Chapter 921 Entrusted with the Care of Princess Chen
The Empress was willing to make a temporary concession for everything she wanted!
The Empress lowered her head to hide the anger in her eyes and tried to calm down. She was still kneeling, looking dignified and decent and making no complaints against Chu Liuyue, who had quarreled against her son.
“Uncle the Emperor!” Chu Liuchen stepped into the Imperial Study and saluted the Emperor.
“Have you finished the acupuncture? Do you feel better?” The Emperor was in a fury, but he inquired about Chu Liuchen with great concern as soon as he saw the latter. He observed Chu Liuchen’s face and rested a.s.sured when he saw Chu Liuchen’s better complexion.
“Thank you for your concern, Uncle the Emperor. I’m very well now!” Chu Liuchen said, “I heard that you punished the two brothers by flogging. Please spare them, Uncle the Emperor.”
There was no reluctance on his face, nor was there any intimacy toward the two princes.
“The two unfilial sons have done such a thing. How can I let them go so easily?” As soon as Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou were mentioned, the Emperor became angry. Recently, they had caused lots of trouble, which annoyed the Emperor so much.
For the Emperor, the case discussed today was not even such a big deal, but it happened to be a good chance for him to vent his anger that had been acc.u.mulated since the two princes started to make trouble again and again. Therefore, he punished them by flogging at the same time, after which he even ordered them to kneel. Both the Empress and Consort of Virtue in the harem were alerted.
However, the Emperor did not intend to spare them because of Empress and Consort of Virtue’s interceding for their sons.
The Emperor clenched his fists and suppressed the surging anger in his heart.
“Uncle the Emperor, though you’ve punished Duke Yong’s Mansion, you didn’t remove Duke Yong’s t.i.tle, which means that it is not such a serious crime. If you punish Eldest Brother and Second Brother again and again, what will the officials think? They might draw a wrong conclusion!”
Since the Emperor was silent, Chu Liuchen continued with a calm voice, “I didn’t intend to come. After all, I don’t want to get involved in this case. In addition, it’s not convenient for me to express an opinion on it, as I’ve just been recovered a little. Otherwise, the officials will be all in a muddle again!”
With his hands against the desk, the Emperor looked bitter. He knew what Chu Liuchen meant. “A wrong conclusion? Yes, they will!”
The crown prince had not been decided yet! He had always wanted to make a choice between Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou. However, he had severely punished the two princes for such a “trivial” incident today. The officials might doubt whether the two princes were the people he chose!
Including Chu Liuchen, there were four princes in total. Either the first two or the second two were the candidates of the crown prince. Many officials had been observing it in secret. It was very likely that what happened today might lead to something more serious! And then it would be even more out of control.
As for what Chu Liuchen had just said, it made the Emperor distressed. He pursed his lips tightly. “If possible, I really didn’t want to see such a scene!”
“Let the two unfilial sons go back to rest!” the Emperor said coldly.
Derong immediately answered and went out. He asked several young eunuchs to help Prince Yue and Prince Zhou up. When they were helped up, they almost fainted.
The Empress and Consort of Virtue hastened to stand up and go to comfort their sons. They ordered someone to bring cus.h.i.+ons and take the princes to get a rest.
The Empress was the last one to leave. She whispered to Derong, “Eunuch Derong, please take my grat.i.tude to Prince Chen!”
“I will pa.s.s on the message!” Derong said with a smile.
“I am very curious! How did Prince Chen persuade His Majesty to spare them? Later, I must express my greatest grat.i.tude to him! If it weren’t for Prince Chen, G.o.d knows how long the punishment will last!” the Empress said with a grateful face.
Derong shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, you’re too serious. It is also owed to His Majesty’s worry about the two princes!”
As for what Chu Liuchen said, Derong spoke no word.
As the Empress couldn’t get any information, she could only turn around and leave. “Derong is as annoying as he was! I still cannot get anything from him.”
Consort of Virtue, who was not far away from them, looked at the Empress and then left with a cold face.
She was not the Empress, so she didn’t have to keep calm and dignified in front of others like the Empress, who showed kindness to both the princes even though she hated Prince Yue in her heart. Nor was she able to do so! Now she hated Prince Zhou so much that she only wished he and the pretentious Empress would die from an incident.
“My son is the eldest. How can he not inherit the throne?”
In the Imperial Study, Chu Liuchen had already been seated when Derong came in to report. Then, he stood behind the Emperor. Derong was the only person in the study except for the uncle and nephew.
“Chen’er, who do you think is more suitable, your eldest brother or second brother?” the Emperor suddenly asked, casting a pair of examining eyes at Chu Liuchen’s face.
Derong stood still behind the broad chair the Emperor sat on, wis.h.i.+ng to keep himself out of their talk. He did not want to hear such a subject, but he had to.
None of the Empress, Prince Yue, or Prince Zhou had thought that the Emperor would want to get an answer to such a big question from Prince Chen, who they believed was the last prince to inherit the throne!
