Content warning: Mutual masturbation
Xiao Chengjun felt Lou Jing’s heart beating strongly under his fingers. That warm feeling spread from his palms all the way to the depths of his heart, and the empty feeling in his chest disappeared, replaced by an overflowing sense of contentment and joy. He slowly reached out and touched Lou Jing’s incomparably beautiful face. “There’s no way I could bear for you to…” he said, his voice trailing off.
He truly couldn’t bear for Lou Jing to leave, for Lou Jing to take a wife and have children, for the position of his principal wife to be given to someone other than Lou Jing.
Xiao Chengjun moved closer. For the first time, he kissed his Consort whilst in full control of his sensibilities. Lou Jing’s lips were slender and didn’t look very affectionate, but when he smiled, it was like a rainbow after a storm, like the warm sun coming out from behind grey clouds. Right now, as he savoured the taste of those lips, pleasure travelled into the very marrow of his bones, igniting a dark desire in his chest.
Lou Jing’s hand remained on the pillar as he allowed his Crown Prince’s lips to caress his own. He endured for as long as he could, but after a long while, Xiao Chengjun continued to only suck and lick awkwardly at his lips. Lou Jing couldn’t take it any more. He opened his mouth and hooked Xiao Chengjun’s tongue with his own. Xiao Chengjun’s tongue still smelt of sweet milk.
However they stroked and caressed each other’s lips and tongues, Lou Jing felt that it wasn’t enough. Lou Jing thought that he might be out of his mind; he was being given a chance to go back to being a minister, to go back to being a free man, and here he was, pushing this golden opportunity away just to be with Xiao Chengjun, as if nothing else mattered in the world. His hand left the pillar and circled around Xiao Chengjun’s narrow waist, holding him close. He stroked Xiao Chengjun’s brocade-clad back slowly, pushing him gently against the pillar as he did so. He then extended a hand into the folds of his husband’s clothes.
“Mmph…” A warm slender hand slid into the space between the outer and inner robes and wandered around Xiao Chengjun’s body. Xiao Chengjun’s eyes widened. What was his Consort doing?
Lou Jing released the Crown Prince’s lips and gently bit a blushing pink ear instead. He flicked a tongue lightly over that ear, then put both hands into the Crown Prince’s robes. One hand slid around his waist, preventing him from pulling away, and the other moved up to his chest. Lou Jing’s fingers brushed lightly against the two little protrusions on Xiao Chengjun’s chest.
“Ah… nn…” Xiao Chengjun trembled, and couldn’t help moaning out loud. He realised that he’d just made an intensely embarrassing sound. He immediately pressed his lips together and rescued his ear from Lou Jing’s mouth. Xiao Chengjun bit down on Lou Jing’s neck, then reached out to unfasten Lou Jing’s belt. Lou Jing’s jade waist pendant and clasp both fell to the ground with a thud.
The two slowly slid down the pillar they were pressed up against as they ravaged each other’s mouths, and eventually fell onto the soft carpet covering the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
Carpets had been placed in Chongren Chambers at the start of autumn. In the softly flickering candlelight, two long, slender bodies intertwined on the thick carpets in the spacious hall.
Lou Jing pressed the Crown Prince down below him and pulled open his apricot-coloured inner robes with a desperate urgency, exposing the graceful lines of his honey-coloured chest. His musculature was just right, that perfectly alluring balance that was firm, toned and pleasing to the eye. Lou Jing could not resist leaning over and latching his lips onto those beautiful collarbones, leaving a deep red mark when his lips lifted from Xiao Chengjun’s skin.
Xiao Chengjun found this position very strange. He flipped his Consort over and pressed him under himself, then reached out to remove Lou Jing’s white inner robe.
Lou Jing propped himself up slightly with one arm to let the Crown Prince remove his inner robe. His other hand traced a line down from that deep red mark he had left on the Crown Prince’s collarbones, sliding down slowly to a tender pink protrusion on Xiao Chengjun’s chest. An image from that pictorial book suddenly came to mind. He bent forward and bit down gently on that little pink bean.
“Mm…” Xiao Chengjun felt his body go weak, and he collapsed into Lou Jing’s arms. He stretched out a hand to caress his Consort’s body.
Both of them were relatively young, and hadn’t ever expressed their sexual desires with anyone else before. They could only go on instinct, and they both grasped each other’s members.
