Ying Wang actually doesn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, especially after getting involved in Tian Ruidong's matter last time. Now, whenever he sees people arguing, he just wants to walk away.
He initially planned to do the same today, but after hearing Jiamin Junzhu's angry voice, he had to turn back. His mother intended to win over Princess Shunan, and if news of him turning away today reached Princess Shunan's ears, it would be very unfavorable for him. Jiamin Junzhu, his cousin, was direct in speech, careless in actions, and had a bad temper. It was troublesome whenever she got into trouble or when someone offended her.
Walking out from behind the door, Ying Wang frowned when he saw that it was Hua Liuli who was being cornered by Jiamin Junzhu, "Jiamin Junzhu, Hua Xianzhu has a weak constitution, and it's windy here. If you have something to say, find a sheltered place and talk slowly."
This statement wasn't meant to accuse Jiamin Junzhu of bullying Hua Liuli, but Jiamin Junzhu was somewhat unhappy, "She came over by herself; it's not like I asked her out."
With Jiamin Junzhu mocking him, Ying Wang's expression darkened, especially with other people present. He couldn't tolerate someone of lower status having opinions about him. "Jiamin Junzhu!"
Seeing Ying Wang getting angry, although Jiamin Junzhu felt resentful, she didn't dare to say anything more. She turned her head and glared at Hua Liuli with hatred. She couldn't understand why men liked to protect women who appeared gentle and weak but had many hidden motives.
Receiving Jiamin Junzhu's angry glare, Hua Liuli blossomed an innocent and naive smile.
"Your Highness, Junzhu, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave," Although she didn't like these two people very much, Hua Liuli felt that they were a good match. This way, they wouldn't go out and cause trouble for others.
They were simply a perfect match, destined by heaven and earth.
"Xianzhu, why did you only bring one maid with you?" Ying Wang looked at Hua Liuli's fair cheeks and slender waist, worrying that she might encounter problems on her way back. If something happened to her and the Emperor's people investigated, it would be problematic as he was seen with Jiamin Junzhu before the incident.
"No need, Shoukang Palace is not far from here," Hua Liuli really didn't want to disturb them, to separate these two perfectly matched people. Her conscience wouldn't allow it.
"Xianzhu is staying temporarily in the palace, as a guest of our royal family, I..."
"Then let Benwang accompany her."
The three of them turned their heads together and saw the Crown Prince sitting on a sedan chair. The winter sunlight shone on his cloak embroidered with golden threads, making him appear radiant.
The eunuchs put down the sedan chair, and the Crown Prince stepped down slowly, walking towards the three of them. His gaze briefly passed over Jiamin Junzhu, who was saluting him, and he said to Hua Liuli, "Come."
Hua Liuli respectfully saluted and followed behind him. When they reached the side of the sedan chair, the Crown Prince stopped and looked at Hua Liuli.
Hua Liuli blinked.
"Forget it," the Crown Prince sighed, "Benwang is five years older than you, so Benwang will give you the sedan chair to sit in."
"How can that be?" Hua Liuli shook her head in refusal. "Your Royal Highness, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't sit in the sedan chair while you walk."
The Crown Prince chuckled lightly, "What Benwang meant was for you to sit first and wait for another sedan chair to be brought over by the eunuchs."
"In that case, thank you, Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli smiled with curved eyebrows and sat down on the sedan chair. There was a faint fragrance on the sedan chair; she looked up at the tall and upright Crown Prince, recalling some memories from her childhood.
When she was young and reluctant to take medicine, her mother would mention the Crown Prince who had given her a wooden horse. She would say that he used to be very sick as a child and had to drink ten bowls of bitter medicine every day to improve his health.
"Then what happened?" she, young and naive, would ask.
"Then his illness gradually improved," her mother would hold her down and make her swallow the bitter medicine, then give her a piece of candy, "He is not only intelligent and studious but also skilled in archery and swordsmanship."
In her tender childhood, she truly believed that there was a pitiful little boy in the imperial family who drank ten bowls of medicine every day and studied, wrote, and practiced swordsmanship, all for the sake of improving his health. So she sympathized with him deeply in her heart and carefully kept the wooden horse he had sent.
Compared to this pitiful boy, she, who only drank one bowl of medicine a day, was indeed very lucky.
But as she grew older, and no longer needed to drink the bitter medicine, she understood that a child couldn't possibly drink ten bowls of medicine every day. The Crown Prince, as the second most noble person in the world, couldn't be the pitiful little boy she had imagined.
Adults shouldn't casually lie to children, who tend to believe everything they're told.
