Chapter 28: Reminder

Emperor Jingwen always remembered that he had been too cold to the imperial concubine and her son. Now that the Duke of Zhen had settled down temporarily, he slowly felt guilty and wanted to make amends.

If it had been before, he would have asked the eunuchs around him to inquire and say hello. Why would he have made this trip in person?

It had been a long time since they last met, and Emperor Jingwen thought that the imperial concubine and her son would be very happy to see him, so he blurted out, “I don’t know how that little bastard is doing lately.”

After receiving the order, Wang Ziquan, who was preparing the sedan chair, was startled when he heard this and could not help but secretly glance at the emperor.

The little prince had just played a trick on the emperor. Logically, the emperor should be very disgusted with the little prince. Why did he ask about the little prince’s recent situation so casually?

However, the emperor still seems unaware of it, which is really strange.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Emperor Jingwen was worthy of being an emperor, he noticed it in an instant.

Wang Ziquan was shocked, but fortunately he reacted in time, so he smiled and said, “I was just thinking that the little prince will be happy to see the emperor later.”

“Of course.” Two months later, Emperor Jingwen had already found a reason for his son in his mind.

The reason why the little bastard behaved like that might be because he had been neglected for too long. Isn’t it said that a child who is not paid attention by his father will try every possible means to attract his father’s attention?

Wang Ziquan was used to reading people’s faces, and immediately followed the emperor’s words and said, “Since the little prince has worked so hard in his studies, why doesn’t Your Majesty consider giving him something as a reward? I’m sure the little prince will like whatever Your Majesty gives him.”

Emperor Jingwen thought about it and agreed.

It’s rare that my youngest son is so motivated, so naturally I should give him a small reward.

“Go and ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to fetch two Hu brushes.” If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. Although the youngest son has not formally started to learn calligraphy yet, it is always a good idea to prepare it early.

[T/L = Hu brushes are made with fine horse hairs which is good for scholars as these brushes doesn’t impair easily.]

Emperor Jingwen led his men and walked towards Qiuwu Palace quite easily.

Result……

What is the result? ?

As soon as he approached, Emperor Jingwen heard some unusual movements inside. It seemed that Qiuwu Palace was very lively.

At first, Emperor Jingwen felt a little relieved to hear the laughter of a woman who was different from the imperial concubine.

It would be perfect if the harem could always maintain friendship and harmony.

It was not until Emperor Jingwen quickened his pace and stepped into it quickly that he was caught off guard and saw the following scene –

In the bright afternoon sunshine, my youngest son, who I hadn’t seen for two months, was standing on a stone pier in the yard. From time to time, he was yelling something, while his hands were waving in the air. His hands, which had never held a brush, were now struggling to hold a pile of paper. Judging from the complex patterns on the paper, it was… mahjong tiles???

The little kid, who can barely hold chopsticks for eating and have never touched a brush to write, is already playing mahjong cards with great skill.

From the looks of it, he even seems very skilled.

Looking at the people sitting opposite him, who else could it be but his three concubines?

Emperor Jingwen remembered from afar that these three people were extremely low-key in their daily lives, and their clothes were extremely plain, so they were always quite inconspicuous when seen in the crowd.

Now, everyone has a rosy face and a smile on their face.

But the long strip of paper on their face is really an eyesore.

Emperor Jingwen finally came here, and he saw that his son had prepared such a big “surprise” for him.

Emperor Jingwen only felt a loud bang, and a surge of hot blood rushed to his forehead. By the time he reacted, he had already shouted loudly: “What are you doing!”

This voice sounds familiar…

Emperor Jingwen watched his son turn around and think for a while, which made Emperor Jingwen even more angry.

Oh no, I’ve been so obsessed with playing cards lately that I forgot I have a father.

Ye Shuo quickly threw away the mahjong cards in his hand, pretended nothing happened, and saluted: “Greetings to the emperor, may the emperor be well.”

Ye Shuo spoke first, giving Zhao Chongrong and the others time to tidy up their appearances, and asked the palace maids around them to help take down the note. The three of them were nervous and knelt down hurriedly: “Greetings to the Emperor, may the Emperor be blessed with good health.”

It’s over, I was caught red-handed.

Although Madiao is not a prohibited item, it should not be allowed to entertain people like this in the palace, right?

Emperor Jingwen looked at the three of them steadily, and then looked at Su Yue and the others who were nervous beside him: “Where is the imperial concubine? Where is she now?”

This is Qiuwu Palace, could it be that the Imperial Concubine has no control over this at all? !

As soon as he finished speaking, Concubine Rong came out of the hall in a hurry. Seeing that there were still traces of water on her face that had not been wiped clean, and small pieces of broken paper on her neck, Emperor Jingwen immediately understood what had happened.

Emperor Jingwen’s face began to turn pale. He could never have imagined that the Imperial Concubine had condoned this and was even involved in it.

“Presumptuous!”

“You know that gambling is taboo in the palace!”

The furious emperor made everyone sweat profusely and no one dared to refute him.

Only Ye Shuo was able to remain calm, so he quietly defended himself, “There was no gambling, we were just posting notes.”

The imperial concubine nearly fainted when she heard this, and she wanted to reach out and cover her son’s mouth.

It’s already this time, why don’t you obey your father?

Sure enough, when he looked up, he found that the emperor was getting angrier.

“Zhao Chongrong, Xu Chongyi, Li Chongyuan…” As the emperor read out the names one by one, the three of them couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts and their faces turned pale.