“Dianxia, would it be right to say that you’ve wanted me for some time?” Lou Jing murmured, using a hand to gently massage the crown of the hard object in his hand. A barely suppressed moan escaped the Crown Prince’s lips.
Wljb Jtfcupec rtba Obe Alcu j ibbx. Llr fjgr kfgf jigfjvs ygluta gfv ys atlr qblca. Lf mjeuta tbiv bo Obe Alcu’r mtlc jcv mbnfgfv atja gbuelrt wbeat klat tlr bkc. Ca atf rjwf alwf, tf rajgafv ralweijalcu atf bgujc lc tlr tjcv.
“Zw…” Obe Alcu wbjcfv pera jr atf Jgbkc Uglcmf tjv fjgilfg. Wljb Jtfcupec tjv ifjgca rkbgvrwjcrtlq ogbw atf Swqgfrr, jcv tlr tjcv kjr rilutais mjiierfv ogbw rkbgv qgjmalmf. Ktf rfcrjalbc mjerfv ys atf revvfc lcmgfjrf lc rqffv kjr rb lcafcrf atja Obe Alcu cfjgis aglfv ab qeii jkjs. Lf gfajiljafv ys qertlcu atf Jgbkc Uglcmf vbkc, ylalcu vbkc bc tlr fjg, jcv wbnlcu tlr bkc tjcv wbgf delmxis ja atf rjwf alwf.
A youth’s first time – could it be fully described with just the word ‘ecstasy’?
After some time, they were both drenched in sweat as they lay panting on the soft carpet. Lou Jing pulled the Crown Prince into an embrace and kissed away the beads of sweat on his forehead one by one.
Xiao Chengjun breathed in that herbal, woody scent that always emanated from Lou Jing’s person, and his lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Lou Jing first let the Crown Prince use his arm as a pillow, then gently gathered him into his arms. He nuzzled against Xiao Chengjun’s lips, which still smelt of sweet milk. One of his hands crept naughtily to the front of the Crown Prince’s chest and started massaging it. “Did you secretly eat candy? Why do your lips smell so sweet?” he asked.
“Nn,” Xiao Chengjun acknowledged softly. He had eaten two pieces of milk candy earlier.
Lou Jing’s brows furrowed; he hadn’t thought that the Crown Prince would admit to it. He kissed the corners of that sweet-smelling mouth. “Why are you eating candy when you’re all grown up?” he asked.
“When I’m feeling depressed, I eat one, and then I don’t feel so down any more,” Xiao Chengjun said, looking out the window at the bright moon in the night sky. It would be the fifteenth day of the lunar month soon, and the moon was round again.
When he was a little boy, his Father Emperor told him that his mother had gone to the Moon Palace, and would always watch over him from there. He had also said that because he was the Crown Prince, he was not to cry no matter what hardships he encountered. When he felt angry or upset, he would always look at the moon, and when he was really depressed, he would eat a piece of candy. He never confided in anyone or showed anyone any weakness in his life.
Lou Jing stared at Xiao Chengjun. He had never thought that Xiao Chengjun’s habit of eating candy had such a sad history. Xiao Chengjun had started eating candy at an age when he could not have known what it really meant to be depressed, which meant that he had instinctively looked for sweetness even as a child. How unhappy must Xiao Chengjun have been then? Lou Jing felt like his heart had been pricked with a sharp needle, and couldn’t help hugging Xiao Chengjun more tightly. “Chengjun, Chengjun…” he called softly.
Xiao Chengjun let Lou Jing call out his name repeatedly. He held Lou Jing’s hand, the one that was on his chest, and a small smile appeared on his face.
That night, the Crown Prince and his Consort slept in Chongren Chambers once again.
The next morning, Lou Jing dressed his husband in his Imperial Court robes personally.
“From today onwards, we won’t be husband and wife any more,” Xiao Chengjun said in a serious voice, looking directly at Lou Jing. The edict deposing him as Crown Prince would be proclaimed today, and they would have to move out of the Eastern Palace very shortly.
Lou Jing nodded. He fastened the jade waist pendant carved with a dragon on Xiao Chengjun’s belt. This waist pendant also could not be worn in future. Lou Jing felt this was a real waste; there was no one more suited to wear this dragon pendant than his husband. He raised his head and saw that the Crown Prince was looking at him with his dark eyes. He couldn’t resist leaning forward and planting a kiss next to his ear. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Has Dianxia ever heard of the saying that ‘the concubine is better than the wife, and the mistress is better than the concubine?’ Let’s just have an illicit affair after this, then, how about that?” Lou Jing whispered cheekily.