Seeing the Crown Prince giving up his seat on the sedan chair for Hua Liuli, Jiamin Junzhu rolled her eyes inwardly. These men were truly blind, falling for such tricks.
Not long after, a few eunuchs carrying the sedan chair hurriedly approached. Hua Liuli stood up from the sedan chair, "Thank you, Your Royal Highness."
The Crown Prince lazily sat back on his own sedan chair and said to Hua Liuli, "Let's go, Benwang will accompany you back."
Hua Liuli stayed in the palace for ten days. Although she wanted to leave the palace, she understood that she couldn't do so until the culprit was found by the Ministry of Justice.
This was not the imperial family making things difficult for her; instead, it was them intentionally giving face to the Hua family.
But... life in the palace was truly miserable.
Seeing the Crown Prince leave on his sedan, Ying Wang's face grew cold as he sneered, "As the Crown Prince, he only knows how to indulge in luxury."
It's just a few steps away, yet he insists on taking a sedan chair, clearly deliberately showing off in front of his brothers.
"Don't worry, Your Highness," Knowing that she had displeased Ying Wang earlier, Jiamin Junzhu tried to please him now, "The closer the Crown Prince gets to Hua Xianzhu, the more disadvantageous it is for him."
Ying Wang remained silent for a moment and then smiled, "You're right."
As an Emperor, the Father Emperor could not tolerate the Crown Prince getting too close to the Hua family. The Hua family holds hundreds of thousands of troops in their hands, and any prince with a close relationship with the Hua family would arouse the suspicions of the Father Emperor, especially the Crown Prince.
A Crown Prince who lost the Emperor's favor was like a toothless tiger, no longer posing any threat.
...
"Zhen heard that you let Hua Liuli sit in the sedan chair yesterday?" In the study room, Emperor Changlong put aside the documents he had reviewed and saw the Crown Prince leisurely drinking tea and eating snacks. He couldn't help but say, "Yuansu, Zhen asked you to come here to learn how to govern, not to come here and drink tea and be lazy."
"Father Emperor, you are still young."
"What does that mean?"
"So Father Emperor shouldn't expect too much from your child, Erchen is still young."
"Young?!" Emperor Changlong threw a document in front of the Crown Prince, "Someone from the imperial clan submitted this document, asking me to strip Yingting of his military power. What do you think?"
"Father Emperor already called General Hua Yingting by his name, so why should Erchen bother looking at this?" The Crown Prince glanced at the documents, not even bothering to flip through them, "Take back the military power and hand it over to these imperial family members to manage?"
"These people can't be relied upon for real matters, they're only good at daydreaming." The Crown Prince pushed the document away from himself, "Instead of making Erchen look at these, it's better to let Erchen go to Shoukang Palace and talk to the Empress Dowager for a while."
"You spoiled child!" Emperor Changlong couldn't help but laugh at the Crown Prince. Amongst his five sons, the Crown Prince was the most intelligent and the one who pleased him the most. But this child, no matter how good he was, was spoiled by him. He had lived in the palace since he was young, yet he had no sense of palace intrigue.
Unlike when he was young, he had racked his brains and gone to great lengths to inherit the throne.
The other princes respected and kept a distance from the Hua family, but only the Crown Prince acted according to his own preferences, recklessly.
"Well, it was Father Emperor who spoiled Erchen," The Crown Prince lazily raised his eyelids, "Since Father Emperor insists on having Erchen express Erchen's opinion, then Erchen can only say that more than half of these memorials are nonsense. The whole Great Jin prospered under Father Emperor's governance and since there can't be major events happening every day, these people write memorials even duller than dragon farts, which indicates a problem with their own abilities."
Emperor Changlong: "..."
Alright, it was his own son, whom he had spoiled rotten, what could he do? He could only pretend not to see it.
"Father Emperor, you mentioned that girl from the Hua family just now, and Erchen remembered something," The Crown Prince looked up at Emperor Changlong, "Father Emperor wanted to grant the title of Duke to the Great General, but he refused. How about raising the status of his daughter?"
Emperor Changlong had intended to grant Hua Yingting the title of Duke, but he refused, so Emperor Changlong had no choice but to confer him as Marquis Zhongyong and appoint his eldest son as the heir. As for the other two sons of the Hua family, Emperor Changlong also wanted to find an opportunity to grant them some titles.
Since ancient times, famous generals meet wise rulers. Emperor Changlong felt that Hua Yingting was a rare general in a hundred years, while he himself was a wise ruler in a thousand years.
"It seems that you really like that girl from the Hua family," Emperor Changlong pondered, "Could it be..."
