Accepting the neighbouring prince as a hostage was one thing whereas giving him the title of a prince was another. At this moment, in the court where all officials would usually have different opinions, today, shared the same thought.
'The crown prince was too impulsive this time.'
"Your highness, please think about the consequences."
"Your highness, it's too soon for you to make such a decision."
"That prince could be a spy sent here with ill intentions, I suggest your majesty to be cautious."
"This loyal subject just wishes for the safety of your highness."
"That dog's mother is not so simple-minded, I'm afraid she is already plotting something against your highness."
"This subject dares to ask your highness to take back his verdict."
"Your highness, please think carefully."
"Stop!!" The crown prince exclaimed in anger, his eyes glinting with a murderous aura. "This is my kingdom, my court, and my decision!! Who in here dares to question my decision, come forth!!"
The whole court was quiet, everyone holding in their breaths and gulping back the words they had previously wanted to say.
"Do you no longer have faith in me?! Am I just a figurehead here?! Speak if you dare!!" The crown prince yelled in anger, "caution? Spy? Are you sure that good-for-nothing prince is the one I should fear or is it the people inside this court who dare question me and criticize me so openly?! One can already guess what you all have to say behind my back. Have you all forgotten who I am?..... Speak!!"
Everybody bowed down their heads and kneeled down on the floor immediately.
"Fine then!! Since all of you want me to be cautious, I'll listen to your suggestions. I'd be investigating each and every minister present here and I'd also be investigating every servant and officer working in the royal palace!! And in case I find a spy or a traitor, be ready to be beheaded with your whole family. The court is now dismissed, you may all leave. Stay inside your manors and rest well, do not even dare try to run away cause if you do, I won't be showing you any mercy."
"Your highness please forgive us for our rude b-behavior. This subject has greatly offended you and deserves to be punished." One of the ministers spoke up, his voice shaking from fear.
"If you know what you had done wrong, I suggest you wait patiently for your punishment." The crown prince replied coldly, "If a minister had done wrong, l, as the crown prince would surely not be biased." His right eye twitched in anger as he spoke, "Now get lost!! All of you!!"
The officials who had previously stood inside the court arguing so confidently were now scurrying off in fear, like a dog, they tucked their tails between their legs and ran back to their respective manors at once.
Inside the courtroom, the crown prince held his head with his right hand and gently massaged it to relieve his growing headache. A man in iron armor arrived only a few moments ago and had been standing by his side silently, having witnessed the whole commotion. This was the same soldier who had previously escorted Taehyung to the peach blossom manor.
"Send the order. This court needs to be disinfected thoroughly. How dare they still look down on me without cleaning their own backyards."
*clean up your own
backyard before barging
into someone else's.
Basically meaning to
make sure one is
perfect before pointing
at others.
"Yes, your highness." The man bowed down in respect without any further questions.
"Hyun, no need to be so formal when it's just us," Yoongi spoke softly with a slight smile, his headache seeming to decrease.
"The young prince was safely escorted to the peach blossom manor. There had been no problems on the way."
"That's good. But.... Did he like it?"
"Huh?" The young man looked up in shock, questioning if he had heard something wrong.
"Did he like it? The manor? Did the new prince like it?" Yoongi casually asked again not realizing how one could misinterpret his words. Anyone who heard him would think they're dreaming. For the ice-cold crown prince to show such interest in a hostage was far beyond their normal comprehension.
"Ah! The prince seemed pleased with its beauty. It was personally arranged by your highness, who would dare dislike it?"
"What about the man beside the prince?"
"The attendant is also no different. I'm sure he liked it as well." The soldier replied with enthusiasm.
"You idiot, I'm asking you if he did anything suspicious." The crown prince responded.
"Oh! That! Umm... No. Till now I have yet to find anything out of the ordinary but....." The man's face was flushed red with embarrassment.
"But?" Yoongi questioned, abandoning his amused expression and becoming serious.
"I don't think it is anything worth reporting but the attendant secretly sent a letter back to their kingdom."
"A letter? Did you see the contents?"
"It was nothing special...." the young man named Hyun avoided eye contact with Yoongi as his cheeks got more red, "He just reported back the events that occurred...... In a slight lewd way."
"Lewd way? What do you mean?" Yoongi stretched his arms and asked, "you have nothing to hide from me, Hyun."
"Umm.... This might sound infuriating to your highness. He wrote that your highness was out to get their innocent prince and was ready to eat him up at any chance, looking at him like a wolf in heat and was planning on making him your concubine." Hyun closed his eyes and said in a single breath, fearing of what would be Yoongi's reaction.
A moment of silence.
He slightly opened his eyes to peek at the facial expression of the crown prince only to realize that it was hidden behind that all too familiar veil. There was visibly no movement from the crown prince, as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Ha....... I'm clearly giving him the peach blossom manor. How can my intentions be misunderstood like that? Do concubines get to live in such a place?" The crown prince stood up and walked away after responding.
"Absolutely right. How can they think that you'd take him as your........... Wait.......... Your Highness!!" Realization hit him late as he recalled what the crown prince had just said.
'The peach blossom manor was made for the future royal consort. By saying it was gifted.... Doesn't it mean the attendant's guesses were correct?!'
Hyun quickly followed after the crown prince like a lost puppy.
"Your highness, what are you planning? Did you really take that kind of an interest in-"
"Shhhh~" Yoongi cut him off, "some questions should not be voiced out so casually."
"...." Hyun forcefully gulped down the curiosity he felt, his face clearly showing an expression of fear and shock.