Lou Jing’s warm breath brushed against Xiao Chengjun’s ear, bringing with it that faint herbal scent. Xiao Chengjun stared blankly into space for a moment, then pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help turning upwards slowly, and he laughed out loud.
The Court session proceeded as usual that morning. Many officials held submissions in their hands, the content of which was undoubtedly requests to impeach the Crown Prince in various forms. The Minister of the Right, Chen Shichang, looked at Xiao Chengjun, who was standing right in front. The lips hidden under his long beard curved upwards slightly. Today, he would force the Emperor’s hand, and make him depose the Crown Prince.
The “findings” from the Qinghe River scandal would not stand up to scrutiny, and the truth about the alleged “earthquake” at Taishan might be found out anytime. The Minister of the Right intended to strike while the iron was hot; once the Crown Prince’s impeachment was set in stone, no one would look into these two matters any more.
“Your Majesty, Chen has a submission to make,” Chen Shichang said, stepping forward.
“What is it, Minister?” the Chunde Emperor asked. He did not go to Luanyi Palace last night and had spent the night in Panlong Palace instead. He didn’t seem to have slept well; there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Yesterday, the Imperial Oracle Tao Miao said that the earthquake at Taishan was an ill omen sent by heaven. When Taishan is unstable, the hearts of the people are also shaken. I urge your Majesty to make a decision at the soonest,” Chen Shichang said. He only meant to open the topic for discussion. As to how the Crown Prince had questionable morals, and how his actions caused great hardship to the Qinghe refugees – he would leave this for the other ministers to bring up.
“Your Majesty, Chen also has a submission!” the Minister of Justice said, stepping forward. “The Qinghe matter has been investigated thoroughly, and we have found that it was indeed the Crown Prince’s fault…”
The Chunde Emperor raised a hand to cut him off mid-sentence. “Zhen has already made a decision. You all don’t need to say more,” he said.
Xiao Chengjun’s face was stoic as he looked at his Father Emperor on the dragon throne. He had never seen the Emperor as his father, not even when he was little. To him, the Emperor was just the Emperor, and he was one of the officials in the Emperor’s Court. That was all there was to their relationship.
Huai Zhong, who was standing next to the Emperor, took out the edict, and read it out in a loud voice. “Xiao Chengjun, the Crown Prince, was appointed to this position five years ago, but has yet to make any notable achievements. He is dull-witted, and is unable to act as the pillar of the Yu Dynasty that the Crown Prince should be. It is with great regret that the Emperor has made the decision to depose the Crown Prince…”
Other than the Minister of the Left, Zhao Duan, all the other officials in Court were struck dumb. The ones in the Minister of the Right’s camp glanced furtively at Chen Shichang, who was standing in the centre of the hall. The mighty Minister of the Right was left in the dark about something as major as this?
Chen Shichang was also stunned. He had achieved his goal, but why was it that the Emperor hadn’t discussed this decision with him before passing his edict? His instincts, honed by many years of politicking in the imperial court, immediately told him that something was wrong. As Huai Zhong read out the rest of the edict, his suspicions were confirmed, and he felt like he was going to black out.
“… the Crown Prince, Xiao Chengjun, is filial and thrifty. He will be appointed as Min Wang, and his fief shall be Minzhou in the Southeast. Qin ci.”
A Qinwang’s fief usually was only two or three counties, but Xiao Chengjun’s fief, Minzhou, was an entire prefecture! Minzhou had eight counties, and within these counties, there were forty-five townships!
“Your Majesty, Minzhou seems to be too big to be a fief,” Chen Shichang protested. His hand, which was holding on to the submission he had intended to submit, was trembling in shock. When people of the Capital spoke of the “Southeast”, they were basically referring to Minzhou. The Jingnan Hou had a presence there for generations, and putting the deposed Crown Prince there was like releasing a tiger back into the mountain.
“Minzhou is not a wealthy region. Of course I have to make the fief larger than usual,” the Chunde Emperor said, frowning. The edict had already been proclaimed. Did Chen Shichang expect him to retract it?