"Father Emperor, please don't overthink," Seeing Emperor Changlong's expression, the Crown Prince knew he had misunderstood, "That little girl is the daughter of the Great General, she's cute, so it's inevitable for Erchen to be close to her. But in Erchen's heart, Erchen only sees her as a younger sister. How can an older brother have romantic feelings for his younger sister? Erchen is not a beast."
"Then, let's go with your opinion and give her a title."
"Not just a title, but also a rank."
"Then..."
"Erchen has a good title here, what do you think of 'Fushou'1It means Blessed Longevity?"
"It's a bit tacky," Emperor Changlong frowned, not too satisfied with this title.
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "A humble name is easy to maintain and brings good fortune and long life. It's auspicious, so it's fine if it's a bit tacky."
The Crown Prince, who usually didn't like to handle matters, unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction in granting titles and ranks to Hua Liuli.
Could this be the joy of giving?
Choosing a title was not the same as choosing a name, so why mention a humble name that was easy to maintain? But thinking about Hua Liuli's delicate health, the words "Blessed Longevity" were actually quite suitable for her, so Emperor Changlong reluctantly nodded, "Fine."
Since his son treated her as a younger sister, it was more or less like having an adopted daughter for himself.
That would be it then.
"Hiss," Hua Liuli suddenly covered her left eye, "My eyelid is twitching so fast."
"Is it the left eye or the right eye?" Yuan Yi asked excitedly, handing a hot towel to Hua Liuli.
"The left eye," Hua Liuli put the towel on her eyes and lay back on the bed, not moving.
"Twitching in the left eye is a good sign," Yuan Yi smiled, "Xianzhu, something good is definitely going to happen."
Hua Liuli pulled the towel off her face and sat up, looking expressionless at Yuan Yi, "Last time you said the same thing, my mother found out that I secretly read novels, and then I was punished to copy books for a month."
Yuan Yi whispered, "That's because the book you secretly read was called 'The Domineering General and the Charming Lady's Extraordinary Romance'."
Hua Liuli: "..."
That book always described the general's wife smiling through tears and weeping with a covered face, completely the opposite of her mother's character. How was she supposed to know that it was making up stories about her parents?
Krish728
Author's note:
Crown Prince: Actually, I am a kind of monster.
Hua Liulì: What kind of monster?
Crown Prince: A beastly monster.
Ying Wang actually doesn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, especially after getting involved in Tian Ruidong's matter last time. Now, whenever he sees people arguing, he just wants to walk away.
He initially planned to do the same today, but after hearing Jiamin Junzhu's angry voice, he had to turn back. His mother intended to win over Princess Shunan, and if news of him turning away today reached Princess Shunan's ears, it would be very unfavorable for him. Jiamin Junzhu, his cousin, was direct in speech, careless in actions, and had a bad temper. It was troublesome whenever she got into trouble or when someone offended her.
Walking out from behind the door, Ying Wang frowned when he saw that it was Hua Liuli who was being cornered by Jiamin Junzhu, "Jiamin Junzhu, Hua Xianzhu has a weak constitution, and it's windy here. If you have something to say, find a sheltered place and talk slowly."
This statement wasn't meant to accuse Jiamin Junzhu of bullying Hua Liuli, but Jiamin Junzhu was somewhat unhappy, "She came over by herself; it's not like I asked her out."
With Jiamin Junzhu mocking him, Ying Wang's expression darkened, especially with other people present. He couldn't tolerate someone of lower status having opinions about him. "Jiamin Junzhu!"
Seeing Ying Wang getting angry, although Jiamin Junzhu felt resentful, she didn't dare to say anything more. She turned her head and glared at Hua Liuli with hatred. She couldn't understand why men liked to protect women who appeared gentle and weak but had many hidden motives.
Receiving Jiamin Junzhu's angry glare, Hua Liuli blossomed an innocent and naive smile.
"Your Highness, Junzhu, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave," Although she didn't like these two people very much, Hua Liuli felt that they were a good match. This way, they wouldn't go out and cause trouble for others.
They were simply a perfect match, destined by heaven and earth.
"Xianzhu, why did you only bring one maid with you?" Ying Wang looked at Hua Liuli's fair cheeks and slender waist, worrying that she might encounter problems on her way back. If something happened to her and the Emperor's people investigated, it would be problematic as he was seen with Jiamin Junzhu before the incident.
"No need, Shoukang Palace is not far from here," Hua Liuli really didn't want to disturb them, to separate these two perfectly matched people. Her conscience wouldn't allow it.
"Xianzhu is staying temporarily in the palace, as a guest of our royal family, I..."
"Then let Benwang accompany her."
