movement inside.
Xue Yao and the Sixth Prince hid outside the courtyard, watching the Fifth Prince pressed against the door.
Before long, Xue Yao suddenly saw Lu Qian coming out from the west hall, his expression icy as he stared at the Fifth Prince’s back outside the main hall.
“Oh! Seventh Brother is coming out!” The Sixth Prince hastily sent a signal of “psspss” to the Fifth Prince inside the courtyard!
The Fifth Prince turned to look outside upon hearing the sound, finding Xue Yao and the Sixth Prince vigorously waving at him.
Unaware that the Seventh Prince had already approached from his west side, the Fifth Prince made a “hush” gesture toward the seemingly impatient duo outside the courtyard and continued eavesdropping on the door.
“What is Big Brother trying to eavesdrop on?”
The Fifth Prince shivered abruptly, clung to the door for a while, then slowly bent down, clutching his foot. “Big Brother came to talk to you. Just twisted my left foot a bit, too painful to move. Can’t move, so can only lean on the door…”
“Big Brother, you’re holding the right foot.”
“Ah! That’s right, it’s the right foot. Aww… it hurts. Seventh Brother, please support me.”
“Can’t move?”
The Fifth Prince nodded with a sincere expression.
Lu Qian flexed his ankle, slowly lifted his foot, and seemed about to step down—
The Fifth Prince, lowering his head, saw Seventh Brother’s foot coming towards him. Hastily retreating a few steps, his supposedly immobile right foot moved surprisingly fast!
Lu Qian’s foot stopped about two inches above the ground. He didn’t actually step down but withdrew his foot steadily, looking at the rapidly moving Fifth Prince with an expression that said, “Prepare for your demise.”
“Wow!” The Fifth Prince, fearless in the face of danger, lifted his right foot, twisted his ankle, and astonishedly told his seventh brother, “It’s actually healed! Did you use the Sword Saint’s imparted inner power? My foot was instantly cured! That’s truly amazing!”
Immediately after, Xue Yao saw the Fifth Prince being lifted out of the courtyard by Lu Qian, holding his arm.
Without saying a word, Lu Qian turned to return to the side hall.
“Your Highness?” Xue Yao blurted out.
Lu Qian paused but didn’t turn around, waiting for him to continue.
Xue Yao approached Lu Qian quietly. “Your Highness, why have you been alone these past few days? Are you busy with something?”
“Hmm.” Lu Qian continued walking towards the side hall.
Anxious and concerned not to unsettle the cub whose sense of security was fragile, Xue Yao stealthily followed behind Lu Qian.
After a few steps, Lu Qian suddenly stopped and turned around, causing Xue Yao, unable to halt in time, to collide into him.
Looking up, Xue Yao stepped back two paces under Lu Qian’s eyes.
Xue Yao nervously asked, “Your Highness, don’t you need to continue martial training at Baixing Mountain?”
Lu Qian retrieved a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xue Yao.
Puzzled, Xue Yao opened it to find a line of cursive writing—
“This child is too fierce. We don’t want him. Let him realize his mistakes before coming to find us.”
Signed with the short “Qiu Yichen” and the long “Xu Qingchao, 8th generation Master of the Qinglong Sect.”
Ignoring the lengthy title at the end, Xue Yao chose to overlook it. In any case, this was a “disownment letter” from the Sword Saint.
They actually found the chubby cub too fierce!
Despite his chubby cub being super… Xue Yao looked up and, upon seeing Lu Qian’s icy light pupils, immediately scrapped the description of “soft and cute” in his mind.
“Did Your Highness upset Master?” Xue Yao asked.
Lu Qian nodded.
“Well, at least…” Xue Yao didn’t delve into what mistake Lu Qian made, choosing comforting words instead. “Now, Your Highness can stay in the palace for a while.”
At these words, Lu Qian slowly extended his hand, palm open.
Xue Yao, ecstatic, quickly placed his paw on top!
A moment of silence.
Looking up, Xue Yao realized Lu Qian was gazing down at the “disownment letter” in his other hand. It dawned on him that Lu Qian wanted that letter back, not a handshake with the little reader-in-waiting.
“Oh…” Xue Yao disappointedly withdrew his paw, returning the letter to him.
Lu Qian turned on his heel, preparing to leave.
“Your Highness!” Xue Yao was unwilling to accept it.
Lu Qian turned back to look at him.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me? In this over a year…” Xue Yao frowned. “Your Highness, are you… not in need of attendants now?”
“Old Seventh doesn’t need Fifth Brother either.” Old Fifth took a deep breath, also approaching, gazing at his seventh brother with a pained expression. “I’m about to get married soon, and in the future, I’m afraid… I won’t be able to visit you in the palace often.”
The Sixth Prince’s eyes welled up with tears, turning to his brother with a trembling voice. “Fifth Brother?”
The Fifth Prince turned, holding back tears. “Sixth Brother…”
The Sixth Prince embraced his Fifth brother. “Big Brother, you must come back to the palace often to see me!”
The Fifth Prince sighed. “Eldest Brother has arranged many tasks for me. I don’t know if there will be a chance…”
“Big Brother!” The Sixth Prince clung desperately to Fifth Brother.
Witnessing this parting scene, Xue Yao’s heart felt like it was being twisted. He stepped forward, embracing the Fifth and Sixth Princes, and they all cried together.
“The Prince’s mansion is less than four miles from the imperial palace.” Lu Qian untimely pierced through the melancholy of the Fifth Prince.
The three huddled individuals collectively glared at Lu Qian!
“Four miles is still far!” The Sixth Prince said.
Lu Qian shrugged.
Xue Yao: “Anyway, Your Highness doesn’t want to see us, so it’s meaningless even if it’s closer!”
Lu Qian lowered his head.
The chubby cub surprisingly didn’t argue!!!
Xue Yao: “Does Your Highness really not want to see us?!”
Lu Qian looked up at him and earnestly replied, “Hmm.”
“Waa!!!” Xue Yao completely broke down, releasing the Fifth and Sixth Princes, running towards the door in tears.
After running a few steps, he covered his face, sneakily turned around, and found Lu Qian following him. Only then did he continue his tearful run, slowing down his pace to ensure Lu Qian could catch up.
The little reader-in-waiting was indeed quite confident in his own speed.
However, no matter how he ran in slow motion, Lu Qian always followed behind. Since Lu Qian showed no intention of intercepting him, Xue Yao ran slower and slower until Lu Qian walked beside him at a leisurely pace.
“No wonder four miles feels far.” Lu Qian turned to glance at the slowly running little reader-in-waiting. “After Yaoyao makes a trip to the Prince’s mansion, Fifth Brother’s hair will all turn white.”
Xue Yao forcibly ignored the rebellious brat’s mockery, stopped in his tracks, and continued the script of his own fantasy. “Why is Your Highness desperately chasing after me?”
The not-so-desperate Highness finally chuckled, conceding defeat to the little reader-in-waiting.
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