Xiao Chengjun lifted his robes and knelt, kowtowing to the Emperor. “Erchen accepts the Imperial edict, and thanks Father Emperor. May your Majesty live for a thousand, thousand years!” he said, enunciating every syllable clearly. He untied the dragon pendant from his waist and offered it up respectfully with two hands. After five years of trying to be the Crown Prince that this Imperial Court desired, it had finally come to this, but Xiao Chengjun suddenly felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Huai Zhong quickly took a tray and moved forward to receive the dragon jade pendant that indicated Xiao Chengjun’s status as Crown Prince. He returned to the Emperor’s side after receiving the pendant, and extended the tray to the Emperor.
The Emperor picked up the jade pendant, then sighed heavily. “The South is wet and cold. You can leave for your fief at the start of spring,” he said.
“I thank my Father Emperor for his kind consideration,” Xiao Chengjun said, kowtowing once more in thanks.
“The Crown Prince Consort will be restored as the Shizi of the Anguo Gong peerage,” the Chunde Emperor said. He paused for a moment. He had always held Lou Jing in high regard, and he felt that he was doing Lou Jing a great injustice by making him marry into the Eastern Palace and now unceremoniously sending him back. “Lou Jing will be promoted to an official of the third rank, the Left Commander-General of the Yulin Troops.”
Lou Jing was originally a fourth-ranked Deputy Commander in the Yulin Troops, and took orders from the Left Commander-General. With this edict, Lou Jing’s superior would have to give up his position to him.
The Imperial Court was adjourned. The officials were all still dumbstruck by the shock of having the Crown Prince deposed, and had yet to collect themselves. Xiao Chengjun adjusted his clothes and guan, then walked out of the Court hall in a dignified manner, ignoring all the looks directed at him.
The sky should have been bright by this time, but today, dark thunderclouds obscured the sun, and the whole Imperial Palace looked like it was smothered in a dark fog.
Xiao Chengjun walked down the jade steps alone and passed through the palace gates. He then saw a person standing on the palace road that led to the Eastern Palace, waiting quietly for him. The bleak-looking palace buildings seemed more vibrant just by having this person next to them. “Why are you here?” he asked.
Lou Jing looked at Xiao Chengjun, whose eyes were shining a little with joy. He raised a hand and pushed a piece of milk candy into Xiao Chengjun’s mouth. “Waiting for you,” he said with a tender smile.
Content warning: Mutual masturbation
Xiao Chengjun felt Lou Jing’s heart beating strongly under his fingers. That warm feeling spread from his palms all the way to the depths of his heart, and the empty feeling in his chest disappeared, replaced by an overflowing sense of contentment and joy. He slowly reached out and touched Lou Jing’s incomparably beautiful face. “There’s no way I could bear for you to…” he said, his voice trailing off.
He truly couldn’t bear for Lou Jing to leave, for Lou Jing to take a wife and have children, for the position of his principal wife to be given to someone other than Lou Jing.
Xiao Chengjun moved closer. For the first time, he kissed his Consort whilst in full control of his sensibilities. Lou Jing’s lips were slender and didn’t look very affectionate, but when he smiled, it was like a rainbow after a storm, like the warm sun coming out from behind grey clouds. Right now, as he savoured the taste of those lips, pleasure travelled into the very marrow of his bones, igniting a dark desire in his chest.
Lou Jing’s hand remained on the pillar as he allowed his Crown Prince’s lips to caress his own. He endured for as long as he could, but after a long while, Xiao Chengjun continued to only suck and lick awkwardly at his lips. Lou Jing couldn’t take it any more. He opened his mouth and hooked Xiao Chengjun’s tongue with his own. Xiao Chengjun’s tongue still smelt of sweet milk.
However they stroked and caressed each other’s lips and tongues, Lou Jing felt that it wasn’t enough. Lou Jing thought that he might be out of his mind; he was being given a chance to go back to being a minister, to go back to being a free man, and here he was, pushing this golden opportunity away just to be with Xiao Chengjun, as if nothing else mattered in the world. His hand left the pillar and circled around Xiao Chengjun’s narrow waist, holding him close. He stroked Xiao Chengjun’s brocade-clad back slowly, pushing him gently against the pillar as he did so. He then extended a hand into the folds of his husband’s clothes.
“Mmph…” A warm slender hand slid into the space between the outer and inner robes and wandered around Xiao Chengjun’s body. Xiao Chengjun’s eyes widened. What was his Consort doing?