The three of them turned their heads together and saw the Crown Prince sitting on a sedan chair. The winter sunlight shone on his cloak embroidered with golden threads, making him appear radiant.
The eunuchs put down the sedan chair, and the Crown Prince stepped down slowly, walking towards the three of them. His gaze briefly passed over Jiamin Junzhu, who was saluting him, and he said to Hua Liuli, "Come."
Hua Liuli respectfully saluted and followed behind him. When they reached the side of the sedan chair, the Crown Prince stopped and looked at Hua Liuli.
Hua Liuli blinked.
"Forget it," the Crown Prince sighed, "Benwang is five years older than you, so Benwang will give you the sedan chair to sit in."
"How can that be?" Hua Liuli shook her head in refusal. "Your Royal Highness, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't sit in the sedan chair while you walk."
The Crown Prince chuckled lightly, "What Benwang meant was for you to sit first and wait for another sedan chair to be brought over by the eunuchs."
"In that case, thank you, Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli smiled with curved eyebrows and sat down on the sedan chair. There was a faint fragrance on the sedan chair; she looked up at the tall and upright Crown Prince, recalling some memories from her childhood.
When she was young and reluctant to take medicine, her mother would mention the Crown Prince who had given her a wooden horse. She would say that he used to be very sick as a child and had to drink ten bowls of bitter medicine every day to improve his health.
"Then what happened?" she, young and naive, would ask.
"Then his illness gradually improved," her mother would hold her down and make her swallow the bitter medicine, then give her a piece of candy, "He is not only intelligent and studious but also skilled in archery and swordsmanship."
In her tender childhood, she truly believed that there was a pitiful little boy in the imperial family who drank ten bowls of medicine every day and studied, wrote, and practiced swordsmanship, all for the sake of improving his health. So she sympathized with him deeply in her heart and carefully kept the wooden horse he had sent.
Compared to this pitiful boy, she, who only drank one bowl of medicine a day, was indeed very lucky.
But as she grew older, and no longer needed to drink the bitter medicine, she understood that a child couldn't possibly drink ten bowls of medicine every day. The Crown Prince, as the second most noble person in the world, couldn't be the pitiful little boy she had imagined.
Adults shouldn't casually lie to children, who tend to believe everything they're told.
Seeing the Crown Prince giving up his seat on the sedan chair for Hua Liuli, Jiamin Junzhu rolled her eyes inwardly. These men were truly blind, falling for such tricks.
Not long after, a few eunuchs carrying the sedan chair hurriedly approached. Hua Liuli stood up from the sedan chair, "Thank you, Your Royal Highness."
The Crown Prince lazily sat back on his own sedan chair and said to Hua Liuli, "Let's go, Benwang will accompany you back."
Hua Liuli stayed in the palace for ten days. Although she wanted to leave the palace, she understood that she couldn't do so until the culprit was found by the Ministry of Justice.
This was not the imperial family making things difficult for her; instead, it was them intentionally giving face to the Hua family.
But... life in the palace was truly miserable.
Seeing the Crown Prince leave on his sedan, Ying Wang's face grew cold as he sneered, "As the Crown Prince, he only knows how to indulge in luxury."
It's just a few steps away, yet he insists on taking a sedan chair, clearly deliberately showing off in front of his brothers.
"Don't worry, Your Highness," Knowing that she had displeased Ying Wang earlier, Jiamin Junzhu tried to please him now, "The closer the Crown Prince gets to Hua Xianzhu, the more disadvantageous it is for him."
Ying Wang remained silent for a moment and then smiled, "You're right."
As an Emperor, the Father Emperor could not tolerate the Crown Prince getting too close to the Hua family. The Hua family holds hundreds of thousands of troops in their hands, and any prince with a close relationship with the Hua family would arouse the suspicions of the Father Emperor, especially the Crown Prince.
A Crown Prince who lost the Emperor's favor was like a toothless tiger, no longer posing any threat.
...
"Zhen heard that you let Hua Liuli sit in the sedan chair yesterday?" In the study room, Emperor Changlong put aside the documents he had reviewed and saw the Crown Prince leisurely drinking tea and eating snacks. He couldn't help but say, "Yuansu, Zhen asked you to come here to learn how to govern, not to come here and drink tea and be lazy."
"Father Emperor, you are still young."
"What does that mean?"
"So Father Emperor shouldn't expect too much from your child, Erchen is still young."
"Young?!" Emperor Changlong threw a document in front of the Crown Prince, "Someone from the imperial clan submitted this document, asking me to strip Yingting of his military power. What do you think?"