"Hehehe..." Yoongi chuckled, "I was just joking."
"Ha... Your jokes are certainly....." Hyun forced a smile as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Collect all the dirt on those officials and call back the two generals from the frontier to report."
"Understood, your highness."
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The next morning, Shao Lan woke up to a near heart attack as the young prince Taehyung went missing.
At times like this, he wished he could curse at the young master for making him lose his hair like this*.
*A person is said to
lose his hair due to worry
It was eight in the morning when a certain missing prince was leisurely strolling down the local market, happily humming a melody one could not distinguish the origin of. His eyes seemed to have an excited glint in them as he glanced at the roadside stalls.
"Young master, come look at these exquisite hairpins we have." A shopkeeper spoke, wanting to grab Taehyung's attention. "For such a handsome man like yourself, I'm sure the ladies would be happy to receive such a gift. Why not buy it for your lover?"
"Ah! These look good." Taehyung responded with joy, picking up the hairpin that caught his attention; a silver-colored hairpin with a simple flower design on the side and beads hanging from the petals like water droplets. A seemingly simple yet beautiful design.
"Ah! Excellent choice young master! This hairpin was crafted by a well-known artisan and is a one-of-a-kind special piece that you can't find anywhere else. It's a priceless treasure one can only come across once in their life. The price may be a bit high but it's definitely worth it. I'm sure this young master can afford it for your lover. One should never count money when gifting."
Taehyung chuckled as he heard this, knowing full well the sale tactics this man was trying to pull. If the hairpin costs a silver coin, the man would automatically try to sell it for a gold coin when he comes across a rich buyer. This was an ordinary scam that took place here on a daily basis and in all honesty, Taehyung himself had once been a victim of such a scam when he bought a 'one of a kind' lamp for 10 gold pieces, only to realize later that the lamp had been a mass-produced low-quality famous design and had originally only cost a few silver coins.
"How much are we talking about?"
"Only 5 gold coins but since I have taken a liking to this young master, I'd sell it for only 3."
"3 gold coins? Isn't that too high? Are you selling a horse or a hairpin?" Taehyung voiced out his dissatisfaction openly, embarrassing the shopkeeper.
"I'll buy it!" The shopkeeper was going to defend himself but was cut off by a sudden deep voice.
The newcomer caught the attention of both the shopkeeper and Taehyung alike, both for different reasons.
"Ah! It's you.......?" Taehyung blurted out as he saw the familiar straw hat.
"I'll buy it. 3 gold coins, right?" The man spoke up again, waking up the shocked shopkeeper.
"Ah! Yes! Yes! Here you go, young lord." The shopkeeper covered up his facial expressions with a business smile, "This lord certainly has a good eye for treasures."
Bullshit, the shopkeeper himself knew the true worth of the hairpin and was laughing at this fool who had been conned by him. 'dressed so simply. This monk is certainly foolish. Who'd buy such a cheap hairpin for 3 gold coins.' The man felt a bit bad about scamming the poor guy but business was still business.
The so-called foolish man had his head down the whole time, his straw hat hiding away the top part of his face. Although dressed in such ordinary garments, he still exuded a powerful elite aura, making most people guess his occupation to be a monk.
"Brother, even if you have the money, don't be fooled so easily." Taehyung spoke up, "By doing this you are only supporting these scams."
"Here you go," The man took out a pouch and paid the shopkeeper a sum of 3 gold coins, not paying any attention to what Taehyung had to say.
He took the hairpin and walked away calmly as if he was a true monk, devoid of the world.
"Hey!!" Taehyung ran after him in a hurry, "wait for me!"
"Hmm.... Why?"
"What do you mean why? I'm the one who's supposed to be asking that. Why are you here? Why did you buy that?"
"Should I need permission to take a stroll in my own land?" Yoongi responded in a casual manner.
"Ah! Crown prince~ you haven't changed a bit." Taehyung chuckled in delight.
"But it seems you've learned how to act formal now?" Yoongi replied back in an amused tone.
"What formal? Are you talking about yesterday in the court? Well, I'm not the only one, your highness certainly outperformed me yesterday. Even I was forced to believe that we were strangers."
"I did not act. Are we not strangers?"
"What?! Your words hurt me, your highness. Are we not friends?"
"I never agreed to be your friend."
"Ah, right! We aren't friends, we're sworn brothers." Taehyung exclaimed.
"I'm not your brother either," Yoongi replied harshly.
Truth be told, they were neither friends nor brothers. They were briefly acquainted in the past when they were still children, nothing more nothing less.
"But I'm curious about something."
"What is it?" Taehyung asked.
"Who's the man that came with you?"
"Shao Lan? He's my personal attendant."
"Since when?" Yoongi asked sharply
"Since........aye~ why do you wanna know? Is your highness jealous by any chance?" Taehyung teased the crown prince.
"Just answer the question." Yoongi looked away, unamused.
"Not long. He was sent here with me. That's when I met him as well." Taehyung answered seriously, "but there's no need to be jealous, rest assured, I'm not interested in him at all."
And....the short-lived seriousness was gone.
"Tch~ bothersome." Yoongi walked ahead, "You should keep an eye on him," He warned before leaving.
Taehyung was about to turn back and leave as well when he heard Yoongi speak up again, "here. For you."
He caught the thing thrown at him, it was the overpriced hairpin.
'and you say we are just acquaintances... Tch~'
Taehyung chuckled to himself, clutching onto the silver hairpin.