Lou Jing released the Crown Prince’s lips and gently bit a blushing pink ear instead. He flicked a tongue lightly over that ear, then put both hands into the Crown Prince’s robes. One hand slid around his waist, preventing him from pulling away, and the other moved up to his chest. Lou Jing’s fingers brushed lightly against the two little protrusions on Xiao Chengjun’s chest.
“Ah… nn…” Xiao Chengjun trembled, and couldn’t help moaning out loud. He realised that he’d just made an intensely embarrassing sound. He immediately pressed his lips together and rescued his ear from Lou Jing’s mouth. Xiao Chengjun bit down on Lou Jing’s neck, then reached out to unfasten Lou Jing’s belt. Lou Jing’s jade waist pendant and clasp both fell to the ground with a thud.
The two slowly slid down the pillar they were pressed up against as they ravaged each other’s mouths, and eventually fell onto the soft carpet covering the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
Carpets had been placed in Chongren Chambers at the start of autumn. In the softly flickering candlelight, two long, slender bodies intertwined on the thick carpets in the spacious hall.
Lou Jing pressed the Crown Prince down below him and pulled open his apricot-coloured inner robes with a desperate urgency, exposing the graceful lines of his honey-coloured chest. His musculature was just right, that perfectly alluring balance that was firm, toned and pleasing to the eye. Lou Jing could not resist leaning over and latching his lips onto those beautiful collarbones, leaving a deep red mark when his lips lifted from Xiao Chengjun’s skin.
Xiao Chengjun found this position very strange. He flipped his Consort over and pressed him under himself, then reached out to remove Lou Jing’s white inner robe.
Lou Jing propped himself up slightly with one arm to let the Crown Prince remove his inner robe. His other hand traced a line down from that deep red mark he had left on the Crown Prince’s collarbones, sliding down slowly to a tender pink protrusion on Xiao Chengjun’s chest. An image from that pictorial book suddenly came to mind. He bent forward and bit down gently on that little pink bean.
“Mm…” Xiao Chengjun felt his body go weak, and he collapsed into Lou Jing’s arms. He stretched out a hand to caress his Consort’s body.
Both of them were relatively young, and hadn’t ever expressed their sexual desires with anyone else before. They could only go on instinct, and they both grasped each other’s members.
“Dianxia, would it be right to say that you’ve wanted me for some time?” Lou Jing murmured, using a hand to gently massage the crown of the hard object in his hand. A barely suppressed moan escaped the Crown Prince’s lips.
Wljb Jtfcupec rtba Obe Alcu j ibbx. Llr fjgr kfgf jigfjvs ygluta gfv ys atlr qblca. Lf mjeuta tbiv bo Obe Alcu’r mtlc jcv mbnfgfv atja gbuelrt wbeat klat tlr bkc. Ca atf rjwf alwf, tf rajgafv ralweijalcu atf bgujc lc tlr tjcv.
“Zw…” Obe Alcu wbjcfv pera jr atf Jgbkc Uglcmf tjv fjgilfg. Wljb Jtfcupec tjv ifjgca rkbgvrwjcrtlq ogbw atf Swqgfrr, jcv tlr tjcv kjr rilutais mjiierfv ogbw rkbgv qgjmalmf. Ktf rfcrjalbc mjerfv ys atf revvfc lcmgfjrf lc rqffv kjr rb lcafcrf atja Obe Alcu cfjgis aglfv ab qeii jkjs. Lf gfajiljafv ys qertlcu atf Jgbkc Uglcmf vbkc, ylalcu vbkc bc tlr fjg, jcv wbnlcu tlr bkc tjcv wbgf delmxis ja atf rjwf alwf.
A youth’s first time – could it be fully described with just the word ‘ecstasy’?
After some time, they were both drenched in sweat as they lay panting on the soft carpet. Lou Jing pulled the Crown Prince into an embrace and kissed away the beads of sweat on his forehead one by one.
Xiao Chengjun breathed in that herbal, woody scent that always emanated from Lou Jing’s person, and his lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Lou Jing first let the Crown Prince use his arm as a pillow, then gently gathered him into his arms. He nuzzled against Xiao Chengjun’s lips, which still smelt of sweet milk. One of his hands crept naughtily to the front of the Crown Prince’s chest and started massaging it. “Did you secretly eat candy? Why do your lips smell so sweet?” he asked.
“Nn,” Xiao Chengjun acknowledged softly. He had eaten two pieces of milk candy earlier.