But, was it the case? Eunuch Derong, who had experienced years of ups and downs, didn’t think so.
Nothing was impossible in the Palace!
“I don’t know!” Chu Liuchen said, with his delicate lips showing a cold and emotionless smile. It seemed that he was talking about something very common that had nothing to do with him.
“Say your opinions!” The Emperor insisted on getting an answer from him.
“Uncle the Emperor, if you insist, I can only say that I can’t tell! I can’t tell who is better, Eldest Brother or Second Brother. It will be best if they can complement each other!” Chu Liuchen said bluntly. He didn’t intend to hide his opinion.
“Zhou’er might be a little impulsive, but Yue’er can take the overall situation into consideration!” The Emperor hoped to see a slight emotional fluctuation in Chu Liuchen’s face, but he was still calm.
“If Eldest Brother had considered the overall situation, the case we talked about today would not have happened! No matter how we look into it, it was a well-planned plot! Uncle the Emperor, you haven’t got any definite evidence by now, have you?”
Chu Liuchen retorted upon him with sarcasm, which gave a strike on the Emperor’s heart and made him ashamed.
Compared with Chu Liuzhou, Chu Liuyue was more likely to be the person behind the sense. After all, Chu Liuzhou was an impatient guy p.r.o.ne to make mistakes. He didn’t look like a scheming person.
However, it was just a proposition. Since the Emperor could not figure out who on earth was behind it, he punished the two sons together.
“Now that neither of them confesses, I’ll punish them both! Anyway, they have caused a lot of trouble recently!” the Emperor thought just now.
“Do you think Xin’er is better?” After hearing Chu Liuchen’s words, the Emperor didn’t want to talk about the two annoying sons anymore. He thought for a while and started to talk about his youngest son.
“Fourth Brother is good!” Chu Liuchen nodded without hesitation.
But that was not what the Emperor expected. He had never thought of choosing Chu Liuxin as the crown prince of Eastern Palace. Compared with his other sons, the youngest son was too unrestrained and had a child’s temperament. He was still a child, so he wouldn’t become sensible unless he grew older.
Chu Liuxin started to avoid meeting people since Shao Yanru’s incident happened. Not only did he refuse to go to the imperial court with various excuses, but he was also rarely seen in the Palace. If someone came across him, he always showed bashfulness and shame in his eyes.
The Emperor has recalled the memory of Shao Yanru. That was also a piece of awkward memories for him.
Therefore, every time he met his youngest son, he would feel inexplicably embarra.s.sed. It felt like he had robbed his son of a woman. When the Emperor thought that it was all Shao Yanru’s fault, he became more and more displeased with her.
“No matter how beautiful that woman is, I don’t like her! She is such a troublemaker! I shall lock her up in the Palace so that she can’t see others in the rest of her life!”
“Xin’er is not the one!” The Emperor looked at Chu Liuchen and shook his head. In fact, compared with other princes, the Emperor appreciated the one in front of him more. Although he didn’t agree with Chu Liuchen on the latter’s recommendation of his three sons, Chu Liuchen was neither anxious nor impatient. Any other prince could never compete with him on such self-restraint.
“Then it can only be Eldest Brother or Second Brother!” Chu Liuchen casually flicked the dust on his clothes. He behaved calmly and elegantly. People could sense the n.o.bility and confidence in his bones from his lazy att.i.tude. He could charm people with just a gesture without a word.
The Emperor no longer wanted to talk about the two disappointing sons. He changed the topic and became worried. “Are you sure that you can go to Nan Jiang this time?”
At first, he didn’t agree that Chu Liuchen sent the amba.s.sadors to Xu State, Nan Jiang, in person. He thought Chu Qing could deal with the problem alone. That was just a small state which could not shake his country!
“Uncle the Emperor, I have always wanted to go out on a journey. Why not take this opportunity?” Chu Liuchen said with a smile, “I used to wish to travel further, but I couldn’t because of the bad health at that time!”
Jiangzhou was the furthest place he had been by now. There he met his favorite girl. Thinking of this, Chu Liuchen couldn’t help showing a handsome smile on his face, and his eyes became gentle.
“You’ve just got married. It’s not good for your princess if you leave her now!” The Emperor understood that Chu Liuchen married Shao Wanru out of love. At this time, he couldn’t help mentioning Shao Wanru, hoping that it could change his mind. He didn’t want Chu Liuchen to take the risk, not at all.
“Zhuozhuo will visit Imperial Grandmother when she is free. She will be fine under the protection of Imperial Grandmother and you, Uncle the Emperor. I have also asked her to turn to Imperial Grandmother and Uncle the Emperor when she can’t deal with the problem herself. No one can bully my princess!” Chu Liuchen raised his head with a proud face and a pair of s.h.i.+ning eyes.
It could even be said that it was an arrogant expression. At first glance, one could tell that he was a favored prince. But the Emperor agreed to fulfill his expectation. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Yes, yes! No one can bully your princess. You can rest a.s.sured to go. I will take care of her!”