News of the Crown Prince made its way throughout the city and soon fell upon the current Emperor"s ears, making him spit up blood."Pei! Pei! Pei! That d.a.m.ned son of mine! How dare he go and try to touch a commoner?! Especially one who is already wed!" the Emperor exclaimed in anger, he leaned over his bed. Kneeling in front of his bed was the Third Prince, Prince Ling. He was the son of a concubine and wasn"t as loved as the legitimate children but right now, the Emperor liked him more than any one of his children that was alive, but that was only the Crown Prince. All the others had died when they were young due to the horrible schemes of the palace.
Prince Ling had developed a good reputation of himself, helping the villages and cities in need. He even went as far as correcting the misdeeds that the Crown Prince, Prince Ning, had caused.
Why couldn"t his son, the Crown Prince, be like Prince Ling?
"Imperial Father, please appease your anger and focus on your well being. This servant-Prince will go and send something as compensation to the couple for what the Crown Prince has done." Prince Ling said, he looked up slightly to look at his sickly father. He held no feelings of affection for his father but that didn"t mean he had to hate him.
The Emperor simply nodded and with a wave of his hand, dismissed the kneeling Prince before laying back down and closing his eyes to sleep.
Prince Ling organized a compensating gift of clothing made out of fabric ranking lower than silk, but better than what the commoners wore.
He got on his horse and made his way to where Xiao Jun and Yun Long were staying.
Inside the small home, Mei"er and Yue Qi had brought the twins with them to visit the couple. The twins smiled and babbled in their parents" arms.
Yifeng would grab at the mask on Yun Long"s face, making him laugh at his son"s attempts at taking it off. Liying played with the beads on Xiao Jun"s dress and tried to put them in her mouth but she was stopped, making her fussy.
"Alright~ Mother is sorry. Go ahead and eat them." Xiao Jun laughed, Mei"er laughed to the side and poked at Liying"s cheeks.
Yue Qi stood in the room, smiling, as he gazed at Mei"er. Soon, they would be able to marry each other.
There was a knock on the front gates and Yun Long handed Yifeng to Yue Qi and got up to check. Liying was placed with Mei"er and told to go in the underground s.p.a.ce for a bit.
Seeing the serious look on Xiao Jun"s face, Yue Qi obliged and together, he went underground with Mei"er and the twins.
Xiao Jun walked outside of the house and shut the doors. The first thing she saw was a eunuch handing Yun Long a scroll and then a Prince walked in.
Must be the Third Prince, Prince Ling. He"s the only Prince who is kind enough to go to a commoner"s home.
The Prince nodded his head in greeting when Xiao Jun and Yun Long bowed, "No need to be polite. Let"s go inside. You all, stay outside."
The guards nodded and stayed outside while Yun Long directed Prince Ling inside, Xiao Jun pushed the doors open and then went inside afterwards. She made them tea, listening to them converse.
"Sir, I would like to apologize on behalf of the Crown Prince"s inappropriate actions yesterday." Prince Ling said, thanking Xiao Jun for the cup of tea. He watched as she took a seat next to Yun Long, taking note of their masks as well.
"No need to apologize, your Highness. My wife is fine." Yun Long smiled, he glanced over at Xiao Jun, who in turn nodded and smiled as well.
Prince Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at the strange couple. She was alright?
"Your Highness, this is something for you." Xiao Jun took out a small note from her sleeve and handed it to him.
Reading the note, the words, one who uses violence and fear to rule shall not be son of the heavens, was written on it.
He looked up and had an expression of confusion and then realization.
"You two..You two are General Huo and Madam Feng?" he questioned, earning just a smile from the two.
Yun Long stood up and cupped his hands, bowing in front of Prince Ling like a General. "Prince Ling, it is indeed I. If I may be so bold to ask, why does the Prince have someone stationed beside the Crown Prince?"
Prince Ling recovered from his previous shock and stood up, "I have stationed someone next to the Crown Prince so I can learn of his actions, both privately and publicly. My older brother uses violent methods against the people and isn"t fit to be the future Emperor. If this continues, I"m afraid that it"ll create uprisings in the future, causing the fall of the empire."
Xiao Jun stood up, "Prince Ling, his highness, the Crown Prince, has a hobby of buying young girls and boys, putting them into the blossoming flower district."
Talking for about an hour, Prince Ling left, having gained a lot more information about what his brother was doing. He left the small chest of money and clothes before leaving.
Xiao Jun watched and turned to look at Yun Long, "Can we trust Prince Ling?" she asked, the other gave a nod, "Prince Ling has no bad intentions. He was very honestly surprised after hearing what the Crown Prince had been doing and he even has people stationed around him."