Lou Jing’s brows furrowed; he hadn’t thought that the Crown Prince would admit to it. He kissed the corners of that sweet-smelling mouth. “Why are you eating candy when you’re all grown up?” he asked.
“When I’m feeling depressed, I eat one, and then I don’t feel so down any more,” Xiao Chengjun said, looking out the window at the bright moon in the night sky. It would be the fifteenth day of the lunar month soon, and the moon was round again.
When he was a little boy, his Father Emperor told him that his mother had gone to the Moon Palace, and would always watch over him from there. He had also said that because he was the Crown Prince, he was not to cry no matter what hardships he encountered. When he felt angry or upset, he would always look at the moon, and when he was really depressed, he would eat a piece of candy. He never confided in anyone or showed anyone any weakness in his life.
Lou Jing stared at Xiao Chengjun. He had never thought that Xiao Chengjun’s habit of eating candy had such a sad history. Xiao Chengjun had started eating candy at an age when he could not have known what it really meant to be depressed, which meant that he had instinctively looked for sweetness even as a child. How unhappy must Xiao Chengjun have been then? Lou Jing felt like his heart had been pricked with a sharp needle, and couldn’t help hugging Xiao Chengjun more tightly. “Chengjun, Chengjun…” he called softly.
Xiao Chengjun let Lou Jing call out his name repeatedly. He held Lou Jing’s hand, the one that was on his chest, and a small smile appeared on his face.
That night, the Crown Prince and his Consort slept in Chongren Chambers once again.
The next morning, Lou Jing dressed his husband in his Imperial Court robes personally.
“From today onwards, we won’t be husband and wife any more,” Xiao Chengjun said in a serious voice, looking directly at Lou Jing. The edict deposing him as Crown Prince would be proclaimed today, and they would have to move out of the Eastern Palace very shortly.
Lou Jing nodded. He fastened the jade waist pendant carved with a dragon on Xiao Chengjun’s belt. This waist pendant also could not be worn in future. Lou Jing felt this was a real waste; there was no one more suited to wear this dragon pendant than his husband. He raised his head and saw that the Crown Prince was looking at him with his dark eyes. He couldn’t resist leaning forward and planting a kiss next to his ear. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Has Dianxia ever heard of the saying that ‘the concubine is better than the wife, and the mistress is better than the concubine?’ Let’s just have an illicit affair after this, then, how about that?” Lou Jing whispered cheekily.
Lou Jing’s warm breath brushed against Xiao Chengjun’s ear, bringing with it that faint herbal scent. Xiao Chengjun stared blankly into space for a moment, then pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help turning upwards slowly, and he laughed out loud.
The Court session proceeded as usual that morning. Many officials held submissions in their hands, the content of which was undoubtedly requests to impeach the Crown Prince in various forms. The Minister of the Right, Chen Shichang, looked at Xiao Chengjun, who was standing right in front. The lips hidden under his long beard curved upwards slightly. Today, he would force the Emperor’s hand, and make him depose the Crown Prince.
The “findings” from the Qinghe River scandal would not stand up to scrutiny, and the truth about the alleged “earthquake” at Taishan might be found out anytime. The Minister of the Right intended to strike while the iron was hot; once the Crown Prince’s impeachment was set in stone, no one would look into these two matters any more.
“Your Majesty, Chen has a submission to make,” Chen Shichang said, stepping forward.
“What is it, Minister?” the Chunde Emperor asked. He did not go to Luanyi Palace last night and had spent the night in Panlong Palace instead. He didn’t seem to have slept well; there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Yesterday, the Imperial Oracle Tao Miao said that the earthquake at Taishan was an ill omen sent by heaven. When Taishan is unstable, the hearts of the people are also shaken. I urge your Majesty to make a decision at the soonest,” Chen Shichang said. He only meant to open the topic for discussion. As to how the Crown Prince had questionable morals, and how his actions caused great hardship to the Qinghe refugees – he would leave this for the other ministers to bring up.
“Your Majesty, Chen also has a submission!” the Minister of Justice said, stepping forward. “The Qinghe matter has been investigated thoroughly, and we have found that it was indeed the Crown Prince’s fault…”
The Chunde Emperor raised a hand to cut him off mid-sentence. “Zhen has already made a decision. You all don’t need to say more,” he said.
Xiao Chengjun’s face was stoic as he looked at his Father Emperor on the dragon throne. He had never seen the Emperor as his father, not even when he was little. To him, the Emperor was just the Emperor, and he was one of the officials in the Emperor’s Court. That was all there was to their relationship.