Just when they thought that the emperor would at worst demote them this time, they heard the little prince speak.

“Father!”

Without waiting for his cheap father to finish his words, Ye Shuo hurriedly said: “This matter was caused by this son. It was the three ladies that this son found. It has nothing to do with the ladies.”

This is indeed true. If he hadn’t come to their house, Zhao Chongrong and the others wouldn’t have suffered this unexpected disaster.

“If you want to punish someone, please punish this son.”

“Okay!” Emperor Jingwen narrowed his eyes. “Since you’ve said so, then you will bear all the guilt of the four people, including your mother. This time, I will definitely punish you severely!”

“Thank you, father.” Ye Shuo did not feel nervous, but relieved.

The imperial concubine’s face turned pale immediately.

Hearing the emperor say this, I’m afraid he’s going to take drastic measures!

After Zhao Chongrong and the other two realized what was happening, they also started to get anxious.

Having said that, even though it was the little prince who came to them on his own initiative, they did not refuse after all.

If she didn’t refuse, it would mean she agreed. How could we let a two-year-old kid bear the consequences alone?

Zhao Chongrong was the first person to kneel down and plead: “Your Majesty, this is my fault. I shouldn’t have used mahjong cards to seduce the little prince. The little prince is still young and doesn’t know anything. If Your Majesty wants to punish someone, please punish me.”

Anyway, she had nothing to lose by living like a zombie in this palace.

Xu Chongyi and Li Chongyuan broke out in cold sweats. Finally, they gritted their teeth and knelt down.

For a while, the entire Qiuwu Palace was filled with the sounds of women crying and begging, which made Emperor Jingwen feel overwhelmed.

It was clearly their fault, but Emperor Jingwen felt that he had become the bad guy.

Emperor Jingwen was so angry that he laughed.

Without saying a word, he looked at them for a long while. Even so, they showed no intention of retreating. After a while, Emperor Jingwen suddenly waved his hand and said, “Xu Chongyi, Zhao Chongrong, and Li Chongyuan, the three of you can go back to your respective palaces.”

“Emperor–“

“Shut up! If you dare to beg for mercy again, I will punish you too!”

Wang Ziquan stepped forward in time and advised: “Ladies, the emperor has spoken, ladies, please go back first.”

“Someone, send these ladies back to the palace!”

Zhao Chongrong and her companions were unable to resist, and the three concubines/ladies were helpless. When they left, their eyes were almost filled with worry.

However, what Ye Shuo was thinking at this moment was, huh? He only asked the ladies to return to the palace without mentioning any punishment. It seems that his cheap father’s anger has subsided.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Emperor Jingwen still looked extremely furious, but he had no idea that his son had already noticed something.

It’s not anything else, it’s mainly because the little bastard took the initiative to stand up, which made Emperor Jingwen realize that he still has some good qualities.

The fact that he did not shirk responsibility was in line with Emperor Jingwen’s wishes.

However, Emperor Jingwen soon discovered that it was too early for him to be happy.

It turns out that we shouldn’t have any unreasonable expectations of this little bastard.

Wang Ziquan is worthy of being the man who has stood beside Emperor Jingwen since the time of Emperor Qiandi and remains standing today. His work efficiency is astonishingly high.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Qiuwu Palace, he had already figured out the cause and effect of the matter.

He had just noticed Wang Ziquan asking questions nearby, so when his cheap father asked him questions, Ye Shuo didn’t tell a single lie, in order to prevent his cheap father’s mood, which had just calmed down with great difficulty, from getting out of control again.

Although, the effect of telling the truth may be even stronger…

Emperor Jingwen sat at the head of the table, speaking in a deep tone, unable to tell whether he was happy or angry: “Tell me, what have you done in the past two months?”

Ye Shuo knelt there obediently, counting seriously: “Performing artistic creation, relaxing by having fun, and getting up on time…”

“I will only give you this one chance to confess.”

Emperor Jingwen tightened his grip on the beads in his hand, and his eyes became somewhat dangerous.

Seeing this, Ye Shuo immediately changed his words: “Make mud, play cards, eat, play cards, sleep, play cards.”

Eunuch Wang Ziquan standing by nodded affirmatively, His Highness the little prince was right.

Emperor Jingwen: “…………”

“Didn’t you say he should recite the Thousand Character Classic?” Emperor Jingwen gritted his teeth and looked at Concubine Rong beside him.

Only then did Concubine Rong remember that this was what she had in mind when she went to look for him.

Later on, I don’t know how, it became what it is now.

“Your Majesty, it is my fault.” Concubine Rong’s face was filled with shame.

At this point, it is impossible for Emperor Jingwen not to know that it was this little bastard who was causing trouble.

He was only two and a half years old, but he could come up with so many clever ideas. Even Emperor Jingwen had to admire the boy’s intelligence. But… what’s the use of his intelligence if it is not used in the right way?

In fact, the more Ye Shuo did this, the angrier Emperor Jingwen became.

Emperor Jingwen then spoke, with rare patience and earnest teaching: “You are not even three years old yet. As a prince, you don’t do what you should do. You are so distracted by playing with things. How can you achieve anything by playing Mahjong every day?”

This is really hard to say…

Ye Shuo couldn’t help but look at Eunuch Wang standing beside him.

Wang Ziquan hesitated for a while, and finally had to lean over and whisper in Emperor Jingwen’s ear: “Your Majesty, the little prince’s card skills are now better than those of the three ladies…”