"Father Emperor already called General Hua Yingting by his name, so why should Erchen bother looking at this?" The Crown Prince glanced at the documents, not even bothering to flip through them, "Take back the military power and hand it over to these imperial family members to manage?"
"These people can't be relied upon for real matters, they're only good at daydreaming." The Crown Prince pushed the document away from himself, "Instead of making Erchen look at these, it's better to let Erchen go to Shoukang Palace and talk to the Empress Dowager for a while."
"You spoiled child!" Emperor Changlong couldn't help but laugh at the Crown Prince. Amongst his five sons, the Crown Prince was the most intelligent and the one who pleased him the most. But this child, no matter how good he was, was spoiled by him. He had lived in the palace since he was young, yet he had no sense of palace intrigue.
Unlike when he was young, he had racked his brains and gone to great lengths to inherit the throne.
The other princes respected and kept a distance from the Hua family, but only the Crown Prince acted according to his own preferences, recklessly.
"Well, it was Father Emperor who spoiled Erchen," The Crown Prince lazily raised his eyelids, "Since Father Emperor insists on having Erchen express Erchen's opinion, then Erchen can only say that more than half of these memorials are nonsense. The whole Great Jin prospered under Father Emperor's governance and since there can't be major events happening every day, these people write memorials even duller than dragon farts, which indicates a problem with their own abilities."
Emperor Changlong: "..."
Alright, it was his own son, whom he had spoiled rotten, what could he do? He could only pretend not to see it.
"Father Emperor, you mentioned that girl from the Hua family just now, and Erchen remembered something," The Crown Prince looked up at Emperor Changlong, "Father Emperor wanted to grant the title of Duke to the Great General, but he refused. How about raising the status of his daughter?"
Emperor Changlong had intended to grant Hua Yingting the title of Duke, but he refused, so Emperor Changlong had no choice but to confer him as Marquis Zhongyong and appoint his eldest son as the heir. As for the other two sons of the Hua family, Emperor Changlong also wanted to find an opportunity to grant them some titles.
Since ancient times, famous generals meet wise rulers. Emperor Changlong felt that Hua Yingting was a rare general in a hundred years, while he himself was a wise ruler in a thousand years.
"It seems that you really like that girl from the Hua family," Emperor Changlong pondered, "Could it be..."
"Father Emperor, please don't overthink," Seeing Emperor Changlong's expression, the Crown Prince knew he had misunderstood, "That little girl is the daughter of the Great General, she's cute, so it's inevitable for Erchen to be close to her. But in Erchen's heart, Erchen only sees her as a younger sister. How can an older brother have romantic feelings for his younger sister? Erchen is not a beast."
"Then, let's go with your opinion and give her a title."
"Not just a title, but also a rank."
"Then..."
"Erchen has a good title here, what do you think of 'Fushou'1It means Blessed Longevity?"
"It's a bit tacky," Emperor Changlong frowned, not too satisfied with this title.
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "A humble name is easy to maintain and brings good fortune and long life. It's auspicious, so it's fine if it's a bit tacky."
The Crown Prince, who usually didn't like to handle matters, unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction in granting titles and ranks to Hua Liuli.
Could this be the joy of giving?
Choosing a title was not the same as choosing a name, so why mention a humble name that was easy to maintain? But thinking about Hua Liuli's delicate health, the words "Blessed Longevity" were actually quite suitable for her, so Emperor Changlong reluctantly nodded, "Fine."
Since his son treated her as a younger sister, it was more or less like having an adopted daughter for himself.
That would be it then.
"Hiss," Hua Liuli suddenly covered her left eye, "My eyelid is twitching so fast."
"Is it the left eye or the right eye?" Yuan Yi asked excitedly, handing a hot towel to Hua Liuli.
"The left eye," Hua Liuli put the towel on her eyes and lay back on the bed, not moving.
"Twitching in the left eye is a good sign," Yuan Yi smiled, "Xianzhu, something good is definitely going to happen."
Hua Liuli pulled the towel off her face and sat up, looking expressionless at Yuan Yi, "Last time you said the same thing, my mother found out that I secretly read novels, and then I was punished to copy books for a month."
Yuan Yi whispered, "That's because the book you secretly read was called 'The Domineering General and the Charming Lady's Extraordinary Romance'."
Hua Liuli: "..."
That book always described the general's wife smiling through tears and weeping with a covered face, completely the opposite of her mother's character. How was she supposed to know that it was making up stories about her parents?
Krish728
Author's note:
Crown Prince: Actually, I am a kind of monster.
Hua Liulì: What kind of monster?
Crown Prince: A beastly monster.