Huai Zhong, who was standing next to the Emperor, took out the edict, and read it out in a loud voice. “Xiao Chengjun, the Crown Prince, was appointed to this position five years ago, but has yet to make any notable achievements. He is dull-witted, and is unable to act as the pillar of the Yu Dynasty that the Crown Prince should be. It is with great regret that the Emperor has made the decision to depose the Crown Prince…”
Other than the Minister of the Left, Zhao Duan, all the other officials in Court were struck dumb. The ones in the Minister of the Right’s camp glanced furtively at Chen Shichang, who was standing in the centre of the hall. The mighty Minister of the Right was left in the dark about something as major as this?
Chen Shichang was also stunned. He had achieved his goal, but why was it that the Emperor hadn’t discussed this decision with him before passing his edict? His instincts, honed by many years of politicking in the imperial court, immediately told him that something was wrong. As Huai Zhong read out the rest of the edict, his suspicions were confirmed, and he felt like he was going to black out.
“… the Crown Prince, Xiao Chengjun, is filial and thrifty. He will be appointed as Min Wang, and his fief shall be Minzhou in the Southeast. Qin ci.”
A Qinwang’s fief usually was only two or three counties, but Xiao Chengjun’s fief, Minzhou, was an entire prefecture! Minzhou had eight counties, and within these counties, there were forty-five townships!
“Your Majesty, Minzhou seems to be too big to be a fief,” Chen Shichang protested. His hand, which was holding on to the submission he had intended to submit, was trembling in shock. When people of the Capital spoke of the “Southeast”, they were basically referring to Minzhou. The Jingnan Hou had a presence there for generations, and putting the deposed Crown Prince there was like releasing a tiger back into the mountain.
“Minzhou is not a wealthy region. Of course I have to make the fief larger than usual,” the Chunde Emperor said, frowning. The edict had already been proclaimed. Did Chen Shichang expect him to retract it?
Xiao Chengjun lifted his robes and knelt, kowtowing to the Emperor. “Erchen accepts the Imperial edict, and thanks Father Emperor. May your Majesty live for a thousand, thousand years!” he said, enunciating every syllable clearly. He untied the dragon pendant from his waist and offered it up respectfully with two hands. After five years of trying to be the Crown Prince that this Imperial Court desired, it had finally come to this, but Xiao Chengjun suddenly felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Huai Zhong quickly took a tray and moved forward to receive the dragon jade pendant that indicated Xiao Chengjun’s status as Crown Prince. He returned to the Emperor’s side after receiving the pendant, and extended the tray to the Emperor.
The Emperor picked up the jade pendant, then sighed heavily. “The South is wet and cold. You can leave for your fief at the start of spring,” he said.
“I thank my Father Emperor for his kind consideration,” Xiao Chengjun said, kowtowing once more in thanks.
“The Crown Prince Consort will be restored as the Shizi of the Anguo Gong peerage,” the Chunde Emperor said. He paused for a moment. He had always held Lou Jing in high regard, and he felt that he was doing Lou Jing a great injustice by making him marry into the Eastern Palace and now unceremoniously sending him back. “Lou Jing will be promoted to an official of the third rank, the Left Commander-General of the Yulin Troops.”
Lou Jing was originally a fourth-ranked Deputy Commander in the Yulin Troops, and took orders from the Left Commander-General. With this edict, Lou Jing’s superior would have to give up his position to him.
The Imperial Court was adjourned. The officials were all still dumbstruck by the shock of having the Crown Prince deposed, and had yet to collect themselves. Xiao Chengjun adjusted his clothes and guan, then walked out of the Court hall in a dignified manner, ignoring all the looks directed at him.
The sky should have been bright by this time, but today, dark thunderclouds obscured the sun, and the whole Imperial Palace looked like it was smothered in a dark fog.
Xiao Chengjun walked down the jade steps alone and passed through the palace gates. He then saw a person standing on the palace road that led to the Eastern Palace, waiting quietly for him. The bleak-looking palace buildings seemed more vibrant just by having this person next to them. “Why are you here?” he asked.
Lou Jing looked at Xiao Chengjun, whose eyes were shining a little with joy. He raised a hand and pushed a piece of milk candy into Xiao Chengjun’s mouth. “Waiting for you,” he said with a tender smile.
